Birthdays and Deathdays
Jan. 26 was Trish's and my Mom's birthday. My Grandma happened to go to Jesus that day too. I feel so sorry for my Mom because she has never had the relationship she would have liked with her mom. In her 50's she is just coming to grips with some of the hurt she has about it. I never felt particularly close to Grandma, nor do I have any particularly good memories about her. She was just there. It's kind of sad really...
Many of us have a lot of crap to work through regarding our blood families. It reminds me how our communities function as spiritual families. I think God designed the spiritual family to be more important and powerful than our blood families in the long run. Accepting God as our Abba, Father and Jesus as our brother will take some practice for those of us that come from dysfunctional families (don't most of us in one way or another?). We may have to go to some uncomfortable places and explore our family experiences with our parents and family values.
Icenogle says, "The gathered group around God as parent begins to exist as a countermodel to the families of origin of each member of the group... The new group is gathered by Christ to be a new family system , with new values, new relational dynamics and new disciplines... [communities] must define a theology of family for their [communities] to embrace and model."
Do you have a theology of family for your community?
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
We happened to catch an hour long interview with Mel Gibson about his movie The Passion of the Christ on EWTN, a Catholic TV channel. I am not one to believe the hype about movies, but the interview was really interesting.
Gibson was not totally comfortable explaining his faith, but talked about deep theological subjects. The artistry, symbolism etc. that went into the film. You can listen to the interview here. Here are a few quotes:
"Making art is about throwing it all out there! And if you ain't makin' the fur fly, you ain't doing nuthin!"
"I wanted to accentuate the reality and not make the story a fairytale [like other films have done]."
[On the set] Did you see people changed spiritually? "Yea, they began to ask themselves questions...a lot of them made decisions based on the investigations they'd done. There were people who converted to Christianity from other religions. A daughter of somebody was healed...stuff like this happens. It's those little glimpses you get that says, okay, there's something big out there...a realm beyond our nature that we have a very limited understanding of, and not even in a logical way...it's mostly just a whole other kind of intelligence that is affected by these other realms. "
You took steps to try to protect yourself from these other realms onset. "Of course, we had a service every morning... Jim (played Jesus) and I were sticklers about not going to work until we were 'armored up'...because we were vulnerable. There's a dark force that didn't want us to make the film. If you don't venture into these areas, you don't ever notice it. But as soon as you start getting out of your comfort zone these things start coming into play big time."
"It's about the "big war", the sandwich...this must mean something. I must be more important in the scheme of things than I thought, and so must all humanity be. If we are the meat in the sandwich, and the big realms, the dark and light realms are battling over us. And the battle happens. We can't see it, but it's there. That's what I wanted to show in the film. That it's bigger than all that. That the diabolical shows itself at times and sometimes the divine peaks through, so that you just look under the surface and there it is, your looking right at it."
Kinda sounds like he understands a little about the Kingdom and spiritual warfare to me. If you are even the least bit interested in the film, listen to this interview. I'm even more excited to see it now....
Gibson was not totally comfortable explaining his faith, but talked about deep theological subjects. The artistry, symbolism etc. that went into the film. You can listen to the interview here. Here are a few quotes:
"Making art is about throwing it all out there! And if you ain't makin' the fur fly, you ain't doing nuthin!"
"I wanted to accentuate the reality and not make the story a fairytale [like other films have done]."
[On the set] Did you see people changed spiritually? "Yea, they began to ask themselves questions...a lot of them made decisions based on the investigations they'd done. There were people who converted to Christianity from other religions. A daughter of somebody was healed...stuff like this happens. It's those little glimpses you get that says, okay, there's something big out there...a realm beyond our nature that we have a very limited understanding of, and not even in a logical way...it's mostly just a whole other kind of intelligence that is affected by these other realms. "
You took steps to try to protect yourself from these other realms onset. "Of course, we had a service every morning... Jim (played Jesus) and I were sticklers about not going to work until we were 'armored up'...because we were vulnerable. There's a dark force that didn't want us to make the film. If you don't venture into these areas, you don't ever notice it. But as soon as you start getting out of your comfort zone these things start coming into play big time."
