Let them eat cake!

This was sent to me in an email. You know, one of those forward things. I thought it was fun...could be that I'm ready for dessert. Mmm...dessert...

It was fun to think of what desserts I appreciate most and see how close the "psychiatrists" were.

(the pic is one I took at Andrew and Denisa's wedding May 2, 2009)

If all of the eight desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose (sorry, you can only pick one)! Pick your dessert, and then look to see what psychiatrists think about you.

REMEMBER - No Cheating. Make your choice before you check the meaning.

Here are your choices:

1. Angel Food Cake

2. Brownies

3. Lemon Meringue Pie

4. Vanilla Cake With Chocolate Icing

5. Strawberry Short Cake

6. Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Icing

7. Ice Cream

8..... Carrot Cake

No, you can't change your mind once you scroll down, so think carefully about what your choice will be.


OK - Now that you've made your choice, this is what the
researchers say about you... SCROLL DOWN---No Cheating


1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

2. BROWNIES -- You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When
tempers flare up you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

3. LEMON MERINGUE -- Smooth, sexy, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent caregiver and a good teacher.
But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style because you do your
own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others and have many friends.

4. VANILLA CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life; very indecisive and
lacking motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

5. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE -- Romantic, warm, loving.... You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen. You can be very emotional at times but a true20person in every way. You like
to do things for yourself and help others learn about themselves.

6. CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING-- Sexy; always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

7. ICE CREAM -- You like sports, whether it be baseball, football,basketball, or soccer.. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don't
like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

8. CARROT CAKE -- You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends. You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model.

I've decided it's like the horoscopes, really. You can pick any one of them and find yourself in them but it's still fun. Any guesses on which one I picked? ;)

Alan Hirsch

Here's a link to the blog of a guy who's doing a lot to help re-educate and re-orient the churches across North America and Australia to living as Kingdom focused, Jesus lead, missional people. Some good stuff and lots of great links to all sorts of resources. Enjoy!

I'm a little crabby with blogger right now. I can't seem to get a picture into the header without it doing wacky and crazy things. Like shrinking it to half the width of the frame...or extending the image and the corresponding description in the header to unreasonable proportions off the screen. Arg.

Why won't it just do what I want it to!? Insert image from file! Is that so hard?

Here's another reason that I know it is really spring...wait for it...ball season! I played my first game tonight (they played last week but I had to work so it doesn't really count). There was no rain and no sno..wait...um...none of that white stuff that starts with "s" (Can't say it. Don't want to jinx it!)...just a lot of wind. It was cold but we played. I wasn't swinging very well yet but played descent in the field - first base tonight, boys - so that made me feel a bit better.

It just felt so good to be outside playing a sport after what's felt like a long, long time indoors over the winter. I love sports. I love outside. I love hanging out with good people. Putting the three together just seems like a good idea.

The team looks good and I'm happy to be playing. I think it's going to be a good season.

See the entire collection here.

If You Could Design a T-Shirt, What Would It Say?

My sister just sent me these after a conversation a while back about a t-shirt I'd create. I'm sure it already exists but it would read: "I see stupid people." 'Cause I do. They're everywhere. Then I decided that that likely wouldn't be very flattering or edifying. Maybe I need to come up with something better.

Lost?

This is one of my favorite versions of one of my favorite Coldplay songs.

*This video came from a competition - there are several other descent videos featuring the same song.

NHL Plays of the Year

This has been heavy on my head and on my heart lately: consumerism in the church. In North America, we are trained to be wise consumers. The ability to make such decisions is applauded. Not to mention that we seem to judge success by the amount that one can consume. It's addictive, really. Is it healthy, though? Is it who we are called to be, particularly as Christians? How does it, if at all, lend to a sense of community and wholeness? It seems to me that instead of breeding a sense of looking out for the weak and the least of these, it breeds an attitude of "every man for himself," exactly the opposite of who I want to be and yet it seems to be exactly what our culture encourages and what a side of me does, in fact, want. So we're caught in a tension.

