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  ...  the beauty of Zephyr Point. If you find <em>movement</em> to be a way  ...
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  <blockquote><p><span id="en-NRSV-28036" class="text Rom-5-3">And not only th ...
  

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Source: http://pomomusings.com/feed/

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17. <description>Technology, Theology &#38; Ministry</description>
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26. <title>Companions on the Inner Way: Final Thoughts</title>
27. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/</link>
28. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/#comments</comments>
30. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
31. <pubDate>Mon, 15 Aug 2016 05:43:54 +0000</pubDate>
32. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
33. <category><![CDATA[Retreats]]></category>
34. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10270</guid>
35.  
36. <description><![CDATA[The first night we were at Zephyr Point last week for the Companions on the Inner Way retreat, we were led in this chant: Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul. Return to who you are, Return to what you are, Return to where you are born and reborn again. It [&#8230;]]]></description>
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38. <p>The first night we were at Zephyr Point last week for the Companions on the Inner Way retreat, we were led in this chant:</p>
39. <blockquote><p><em>Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul.</em><br />
40. <em> Return to who you are, Return to what you are,</em><br />
41. <em> Return to where you are born and reborn again.</em></p></blockquote>
42. <p>It was written by Shlomo Carlebach and if you want to hear a version of it sung by Shaina Noll, you can check out the video below:</p>
43. <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zk6SblXESI8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation"></iframe></p>
44. <p>I think that was a great reminder for those of us attending the retreat as we started the first night. And I think that&#8217;s an accurate summary of what each person is doing at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. We are returning again to the land of our souls. We are returning to a space and a place where we can focus inwards, focus on what we may have been ignoring or fighting against during the busy-ness of our regular lives.</p>
45. <p><strong>Return again to the land of your soul.</strong></p>
46. <p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-10199" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway.png" alt="Cotiway" width="218" height="251" />I think there is really something for everyone at a Companions retreat. If you like silence and contemplation, you&#8217;ll get plenty of that. If you like sharing and conversation, the Lectio Divina groups are a wonderful opportunity for that, as is just getting to know other companions on the retreat and sharing meals together, going for walks and exploring the beauty of Zephyr Point. If you find <em>movement</em> to be a way of spiritually connecting with yourself and God, there are plenty of opportunities for dancing and other physical ways of embodying prayer. If you want to hear challenging talks and be involved in theological and spiritual conversations, they have you covered as well. And if you are moved by liturgy, eucharist and beautiful music, you will love the Companions on the Inner Way experience.</p>
47. <p>Many of the people I spoke with who have been coming to Companions retreats for years (some have been coming for over 20 years) said that coming to a Companions retreat was their opportunity to almost <em>reset themselves spiritually</em> every year. It was a chance that they had to really focus on their spiritual lives and assess God&#8217;s movement in their lives.</p>
48. <p>If you&#8217;re interested in possibly attending a Companions retreat, you can keep an eye out for information on their website <a href="http://www.cotiway.org/upcoming-events.html">here</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/COTIWay">follow them on Facebook here</a> to get the most updated information. The next retreat will be at the Serra Retreat Center in Malibu (it is an absolutely gorgeous place!) in March and the presenter will be Brian McLaren. I would highly encourage you to consider attending if these posts about the retreat this past week have resonated with you.</p>
49. <p>Finally, if you want to get a brief glimpse into the music, worship and sights of a Companions retreat at Zephyr Point, I put together a little video that you might be interested in checking out. All of the music was recorded from our times of worship together.</p>
50. <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pJ-o0DFuJjo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation"></iframe></p>
51. <div class="content-box-blue">
52. <p><em>These posts are part of a series of reflections on my first time at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. All of the posts can be found below:</em></p>
53. <ul>
54. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/">Day 1</a></li>
55. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/">Day 2</a></li>
56. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/">Day 3</a></li>
57. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/">Day 4</a></li>
58. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/">Day 5</a></li>
59. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/">Day 6</a></li>
60. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/">Final Thoughts</a></li>
61. </ul>
62. </div>
63. ]]></content:encoded>
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66. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
69. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10270</post-id> </item>
70. <item>
71. <title>Companions on the Inner Way: Day 6</title>
72. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/</link>
73. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/#comments</comments>
75. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
76. <pubDate>Sat, 13 Aug 2016 21:32:55 +0000</pubDate>
77. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
78. <category><![CDATA[Eucharist]]></category>
79. <category><![CDATA[Worship]]></category>
80. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10247</guid>
81.  
82. <description><![CDATA[Friday was our last day for the retreat. Last days of retreats, conferences, events like those, are often odd. You want to be fully present for the remaining events and really enjoy your last few moments together, but you are also ready to get going and begin the trek heading home. I felt that tension [&#8230;]]]></description>
83. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Friday was our last day for the retreat. Last days of retreats, conferences, events like those, are often odd. You want to be fully present for the remaining events and really enjoy your last few moments together, but you are also ready to get going and begin the trek heading home. I felt that tension on the last day. After breakfast we had a brief time together with our Lectio Groups so that we could do an&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen" target="_blank">examen</a></em> about our time together at Companions.</p>
84. <p>I was hurriedly trying to pack up my room and make it to the group time, and by the time I got there, I was really pretty ready to just finish up and start heading back to my family in Chicago.</p>
85. <p>But the group time, as it always was throughout the week, was beneficial and I appreciated hearing from others about their experiences at Companions. As we did the Ignatian Examen, we shared about the places and times during the week when we felt most alive, where there was the most energy, and then we shared about the places and times when we felt least alive or most drained. It&#8217;s a helpful way to process an event like Companions, and it was also interesting to see the places that others in the group were in agreement about parts they loved and parts they found difficult, but also to see how something that one person really loved was something that another person really didn&#8217;t find much life or energy in.</p>
86. <p>After our last Lectio Group, we got ready for our last worship service. Dr. Luther Smith preached a great sermon, and just like the rest of the week, the worship was phenomenal. One line that Luther shared during this sermon, from Howard Thurman, really sunk in for me. It was about prayer, and the power of prayer in the lives of those doing the praying. Thurman said:</p>
87. <blockquote><p>God&#8217;s answer to a prayer may be&nbsp;<strong>no</strong>, but God&#8217;s answer to a pray-er is always&nbsp;<strong>yes.</strong></p></blockquote>
88. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8116.jpg" rel="lightbox[10247]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10248" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8116.jpg" alt="IMG_8116" width="740" height="461" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8116.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8116-300x187.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8116-768x479.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8116-1024x638.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
89. <p>Marjorie Hoyer Smith and Jeff Gaines led us in our last eucharist together for the week and it was the perfect way to end our time together.</p>
90. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8115.jpg" rel="lightbox[10247]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10249" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8115.jpg" alt="IMG_8115" width="740" height="494" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8115.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8115-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8115-768x513.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8115-1024x684.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
91. <p>Our setting for worship was also just gorgeous. Inspiration Point is what the room is called, but the&nbsp;side of the building that looks out on the lake just has a wall of windows, and you can see the lake and the trees while sitting inside. It&#8217;s pretty amazing.</p>
92. <p>One last benediction, an extended time to pass the peace, and then people were on their way. I got a chance to spend a little more time at the beach before I took off to Reno for the evening. I&#8217;ll share some closing thoughts tomorrow &#8211; I&#8217;m also working on putting together a little Companions on the Way video that I can share here that will you give an idea of some of the setting and music that we get to enjoy at Zephyr Point. Until then, here are some more photos from the week.</p>
93.  
94. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7988.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7988-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
95. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7990.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7990-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
96. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7979.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7979-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
97. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8007.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8007-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
98. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8020.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8020-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
99. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8015.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8015-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
100. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8057.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8057-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
101. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8064-1.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8064-1-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
102. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7983.jpg' rel="lightbox[10247]"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7983-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" loading="lazy" /></a>
103.  
104. <div class="content-box-blue"><em>These posts are part of a series of reflections on my first time at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. All of the posts can be found below:</em></p>
105. <ul>
106. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/">Day 1</a></li>
107. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/">Day 2</a></li>
108. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/">Day 3</a></li>
109. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/">Day 4</a></li>
110. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/">Day 5</a></li>
111. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/">Day 6</a></li>
112. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/">Final&nbsp;Thoughts</a></li>
113. </ul>
114. </div>
115. ]]></content:encoded>
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118. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
121. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10247</post-id> </item>
122. <item>
123. <title>Companions on the Inner Way: Day 5</title>
124. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/</link>
125. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/#comments</comments>
127. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
128. <pubDate>Sat, 13 Aug 2016 20:35:58 +0000</pubDate>
129. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
130. <category><![CDATA[Enemies]]></category>
131. <category><![CDATA[Forgiveness]]></category>
132. <category><![CDATA[Worship]]></category>
133. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10238</guid>
134.  
135. <description><![CDATA[Thursday is the last full day of Companions. We&#8217;re at the point where I&#8217;ve gotten to know some folks pretty well since the week began, and it&#8217;s fun to spend time with them. But I&#8217;m also very ready to get home to Sarah and Caleb and get back into the regular routines of life in [&#8230;]]]></description>
136. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thursday is the last full day of Companions. We&#8217;re at the point where I&#8217;ve gotten to know some folks pretty well since the week began, and it&#8217;s fun to spend time with them. But I&#8217;m also very ready to get home to Sarah and Caleb and get back into the regular routines of life in Chicago. It&#8217;s also the point in the week when my body is realizing that as much as I love the beauty of Tahoe and the cooler weather and dry climate, my lips are chapped like crazy and asking where the humidity is!</p>
137. <p>A note about the breakfast time that we have together &#8211; we are encouraged to have a silent breakfast (though there is only one&nbsp;<strong>completely silent table</strong>) but that is easier said than done at times. I generally found myself sitting at tables that held that suggestion a little looser than others, but I did spend my first day on Monday morning pretty much in silence during breakfast.</p>
138. <p>After breakfast, we met with Luther for our last morning session. He shared about a lot of different things: the Sermon on the Mount, loving our enemies, forgiveness and much more.</p>
139. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8111.jpg" rel="lightbox[10238]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10240" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8111.jpg" alt="IMG_8111" width="740" height="489" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8111.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8111-300x198.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8111-768x508.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8111-1024x677.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
140. <p>A lot of what is involved in being able to forgive and love our enemies has to do with expanding our hearts. Luther talked about three ways that we can work on expanding our hearts: hospitality, the work of justice and engaging with&nbsp;<em>beauty. </em>He mentioned a quote from Evelyn Underhill, but it looks like she may have gotten it from&nbsp;Rabindranath Tagore.</p>
141. <blockquote><p>Beauty is reality seen through eyes of love.</p></blockquote>
142. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8112.jpg" rel="lightbox[10238]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10241" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8112.jpg" alt="IMG_8112" width="740" height="491" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8112.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8112-300x199.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8112-768x509.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8112-1024x679.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
143. <p>Our time of integration involved creating art and spending time out in nature (<strong>never</strong> a bad thing to do in Tahoe). I did a little work with pastels (my first time) though I think I went through 1 or 2 black pastels when I made this:</p>
144. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8045.jpg" rel="lightbox[10238]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10244" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8045.jpg" alt="IMG_8045" width="741" height="490" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8045.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8045-300x199.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8045-768x508.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8045-1024x678.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px" /></a></p>
145. <p>After our time in Integration, we got into our regular afternoon routine with lunch and Sabbath time. One benefit of having your spiritual director leading the retreat you go to is that you can have a session with your spiritual director. So I spent some time that afternoon in spiritual direction, and then got a chance to do a little bit of work and rest before we had our afternoon worship service.</p>
146. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8113.jpg" rel="lightbox[10238]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10242" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8113.jpg" alt="IMG_8113" width="740" height="442" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8113.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8113-300x179.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8113-768x459.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8113-1024x612.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
147. <p>Wonderful preaching, moving music and a very special time of celebrating the Eucharist. Afternoon worship has been one of my favorite times during this retreat. I don&#8217;t have a worshipping community that has music like what we were doing this past week, and I&#8217;ve found it to be very refreshing and worshipful.</p>
148. <p>After worship and dinner, we had our last group time doing lectio divina. I felt a bit stuck by the passage of loving my enemies. The first thing that came to mind for me was how this plays into our current political climate, and trying to figure out how to love Trump and Trump supporters. They seemed like the easiest&nbsp;<em>enemies</em> to pick out that I should love &#8211; but I wonder if there are other&nbsp;<em>enemies</em> of mine that are more subtle, that I&#8217;m not as aware of, but they are still people I should be loving. In the end, I think I just realized that I need to remind myself more open about the call to love our&nbsp;<em>enemies.</em></p>
149. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8114.jpg" rel="lightbox[10238]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10243" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8114.jpg" alt="IMG_8114" width="740" height="456" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8114.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8114-300x185.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8114-768x473.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8114-1024x631.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
150. <p>One of our leaders of the Companions retreat is Marjorie Hoyer Smith&nbsp;&#8211; and this was her 50th Companions on the Inner way retreat that she helped to lead. Quite amazing! She has been leading our time of Integration this week, has been a co-celebrant with Jeff Gaines for communion, and has shared some of her liturgical dance gifts with us. This is also her last Companions retreat, and so we had a big party for Marjorie this evening and celebrated her gifts and contributions to this retreat over the many years she&#8217;s been involved. We then finished the evening with a Compline service of singing, reflection and prayers.</p>
151. <p>It&#8217;s hard to believe that Friday is our last day together &#8211; but it&#8217;s continued to be such a wonderful event to be at, and I&#8217;m so grateful that I could be here and could be blogging about my experience at the Companions on the Inner Way retreat.</p>
152. <div class="content-box-blue"><em>These posts are part of a series of reflections on my first time at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. All of the posts can be found below:</em></p>
153. <ul>
154. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/">Day 1</a></li>
155. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/">Day 2</a></li>
156. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/">Day 3</a></li>
157. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/">Day 4</a></li>
158. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/">Day 5</a></li>
159. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/">Day 6</a></li>
160. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/">Final&nbsp;Thoughts</a></li>
161. </ul>
162. </div>
163. ]]></content:encoded>
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166. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
169. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10238</post-id> </item>
170. <item>
171. <title>Companions on the Inner Way: Day 4</title>
172. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/</link>
173. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/#comments</comments>
175. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
176. <pubDate>Sat, 13 Aug 2016 17:29:07 +0000</pubDate>
177. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
178. <category><![CDATA[Hope]]></category>
179. <category><![CDATA[Suffering]]></category>
180. <category><![CDATA[Taize]]></category>
181. <category><![CDATA[Worship]]></category>
182. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10221</guid>
183.  
