You have searched me out and known me.

The Psalm for this coming Sunday is Psalm 139, one of my favorites. This is the Pslam I turned to in my late twenties when I was trying to discern who I was. Living alone, managing a house, job, friends, and broken relationships, I was not moving deeper to understand myself and who I was with God. It was lonely. I did not turn to friends because I felt only God and me could work this out. Yet, nothing that I could recognize from God seemed to be coming my way. More doors where closing than opening. It was comforting to me to hear in this Psalm that that even if I didn't know who I was and where I was called, God knew. Even if I couldn't see it at the time, God knew. And, not only did God know but that knowing stretched through my past, my painful present, and my hope for the future. "God, you know my sitting down and rising up...you discern my thoughts from afar...you are acquainted with all my ways..." A Life with God is not a straight line up an ever winding spiral. We revisit our joys and sorrows at different parts in our life seeing them with a new perspective of the accumulated days lived. We find ourselves sure of what we are doing and wonder and times of transition, "who am I?" Psalm 139 is always there for me

Practically, as in almost there?

Practically Christians, as in almost there? That is a question that came up shortly after beginning this blog. It is the opening a new school year on our campus and the opening of new program year for the parish so it is a good time to revisit why "Practically..." Think of practicing the piano, or a language, or any skill. At first it is awkward and then as the body learns the movements it becomes more fluid. Then it is time to learn another level, a different song or movement. The same is true of the Christian life. We are always practicing. Even with a refresher as an adult, we don't begin again as if we were children. We practice from the place we find ourselves in today and then move into more practice. We touch our center and God's center. So Pratically Christian is about practicing our faith life day to day. That is also part of the practically, it that our faith is practical - in real time, every day, in each place and relationship in which we find ourselves. Practically Christian, practicing day to day. While some days we may feel the frustrations of being incomplete and almost there, the focus is on what we can do each and every day as people of faith. And that is all good news!