tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-213947832011-11-06T08:57:05.698-07:00thinking outloud onlineDebrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-54869029730942110322011-04-30T18:19:00.001-07:002011-04-30T18:21:02.539-07:00

As a relative newcomer to the desert, I still struggle to see signs of life that more experienced desert-dwellers recognize quite easily. My midwest gardening instincts don’t work so well here and after three years, I’m still discovering the “new normal” in terms of what defines a killing frost, a drought and even death. Just as it takes a while for newcomers to realize that what looks like a

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-13073948801384293912011-03-28T08:45:00.000-07:002011-03-28T08:45:44.833-07:00

Valley pastor makes going to the coffee shop a religionSurprise interview, unusual editing choices...I have some ambivalence about posting this as it is a bit more revealing of my personal life than I would ordinarily share with the general public. Still, some reasonably good press for our church and for me, I guess.

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1849522003085830322011-03-03T13:21:00.003-07:002011-03-03T13:35:13.409-07:00

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Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-38361071435913866992011-02-05T07:44:00.003-07:002011-05-25T15:19:42.307-07:00

I'm totally in the "without a vision the people perish" camp regarding our beloved and beleaguered denomination. It's not surprising to me that large churches (and small ones, for that matter) would be disillusioned and distracted by the various "culture wars" among us because there is no larger, compelling vision that arches over our shared recent history and which (to borrow a metaphor) bends

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-55581556311763893502011-01-25T19:20:00.003-07:002011-01-25T20:15:01.322-07:00

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Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-15309176439880074232011-01-19T16:33:00.003-07:002011-01-19T16:56:47.516-07:00

A hymn text based on Matthew 5:3-10Tune: any tune with 8.7.8.7 meter (I prefer "Holy Manna", "Hyfrydol", and "Nettleton")For use on Sunday, January 23, 2011Blessed are the poor in spirit,those who live oppressed by strife.There the gift of God's great kingdomcomes to give new hope and life.Blessed are the ones in mourning,those whose hearts break with great pain.They will find the gift of

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-60739431991984015962011-01-16T06:27:00.004-07:002011-02-21T07:15:42.311-07:00

You'd have to be crazyto drop what you're doing and go.Crazy fishermen!Standing there minding their own businessdoing what they do bestcasting their nets.They drop their lives and go.Crazy!Still it's what we dowhat people do:volunteer firefightersambulance driverscardiac nurses on the code teamwomen in laborchildren who need the pottyteenagers finding out about a partyneighbors running to help

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-67414288439418124552010-11-15T07:34:00.004-07:002010-11-15T13:19:30.711-07:00

This morning, a phrase from yesterday's sermon text is playing over and over in my head:"He had compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd."And I keep thinking -what about the shepherds who really shouldn't be followed?what about shepherds who seem like the real deal, but later turn out to be more interested in anything but being a shepherd?or the shepherds who would

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-34987237060947645082010-10-24T06:16:00.002-07:002010-10-24T06:22:34.718-07:00

How bothersome is your dwelling place,O Mostly Invisible LORD !My soul perfunctorily and when convenient for me,gives half a thought to the courts of the LORD;my heart and my flesh are mostly indifferentto the God who is mostly non-existent to me. Even though the quail has found a home,and the ground squirrel a nest for herself,where she may have her young—a place near your altar,O LORD Almighty,

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-35959422687449770092010-04-29T19:22:00.005-07:002010-04-29T20:02:38.658-07:00

Hey You!Listen Up!I'm over here.No, not there.Here.To the left and slightly north of the cigarette butts.No, not the mountains.No, not the red van with shiny wheelsAhem!It's me. The brown leaf.I've got a few things to say to you, life lessons, so to speak, so listen and listen good.(Please note that leaves do not use good grammar, and while I am fastidious, grammatically speaking, I am quoting

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-52103341489182336152010-04-26T16:41:00.002-07:002010-04-26T16:56:15.865-07:00

The resurrection was unexpected. That's why there was no official delegation of disciples on hand to greet Jesus. No receiving line. No spruced up little girls in Easter hats holding bouquets. The women came to the tomb alone and in the dark, expecting to find a deat body. (excerpt from "The Unexpected Easter" by James Kay)Whether it was for lack of hope, or because Jesus' followers truly

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-32959144585056670562010-01-20T10:04:00.003-07:002010-01-20T10:11:25.547-07:00

I've been working my way through a couple of books I'd like to recommend. One of them has the obvious title: The Missional Leader by Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk. The other is The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church by Reggie McNeal (highly recommended by my sister, Sheila who knows way more than most people about this stuff).From this morning's reading in Roxburgh's work and

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-19088924226883608502010-01-13T07:25:00.001-07:002010-01-13T07:25:34.173-07:00

To speak about the baptism is not unlike engaging in a chicken and egg conundrum. Who is doing what to whom? When? How? Why? These are the questions that have blessed and disturbed the church for nearly two millennia that have passed since John and Jesus first met at the Jordan River. Even as I write this paper, with its requisite focus on baptism as trust and faith and submission to

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-75287886151262974852009-12-13T12:48:00.006-07:002009-12-13T13:20:02.146-07:00