184. <description><![CDATA[Day 4: Wednesday. This is the part of the week when the exhaustion from all of the amazing stuff we&#8217;ve been doing starts to seep in a bit. Being at a Companions retreat is certainly a time of rest and relaxation, but it&#8217;s also an event where there is a lot happening each day, a [&#8230;]]]></description>
185. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Day 4: Wednesday. This is the part of the week when the exhaustion from all of the amazing stuff we&#8217;ve been doing starts to seep in a bit. Being at a Companions retreat is certainly a time of rest and relaxation, but it&#8217;s also an event where there is a lot happening each day, a lot to process, reflect on, think and pray about&#8230;so, I think I saw more people than normal drinking their morning coffee today.</p>
186. <p>Wednesday&#8217;s schedule is changed up a bit to allow for a longer worship service this evening. Our morning routine remained the same today as we gathered for morning prayer, breakfast and then our time with Luther. This morning session was one of those where the content and depth of Luther&#8217;s sharing was such that I really wasn&#8217;t able to capture all that I had hoped through my sketchnote. But the theme today was talking about suffering, and our passage for the day was Romans 5:3-5:</p>
187. <blockquote><p><span id="en-NRSV-28036" class="text Rom-5-3">And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, </span><span id="en-NRSV-28037" class="text Rom-5-4">and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, </span><span id="en-NRSV-28038" class="text Rom-5-5">and hope does not disappoint us, because Godâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.</span></p></blockquote>
188. <p>After <a href="http://www.dazeddad.com/2010/10/27/october-25/" target="_blank">losing twins halfway through our pregnancy</a> almost 6 years ago and going through the process of <a href="http://pomomusings.com/2015/06/30/primarily-obsessional-ocd/" target="_blank">being diagnosed with OCD</a>, I have some thoughts on suffering. And I found myself today struggling with this concept of &#8220;boasting in our sufferings.&#8221; I haven&#8217;t fully processed or figured out what I think about that, or how I understand that, but I have seen in my life the ways in which suffering does produce endurance and character and hope, or at least the acknowledgement that God can work through such difficult circumstances. But still&#8230;this idea of &#8220;boasting&#8221; in sufferings? I certainly wouldn&#8217;t wish any of what I&#8217;ve experienced as suffering on anyone else, even though I&#8217;ve learned a lot about myself and God through all of it.</p>
189. <p>We discussed a variety of aspects of suffering, how it can be revelatory, redemptive and clearly that suffering is inevitable. Luther said that &#8220;Suffering is not the goal of life &#8211; but it is the vehicle into which we move into a more full life of hope&#8221; (I&#8217;m paraphrasing there).</p>
190. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8009.jpg" rel="lightbox[10221]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10232" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8009.jpg" alt="IMG_8009" width="739" height="488" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8009.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8009-300x198.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8009-768x507.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8009-1024x676.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px" /></a></p>
191. <p>During our time of Integration, we did quite a few activities, but there was one that stood out above and beyond the rest. Although it is slightly difficult to try to explain, I&#8217;ll give it a shot. We got into four different groups, and each group was made up of two circles of people. One circle was on the inside, and the other group was the circle on the outside. Those on the outside of the circle were asked to take a minute to think about what word of hope they needed to hear from God this day. Then, the outside circle whispered that word of hope to the people on the inside circle, and they moved around so that everyone in the other group had a chance to hear their word of hope. Then the groups switched, and those that had received a word of hope now had the chance to give a word of hope.</p>
192. <p>I hope you can picture a bit of what that looked like. It was incredibly moving to hear all of these statements of hope from fellow Companions, statements like:</p>
193. <ul>
194. <li>Grace and hope.</li>
195. <li>You are enough.</li>
196. <li>Live fully into God.</li>
197. <li>Live into the expansiveness of God.</li>
198. <li>I love you and you are mine.</li>
199. <li>Hope is yours.</li>
200. </ul>
201. <p>And yes &#8211; in case you are wondering, we did do acrostic poetry again. This time the words down the side were THE HOPE WE RESIST. This is the poem I came up with:</p>
202. <blockquote><p>This is it.<br />
203. Here we go.<br />
204. Everyone get ready.</p>
205. <p>However you feel about the world,<br />
206. open your hearts to hope.<br />
207. Patience will be needed and<br />
208. eternal vision is a requirement.<br />
209. We must resist resistance<br />
210. each day.</p>
211. <p>Resistance to hope constricts. Constrains.<br />
212. Even though it is difficult, we must hope.<br />
213. Some may call us naive.<br />
214. It will not be an easy road.<br />
215. Some may try to shake our hope.<br />
216. Thank God we already know how the story ends.</p></blockquote>
217. <p>Then it was off to lunch and Sabbath time. I was able to spend some more time down on the water&#8230;which was great. Because of our special service on Wednesday, our Lectio Groups were held in the afternoon, and we had an opportunity to meet with the group and reflect on&nbsp;our passage for the day. As I continued to struggle in being able to say that I would want to &#8220;boast&#8221; in my sufferings, I decided to think about what I&nbsp;<em>might</em> be able to boast in, and it&#8217;s hard to be here and <strong>not</strong> <strong>boast</strong> about God&#8217;s magnificent creation, so I spent some time sketching the landscape outside of our conference center.</p>
218. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LakeTahoe.png" rel="lightbox[10221]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10234" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LakeTahoe.png" alt="LakeTahoe" width="740" height="555" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LakeTahoe.png 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LakeTahoe-300x225.png 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LakeTahoe-768x576.png 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/LakeTahoe-1024x768.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
219. <p>After dinner we met for the&nbsp;Worship with Prayers for Healing &amp; Eucharist service. This was a wonderful service filled with the beautiful music, singing and liturgy of our week, and then with a prolonged time set aside for prayers for healing. Teams of people were commissioned to pray for us, and there were different prayer stations that you could go to around the worship space. As was clarified before we had begun the service&#8230;often times we may pray for a cure of something in our lives, and while the&nbsp;<em>cure</em> may not come, what can come is the&nbsp;<em>healing.</em></p>
220. <p>It was a very moving evening of prayer, music, chanting and then&#8230;a beautiful celebration of the end of the service by dancing. Yup. You heard it right. I danced. It probably wasn&#8217;t pretty, but that definitely wasn&#8217;t the point. The joy in the room was palpable and it was a wonderful way to end yet another full day.</p>
221. <p>I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing what tomorrow holds&#8230;and already knowing that I&#8217;m going to be missing the beauty and smells and weather here at Zephyr Point in Tahoe.</p>
222. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8013.jpg" rel="lightbox[10221]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10236" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8013.jpg" alt="IMG_8013" width="740" height="538" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8013.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8013-300x218.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8013-768x558.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8013-1024x744.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
223. <div class="content-box-blue"><em>These posts are part of a series of reflections on my first time at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. All of the posts can be found below:</em></p>
224. <ul>
225. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/">Day 1</a></li>
226. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/">Day 2</a></li>
227. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/">Day 3</a></li>
228. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/">Day 4</a></li>
229. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/">Day 5</a></li>
230. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/">Day 6</a></li>
231. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/">Final&nbsp;Thoughts</a></li>
232. </ul>
233. </div>
234. ]]></content:encoded>
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237. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
240. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10221</post-id> </item>
241. <item>
242. <title>Companions on the Inner Way: Day 3</title>
243. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/</link>
244. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/#comments</comments>
246. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
247. <pubDate>Thu, 11 Aug 2016 10:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
248. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
249. <category><![CDATA[Coloring]]></category>
250. <category><![CDATA[Contemplative]]></category>
251. <category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
252. <category><![CDATA[Retreat]]></category>
253. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10219</guid>
254.  
255. <description><![CDATA[Tuesday began much the same way that Monday did. We were on the same schedule, and started the morning with Morning Prayer, then breakfast and then into our morning program time. I continue to be so moved by the music we are led in here at Companions. While I certainly enjoy many different varied styles [&#8230;]]]></description>
256. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tuesday began much the same way that Monday did. We were on the same schedule, and started the morning with Morning Prayer, then breakfast and then into our morning program time. I continue to be so moved by the music we are led in here at Companions. While I certainly enjoy many different varied styles of worship, what this group of 70+ folks can do with their voices and a piano and a few handbells is quite wonderful. I&#8217;ve started sketchnoting some of the lyrics from the chants that we sing &#8211; you&#8217;ll see those show up in the illustrations below.</p>
257. <p>Our theme for the day was from Hebrews 11: the great cloud of witnesses. One of the main points that Luther made in the morning was about how we perceive or understand the cloud of witnesses. I think we often think of it as a nice idea, or a reassuring concept to imagine the cloud of witnesses. But there was a challenge to really consider the actual presence of the cloud of witnesses among us.&nbsp;<strong>Do you see them? Do you perceive them?</strong></p>
258. <p>Luther spoke about how the cloud of witnesses is really a&nbsp;<em>cloud of stories</em> &#8211; and those stories are the companions with us &#8211; that we learn from those who have gone before us. During the desperate times that we currently live in, we really need to be the people we were called to be. And we have stories of those who show us that it can be done.</p>
259. <p>As we spoke about the cloud of witnesses, I imagined them as being a cheering crowd for us, a supportive presence &#8211; but we also spoke about the ways in which the cloud of witnesses actually serves another purpose &#8211; to challenge us, to push us, to not let us be staid, or satisfied with the status quo. While we may feel tempted to be resigned to the despair around us &#8211; the cloud of witnesses helps us, urges us, and challenges us to search out the force of hope that comes from God.</p>
260. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8011.jpg" rel="lightbox[10219]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10223" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8011.jpg" alt="IMG_8011" width="740" height="482" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8011.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8011-300x196.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8011-768x500.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8011-1024x667.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
261. <p>During the time of Integration after Luther&#8217;s presentation, there were more opportunities for us to reflect with one another, to share stories of those who we might say are part of our&nbsp;<em>clouds of witnesses</em> and then we were given the opportunity to do more acrostic poetry. From the comments of those around me, there are some who really enjoy this practice, who find it quite easy, and there are others who find it quite challenging (but they are still open to it and the way that God might speak to them through it). I enjoyed the chance to come up with another poem, based on the phrase WITNESS TO HOPE. Below is my poem (because I know that you were&nbsp;<em>really hoping</em> I&#8217;d share another one):</p>
262. <blockquote><p>Witnesses<br />
263. in our live.<br />
264. They are to be remembered, but they also watch.<br />
265. Never judging, but hoping.<br />
266. Eternal.<br />
267. Strength-giving.<br />
268. So we might know their stories.</p>
269. <p>Too often, we forget that they are here.<br />
270. Omnipresent.</p>
271. <p>Help us to know their stories, their histories.<br />
272. Open us up to being changed and charged by them.<br />
273. Provide us with the courage we need.<br />
274. Every day, let us embrace the powerful force of hope.</p></blockquote>
275. <p>After another good lunch, we had our sabbath time. When you&#8217;re at a place like Zephyr Point, Sabbath time is full of so many possibilities. I&#8217;ve had the chance to do some blogging, a little bit of work, and then I&#8217;ve gone down to the beach each day. The water&#8230;.well, it&#8217;s not warm. But once you get in, it feels pretty amazing. I haven&#8217;t jumped off the pier yet, but&#8230;there are still a few days left, so we&#8217;ll see.</p>
276. <p>After the afternoon Sabbath time, we had our afternoon worship with eucharist, which was a really wonderful time of gathering together and celebrating God&#8217;s word through prayer, music, and breaking bread with one another.</p>
277. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10229" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Liturgy.png" alt="Liturgy" width="740" height="506" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Liturgy.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Liturgy-300x205.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
278. <p>I captured a few audio clips of singing that took place, and I will try to get those uploaded at some point &#8211; maybe I&#8217;ll throw together a quick video later this week.</p>
279. <p><a href="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8012.jpg" rel="lightbox[10219]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10224" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8012.jpg" alt="IMG_8012" width="740" height="495" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8012.jpg 1200w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8012-300x201.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8012-768x514.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_8012-1024x685.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
280. <p>After dinner, we met with our lectio groups again for a time of reflection, prayer and contemplation on the passage of the day from Hebrews 11. During my extended time of reflection, I ended up making a coloring sheet that I thought I would share with you all. I focused on some attributes of God that I needed to reflect on, so you can print it out and write in whatever word for God that you&#8217;d like to focus on and pray over while you color the coloring sheet. You can download it by clicking on the image below:</p>
281. <p><a href="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/5a3ddb9eb974f7bb56687bfca/files/God_Is.pdf"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10222 size-full" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Coloring.png" alt="Coloring" width="740" height="545" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Coloring.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Coloring-300x221.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
282. <p>We closed our day with a short Compline service. It was a wonderful way to end our time together on Tuesday as we spent time in silence, enjoyed a few Taize songs and had the opportunity to offer up prayers for the world, friends and family and ourselves.</p>
283. <p>It&#8217;s a really great group of folks here, and actually a pretty broad range of ages represented; it&#8217;s been a lot of fun to get to know people this week. And again, have I mentioned how beautiful Zephyr Point is? From someone who left the heat and humidity of Chicago, coming to a place that is 80º (and not humid) during the day and 45º at night&#8230;it&#8217;s awesome.</p>
284. <div class="content-box-blue"><em>These posts are part of a series of reflections on my first time at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. All of the posts can be found below:</em></p>
285. <ul>
286. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/">Day 1</a></li>
287. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/">Day 2</a></li>
288. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/">Day 3</a></li>
289. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/">Day 4</a></li>
290. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/">Day 5</a></li>
291. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/">Day 6</a></li>
292. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/">Final&nbsp;Thoughts</a></li>
293. </ul>
294. </div>
295. ]]></content:encoded>
297. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
298. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
301. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10219</post-id> </item>
302. <item>
303. <title>Companions on the Inner Way: Day 2</title>
304. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/</link>
305. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/#comments</comments>
307. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
308. <pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2016 21:51:22 +0000</pubDate>
309. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
310. <category><![CDATA[Contemplation]]></category>
311. <category><![CDATA[doodling]]></category>
312. <category><![CDATA[Reflection]]></category>
313. <category><![CDATA[Sketchnotes]]></category>
314. <category><![CDATA[Worship]]></category>
315. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10206</guid>
316.  
317. <description><![CDATA[I wish that you could all smell what I smell, and see what I see up here at Zephyr Point &#8211; it&#8217;s really quite remarkable! I brought a group of kids from Asbury UMC here for a winter retreat one year, and it was certainly beautiful then &#8211; but it&#8217;s a different place in the [&#8230;]]]></description>
318. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-10215" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7965.jpg" alt="IMG_7965" width="400" height="400" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7965.jpg 400w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7965-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7965-300x300.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" />I wish that you could all smell what I smell, and see what I see up here at Zephyr Point &#8211; it&#8217;s really quite remarkable! I brought a group of kids from Asbury UMC here for a winter retreat one year, and it was certainly beautiful then &#8211; but it&#8217;s a different place in the summer, and just so dang&nbsp;gorgeous!</p>
319. <p>We started off the morning with a silent breakfast (though there is some debate about just&nbsp;<em>how silent</em> a silent breakfast should be) &#8211; and then we met for a brief time of singing and then our morning time with Luther Smith. I&#8217;m going to try to get some audio to share with you &#8211; because the music and singing, while very simple, is incredibly moving, and the staff does a really wonderful job of creating a space for sacred music to be shared.</p>
320. <p>Luther is an incredibly engaging and thoughtful speaker; one of those persons who says more&nbsp;deep and provocative statements&nbsp;than one is able to write down. So, this won&#8217;t do his talk justice, by any means, but I hope it&#8217;s helpful. He began by talking about the despairing times that we live in. And that can mean personal despair, communal despair, global despair and beyond. It&#8217;s a difficult time to have a lot of hope about the world or even about God&#8217;s creation of humanity when you watch your Facebook News Feed and see the stuff that I see.</p>
321. <p>And amidst this despair &#8211; hope is what we need. Yet, hope is not just about smiling or having an &#8220;attitude adjustment.&#8221; Luther talks about hope as a&nbsp;<strong>force</strong>, not a feeling or a wished for reality. But similarly to gravity, hope is a force of God that enlivens us to life. Luther says that <strong>&#8220;Hope empowers us to be wholly alive to the fullness of life.&#8221;</strong></p>
322. <p>He then went on to speak about hope&#8217;s companions being FAITH and LOVE, and how you can&#8217;t separate the three of them. So if one talks about LOVE, but that love is clearly lacking in faith or hope&#8230;then it can&#8217;t really be love. And in opposition to hope&#8217;s companions, there are imposter companions as well. Order masquerades as faith, and hate masquerades as love, and when hate and order come together, you have cynicism&#8230;which is the opposite of the force of hope in the world. I&#8217;d never heard hope talked about as a&nbsp;<em>force</em> before, so that was something new.</p>
323. <p>One of the things that we do each day after Luther speaks, is we have a time of integration and reflection on what we just heard. This usually involves our bodies, getting up and moving around as a prayer practice, or practicing putting our bodies into postures or positions that help bring about a space for reflection and contemplation. We practiced some&nbsp;<em>mudras</em> (hand positions that evoke certain feelings or spiritual practices) and did some walking prayer.</p>
324. <p>We were also encouraged to try out writing some acrostic poetry. This is something we&#8217;re apparently doing each day, and I will be the first to admit that although I call myself an artist, I wouldn&#8217;t have used the word &#8220;poet&#8221; before. However, as we were encouraged to write out words or phrases for this poetry exercise, I found that it came pretty naturally to me. In the spirit of sharing, here is one of the poems&nbsp;I wrote. The poem had&nbsp;HOPE AND ITS COMPANIONS written down the side.</p>
325. <blockquote><p>How long can one go without hope?<br />
326. Or a sense of God&#8217;s profound presence?<br />
327. People need that force in their lives.<br />
328. Everything needs momentum.</p>
329. <p>Anyone can tell you about their despair.<br />
330. Never is evidence of that lacking.<br />
331. Desperation is too easily accessible today.</p>
332. <p>Infinite hope seems like a far-off dream or reality.<br />
333. That you have promised it is<br />
334. slightly encouraging.</p>
335. <p>Come, hope. Come, faith. Come, love.<br />
336. Overwhelm us with your force for good in the world.<br />
337. Multiply our efforts in co-creating with you.<br />
338. Persuade others to join us.<br />
339. And keep us from giving in to the despair.<br />
340. Never let us let go of the force of hope.<br />
341. Instead, we grab hold tighter.<br />
342. Only with you will this world change.<br />
343. Not ONLY you &#8211; but with our co-creating help,<br />
344. shall we break open this world to your hope.</p></blockquote>
345. <p>Following our morning time together was lunch, rest/Sabbath time, worship, dinner and then our first time meeting with our <strong>lectio groups</strong>.</p>
346. <p>For those who aren&#8217;t familiar with lectio divina, it is a spiritual practice that can be done individually or within a group setting, and it&#8217;s a way of reading scripture (or other texts) that is a&nbsp;<em>divine reading</em>. We focused on a few verses from 1 Corinthians 13. We read the passage a few times, had some prolonged moments of silence where we reflected on the various words or phrases that stood out to us, and then did some sharing within the group. We ended with a 30 minute time of reflection where we could go outside, walk the labyrinth, sit by the water, and journal (or do whatever we felt called to). I spent some time doing some sketching and doing watercolors, and was very moved by the time and the ways in which I felt God speaking to me.</p>
347. <p>All in all, it was a very full day, and I look forward to what the rest of the week holds. I still find that silence is not something I&#8217;m&nbsp;<em>super comfortable</em> with, especially anything over a couple minutes. Give me a few minutes of silence, and I love it. 5 minutes? That&#8217;s pushing it. 10 or 15 or more? It gets uncomfortable. My legs start getting antsy. My mind starts wondering when it&#8217;s going to be over&#8230;I&#8217;m guessing that&#8217;s something I could work on this week.</p>
348. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10216" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-09-at-2.47.50-PM.png" alt="Screen Shot 2016-08-09 at 2.47.50 PM" width="740" height="413" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-09-at-2.47.50-PM.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Screen-Shot-2016-08-09-at-2.47.50-PM-300x167.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
349. <p>As I mentioned before, I plan to share some of the sketchnotes and doodles that I do during this event, so below you&#8217;ll find a few of them from the first day. My favorite is the one that says &#8220;Return again to the land of your soul&#8221; which was one of the chants we did at our gathering on the first evening.</p>
350. <p><strong>More to come tomorrow.</strong></p>
351.  
352. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway1.jpg' rel="lightbox[10206]"><img width="300" height="214" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway1-300x214.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway1-300x214.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway1-768x548.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway1.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
353. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway2.jpg' rel="lightbox[10206]"><img width="300" height="206" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway2-300x206.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway2-300x206.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway2-768x526.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway2.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
354. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway3.jpg' rel="lightbox[10206]"><img width="300" height="206" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway3-300x206.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway3-300x206.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway3-768x528.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway3.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
355. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway4.jpg' rel="lightbox[10206]"><img width="300" height="210" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway4-300x210.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway4-300x210.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway4-768x537.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway4.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
356. <a href='https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway5.jpg' rel="lightbox[10206]"><img width="300" height="214" src="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway5-300x214.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway5-300x214.jpg 300w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway5-768x548.jpg 768w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway5.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
357.  
358. <div class="content-box-blue"><em>These posts are part of a series of reflections on my first time at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. All of the posts can be found below:</em></p>
359. <ul>
360. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/">Day 1</a></li>
361. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/">Day 2</a></li>
362. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/">Day 3</a></li>
363. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/">Day 4</a></li>
364. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/">Day 5</a></li>
365. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/">Day 6</a></li>
366. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/">Final&nbsp;Thoughts</a></li>
367. </ul>
368. </div>
369. ]]></content:encoded>
371. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
372. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
375. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10206</post-id> </item>
376. <item>
377. <title>Companions on the Inner Way: Day 1</title>
378. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/</link>
379. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/#comments</comments>
381. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
382. <pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2016 05:58:12 +0000</pubDate>
383. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
384. <category><![CDATA[Contemplative]]></category>
385. <category><![CDATA[Retreats]]></category>
386. <category><![CDATA[Silence]]></category>
387. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10197</guid>
388.  
389. <description><![CDATA[Since&#160;Illustrated Children&#8217;s Ministry has taken off over the past year, this blog has obviously been neglected. So what better way to get back into blogging than by being asked to blog for a conference? During August 7-12, I&#8217;ll be sharing reflections on my time at the Companions on the Inner Way Retreat. Over the years, [&#8230;]]]></description>
390. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com" target="_blank">Illustrated Children&#8217;s Ministry</a> has taken off over the past year, this blog has obviously been neglected. So what better way to get back into blogging than by being asked to blog for a conference? During August 7-12, I&#8217;ll be sharing reflections on my time at the Companions on the Inner Way Retreat.</em></p>
391. <p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-10199" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Cotiway.png" alt="Cotiway" width="218" height="251" />Over the years, I&#8217;ve gotten to know folks connected to <a href="http://www.cotiway.org/">Companions on the Inner Way</a>, and have been encouraged (multiple times) to come to one of their events. So when Companions on the Inner Way emailed last fall to ask if I would consider blogging about the event, I was all in. I just had to convince my wife to let me go to Lake Tahoe (by myself) for a week and leave her at home with a 4.5 year old. She was gracious enough to make this be able to happen for me, and now I&#8217;m here.</p>
392. <p>If you&#8217;re not familiar with Companions on the Inner Way (I&#8217;ll just refer to it as&nbsp;<em>Companions</em> going forward) and the retreats that they offer, first of all, they don&#8217;t mess around when it comes to location. They offer two retreats a year. The first is normally in February or March at the <a href="http://serraretreat.com/">Serra Retreat Center</a> in Malibu (yes you read that right&#8230;MALIBU). I&#8217;ve actually been to the retreat center before and it&#8217;s gorgeous. The second is in August and held at <a href="http://zephyrpoint.org/">Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center</a> in Lake Tahoe. If you&#8217;ve never been to Zephyr Point before&#8230;well, I mean, it&#8217;s okay. If you like looking at scenes like this:</p>
393. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10198" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7949.png" alt="IMG_7949" width="740" height="416" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7949.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_7949-300x169.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
394. <p>So it&#8217;s a beautiful setting with about 70+ people coming from a variety of different faith backgrounds and traditions, and we&#8217;re here for this week&#8217;s theme: &#8220;Embracing Hope in Despairing Times.&#8221; And if that doesn&#8217;t speak to the times we&#8217;re living in right now, I don&#8217;t know what does. We&#8217;ll be blessed to have <a href="http://candler.emory.edu/faculty/emeriti-profiles/smith-luther.html">Dr. Luther Smith</a> teaching us this week. Smith is Professor Emeritus of Church &amp; Community at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Companions always gets some really amazing speakers to come to the retreats. Next March in Malibu, Brian McLaren will be with the group for a week.</p>
395. <p>If you&#8217;re wondering what all happens at a retreat like this, this is what Companions says is &#8220;to be expected&#8221; at a normal Companions retreat:</p>
396. <blockquote><p>A typical <em>Companions</em> retreat includes: lecture and dialogue with various keynote speakers who are respected in the areas of spirituality and prayer; a time of integration, incorporating the body and the arts; small group community around spiritual readings (<em>lectio divina</em>); corporate and individual times of silence and contemplation; afternoon worship with Eucharist; and a concluding evening prayer service (<em>compline</em>).</p></blockquote>
397. <p>I&#8217;ve done many of these types of things at other retreats and events over the years, but some of it (integration incorporating the body and the silence) is newer to me. We&#8217;ll see how the silence goes over. I still remember sitting in the chapel at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, as a fellow CPE student led us in a time of centering prayer. I thought I was going to die &#8211; the silence felt eternal. So, we&#8217;ll see about that portion of our time together.</p>
398. <p>I&#8217;ve been looking forward to this event for awhile, and I&#8217;m glad to be able to be here and happy to share the experience with you. If you want to follow what&#8217;s going on, a couple of us will be tweeting and sharing photos on Instagram using the hashtag #cotiway16. I&#8217;ll be blogging and sharing sketchnotes throughout the days. Companions is also online in a few different places, so be sure and check them out below:</p>
399. <ul>
400. <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/COTIWay/">Facebook Page</a></li>
401. <li><a href="https://twitter.com/ontheinnerway">Twitter</a></li>
402. <li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ontheinnerway/">Instagram</a></li>
403. </ul>
404. <div class="content-box-blue"><em>These posts are part of a series of reflections on my first time at a Companions on the Inner Way retreat. All of the posts can be found below:</em></p>
405. <ul>
406. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/">Day 1</a></li>
407. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-2/">Day 2</a></li>
408. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/11/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-3/">Day 3</a></li>
409. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-4/">Day 4</a></li>
410. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-5/">Day 5</a></li>
411. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/13/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-6/">Day 6</a></li>
412. <li><a href="http://pomomusings.com/2016/08/15/companions-on-the-inner-way-final-thoughts/">Final&nbsp;Thoughts</a></li>
413. </ul>
414. </div>
415. ]]></content:encoded>
417. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/08/09/companions-on-the-inner-way-day-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
418. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
421. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10197</post-id> </item>
422. <item>
423. <title>Lenten Coloring Posters Available to Pre-Order</title>
424. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/01/19/lenten-coloring-posters/</link>
425. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/01/19/lenten-coloring-posters/#comments</comments>
427. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
428. <pubDate>Tue, 19 Jan 2016 16:15:27 +0000</pubDate>
429. <category><![CDATA[Art & Design]]></category>
430. <category><![CDATA[Coloring Posters]]></category>
431. <category><![CDATA[Coloring Sheets]]></category>
432. <category><![CDATA[Devotions]]></category>
433. <category><![CDATA[Lent]]></category>
434. <category><![CDATA[Lenten Activities]]></category>
435. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10189</guid>
436.  
437. <description><![CDATA[Things have been a little quiet over here on Pomomusings recently &#8211; mainly because all of my time and energy has been going into Illustrated Children&#8217;s Ministry. You may remember the last time I wrote about it, I called it Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments. Since that blog post, I&#8217;ve realized that what I had created was starting [&#8230;]]]></description>
438. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Things have been a little quiet over here on Pomomusings recently &#8211; mainly because all of my time and energy has been going into <a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com" target="_blank">Illustrated Children&#8217;s Ministry</a>. You may remember the last time I wrote about it, I called it Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments. Since that blog post, I&#8217;ve realized that what I had created was starting to take on a life of it&#8217;s own and becoming more than just illustrations of Bible stories for kids. So, a new logo and website later &#8211; we&#8217;re now <strong>Illustrated Children&#8217;s Ministry</strong>.</p>
439. <p>We just recently made our Lenten Coloring Posters available for pre-ordering. Instead of five 4â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />x3â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> posters, for Lent we are offering nine 2â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />x3â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> posters. These nine posters come together to tell a story of a journey through the Lenten season. As you can see in the image below, when you put all of the posters side by side, youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll see that they are all connected together.</p>
440. <p><a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Lenten-Coloring-Posters-1.png" rel="lightbox[10189]"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-229" src="http://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Lenten-Coloring-Posters-1-1024x169.png" alt="" width="740" height="122" /></a></p>
441. <p>I loved seeing so many of the creative uses that everyone had for their coloring posters &#8211; and so many of them were intergenerational activities! I think this photo does a pretty good job of summing up the success of the Advent Coloring Posters (which is what the people in the photo are coloring below &#8211; you just canâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t see it).</p>
442. <figure id="attachment_205" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-205" style="width: 740px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-205 size-full" src="http://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Angels-Coloring.png" alt="Lenten Coloring Posters" width="740" height="385" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-205" class="wp-caption-text">Intergenerational Coloring at <a href="http://www.covenantmadison.org/" target="_blank">Covenant Presbyterian Church</a> in Madison, WI</figcaption></figure>
443. <p>Here&#8217;s what one pastor said about her experience with the Advent Coloring Posters:</p>
444. <blockquote><p>Within moments of setting out the posters, I had people clamoring to do some coloring–young &amp; young at heart, men &amp; women, boys &amp; girls. When I asked a few people to pick it up to put down another poster, I heard groans of “But itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s not done yet!â€\x9d The posters were beautiful and well designed, and the customer service stuck through some pretty tedious mailing issues. We had a wonderful few weeks of coloring through Advent!<br />
445. <strong>Pastor Megan Thompson</strong><br />
446. <em>Mt. Vernon, Champaign &amp; Bondville United Methodist Churches</em></p></blockquote>
447. <p>Each of the Lenten Coloring Posters is based on one of the texts from the Narrative Lectionary for 2016. So, you can see the scripture that will be used for each poster &#8211; as well as the focus word for each of the posters that comes out of the passages:</p>
448. <ul>
449. <li>Poster 1 for Ash Wednesday &#8211; Mark 9:30–37: Focus word is <strong>Welcome</strong>.</li>
450. <li>Poster 2 for 1st Week of Lent &#8211; Mark 10:17–31: Focus word is <strong>Give</strong>.</li>
451. <li>Poster 3 for 2nd Week of Lent &#8211; Mark 10:32–52: Focus word is <strong>Serve</strong>.</li>
452. <li>Poster 4 for 3rd Week of Lent &#8211; Mark 12:13–17: Focus word is <strong>Listen</strong>.</li>
453. <li>Poster 5 for 4th Week of Lent &#8211; Mark 12:28–44: Focus word is <strong>Love</strong>.</li>
454. <li>Poster 6 for 5th Week of Lent &#8211; Mark 13:1–8, 24–37: Focus word is <strong>Watch!</strong></li>
455. <li>Poster 7 for Palm Sunday &#8211; Mark 14:3–9: Focus word is <strong>Risk</strong>.</li>
456. <li>Poster 8 is divided into two parts. The top portion is for Maundy Thursday &#8211; Mark 14:22–42: Focus words are <strong>Take. Eat</strong>. The bottom portion is for Good Friday &#8211; Mark 15:16–39: Focus word is <strong>Forsaken</strong>.</li>
457. <li>Poster 9 is for Easter Sunday &#8211; Mark 16:1–8: Focus words are <strong>Go. Tell.</strong></li>
458. </ul>
459. <p>Naturally, this is great fit for those of you who are using the Narrative Lectionary. <strong>But what if youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re using the Revised Common Lectionary?</strong> Can you still use them?</p>
460. <p>I certainly think so. Each of the stories that these posters are based on come from life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so, these posters take people on a journey of Jesusâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> life and teachings, and so while that could be a Lenten them on its own, I think it can be something to compliment whatever Lenten plans and programs you may already have for your congregations or families.</p>
461. <h2>How to Use Your Lenten Coloring Posters</h2>
462. <p>Regardless of whether you are using the Narrative Lectionary or Revised Common Lectionary, I think these Lenten Coloring Posters can very easily fit into your Lenten plans in a variety of ways:</p>
463. <ul>
464. <li>Perhaps the children could color the posters during worship each Sunday.</li>
465. <li>Maybe various Sunday School classes could color them as they talk about each of the stories.</li>
466. <li>The posters would be great activities for children to do during a Wednesday night Lenten service &#8211; or an intergenerational activity to do after your Lenten Soup &amp; Salad dinners.</li>
467. <li>Since these posters are 2â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />x3â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />, they are a much more manageable size for getting completely colored during a shorter period of time &#8211; or you could send a poster home with a different family each week, and they could color them during the week as part of a family Lenten practice.</li>
468. </ul>
469. <p>However you end up using them &#8211; one of the fun parts about the posters this time around, is seeing them all displayed together &#8211; as I think that will help give people a sense of the journey of Lent &#8211; the progressive movement of the season &#8211; always getting closer and closer to the events of the last week of Jesus.</p>
470. <figure id="attachment_208" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-208" style="width: 740px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-208 size-full" src="http://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Lenten-Coloring-Posters.png" alt="Lenten Coloring Posters" width="740" height="385" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-208" class="wp-caption-text">Another photo from <a href="http://www.covenantmadison.org/" target="_blank">Covenant Presbyterian Church</a> in Madison, WI</figcaption></figure>
471. <h2>More Details, Please…</h2>
472. <p>Like we did for Advent, we are currently offering three options for purchasing the coloring posters:</p>
473. <ul>
474. <li><strong><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/LentenColoring" target="_blank">Physical Posters Only</a>:</strong> Choose this option to have nine 2â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />x3â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> posters mailed to you via UPS (no, I am <strong>not</strong> using the USPS this time around) in time for any Shrove Tuesday or Ash Wednesday programs you may have). <em>This package costs $75 plus shipping</em>.</li>
475. <li><strong><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/LentenColoringBoth" target="_blank">Physical Posters &amp; Vector Files</a>:</strong> Choose this option to have nine 2â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />x3â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> posters mailed to you via UPS, and have immediate access to download the vector images for these 9 original designs. I will provide you with .EPS, .AI, and .PDF versions of the files, as well as instructions for getting them printed. The benefit, of course, to this package is that you will have the actual physical posters, but youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll also have the files so you can make as many copies as you want &#8211; or you can use the files again for next year. <em>This package costs $110 plus shipping.</em></li>
476. <li><strong><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/LentenColoringDigital" target="_blank">Vector Files Only</a>:</strong> Choose this option to have immediate access to download the vector images for these 9 original designs. I will provide you with .EPS, .AI, and .PDF versions of the files, as well as instructions for getting them printed. <em>This package costs $50</em>.</li>
477. </ul>
478. <p>In addition to these options, when the rest of <em>An Illustrated Lent</em> launches on January 27, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll release an 8.5â€\x9dx11â€\x9d version available for download.</p>
479. <p><strong>Finally, if you would like your Lenten Coloring Posters to ship by January 25, please have your pre-order submitted by January 23</strong>!</p>
480. <p>Also &#8211; if you are interested &#8211; I just blogged about the other Church and Family resources that will be coming out next week through An Illustrated Lent. <strong><a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensministry.com/2016/an-illustrated-lent/" target="_blank">You can read about them here</a></strong>.</p>
481. ]]></content:encoded>
483. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2016/01/19/lenten-coloring-posters/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
484. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
487. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10189</post-id> </item>
488. <item>
489. <title>Becoming a Solopreneur</title>
490. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/12/15/becoming-a-solopreneur/</link>
491. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/12/15/becoming-a-solopreneur/#comments</comments>
493. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
494. <pubDate>Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:55:12 +0000</pubDate>
495. <category><![CDATA[Art & Design]]></category>
496. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
497. <category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
498. <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
499. <category><![CDATA[Coloring]]></category>
500. <category><![CDATA[Solopreneur]]></category>
501. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10177</guid>
502.  