The struggle becomes even more defined, I think, when we start really thinking about who we are supposed to be as Christians and as the Church and see these consumeristic tendencies taking up residency in our congregations. We want what we want, what's good for us and in our way. We all do. None of us are free from it. Even the most well intentioned among us. It's our perspective and our perception of what's best, perhaps even good for the whole group. But what if it isn't? Are we willing to see past what we want for the good of the whole? How do free our view of Jesus and the church from our training as consumers?

So I'm thinking through it all. Trying to figure out how to consume less and sell less, to love more and to live more.

With all that in mind, I ran across this...

Branding the Church

What’s the biggest threat to Christianity today? Is it postmodernism? Relativism? Skye Jethani, managing editor for Leadership, says no, it’s consumerism. In a post on the Out of Ur blog titled, “The Cult of Mac,” Jethani discusses the unique effects that consumerism has had on the church and how branding Christ has created a consumer-driven Christian community. He asks, “If brands have become religions, is the opposite also true? Have religions been reduced to brands?”

What are your thoughts? Is consumerism the biggest threat to the church today?

So here's the question...how does one describe doubting themselves but finding that that makes them rely on God's image of them more...that a sunny disposition or "strong" personality is, in fact, genuine even in the face of internal struggle...that that is, in fact, God's work through them and in spite of them...that it's not to be pitied but to be wrestled with because somehow God is working through it all even when it hurts and causes some big questions...that life is, in many ways, one big juxtaposition of what we know and what we believe and that the journey towards making those the same is often long and full of ups and downs...that sometimes we live what we know so that what we believe will eventually align with the former...how does one put the struggle of figuring out who they are and who they are becoming into words?

Current Read

Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth, J.V.Hart

Round 2

So I went 5 for 8 in the last round. No major disappointments, just a few surprises...including the number of swept series. That almost takes the fun out of it for me! I want battles and game 7's and penalties (Not including "too many men on the ice." Not in the playoffs. That's not cool, Calgary!).

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston v. (6) Carolina

The Canes just fought a good battle (7 games, over time, big fights...that's playoff hockey!) and have some momentum but, unless the break has got to them, I've got to go with the Bruins. Just something about them this year! Boston in 6.

(2) Washington v. (4)Pittsburgh

Washington surprised me last round. I didn't see them pulling it off but they did. Played a good series. Still don't think they've got it in them to beat those pesky Penguins. I'll take good ole' Canadian Crosby and his boys in 7.

Western Conference

(2) Detroit v. (8) Anaheim
Still pains me to do it. Detroit in 5.

(3) Vancouver v. (4) Chicago
Let's face it. Chicago looked good but it's hard to tell if it's because they really were or if it's because Calgary forgot to show up (face it, Calgary fans, that's what happened. Sad but true). Goal tending was sound but not a lot of offense to speak of. On the other hand, Luongo's the man and they've got some scorers on the bench. They made the last round look easy. Canucks in 6.

Let the games begin!

Songs for the Season

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity of helping lead our congregation in worship through song. It's a rare treat now that I'm working with the kids in the back but seems to always be just what I need, right from practicing with the team during the week prior. This particular Sunday included several songs that all seemed to touch different bits of my heart, all in deep ways, all reminding me of the presence of God. These are the songs that spoke to me then and have been played over and over and over (and over!) since then.

Hosanna - Brooke Fraser

I see the king of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Our God Saves - Brenton Brown and Paul Baloche

In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son
In the name of the Spirit, Lord, we come
We're gathered to-gether to lift up Your Name
To call on our Savior, to fall on Your grace
(Repeat)

To call on our Savior, to fall on Your grace

Hear the joyful sound of our offering
As Your saints bow down, as Your people sing
We will rise with You, lifted on Your wings
And the world will see that

CHORUS
Our God saves, our God saves
There is hope in Your name
(Repeat)

Mourning turns to songs of praise
Our God saves, our God saves

"Brokenness is the realization that life is too much for us, not just because there is too much pain but also because we're too selfish. Brokenness is realizing He is all we have. Hope is realizing He is all we need. Joy is realizing He is all we want."

Larry Crabb

Current Read

Girl Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual Life, Lauren Winner

I keep meaning to post this. If you haven't seen it yet, you should! It reminds me that there is always hope and that it's never too late to try. I like that.

