Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

26 Jul

Shrinking, Shirking and Shutting Down

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Brokenness, Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

20130726-181414.jpgSo this whole self-image and self-importance thing has been a theme here lately on the blog. What I thought was going to be a simple post about a little snippet of The Deaconess Litany has turned into a mini-series complete with lots of my own drama.

Dana Hanson, one of my fellow contributors at Life and Liberty had a sermon about “Self-Forgetfulness” that made me really wish I could get myself out of my own way! (Have I mentioned what an extraordinary tribe it is that I’ve found there?) But I’m not quite able to forget myself just yet.

I gotta keep writing about this stuff because it is exactly what God is doing in my life right now. And working through this is part of how I am living out my faith (which, of course is the tagline of this very site). Also, I think that awareness and mindfull release of unhealthy self-focus is better than pretending I’ve already got this figured out.

So far I’ve shared about my desire for fame and glory (that bit from The Deaconess Litany about thinking too highly of myself). But I haven’t said as much about the other side of me that wants to hide, to shrink away from what God has called me to do.

The Deaconess Litany requests “the mind of Christ” that we not “deprecate ourselves in unbelief, calling common what you have called clean.” The temptation to dismiss my own gifts has been all too great over the years.

I’ve found myself relegating my creativity to paper crafts that hardly anyone sees instead of putting words on paper to share as widely as possible as God put on my heart in high school.

I have kept many of my ideas quiet instead of using the speaking ability that God has given me.

Why? Because I didn’t think it mattered. I didn’t think I mattered. What good is it to write if nobody wants to read it? What good is it to speak if nobody wants to hear it?

In a lot of ways, I just shut down. I shirked my calling because I decided for the world that my voice was better off muted.

A funny thing happens when you don’t write or speak, nobody knows that you have something to say. And if you’re not saying it, they’re not listening because there’s nothing to hear!

It is only in daring to share that you can have any sense of whether what you want to say matters. So for my lost years when I was busy hiding and assuming nobody cares, I was getting zero actual feedback.

There may have been a time or two that I tried to pipe up but was given a gag order. But to universalize that negative feedback was to do myself and my gifts a disservice. And ultimately to not do what God was calling me to, was indeed an act of “unbelief.” I was “calling common” or unimportant what God had already blessed and set before me.

So then, if I am walking with God, submitting my will and my ego to Jesus, and praying in the Spirit that other people will hear the Gospel through me, maybe I will indeed soon forget myself after all!

Thanks be to God!

What about you? Are there things that you feel drawn by God to do, but you’re dragging your feet? What is holding you back?

19 Jul

Let’s Talk About Spiritual Shrinking As Well As Spiritual Growth

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Brokenness, Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , , , .

spiritshrink.jpgSpiritual growth is one thing, but what about when we feel more like we’re just plain shrinking? I recently was inspired to write on my blog about spiritual growth because I believe that growth in our relationship with God in Christ Jesus is truly important. I love seeing God transform people’s lives so they can be a greater blessing to the world around them!

That post took inspiration from some “grow animals” that my son had submerged in water and I cautioned that spiritual growth is not just a simple matter of “Just Add Water.” Then something happened that took this idea to a new low–once the “grow animals” were taken out of the water and set out to dry, they shrunk considerably (see photo).

I knew then that I had to write about “spiritual shrinking” because our growth in faith is not always as linear as we’d like. And ultimately, being willing to talk with each other about the shrinking can increase our growth potential in Christ.

What do I mean?

I’m playing with this idea because when those little animals dried out it reminded me of other terms we use to speak of such things in our spiritual lives:

  • wilderness times,
  • dry spells,
  • and feeling drained.

Spiritual growth is not magical and “spiritual shrinking” happens more than we discuss.

I think part of why we don’t discuss the shrinking is because even if we don’t expect growth over night we do expect that we at least keep growing. We impose on ourselves some kind of expectation that each day we have to become a better and better version of ourselves. So when something occurs in our spiritual lives that causes us to shrivel up, we also find ourselves feeling like we need to suck it up and not talk about it.