503. <description><![CDATA[When I left my job at Winnetka Presbyterian Church last June, if you told me that I was going to be running a fairly successful illustration business, I wouldn&#8217;t have believed you. I&#8217;m not a formally trained artist and I didn&#8217;t really think people would be too interested in buying my stuff. And yet, it [&#8230;]]]></description>
504. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When I left my job at Winnetka Presbyterian Church last June, if you told me that I was going to be running a fairly successful illustration business, I wouldn&#8217;t have believed you. I&#8217;m not a formally trained artist and I didn&#8217;t really think people would be too interested in buying my stuff.</p>
505. <p>And yet, it is now almost the end of December, and over the past 6 months I&#8217;ve been living into two new identities: artist and solopreneur.</p>
506. <p>I launched <a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensmoments.com" target="_blank">Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments</a> back in September, and immediately realized that I was tapping into a significant &#8220;pain point&#8221; for people in children&#8217;s ministry. The mailing list started growing, and just kept growing, and I had good responses to the initial illustrations that I sold. But still, I don&#8217;t think I knew that I really &#8220;had&#8221; something until I mailed out a few of my giant <a href="https://gumroad.com/l/AdventColoring" target="_blank">Advent coloring posters</a>.</p>
507. <p>As soon as people started seeing them being shared on Instagram and Facebook, the word spread. And it spread quickly. Actually, a bit too quickly.</p>
508. <p>I will spare you all of the gruesome details of my printing hassles with Staples (they ended up coming through in a big way: printing, collating, rolling and stuffing almost 200 sets of posters into tubes for me) or my shipping woes with the USPS (while I have resolved almost everyone&#8217;s problems and gotten them copies one way or another, there are still 30+ poster tubes that are missing in the USPS system). But it was most definitely a learning experience, and it&#8217;s given me some good ideas on the next round of shipments in the new year.</p>
509. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10180 size-full" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IllustratedAdvent.png" alt="IllustratedAdvent" width="740" height="300" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IllustratedAdvent.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IllustratedAdvent-300x122.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
510. <p>While the posters became one of the biggest sellers, the primary product was <em>An Illustrated Advent</em> &#8211; the resource for families and churches to use during Advent. I haven&#8217;t shared any financial numbers yet &#8211; have to think through that &#8211; but it was a very successful launch for this initial product. But this might give you an idea of the success of it:</p>
511. <ul>
512. <li><strong>291</strong> people bought the Advent coloring posters (either the physical posters or vector files)</li>
513. <li><strong>147</strong> people bought the 8.5 x 11 version of the Advent coloring materials</li>
514. <li><strong>127</strong> people bought <em>An Illustrated Advent</em>: Church Edition</li>
515. <li><strong>130</strong> people bought <em>An Illustrated Advent</em>: Family Edition (and many of those were pastors, and many of them sent the materials out to families in their congregations)</li>
516. <li>You can check out the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/anillustratedadvent/" target="_blank">search results on Instagram for #anillustratedadvent</a> to get a feel for how people are engaging with this material during Advent &#8211; it&#8217;s pretty fun to check out.</li>
517. </ul>
518. <p>I&#8217;m looking forward to getting feedback from people, but what I have received so far has been very positive about the materials. My wife, Sarah, wrote most of the content, and I put together the illustrations. A last minute addition to the line was a <a href="https://gumroad.com/l/AdvientoIlustradoFamilia" target="_blank">Spanish version</a>, translated by my friend Abby Dawn Barrantes. Unfortunately, we had no purchases of it, but we also hadn&#8217;t been advertising that we were going to have a Spanish version (because we didn&#8217;t know).</p>
519. <p>I think doing a better job of advertising about the upcoming Spanish version of <em>An Illustrated Lent</em>, as well as more and more people hearing about this resource, I&#8217;m guessing we&#8217;ll do as good, if not better, for Lent.</p>
520. <p>While we are more than halfway through Advent, there are still some of the <a href="https://gum.co/AdventColoring" target="_blank">Advent poster sets for sale</a> (which can really be used at any time &#8211; they just have the words Hope, Joy, Peace, Love and Emmanuel on them &#8211; which we can use throughout the year), and I also have sets of <em><a href="https://gum.co/InspirePosters" target="_blank">Inspired Coloring Posters</a></em> for sale (they have the words Inspire, Dream, Imagine, Laugh and Believe on them). You can buy them <a href="https://gum.co/InspirePosters" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
521. <p>I&#8217;ve found that the life of a <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-definition-of-solopreneur-What-makes-a-solopreneur-distinguishable-from-an-independent-professional-a-freelancer-or-an-entrepreneur" target="_blank">solopreneur</a> can be really exhausting. After all, I&#8217;m the illustrator, designer, marketer, administrator, shipper, packer, errand-runner, dreamer, financial person and more. One thing I heard recently on a podcast was someone talking about the &#8220;work culture&#8221; that you create when you run a business. And that can even be a culture that just one person creates and lives in. Do I like the work culture that I&#8217;ve created for myself? Not quite. It&#8217;s been busy. I&#8217;ve been pulling all-nighters and staying up too late. I do feel like I&#8217;ve pretty much been constantly working. And while some of that has been necessary for this product launch and doing something like this for the first time, but I&#8217;m looking forward to finding some more balance in my life.</p>
522. <p><em>If you&#8217;re interested in this venture of mine, I&#8217;d encourage you to sign up for the mailing list <a href="http://eepurl.com/bEvelf" target="_blank">here</a> &#8211; that&#8217;s where I&#8217;ll share all about my new illustrations and projects.</em></p>
523. ]]></content:encoded>
525. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/12/15/becoming-a-solopreneur/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
526. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
529. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10177</post-id> </item>
530. <item>
531. <title>The Best Coloring Pages for Adults and Children &#8211; Pre-Order Now!</title>
532. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/11/05/coloring-pages-adults/</link>
533. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/11/05/coloring-pages-adults/#respond</comments>
535. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
536. <pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2015 17:29:31 +0000</pubDate>
537. <category><![CDATA[Art & Design]]></category>
538. <category><![CDATA[Adult Coloring]]></category>
539. <category><![CDATA[Advent]]></category>
540. <category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
541. <category><![CDATA[Coloring]]></category>
542. <category><![CDATA[Coloring Pages]]></category>
543. <category><![CDATA[Worship]]></category>
544. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10163</guid>
545.  
546. <description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a couple months since I launched Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments and it&#8217;s been going really well. So far, we have over 1,400 subscribers to our email newsletter, and people have been responding very positively to the various illustrations we&#8217;ve been selling. One item I hadn&#8217;t expected to be so popular was coloring pages. Part of [&#8230;]]]></description>
547. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s been a couple months since I launched <a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensmoments.com" target="_blank">Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments</a> and it&#8217;s been going really well. So far, we have over 1,400 subscribers to our email newsletter, and people have been responding very positively to the various illustrations we&#8217;ve been selling.</p>
548. <p>One item I hadn&#8217;t expected to be so popular was <strong>coloring pages</strong>. Part of that, I&#8217;m sure, is fueled by the adult coloring craze that is happening now. And coloring is just fun.</p>
549. <p>For the past couple years, I&#8217;ve loved creating zentangles and other pattern illustrations, and these naturally lend themselves really well toward coloring pages. And the best part is they work for both adults and children. Adults can really get detailed and create beautiful designs out of the more intricate patterns and shapes, and children&#8230;well, they just have fun with the coloring pages.</p>
550. <p>Through Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments, I&#8217;m going to be selling some Advent coloring pages that work extremely well for both adults and children. I&#8217;ll be selling them as a 5-pack, corresponding to each different week of Advent and then one for Christmas (the words in the center are <em>Hope, Joy, Peace, Love and Emmanuel</em>), but I&#8217;m also selling them as huge, coloring posters. They will be 4&#8242; x 3&#8242; and are an ideal gift idea for families as we approach the winter. I can picture families all gathering around the kitchen or dining room table to spend a little time each night coloring in the large designs, or maybe a group of friends get together on a snowy day to spend time hanging out, talking and coloring.</p>
551. <p>Are you getting together with a lot of family over Thanksgiving and Christmas? A giant coloring sheet would be great to just have set up on a table that people could work on throughout the day.</p>
552. <p>So, these posters, in addition to our Advent resource for churches and families, <em><a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensmoments.com/2015/11/an-illustrated-advent-update-2-weeks/" target="_blank">An Illustrated Advent: Engaging Activities for the Season</a></em>, will be available November 16. But if you want to pre-order your coloring posters now, you can do that below.</p>
553. <p>I&#8217;m really excited about being able to offer these &#8211; and about the response that we&#8217;ve seen just in the past 24 hours. If you don&#8217;t want the actual physical posters, but would just be interested in the vector image files, you can purchase those <a href="https://gum.co/AdventColoringDigital" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
554. <div class="gumroad-product-embed" data-gumroad-product-id="AdventColoring" data-outbound-embed="true"><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/AdventColoring">Loading&#8230;</a></div>
555. ]]></content:encoded>
557. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/11/05/coloring-pages-adults/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
558. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
561. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10163</post-id> </item>
562. <item>
563. <title>Drawing at Jiffy Lube</title>
564. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/11/02/drawing-at-jiffy-lube/</link>
565. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/11/02/drawing-at-jiffy-lube/#respond</comments>
567. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
568. <pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2015 12:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
569. <category><![CDATA[Art & Design]]></category>
570. <category><![CDATA[Conversations]]></category>
571. <category><![CDATA[Drawing]]></category>
572. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
573. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10160</guid>
574.  
575. <description><![CDATA[Last week, I took my car to Jiffy Lube and had about a 40 minute wait while my car got an oil change. I used to actually enjoy those waits because I knew I would have uninterrupted time I could get stuff done on my computer. Now I enjoy them because I know as long [&#8230;]]]></description>
576. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last week, I took my car to Jiffy Lube and had about a 40 minute wait while my car got an oil change.</p>
577. <p>I used to actually enjoy those waits because I knew I would have uninterrupted time I could get stuff done on my computer. Now I enjoy them because I know as long as I have a sketchbook and a pen, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll be content.</p>
578. <p>I was sitting there working on some illustrations for An Illustrated Advent (childrenâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s ministry resource for Advent), and an Hispanic man in his 50â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s looked over at me, looked at my drawings, and then asked, “So &#8211; are you an artist?â€\x9d</p>
579. <p>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m still getting used to being asked that question. Part of me wants to say, “Why yes. Yes I am.â€\x9d Another part of me is inclined to say, “Well, actually. Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m a pastor, and…well…you know, I do a little <em>drawing</em> on the side.â€\x9d That part of me still struggles with imposter syndrome. That part of me likes to say, “Really? You think youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re an <em>artist</em>? Dude. Youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve been drawing for just a little while. You still suck at drawing hands and profiles of people.â€\x9d</p>
580. <p>Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s quite easy to listen to that voice. Much like the annoying <em>imp</em> of OCD, who likes to pop up every now and then and trick you into thinking things that arenâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t true, this imp likes to make you question your calling and passion.</p>
581. <p>While particularly prevalent with entrepreneurs and people trying creative new ventures, this imp also creeps up on everyone from time to time.</p>
582. <p>“What? You think you can hack this <em>being a pastor</em> thing? You know you donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t really know what youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re doing, right? Who are you to think you can offer someone older than you pastoral care?â€\x9d</p>
583. <p>“You know youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re really too young to be taken seriously in this field, right?â€\x9d</p>
584. <p>On this specific occasion at Jiffy Lube, I was able to quiet the imp and answer, “Yes. I am an artist.â€\x9d</p>
585. <p>We started talking and he told me he always wanted to be an artist. He used to draw nonstop as a kid, and he loved drawing people. He also wanted to become a caricature artist. But his parents told him there was no money in that, and he wouldnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t be able to be successful. He listened to their advice, and now he runs a successful pool maintenance business in the North Shore.</p>
586. <p>Now thereâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s nothing wrong with running a successful pool maintenance business, but I could see the look in his eyes when he was remembering drawing as a kid, and that longing to be able to pursue his passion.</p>
587. <p>I suggested that he just start drawing again for fun and see where it goes. He probably isnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t going to quit his business, but maybe it could develop into a fun hobby for him.</p>
588. <p>Once people find out youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re a pastor, you often start hearing their stories, “I used to go to church, but havenâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t been in awhile…â€\x9d and sometimes you can have some meaningful conversations. But it was fun to have one of those conversations because I am an artist, and so is he, and we could connect on that level.</p>
589. ]]></content:encoded>
591. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/11/02/drawing-at-jiffy-lube/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
592. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
595. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10160</post-id> </item>
596. <item>
597. <title>The Best Slim Minimalist Wallet for Men</title>
598. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/10/05/the-best-slim-minimalist-wallet-for-men/</link>
599. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/10/05/the-best-slim-minimalist-wallet-for-men/#respond</comments>
601. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
602. <pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2015 21:06:46 +0000</pubDate>
603. <category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
604. <category><![CDATA[Distil Union]]></category>
605. <category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
606. <category><![CDATA[Slim Wallets]]></category>
607. <category><![CDATA[Wallet]]></category>
608. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10140</guid>
609.  
