Flaws

Here we are a couple of weeks into the New Year and still talking about our resolutions. It does seem to be a topic the media have a hard time to put down. Radio, tv, newspapers, even facebook continues to offer me ads about fixing my unsuitable tummy. Now I'm not opposed to folks trying to live healthy or improve their habits, be more fit, eat organic...whatever.

My problem is just how much everyone seems to be so focused on their flaws! I mean, really, what happened to our enduring values about the worth of all persons (and that includes ourselves, by the way), our belief that we're all called according to our gifts? And to me that really, seriously implies that we all have gifts.

Yesterday Carman was celebrating a bright new beginning; and Matthew reminded us that we're all at the beginning of something. He's right you know. Our challenge is to see that for ourselves, to imagine ourselves into that new future. There are people ready to help us find a direction and start to plan strategies to get it.

But as long as we're focusing on who we're not or how we're flawed in some way, we're going to have a much harder time imagining that very fine future.

I know I've talked about this with you before. Do you remember this? Whether it's a personal thing or a congregational thing we'll spend lots less time and effort achieving our vision for a bright future if we focus on our gifts and our worth rather than focusing on our flaws. May I count on you?

Posted by Marion

Colour

Although it is a rather grey day here there's plenty of colour around.

The leaves on the big old maple outside my bedroom window are tinged with red and gold! The sumac outside my office window is on its way from green to orange. And I noticed more than one red tree shouting brazenly from the green woods along my country drive this weekend. Country roads lined with goldenrod and purple asters.

The gold finches were busy pulling seeds out of the pink cone flowers in my garden while I was eating my oatmeal. Both Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal are checking out the bird bath and I see (and hear!) the blue jay has returned to remind us all who's really the boss in this neighbourhood.

The streets this morning are clogged with big yellow buses and on route I saw lots of pairs of bright, white and clean new running shoes along the sidewalks.

I'm imagining those backpacks with their boxes of crayons, pencils, markers and pristine pink erasers. Do they still give out those wonderful fat red pencils to first timers beginning their writing careers? Probably not, alas.

What colour is your day? How do you plan to colour the coming season? What ideas do these colours plant in your imagination?