"It's about the "big war", the sandwich...this must mean something. I must be more important in the scheme of things than I thought, and so must all humanity be. If we are the meat in the sandwich, and the big realms, the dark and light realms are battling over us. And the battle happens. We can't see it, but it's there. That's what I wanted to show in the film. That it's bigger than all that. That the diabolical shows itself at times and sometimes the divine peaks through, so that you just look under the surface and there it is, your looking right at it."
Kinda sounds like he understands a little about the Kingdom and spiritual warfare to me. If you are even the least bit interested in the film, listen to this interview. I'm even more excited to see it now....
Sunday, January 25, 2004
Individualism, the "I" and the "We"
Individualism is devious. It sneaks into our conversations, thoughts and communities so easily. It can be in the blatant self-serving ways we demand our "needs" be met, or it can be subtly hidden in our view of the Church itself. It sneaks into our thoughts as we interpret and apply the Bible to our individual situations, without thinking about how those stories apply to our community or the Body as a whole.
Someone once said, "The Bible knows no individual Christians." The Bible is a book of community. Even when Paul writes to individuals, he is writing the context of that individual's relationship to the larger community. In fact, the whole concept of the Trinity implies community.
It is good for me to remember that while my decision to follow God is as an individual, I am joining those who went before me, and those who will come after me as a follower of Jesus. I immediately join a family of others who choose to call themselves followers of Christ too. My identity is linked to a group of people who have been called, gathered and sent to proclaim, serve and represent God's reign on earth. I become part of a covenant community, a new family, with Jesus as my brother, and Abba as my Father.
Whether I like it or not, as a Christ follower, the decisions I make affect the "we". The decisions my family makes affects the "family of families" of which I choose to be a part. The decisions that our communities make affects the worldwide Church.
So, I am thinking about how my individual Biblical interpretations integrate into the "we". How do my spiritual practices integrate with the "we"? My family decisions.... My financial decision... My choice of vocation....
For instance, our community discussed 1 John 2:20ff. If I believe that God has given me some insight, knowledge, prophecy etc. I need to bring it to the community. Let them hear, it, pray about it, interact with it, test it....
Would love to hear about how your community integrates the "I" into the "we"!
Individualism is devious. It sneaks into our conversations, thoughts and communities so easily. It can be in the blatant self-serving ways we demand our "needs" be met, or it can be subtly hidden in our view of the Church itself. It sneaks into our thoughts as we interpret and apply the Bible to our individual situations, without thinking about how those stories apply to our community or the Body as a whole.
Someone once said, "The Bible knows no individual Christians." The Bible is a book of community. Even when Paul writes to individuals, he is writing the context of that individual's relationship to the larger community. In fact, the whole concept of the Trinity implies community.
It is good for me to remember that while my decision to follow God is as an individual, I am joining those who went before me, and those who will come after me as a follower of Jesus. I immediately join a family of others who choose to call themselves followers of Christ too. My identity is linked to a group of people who have been called, gathered and sent to proclaim, serve and represent God's reign on earth. I become part of a covenant community, a new family, with Jesus as my brother, and Abba as my Father.
Whether I like it or not, as a Christ follower, the decisions I make affect the "we". The decisions my family makes affects the "family of families" of which I choose to be a part. The decisions that our communities make affects the worldwide Church.
So, I am thinking about how my individual Biblical interpretations integrate into the "we". How do my spiritual practices integrate with the "we"? My family decisions.... My financial decision... My choice of vocation....
For instance, our community discussed 1 John 2:20ff. If I believe that God has given me some insight, knowledge, prophecy etc. I need to bring it to the community. Let them hear, it, pray about it, interact with it, test it....
Would love to hear about how your community integrates the "I" into the "we"!
Friday, January 23, 2004
Been having some good times of fellowship and discussion with friends lately. I am reminded of the different places we are on the spiritual journey. This really hit home as I read this article on Theocentric. This will be on my reading list.