Wish I could say that it's playoffs and that that's been what's distracting me but that would be a lie...I mean, it is playoffs but...well...that's not it.

Well, over a month ago I came home from 10 days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and promised not one but three posts!! So far I've posted exactly none of them. The ironic part is that the first that I wanted to write was on vacation and rest while it has been sheer busyness and exhaustion that has kept me from it.

So here's the thing. I'm not good at resting. I'm not good at sitting still. I'm not good at taking time off. I'm not good at doing things for me just because I want to. I'm much more adept at busyness, working, hurrying and going. There are pragmatic reasons that necessitate some of the activity but certainly not all of it. The rest is, well, the rest is me.

I fight against it. I know it's not right or particularily healthy and yet somehow it seems to still define me. It's a compulsion. A defense.

Now there's honesty for you!

One of the things that I appreciated was that in Mexico, it didn't have to define me. I took off 10 days. No work. No email. No cell phone. No being pulled in a dozen directions. No expectations.

We did have plans. That's one of the things that I love about my family. It's not about lounging around on the beach all day every day. While there was time for that, and it was fantastic, I'm not sure which one of us would have been driven crazy first by making that a 24-7 lifestyle. The thing is that the plans are different.

We had time for adventure and for exploring. There was time for creativity - I thoroughly enjoyed playing with my camera! We were active but it was a different kind of activity. I'm not even sure how to explain it but it was different. We played hard and went to bed exhausted every night but were still satisfied and relaxed.

There was something rejuvinating about that kind of activity. It was good.

There's something even better about that kind of activity surrounded by moments of stillness, quiet and rest.

And, with all that in mind, it certainly didn't hurt that it was 34 degrees there while it was snowing here. A warm break like that makes our seemingly ever extending winters seem a little bit more unbearable!

I guess that's why people take vacations!!

With all that said, It's not that all of the activity here is bad. For the most part, I love my jobs. I'm active and healthy. Challenged and fulfilled.

The problem comes when, in the midst of that, there's no room for the good kind of activity or for rest. I would like to find room for more good activity. Moments of adventure, exploring and creativity. I'd also like to find more room for rest...and perhaps more ability.

Perhaps that aspect of my time away is even more profound in contrast to the way life has been since I've come home. Unable to sleep. Anxious. Unsettled. Restless.

It's not reasonable - although I can't say I haven't thought about it - to jump on a plane and leave town every time one needs a break. It is, however, possible to find a better sense of rythm in the everyday of life.

I'm not sure what else I'm getting at but that I thoroughly enjoyed the break. I felt rested and at rest when I came home. I want to find a way to capture a bit of that here.

Article: Who's Church are we Building Anyway

We've been asking this question a lot at Journey. Since before I even knew it was going to exist, actually, this question has been asked and has been used to shape the way that our church culture and philosophies have been built. It's the reason that I enjoy being on staff. It's hard though, because, from my experience, this isn't the way our North American churches have worked. It's not even really the way we seem to want Church to work.

I've been struggling with how to communicate this a lot lately (and taken quite a bit of heat from people who don't necessarily understand the philosophy yet...hard if it's not 100% clear in it's communication and activation) but this article gave me hope. We're not the only ones trying to figure out how to make this work. Perhaps we're not crazy!

Whose Kingdom Are We Building?

By Josh Loveless

Whose kingdom are we building?

The answer to this question might be stranger than you think.

I can’t explain why, but I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about information guides (that means church bulletin for those of you using the KJV). For most churches, these guides are used to announce the detailed information of the “where and when” of every ministry event that the church has to offer. Typically at some point during a worship gathering, someone might even get up on a stage and point out a few of those things found in the information guide to help people know what’s going on.

What would happen if everyone in church actually did everything in the information guide?

Consider the question this way: What if everything you asked people to come to and sign up for was actually filled? Would your church be successful? I’ve realized that with the amount of activities and events that we as church leaders continue to try and offer people, we are guilty of over-scheduling the involvement of our church communities. What has started to bother me about this is that we have become a kind of employment service for our church. Though many of the opportunities we invite our people to participate in are out in the community, we are still serving as the conduit and filter. Because of this, we are causing our people to wait for us as a church to create things for them to do rather than develop the muscle on their own to recognize needs and issues within their own neighborhood and respond. And if they did respond to something that was happening around them, would a church guilt them for not participating in the events featured in the information guide?

