end-of-year-lesson #2

Old into New

About a month ago, Gigi and I were standing in front of the sound booth.  I was so excited to show her the necklace I had made.  I was babbling like a boob.  Not making much sense.

“I took this necklace that was broken (my Mom gave it to me –I didn’t really like it though) and this bracelet that I never wear and this earring (I lost it’s mate)…………..“ and on and on and on and on.

After my rant Ginella looked at me and said:

“You’re taking your broken things and you’re mending them.”

I’ve pondered that statement for weeks.

End of the year lesson number 2

Take the

broken,

unused, and

forgotten

things of your past — spend time with them and mend.

I Believe that…

“We were designed by our Creator to see Him revealed in this world and enjoy a relationship with Him.  Through our own choices we fell and we broke.

Now we exist to Mend the Broken…so…they can Reach the Broken.  We can only do this with God and Together.”            ~The Church at Woodland

 

my house – a poem

My house was born

small

hidden

and

strange.

Quite unlikely.

My house is White.

Inside my house?

Well, sometimes she’s “not quite right”,

but she’s White.

At times she’s dirty.

I want her clean.

My house IS white.

(pause)

I need

hot.

I need

cold.

(pause)

I was given White!

I

hold onto Black?

(pause)

My house is small.

My

house

IS

White.

~the beginning~

 

a parable

par●a●ble:

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson

matthew 13:34

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables;

he did not say anything to them without using a parable.

Jesus.  He died being misunderstood
 

 

the saddest song i ever loved…

love will abide

take things in stride

sounds like good advice but there’s no one at my side…

and ‘time washes clean

loves wounds unseen’

that’s what someone told me but I don’t know what it means…

’cause I’ve done everything I know — to try and make you mine

and I think I’m gonna love you –

for a long, long time…

Daddy and I would listen to Linda every Saturday morning…

it was almost a ritual.  We’d blare Linda so loud Momma would start to get mad at us, even though she loved her music just as much as we did.

I never understood the meaning of this song until I reached my 40’s.  It was after I had come to reckon with my wounding.  The wounds of many a friend who had turned to foe.   For some reason…I love them.  I love the foe’s,  and I think I will love them…for a long, long time.

No wonder…no wonder…

…this is the saddest song I ever loved!

 

i’m a jerk…

ok…so…

This 866 phone number has been calling my cell number no less than 5X a day EVERY day for about the past 8 days.

I was in a hurry trying to get out the door this morning, you know…getting dressed, picking up the bedroom,  brushing my hair, thinking about the day, readjusting my schedule because it’s the first day back at school for the kids — when my cell rang.

“Oh crap, where’s my phone?”

So, I’m running to the kitchen to get my phone before it quits ringing and I trip over Brad’s shoes and mess up my freshly painted toenails.   OHHHH…that makes me really mad!

Yep, you guessed it!

1-866-###-####

Well, I’ve had it! I’m answering this time buddy!!

Representative:  Hello, is this Jane Marteen?

Me:  No.

Representative:  How are you doing ma’am.  My name is Duane with FSI.

Me:  I’m fine.  Don’t you EVER CALL ME AGAIN!

…and I hang up.

I hadn’t taken two steps toward my bedroom when the LORD said…

Holy Spirit:  “You were mean.   Duane is a man,  just doing his job.  I bet he’s glad he’s got a job and I bet he wishes he didn’t have to start off his day calling somebody like you.”

Me:  I’m sorry LORD.  What do I do?  Forgive me.  What do I do?

Holy Spirit:  Call him back.

So I did.  I called Duane back and asked him to forgive me.

He did.

He said thank you.

He put me on the Do Not Call List.

 

something supernatural…

so…

Several weeks ago Brad asked me if I would go with him to a church here in town and lead worship for them before he spoke to them about his mission trip to India.

OH GREAT! (yep, those were my unSpiritual unCreative unArts director thoughts.)

I thought — those people are traditional, and are not going to receive the kind of worship that comes from my soul and — I mean — what about my bare feet — and I mean — what about it being Sunday night — and  I mean what about their older people blah blah blah blah…………(yes I am an idiot…write it down!)

But…being the good little wifey that I am — I said — “yes, honey I’ll follow wherever you lead me.”  (sure)

So… last night — Rusty, Kara and I prepare an acoustic 5-song set for this group of about 70 people.  And as soon as I stepped up on their altar the LORD spoke to me — (oops, I forgot He might be there!  Before one word came out of my mouth I had to ask God to forgive me for my prejudice.)

My LORD gave me the sweetest freedom in leading worship last night.  He flooded my mind with memories of my Grandmother and my Daddy and my Mom.  Looking out at those “family-like-faces” I felt as if I were leading a giant family reunion in worship.  I remembered sayings that my Grandma had told me.  The LORD reminded me Why I lead worship with bare feet…(i do have a reason…).

Then Brad spoke about India and the LORD came in power.  They flooded the altar and got on their knees and wept about their silence — their lack of telling their Jesus stories — they haven’t been talking about Jesus either.  The whole room was weeping and praying and repenting!  I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time.

God is on the move.

Something supernatural is happening here.

 

Person A & Mud Buddy…

Let’s see…

This is what I’m trying to understand…

Person A is a good and honest person.

So is Person B.  So is Mud Buddy.

For now, let’s talk about the relationship between Person A and Mud Buddy.  They grew up together and spent a lot of time together…probably too much time together.  I’m sure that they had loads of fun playing in the mud and got into plenty of trouble with one another during those adolescent years and had their squabbles.