With much shame and humility I remember a time when I thought I had all the answers. About my third or fourth year as a Christian. I had been serving at a church as a youth leader and started reading Len Sweet and dabbling on home church sites. No one in our leadership had a clue about what I was talking about. I had knowledge, so I thought I had the "truth". I knew there were serious problems in the church and looking back, I was right about that, but how I handled it was horrendous. I left a path of destruction and hurt in my rearview mirror. I had the knowledge, but not enough experience to really know what to do with it, how to handle it, or when to use it. Those lessons are learned in TIME. Even after Neo downloaded all of the data into his brain, there were lessons he still had to learn to use the knowledge effectively.
Time and experience has led me down a path that finds me in a different place on the journey. I find myself in a time of questioning, rethinking, deconstructing the things I thought I knew. Searching for a holistic gospel instead of the fragmented "five steps to this" and "three points of this" that I was fed in my early Christian experience. Seeking faith that exists everyday, not just on Sunday. I realize how my view of the Church is limited by the experiences that I have had, and not had. I find myself face-to-face with my own woundedness, sinfulness and ignorance.
I know in the eyes of some these questions and realizations are seen as weakness. I will join the Apostle Paul and boast in my weakness. I think it's in realizing what I don't know, in knowing how far I have yet to go, that the Holy Spirit has room to work in my life. And one day I will fully lose myself and find wholeness....
With much shame and humility I remember a time when I thought I had all the answers. About my third or fourth year as a Christian. I had been serving at a church as a youth leader and started reading Len Sweet and dabbling on home church sites. No one in our leadership had a clue about what I was talking about. I had knowledge, so I thought I had the "truth". I knew there were serious problems in the church and looking back, I was right about that, but how I handled it was horrendous. I left a path of destruction and hurt in my rearview mirror. I had the knowledge, but not enough experience to really know what to do with it, how to handle it, or when to use it. Those lessons are learned in TIME. Even after Neo downloaded all of the data into his brain, there were lessons he still had to learn to use the knowledge effectively.
Time and experience has led me down a path that finds me in a different place on the journey. I find myself in a time of questioning, rethinking, deconstructing the things I thought I knew. Searching for a holistic gospel instead of the fragmented "five steps to this" and "three points of this" that I was fed in my early Christian experience. Seeking faith that exists everyday, not just on Sunday. I realize how my view of the Church is limited by the experiences that I have had, and not had. I find myself face-to-face with my own woundedness, sinfulness and ignorance.
I know in the eyes of some these questions and realizations are seen as weakness. I will join the Apostle Paul and boast in my weakness. I think it's in realizing what I don't know, in knowing how far I have yet to go, that the Holy Spirit has room to work in my life. And one day I will fully lose myself and find wholeness....
Monday, January 19, 2004
Cannibal dismembered Barbie dolls when boy
This headline caught my eye...I wonder what my future holds for blowing up my G.I. Joe with an M-80?
This headline caught my eye...I wonder what my future holds for blowing up my G.I. Joe with an M-80?
E-Sword - FREE Bible Software
I just found out about this software. It is well done with tons of free commentaries, dictionaries and other Bible versions. Check it out here! The price is right!
I just found out about this software. It is well done with tons of free commentaries, dictionaries and other Bible versions. Check it out here! The price is right!
Friday, January 16, 2004
Role of Friendship in Spiritual Transformation
I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the role of mentors/friends in our spiritual transformation. I think this gets to the heart of why community is so important in our culture. I happened upon an article while writing a paper for school by Christy Morr from Talbot School of Theology that brings up some interesting points:
1. Spiritual transformation is an ongoing, dynamic, cooperative work between God and the individual.
2. Spiritual transformation is more than a cognitive pursuit with the end goal of a correct set of beliefs. It is a dynamic, interactive relationship with God himself.
3. "The Old and New Testaments are filled with reminders of our connectedness to others and our fruitlessness without that awareness. Nor is it possible to grow up in Him by simply embracing the concept without allowing the reality of needs and presence of others to cut across our lifestyle" (Gorman 1993).
4. "God's relationship with humans is one of intimate bonding, so that all human intimacies are 'rehearsals' for the ultimate reunion of humans with their creator."
