LineaLanoie's Weblog

This was the first in what may become a regular discussion group with coffee after church.  Looking at some of the hard questions we are asked or have about our faith.   

This morning we attempted to explore the question “Why do we believe there is a God?”.  I was a bit disappointed that some of the people who may actually be seeking the answers to the questions were not part of the discussion.  But I guess we who were there need to ask these kinds of questions too so we can know where and how to deal with the question when we get asked.  Thought it would be most interesting to have a real atheist there to ask us the question.  It’s pretty easy to discuss the answer when we are all looking at it from the same side of the fence!

Then home to entertain my sister-in-law and her fiancée.  He seems to be such a nice guy.  Easy to be around.  (If you read this Rob – we like you and think Terry’s going to be happy.  So welcome to the family.)  Hope there will be many similar afternoons like this to come.

Then in the evening – went to spend time with friends.  There were only four of us women around the table tonight – drinking tea and talking.  We had a good time.  We are reading the Ragamuffin Gospel and talking.  It was good tonight to share some of the ways we have experienced God in our lives.  It seems we’ve had pretty similar experiences.  The experiences have involved letting go of pretty hurtful stuff, being desperate enough to let God take all of that stuff and then really experiencing the love and acceptance of God.  We decided that having kids makes a mother really desperate at times.

We also have experienced the same desire to really know God.  That sort of desire that has driven us to search deeper into the Bible as well as the need to spend a lot of time in prayer.  We have also been, and are still, frustrated by the dry spells we have when it is hard to return to that place of pure delight at being in God’s presence- of that almost insatiable appetite for God.  It was good to share these things.  It is more common but less healthy for us to struggle on our own.  I think that finding friends to help us on this journey is just what we should be doing as the church. 

A fun evening.  The end to a full and good day. 

This has been a very tiring week.  A lot of things at work seem to have added together to make it that way.  So blogging has been a bit sparse. 

Other things seem to add up to make the whole atmosphere of life just heavy for me right now.  Some of what is going on in the world like the stuff in Iraq makes me feel very tired and make any attempts on my part to live out the kind of life Christ would like seem really futile.  Life here just seems to go on uneventfully while on the other side of the world people are dying; children are being blown to bits.  Sometimes it just gets hard to take.  And governments are so immovable.  I hope somehow, somewhere, someone can respond to some of those hurting people in the way that Jesus would like us to – with love.  Maybe love that they could see, not just greed and love of power and arrogance.

I have a tendency to despair when the world news is so bleak, so full of pain and suffering.  I suspect that this is not the appropriate reaction either.

Today I spent the day with my grandson.  That little life is changing so quickly.  He spends more time upright than on all fours now.  And he is beginning to communicate with “words” or some semblance thereof.  We went out to the park, played some silly little games and just had fun together.  But I sure didn’t get much else done.  Tomorrow we have some of my in-laws for lunch so we are going to eat simply.  Hope the weather cooperates for barbecuing hamburgers.

Sara was in a soccer tournament for her high school today.  They ended up playing the final game against Carlton.  Lost 3 -1 

It was an interesting cheering game.  Can’t yell “kill them” when one of my best friends is sitting behind me on the bleachers – her daughter playing on the other team.  And most of the moms I know from Celtic soccer were there.  Last weekend we were all cheering our daughters on together as they played on the same team.  The pain of that loss was too fresh for us to wish a loss on anyone of the girls.  But one team had to win.

Sara and another of her friends were not happy that anyone who wants to play can just join the team from their school – even if they have never played before.  It showed when they changed players, pulling off two good defenders for two inexperienced ones.  Two goals scored in a few minutes.  A bit demoralizing for the girls who play competitively and would like to see their school win for a change. 

Sara’s quote of the day ” It’s a Catholic thing.  Can’t make any cuts just because they can’t play.  Got to let them play cause God loves them all.”

This week has gone too quickly.  Maybe that is just because I had too much to do. 

Tuesday – Worship practice  Wednesday – Bible study  Thursday – Spoke at a Lutheran Women’s supper  Friday – and here we are!

Thursday was an interesting experience.  I was asked to be the guest speaker at one of the few meetings this women’s group has during the year.  The potluck supper was great as these suppers on the prairies tend to be.  Most of the women present were well past me in age – good to feel so young!  It seems their women’s group is on the brink of extinction and they don’t understand why none of the younger women want to join them.  Same problem the older women’s group in our church is having.  We need a major shift in paradigm there and I sure don’t know what the change needs to be.  I just know that it has not been a very relevant group for me either.  Anyway that is another topic in itself.    The thing that would have really gotten to me if I had been a member of their group was the business meeting.  Why do there have to be these crazy boring business meetings.  And this one was about as formal a meeting as you can get – minutes, regular rules of order motions and very little honest discussion (who wants to stick their neck out after all?) etc. 

Then there was me. I felt a bit strange being referred to as the “guest of honor” and the “special speaker”  but I really tried to listen to what God wanted me to say.  It was pretty similar to what I had previously shared in my own church this summer, but I shared a bit more of my background and my own struggles over the past thirteen years since moving back to Canada.  And I shared how real God is to me now and how he called me back to the Congo this summer.  It was a good evening for me.  I am not really a public speaker.  I work better with my hands than I do with my mouth.  But this was another of those times when I think God was helping me out.  Not that I am afraid to get up in front of people but usually more afraid of not knowing how to say what I want to say.  Thursday the words seemed to come – in some semblance of order.