610. <description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve always loved wallets. I remember my first blue and black velcro wallet. In high school in the 90s, I had a few of those big fat billfolds with the super-large accordion-style holder for all those wallet photos of proms and senior pictures. I don&#8217;t even remember why I thought carrying it in my back pocket [&#8230;]]]></description>
611. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10143 size-full" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DistilUnion-Wally.png" alt="DistilUnion-Wally" width="740" height="373" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DistilUnion-Wally.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DistilUnion-Wally-300x151.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
612. <p>I&#8217;ve always loved wallets. I remember my first blue and black velcro wallet. In high school in the 90s, I had a few of those big fat billfolds with the super-large accordion-style holder for all those wallet photos of proms and senior pictures. I don&#8217;t even remember why I thought carrying it in my back pocket was comfortable!</p>
613. <p>But about 10-15 years ago, I started wanting a more minimalist wallet &#8211; slimmer, smaller. My first year of seminary in 2004, I saw someone who had a nice thin wallet/money-clip. Turns out he got it for $10 at Kohl&#8217;s; I went and got the same one.</p>
614. <p>That wallet lasted for 10 years, and just recently, I needed to replace it. And during that process, I ran across the best slim minimalist wallet for men that there is right now. Or at least I think so. And that wallet is the <a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Wally Bifold from Distil Union</a>.</p>
615. <p>After searching through all of the blog posts out there like &#8220;20 Best Minimalist Wallets for Men&#8221; or &#8220;5 Best Slim Wallets for Men&#8221; &#8211; I ran across the <a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Wally from Distil Union</a>. It&#8217;s made from this amazingly soft Argentine leather, which is incredibly durable and also very soft. The way it&#8217;s made helps it lay flat when it&#8217;s sitting on a table, as opposed to some other &#8220;minimalist/slim&#8221; wallets I got on Amazon. Some of them were flat before you put anything in it &#8211; but as soon as you loaded them up with the cards you wanted, they wouldn&#8217;t even lay flat.</p>
616. <p>At first I wasn&#8217;t sure about the pull-tabs and how I would like them. And it does involve a small amount of strategy to figure out which cards you use most often, and then to simply place those in the right place in the wallet.</p>
617. <p>I&#8217;ve been using my <a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Distil Union Wally</a> for a few months now, and I love it. I think it&#8217;s a well-made product with a great team behind it. I should note that I had some stitching that was coming undone a little bit on one of the pull-tabs. I contacted customer support and they both provided a fix for the problem (<a href="https://distilunion.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204781935-DIY-Frayed-Stitch-Cut-and-Burn-" target="_blank">see here for more info</a>) but they were also willing to provide me with a replacement. <em><strong>Note: </strong>they have now moved to a box stitch on the wallet, so the fraying threads shouldn&#8217;t be an issue on the <a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Wally</a> anymore.</em></p>
618. <p>The description of the wallet says that it will hold 12 cards &#8211; but I&#8217;m currently holding 15 cards in mine, and it doesn&#8217;t feel bulky at all.</p>
619. <p><a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10148 size-full" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/IMG_0476.jpg" alt="Distil Union Wally" width="740" height="533" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/IMG_0476.jpg 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/IMG_0476-300x216.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
620. <p>You&#8217;ll notice in the image below, there isn&#8217;t very much of a difference in height of the wallet between when it&#8217;s empty or full. Since it&#8217;s leather, the leather pockets will stretch out a bit, depending on the number of cards that you put in. So, if I were to suddenly decide I only want to carry four cards with me, the pockets would really be too loose for me to do that. So, my advice would be to start with the fewest number of cards that you think you can get by on, and then add some as you find needs for them.</p>
621. <p><a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-10149 size-full" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Compare-Distil-Union-Wally.png" alt="Compare-Distil-Union-Wally" width="740" height="311" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Compare-Distil-Union-Wally.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Compare-Distil-Union-Wally-300x126.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></a></p>
622. <p>If you&#8217;re looking for a nice, sleek, slim, minimalist and unique wallet (I&#8217;ve had many people ask me what kind of wallet it is when they see me access my cards with the pull tabs) &#8211; then the <a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Wally Bifold from Distil Union</a>. It costs $59.99 &#8211; which might feel like a bit of an investment, but it feels like an amazing wallet when you&#8217;re holding it. And <a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Distil Union</a> is even ready to <a href="http://www.distilunion.com/blogs/news/15834436-5-tips-to-slim-your-wallet-simply-carry-less-and-lighten-your-everyday-load" target="_blank">give you some tips to slimming down your wallet</a>, so you can get going with your new <a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Wally Bifold</a> as soon as possible.</p>
623. <p><a href="https://distilunion.refersion.com/l/7d6.45514" target="_blank">Get your Wally Bifold from Distil Union today!</a></p>
624. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10151" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/wally_bifold_gif.gif" alt="wally_bifold_gif" width="360" height="240" /></p>
625. <p><em>[animated GIF courtesy of <a href="http://www.distilunion.com/collections/wally-leather-wallets/products/wally-bifold-wallet" target="_blank">Distil Union</a>; cover photo courtesy of <a href="http://geargrounds.com/distil-union-wally-leather-wallets/" target="_blank">Gear Grounds</a>]</em></p>
626. ]]></content:encoded>
628. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/10/05/the-best-slim-minimalist-wallet-for-men/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
629. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
632. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10140</post-id> </item>
633. <item>
634. <title>Introducing: Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments</title>
635. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/09/09/illustrated-childrens-moments/</link>
636. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/09/09/illustrated-childrens-moments/#respond</comments>
638. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
639. <pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2015 17:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
640. <category><![CDATA[Art & Design]]></category>
641. <category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
642. <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
643. <category><![CDATA[Children's Moments]]></category>
644. <category><![CDATA[Children's Sermons]]></category>
645. <category><![CDATA[Illustrations]]></category>
646. <category><![CDATA[Sermon-Illustrations]]></category>
647. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10134</guid>
648.  
649. <description><![CDATA[Now that I&#8217;m no longer in full-time ministry for the time being, I&#8217;ve been finding some ways to keep myself busy. First, I&#8217;m serving as Parish Associate at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. It&#8217;s a great community and I&#8217;m looking forward to getting to know them, doing some preaching, and starting up a Theology Pub. Second, [&#8230;]]]></description>
650. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Now that I&#8217;m no longer in full-time ministry for the time being, I&#8217;ve been finding some ways to keep myself busy. First, I&#8217;m serving as Parish Associate at <a href="http://www.hppcil.org/" target="_blank">Highland Park Presbyterian Church</a>. It&#8217;s a great community and I&#8217;m looking forward to getting to know them, doing some preaching, and starting up a Theology Pub. Second, I just started yesterday as a Program Mentor for <a href="http://www.hackstudio.com" target="_blank">Hackstudio: An Incubator for Kid&#8217;s Goals</a>. This is an amazing new startup that is providing a unique, hands-on, engaging, creative form of education for kids ages 8-18. I start training today &#8211; but I can already tell from an open house last night that it&#8217;s going to be an amazing venture and I&#8217;m excited to be a part of the team as it launches.</p>
651. <p>Both of these are part-time positions, so I figured that now was as good a time as any to&#8230;become an entrepreneur? Sure, why not.</p>
652. <p><strong>Today, I&#8217;m excited to announce the launch of Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments. </strong>As I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve realized, I&#8217;ve started to rediscover my long lost love of art recently, and while I was still working in the church, I wanted to find more and more ways that I could incorporate art into my ministry.</p>
653. <p>One of those ways involved creating some drawings to give the kids during the children&#8217;s moment or children&#8217;s sermon as a visual aid for telling the story &#8211; a time during the worship service that I&#8217;ve always dreaded. I always had really good feedback from the drawings and the way the kids (and parents) really liked them and kept talking about the stories throughout the week.</p>
654. <p>This past August, I had a group of pastors who were testing out some of these Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments for me, and the feedback I got was very positive. And now&#8230;I&#8217;ve decided to share these with a larger audience.</p>
655. <p>Today, the Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments website is launching, and I have two illustrations for sale at my <a href="https://gumroad.com/illustratedcm" target="_blank">new store here</a> that fit the lectionary (both the Narrative and the RCL) for this Sunday &#8211; since it is kick-off Sunday at so many churches.</p>
656. <p>You were probably already asked to join my newsletter from this site, but you can also do so over at <a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensmoments.com" target="_blank">Illustrated Children&#8217;s Moments</a>. I&#8217;ll be releasing an <em>Advent &amp; Christmas Pack</em> in November, and a <em>Lent &amp; Holy Week Pack</em> in January. I&#8217;m very excited to be able to share this resource with other faith communities, and I&#8217;d love your help in getting the word out. Here&#8217;s some of how you can stay in touch or share with others about this launch:</p>
657. <ul>
658. <li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/IllustratedCM" target="_blank">Like it on Facebook here</a></li>
659. <li><a href="http://www.twitter.com/IllustratedCM" target="_blank">Follow it on Twitter</a></li>
660. <li><a href="http://www.instagram.com/IllustratedCM" target="_blank">Follow it on Instagram</a></li>
661. <li><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/IllustratedCM" target="_blank">Follow it on Pinterest</a></li>
662. <li><a href="http://www.illustratedchildrensmoments.com/" target="_blank">Share our website with others</a></li>
663. </ul>
664. <p>And of course, clicking the SHARE buttons below will help get the word out. And if you know anyone in children&#8217;s ministry, or if you know pastors who particularly dislike children&#8217;s sermons or children&#8217;s moments (like I did) &#8211; this might be a helpful resource for them.</p>
665. ]]></content:encoded>
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668. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
671. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10134</post-id> </item>
672. <item>
673. <title>The Power of Support Groups</title>
674. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/19/the-power-of-support-groups/</link>
675. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/19/the-power-of-support-groups/#respond</comments>
677. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
678. <pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2015 11:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
679. <category><![CDATA[Mental Illness]]></category>
680. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
681. <category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
682. <category><![CDATA[OCD]]></category>
683. <category><![CDATA[Support Groups]]></category>
684. <category><![CDATA[Therapy]]></category>
685. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10114</guid>
686.  
687. <description><![CDATA[I’ve been to three different types of support groups in my life. And they’ve all been incredibly helpful for different reasons. Psoriasis &#8211; Physical Illness The first group was a psoriasis support group sponsored by the National Psoriasis Foundation. I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area and my psoriasis was flaring up, and [&#8230;]]]></description>
688. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve been to three different types of support groups in my life. And theyâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve all been incredibly helpful for different reasons.</p>
689. <h4>Psoriasis &#8211; Physical Illness</h4>
690. <p>The first group was a psoriasis support group sponsored by the <a href="https://psoriasis.org/">National Psoriasis Foundation</a>. I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area and my psoriasis was flaring up, and I was beginning to be pretty self-conscious about it. I wasn&#8217;t really sure what to expect, and I remember being quite nervous. That evening, as I sat around a table of about five people, I remember feeling like “these people <em>get it</em>.â€\x9d We shared stories, frustrations, and tips like, “Hey! This cream worked for me, maybe you want to try it?â€\x9d</p>
691. <p>Through that group, I signed up for a walk to raise awareness about psoriasis in San Francisco, and felt like I gained more control over my psoriasis and how I thought about it.</p>
692. <h4>Infant Loss &#8211; Grief</h4>
693. <p>In 2010, after Sarah and I lost our twin boys Micah and Judah, who were born 19 weeks into our pregnancy, we attended a <a href="http://nationalshare.org/">Share support group</a>. We only attended once, but I remember feeling very connected to the three other couples sitting around the room. It was certainly the most emotional group Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve attended, but it was incredibly meaningful for me to share our story, and walk back through the tragic events of the time in the hospital, the birth, the loss and more.</p>
694. <p>These were people, again, who <em>got it.</em> Our stories were all different. Stillbirths, miscarriages and other pregnancy challenges. We got to know one of the couples, and we stayed in touch for awhile, keeping each other updated on how we were doing. It was only one night, but it was an experience Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll always keep with me.</p>
695. <h4>OCD/Anxiety &#8211; Mental Illness</h4>
696. <p>And now, after being diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve attended an <a href="http://anxietytreatmentcenter.com/">OCD/Anxiety support group</a> about four times. It is a goals-oriented group, so we spend an hour or so sharing stories, asking each other questions and supporting each other, and then we close by sharing what our goal is from then until the next group meeting.</p>
697. <p>Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s a small, but diverse, group. Some have primarily-obsessional OCD like me, others experience contamination issues with germs and some have severe compulsions that make coping with the normal day-to-day stuff of life difficult. But we all have OCD. And as I share frustrations or setbacks or just anger about having OCD, these are people who <em>get it</em>.</p>
698. <p>For me, itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s a good addition to the weekly therapy Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve had since March, and a chance to share my story and hear from others.</p>
699. <p>There is something powerful about groups like this. I havenâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t attended AA or Al-Anon groups, but I hear similar things from folks that have. These are tight-knit group and a real life-line for many.</p>
700. <p>Obviously, there are support groups anything you can imagine. If you are struggling with something, going to a support group will help remind you that you are not alone and that there are others who struggle with the same issues and questions and frustrations that you struggle with.</p>
701. <p>You&#8217;re not alone. Going to a support group meeting is a real reminder of that, and has been part of my healing journey over the past few months.</p>
702. ]]></content:encoded>
704. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/19/the-power-of-support-groups/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
705. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
708. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10114</post-id> </item>
709. <item>
710. <title>Scribbling Outside the Lines</title>
711. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/17/scribbling-outside-the-lines/</link>
712. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/17/scribbling-outside-the-lines/#respond</comments>
714. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
715. <pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2015 11:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
716. <category><![CDATA[Art & Design]]></category>
717. <category><![CDATA[Mental Illness]]></category>
718. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
719. <category><![CDATA[PC(USA)]]></category>
720. <category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
721. <category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
722. <category><![CDATA[Racism]]></category>
723. <category><![CDATA[Spirituality]]></category>
724. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10119</guid>
725.  
726. <description><![CDATA[In case you didn&#8217;t know, there is a wonderfully diverse group of writers, poets, artists and podcasters who are reimagining the church over on a new Presbyterians Today blog. This is the description from the blog: We are storytellers. We are everyday Presbyterians who want to talk honestly about the future of the church. We are [&#8230;]]]></description>
727. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10122" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Presbyterians-Reimagining-the-Church-min.png" alt="Presbyterians-Reimagining-the-Church-min" width="740" height="222" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Presbyterians-Reimagining-the-Church-min.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Presbyterians-Reimagining-the-Church-min-300x90.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
728. <p>In case you didn&#8217;t know, there is a wonderfully diverse group of writers, poets, artists and podcasters who are reimagining the church over on a new <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/blogs/today/" target="_blank">Presbyterians Today blog</a>. This is the description from the blog:</p>
729. <blockquote><p>We are storytellers. We are everyday Presbyterians who want to talk honestly about the future of the church. We are part of a creative team commissioned by Presbyterians Today to ask questions about who&#8217;s getting a platform to speak and who&#8217;s not. And this is our canvas.</p>
730. <p>This is a holy place for reflection—a safe place to talk and grow as disciples of Christ. Here you&#8217;ll find writing, art, videos, and podcasts. Some of it will be bilingual. Some will be collaborative projects, bringing together artist and wordsmith. All of it will push the boundaries of what passes for conversation in the church and will, we hope, inspire us to dream bigger when it comes to the gospel. Our opinions are ours alone; they do not represent the policies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or Presbyterians Today. Our thoughts may sometimes be messy; they may make you feel uncomfortable. They are not meant to be the last word. They are an invitation. So, come, paint with us!</p></blockquote>
731. <p>I&#8217;m really grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this group. My part of the blog is called <em>Scribbling Outside the Lines: Playing beyond the boundaries in hopes of finding God and inspiration.</em> It&#8217;s a space where I contribute monthly either a written piece or some art.</p>
732. <p>In my<a href="http://www.pcusa.org/blogs/today/2015/6/10/scribbling-outside-lines/" target="_blank"> first post, I talked about transition and new beginnings</a>. <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/blogs/today/2015/7/8/scribbling-outside-lines-july15/" target="_blank">In my second post, I shared a reflection after the Charleston shootings</a>, and created this piece of art called <em>Nine.</em></p>
733. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10125" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/nine-medium_copy.jpg" alt="nine-medium_copy" width="740" height="230" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/nine-medium_copy.jpg 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/nine-medium_copy-300x93.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
734. <p>And in my most recent post, <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/blogs/today/2015/8/12/scribbling-outside-lines/" target="_blank">I wrote some more about mental illness</a>, and specifically why I think pastors need to be preaching about mental illness from the pulpit.</p>
735. <p>I hope you&#8217;ll come on over to <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/blogs/today/" target="_blank">Reimagining the Church</a> and join the conversation space being created.</p>
736. ]]></content:encoded>
738. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/17/scribbling-outside-the-lines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
739. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
742. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10119</post-id> </item>
743. <item>
744. <title>Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Resources</title>
745. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/14/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-resources/</link>
746. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/14/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-resources/#respond</comments>
748. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
749. <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
750. <category><![CDATA[Mental Illness]]></category>
751. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
752. <category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
753. <category><![CDATA[Obsessive Compulsive Disorder]]></category>
754. <category><![CDATA[OCD]]></category>
755. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10089</guid>
756.  
