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NAKED FAITH

Former American Press staff writer Sunny Brown Farley writes "Naked Faith," a look at faith in its natural form: lived out in the day-to-day lives of ordinary people.

 Meet the Blogger

For all the saints

Posted November 1, 2009 at 9:39 am
Filed Under Faith & Religion | Leave a Comment

When I moved to Southwest Louisiana in 1991, I met and worked with a woman named Donna.

She was so kind to me. She and her husband invited me to dinner at their house. She was always friendly and fun to work with.

The two of us changed jobs and began to work together at the American Press.

We weren’t both at the Lake Charles office. She was in Sulphur, but we kept in contact and maintained our friendship.

Then in the late 1990s, we became something more to one another. We became sisters in the Christian faith.

Donna and her family were Christians already. I think that may have been what drew me to her though I didn’t understand that at the time. There was just something different about Donna – something special. It was the Light of Christ that shown in her.

Donna invited me to go with her family on a mission trip to Mexico. I think that is where we bonded the most.

We slept on cots in a fellowship hall together with her little daughter between us. We prayed together. We dug ditches together and ate tortillas together.

When Donna came down with cancer a few years later, I sat with her in the hospital and she asked me to read scriptures to her. She was so brave. She was so strong.

Of course, that was Christ in her.

She is united with God now as a member of the Church Triumphant.

I miss her and think of her often.

This morning, as I pondered the meaning of All Saints Day, she came to mind again. I picked up my violin and played the song I played at her funeral. I thought about how Christ radiated in her life and how she drew people to her and Him.

Thank you God for putting a saint like Donna in my life. Please tell her I send my love. Amen

Here comes the sun

Posted October 28, 2009 at 8:05 am
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It seems like it has been raining for days on end.

Spiritually, I think we all have rainy days, too.

Ever notice there are seasons of just blah! Nothing seems to go right and we have to put on extra gear to protect ourselves from the onslaught of yuckiness coming at us.

I think we get spiritually drenched sometimes. We become weighted down and soaking wet and miserable. We move a little slower and feel a little colder.

It is during those times, that we need to seek God to warm us and protect us. God is so faithful to keep us.

And then, one day, we wake up and the sky is different color.

The grays turn a brilliant shade of blue and the clouds alight with golds and reds and pinks.

The sun always returns, doesn’t it? And oh how wonderful it is to have a season of sun after a season of rain!

Psalm 113:3 says: “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.”

Let us praise God on this good day and always – rain or shine…

Down, but not out!

Posted October 18, 2009 at 10:16 am
Filed Under Faith & Religion | Leave a Comment

Ahhh, the flu.

It has been exactly seven days today since I came down with the flu. I had forgotten how horrible the flu is: Coughing, fever, aching, stomach issues (to put it nicely).

This week has been filled with negotiations with God, prayers of pleading and the constant flow of comfort scriptures through my mind.

I have survived.

This morning, I was oddly not in church. I decided to follow the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control and stay away from others for the prescribed length of time.

And so I sat outside in my backyard, turned on my computer and thought about God.

The great thing is, apparently many others did the same thing today and it blessed my soul!

Let me share with you all a few of the posts by friends of mine on Facebook:

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my soul be pleasing to you this morning. Amen”

“O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise!” Psalm 8:1-2

“I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9

Thank you God for being present everywhere on this good morning!!

A Seed Planted

Posted October 4, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Filed Under Faith & Religion | 2 Comments

About five or six years ago, my husband and I were serving as youth directors in a small East Texas church.

One of our flock was a cheerful young girl named Andrea.

Andrea was funny, happy and bright. She came to church alone. Someone in the congregation picked her up and dropped her off at home before and after worship and for youth meetings and church functions.

She was faithful to come to everything even without much support and encouragement from her parents.

She went through a confirmation class with other youngsters from the church one year and after learning about what it means to be a Christian, she became one.

Andrea was one of the kids who really got it.

She felt the love of God and felt a deep love for God.

I still remember picking her up for a sunrise Easter service that year and listening to her talk about how she was so filled with a love for God that she just had to serve the Lord.

After moving around for several years, moving out of state to college and coming home again, Andrea has once again settled close by and returned to my life.

She is now a young woman though she is still the same funny, happy and bright person she was a girl. She works at a retail store and takes classes at the local college.

She has a bunch of friends and – best of all – now has a new faith family.

Today, Andrea joined a church near her home.

I could not have been more proud as I sat in the pews and applauded her decision. She pledged to support the church with her prayers, her presence, her gifts, her service and her witness.

She beamed as she stood before her brothers and sisters in Christ.

Around her neck she wore the silver cross necklace she received as a gift upon her confirmation years ago. It was a reminder of the seed planted in her young life, a seed that has grown as she has grown.

I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for Andrea.

One thing is for sure, God loves her and so do I!

In the Light

Posted September 21, 2009 at 8:14 am
Filed Under Faith & Religion | 2 Comments

As Christians, we should hold up everything in our lives in the Light for careful examination.