I want to start a movement.I’d like to speak with whoever it was, whatever committee it was that decided that the third Sunday of Advent should be focused on joy. There’s something almost sadistic about holding back the emphasis on the one thing we need above all others, saving joy until the time that many of us are just about running on empty, until the “almost too late to do anything about it”

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-50519918554409683142009-12-01T11:17:00.001-07:002009-12-01T11:19:46.764-07:00

What are we waiting for? For many, this is season of Advent seems a bit pointless. Waiting for what? Santa Claus? The New Year? The end to the onslaught of incentives to buy or party our way to a better life? Surely the church isn't suggesting that we keep waiting for a Savior with magic wand in hand to swoop down and fix everything that's wrong with the world. Or is it?For 2000 years, the

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-59956188879175894432009-08-18T08:59:00.008-07:002009-08-18T10:24:09.663-07:00

This morning, I was drawn to the video posted by Rev. Nicholas Knisely (Dean of Trinity Cathedral here in Phoenix) inviting us to imagine 10 dimensions and giving pretty clear guidance about how to do that. As a closet physicist (who hates math) and a theologian-in-training (always in training!), I found it fascinating on so many levels. It was even more exciting for me because my 13 year old,

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-9308919919529419842009-08-01T16:29:00.001-07:002009-08-01T16:32:03.160-07:00

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-38778652677378174402009-07-28T15:54:00.002-07:002009-07-28T15:59:26.347-07:00

In the interest of conservation of time (isn't that physics term?), and by way of encouraging myself to write more, I am connecting my blog to Facebook. One of the downsides of this little project is that the poetry (which is often as much visual as verbal) appears in a strange way on facebook. Just click on "view original post" to see how it is supposed to look. Photos, too, are missing, so

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-20540326052967213562009-07-28T14:56:00.001-07:002009-07-28T14:59:02.051-07:00

In approximate chronological order of my hearing them: Blue Train by Johnny Cash – one of the few albums my parents listened to over and over again Whoop De Doo by The Six Fat Dutchmen – we danced to this album in my grandparents living room 2112 by Rush – my first exposure to the potential for great bass players to shape the music of a band Heavy Weather by Weather Report – this was on my

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-42472888044349613552009-02-10T19:08:00.001-07:002009-02-10T19:08:52.688-07:00

Photobucket Album

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-91878323445726722422009-02-08T12:27:00.001-07:002009-02-08T12:27:30.470-07:00

Photobucket Album

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-81116632249401532912009-02-07T16:43:00.003-07:002009-02-07T17:55:51.544-07:00

After more than a month of mental preparation and just over 24 hours of door-to-door travel, I have arrived in Delhi. For those might be wondering why I've taken a trip to some obscure midwestern town (pronounced dell-high), I am referring to India. For the next several days, through my blog I will try to share the experience of coming to India for the wedding of the daughter of a dear family

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-12415129427108811612008-09-30T08:51:00.002-07:002008-09-30T08:54:51.537-07:00

Yesterday, the news in Washington and on Wall Street was not good. Politicians wrangled and pointed fingers and financial experts and news commentators spoke words of doom. In the days to come many of us will find ourselves worrying about our financial present and future as pundits and politicians continue to unleash a storm of doubt, anxiety and fear and as they try to bail out the Wall

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-68086890617346251342008-07-15T10:10:00.002-07:002008-07-15T10:27:11.137-07:00

Moving to a new town is both exciting and confusing. It takes time to find the best places to......see a movie...eat Mexican food...find breakfast at 9 p.m....hang out at a bookstore...do all those things you used to do in your previous hometown.Our family has a good bit of experience with this. We've moved 5 times in 15 years. Yikes! Even though I've lived that statistic, it still startles

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-43562525515197761222008-07-08T08:52:00.003-07:002008-07-08T09:44:26.216-07:00

This morning, after I dropped Taylor off at ballet class, I had to stop and listen to an NPR story, even though it meant I would suffer a few extra sweaty moments in the already 95 degree Phoenix morning. I had to listen because, as news often does, the story evoked both hope and grief.Stanford University researchers seem to have discovered a treatment for renal cell carcinoma. It turns out

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-3097039196833692802008-01-28T12:27:00.000-07:002008-01-28T12:44:19.778-07:00

Preached 01.27.08Texts: Matthew 4:12-23 and 1 Corinthinans 1:10-18 Once upon a time there was a girl who grew up in the land between two rivers. She was pretty happy, this girl, because she had a family that loved her and she lived in a town where everybody knew each other and most of the time loved each other. And God was with the girl from the moment of her birth,

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1168964155405237322007-01-16T09:15:00.000-07:002007-01-16T09:15:55.413-07:00

This morning, Garrison Keillor read this poem.  Oh my… I had to share it.  A Color of the Sky by Tony Hoagland Windy today and I feel less than brilliant, driving over the hills from work. There are the dark parts on the road                      when you pass through clumps of wood and the bright spots where you have a view of the ocean, but that doesn’t make the road an allegory. I should call