757. <description><![CDATA[Just over a month ago, I shared on this blog about my recent diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The feedback and support I received after I shared the post was amazing. Thank you to all who reached out to me. I also wanted to share just briefly the types of responses I received: Many said they [&#8230;]]]></description>
758. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just over a month ago, I shared on this blog about my recent diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The feedback and support I received after I shared the post was amazing. Thank you to all who reached out to me. I also wanted to share just briefly the types of responses I received:</p>
759. <ul>
760. <li>Many said they had not heard of primarily-obsessional OCD, and were grateful that they now knew about it.</li>
761. <li>Others who were dealing with their own mental illnesses reached out in support.</li>
762. <li>A few people (including some pastors) contacted me and shared that they had a story very similar to mine and had OCD as well.</li>
763. <li>A couple people emailed me to say that their spouse had been struggling with intrusive thoughts as well, and were seeking help.</li>
764. <li>And I even had a few people email me to let me know that they were going to be seeking professional help because after reading the post, they realized they probably had primarily-obsessional OCD as well.</li>
765. </ul>
766. <p><strong>And that&#8217;s exactly why I wrote the post. </strong>I&#8217;m so glad so many people saw the post (about 5,000 views as of today), and that it will be something that will help people.</p>
767. <p>I did want to clarify one thing I wrote in the last post. I shared that people with primarily-obsessional OCD (or Pure-O) simply have the obsessions, and not the compulsions that typically come along with most forms of OCD. That isn&#8217;t entirely correct though, and perhaps a bit of a misnomer. While people with Pure-O may not need to check things or wash their hands repeatedly, there can still be compulsions. If I start to <em>avoid</em> things or find ways to stop doing things that <i>cause</i> the obsessions, that avoidance is itself a compulsion. I think that&#8217;s an important clarification.</p>
768. <p>I also wanted to share some resources with you that I have found incredibly helpful as I&#8217;ve entered into this world of OCD and mental illness.</p>
769. <ul>
770. <li><a href="http://amzn.to/1GJ5EIQ" target="_blank">Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Churchâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s Mission</a>, by Amy Simpson and Marshall Shelley.</li>
771. <li><a href="http://amzn.to/1efwyRC" target="_blank">Blessed Are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness, Family and Church</a>, edited by Sarah Griffith Lund.</li>
772. <li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/rhett-smith-podcast/id979432816?mt=2">Rhett Smith Podcast</a>: Rhett is a friend, a writer, speaker and a therapist, and many of his recent podcasts have dealt with anxiety. They are worth listening to, especially <a href="http://www.rhettsmith.com/2015/06/rhett-smith-podcast-13-identifying-anxiety-in-your-life-story-and-reframing-it-as-a-catalyst-for-growth/" target="_blank">Episode 13</a>.</li>
773. <li><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/" target="_blank">NPRâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s Invisibilia Podcast</a>: The first episode is called <a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/375927143/the-secret-history-of-thoughts" target="_blank">The Secret History of Thoughts</a>, and has a really interesting segment called “Dark Thoughtsâ€\x9d which is all about OCD and various therapy treatments used to help those who suffer with OCD.</li>
774. <li>Rick and Kay Warrenâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s son died by suicide after suffering from extreme mental illness for most of his life. They have become very open and vocal about mental health issues. They did a great podcast interview with Paul Raushenbush from The Huffington Post, and talked a lot about the church and mental health. You can find that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/24/mental-health-church-_n_6036588.html" target="_blank">podcast here</a>.</li>
775. <li><a href="http://mentalhealthandthechurch.com/" target="_blank">The Gathering on Mental Health &amp; the Church</a>: This is a link to the conference that Rick and Kay Warren are hosting at Saddleback this fall, to help teach pastors and church workers learn the language of mental illness and how they can best provide support. I plan to watch the event as it will be live-streamed.</li>
776. </ul>
777. <p>Finally, here are some websites that have been helpful and informative:</p>
778. <ul>
779. <li><a href="http://beyondocd.org/" target="_blank">Beyond OCD</a>: based in Chicago, Beyond OCD has great articles, testimonials and resources for those struggling with OCD and their friends and families.</li>
780. <li><a href="https://iocdf.org/" target="_blank">International OCD Foundation</a>: one of the biggest organizations trying to help bring awareness to OCD. You can also take a pledge to become an #OCDvocate and learn more about it <a href="https://iocdf.org/ocdvocate/pledge/" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
781. <li><a href="http://www.ocdtribe.com/" target="_blank">OCDTribe</a>: This is a helpful online forum and community for those struggling with OCD.</li>
782. <li><a href="http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/" target="_blank">OCD Action</a>: A UK-based site with a lot of good information.</li>
783. <li><a href="http://www.projecturok.org/" target="_blank">Project UROK</a>: This is a really interesting site &#8211; and is a community of people sharing their stories of mental illness. You may have even seen <a href="http://www.projecturok.org/wil-wheaton/" target="_blank">Wil Wheaton&#8217;s video</a> where he shared very openly about his depression. I&#8217;m hoping to make a video to put on the site at some point.</li>
784. </ul>
785. <p>I hope you find these helpful. I don&#8217;t plan for this blog to become solely about mental illness and OCD (since that does not define who I am) but as I continue to discover new things about OCD on this journey, I do hope this can be a place where I can process those learnings and hopefully continue to increase awareness about OCD and help to break the stigma about mental illness.</p>
786. ]]></content:encoded>
788. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/14/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-resources/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
789. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
792. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10089</post-id> </item>
793. <item>
794. <title>The Unexpected Gift of Being Geographically Limited</title>
795. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/11/the-unexpected-gift-of-being-geographically-limited/</link>
796. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/11/the-unexpected-gift-of-being-geographically-limited/#comments</comments>
798. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
799. <pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2015 16:03:00 +0000</pubDate>
800. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
801. <category><![CDATA[Future]]></category>
802. <category><![CDATA[Plans]]></category>
803. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10109</guid>
804.  
805. <description><![CDATA[Something all clergy couples are familiar with is the phrase “geographically limited.â€\x9d It is a rare thing when the timing of calls for two people line up perfectly. I’m guessing that as many young seminarians are falling in love and planning their futures, they talk about “taking turns.â€\x9d One person will find their dream job, [&#8230;]]]></description>
806. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Something all clergy couples are familiar with is the phrase “geographically limited.â€\x9d It is a rare thing when the timing of calls for two people line up perfectly. Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m guessing that as many young seminarians are falling in love and planning their futures, they talk about “taking turns.â€\x9d One person will find their dream job, stay there just long enough, and then the next person will be able to do their dream job.</p>
807. <p>Yah.</p>
808. <p><strong>That doesnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t happen.</strong></p>
809. <p>Since Sarah had been working on her PhD during the beginning of my ministry, we moved to Oregon for my first job, and then we moved to Illinois for my second job. We assumed my job was going to be a long-term one, and then weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d move next for her job.</p>
810. <p>But, that didnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t happen. After deciding that she no longer felt called to the PhD program, she eventually got a full-time associate pastor position at a church that she really loves. And shortly after that, I left the church I was at.</p>
811. <p>I am now figuring out what is next and I am geographically limited. Granted, being geographically limited means something very different in Chicagoland than it would in the middle of South Dakota, but what I am finding is that being geographically limited is an unexpected gift. I check the CLC every Monday (for non-Presbyterians, thatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s the Presbyterian Church (USA) job website), and I donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t see anything Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m interested in pursuing.</p>
812. <p>And that has allowed me to sit back and imagine what possibilities exist. It has allowed me to think more about what my real gifts and strengths are, and to think how those could best be used during this season of my life. And it has me thinking more like an entrepeneur.</p>
813. <p>Rocky Supinger has written about <a href="http://yorocko.com/2015/07/17/should-pastors-embrace-the-gig-economy-should-churches/" target="_blank">pastors and their “side-hustles</a>â€\x9d (I love that phrase). And I think some of my side-hustles are going to become a bigger part of whatever is next for me.</p>
814. <p>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve been listening to the audiobook “<a href="http://100startup.com/" target="_blank">The $100 Startup</a>â€\x9d and while I donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t think Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m going to find a quick way to make a million dollars, it does have me thinking about the things Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m passionate about and interested in, and seeing where those things could help add value to other peopleâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s lives. Or, as Frederick Buechner said more theologically, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m trying to really find where my deep joy and gladness meets the worldâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s deep needs.</p>
815. <p>That may be in a church again. That may not be. I donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t know.</p>
816. <p>But what I do know is that this decision to leave a church without knowing what is next while being geographically limited is proving to be a time of imagination, possibility and healing.</p>
817. ]]></content:encoded>
819. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/11/the-unexpected-gift-of-being-geographically-limited/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
820. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
823. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10109</post-id> </item>
824. <item>
825. <title>Why Pastors Should Work at Co-Working Spaces</title>
826. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/10/why-pastors-should-work-at-co-working-spaces/</link>
827. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/10/why-pastors-should-work-at-co-working-spaces/#respond</comments>
829. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
830. <pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2015 11:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
831. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
832. <category><![CDATA[Co-working]]></category>
833. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10087</guid>
834.  
835. <description><![CDATA[A few months ago I started getting interested in co-working spaces. I&#8217;m not sure what began the interest, but I&#8217;ve always been one who has liked to work in &#8220;third spaces.&#8221; Especially as a pastor, the days of people coming to the office to &#8220;visit the pastor&#8221; are going away (if not gone already for [&#8230;]]]></description>
836. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A few months ago I started getting interested in co-working spaces. I&#8217;m not sure what began the interest, but I&#8217;ve always been one who has liked to work in &#8220;third spaces.&#8221; Especially as a pastor, the days of people coming to the office to &#8220;visit the pastor&#8221; are going away (if not gone already for many younger pastors I know), and I often get bored just sitting at a desk. As people who should be connecting with the community, I think it&#8217;s important that pastors get <em>out of the</em> church.</p>
837. <p>I would often run into people from the church when I worked in Ashland and frequented one of my favorite coffee shops, <a href="http://www.noblecoffeeroasting.com/" target="_blank">Noble Coffee</a>. Not only that &#8211; but if you work at the same coffee shop often, you get to establish relationships with the baristas and others who choose to work there as well. And, let&#8217;s be honest, you also get to Instagram a lot of photos of your coffee art (like mine below).</p>
838. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10092" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Noble-Coffee.png" alt="Noble-Coffee" width="740" height="740" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Noble-Coffee.png 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Noble-Coffee-150x150.png 150w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Noble-Coffee-300x300.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
839. <p>But there are also some practical things to consider about coffee shops. There are some places that limit the time on the wifi. Others make it a little difficult to always find a working outlet. Or maybe you show up and the only table that&#8217;s open is the one that is taller than you&#8217;d like and it always feels a little awkward working there (this happens to me a lot &#8211; I&#8217;m very particular about the height of the table I use). And then there is the time when you get all of your stuff set up, you&#8217;ve paid for your drink, and soon after opening your laptop you realize&#8230;<strong>THE WIFI IS DOWN!</strong></p>
840. <p>I love working in the community &#8211; but when the wifi is down? Forget it.</p>
841. <p>Enter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coworking" target="_blank">co-working</a> spaces. Co-working spaces are found all over urban areas, but they are spreading out to the suburbs and beyond. I began to check out what co-working spaces were available up here in the North Shore, and I ended up spending a day at one in Wilmette called <a href="http://www.coworkersllc.com/" target="_blank">CoWorkers</a>. They were willing to let me spend a day or two just &#8220;testing it out.&#8221; The day I went, I had a great desk with a view of downtown Wilmette. It was someone&#8217;s birthday, and his wife brought in lunch for everyone at the facility (including the random new guy, me).</p>
842. <p>In addition to getting some good work done, I met 3-4 people and had some really good conversations about our respective jobs, the church and spirituality in today&#8217;s world. None of which would have happened if I was sitting at my desk in the church.</p>
843. <p>If there are co-working spaces around you &#8211; I&#8217;d encourage you to check them out and see if they&#8217;ll let you try it out for a day or two to get a feel for it. And if you enjoy the experience, use some professional expenses to use the space for a month and see what, if any, affect it has on your ministry, your ability to get work done and your outreach into the community.</p>
844. <p>I also think there are some great opportunities for church planting + co-working finding a nice partnership, but that&#8217;s for another post.</p>
845. ]]></content:encoded>
847. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/08/10/why-pastors-should-work-at-co-working-spaces/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
848. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
851. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10087</post-id> </item>
852. <item>
853. <title>I Have Primarily Obsessional OCD</title>
854. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/06/30/primarily-obsessional-ocd/</link>
855. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/06/30/primarily-obsessional-ocd/#comments</comments>
857. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
858. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2015 18:37:15 +0000</pubDate>
859. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
860. <category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
861. <category><![CDATA[Mental Illness]]></category>
862. <category><![CDATA[Obsessive Compulsive Disorder]]></category>
863. <category><![CDATA[OCD]]></category>
864. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10075</guid>
865.  