This has led me to consider what it would look like to offer fewer opportunities for volunteering and serving through our church (employment) for the purpose of developing our people to pay attention to what is happening around them and respond (deployment).

The idea of developing our church body to be deployed into our city is not a new idea. For years we have preached this message. We have communicated to our people what they need to do to change. What I’m suggesting is that maybe they aren’t the only ones who need to change. Maybe the church needs to change. Maybe we need to back off on the amount of activities we’re generating and become more aggressive at working alongside of our people about how to engage their gifts and talents to be deployed in the work environment, neighborhood and relationships. Ultimately, we can’t ask our people to slow down while at the same time picking up the pace and trying to get more people to sign up for more things. Choosing a church philosophy of deployment over employment might serve as a strong reminder for us about whose kingdom we’re actually building.

One of the things that I think has kept most churches from driving down this road is that the fruit of this kind of ministry isn’t measurable. Might we need to consider that just because you can’t measure something doesn’t mean that it isn’t fruitful. It just means that it might not fit on an Excel spreadsheet.

Thoughts?

In other hockey news, all I have to say is... "Thank goodness" oh, and "it's about freaking time!"

ROUND 1

So here's my picks for round 1 (she says very tentatively. not feeling so bold)...

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston v. (8) Montreal

Boston. In 6. Kind of wish I could say Montreal but I can't. Sigh.

(2) Washington v. (7) NY Rangers

I'm going for the underdog although it's a long shot and I know it. New York in 7.

(3) New Jersey v. (6) Carolina

New Jersey. No question. In 5.

(4) Pittsburgh v. (5) Philadelphia
For some reason, I just hate Philly so I'm going Pittsburgh in 7.

Western Conference

(1) San Jose v. (8) Anaheim
No question. San Jose. In 5 (only 'cause I'm not feeling bold enough to declare a sweep!)

(2) Detroit v. (7) Columbus

Pains me to do it but I'm thinking Detroit in 5. Man, I hate Detroit.

(3) Vancouver v. (6) St. Louis
This is the series I'm most interested in. I'm curious to see what St.Louis can do. They came on at the end but I still have to go with Luongo, I mean, Vancouver. A battle though. In, hmmm, 7. Yup. 7.

(4) Chicago v. (5) Calgary
I love that Calgary media goes from "we're going to win the division" to "all hope is lost, we're going to die." Since they can't seem to beat Chicago and they can't seem to get their defensive act together, I'm going to pick Chicago. Since, however, I love a good series, even if it does involve Calgary, I'm going to hope it goes to 7.

In addition to being filled with a very satisfying cup of coffee, my starbucks cup also provided me with a little chuckle today. I love the quotes on the cup!

The Way I See It #297

When I was young, I was misled by flash cards into believing that xylophones and zebras were much more common.

So true.

Ways I know that spring is finally (finally!) on the way...

1. I heard frogs singing last night. It made me smile.
2. It smells a little outside. Okay, it smells a lot.
3. The birds are back in town (sing it like "the boys are back in town" and it's fun).
4. We're heading into playoff season.
5. I wore my vest more than my jacket this week.
6. I wore my flip flops. *grin*
7. BBQ. Enough said.
8. I washed my car and it was dry enough that it stayed sort of clean.
9. I have an inexplicable urge to clean my house, take excess things away and generally sort...what is it about spring cleaning, anyway?!
10. There are check stops out again. They don't do that during the winter (except at Christmas and New Years). Even the cops don't really want to be out in the winter. Brrrr.

Current Read

Dragon Harper, Anne McCaffrey

Current Read

Stardust, Neil Gaiman

Even without the playoffs (or maybe even more so because there is no playoff run to look forward to), this is satisfying!!

Part of an article...

