All posts by Johnna

I am a Christian educator and writer.I have worked in churches, denominational offices, and seminaries. I have a PhD in Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, with a focus on Practical Theology and educating in faith. In 2010, my book, "How the Other Half Lives: the challenges facing clergy spouses and partners," was published by Pilgrim Press. I believe that words can build doorways that lead to encounters with God through the Spirit.
Education, Meditation, observation, Prayer

Be Brave

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Be brave.

My upstairs neighbor, George Greer, said that the first time he said goodbye to my nine month old son, Colin; they were his parting words to Colin every time after. I thought it was an amusing way to part company with a baby at the time, but over the 20+ years since, I’ve come to see it as a powerful benediction:

Be brave. Take on the day’s adventure  – who knows what will happen on any given day, in any given minute? Do the work which may be necessary but won’t always be easy or fulfilling.

Be brave. Don’t hide who you are. Meet whomever and whatever comes as your true self, not hiding behind a mask.  The world may knock the stuffing out of you sometimes, but it will also provide steadfast companions to help you on your way.

Be brave. Don’t live a lesser life because a deep one involves loss and pain. You can change the world in ways no one else can, but it takes some fortitude.

Be brave. With God’s help, be brave.

Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties. 

[For the full prayer, click For Today: Phillips Brooks prayer above]

Meditation, observation, Prayer, Theology

O God

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The world wasn’t created by me, and it isn’t limited to my life span or experience. I wasn’t self-created, and I’m not self-sufficient or self-sustained. I am a beloved child, living in God’s creation – not the center of it.

As I begin my day, may I remember that this life of mine is a gift from God. I am never alone.

And the same is true of everyone and everything else.

For the full prayer, click “For Today: Phillips Brooks Prayer” above.

Education, Meditation, Prayer, Theology, Uncategorized, worship

For Today: A Prayer by Phillips Brooks

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It’s the last thing you read before you leave one Forward Day by Day for the next one. I’d call it a way to redefine the day from a given number of hours to accomplish tasks to another chance to live humbly before God and in loving relationship with self and neighbor. It was written by Phillips Brooks, the man who penned the word to “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and served as rector of Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts. There’s an old fashioned air to this prayer, and a powerful use of words. It’s going to be the focus of these post-Easter writings, and my daily prayer. I hope you join me in praying:

O God: Give me strength to live another day; Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties; Let me not lose faith in other people; Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness; Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them; Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity: Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things; Grant me this day some new vision of thy truth; Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness; and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls; in the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

[Forward Day by Day, Forward Movement, Cincinnati, OH, www.forwardmovement.org]

This is the first in a series on this prayer. For more on this prayer, click “For Today” above.

Meditation, observation, Theology

What will I do with it?

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Monday, April 13th, 2020

The wind howls outside, shaking the windows and snapping the flag just over my back fence. Power lines dance and branches clap their twiggy hands. The storm will continue for hours, then move on – not the same deadly force it had in the South, but enough to offer downed lines and flooded roads.

I don’t fear the storm – my house is well built and I’ve seen many a more severe one. In a few hours, the sun will return; in a few days, the seeds I planted yesterday will be green shoots. I can enjoy the wild weather because the mild days are on the way. Life renews itself, asking little of me but recognition and participation.

But weather isn’t the only storm. Everyone is hunkered down, waiting for the pandemic to pass. Many have perished, and many more are suffering. This will end, just as the storm out my window will, but the cost is far greater and the damage far worse.

When I can return to something like my normal life, will I do so with a greater appreciation for the blessings I have? Will I do my best to make sure that the part of this world I call my home is better prepared should it happen again? Will I take action to strengthen and serve the most vulnerable among my neighbors?

What will I do with the time I am given? Will I live a resurrected life, a grateful life, a holier life? I hope so. Will I return to old habits that waste time and effort, focus on myself to the exclusion of others, take my life for granted? I hope not, but I expect I will – at least in part.

God forgive me if I live the rest of this life as if Easter never happened.

Lent, Prayer, Theology

Perspective

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With a pandemic redefining our daily reality, in light of the wisdom of the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu found in The Book of Joy, at this time of remembering Christ’s crucifixion, maybe I can be brave enough, loving enough, and wise enough to…

[Window decal bought at Macro World, Portsmouth, NH]

What am I waiting for?

Meditation, observation, Prayer

Asking the Impossible

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My God,

All these things I’ve prayed for these past few weeks are things I cannot accomplish or attain; growing in faith and living a prayerful life are beyond my limited spiritual capacity. I need a love far deeper than my own to steady me, to guide me, to embrace me when I fall and when I stand. I need you.

I know what I’m asking for is humanly impossible. But you aren’t limited by my limitations. Have mercy, have patience. With your help, I’ll try to do the same. Amen. 

[Kyrie, Mr Mister, Welcome to the Real World, RCA, 1985]

And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

A Morning Resolve, Forward Day by Day, inside front cover; Cincinnati, Ohio: Forward Movement. www.ForwardMovement.org.

Meditation, observation, Prayer

Sleep

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In particular, I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep, which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right. A Morning Resolve, Forward Day By Day

Sleep is the letting go of the day, with everything that it held and everything that it didn’t. We swim in waters far deeper and more mysterious than the pool of our conscious mind when we close our eyes and dream. Clock time loses its hold on us, and gravity can’t hold us on the ground. God and the angels come to us in sleep – perhaps because it’s so much easier for us to recognize and embrace the holy there.

Why is it that we’re so willing to deprive ourselves of sleep and our chance to walk with God just to check an extra item off our to do lists?

Education, gratitude, Meditation, observation, Prayer

Eating My Words

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Conversations with my chef friend, Penny Cameron

1996, West Windsor, New Jersey

Me: How can it cost $5 for a loaf of decent bread?

Penny: Make your own in a bread machine. It’s easy.

Me: Not likely.

2000, New Hope, PA

Me: Genuardi’s is out of the good chicken stock again.

Penny: Make your own. It’s easy.

Me: When pigs fly.

2001, September, New Hope, PA

Me: Sugar free applesauce is almost impossible to find.

Penny: It’s easy to make on the stove and freeze in ice cube trays. Even better, can it – apples are cheap right now.

Me: I don’t I have an inner farmer to channel.

Since those conversations, I’ve done everything Penny suggested. I’ve made my own chicken stock for almost 20 years. I’ve canned applesauce and more for almost a decade. I’ve channeled an inner farmer enough to become a teaching gardener, showing preschool children how to grow and enjoy herbs and vegetables.

Penny died just a few months after my applesauce complaint – liver failure. Whenever I take a chance and try to grow or cook something new, I feel her spirit surround me. What a beautiful way for the Spirit to show me how to eat with intention and thanks.