Anxiety
Where are we going?
As a pastor and leader, I get asked this question all the time. Usually, these days, it comes with a twinge of anxiety and worry. It can feel a bit more like “where are you taking us?” Which I do understand…with a future that feels unsure and a culmination of uncertainties all colliding at once, it doesn’t surprise me that we want some boundaries, some clarity, some structure that we can depend on.
Read MoreThere’s a poet that I’ve grown to love over the years, George Herbert, who lived in England during the early 17th century. A scholar, who became a country priest, he was also a gifted musician and songwriter. A story is told where Herbert, on the way to play music with some friends, came across a poor man and an even poorer horse in distress and stopped to help them out of the mud and assisted the man in unloading the poor beast. By the time he later joined his friends, he was filthy from head to toe. One of them asked why he had disparaged himself by so dirty an employment. I love Herbert’s answer…that his actions would prove “music to him at midnight.”
Read MoreI’m a classic over thinker. It shows up any time I stick my neck out there. I worry. I over analyze. And I constantly second guess myself.
And any time I speak out, I regret it. Sometimes for hours afterwards. I feel over extended. Like I foolishly revealed more than I should have.
Read MoreThe deepest moments in life happen in heartfelt connection with others, that is almost beyond dispute. But to do so requires courage. Courage to be seen. Courage to lower our guard. To risk rejection. To face the reality of being overlooked.
Read MoreIt’s summer in Laguna. There are plenty of indicators. June gloom every morning, for one thing. Long delays at every crosswalk. Tourists with awkward tan lines. Crowded beaches and the lingering scent of sunscreen wherever you go.
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