This week, I held up a game I play and questioned whether it was really in line with my faith. The game is Mafia Wars. Because it is a game on Facebook, I posted to my friends that I was wrestling with the issue.

A friend of mine from seminary wrote about this in his blog – something worth reading. The blog can be found at http://fumc-rr.ctx.umportal.org/main/article.asp?id=5901.

Check it out! Also, let me know what you think!

My dog, the PP

Posted September 18, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Filed Under Faith & Religion | 4 Comments

Most everyone who is clergy and has kids has heard of the term PK.

Apparently, there is this theory that preacher’s kids (or PKs) are somehow more ill-behaved than the rest of the kids out there.

I don’t know if this is true or not, but I decided today that my dog is a PP – a preacher’s pet.

Today, I brought our yellow lab Sally to our son’s school for bring-your-pet-to-school day.

I had little choice in the matter because as soon as our three-year-old found out Sally could come to school with him, there was no convincing him otherwise.

So I brought the dog.

I put her on the strongest leash we own and we entered the carpeted gym at the church where our son attends day school.

There were lots of dogs, a hamster, two rabbits and a cat. The parents all stood near their pets and we waited for the kids to arrive.

Sally barked and wagged her tail. Harmless enough I thought, but her barking completely disrupted the blessing-of-the-animals part of the event, making me wonder if she might need more of an exorcism than a blessing. I mean how rude! Our dog comes form a clergy family, she should know better!

From there, things only got worse. At some point I noticed that Sally was shedding profusely. The veterinarian explained to me once that dogs shed a lot when they are excited. They also slobber a lot. She did that, too.

So I stood in a pile of white fur and slobber and tried to keep her from jumping on the children as they paraded through the gym to pet the animals.

My little boy was in one of the last groups to come into the gym. I was so excited to see him. He waved and I waved at him and we blew kisses at each other and I took some pictures of him.

I guess I was too distracted to notice that Sally had to poop.

I never saw her bow up in the poop stance. Nothing.

I just know that I looked down at some point and there it was – the biggest pile of poop I had ever seen in my life. The parents in my area heard me gasp in horror.

I thought I would die of embarrassment. One offered me a poop bag and another offered some baby wipes. I cleaned it up best I could. All the while, Sally wagged and shed and slobbered and I’m not sure, but I think she was smiling.

My dog, the PP who did more than that on the gymnasium floor.

As we left the school, one of the moms said to me: “It’s a great story.”

I think she is right, so I decided to share it in this blog.

By the time we got home, my inclination to kick the dog had passed and I was reminded that I love that animal in spite of her sometimes ill-behavior.

Made me think of how God must feel about us.

Troubled by Joy

Posted September 9, 2009 at 8:31 am
Filed Under Faith & Religion | Leave a Comment

It’s not often I lose sleep, but last night was one such rare occasion.

I had Joy on my mind and I was troubled.

I work in college ministry and every Tuesday we open our doors to provide a free lunch to students. They come in and eat and fellowship and experience the love of Christ.

Yesterday, there was a new face amid the sea of students. Among the young, beautiful and energetic student population, Joy stood out a stark contrast.

She was old. She was tired. She was dirty. She was sick.

She moved slowly toward the dining hall and I was drawn to her.

I asked if she was hungry. She said she was looking for something to eat and a quiet place to pray. I told her she had come to just the right place.

We gave her a giant plate of nachos, which she struggled to eat with trembling hands.

She finished her meal and I escorted her to our chapel. It was empty there and the light gently lit the room through stained glass. She said she needed a place to live.

I should have known. When she came in, she had nothing but a plastic grocery bag. In it, I noticed a Bible and some deodorant among other things.

We prayed and I told her I would make some phone calls.

***

I have been a committed Christian since 1997. I have served God in a number of capacities and I have tried to witness my faith to others as best I can.

I know the scriptures. I know our responsibility to God and humankind. I know we are to love the Lord and our neighbors. I know we are called to feed and clothe the poor. I know we are to be the Light in this dark world.

But then there are the realities of Christian ministry. People come in and scam the Church for drug money. They use the money and things we give them to buy cigarettes and booze and pay their cable bills. They pull up to the food pantry in cars nicer than mine. They carry cell phones. They rarely say thanks for anything you do and sometimes, they are actually rude and indignant toward those of us who are trying to help.

I have to admit that I am challenged to set aside my skepticism and frustration more often than not. I have to pray that God keeps me from becoming jaded by the system.

***

I sat in my office while Joy continued to pray in the chapel and I wondered what her story was. She did not strike me as a drug addict. She was coherent and alert. She quoted scripture in her prayers and seemed connected to God.

She was gentle and soft-spoken. She was vague about her circumstances and she did not offer her last name.

She did not want to stay in the local homeless shelter another night. She had been there just one night and felt scared and threatened. I wondered if her fears were founded.

More than anything, I sensed her frustration.

She was trapped. She had no money, no resources, nowhere to go. She was powerless and broken and stuck.

I have a master’s degree. I am connected to a large Christian denomination. I have a background in journalism and I know how to get answers. I spent hours on the phone in search of a place for Joy.

