u2-3d

Lay down your guns
All your Abraham sons

c'mon boxcars...

So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelations 3:16

Bill Clinton once said, voting for Obama is like "rolling the dice". And while I imagine he said that to scare people, it kinda gets me excited. Because the chance to win big is something we haven't had in American politics in a long, long time.

Try this exercise: not counting the current office holder, make a list of the three worst U.S. Presidents ever. Then make a list of the three best U.S. Presidents ever. Done yet?

Now think about this... How is the world -- including your life -- different today based on the decisions and actions taken by the individuals in list one vs. list two. When I look at my list, I see that the up-side is far more longer lasting.

Gets me thinking... outside of politics, God provides even greater assurance in our own lives--there is nothing we can risk that is too great because the campaign has already been won.

bueller... bueller...

The physician Lewis Thomas wrote, "The greatest of all the accomplishments of 20th-century science has been the discovery of human ignorance."

I love science, but one of things I like most about science is that it helps illustrate the enormous wonder that is God. It seems that every decade, we humans reach a point where “we know it all”… only to find out soon after that there’s a whole new level, and another, and another. Quantum mechanics. Relativity. Nano physics. I can't wait for what God will show us next!

Saw a great video clip this morning (ht Karen) about a new movie coming out narrated by Ben Stein. If you got a second, check it out.

god is constantly moving

A home. A middle school cafeteria. A high school auditorium. A country club. A skating rink. A YMCA gymnasium. An open lawn. An Episcolpal parish. Over the past 15 years, the community of faith I worship with has met in a variety of settings--and we are getting ready to move again. At each stop, we are joined by fresh faces. We evolve into something new. I feel fortunate that I get to worship the Lord with a group of people who embrace change, embrace the unknown and trust in Our Father.

hot-hot-hot

This past week I have experienced the soothing warmth of the Caribbean sun, the penetrating heat of an open fire, the sweat on my brow after a good long run, the refreshing sensation of a hot shower, the warmth of a friendly smile, the fire of a close embrace. Thank you God for giving me so many warm pleasures.

a father's chat

On Sunday, my wife and I had a "chat" with our son - a high school sophomore who could be applying himself a bit more in school. We had all the cliches -- think about the future, give yourself options, this is your job, gotta work even when not fun, yada yada. The next morning in prayer, I realized that if you substituted "life" for "school", my heavenly Father could have been having the same conversation with me! Made me smile.

easy choices?

daniel and his friends would rather face fire and lions than worship a false god. given a direct ultimatum, i think i would choose the same fate. given a clear choice, I choose God.

but am i not given that choice every day? and how many times do i choose jobs, money, safety, family, fun, etc over the lions den?

lost opportunities

while vacationing this past week, didn't invest in any meaningful conversation. chose instead to drown myself in shallow banter. restful but unrewarding. i am sorry.

one week: twenty words or less

back in the snowy northeast. woke up this morning and found myself in the wilderness... looking to find my way back to the path. felt good that I had enough sense to realize that i am off course. certainly not the first time. Nancy captured my feelings well in her recent post titled Me, to which I say, Me Too. trying something new this week -- will post every day, never more than twenty or so words. at least that will give me an extra ten minutes every day to think about my Lord.

redistribution

Have not been as attentive to blogging over the past few weeks. Next week, my family and I will be on vacation (woohoo) but as is often the case, there is much work to be done in advance. My business has one full-time employee (me) which means there’s a rush to get projects completed before I go. Not to mention packing. And other prep.

Reminds me of an old saying – there is no such thing as vacation, only redistribution.

Everything still needs to get done. So I cram some in before we leave. And I’ll be squeezing out extra time when we return. At some point I’ll catch up. And it will all get done.

This morning I’m thinking, though, what happens when I take a vacation from doing God’s work? Yes, it happens. It could be a day, or perhaps a week, sometimes longer. My great plans to advance the Kingdom on hold while I focus on house, work, family, fun, etc.

When I’m “on vacation” from God’s work, no one picks up the slack. The poor go unfed. The lonely go uncomforted. The lost go unfound. When you think about it—my mission has one full-time employee (me), too.

Guess while I’m away, will need to do some thinking about redistribution.

my first meme

Tagged by Paul over at Sacred Vapor.

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

To be honest, I first realized I was tagged when I was surfing from my wife’s computer over the weekend, but didn’t really want to know what was on page 123 of the latest Danielle Steele novel. (As Seinfeld would say, not that there's anything wrong with that.) Back at work today, we must have lost power over the weekend as I needed to remove a book from my desk clock in order to reset it. So from Erwin McManus’ Soul Cravings we get:

It seems pretty clear to me that we will never become gods and I think somewhere deep inside we all suspect this. The good news is we don’t have to become gods to become something worth loving, worth respecting, worth valuing. Don’t let your shortcomings and flaws convince you that you need to become something other than human.

Tagging:
TK
Pat’s Place of Grace
Trace
Kansas Bob
And whoever else wants to play…

hello my name is...

i need to find a meeting...

hello. my name is ed. and i'm an obamaholic.

msnbc. cnn. website. blogs. conversations. i've been following senator obama's campaign for months, and actually made my first-ever donation to a campaign last spring. but lately, it's become an unhealthy adiction.

it really started with caroline's op ed piece in the new york times. since then i've been refreshing google news every ten minutes. did he speak today? who ensorsed him? why does it take new mexico so long to count votes? who should I call today? is it too soon to donate again?

november's too far away. deep inside i know i need to get back to work and focus on the path ahead of me... but in also know this could be a once-in-a-lifetime possibility in american politics. help!

p.s. -- if you have $5 and want to change the world, click here.

love triangle: taking responsibility

In this, the third segment of our love triangle, we see that it’s not enough to feel God’s love. It’s not enough to love him in return. We are also called to share God’s love with others. Friends. Neighbors. Strangers. Enemies.

You know what I am talking about. Wilsonian is in Swaziland right now. [rwk] is serving lunch to the homeless. TK is making sense of all this to a high schooler. Vapor through photos. NaNcy through poetry. Trace, K-Bob, Barbara, et al, all sharing in so many ways.

Community service, helping the needy and simply listening to people are so important. But what I am thinking about today is not about sharing God’s love with the homeless – but with the himless.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

I have been actively following Christ for over six years now, and do you know how many people I have brought with me to church? Zero.

It’s not that I haven’t invited people. Or prayed about them. I’ve passed out a few Bibles and tried to set a good example. Some of my friends have come to church events – like fishing trips, concerts, dinners. But not to church. Notta one.

Then I had a revelation on Tuesday night.

For years I have been inviting people to church. When instead I should have been sharing God’s love. What does that mean…

One: step up
I’ve been delegating my responsibility to the church. OK guys, I’ll bring them in the door, then you wow them with some heartfelt worship songs, a cool video and a powerful message. Instead of taking responsibility, I have taken a seat in the pew. Hoping that the pastor would do all the heavy lifting. That needs to change.

Two: shift gears
Coming together as a community of faith – church – is an important part of loving God. But it’s not the central part of loving God. I’ve been saying “let me tell you about my church” instead of “let me tell you about our God”. Perhaps one person coming to Christ is more amazing that 100 people coming to church.

Three: overcome the fear
It’s easy to say “Heh Bob, I think you would really like the message at church this Sunday.” What I want to say – but don’t – is something far more personal. “Heh Bob – God did some amazing things in my life this week. I would like to share them with you, but more importantly, I would love to hear how you felt God’s love, too!”

That’s a conversation I would like to have with people, but don’t. And that needs to change. I need to step up, shift gears and overcome my fears. For the only one who can share the love that God has given me – is me.