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1155579785186275562006-08-14T11:16:00.000-07:002006-08-14T11:24:26.883-07:00

(This blessing was offered at the 2005 Illinois State Holocaust Memorial)The root of the word benediction comes from Latin, meaning: “good speaking”. There has been much “good speaking” here today. It is my hope that these last words will also be good speech in our ears. I’d like to begin with a poem from a Siddur that a friend gave to me. If the prophets broke inthrough the doors

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1154188716983972412006-07-29T07:38:00.000-07:002006-07-30T03:40:51.566-07:00

(This article was written in December 2005, in a post-Katrina, post-personal trauma, mid-congregational stress moment both in the lives of the people in my congregation and in my own life.) What does HOPE mean? We proudly call ourselves “Hope Presbyterian Church” and we list HOPE as one of our core values. We’ve talked about it, prayed for it, and even experienced it in our midst. Yet in this

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1150407526351999882006-06-15T14:38:00.000-07:002006-06-15T14:46:43.363-07:00

Well, here I am in Birmingham, AL – participating in my 2nd General Assembly (my first one was in Milwaukee and I did liturgical dance with Greek masks, while 4 months pregnant with Taylor!). This time, I’m definitely NOT dancing, but instead am working with a group of progressive Christians to help bring healing to members in our denomination and to remind folks of our call to live according to

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1147269236355592392006-05-10T06:53:00.000-07:002006-05-10T07:02:59.976-07:00

This blurb appeared in our church newsletter. We're working on re-visioning/re-imagining/re-inventing ourselves for mission and ministry, so when you read this, you need to know that Hope Presbyterian Church is a work in progress!Don’t panic.  Keep reading.  I was hoping this might get your attention more quickly than something generic, like “Pastor Debra reflects” or “Thoughts from the Pastor.”

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1146069306966162692006-04-26T09:31:00.000-07:002006-04-26T09:35:07.006-07:00

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1145902166146540632006-04-24T10:58:00.000-07:002006-04-24T11:26:57.346-07:00

I've completed this little quiz to find out my theological orientation (as if I didn't know already). Here's what it says about me... You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1145301846544852392006-04-17T12:05:00.000-07:002006-04-17T12:49:32.206-07:00

Read Mark 16:1-8 At the end of Mark’s gospel, there’s some weird stuff. Not weird miracles or weird behavior, but weird words and a whole lot of footnotes. It turns out that for about 1700 years, people have been wondering and worrying about the end of Mark’s gospel. Some Bibles don’t include anything after verse 8. Others have a longer ending to the gospel that goes as far as verse 20.

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1144347382105491352006-04-06T07:45:00.000-07:002006-04-06T11:16:22.203-07:00

At startupI received this message:wireless network connection is now connectedconnected to: hopesignal strength: excellentWhy can't my synapses make a wireless connection to hope? Why is my signal strength is mostly sub-excellent? Time for an upgrade?

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1143746435686525142006-03-30T12:18:00.000-07:002006-03-30T12:23:21.790-07:00

Who do you think you are?Holding up a mirror,Showing me what I desperately try to hide.I don’t need to see my own pain.I don’t want to look at my broken heart.I live with it every day.Fear not! For I am with you.Holding on to your lifeHealing your desperationYour pain is mine to holdYour broken heart is mine to mendBehold! I am with you all the days of your life.

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1143602882184452572006-03-28T06:25:00.000-07:002006-03-29T14:56:43.833-07:00

ImagineThe hands of GodCradlingHoldingRelishing the beauty of her creation.The scars,the bumps,the open woundsthe bits and pieces of shattered dreams,of fragmented existenceNotwithstanding.ImagineThe hands of GodSalvagingRe-creatingRedeemingthe wreckagethe messthe brokenthe pain-filled and pitiful creaturesUnconditionally.ImagineThe hands of GodIn the evening.In the morning.It is good.

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1142861149119085702006-03-20T06:07:00.000-07:002006-03-21T08:02:50.530-07:00

This sermon was written in response the the series of tornados that blew through Springfield, IL on Sunday evening, March 12, 2006. Inspiration for this sermon was taken in part from an article in Theology Today, in 1982, written by Pastor Ron Allen after a devastating night of tornados in Grand Island, Nebraska. The scripture that added to the inspiration was 1 Kings 19:1-16. When a

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1141853379142868372006-03-08T14:18:00.000-07:002006-03-21T08:14:27.770-07:00

It’s an odd thing, really.Ashes mixed with oilsmeared on foreheadsthis late in the day. Almost no one will seeOur act of pietyThe visible signdissolves into the evening darknessas we go homewash our facesand get ready for bed. Most Ash Wednesday services take place early.We see the evidence of morning or lunchtime pietyon the faces of co-workers and

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21394783.post-1138036530623090022006-01-23T09:32:00.000-07:002006-01-23T10:15:30.643-07:00

In Narnia it's always winter, never ChristmasBut that's neither here nor there for me (As if Christmas is the be all and end all)Why can't it simply be always chocolate, never cavities always busy, never tired always dressed, never doing laundryOr even better always on vacation, never broke

Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12312983474801527934noreply@blogger.com0