866. <description><![CDATA[7:00am &#8211; Alarm goes off. 7:01am &#8211; Inner Dialogue begins: “You are a horrible person. Seriously? Who let you be a father? You know you’re a monster, right? No one else would ever think those things. Only sick, demented people would think the thoughts you’ve thought. YOU. ARE. A. MONSTER. I can’t believe you can [&#8230;]]]></description>
867. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>7:00am</strong> &#8211; Alarm goes off.</p>
868. <p><strong>7:01am</strong> &#8211; Inner Dialogue begins: “You are a horrible person. Seriously? Who let you be a father? You know youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re a monster, right? No one else would ever think those things. Only sick, demented people would think the thoughts youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve thought. YOU. ARE. A. MONSTER. I canâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t believe you can live with yourself. Everyone knows what kind of a person you are &#8211; they all know the <em>real you.</em> You are sick and probably the only person in the world whoâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s had those kinds of thoughts.â€\x9d</p>
869. <p>This was the inner dialogue I experienced every moment I was awake from the end of September 2014 through March 2015.</p>
870. <p>This was my hell.</p>
871. <p>In March, through a combination of the MMPI psychological exam, a psychologist who was at the right place at the right time and my decision that I needed to talk, I learned I have Primarily Obsessional Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.</p>
872. <h3>A Primer on Intrusive Thoughts</h3>
873. <p>Letâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s get one thing out of the way at the beginning. OCD manifests itself in many ways &#8211; but for me, itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s not like I had to wash my hands for 30 minutes or check things repeatedly or avoid opening doors in public. Those are some of the common compulsions peopleâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s obsessions drive them to do.</p>
874. <p>The form of obsessive compulsive disorder I have is called Primarily Obsessional OCD (or Pure Obsessional, or Pure-O OCD). It means I donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t have compulsions I need to perform, but I place an unrealistic amount of significance and power in random intrusive thoughts.</p>
875. <p>I have found the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primarily_obsessional_obessive_compulsive_disorder">Wikipedia description of Pure-O</a> to be a helpful summary of this type of OCD:</p>
876. <blockquote><p>The nature and type of primarily obsessional OCD varies greatly, but the central theme for all sufferers is the emergence of a disturbing intrusive thought or question, an unwanted/inappropriate mental image, or a frightening impulse that causes the person extreme anxiety because it is antithetical to closely held religious beliefs, morals, or societal mores. The fears associated with primarily obsessional OCD tend to be far more personal and terrifying for the sufferer than what the fears of someone with traditional OCD may be. Pure-O fears usually focus on self-devastating scenarios that the sufferer feels would ruin their life or the lives of those around them. An example of this difference could be that someone with traditional OCD is overly concerned or worried about security or cleanliness. While this is still distressing, it is not to the same level as someone with Pure-O, who may be terrified that they have undergone a radical change in their sexuality (i.e.: might be or might have changed into a pedophile), that they might be a murderer or that they might cause any form of harm to a loved one or an innocent person, or to themselves, or that they will go insane.</p>
877. <p>They will understand that these fears are unlikely or even impossible but the anxiety felt will make the obsession seem real and meaningful. While those without primarily obsessional OCD might instinctively respond to bizarre intrusive thoughts or impulses as insignificant and part of a normal variance in the human mind, someone with Pure-O will respond with profound alarm followed by an intense attempt to neutralize the thought or avoid having the thought again. The person begins to ask themselves constantly “Am I really capable of something like that?â€\x9d or “Could that really happen?â€\x9d or “Is that really me?â€\x9d (even though they usually realize that their fear is irrational, which causes them further distress) and puts tremendous effort into escaping or resolving the unwanted thought. They then end up in a vicious cycle of mentally searching for reassurance and trying to get a definitive answer.</p></blockquote>
878. <p><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/" target="_blank">Invisibilia</a>, a new NPR podcast, began their season with an episode called <a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/375927143/the-secret-history-of-thoughts?showDate=2015-01-09" target="_blank">The Secret History of Thoughts</a>. In the segment below, called <em>Dark Thoughts</em>, they detail what life can be like with those who have this form of OCD. You can listen to it below.</p>
879. <p><iframe loading="lazy" src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/375928124/375928444" width="100%" height="186" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
880. <p><br />
881. Have you ever been driving down the expressway, and wondered, “What would happen if I yanked up the emergency brake right now or swerved into a semi?â€\x9d Or maybe youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve thought, “I wonder what itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d be like to drive off this cliff right now?â€\x9d</p>
882. <p>Perhaps you were watching a violent movie, and after one especially gruesome scene, the thought crossed your mind, “Could I do that? I guess if I had to, I could…â€\x9d Maybe a random thought popped into your mind about hurting yourself or someone close to you.</p>
883. <p>Or maybe you caught yourself having a sexual thought that struck you as especially perverse. You didnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t know why you had the thought, but somehow it got in your mind.</p>
884. <p>These are called <strong>intrusive thoughts</strong>.</p>
885. <p>Everyone has them.</p>
886. <p>For folks who do not have OCD, those thoughts pop into their minds and pop right out. A disturbing thought might materialize, but then they think, “Huh! That was weird…oh well,â€\x9d and itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s gone.</p>
887. <p>For those with OCD, the intrusive thoughts and the rumination that accompanies them, can cause anxiety, depression and can be paralyzing for sufferers when they try to stop thinking about the thoughts. Thought-suppression never works and makes the OCD worse.</p>
888. <p>Last September, I was home with Caleb while Sarah was out at a meeting, and all of a sudden, I had a couple thoughts pop into my mind that involved hurting Caleb.</p>
889. <p>Intrusive thoughts. Random thoughts that just popped into my mind…but as the evening went on, I couldnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t stop thinking about those thoughts, and began to try and figure out what they meant about who I was.</p>
890. <h3>Believing the Lie</h3>
891. <p>The next few days, I was running errands, having lunch out, getting groceries, and everywhere I went, I looked at people and thought, “They must know. They must know that Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m a horrible father. <strong>They would never have these kinds of sick thoughts.</strong> Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m sure theyâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re good people &#8211; and Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m the one who is a monster and a horrible person.â€\x9d</p>
892. <p>That narrative began to run on repeat in my mind throughout the day. The anxiety I felt manifested itself physically, and I experienced shallow breathing &#8211; feeling like I could never quite catch my breath.</p>
893. <p>The more I experienced the shallow breathing, the more I believed it was caused by the fact that I was ruminating on those horrible thoughts. And the more I believed that…the more I noticed the shallow breathing.</p>
894. <p>I longed to go to bed at night. Because at least then…the thoughts would go away for a little while. And the anxiety would lessen.</p>
895. <p>But the moment I woke up in the morning…that narrative began to play on repeat again, and the anxiety came back in full force.</p>
896. <p>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m not exaggerating when I say this running commentary (“Adam, youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re a horrible person &#8211; a sick person &#8211; a monster!â€\x9d) was on repeat in the back of my mind (and sometimes at the very front of my mind) from the moment I woke up until the moment I fell asleep. Every now and then, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d be busy for an hour or so and realize I hadnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t been thinking about the commentary…and then it would be back.</p>
897. <p>When you hear yourself say those things all day, for months on end, itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s hard not to believe the lie.</p>
898. <p>It can be debilitating.</p>
899. <p>The more I listened to, and believed in, the narrative in my mind, the more I believed I truly was a horrible person.</p>
900. <p>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d be driving home from work, listening to NPR, and Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d hear a story about a serial killer. As Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m listening to the story, my mind would start asking questions like, “Could I be capable of becoming a serial killer? That could be me, couldnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t it? If I had the thoughts I did, becoming a serial killer couldnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t be that far off.â€\x9d</p>
901. <p>Or Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d check Twitter and see a Breaking News alert about someone who was a child abuser. My mind would think, “That could be you, Adam. That could be you.â€\x9d</p>
902. <p>I avoided listening to NPR, tried to not read Breaking News tweets…all to stop providing my mind with any additional fuel for the fire in my head, that is obsessive compulsive disorder.</p>
903. <p>But it was the running commentary that was the hardest.</p>
904. <h3>Trying to Find Help</h3>
905. <p>I initially only told my spiritual director. It was difficult to speak the thoughts I had and share how I was feeling about myself. He listened, was full of grace and helped me become aware of just how hard I was being with myself. He encouraged me to go for a walk on the beach and write out a dialogue between myself and God…as Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve gone back to read those dialogues, itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s pretty sad. I was at the end of my rope.</p>
906. <p>Telling someone felt good, and I knew I should find a therapist. But I was terrified to meet with a therapist, because I had this fear that when I told the therapist what had been going on with me, that they would call Child Protective Services and they would take Caleb away.</p>
907. <p>I understand now this was the OCD at work. I couldnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t distinguish between the random intrusive thoughts and actual, concrete actions. I knew there was no way I was going to hurt Caleb, but for some reason I equated thinking a thought with carrying out an action.</p>
908. <p>I did find a therapist…and met with him 6 times…with little to no improvement. He thought I had some type of general anxiety disorder &#8211; and never once did the possibility of OCD come up.</p>
909. <h3>The Initial Diagnosis and Therapy</h3>
910. <p>This past March, as part of a vocational consultation program, I took the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory" target="_blank">Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory</a> (the MMPI). The MMPI is a test that consists of 567 True/False questions like these:</p>
911. <ul>
912. <li>I am easily awakened by noise</li>
913. <li>There seems to be a lump in my throat much of the time</li>
914. <li>I am sure I get a raw deal from life</li>
915. <li>I have often wished I were a girl</li>
916. <li>My soul sometimes leaves my body</li>
917. <li>I think playing with fire is interesting</li>
918. <li>I like to hurt animals</li>
919. </ul>
920. <p>When I met with the psychologist to go over the results of the MMPI, it showed that I was off the charts in three areas:</p>
921. <ol>
922. <li><strong>Depression</strong>: That much was obvious to me. It had been a rough fall. The same week I first had the intrusive thoughts that started everything, I received a less-than-glowing annual review after being at my church for about a year.</li>
923. <li><strong>Repression</strong>: The MMPI could tell I was trying to repress something. The psychologist asked, “Do you have any idea what that might be?â€\x9d I was silent for a minute and said, “Yes…I know what it is.â€\x9d</li>
924. <li><strong>Negative Thoughts About Myself</strong>: Again, no surprise given that things were not going well at work, and I was convinced I was a horrible person.</li>
925. </ol>
926. <p>Receiving a diagnosis helped me understand what I was dealing with, and it helped me separate myself from my thoughts.</p>
927. <h3>Getting Help and Educating Myself</h3>
928. <p>A month or two before the diagnosis, I had decided it was time for some pharmaceutical help. After trying a few different SSRIs, I ended up on Zoloft. That helped, but it was just one part of what I was going to need to do to make strides in coming to terms with having obsessive compulsive disorder.</p>
929. <p><em>I started telling people</em>. Sarah, my sister and parents, my doctor and a few good friends. It was hard to figure out who to tell and who not to. And I know there will be some who I wanted to tell in person who will find out by reading this blog post. It felt good to share with friends and family, and to receive their grace and understanding.</p>
930. <p><em>I lucked out and found a great therapist</em>. He has helped me learn more about my OCD and how it has affected my life. Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve been in weekly therapy since March, and itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s been one of the best things I could have done.</p>
931. <p><em>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve attended a few OCD support groups</em>, which have been interesting and helpful. At first, I looked around the small room while listening to people share some intense obsessions and compulsions, and I caught myself thinking, &#8220;Gosh…these people are really fucked up.â€\x9d But then I would share, and theyâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d all nod their heads, knowing exactly how my mind was trying to mess with me. I remember thinking to myself, “These people get it. They know what itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s been like for me these past six months.â€\x9d</p>
932. <p><em>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve been reading a lot too</em>. One of the best books Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve read is called <a href="http://amzn.to/1GLFAOc">The Imp of the Mind</a>, by Lee Baer. The author refers to OCD as an “imp,â€\x9d and that image has been helpful for me. I picture this imp, this little devil, trying to convince me that things that are false are true, and trying to mess with my mind. Baer also describes OCD as a cognitive error:</p>
933. <blockquote><p>“This cognitive error occurs when we conclude that simply because we have a particular thought, it must be meaningful. Similarly, we may conclude that simply because we are thinking about something, this means that it will actually happen. If we have this mistaken belief about the importance of thoughts, we may start to believe that we have to exercise complete control over all our thoughts (which unfortunately, as we have seen, is doomed to fail).â€\x9d</p></blockquote>
934. <p>Accepting that I have OCD, that I have a “cognitive errorâ€\x9d or brain disorder, is hard. But acceptance is necessary because OCD <strong>wants</strong> you to try and fight with it, the imp. The OCD wants you to try and outsmart it, or prove that itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s wrong…and youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re never going to win against an imp.</p>
935. <p>In addition to cognitive behavioral therapy (more on that in another post), research has shown that mindfulness meditation can, in fact, retrain your brain. Over the last four months, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve entered the world of self-help books and podcasts, mindfulness meditation, yoga and more. Combined with weekly therapy, and drugs, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m in a much better place today.</p>
936. <p>A few weeks after the diagnosis I told Sarah I felt better, that I felt like a somewhat normal person again. I asked her if she could tell any difference. Her response was something like: “Yeah. You were a shell of a person there for awhile.â€\x9d</p>
937. <p>And thatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s what it felt like. I went through the motions, doing what needed to be done, taking care of Caleb and handling my responsibilities at work, but I wasnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t really <em>there</em> at all.</p>
938. <p>And specifically with Caleb, during the six months of my hellish reality, I could tell I was drawing away from him. We did things together and we had fun, but I didnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t feel <em>present</em> with him. And how could I? I had this idea in my mind that I was a horrible father, and maybe it was unsafe for him to be around me.</p>
939. <p>I still donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t feel like Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m “back to normal,â€\x9d but Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m in a much better place.</p>
940. <h3>So, Why Tell Us?</h3>
941. <p>I wasnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t sure I wanted to write this post.</p>
942. <p>And even as I hit publish in a few minutes, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m not entirely sure I want to.</p>
943. <p>But in the end, I think itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s important to write and share this post.</p>
944. <p>Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s hard for me to find words to describe what those six months were like (although Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve tried in this post). I didnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t understand what was happening to me, and there were a few occasions when I thought to myself: “<em>If I died…the thoughts would stop</em>.â€\x9d</p>
945. <p>I never made a plan, I never got any further than just that brief thought. But still, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve never before had suicidal thoughts.</p>
946. <p>And yet the OCD, and the anxiety and depression that came with it, led me to a dark place.</p>
947. <p>I wrote this post for two reasons: I wanted to share my experience and do what I can to help raise awareness.</p>
948. <p>The first reason is primarily self-serving: telling people about my OCD and writing about it (first through journaling and now publicly through this blog) helps me to feel more in control. Sharing about this with others helps me to accept the OCD; but it also helps to separate myself from the intrusive thoughts and the OCD. <em>I am not my thoughts</em> has become a mantra of mine, and talking and writing about the OCD allows me to take a more objective look at it.</p>
949. <p>But I also want to help raise awareness. There is a gentleman in the support group I attend who is in his 60â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s and has had OCD for the past 40 years. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s only been in the past couple years that he felt he could seek out help, and the only person in his life that knows what heâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s been going through is his wife. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s been very difficult for him.</p>
950. <p>Studies find it can take an average of 14–17 years from the time someone first experiences symptoms of OCD to seek out appropriate treatment.</p>
951. <p>I know now that while my 6 months felt unbearable, many people suffer for years and years without seeking help. My hope is that if anyone were to come across this post, and recognize some similarities between their story and my story, perhaps it would help them feel more confident in seeking out the help they need.</p>
952. ]]></content:encoded>
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955. <slash:comments>38</slash:comments>
958. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10075</post-id> </item>
959. <item>
960. <title>It is Time to Speak</title>
961. <link>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/06/21/it-is-time-to-speak/</link>
962. <comments>https://www.pomomusings.com/2015/06/21/it-is-time-to-speak/#respond</comments>
964. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Walker Cleaveland]]></dc:creator>
965. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2015 20:28:58 +0000</pubDate>
966. <category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
967. <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
968. <category><![CDATA[Race]]></category>
969. <category><![CDATA[Racism]]></category>
970. <category><![CDATA[Sermons]]></category>
971. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://pomomusings.com/?p=10063</guid>
972.  