However,  “minors” turn into “majors” somewhere along the road…don’t they?  There will come an event that is not a squabble — it’s an all out blow-up!

Herein lies my observation –

Person A & Mud Buddy may plod through OR

Person A & Mud Buddy may gloss over OR

Person A & Mud Buddy may duke it out OR

Person A & Mud Buddy may just forget it…but whatever they do they stay together.  Somehow, the mud acts as cement.

What is the mud?

Because…it is the same with Person B and Mud Buddy too…

Even though Person B and Mud Buddy part earlier in life and reunite years later — something’s in the mud!

I’m not concluding that people must grow up together to have intimate, long- lasting relationships.  I know and have observed people recently who have known each other for 10-15 years and have gone through their ‘blow-ups’ and not blown up but are very close Mud Buddies.  They stay together.

I can tell you what the mud is not — the mud is not Jesus.

That observation is clear.

 

just thinking…again

So…I’m an “observant-type”.

(However, I have NO ability to talk on my cell phone and do anything else at the same time.  Just FYI…this really has nothing to do with anything…that is, unless you happen to pass by me in the grocery store and I’m standing dead still in the middle of the aisle with an “expired tag” glued to my forehead.  It’s because I’m talking on my cell phone…so now you understand why.)

Anyway...

I’ve been thinking…and observing something lately…

About relationships and friendships and family and communities and stuff….

Person A

will play in the mud with their best buddy in the third grade…they’ll throw their graduation caps together…go to the same college…their families will live in the same town…they will watch each others children marry and move out of state…they’ll call each other to keep in touch because the aches and pains of  years cause miles to stretch farther and farther…then one day Person A will one day stand over the mud buddy’s casket and shed hot tears and bid him farewell.

Person B

will play in the mud with their best buddy in the third grade…they’ll throw their graduation caps together…go to the same college…Person B moves off to take a  job…gets busy…forgets about the mud buddy…finds a good spouse…has some kids…makes some friends…loses some friends…moves away because they got another job…loses some more friends…got a divorce because the job was too demanding…meets someone at the new job and gets remarried and stays that way for 25+ years…out of the blue Person B starts thinking about the mud buddy…decides to call them…weird, because the mud buddy was thinking about Person B too.  That night Person B sheds hot tears.

I want to understand relationships and why some last and why some don’t.

I don’t think it has anything to do with personality types or desire.

It’s very intriguing to me…

These are just some of the things I think about…

(I also think about other things…like how to make toothpaste…?)

 

broken…

This past worship service I was offered the greatest privilege of my ministry service –

We had designed the service around a Broken Meal…The Lord’s Supper.

In the middle of the room, as a centerpiece, was our rustic Lord’s Table with lit tapers and metal planters on it.  “Growing” out of the planters were signs that said…

broken

crushed

splintered

each of the four corners of the table had our wooden plates with broken bread and wooden goblets with juice.

Brad and I had decided that we would have the two Lord’s Meal Attendants be at two of the corners and had asked two other servants to be at the other corners.  Sunday morning came and the other two servants had an emergency and couldn’t be at either of our Services.  So, Brad and I filled in for First Service and Rusty and Kara filled in for Second Service.

Little did I know…

that my heart would break…as the broken came to the broken table.

They looked me in the eyes and said:

“I am broken”… I was supposed to reply by saying: “the Body of Christ broken for you…take and be well.”

Well, I tried.  I choked out words…most of the broken choked out their words too.

I have to tell you that it was the most humbling act of service I’ve ever been involved in.

Not because of the creativity or the beauty that was placed on the table or the atmosphere in the room or anything other than the stunning beauty found in the eyes of Christ’s Broken as they came — completely unhindered.

This is the most amazing Church I’ve ever heard tale of…!

Always loving the Broken.

 

Happy Happy New Year!

I think you’re supposed to say that…I wouldn’t know because I’m not usually up this late!

I’m tired…it’s wayyyyyyyyy past my bedtime…12:57 AM to be exact.

Brad is already conked out…party pooper…!

We got back from our good friends house about 45 minutes ago and as we drove up in the driveway Brad was yelling…”I hear my bed screaming out my name…Jayme…do you hear it?”  Then he got out of the van and ran inside…stripped down…and jumped under the covers!  He’s old!

Me, I’m having one of those nights…again..where I can’t sleep.

I am so thankful for those Tylenol Sleepy Time pills! 

Anyway…I was thinking back over 2008 today and I liked 2008.  It was a friend to me.  Don’t misunderstand me…2008 wasn’t “friendly to me”… but it was a ” friend to me“.  There is a big difference.  Sometimes friends are

• difficult or
• tough or
• kind of like medicine…

they may not be exactly what you want…but they’re exactly what you need.

Overall, 2008 gets a √+ !

The Big 5 in 2008 for me were…(not in any particular order)…

• My Grandma finally got to look into Jesus’ eyes…and hold his hands…and walk in the garden with him…and make him some french toast!
• I realized that it’s not vital if my bathrooms are spotless…(I just don’t want them to stink.)
• Cody & Karen were baptized.
• God is teaching me (the hard way) the definition of forgiveness.
• I began and finished the first in a series of short stories…”A Tale of Marydale”.

As you look back over 2008 – it may not have been friendly…and that’s okay!

What are your Big 5?

(p.s. - it's 2 am and I can go to sleep now...good night 2009)

I love these people!
They helped me like 2008!
They are wonderful!