Stephanie Elaine Mathis

Stephanie Mathis — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:02:39 +0000

Stephanie Mathis — Wed, 19 May 2010 13:32:31 +0000

Doubt everything, but for God’s sake don’t stop there.

Stephanie Mathis — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:39:26 +0000

to believe is human; to doubt divine.

Peter Rollins

Stephanie Mathis — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:38:56 +0000

The Lord be with you.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
In the name of goodness and love and broken community
In the name of meaning and feeling and I hope you don’t screw me
In the name of darkness and light and ungraspable twilight
In the name of meal times and sharing and caring by firelight
In the name of action and peace and human redemption
In the name of eating and drinking and table confession
In the name of sadness, regret, and holy obsession
The holy name of anger, the spirit of aggression
In the name of forgive and forget and I hope I get over this
In the name of Father and Son and the Holy Spirit
In the name of beauty and beaten and broken down daily
In the name of seeing our creeds and believing in maybe
We gather here, a table of strangers
And speak of our hope land and talk of our danger
To make sense of our thinking, to authenticate lives
To humanize feeling and stop telling lies
In the name of philosophy, theology, and who gives a damn
In the name of employment and study and finding new family
In the name of our passion, our loving, and indecent obsessions
In the name of prayer and of worship and of demon possession
In the name of solitude and quiet and holy reflection
In the name of the lost and the lonely and the without direction
In the name of efficiency, stupidity, and the holy ineffectual
In the name of the straight, the queer, transgendered, and bisexual
In the name of boot clogs and boob jobs and erectile disfunction
Schizophrenia, hysteria, and obsessive compulsion
In the name of Jesus and Mary and the mostly silent Joseph
In the name of speaking to ourselves saying this is more than I can cope with
In the name of touch up and break up and break down and weeping
In the name of therapy and Prozac and full hearted breathing
In the name of sadness and madness and years since I’ve smiled
In the name of the unknown, the alien, and the holy in exile
In the name of goodness and kindness and intentionality
In the name of harbor and shelter and family

Peter Rollins

Stephanie Mathis — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:22:45 +0000

I kind of hate the idea that we live to work and work to live (but such is life), especially when the work part isn’t something that you believe in so I’ve been revisiting my list of to-dos…the BIG list, not the grocery and errands kind, and came across this three-step plan to reaching my goals:

STEP ONE: SET YOUR GOALS
You can’t succeed until you’ve decided where you want to develop your success.

STEP TWO: PLAN AHEAD
It’s rare that you’ll reach those goals unless you devise some sort of plan on how to get there.

STEP THREE: NEVER GIVE UP
Use every failure and every naysayer as motivation because in the end when you finally reach your goals, success will be that much sweeter.

re-blogged via Huong Fralin

Stephanie Mathis — Sat, 15 May 2010 14:33:32 +0000

Stephanie Mathis — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:14:39 +0000

“Fasting is like photosynthesis. You live on sun and rain. You drink water, and if it’s not warm outside, you’re drawn to every source of heat. But unlike photosynthesis, fasting will never make you independent; it’s not meant to. The point is not to prove how little we need, but how much—and how deeply.”

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/18886-ready-set-fast

Stephanie Mathis — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:36:27 +0000

This is Ol Doinyo Lengai. It’s a volcano located in Tanzania. I’m supposed to be climbing it with some friends in a few days… I still haven’t decided if I’m ready to pay money to suffer. Maybe the feeling of accomplishment will help me persevere. I’ve been told it’s a more difficult climb than Kilimanjaro due to its steepness. Decisions decisions…

Stephanie Mathis — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:26:47 +0000

I spent the weekend here, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania… That’s the Indian Ocean people.

Stephanie Mathis — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:22:19 +0000

While I’ve been in Tanzania, I have been attending St. Margaret’s Anglican Church. It really is a great church, and one that is hard to explain. It’s members are all expats/volunteers/missionaries from all over the world. There are a lot of Europeans and Americans. It’s interdenominational, but still keeps to the Anglican tradition of only allowing certain authorized people to perform the sacraments, i.e., communion. They also use real wine. The whole process of communion is beautiful – a lot different from how we do it in the States. Anyways, so today we sang, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” I have no idea why, but I wasn’t able to sing this song… My eyes were filled with tears. I tried mouthing the words, but I felt that at any moment the flood gates would open and I’d be crying uncontrollably. I’m having to fight off the tears as I type these very words. I can’t explain it really – this feeling – it’s one that can only be experienced. Things that God has put into my heart are becoming a reality. And, through this season, I’ve learned more fully how blessed I am. Also becoming a reality is ‘how deep the Father’s love for us’ is. Anyway, I wanted to share this song:

How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom