Angie's Youth and Young Adult Ministry Blog

I'm Off

One week from today, I'll be back at work. It has been a great sabbatical--I am almost ready to step back into everyday life at Plymouth. Almost.

Before I go back, though, I will be spending a week in meditation, yoga and mindful living on retreat in Austin, Texas. So no more blog entries for at least a week. No computer at all. Just time to be, to re-connect, to listen and reflect.

Have a great week.

Just to be is a blessing.

Here's the thought for today: "What message have you for young people?" asked Carl Stern of NBC in concluding a television interview with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel shortly before his death. Rabbi Heschel replied: "...let them remember that there is a meaning beyond absurdity. Let them be sure that every deed counts, that every word has power, and that we all can do our share to redeem the world in spite of all absurdities and all frustrations and all disappointments. And, above all, let them remember...to build a life as if it were a work of art."

Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.

(from The Godbearing Life by Kenda Creasy Dean).

Thin Mints and Tagalongs and Samoas, Oh My!

Here's a salute to the Girls Scouts of America and their annual cookie drive. Long live Thin Mints!

Happy People

People are hard-wired to live in fear. It's a brain-thing, according to Dan Baker, the author of "What Happy People Know". Fear isn't just a nail-biting, cold-feet experience--it often surfaces as anger, perfectionism, pessimism, anxiety, depression and feelings of isolation. In a recent survey, 2/3rds of Americans indicate that they "aren't very happy"--we are worried about not having enough (scarcity) and not being enough (image).

How do we move past our fears to live happy (not "ha, ha" happy but "whole" happy) lives? We trick our brains, that's how. We override the imbedded "fear factor" found in the brain stem and the amygdala (the parts of the brain that hold instinctual fears and the primary survival hormones) with the neocortex (the 'higher intellegence' part of the brain).

Most people try to override the system with "stuff": they try to buy happiness. It doesn't work.

What does work? LOVE. That's the only thing. Love each other by having a real appreciation for life and for other people. Love yourself, too, by focusing on your strengths and not your weaknesses.

There is research that shows that there are "tricks" that work in overriding the system: experiments have been performed in labratories and studies have been performed on people in real-life situations. People who use these 'tricks' (appreciate, love, look at the positives, laugh, etc.) really do have happier, more full lives than the average American--regardless of their income or social status.

God created us to be whole and happy people. According to Jesus' teaching and life, the only way to be whole is to loving God, each other, and ourselves, too. In other words: override the system, get past our fears, and live as though what we do here matters.

Pretty cool. Brain research and theology pointing in the same direction: love wins, every time.

March Madness!

Today the story is that it must be a sad, sad thing to live in Iowa right now: the Iowa Hawkeyes and the UNI Panthers both lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament and the Iowa State Cyclones not only didn't make it to either the NCAA or the NIT tournaments, they also have been caught in a recruiting scandal, two of their top players have declared their intention to turn pro early, and the head coach was fired this week, too.

It would truly be "March Madness" to think of all of this as a reason to hang our heads. There is nothing to be embarassed about here at all: the Hawkeyes may have lost in the first round of the tournament to a "nobody" (to quote the media--I don't consider a team who has made it to the NCAA tournament to be "nobody"!), but they still won the Big Ten tournament last week and made it to the NCAA tournament. So they are out in the first round--big deal. They can hold their heads high for their work this season.

Same with the Panthers--they went head to head with Georgetown and not only held their own, they (as the underdogs) even led the game for quite awhile. It was a great game to top off a great season. They, too, should hold their heads high.

As for Iowa State: who knows where the verdict will land on whether or not there were illegal or immoral recruiting tactics being used, but with all of the scandal surrounding the program the past few years, the new director has decided to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. He wants to give this program a "do-over"--and that's something to be proud of. It won't be easy. And his stance certainly won't be popular in some circles. But it was a decision made with integrity, with guts, and with vision. And integrity is something we should all be proud of.

A bad time to be an Iowan--especially an Iowa State fan like me? I don't think so.

The Circle of Life

One of my favorite movies is "The Lion King". Now it is also one of my favorite plays, too. Last night we went to see the musical at the Civic Center: lions and giraffes and hyenas, oh my! The highlights for the girls? The grown-up Simba (he is "hot"), the larger than life animals (especially the giraffes), and the familiarity of a story they grew up with brought to the stage--they knew the plot, the words to the songs, and each character. They loved the colors, the costumes and the special effects (simple and amazing).