I just read an article on three key issues facing the Canadian church. Here is the third and, I find, one that I am most interested and able to put my energy into (I think!). What could we do to see the Kingdom here, now, in new and exciting ways? I know it can happen. I believe it can happen. In fact, I believe it does happen...perhaps just not often enough. What would it look like for each of us who follows Jesus to truly prayer the prayer "Your Kingdom Come" and allow God to work through us to answer it!?

Third, we lack imagination for the future. Our faith has become very private. It is about my life and my future. We are seldom acting out of a deep concern for the welfare of our city/region. Few evangelical churches have even wrestled with what it would be like for the Kingdom to be breaking in here; now. All of us struggle with this disconnect between a desire for a bigger church and larger budget on the one hand, and what the contours of the Kingdom would look like in our location, on the other. Here we will need to open ourselves up to scripture, but in particular, to the role of the artist. In the 21st century the artists will lead us. They are the ones who dream. Dreams and pragmatism are always in tension. Unless we learn how to make this tension more creative we will never be able to see the future for our region. We will always be buying it from someone else. And this is the greatest tragedy of the local church in Canada; when we sing a new song, we have bought it from someone else. When we dream a new dream, we have bought it from another church in another country. God is always doing a new work. Even in Canada. The artists help us to see it. - Donald Goertz, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto

article - Spiritual Disciplines

by Amie Hollmann

Somewhere between searching for the perfect souvenir and savoring a bowl of gelato, I found myself at the bottom of the Holy Stairs in Rome. I was on vacation, taking in the impossibly blue sky, the salty rhythms of the streets, history under every footstep and culture around every corner. The Holy Stairs, or Scala Santa, is a marble staircase transplanted from Jerusalem. Tradition has it that Jesus walked up these very stairs on His way to meet with Pontius Pilate.

The only way up the stairs is on your knees. So, slowly, I began the journey like all the other pilgrims. It was awkward at first and only became increasingly uncomfortable. As I tried to concentrate on prayer, I realized I hadn’t been on my knees in a long time. My knees were out of shape. Prayer, whether on my knees or otherwise, had not been a priority. I had managed to fit God neatly into my itinerary, but God wasn’t much more than a convenient stop on the tour.

This experience reflected the sad state of my spiritual life. I had been a Christian for most of what I could remember. But I spent more time fixing my hair than reading the Bible. My faith was flabby. I was in need of some serious spiritual discipline.

Discipline sounds like a dirty word in our “eat what you want and still lose weight” society. We want results without the work. But we have to rethink the results and the work. Jesus tells us in Matthew that the big picture is about loving God with our whole being and sharing that love with others. Spiritual disciplines help us focus on the big picture and translate it onto the small screen of our daily lives.

Even though “how to” spirituality books put a fresh face on faith practices, spiritual disciplines are nothing new. The Old Testament shows us how prayer, meditation, scriptural study and worship provide a functional framework for faithful living. And Jesus led His followers by example, opting for late-night prayer vigils instead of watching the Late Show. Washing feet instead of calling for room service. Daily living out what He taught in humble service and simplicity. Even Paul, of “doing what I don’t want to do and not doing what I do want to do” fame, was still training for a marathon.

But what do spiritual disciplines look like today in the frenzied 21st century? Kelli B. Trujillo, author of The Busy Mom’s Guide to Spiritual Survival (Wesleyan), went in search of answers. But what she found was not a “quick-fix 12-step program to a better, more disciplined you.” Instead, while exploring 15 disciplines—including silence, solitude, stewardship, worship, fellowship and hospitality—she discovered a new perspective on traditional practices and creative ways to incorporate them throughout her hectic day. Conditions we often think are not conducive to faith became places for God to break in. Nothing was off-limits.

But the point is not to become a spiritual superwoman. “Spiritual disciplines help me get out of that mode of trying hard and into a more authentic, honest place spiritually, a place that recognizes I can’t be like Jesus through my own efforts,” Trujillo says. “Through spiritual disciplines the Holy Spirit is at work in my life, strengthening me and changing me and molding me.”

Practice may not make perfect, but that doesn’t mean we give up. Even after years in the spotlight as an author, teacher and speaker, Joyce Meyer gives her audiences the same challenge she directs at herself. She shared with Radiant the importance of spiritual disciplines. “I’ve gone through times in my life where I kept trying to fit God in and fit God in and fit in prayer and fit in studying, and I never got room for that stuff. You need to stop trying to work God into your schedule, and you need to put Him first and let your schedule honor God.”