There is no doubt that I need relationships to grow. But, seeing my relationships with others as an experiential model for friendship with God takes it to another level for me. If I can't trust others, can I trust God? If I can't be transparent with my friends, can I be transparent with God? If I don't know what it's like to be a friend and have a friend, will I be able to accept the friendship of Jesus (John 15:14)?
I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the role of mentors/friends in our spiritual transformation. I think this gets to the heart of why community is so important in our culture. I happened upon an article while writing a paper for school by Christy Morr from Talbot School of Theology that brings up some interesting points:
1. Spiritual transformation is an ongoing, dynamic, cooperative work between God and the individual.
2. Spiritual transformation is more than a cognitive pursuit with the end goal of a correct set of beliefs. It is a dynamic, interactive relationship with God himself.
3. "The Old and New Testaments are filled with reminders of our connectedness to others and our fruitlessness without that awareness. Nor is it possible to grow up in Him by simply embracing the concept without allowing the reality of needs and presence of others to cut across our lifestyle" (Gorman 1993).
4. "God's relationship with humans is one of intimate bonding, so that all human intimacies are 'rehearsals' for the ultimate reunion of humans with their creator."
There is no doubt that I need relationships to grow. But, seeing my relationships with others as an experiential model for friendship with God takes it to another level for me. If I can't trust others, can I trust God? If I can't be transparent with my friends, can I be transparent with God? If I don't know what it's like to be a friend and have a friend, will I be able to accept the friendship of Jesus (John 15:14)?
Monday, January 12, 2004
Mayhem was very cool! Paul and Nicki provided me with great hospitality. The teachers taught, the worshipers worshipped, the creators created, the organizers organized, the servers served and the Kingdom was present in our midst.
Bryan McLaren talked about being monastic missional urban catholic communities. If we substituted rural for urban it would be a description of where we are headed.
I got a lot out of the discussion about mentoring with Owen and Sandy. They are great folks that have "been there and done that" with regard to living in community. Having mentors is something that I really struggle with. I have never really been "discipled". I have never really lived in a real "community", so there is some risk involved in this adventure. Risk was a word that used more than a few times this weekend.
Risk -> Fear -> Questioning of self -> Paralysis is the formula that came to my mind. Knowing that I am not alone, not crazy, and only bound by my own woundedness is freeing! I am praying for some likeminded, mature believers who want to join the adventure of entering into a missional community for the long haul.
I've got more to say, but I have even more statistics homework to do before tomorrow night...oh, joy.... more to come....
Bryan McLaren talked about being monastic missional urban catholic communities. If we substituted rural for urban it would be a description of where we are headed.
I got a lot out of the discussion about mentoring with Owen and Sandy. They are great folks that have "been there and done that" with regard to living in community. Having mentors is something that I really struggle with. I have never really been "discipled". I have never really lived in a real "community", so there is some risk involved in this adventure. Risk was a word that used more than a few times this weekend.
Risk -> Fear -> Questioning of self -> Paralysis is the formula that came to my mind. Knowing that I am not alone, not crazy, and only bound by my own woundedness is freeing! I am praying for some likeminded, mature believers who want to join the adventure of entering into a missional community for the long haul.
I've got more to say, but I have even more statistics homework to do before tomorrow night...oh, joy.... more to come....
Monday, January 05, 2004
Friday, January 02, 2004
We have had an a great time the past couple of weeks. Our friends, the McCubbins, have opened their house to our emerging community. We have experienced times of fellowship, worship and friendship. Last night we hung out and sang worship songs, read Scripture, and talked about Kingdom things (can you believe it?!) all without an program or agenda! This is the stuff I've been longing for.....add some missional focus and I'll be in heaven....
Started reading Waking The Dead . One of my friends graciously gave it, and the manual to me as a gift. We are meeting for lunch to discuss what we are experiencing and learning. I like the concept of "An adventure, a battle and a beauty to win," but I wonder how that plays out in our society. We finally saw Return of the King and it has all of those elements.
I almost wish life was as black and white as that. Tangible enemies. Tactile weapons. Clear battle lines.... We have a battle to fight, just as real as Lord of the Rings, in the spiritual realms...
