Monday Meditation: Devotion vs. Doing
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Jesus into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And Martha went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, do […]
Monday Meditation: The Struggle of A Lifetime
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Over the weekend my social media feed has been filled with quotes from civil rights legend U.S. Representative John Lewis, who died on Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. (Read David Halberstam’s book The Children to learn how a young Lewis was profoundly shaped by […]
Monday Meditation: Trusting God with the Future
Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spirtual Wellness Coordinator As summer gave way to fall in 2002, the “wild, praying women” were hard at work finalizing a proposal to present to the leaders of First Baptist Nashville that would transform an empty building the church owned into a transitional living center for women in crisis. This proposal would […]
How Addiction Hijacks the Brain
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator In her memoir We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life, Laura McKowen recalls a cellphone conversation with her friend Holly the day after Laura almost attended a party where she knew she would relapse. Laura had reached out in desperation to Holly […]
Monday Meditation: Why Are You Doing What You’re Doing?
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Do you ever stop to ask yourself why are you doing what you are doing? In her book Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky writes: “Amid the trials and tribulations of our work, it is possible to […]
Monday Meditation: Seeking a New Narrative
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Years ago while traveling through the West, I paid a memorable visit to Kartchner Caverns State Park. Located in the Whetstones, a mountain range in southeastern Arizona, this pristine limestone cave is decorated with speleothems – spectacular mineral deposits with whimsical names like cave bacon and soda […]
Monday Meditation: A Cry For Help
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Where do you turn when you are struggling to survive, when you are experiencing oppression, when you are fighting forces and feelings that threaten to overwhelm you? For 1,000 years, people have turned to Psalm 18 to give voice to their experiences. The psalmist begins this timeless […]
Meditation Monday: Zacchaeus’ Transformation
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Last Wednesday night, the clients at The Next Door took a deep dive into the story of Zacchaeus, as recorded in Luke 19:1-10, when they completed their Spiritual Wellness worksheets. Many of us first heard this story as children in church – I was certainly attracted […]
Meditation Monday: Running on Fumes
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator The Parable In Matthew 25:1-11, Jesus uses a parable about ten bridesmaids to describe the kingdom of heaven. In this story, the ten bridesmaids have gathered to await the bridegroom’s arrival, for they will accompany the groom in a festive procession to the wedding banquet. All ten bridesmaids have […]
Peacemakers & Justice Seekers: Responding to Recent Events
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator On Sunday, Christian churches around the world marked the holy day of Pentecost as they worshipped. Pentecost is commonly referred to as the birthday of the Church – the day when the Spirit of God was dramatically manifested through wind and fire and speech. This was […]