Over time she found that disciplines like morning prayer became a healthy habit and an essential part of her day. “Whatever you do for a period of time, that’s what you begin to crave and desire,” she says. “And for me, now, to go out without spending time with God is almost like going out without being dressed … I feel like I’m missing something.”

Some practices might not be as foreign to our routines as we think. Meditation seemed a little out there to me until I realized I was already doing it regularly. I was meditating on my flaws, my feelings and my schedule. Brooding and worrying. My mind was full of selfishness, pride and fluff. The petition in Psalm 19 that the meditation of my heart be pleasing to God challenges me to replace the old “me, myself and I” mantra with something more meaningful.

Spiritual disciplines lead us to look outside ourselves. When we do, we can embrace a wider view of giving, one that’s not just about how much you put in the offering plate on Sunday morning. Meyer talks about transforming our ideas of giving into becoming an “aggressive giver.” “Giving, to me, is a completely different thing than being a giver,” she says. “When you are a giver, then you actually look for opportunities.”

As a leader of her church’s women’s group, Christina Bender, 28, finds opportunities to serve all around her. Simple acts like regularly giving blood, growing out her hair for Locks of Love, picking up trash and baby-sitting take on new significance when love is at the center of service. “I have learned to really dig deep into the love of God, to smile and offer care and assistance at times that are really not ideal, to people who are maybe unlovely to others or even unpleasant,” she says.

While working for a nonprofit social justice organization, Rebekah Sloane, 31, found service a natural expression of her faith. But she felt God challenging her to take on disciplines, which have not come so easily. “I’m working on incorporating more meditation and prayer into my daily life … those disciplines have always been difficult for me, but over the past few years I’ve found myself increasingly longing for a deeper, fuller spiritual life and feel that meditation and prayer may be part of drawing me deeper.” For Sloane, growth meant revisiting childhood disciplines that didn’t “resonate” with her as an adult.

I have to confess, sometimes prayer seems about as appealing as finishing all my peas. But it doesn’t always have to be served up the same way. We can enjoy some creative freedom with our faith practices. After reading Trujillo’s book, I decided to try out “breath prayer,” an ancient Christian practice Trujillo describes as “praying a short memorized prayer by silently saying one phrase as you breathe in, then praying the next phrase as you breathe out.” She suggests using Bible verses. It’s a way of making Scripture part of my daily vocabulary.

Spiritual disciplines bring me back to basics. Who I am. Who my neighbor is. Who God is. Reminding me that God is present even when my days are disheveled. The late British Christian writer Evelyn Underhill says in her book The Spiritual Life (Ariel Press), “We mostly spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to Want, to Have and to Do. We are kept in perpetual unrest: forgetting that none of these verbs have any ultimate significance, except so far as they are transcended by and included in the fundamental verb, to Be: and that Being, not wanting, having and doing, is the essence of a spiritual life.”

When I finally arrive at the top of the stairs, I have not arrived at spiritual enlightenment. I am the same. The same sloth Christ went to the cross to save. Looking down I see my fellow knee-weary travelers. The skeptic in me wants to see all this as some empty historical exercise. But God is here. Calling. Closer than my breath. Closer even than the bruises on my knees.

________________________

As I read this article, I found myself resonating with much! These disciplines are things that I want to dive into more, just like my desire to discipline my physical body more...also coming, thank you. It's hard work but it's rewarding work. I love that it's not about "doing" more things or "finding more time" but about inviting God into what I'm already doing. I've got a lot of learning left to do!

On church...

I ran into this quote in an article today. I think I want to read the book!

Church was to be the result of people working together in the kingdom, not the focus of the work itself…we have made the church the point of God’s work and not the kingdom. And in doing so, we have unintentionally substituted the gospel of the kingdom (“Repent, the kingdom is at hand”) for the gospel of the church (“come to church to meet Jesus and grow spiritually”). We have substituted the work of the Spirit (transforming our inward character into the image of Jesus) for the work of the church (attending this class, this program, and this ministry). We have substituted the work of worship (which has always been the primary vocation of God’s people) for the passive consumption of church services (watching our paid professionals do their thing on stage).