2 Cor. 10:4 The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; 5 we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.
Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Started reading Waking The Dead . One of my friends graciously gave it, and the manual to me as a gift. We are meeting for lunch to discuss what we are experiencing and learning. I like the concept of "An adventure, a battle and a beauty to win," but I wonder how that plays out in our society. We finally saw Return of the King and it has all of those elements.
I almost wish life was as black and white as that. Tangible enemies. Tactile weapons. Clear battle lines.... We have a battle to fight, just as real as Lord of the Rings, in the spiritual realms...
2 Cor. 10:4 The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; 5 we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.
Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
(TRISH)I was inspired by Chris’ blog today. Wow. To be so honest. I have quietly struggled all during the holidays and always do. To read emails (from my family) telling me of stories and memories my parents are building with my brother and sister’s kids and they don’t even know mine! They send me a check every year and this year they even said they didn’t know what size my kids were or what they would want. This is not the heritage I want for my kids. I yearn for my parents approval even to this day and I know that it will never happen. More this year than ever. And the challenge for me is to accept it and move on. I cannot allow the enemy a stronghold in this any more. I have never really shared my personal story with my blog friends, but here is a mini synopsis.
I was born to a couple of kids. They didn’t have to get married, they just did. They broke up for a while and tried to reconcile and there came me. Mom was 19 when I was born. My blood father abandoned us. He doesn’t like me to believe this, but I do especially since he has lame excuses about why he didn’t bother to look me up for 14 years. Any way, my mom wasn’t stable to begin with. She had terrible issues of her own. She was in NO way prepared for a child. She told me once that she wanted to give me up but her parents wouldn’t let her. She spent her pregnancy alone. She had me on Jan 26 right after a terrible blizzard had blown through St. Louis. She told me she didn’t even want to hold me. She hated me from the womb because I changed her life. She didn’t want me and made it obvious just about daily. Except at Christmas. The one time of year I felt love from her. She always gave us a wonderful Christmas, attitude and all. I would venture to guess this was at least one time of year my Dad got laid. She was always so happy. I used to wish it was Christmas all the time. Then when I was 8, my mom was pregnant with my sister and I was making comments like, I’ve got Daddy’s eyes or ears and they decided to tell me that my Daddy wasn’t my blood Daddy. I was different. I was hurt and confused. I love my Dad and he adopted me and raised me as his own and I was devastated beyond what I can express to find out that they had lied to me all those years. This was also around Christmas.
My parents divorced when I was 13. I was experimenting with drugs/ sex & rock & roll. They didn’t know what to do with me because my family was Mormon and I didn’t fit their MOLD. Instead of asking me what was wrong or attempting to help me, they shipped me away. Between the ages of 13 & 17, I lived in 11 different homes. Including my blood father whom I had only met once. And when I look back, I wasn’t really all that bad compared to stories I’ve since heard from other addicts, etc. I lived in a fog because reality was tooooooo painful. No body wanted me. This is only a short version of the whole story. My struggle to this day at times is wondering if Jesus really wants me. Does he really love me? How could he? Noone else did??
I have spent a lot of years beating myself up because I still suffer emotionally over this. I thought that since I am a blood bought Christian that I should have been healed a long time ago. Perhaps I don’t have faith. Perhaps I am not really saved. These are questions I’ve asked over and over again! But, the wonderful thing of all of this is that God has allowed me to counsel hurting people. To listen to their pain. To help them walk through the other side. Like Chris, I think some wounds just won’t heal. I too will not allow the enemy to keep me down. I will hold my head up high and walk through this. Yearning to see what God has in store and seeing my children’s beautiful faces has kept me trucking on. And the amazing encouragement from my husband who has so faithfully loved me every time I get down. Who has prayed for me for years. Who has stood by me no matter what. Who has shown me love and tenderness that noone else has. He is my family and I am blessed. Chris showed me today that we feel so alone and yet, we aren’t. Through our own wounds, we can help heal others. Thank you Chris. Thank you for telling the truth.
