God in My Gut<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If God isn\u2019t going to speak to me with a voice or in a dream or the clear movement of the Spirit, my gut is all I\u2019ve got.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God in My Gut\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If God isn\u2019t going to speak to me with a voice or in a dream or the clear movement of the Spirit, my gut is all I\u2019ve got.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ellen Painter Dollar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-03T17:54:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/files\/2016\/05\/IMG_1613-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ellen Painter Dollar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ellen Painter Dollar\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/\",\"name\":\"God in My Gut\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-03T17:54:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-03T17:54:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#\/schema\/person\/5d74c32056fbb89f80f882bf65f46ed4\"},\"description\":\"If God isn\u2019t going to speak to me with a voice or in a dream or the clear movement of the Spirit, my gut is all I\u2019ve got.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"God in My Gut\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/\",\"name\":\"Ellen Painter Dollar\",\"description\":\"Parenthood, disability, ethics, and the crooked way of grace\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#\/schema\/person\/5d74c32056fbb89f80f882bf65f46ed4\",\"name\":\"Ellen Painter Dollar\",\"description\":\"Ellen Painter Dollar is a writer focusing on faith, parenting, family, disability, and ethics. She is the author of No Easy Choice: A Story of Disability, Faith, and Parenthood in an Age of Advanced Reproduction (Westminster John Knox, 2012). Visit her web site at http:\/\/ellenpainterdollar.com for more on her writing and speaking, and to sign up for a (very) occasional email newsletter.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.ellenpainterdollar.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/author\/ellenpainterdollar\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"God in My Gut","description":"If God isn\u2019t going to speak to me with a voice or in a dream or the clear movement of the Spirit, my gut is all I\u2019ve got.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"God in My Gut","og_description":"If God isn\u2019t going to speak to me with a voice or in a dream or the clear movement of the Spirit, my gut is all I\u2019ve got.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/","og_site_name":"Ellen Painter Dollar","article_published_time":"2016-05-03T17:54:34+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/files\/2016\/05\/IMG_1613-300x225.jpg"}],"author":"Ellen Painter Dollar","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ellen Painter Dollar","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/","name":"God in My Gut","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-05-03T17:54:34+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-03T17:54:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#\/schema\/person\/5d74c32056fbb89f80f882bf65f46ed4"},"description":"If God isn\u2019t going to speak to me with a voice or in a dream or the clear movement of the Spirit, my gut is all I\u2019ve got.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"God in My Gut"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/","name":"Ellen Painter Dollar","description":"Parenthood, disability, ethics, and the crooked way of grace","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/#\/schema\/person\/5d74c32056fbb89f80f882bf65f46ed4","name":"Ellen Painter Dollar","description":"Ellen Painter Dollar is a writer focusing on faith, parenting, family, disability, and ethics. She is the author of No Easy Choice: A Story of Disability, Faith, and Parenthood in an Age of Advanced Reproduction (Westminster John Knox, 2012). Visit her web site at http:\/\/ellenpainterdollar.com for more on her writing and speaking, and to sign up for a (very) occasional email newsletter.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.ellenpainterdollar.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/author\/ellenpainterdollar\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/424"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4258\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":4258,"date":"2016-05-03T13:54:34","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T17:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/?p=4258"},"modified":"2016-05-03T13:54:34","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T17:54:34","slug":"god-in-my-gut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ellenpainterdollar\/2016\/05\/god-in-my-gut\/","title":{"rendered":"God in My Gut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Two Sundays ago, the rector of my Episcopal church\u00a0handed out cards we can use to invite someone to church. In explaining how to use the cards, he said we shouldn\u2019t try to figure out to whom we should give one. \u201cTrust me,\u201d he said, \u201cthe Spirit will bring someone to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"IMG_1613\"$ <\/a>My response to this idea (in my head) was, \u201cFat chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

I wish I believed that Bob\u2019s prediction of Holy Spirit intervention would come true. I wish I could pinpoint times in my life when the Holy Spirit has clearly led me to a person, place or action. But the truth is that I have no experience with a clear movement of the Spirit. No experience of God speaking to me in any obvious way. I know people who say they\u2019ve had such experiences, who have received God\u2019s direction in a voice that was not exactly audible but was nonetheless absolutely real and clear, or in a dream that provided obvious direction for a step they needed to take (as in, the street address of a building they needed to go to).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re familiar with me or my writing, you might be wondering how I can say that I\u2019ve never gotten clear direction from God. I have written, many times, that God has called me to both motherhood and writing. How can I be certain of God\u2019s call if I\u2019ve never heard God\u2019s voice, never noted the sure movement of the Spirit in my life?<\/p>\n

Well, first of all, I\u2019m not certain. I think<\/em> that God has called me to my work as a mother and as a writer. But I could be wrong. For much of my early life, until college graduation, I believed I would work in the medical field, based on my extensive experience as a patient and love of biological science. But when I graduated from college, instead of going on to medical school, I got a job in the social services, largely because I disliked the lab portion of college science classes and therefore took fewer of those courses than I needed to apply to med school. It\u2019s quite possible that God actually called me to medicine, not writing, and I ignored that call because I didn\u2019t want to spend my Friday afternoons in the college biology lab.<\/p>\n

My sense of being called to motherhood and writing (and any sense I\u2019ve had of God being active in my life) has come entirely from that mishmash of experience, desire, common sense, and observation that we call \u201cgut feeling.\u201d If God has been present to me at all in a concrete way, God has been in my gut. And because my gut is informed as much by my faults and prejudices as by my gifts and wisdom, I follow my gut\u2019s guidance with some trepidation, certain that sometimes, I am sanctifying guidance that comes from my own messed-up thinking, not God.<\/p>\n

But if God isn\u2019t going to speak to me with a voice or in a dream or the clear movement of the Spirit, my gut is all I\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n

In an email conversation last week, a friend lamented that she has never experienced God directly. She experiences God largely in community, through friendships, and given that she\u2019s currently living a very isolated and isolating life in a place that doesn\u2019t feel like home, God is absent. That\u2019s how it feels to her, anyway. She was contemplating major decisions that will significantly disrupt her family\u2019s life but also promise healing. Her gut is telling her these decisions are the right ones, she said, but she added that her gut is usually wrong. I and another friend, however, said our guts are also<\/em> saying that these decisions need to be made. We decided we would invoke a revised version of Mathew 18:20 (\u201cWherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them\u201d): Wherever two or three guts concur\u2026..<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe someday God will speak to me in a way that\u2019s obvious. In the meantime, the only way I know to seek God\u2019s guidance is to pay attention to my gut and to continue showing up\u2014going to church, being faithful to my primary communities, praying. Honestly? I feel like I\u2019m faking it, this faith thing. People sometimes assume my faith is particularly strong because I write about it. It\u2019s not. I claim the label \u201cChristian\u201d because the Christian story and its preposterous claims about a God who is strong in weakness, shines light in darkness, and brings life from death, a God who uses weak-willed, misguided, scared, confused people like me to do holy work\u2014this story and its absurd promises are the only things keeping me from losing my mind and my hope in a world so full of pain.<\/p>\n

I put my \u201cinvitation to church\u201d card in my purse. How will I know when to pull it out and give it to someone? I guess my gut will tell me so, and the rest is up to God.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"