From 'Death By Church' by Mike Erre

I Can't Sleep

It's ridiculous, really. I'm tired. Really tired. Still, I seem to drag all through the day only to get a second wind, or in this case, sometimes a first wind, just as I'm brushing my teeth to go to bed. Then, I lie there. Awake. Or, I feel like if I'm not going to sleep anyway, I might as well make use of this energy while I've got it and end up puttering on other stuff. Then the morning comes. Somewhere far too late I actually fell asleep. It's not enough. The alarm clock rings and I'm angry. It's a stupid piece of plastic but I'm still angry at it. Drag my bottom out of bed only to go through the whole process again.

I need to break the cycle and get some sleep. Going to go give it a try.

Current Read

Coraline, Neil Gaiman

Raspberry Layered Dessert

For those of you that were at Journey this morning and were asking about my dessert recipe, here it is:

2 cups oreo crumbs
1/2 cup butter (or margine)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pkg (250 grams) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup icing sugar
3 cups thawed cool whip whipped topping, divided
1 cup boiling water
2 pkg (85 grams each) Jell-O raspberry jelly powder
3 cups frozen raspberries

Mix crumbs, butter and cinnamon. Reserve 2 Tbsp.; press remaining into 9X13 pan. Beat cream cheese and sugar until blended. Stir in 1 cup Cool Whip; spread onto crust. Refrigerate

Add boiling water to jelly mixes; stir 2 min. Add berries (frozen); stir until slightly thickened. Pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 30 min. or until set but not firm.

Cover with remaining Cool Whip and reserved crumb mixture. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

It's quick (only takes about 15 minutes), easy and tasty! Enjoy!!

I would have posted it with a picture except we ate it all...mmm...

Playful Faith

By Keri Kent

The stakes in children's ministry, if you think of it, are high. We are responsible for the next generation of God's faithful. Based partly on our input, these young charges will follow Christ—or not. There are so many temptations vying for our children's attention and allegiance. This is serious business.

Consequently, we too can be tempted—to the sin of taking ourselves far too seriously. While our calling to minister to children is important and significant, it is also provides us an opportunity to engage in the spiritual practice of play.

Would anyone you work or minister with describe you with words like "playful," or "child-like" or "fun"? How about your family?

Once, Jesus' disciples—who were beginning to realize that God's kingdom was not like earthly kingdoms—asked him to clarify: who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? In other words, how do you move ahead? By way of reply, Jesus "called a little child, whom he placed among them. And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes a humble place—becoming like this child—is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18: 2-4).

Children are playful. What does it mean to play, to be childlike (which is a bit different from being childish)? What did Jesus mean when he said that the greatest in his kingdom were those who chose to be like little children? Did he want us to be playful? Does that mean we all ought to play more dodgeball? Or was he talking only about humility?

"There is no mistaking that one must learn to resemble a child in order to enter the kingdom," writes Brennan Manning in his book The Importance of Being Foolish. "But to grasp the full force of the phrase 'like little children,' we must realize that the Jewish attitude toward children in the time of Christ differed drastically from the one prevalent today. We have a tendency to idealize childhood, to see it as the happy age of innocence, insouciance, and simple faith. In the Jewish community of New Testament times, the child was considered of no importance, meriting no attention or favor. The child was regarded with scorn."

Manning notes that a humble attitude allows us to see God's grace for what it is: pure gift. But how do we cultivate humility? It's not easy in our culture, which lauds individual opinions and accomplishments, which teaches that self-esteem and self-confidence are of the highest value. It's not easy when you are supposed to be a "spiritual leader"—which some folks (sometimes even those leaders) think that means you have to be "deep" or serious all the time. But what if playfulness is a path to humility?

