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| Tuesday, January 18, 2011 |
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RSVP Your Epiphanies
By webmaster @ 1:00 PM :: 746 Views ::
0 Comments :: Nina Frost
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We are deep amidst the church season known as Epiphany. It may seem like a season to pass lightly over, or to limit to the story of the wise men finding the Christ child.
But oh, the gifts and challenges latent in this season, which this year runs all the way to an Ash Wednesday deep in March.
In the Greek, "Epiphany" means "in the light," or, "to appear" or "to manifest." The wise men were asked to ponder what the Christ child might mean. As Dr. Brown's recent blog points out, in these post-Christmas days, we are asked to do the same.
For me, Epiphany goes wide and deep. It is a sacred time that dares us to look at new ways God's light is manifesting in our lives... and at ways we ourselves are asked to reflect that light.
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| Tuesday, December 21, 2010 |
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What Child Is This?
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 760 Views ::
0 Comments :: Nina Frost
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In the familiar Christmas carol, that not-so-simple question starts verse one: "What Child is this?"
And while the sweet hymn goes on to elaborate on what and who the child will be, I think the days before Christmas, despite their tendency to be anything but hushed and expectant... I think these days ask us to pause and consider the "child" question for ourselves.
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| Tuesday, December 07, 2010 |
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Can You Wait This Way?
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 700 Views ::
0 Comments :: Nina Frost
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There is a wrinkle on the deeply seasonal Advent topic of waiting that I came across recently.
When "waiting" in my life, either actively or in my usual passive and panicked state, if I am honest, I have an idea, even a wish list, of what I am waiting for. I may think I am waiting with an open stance, but I am actually concrete in my hopes, and specific in the dreads I need avoided, thank you.
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| Tuesday, November 30, 2010 |
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Aspects of Advent
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 773 Views ::
1 Comments :: Nina Frost
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Your Advent-ure Just Started
The season of Advent began last Sunday, and like all church seasons, it can sneak up on our individual and distracted calendars and either make a difference in our lives... or not, depending on how receptive we are to the subtle gifts of seasonal cycles.
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| Saturday, November 13, 2010 |
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Shorthand for Slowing Down
By webmaster @ 12:01 PM :: 777 Views ::
1 Comments :: Nina Frost
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I have a new phrase that serves both to startle me and to slow me down. It is also potent theology. So I want to share it with you, for the same reasons.
It’s “ADL.” Not ADD! But ADL, as in “Activities of Daily Living.” I learned this shorthand while observing many of the Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy sessions my father was undergoing as part of his rehabilitation for a brain injury. (He is doing much better thanks, in part, to these sessions.)
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| Saturday, November 06, 2010 |
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Crisis and Grace
By webmaster @ 12:01 PM :: 712 Views ::
0 Comments :: Nina Frost
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This is a post from a new land. I have not written in a while because since October 2, I have spent most of my time with my mother in Connecticut, where my father fell, hit his head badly and had bleeding on the brain. The first two weeks were spent at the hospital's ICU; now he in an acute care rehab, and I am continuing to help my mom visit him from their home.
All of you have your own versions of these moments: the times, sudden or inexorable, when everything shifts, priorities are realigned, and you run the gamut of emotions: shock, fear, adrenaline, grief, and the immediate need to step into crisis management, for however long that takes.
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| Saturday, October 02, 2010 |
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Your Tears and Your Truth
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 1928 Views ::
1 Comments :: Nina Frost
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There are lots of reasons to be part of a church community, but here are two core ones:
Having a place for tears and authenticity.
I was reminded of both last weekend, when my husband and I led the Marble Committed Couples retreat for the second year in a row. From the beginning, people shared from a place of deep truth—and many tears. This made for a time of palpable Presence, deep reassurance, and no small amount of humor, actually.
Being real will do that to and for you: it generates the full range of emotions that come from being fully alive. I recently heard a quote about retreats, but it also applies to other aspects of church life: “People are not coming for theology on retreats; they are coming for authenticity.”
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| Saturday, September 18, 2010 |
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Change, Again
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 1183 Views ::
1 Comments :: Nina Frost
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There are so many clichéd things written about change, I hesitate to add to the heap. However. One of the translations for “God’s word”—“logos”—is “that which is happening.” And these days, that which is happening at Marble is change, a lot of it.
A number of beloved staff members are taking a voluntary separation package to explore other options in their lives. It’s a lot of people at once, and these absences will be felt by all who know and treasure these folks. For those of you in the Marble community, you know about this already. For those of you in the human community at large, you also know about the sudden shifts, the leave-takings we are all subject to, even the happy ones, and especially the sudden ones, happy or tragic.
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| Saturday, September 04, 2010 |
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What's God Got to Do With It?
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 1206 Views ::
1 Comments :: Nina Frost
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This week, I am preparing for the first Adult Education Spiritual Growth class of the year, a dialogue with Dr. Brown around basic questions about God: What do we mean when we say this word?
It would be one thing to look at a few books, see what has been said about God (as if that were even possible), and then riff off of words gone by. But, to borrow from the sublime writer Frederick Buechner, talking about God can either be pontification ... or it can be pointing.
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| Saturday, August 28, 2010 |
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What Time Is It For You?
By webmaster @ 11:00 AM :: 933 Views ::
0 Comments :: Nina Frost
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"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to reap..."
As summer winds down, these deeply familiar words from Ecclesiastes stir in my mind and heart. Like many excerpts of Scripture, it has layers that only reveal themselves over time. I had always loved the slightly lulling, reassuring implications: a natural order prevails, like the seasons.
And yet... There are so many times we have to grapple with not a predictable end to one of life's seasons, but a sudden and unwelcome one...
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Publishing Schedule:
| Sun. |
Dr. Brown |
| Mon. |
Sister Carol Perry |
| Tue. |
Nina Frost |
| Wed. |
Kenneth Dake |
| Thu. |
Elise Hanley |
Reading Our Blog:
New articles will go up regularly. The seven most recent posts are displayed on this main page. If you'd like to go back and read previous entries you missed, click on the "Categories" link at the top of the page and then select the author you're interested in. We don't delete old articles, so you'll be able to come back anytime and re-read the ones that speak to you in significant ways.
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