When life happens

Of course, we want to remain in Christ and keep trying to live more fully into who God has called us each to be! But sometimes, life happens. Circumstances come along that seem to suck the life out of us:

  • We lose loved ones, then well-intentioned friends add to our pain by telling us to just “get over it.”
  • We struggle with a physical or mental health condition that is flaring out of control.
  • We experience strife with a friend or colleague and the relationship seems irreparable.
  • We can’t gain ground on our goals no matter how hard we try.
  • We learn just enough about God and Jesus to find we have a whole new set of questions that lead us to a crisis of faith.

These and many other predicaments can leave us feeling parched and shrunken in faith and life.

While we are drying out

I think it is important to name the reality of “spiritual shrinking” because we all have times in which growth does not appear to be happening. At some point we all have challenges in our spiritual lives. We don’t need to let these waning times prevent us from talking about our faith.

In fact, finding safe people with whom to discuss our spiritual wilderness can provide:

  • their presence in the midst of the struggle.
  • a sounding board to allow us to find meaning about the difficulty.
  • comfort rather than critique.
  • hope that God cares in both right-now and forever ways.
  • prayer with &/or for us.
  • and more.

Exactly how to find safe people like that is a little harder to define. Sometimes testing a person’s reaction with a small piece of your story can give an indication of their trustworthiness. Many times formal Christian support groups form around shared problem areas.

Most of all…

One thing I know most of all is that I want to be the kind of person, the kind of Christian, with whom other believers can share their struggles. I don’t ever want people to think they have to put on a pretense with me. I don’t expect my friends to be spiritual giants. I want them to be real with me and I want to be real with them. If I can be that kind of friend, then that itself is huge.

12 Jul

I’m Thrilled to Announce My First Podcast at “Life and Liberty”

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Community, Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Listen to my first podcast at Life and Liberty: "Where is God in the Muck?"

Listen to my first podcast at Life and Liberty: “Where is God in the Muck?”

Friends, I am so excited to tell you about my first podcast ever! (A “podcast” is an audio recording on the internet that you can listen to on a computer or a handheld device.) This podcast is about one of my scariest experiences I’ve ever had and how I got through it. I was 14 years old at the time. The story is titled, “Where is God in the Muck?” This is the first of my new monthly contributions on “Spirituality” over at Life and Liberty.

>>>“Please click here to listen to the podcast “Where is God in the Muck?”<<<

Keep reading to find out how I got this opportunity and why I’m so excited about it.

Cool, How’d that Happen?

When David Housholder put a call-out for spirituality contributors on a Lutheran clergy Facebook group, I responded before I had the chance to over-analyze the opportunity. Not long before that he had commented on my blog and I became an instant fan of his. I mean, he’s a tradionally-published author with real books to his name and yet he noticed little old me! He was so supportive of my writing that when he said he needed spirituality contributors, I nominated myself.

(I’m grateful to Clint Schnekloth for putting me on his blogroll when both my acquaintance with him and my blog itself were only a few weeks old. It was through Clint Schnekloth’s blog that David Housholder got to my blog to begin with.)

Isn’t this Great?!

The irony is not lost on me that the exact post at which David Housholder first “noticed me” addressed my awareness of my own desire for greatness. Even my elation at being noticed by someone more successful than myself drips with egocentrism.

Also not lost on me is that the content of David Housholder’s original comment to me was, “make the big time where you are.” That’s great advice for being faithful with small things! But then that same guy is giving me this big opportunity? I’m still working all this out in my own spirit.

The Media Business

I’m gonna tell you right out, we hope to make money over at Life and Liberty. It is after all, a magazine. And magazines exist to make money.

On my blog here, I don’t make a dime off any clicks on anything at this site. I’m not directly selling anything here. I started this thing for the sheer need to share my voice with the world on a more regular basis. I need to do this just because I can’t not do it anymore. I’ve squandered my voice too long.