While we may have a different perspective on childhood than Jesus' contemporaries did, he continues to call us to trust him. And to realize we're not "all that." Leadership often tempts us to believe too firmly in our own importance. Play stretches our ability to be a fool, to engage in that which has no purpose other than simple joy. Play forces us to loosen our grip on our ambition for a while; it trains us in humility. We often want to avoid the risk involved with being silly. It's odd, since Jesus said we ought to be humble, that we seem to find it difficult to let go of our self-importance and image management—especially if we are leaders.

The pressures of ministry—counseling, teaching, caring for people—can be overwhelming. We forget how to play, or think it a waste of time. We worry what people would think. But play is necessary to restore our souls from the damage of our accomplishment-driven, workaholic culture. Play is a spiritual practice.

Kids "play" soccer, baseball, lacrosse, or whatever else their parents sign them up for, but these sports seem to have become a business, which costs money. Some children play video games, which do more damage than good, and certainly offer none of the health benefits of tag.

Many kids and parents use the word do rather than play. "Billy does football in the fall and hockey in the winter," we'll say. We don't say our kids are going to play a game; we say they "have" a game. Rather than playing, our kids have obligations. Though we may use such language unconsciously, our word choices are stunningly accurate.

Do you know how to play? Often adults engage in sports, but it is with a sense of competitive intensity. Or, perhaps you are in a sports league, but you have to justify it as "relational evangelism." You're not just playing, you're building bridges to share the gospel. But what if "just playing" is what God invites us to do as part of our spiritual practice?

Many adults who exercise see it as drudgery. Or it becomes an obsession, a god they compulsively sacrifice large amounts of time and energy to. They don't play, they work out (again, an interesting word choice). They exercise in an attempt to look younger, to stave off the inevitable aging process. Or it becomes a stimulant, another addiction. Rather than just enjoying a game of catch with the kids or a walk through the woods, we feel the need to engage in extreme sports.

True playfulness, on the other hand, brings joy; it teaches us trust. We can believe God is able to keep the universe humming right along without our help. Play is truly an act of trust, and trust is a key part of childlikeness.

Do you ever feel as if the joy has been squeezed right out of you? Do you think that the kingdom of God will fall apart if you don't keep working very hard? In many ways, church culture mirrors the world's culture: accomplishment-driven, workaholic, stressed. Such an environment gets a lot of tasks done, but destroys souls. What would happen to our ministry if we valued "being with God" as much as we did "doing for God"? And what if that "being with God" included not just times of soulful reflection but also, childlike playfulness?

Perhaps you think you don't have time to play. Could you play one day a week—on the Sabbath, when your focus is on loving God and loving others? Sabbath is a spiritual practice, of which play is a quintessential part. In play, we shed the shackles of schedules, efficiency, even purpose. The playfulness of Sabbath is the key to its ability to restore our souls.

Keri Wyatt Kent is a speaker, freelance writer and author of six books, including Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity, (Zondervan 2009) from which this article is adapted.

"Weak people can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." (Gandhi)

A friend of mine posted this quote as his facebook status today. I like it. It's appropriate for this current season of my life. That said, I wonder if it wouldn't be more apt to say 'forgiveness makes you stronger' or 'A lack of forgiveness makes you weak." Denying forgiveness destroys. Forgiveness repairs, builds up and renews.

Which one comes first, the chicken or the egg?

I'm just a big kid...

I kind of want to have it!

Current Read

JPod, Douglas Coupland

Real Estate, anyone!?

Many of you know that I've been dreaming about my own place for some time. Just came across this gem. I guess you just never know what sort of treasures are hiding just around the corner.






This place seems very modern, BUT… HERE’S THE INNOVATIVE PART!!... This 1 bedroom loft apartment was built inside a grain silo.

Tee hee..

Stole this one from my friend, Dayna. It made me smile.

Current Read

Labyrinth, Kate Mosse

Normally when I'm absent (not absent minded, just absent) from the blog world for a while it's because the speed of life (similar to the speed of light but different) has started spinning recklessly out of control and is tossing me around like a rag doll. I'll be honest that my most recent absence started there but was furthered by a much more delightful turn of events. I got home this morning at 2 am after spending the last 9 days on vacation with my family in Mexico.

Three words stand out in that last sentence.

Vacation.

Family.

Mexico.

Each deserving of it's own post.

And pictures.

They're coming.

I promise.