8 Mar

Introducing a New Series on Receiving Others as Gifts

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

20131206-163719.jpgI wrote a post in December based on a portion of the Deaconess litany about the idea of receiving others as gifts. I said then that this is a topic that I wanted to write more about.

Then in January, inspired by an old post from my friend, David Housholder, about finding your “life message,” I did some journaling about my own life message. I came up with three parts:

  1. I want to help people know to the core of their being that they are dearly beloved by God in a right-now, no-matter-what way. (I realize now that this is why I love to preach so much.)
  2. I’m passionate about seeing all of God’s gifts unleashed in his created people and I want to support others as they walk boldly in their gifting for the sake of others.
  3. I envision a world where people respect others and receive one another’s ideas & service as gifts. I believe that we need each other, not to control each other but to serve one another.

Notice the third part–there’s that phrase again–about receiving others as gifts. So, as you can see, this kept popping up as a theme.

Meanwhile, I was growing frustrated with the blog here. I mean, I was faithfully posting every Friday, but I felt like I wasn’t being very purposeful about my topics. When I sat down to do some brainstorming about blog topics, once again many of the topics I came up with seemed to relate to the idea of receiving others as gifts!

So all of that is why I am officially starting “Receiving Others as Gifts” as a series here on the blog.

To get an overview of my thinking on this topic, be sure to check out my previous post, Receiving Others as Gifts. I have also created a list of ten topics that will each become a post in the series. Here are those ten topics:

  1. We Need Each Other–Mutually Giving and Receiving
  2. Companionship Over the Long Haul
  3. The Giftliness of Others
  4. The Giftedness of Others
  5. Holy Others Belonging to God
  6. Sanctity of Life
  7. Working Together – Cooperation & Collaboration
  8. Finding Common Ground when Values Compete/Conflict
  9. Honoring Differences in Style, Personality, Approach
  10. Gratitude for & Gracious Reception of One Another

These are subject to change and I may add to the list. But, in general, unless the Spirit moves me otherwise, these topics will be on the blog over the next 10 Fridays.

I have no idea if any of this will make sense outside of my own brain, but it is in me to write it and I need to get it out there. I would love your feedback as this goes along. Please tell me what makes sense and what doesn’t. Let me know what you’d like me to expand on. And, if something rubs you the wrong way, I’d be honored if you would tell me that too.

 

 

Read all the posts in the Receiving Others as Gifts series:

4 Mar

On Our Relationship with God and How We Live

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

freedom

When I first considered becoming a contributor at Life & Liberty I was drawn to the dual focus of promoting (1) a non-coercive society that is (2) spiritually grounded. Non-coercion and non-violence are important ideals to me on both governmental and interpersonal levels. And I believe that for people to be truly free of coercion, spiritual grounding is essential.

To see what more I have to say about this topic, check out my latest essay over there, How Spiritual Grounding Sets Us Free. Click the photo link above to go to that post.

28 Feb

How I am Fallen, Yet Bold to Stand

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

20140228-163720.jpg

My mind is cluttered today with a burning issue. A clever thought would be to write about what is burning on my mind, right?

Except, no.

You see, I keep putting myself out here online and I try to be honest and vulnerable, but there are still things I hold back.

Dear internet, I don’t tell you everything, but I hope we can still be friends.

Maybe I could trust you with this but I’m not ready yet.

And maybe one day I will tell you more.

Then again, maybe I won’t.

You see, there is this thorn in my side, my besetting sin, my great downfall in life, that I don’t dare bring to the bright lights of the big internet. I don’t dare.

I alluded to it in my The Home of the Brave post at Life & Liberty. And, as noted there, I have people in my life that I can talk to about it. So, I am not alone in facing this demon.

But this is an awfully ugly demon. I would say it is even uglier than my pride, about which, dear internet, you were very gracious when I admitted to it.

But the costs of sharing about this one are too great. I find it wisest and best to keep this one more guarded.

And it all sounds so horrifying to say it like this. Oh internet, there’s this one thing that I won’t tell you because it’s so awful—because I’m so awful.

And I do often feel like if people really knew this about me then I would lose a lot of respect.

But here’s the thing, even this, my greatest failing, this does not define me.

I don’t say that cavalierly, as if, hey, it’s no big deal, I’m not that bad.

Because I am that bad.

It’s just that I know, I trust, I believe that my God is bigger and better than all the bad I am.

One of the times I come back to again and again in my spiritual life as proof that God is bigger than my mess is the time God was with me in the muck. I was waste-deep in my own folly, but God was there when no one else could hear. God got me out of the muck when no one else could help me.

And I know, I trust, I believe that his goodness in and through me is my true destiny.

And so, I talk with my God and those trusted others about this great struggle. And with God’s help, I work through it, sometimes around it, and I hope to grow from it over time.

Meanwhile, I yield to God’s love for me, I receive his goodness, and I live into my belovedness. I come to him, feeling flawed and fallen, and I let him lift me up.

He sets me on my feet, bold to stand, bold to speak and write and serve and show his love to others.

And I pray this for you too, that whatever drags you down in life, makes you feel scared to even mention, I pray that you will experience God’s bigness and goodness and your forgiveness and belovedness in him.

26 Feb

On Control Issues & Parenting…

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

BoyLeaping

My son will hit double digits next month. These nearly-10 years since his birth have flown by. And all-of-a-suddenly he’s got his own ideas about this young life of his.

We were playing out in the farm field the other day and he asked me whether I was going to stop him from doing something. And I reflected on the reality that it has been a long time since I actually could physically stop him from doing something I was concerned about.

I mean, if a child of 3 darts toward the street, he’s easily caught, picked up and taken to safety. But a child of 9 11/12…

For more of my musings about how I’m dealing with my son’s growing autonomy, click the photo above to go to Life & Liberty to read the rest of this essay, When Kids (and Others) Can’t Be Controlled.

24 Feb

On Why I Feel Free to Question God

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

JenQuestions

I’ve written before about the importance that asking questions has had in my faith-development. That post, The Ministry of Accepting Questions, made the case that God’s spirit worked through the people of faith who have accepted my questions.

I wanted to expand on this a bit because asking questions is still a big part of how I live out my faith. So, I wrote up a post for Life & Liberty, 5 Reasons I Feel Free to Question God. Click my questiony face in the photo above to see my reasons.

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