But over there, we mean business…well…hopefully! The site is barely covering costs right now, but it’s gaining momentum and it has the potential to be profitable. I would be delighted if a stream of income from my work there could contribute to my family’s financial goals.

Getting Political

Also, and this is the part I’m mostest scaredest to talk about, if you hadn’t already figured it out, Life and Liberty is kinda political. Okay, a lot political. I’ve tried really hard to pin down my own ideology. I don’t fit neatly into the bipartisan landscape as it is. And so, I have never really thought outloud much of my political stance with anyone outside of my very closest family and friends.

When David Housholder said that contributors would have to be able to work with the Libertarian-leaning of his site, I told him I was secretly very comfortable with that. The way I’ve been voting doesn’t thrill me anyway and I have become more open to Libertarian ideas over time. But, when he formally accepted my application and was willing to give me a shot as a contributor, I had to decide if I was willing to go public as having affinity for Libertarian ideas.

Who’s Ideas Are These?

I went to the Libertarian party website to study their platform. And the more I read, I just kept nodding. And I figured if large portions of their platform felt like something I might’ve written myself, then maybe it makes sense to be honest about the resonance I feel with it.

Once I got the Libertarian concern resolved for myself, the rest was easy. David Housholder’s vision for a free society that is spiritually deep is akin to thoughts and ideas I have had for years. What it comes down to is this, I wouldn’t be over there if David Housholder didn’t agree with me as much as he does! (Listen to this and read my comment exchange with him to see what I mean.)

What Goes On Over There?

There are things on the site I can’t even look at, there are things that make me shake my head just reading the title, and there are things on the site that point out realities that make me sad in ways that I’ve tried to explain here on the blog. At the same time there are things over there that give me much hope, there are things that give me a fresh perspective, and there are even things that kinda encourage a belief in fairies!

Also, as I’ve begun to meet the other contributors, I am particularly drawn to Lisa Goodwin and the amazingly deep things she has to say. I’m glad to join the team as a second female voice.

Taking a Step

So, I’m stepping out into something new. I’m excited and nervous. And I don’t know where any of it is going. But somehow working over there brings out more of who I am really which is so freeing. I hope you’ll take this step with me!

28 Jun

Spiritual Growth Takes More Than “Just Add Water”

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

20130628-144715.jpgSummer is here and that means lots of free time for my dear son. So, the other day, he decided to try out some of his “grow animals.” Grow animals are these little encapsulated sponges that you put in water and they “magically” grow to be ten times their original size. Seeing these animals grow right before my very eyes got me thinking about our spiritual lives and how growth as a Christian doesn’t happen so easily.

What about Baptism?

As a good Lutheran, I am probably missing an opportunity to talk about the Sacrament of Baptism. We Lutherans are big on our Baptismal theology and teaching–through the waters of Baptism God adopts us as sons and daughters. Perhaps “just add water” could be a fun angle for a baptismal post.

But…

Living out our faith day in and day out, growing in Christ throughout our lives over time, is not something that just happens right before our very eyes. We can’t just add water and experience phenomenal growth in minutes. The truth is that even my son’s “grow animals” took more like days than minutes to reach their 10x growth potential.

What is involved with spiritual growth?

Spiritual growth, the ways we learn to rely more upon God and be more like Jesus in how we love our neighbors, involves:

  • God’s love and action for us first and foremost. Our growth in faith is an outgrowth of our trust in what God has first done for us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  • Showing up. How do we “show up” in our spiritual lives? By going to worship–hearing God’s Word and receiving the Sacraments. We also show up through spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study. Showing up at worship and spiritual disciplines gives us opportunities to connect with God which helps us grow in our faith and trust in God.
  • Spending time with fellow Christians and learning together how to best live our lives as the Body of Christ. By being with others who are also trying to live this out and grow in faith, we can share ideas and offer support when needed.
  • Practice over time. Growing in our spiritual lives doesn’t just happen in days or weeks, it takes months and years and decades. It is something that happens over the course of our entire lives.
  • Patience & learning from messes. Sometimes, maybe more often than any of us really want to admit, we mess up. We fail in some way to live up to the name of Christ. Sometimes Christians give Christianity a bad name. It is sad, but true. Instead of wallowing in our messes, we can learn from them and let those lessons become part of our growth.
  • Saying we’re sorry. When we do make messes, it is important to acknowledge them, and to say we’re sorry–to God and to those we’ve harmed. It is difficult for anyone to move forward when messes are left messy.

God is doing it!

Yes, growing in our faith is more complicated than “just add water.” But I do not intend for this list to be a legalistic checklist of whether we’re doing our faith-living right. This is merely descriptive of the types of experiences that contribute to our spiritual growth. Our spiritual growth does not happen on our own. It is not something we have to do for ourselves to make God love us, it is something that God works in and through us. May we each experience God’s love more deeply in our lives as we seek to grow in our love for God and our neighbors.

What do you think? Is there anything you would add to the list of what is involved in spiritual growth? What has helped you grow in your faith?

——-

If you enjoyed this post about spiritual growth, you may also appreciate the follow up post titled Let’s Talk About Spiritual Shrinking As Well As Spiritual Growth (click the title to read the post).

21 Jun

Why I Love Conferences Even Though I’m an Introvert

Posted by Jennifer Clark Tinker in Community, Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , .

20130621-095048.jpg
I’m a certified introvert–one of those people that draws energy and strength from time alone to think and process. I’ve taken the Jung Type personality tests numerous times and have flip-flopped on everything else except introversion. With all my need for alone time it always surprises me how much I love conferences. But I do! I’ve been thinking about why and here is what I’ve come up with.

Expanding my world of ideas

A common description of introverts says that we like to spend time in our “inner world of ideas.” And that is very true of me. I can be in a crowd of people and be totally withdrawn into my own thought-world. If someone says my name, I’ll come back to the group. If you need me, you will have my undivided attention. But if you don’t need me right now I’ll just be here in my head.

The thing about a conference is that it feeds this inner world of mine. New ideas from keynotes and workshops get added into my own mix of thoughts. I think pretty good thoughts on my own, but I think even better thoughts when my brain has more tumbling around up there. The talks I go to at conferences energize my introverted self because they give me more to think about.

One-on-one conversations

Another thing about introverts is we tend to be more comfortable interpersonally with one-on-one connections. Having gobs of people together in one place can be a bit overwhelming (see above about withdrawing into my inner world). This in itself can be reason enough for many introverts to avoid conferences altogether.

I don’t let that sea of people scare me away though. Instead, when I go to a conference I like to carve out time for deeper, more intimate, conversations. Sometimes this means talking with my husband about what I’m learning. But oftentimes I find one or two other participants that I can talk with about what we’re thinking about, what life is like these days, or how we’ve been growing in our faith. By nurturing one-on-one connections at a conference, my introvert friendship needs are wonderfully met.

The rule of two feet

Even though my inner-world of ideas and my intimate friendships can be nourished at conferences, there are times when the whole thing gets to be a little too much for me. Sometimes my brain is too full for just one more remix of “let’s all say where we’re from and what we do and who we came with and why we’re here and what we really, really love about being here.” Sometimes I just can’t do another thing with another human being.

When I feel like that I exercise what my Deaconess sisters refer to as “The Rule of Two Feet.” We have this understanding among us at our Deaconess annual meeting that if a given scheduled activity is too much, or if you are just too tired and need a nap and you can’t come to every, every thing it is okay. We trust your “two feet” to take you where you need to be throughout the event. Even though other conferences don’t state an official two-feet rule, I find that my ability to appreciate any conference is enhanced by respecting my two-feet.

True to type?

While it may not make sense on the surface that a confirmed introvert could be so exuberant about a conference, it works for me. In fact, paying attention to my introvert needs is what makes a conference so great for me. I don’t speak for all introverts because their experience could be very different from mine. I’m simply sharing what works for me and why I love conferences.

What about you? How do you feel about conferences? How does your personality influence how you participate in large group events?

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