I was born to a couple of kids. They didn’t have to get married, they just did. They broke up for a while and tried to reconcile and there came me. Mom was 19 when I was born. My blood father abandoned us. He doesn’t like me to believe this, but I do especially since he has lame excuses about why he didn’t bother to look me up for 14 years. Any way, my mom wasn’t stable to begin with. She had terrible issues of her own. She was in NO way prepared for a child. She told me once that she wanted to give me up but her parents wouldn’t let her. She spent her pregnancy alone. She had me on Jan 26 right after a terrible blizzard had blown through St. Louis. She told me she didn’t even want to hold me. She hated me from the womb because I changed her life. She didn’t want me and made it obvious just about daily. Except at Christmas. The one time of year I felt love from her. She always gave us a wonderful Christmas, attitude and all. I would venture to guess this was at least one time of year my Dad got laid. She was always so happy. I used to wish it was Christmas all the time. Then when I was 8, my mom was pregnant with my sister and I was making comments like, I’ve got Daddy’s eyes or ears and they decided to tell me that my Daddy wasn’t my blood Daddy. I was different. I was hurt and confused. I love my Dad and he adopted me and raised me as his own and I was devastated beyond what I can express to find out that they had lied to me all those years. This was also around Christmas.
My parents divorced when I was 13. I was experimenting with drugs/ sex & rock & roll. They didn’t know what to do with me because my family was Mormon and I didn’t fit their MOLD. Instead of asking me what was wrong or attempting to help me, they shipped me away. Between the ages of 13 & 17, I lived in 11 different homes. Including my blood father whom I had only met once. And when I look back, I wasn’t really all that bad compared to stories I’ve since heard from other addicts, etc. I lived in a fog because reality was tooooooo painful. No body wanted me. This is only a short version of the whole story. My struggle to this day at times is wondering if Jesus really wants me. Does he really love me? How could he? Noone else did??
I have spent a lot of years beating myself up because I still suffer emotionally over this. I thought that since I am a blood bought Christian that I should have been healed a long time ago. Perhaps I don’t have faith. Perhaps I am not really saved. These are questions I’ve asked over and over again! But, the wonderful thing of all of this is that God has allowed me to counsel hurting people. To listen to their pain. To help them walk through the other side. Like Chris, I think some wounds just won’t heal. I too will not allow the enemy to keep me down. I will hold my head up high and walk through this. Yearning to see what God has in store and seeing my children’s beautiful faces has kept me trucking on. And the amazing encouragement from my husband who has so faithfully loved me every time I get down. Who has prayed for me for years. Who has stood by me no matter what. Who has shown me love and tenderness that noone else has. He is my family and I am blessed. Chris showed me today that we feel so alone and yet, we aren’t. Through our own wounds, we can help heal others. Thank you Chris. Thank you for telling the truth.
Monday, December 22, 2003
Favorite Christmas Songs/Albums?
In an attempt to focus on Christ during this season I've been listening to some Christmas music. I particularly like Blues For the Child by Lanny Cordola and Phil Driscoll's Christmas albums. I really love the Vertical Horizon song "The Man Who Would Be Santa". What greater gift can we give our kids than to give them what we have and point them toward Christ...
And the man who would be Santa slips into the room
And the hour of daylight's yet to come but he hopes they don't wake too soon
All the presents wrapped in paper and tied with a bow
The children sleep upstairs and Santa works below
And he can hear the children dreaming
Chorus:
And he says
All I want is for you to have
A life you love and live
Take from me all I have to give
Because you are in my heart
And the man who would be Santa tells his son to write
And to call him if he needs him in the middle of the night
Don't you worry don't you cry now you'll do just fine
Your mother and I love you
We think about you all the time
And he can see the train is leaving
Chorus
Now the old man sits and tells of days when time stood still
The hours always seem to fade but the memory never will
All the love that you gave me
All the dreams in the night
And I just want to thank you while the day's still light
But I can see the sun is setting
Chorus
In an attempt to focus on Christ during this season I've been listening to some Christmas music. I particularly like Blues For the Child by Lanny Cordola and Phil Driscoll's Christmas albums. I really love the Vertical Horizon song "The Man Who Would Be Santa". What greater gift can we give our kids than to give them what we have and point them toward Christ...