I loved all of those things, too, but that one thing that I carry away from this story every time I see it (either on DVD or on the stage) is that we are all a part of something larger than ourselves, that we have been given a great gift of life, and that it is not only our responsibility to do something with that great gift but it is a great privilege, too. In order to be a full participant in this circle of life, we really are called to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.

Hakuna Matata might be a great song but really isn't a great credo for life.

It's a great show. If you can, go see it. If you can't, rent the movie. Of course, Simba isn't quite as "hot" in the cartoon version...

Brains, Stepping Stones and St. Louis

I'm back home after a quick trip to St. Louis. I drove down Monday to meet with David Greenhaw, president of Eden Seminary, to talk about brain research, theological studies, and how I might tie the two together. That's what I'd planned to talk about, anyway. What we ended up discussing was the Stepping Stones program and how it has the potential to not only change families but entire congregations as well. We talked about families sitting down to pray together, children who feel safe talking to their parents about tough issues, the ability for moms and dads to share their faith with their children and children to share their faith with their parents. It was a great conversation that gave me hope and renewed my sense of passion for this important ministry.

After that, I had fun saying 'hi' to some old friends that I'd lost touch with. Lots of fun.

Tuesday, I met with Karen Tye--a professor at Eden who takes brain research and techniques seriously. We had an interesting conversation about how the church really operates as one big brain: full of information, wired to do things in the most effective and wonderful ways, but often stuck in a rut because it chooses to use familiar pathways and known methods.

I drove home Tuesday night, a little more recharged and a little more ready to go back to work. A little more, that is. Still two weeks to go...

Variety Show

I dipped my toe back into Plymouth last night so that I could watch the high school kids share their talents in this year's annual variety show. It was great! A sit-down meal before the entertainment--spaghetti, salad, bread and cheesecake served (by the high school kids) at beautifully decorated, candlelit tables in Waveland Hall. After dinner, everyone moved into the sanctuary where, for 1 1/2 hours, we were wonderfully entertained: great singers, amazing pianists, funny and talented jugglers--I was amazed and delighted with the talents on display. I laughed. I sat in silence. I didn't cry, but I was almost moved to tears by the presence of God in the place: families together on a Sunday night, people sharing their gifts, a community of support in many, many, many ways. It was way cool.

Way to go, Paula and Heidi and Molly and Susan and everyone else who had a hand in putting this event together.

Brain Harvesting

Somebody asked me how in the world I became interested in the brain. Most recently it has been through the curriculum we use at Plymouth for confirmation and family ministries (Head to the Heart and Stepping Stones, both from Faith Inkubators). But that's not where it all began: I started getting interested in brains about seven years ago. Clark Lindgren, a biology professor at Grinnell College, invited Bailey and I to go on a field trip to witness some research in the field of neuroscience. His lab was great: microscopes, test tubes, funny smells and all--it was really cool. But the lab was only the beginning--we were asked to watch an experiment: the study of a real brain cell. And not just a frozen brain cell purchased from the neuroscience supply catalog (is there such a thing?) but one that would be freshly 'harvested'. Who could turn down an invitation like that? I know I couldn't. It was an eye-opening experience--we got to see it all: the removal of a rat's brain (Bailey turned pretty green at this point), slicing a whisper-thin piece off that brain for study, placing the sample on a prepared slide, putting that slide under the microscope and then peering into that microscope to see the brain cells exploding (or at least that's what it looked like to me). I didn't know the correct names for the procedures or the parts or even the event that we witnessed--I still don't know the correct names for all of those things--but I do know that what I saw was absolutely amazing. Very small cells taken from a very small brain were growing, connecting, moving, charging. I can only imagine what whole human brains must look like--hundreds, thousands, millions of cells firing off, growing, connecting and moving. It must look like quite a party.

And that's how I got interested in the brain. It's amazing stuff.

Prayer Requests

A number of people are in my heart and on my mind today. Would you please add these folks to your prayers?

--my dad's friend Chuck, who is in intensive care in Rochester, MN. Pray for my dad, too.

--the choir director at Paul's church, diagnosed this week with prostate cancer.

--my friend Molly's 9-month old godson James, who died last week. Pray for his family, too.

Thanks.