I'll Have The Curry.

  Pastoral Prayer for virtual worship at First Baptist Church Austin January 10, 2021 written by Carrie Houston  Photo by  Josh Hild  on  Unsplash A prayer when we have no words   This week, we saw the best and the worst of our country. Georgia’s first black Senator, a minister at Martin Luther King’s historic church and a Jewish son of an immigrant will join elected office alongside a Catholic president, the first black and Indian FEMALE vice president, and many other people of color, gender and sexuality. At the same time, a bitter mob of domestic terrorists attacked our country’s Capitol building, stoked by fears and lies. The corona virus continues to decimate our communities, with another record number of deaths set this week.    How do we pray in times like these? How do we muster the words when we can’t get past our ever-fluctuating emotions? I believe that God so deeply knows us that God can sort through the longings of our hearts, even without us saying a word. Maybe that’s wh

                                                              Photo by  Gianandrea Villa  on  Unsplash A prayer for a New Year Epiphany 2021 January 3, 2021   God of the stars, of the galaxies and planets near and far, of the infinite and unknowable universe God of every grain of sand, of every speck of dust, every single molecule that makes up life as we know it,    You put a bright star in our path to show us a new way, point us in a new direction. To live into our true selves, to forget the past and focus on the what can be.    Your Christ child reminds us that  We don’t have to be perfect to be accepted. Mistakes are ok. We don’t have to get it right every time to be seen.  It’s ok to step out in faith.  We don’t have to change anything about our bodies to be worthy of love.  We are perfectly made.  We don’t have to stuff our feelings down to be strong. Showing emotions is ok.    You love us all the same.    God of second chances, one who constantly seeks us out, You aren’t calling

Photo by  Yohann Lc  on  Unsplash   A Sermon by Carrie Houston First Baptist Church of Austin December 13, 2020 Third week of Advent                                                             A World full of Yeses! I know you’ve had that dream… you know, the one where you wake up suddenly, sit up and bed, and ask yourself “WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?” Yah, I’ve had that dream.     Many of them, actually… and usually the most outlandish of them all are the ones that stick with me for years. I try to analyze them for some deeper meaning, but all I can usually come up with is that I have an overactive imagination. But I LOVE TO DREAM! I look forward to falling asleep because what awaits me on the other side of my eyelids is an opulent movie created by my deepest joys, fears, and excitements.      My brain gets a break from reality and gets to play without consequences with the most extreme of circumstances.     Dreams are funny like that. Often tied to real life events, past memories, and e