973. <description><![CDATA[This sermon was preached on June 21, 2015, at Winnetka Presbyterian Church. My text was Mark 4:35-41. You can listen to it (the sermon starts around the 2 minute mark), and read it, below. [audio:http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/mp3/It-is-Time-to-Speak.mp3] This morning, Caleb started yelling, “DADDY!â€\x9d around 6:00am. That’s pretty normal these days. Way earlier than I would like, but [&#8230;]]]></description>
974. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This sermon was preached on June 21, 2015, at Winnetka Presbyterian Church. My text was Mark 4:35-41. You can listen to it (the sermon starts around the 2 minute mark), and read it, below.</em></p>
975. [audio:http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/mp3/It-is-Time-to-Speak.mp3]
976. <p>This morning, Caleb started yelling, “DADDY!â€\x9d around 6:00am. Thatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s pretty normal these days. Way earlier than I would like, but thatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s what weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re dealing with. I was able to walk into his room, help him get ready for church, and bring him with me this morning. Heâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s my son. Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m his dad. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s Fatherâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s Day today &#8211; and this is the “Stanley/Manley Cupâ€\x9d he made for me at camp this past week.</p>
977. <p>Millions of children woke up this morning and gave their dads hugs and wished them, “Happy Fatherâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s Day.â€\x9d</p>
978. <p>Unfortunately, for Reverend Clementa Pinckneyâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s children, Eliana and Milana, they could not wish their father “Happy Fatherâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s Dayâ€\x9d this morning.</p>
979. <p>Rev. Daniel L. Simmons Sr.â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s children, Daniel Jr. and Rose, are also without a father today. And many more are grieving the tragic deaths of Susie Jackson, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Ethel Lee Lance, Myra Thompson, Tywanza Sanders, Cynthia Hurd and Sharonda Coleman-Singleton.</p>
980. <p>These 9 people lost their lives when 21-yr old Dylann Storm Roof shot and killed them during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, affectionately referred to as <em>Mother Emanuel</em>.</p>
981. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10066" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/gty_charleston_church_shooting_04_jc_150619.jpg" alt="gty_charleston_church_shooting_04_jc_150619" width="740" height="493" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/gty_charleston_church_shooting_04_jc_150619.jpg 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/gty_charleston_church_shooting_04_jc_150619-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
982. <hr />
983. <p>“Letâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s cross over to the other side.â€\x9d It was Jesusâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> idea &#8211; to cross over to the other side. And so the disciples jumped on boats and began to travel across the lake.</p>
984. <p>As the disciples began their journey to the other side, the storm came out of nowhere &#8211; the wind was strong, blowing the boat; the waves were high, crashing into the boat; and water was filling the boat.</p>
985. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
986. <p>This was the disciplesâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> question, but over the course of the past week, this is the question Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve heard on the lips of so many black women and men in our country as well.</p>
987. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
988. <p>Do you not care that our daughters and sons are being killed? Do you not care that mothers and fathers are shot while attending a Bible Study in what is supposed to be a sacred space and a sanctuary? Do you not care that African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites? Do you not care that one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime?</p>
989. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10067" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/0618charlestonshooting01.jpg" alt="0618charlestonshooting01" width="740" height="490" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/0618charlestonshooting01.jpg 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/0618charlestonshooting01-300x199.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
990. <p>Amidst these questions we ask ourselves today, and amidst the question the disciples asked, we find Jesus asleep on the boat. Is Jesus doing this to test the disciples and their faith? Did he just doze off? There are, of course, many possibilities here, but I really resonate with what Lutheran theologian, John Nunes, says about this passage:</p>
991. <blockquote><p>Some storms are natural; others are humanly manufactured, like the wickedness we witnessed in Charleston this week. Where is Jesus? <strong>Asleep in the back of the boat</strong>? Once awakened he challenges the disciples, “Why are you afraid?â€\x9d I hear him saying: “Donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t let any terror take away your faith, your commitment to go over to the other side.â€\x9d</p>
992. <p>Jesus speaks commandingly, directly to the storm: “Peace! Be still!â€\x9d Peace is never passive, never merely an absence of conflict. It is the presence of the Spirit who charges us, despite storms: “Pursue peace with everyone!â€\x9d (Hebrews 12:14). The Greek verb here means <strong>to aggressively go after something deeply cherished</strong>.</p>
993. <p>Humans must practice a peace thatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s more than a status quo calm. Godâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s peace speaks into the epicenter of the old habits, old hatreds, and old fears that eat our best intentions for lunch; including the old racism re-building the dividing walls that Jesus demolished with his death and resurrection.</p></blockquote>
994. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
995. <p>The Mark 4 reading this morning is from the Revised Common Lectionary, so many other friends and colleagues of mine are preaching on this text today. As is often the case, people are all going in different directions with the text, trying to look at the ways in which it speaks to the act of terrorism committed in Charleston.</p>
996. <p>For some, their focus was on the storm, and the ways in which we respond to the storms in our lives and in the lives of those around us.</p>
997. <p>For others, it was the disciples question &#8211; <strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong> &#8211; and the realization that <em>that</em> very question is one which the black community has been asking for hundreds of years. And as we think of that question coming from the black community &#8211; I think itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s important for each and every one of us to think about how weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d answer it. Of course we all want to say, “Of COURSE we care.â€\x9d But…do our actions line up with that?</p>
998. <p>One of the most interesting perspectives I read came from a friend who serves downtown at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Layton Williams. She was interested in the fact that Jesus is just…<em>asleep in the boat</em>; asleep during the raging of the storm; asleep during the fear and cries of the disciples, his friends. Whatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s up with that?</p>
999. <p>One of the most common analogies for the church in the world today is that we are the Body of Christ. And so, perhaps if we truly are the Body of Christ in the world right now, just like Jesus was asleep on the boat amidst the storm, maybe <strong>we are the ones who are asleep on the boat.</strong> Maybe we are the ones who are not hearing the fear and cries of our friends &#8211; of our brothers and sisters.</p>
1000. <p>The parallel breaks down a bit, because weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re obviously not wanting to equate ourselves with Jesus &#8211; but collectively, if we are the Body of Christ &#8211; maybe weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re the ones who need to wake up and begin to help deal with the storm. Maybe weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re the ones who need to call for this active peace, which is more than a status quo calm &#8211; a peace that must be fought for. Maybe weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re the ones who need to realize weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />re all in the same boat, and that boat is getting beat up pretty bad right now.</p>
1001. <p>The waves are crashing into it, itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s starting to sink, and we need to wake up and deal with it!</p>
1002. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
1003. <blockquote><p>“They have something to say to each of us in their death.</p>
1004. <p>They have something to say to every minister of the Gospel who has remained silent behind the safe security of stained-glass windows.</p>
1005. <p>They have something to say to every politician who has fed his constituents the stale bread of racism…</p>
1006. <p>They say to each of us, black and white alike, that we must substitute courage for caution.</p>
1007. <p>They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.â€\x9d</p></blockquote>
1008. <p>As I read this quote yesterday &#8211; I found it to be helpful in terms of thinking about the events of this past week. The deaths of the 9 from Mother Emanuel call all ministers of the Gospel to speak out. Their deaths call all politicians to wake up…and weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve seen that, havenâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t we? When the President of the Southern Baptist Ethics &amp; Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore, says itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s time for the Confederate Flag to come down &#8211; something is happening. When Republican state senators from South Carolina, and former Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney are all calling for the removal of the Confederate Flag…something is happening.</p>
1009. <p>We are called to be filled with courage, and to address the systemic racism that is hardwired into so many of our structures.</p>
1010. <p>However, this quote wasnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t written this past week. It was written 52 years ago, and was part of the eulogy that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave after the Birmingham Church bombing.</p>
1011. <p>And now…52 years later…one could argue that nothing has changed.</p>
1012. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10068" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Charleston-Shooting_sham-22.jpg" alt="Charleston Shooting" width="740" height="493" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Charleston-Shooting_sham-22.jpg 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Charleston-Shooting_sham-22-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
1013. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
1014. <p>Unfortunately &#8211; this type of violence, this type of hate crime, this type of domestic terrorism, does not surprise us. It is horrific. It is sad. It is downright evil.</p>
1015. <p>And yet…<strong>still</strong>…it does not surprise us.</p>
1016. <p>In his address on Thursday, President Obama said this about the shooting in Charleston:</p>
1017. <blockquote><p>“Now is the time for mourning and for healing, but letâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s be clear: at some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t happen in other places with this kind of frequency. And it is in our power to do something about it.â€\x9d</p></blockquote>
1018. <p>This doesnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t happen in other advanced countries.</p>
1019. <p>And yet &#8211; it is the norm for us. And it doesnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t surprise us.</p>
1020. <p>Some of you may have watched Jon Stewartâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s <a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/kb2h42/charleston-church-shooting" target="_blank">opening monologue on The Daily Show</a> this past Thursday evening. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s worth watching in its entirety, and this is how Stewart begins:</p>
1021. <blockquote><p>I have no jokes tonight…I honestly have nothing…other than, just…sadness once again that we have to peer into the abyss of the depraved violence that we do to each other, and the nexus of a, just, gaping racial wound that will not heal, yet we pretend doesnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t exist. And Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m confident, though, that by acknowledging it, by staring into that and seeing it for what it is, we still wonâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t do jack. Yeah. Thatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s us. And thatâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s the part that blows my mind.</p></blockquote>
1022. <p>The racially-motivated violence against people of color in our country has been the norm for far too long, and yet, many are just now realizing this sad reality.</p>
1023. <p>Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. Sean Bell. John Crawford. The list goes on and on and on&#8230;</p>
1024. <p>These are not isolated incidents. These are not just unfortunate accidents.</p>
1025. <p>These are part of a larger, systemic problem in our country: racism fueled by white supremacy. This dates back to the founding of our country, and is a part of our history that we must own and be accountable for, if we are ever going to move forward.</p>
1026. <p>We should all be outraged by what happened at Mother Emanuel this past Wednesday evening. We should all be outraged at the racist ideology that was not confronted enough by those who knew the perpetrator. We should all be outraged at the racist imagery of the Confederate Flag that continues to fly outside the South Carolina Statehouse.</p>
1027. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
1028. <p>And so we must not remain silent. We must share our outrage and our anger. We must first confront the racist thoughts and stereotypes we all have. We must also confront the racist comments we hear around us &#8211; whether itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s a stranger saying something in passing, or our parents or our children.</p>
1029. <p>It is time to speak.</p>
1030. <hr />
1031. <p>But first, a confession.</p>
1032. <p>As Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve been going through my office, cleaning up papers, sorting through documents on my computer, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve run across the Prayers of the People I first offered when I started at Winnetka Presbyterian. I remember sitting down on Friday or Saturday nights to finish the prayers, and checking out CNN.com to make sure I included the latest updates to stories I wanted to lift up in the prayers.</p>
1033. <p>I specifically remember, the first couple weeks, going through and counting how many young black men and women had been killed over the course of the weekend, especially during the summers, and lifting up their names in my prayers. I would mention that 10 were shot, and 4 killed. Or that our prayers should be with the family and friends of…and then name those who had lost their lives to violence.</p>
1034. <p>But…then I stopped. I still prayed specifically for gun violence here in Chicago, and for deaths of innocent people, but I stopped naming them.</p>
1035. <p>And then…after awhile longer…I stopped including that in my prayers each week. I still prayed occasionally for gun violence, but it wasnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t a focus. In as little as 6–9 months, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />d become a bit numb to the continuous stream of names of those people of color who had been killed.</p>
1036. <p>There is a hashtag on Twitter right now, called #saytheirnames. It is an effort to honor those who tragically lost their lives this past week in Charleston. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s important to say their names. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s important to remember that Black Lives Matter.</p>
1037. <p>And so, this morning, once again, we #saytheirnames:</p>
1038. <p>Sharonda Coleman-Singleton</p>
1039. <p>Cynthia Hurd</p>
1040. <p>Susie Jackson</p>
1041. <p>Ethel Lee Lance</p>
1042. <p>Depayne Middleton-Doctor</p>
1043. <p>Clementa Pinckney</p>
1044. <p>Tywanza Sanders</p>
1045. <p>Daniel L. Simmons</p>
1046. <p>Myra Thompson</p>
1047. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
1048. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10069" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/541803205.jpg" alt="US-CRIME-SHOOTING" width="740" height="494" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/541803205.jpg 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/541803205-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
1049. <p>Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m sure youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve seen all of the articles about the shooting: attempts to understand just how the Confederate Flag could remain flying in South Carolina, and thoughtful articles about racism. Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve seen tons, shared many, and read some. One of the best I read was from another Presbyterian pastor.</p>
1050. <p>I want you all to hear these words from Rev. Tawnya Denise Anderson this morning. Her post is entitled: “<a href="http://soulascriptura.com/2015/06/allies-the-time-for-your-silence-has-expired/">‘Allies,â€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> the Time For Your Silence Has Expired.</a>â€\x9d After reading it, I felt a bit convicted. Hell, I felt strongly convicted. Listen now to a few portions of that post:</p>
1051. <blockquote><p>I remember when the news out of Ferguson, MO first came to us. I heard White friends and colleagues encourage each other to sit in a posture of listening. I honor that listening. I honor the desire to be in solidarity through understanding. I honor that they wanted to avoid any semblance of saviorism.</p>
1052. <p>White allies, I thank you for your thoughtfulness in this regard. Now allow me to be your stopwatch; Timeâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s up.</p>
1053. <p>At this point, Iâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />m not interested in your listening. I think the danger in this listening posture is, while it seems like the mindful and conscientious thing to do, it can also be far too convenient. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s a great way of doing nothing. For the sake of finding the right action, you take no action instead.</p>
1054. <p>Many of you have been on it for some time now, working in solidarity with people of color. You have been in the trenches from the beginning (or your beginning). I donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t discount you, but I also caution you to not be self-congratulatory. Youâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ve left some folks behind, folks who call themselves “allies.â€\x9d</p>
1055. <p>I have a love-hate relationship with that word, ally. We should apply the same rule to it as we do to nicknames. You canâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t give yourself a nickname; other people give it to you. To give it to yourself comes off as pretentious. Itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s the same with self-proclaimed “allies.â€\x9d I know you mean well, but what about your life demonstrates that you walk in solidarity with others who experience life differently from you because of their skin color, legal status, or sexual orientation? Please donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t call yourself my ally if your uncleâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s racist jokes go unchecked in your presence. Please donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t call yourself my ally if you say something insensitive, I call you on it, and all you can do is brush it off and say, “Girl, but you know I love my Black people!â€\x9d Donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t do it. Whether you got in the game early or late, itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s important to simply get in the game.</p></blockquote>
1056. <p>As you reflect on those words for yourself, individually, and as you reflect as a part of the Winnetka Presbyterian community…the questions to consider are:</p>
1057. <ul>
1058. <li>What does it look like for us to get in the game?</li>
1059. <li>What does it look like for us to truly be allies?</li>
1060. <li>What does it look like for us to stop just listening and to enter into meaningful support and action?</li>
1061. </ul>
1062. <p>This is a church with a great amount of power, influence and financial resources &#8211; how are we using those gifts to fight racism in Winnetka, the North Shore, Chicago and beyond?</p>
1063. <p>I know itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s perhaps a bit odd for me to want to provide you with a list of actionable items on my second to last Sunday with you &#8211; but as I was thinking about this call to action &#8211; I knew that it wouldnâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t be right to just end a sermon with “So, letâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s go do something….!â€\x9d and not share any ideas about what this church could do.</p>
1064. <p>Let me first say, I believe everyone has their own unique gifts and skills, which will obviously impact what you feel called to do to fight racism, but here are some ideas I wanted to share that I gathered yesterday:</p>
1065. <ol>
1066. <li>You could look at the work of organizations like #BlackLivesMatter and other faith groups who are addressing a post-Ferguson world.</li>
1067. <li>Perhaps an adult education series could be done on racism and the church. This could be a primer, just so that everyone begins to become comfortable with the language of conversations about race and racism. Small groups could read a specific book together, like The New Jim Crow, and conversations could begin.</li>
1068. <li>Perhaps some money could be set aside to bring in a trainer to lead an anti-racism workshop at the church &#8211; something which could be available to all interested.</li>
1069. <li>Maybe a small group of WPC folks could get together and find out how Winnetka residents, and those in the broader North Shore, participate in, benefit from, or are penalized by institutionalized racism.</li>
1070. <li>One easy thing to do is start listening and reading to different voices. For me, that meant going through Twitter and Facebook and following and liking a lot of African-American authors, political activists and others who have opened me up to new points of view and understandings and a different view of the world.</li>
1071. <li>And I think we all know some of the deepest transformation occurs through relationships. How many of you have a good friend who is a different race or class than you are? And I donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t mean a co-worker, or someone who is just an acquaintance. I mean a good friend who just might see the world very differently than you do. If you donâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />t have that person &#8211; go out and find them! Now, that sounds a little awkward and you might ask yourself, “How do I do that?â€\x9d Well, it will be a little awkward. But breaking through that awkwardness can bring about incredible depth and transformation.</li>
1072. </ol>
1073. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
1074. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-10070" src="http://pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ct-charleston-shooting-church-pinckney-20150618.jpg" alt="ct-charleston-shooting-church-pinckney-20150618" width="740" height="495" srcset="https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ct-charleston-shooting-church-pinckney-20150618.jpg 740w, https://www.pomomusings.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ct-charleston-shooting-church-pinckney-20150618-300x201.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></p>
1075. <p>Last week we talked about how the Psalms lead us through different stages of our lives: orientation, disorientation and reorientation.</p>
1076. <p>This week has certainly been a period of disorientation for the members and friends of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. This has been a period filled with so much: grief, rage, frustration, anger, confusion, despair and more.</p>
1077. <p>The one hope that we have from the Psalms is that disorientation is always followed by reorientation &#8211; of peace and stillness. And now, more than ever, itâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />s up to each and every one of us &#8211; following in the footsteps of Jesus the Christ &#8211; to work toward that reorientation. To work toward reconciliation. To put our anger and rage to work, as we seek to dismantle the systems of racism and oppression that still exist in our country.</p>
1078. <p>Let us go out and seek action. Let us go out and seek justice. Let us go out and seek equality for all.</p>
1079. <p>Yes, we can agree that ALL LIVES MATTER &#8211; but until we can all agree and proclaim that <strong>BLACK LIVES MATTER</strong>, weâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll continue to hear about these tragedies…and theyâ€<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2122.png" alt="™" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />ll continue to not surprise us.</p>
1080. <p><strong>Do you not care that we are perishing?</strong></p>
1081. <p>How will you answer that question?</p>
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