And the man who would be Santa slips into the room
And the hour of daylight's yet to come but he hopes they don't wake too soon
All the presents wrapped in paper and tied with a bow
The children sleep upstairs and Santa works below
And he can hear the children dreaming
Chorus:
And he says
All I want is for you to have
A life you love and live
Take from me all I have to give
Because you are in my heart
And the man who would be Santa tells his son to write
And to call him if he needs him in the middle of the night
Don't you worry don't you cry now you'll do just fine
Your mother and I love you
We think about you all the time
And he can see the train is leaving
Chorus
Now the old man sits and tells of days when time stood still
The hours always seem to fade but the memory never will
All the love that you gave me
All the dreams in the night
And I just want to thank you while the day's still light
But I can see the sun is setting
Chorus
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Can you smell what the Lord is cooking?!
(Trish) I see all you guys discussing emerging church and books about Hearing God’s voice and community. I sit here day after day and hope that one of you would give us a clear answer. That God will speak to me through you. There are helpful and even beautiful discussions out here but, Not one of you has answered what to do next. This is not a criticism, just an observation.
We at some point in time will be leaving “The Church.” I have no doubt of that, but how do we deal with what we are going through now? How do we live in two worlds? How do we pull the plug and walk away? I have been praying for clear direction for 3 years and you know what, we are just now getting a glimpse of what God might be telling us to do. We are willing! We are hungry! We are able through Jesus Christ! But what do we do now, during the wait. Is God still preparing us for something? Are we not seeing or hearing what he’s saying to us? Is he saying anything? I have to tell myself the story of the Israelites who wandered for 40 years. 40 YEARS! What is 3 or 5 years compared to that? We, whether we want to admit or not, have fallen into fast food mentality. We want it now. Most things in our world are available NOW. But the Lord’s ways are not our ways. He is a slow cooker. We must smell and savor what he is cooking allll dayyy long! And our mouths are watering and the smells are so wonderful and strong that we could swim in them. For 3 or more years we have been experiencing the slow cooker. I am so ready for a big fat bowl of that stuff. But maybe God wants to do something else first. Maybe we need to be even more patient. Maybe we need to “listen” for God’s voice. Maybe we are not ready for what He is going to do through us.
(Trish) I see all you guys discussing emerging church and books about Hearing God’s voice and community. I sit here day after day and hope that one of you would give us a clear answer. That God will speak to me through you. There are helpful and even beautiful discussions out here but, Not one of you has answered what to do next. This is not a criticism, just an observation.
We at some point in time will be leaving “The Church.” I have no doubt of that, but how do we deal with what we are going through now? How do we live in two worlds? How do we pull the plug and walk away? I have been praying for clear direction for 3 years and you know what, we are just now getting a glimpse of what God might be telling us to do. We are willing! We are hungry! We are able through Jesus Christ! But what do we do now, during the wait. Is God still preparing us for something? Are we not seeing or hearing what he’s saying to us? Is he saying anything? I have to tell myself the story of the Israelites who wandered for 40 years. 40 YEARS! What is 3 or 5 years compared to that? We, whether we want to admit or not, have fallen into fast food mentality. We want it now. Most things in our world are available NOW. But the Lord’s ways are not our ways. He is a slow cooker. We must smell and savor what he is cooking allll dayyy long! And our mouths are watering and the smells are so wonderful and strong that we could swim in them. For 3 or more years we have been experiencing the slow cooker. I am so ready for a big fat bowl of that stuff. But maybe God wants to do something else first. Maybe we need to be even more patient. Maybe we need to “listen” for God’s voice. Maybe we are not ready for what He is going to do through us.
Friday, December 12, 2003
Still in need of a gift to help that special friend find the true meaning of Christmas? Click here for the 12 Days of Kitschmas!
Check out Chris' article for Dec. 11th on the Incarnation. Great thoughts! I wasl flipping through cable the other day and heard a local pastor railing against the evils of piercing and tatoos. He warned the young people to wait until they got home to remove the piercings.... My guess is, they will go home and stay there. They probably won't return next week.