I found nothing.

My messages were not returned. A new shelter in town only accepts men. Joy was short a few hundred dollars in getting into a low-rent apartment we found. There were no places on campus for a non-student.

I didn’t even have any cash to give her because I emptied my wallet at church for a special communion offering.

I tried to tell myself that I did the best I could. I fed Joy and prayed for her. I gave her a cool place to rest for a few hours.

It did not seem like anywhere near enough. Joy shuffled out of our building with her plastic grocery bag and headed down the street to nowhere in particular.

My saddened heart followed her.

I wondered if I should have taken her to my house or if I should have taken her to a hotel and charged it to my credit card. What did the Good Samaritan do after all?

***

And so I lost a good deal of sleep last night wondering if I did the right thing. Indeed, I wondered if I had done anything at all.

All night, I pondered Joy. I hurt for Joy and I prayed for Joy.

Where is God?

Posted September 6, 2009 at 3:48 pm
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It’s funny that God seems so present in some places – like in church or a beautiful sunset.

But there are other times when we just don’t notice God. There are times when we don’t think about God’s presence.

I suppose there are a number of reasons for not noticing. Maybe we are distracted or self-absorbed. Our minds get filled with clutter and noise that drown out the Divine.

Where is God?

God is everywhere.

And so it is a struggle for us to maintain a constant awareness of the ever-present God.

I wonder how often I have begun a prayer only to taper off from the conversation and get lost in thought. How many times have I fallen asleep in the middle of a prayer?

Today, I want to be keenly aware of God. I want to get lost in God instead of my own thoughts and dreams. I want to see everything through the lens of God because I am so close to Him that He occupies my entire view of the world.

Up

Posted August 30, 2009 at 5:27 pm
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Up is a movie about an adventure and an old man.

This man, and the wife he adored, dreamed of traveling Lost Land in South America from the time they were kids. They saved for it, they kept a scrapbook for it with a map and pictures, but they never actually went.

Meanwhile they lived a full life and the wife died at an old age.

The widower tries to come to terms with his new phase in life and becomes resolved to finally set out for Lost Land. He does so by tying countless helium balloons to his house and lifting up off the face of the earth. What he doesn’t realize though, is that he has a stowaway on board his floating house – a boy scout who had come to see him in effort to get a badge for helping the elderly.

The interesting thing to me about this movie is that this man has made up his mind that he must do this certain thing. He must go to Lost Land. He can focus on nothing else – the needs of others, his own personal well-being, nothing. He has a plan and he is dead set on making it happen.

Not only that, he brings all of his stuff with him. In order to enact this plan of his, he takes along everything he owns and let me tell ya, when everything you own is tied to balloons, it is hard to stay off the ground.

In light of this film, I thought about a few theological questions:

How often have we set our minds on doing or accomplishing something that is born of our own will? What have we missed or sacrificed along the way?

How often have we tried to lug a bunch of stuff with us in our faith journey? Has that stuff weighed us down? What is really important for us to take along?

Luke 9, Jesus sends out his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal people and to cast out demons and he directs them in verse 3 to “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.” I can imagine it was scary for the disciples to let go of all the stuff they thought they needed for their journey.

Likewise, it is hard for us to let go of determining what our journey is and how it will go.

Later in Luke 9, Jesus tells the disciples to feed the 5,000. Their solutions to this problem are:

1. It can’t be done. We don’t have enough food.

2. Buy enough food, which they couldn’t afford to do.

Things go much better for the disciples after they listen to Jesus and follow his instructions on how to achieve what he has asked them to do.

God, guide and direct our journeys. Show us where to go, what to do and what to take with us.

Those Who’ve Gone Before

Posted August 22, 2009 at 9:18 pm
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This week, my husband and son and I went on a family vacation to San Marcos, Texas.

My great, great, great grandparents were among the founders of San Marcos and their house is a museum there. They also were people of faith. They were members of one of the oldest churches in town and some of their boys became preachers.

We made a trip to the family church and the church secretary gave us a key so we could go in the sanctuary and spend a little time.

It was an incredible feeling to walk through the old wooden doors and survey the historic place of worship. The afternoon light poured through stained glass windows with images of crosses, Bibles and doves.

We walked up and down the stairs and the aisles. We weaved through the pews. We stood in the pulpit, touched the keys on the pipe organ and smelled the flowers that were still in place from worship the previous Sunday.

I thought about how generations of my family sang, prayed and worshipped God in that wonderful place. I thought about how they brought their children to church. I thought about their baptisms and how they celebrated Communion there.

I was reminded of Timothy, the young missionary and companion of the Apostle Paul. We know from the epistles that Timothy’s mother and grandmother were Christians. Generations of Christians producing generations of Christians.

There is so much to be said for the people of faith who have gone before us. They have formed us, shaped us, molded us. They are our parents, grandparents and distant relatives.

At the little church in San Marcos, we knelt at the prayer rail and added our voices to the chorus of many who have prayed to God there over the years.

I thanked God for those who have gone before me and I prayed that my great, great, great children would love and serve the Lord.

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