My pastor had a discussion with some of the other local pastors about our culture. They told him that we shouldn't expect anything more than from our culture than to slip into ungodliness. I have been telling him that for awhile, but he still thinks that as a "Christian" nation, we should legislate morality. I hesitate to turn him on to stuff like this quite yet.
The fights we choose tell us a lot about ourselves. Some people want to rely on the government to bring about the Kingdom. Some people have put their trust in parachurch organizations. Some have put their trust in a personality, a structure, or a system. When the system of theology, the pastor, the liturgy etc. that we have put our trust in comes under fire, we fight. We fight because we are ignorant of the God who transcends personalities, systems and structures. We fight because it is easier to defend tangible "enemies" rather than engage in spiritual warfare. We fight because we have to defend our investments. We fight because we have a feeble view of the Kingdom.
+God, give us peace. Help us see the enemy. Keep your Kingdom in our sight.+
My pastor had a discussion with some of the other local pastors about our culture. They told him that we shouldn't expect anything more than from our culture than to slip into ungodliness. I have been telling him that for awhile, but he still thinks that as a "Christian" nation, we should legislate morality. I hesitate to turn him on to stuff like this quite yet.
The fights we choose tell us a lot about ourselves. Some people want to rely on the government to bring about the Kingdom. Some people have put their trust in parachurch organizations. Some have put their trust in a personality, a structure, or a system. When the system of theology, the pastor, the liturgy etc. that we have put our trust in comes under fire, we fight. We fight because we are ignorant of the God who transcends personalities, systems and structures. We fight because it is easier to defend tangible "enemies" rather than engage in spiritual warfare. We fight because we have to defend our investments. We fight because we have a feeble view of the Kingdom.
+God, give us peace. Help us see the enemy. Keep your Kingdom in our sight.+
Thursday, December 11, 2003
I got to have lunch with two good friends and fellow Christ-followers yesterday. We talked about Kingdom things and the possibility of going the emerging church route. Being an analytical type of person, I want to be sure that my motives are right. I want to be sure that I am not just leaving something, but journeying to something. I asked the guys the question that I have been asking myself: In the current church I attend, can I commit to and follow through in the kind of deep, lasting relationships we think are vital to our spiritual transformation; and do I have the time, freedom etc. to carry out the missional work we have been called and sent to participate in? Some additional questions that come to mind: Am I empowered and free to follow God's call in my life? Is the ministry that I do helping others to be spiritually transformed?
My thought is if the answer to these questions are "no", then I have to seek a new form/structure/vessel (whatever you want to call it) where I can say "yes".
God must be at work.... Trish wrote her latest post before I woke up and it's the same thing that theme that we talked about at lunch. In response to my concerns about hurting the "church" in our departure, my friend Tom quoted John Eldridge to me. "Let others feel the weight of who you are and let them deal with it." Good advice!
My thought is if the answer to these questions are "no", then I have to seek a new form/structure/vessel (whatever you want to call it) where I can say "yes".
God must be at work.... Trish wrote her latest post before I woke up and it's the same thing that theme that we talked about at lunch. In response to my concerns about hurting the "church" in our departure, my friend Tom quoted John Eldridge to me. "Let others feel the weight of who you are and let them deal with it." Good advice!
(Trish) Quote of the day:
"Be who you are and say what you think, because the people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant.. I was reading yesterday http://watercarriers.blogspot.com/ and I felt such a surge of freedom that I could hardly contain it! Then, Dr. Seuss appears on my desk and well, here I am sharing with you. May we dance in the freedom we have in Jesus today and may we share it with others. Be who you are! Be who Abba created you to be.
"Be who you are and say what you think, because the people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant.. I was reading yesterday http://watercarriers.blogspot.com/ and I felt such a surge of freedom that I could hardly contain it! Then, Dr. Seuss appears on my desk and well, here I am sharing with you. May we dance in the freedom we have in Jesus today and may we share it with others. Be who you are! Be who Abba created you to be.
Friday, December 05, 2003
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