It’s been awhile since I’ve done this, but I felt like I wanted to link to my post today at Communitas Collective. It’s about passion. Here’s an excerpt:
A familiar quote that has been increasing in popularity in recent years comes from one Dr. Howard Thurman:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything about women’s issues. It isn’t for a lack of passion about it, but in many ways it’s perhaps because I’ve said my piece…and the last few times I’ve posted about it, most of the comments were from other men who wanted to waste my time arguing theology, which tended to make the posts counter-productive. So mainly I’ve been focusing more on living out these convictions more than just talking about them.
Over the past two evenings The Wild One and I watched the classic movie A Nun’s Story starring Audrey Hepburn–first time we’d seen it. (Long movie, so we broke it into two parts watching it from our DVR.) It was about a young woman, the daughter of a famous doctor, trained as a nurse, who entered the convent with a sincere desire to serve God and care for the underprivileged. We watched as throughout the nearly three-hour-long movie she stumbles over the legalistic rules of her order that stop her from making common sense decisions for the people she is treating–epitomized by the requirement that she must leave off treatment of a patient (no matter how severe) when the bell calls her to prayer and communion. Their explanation for such requirements? “Your medical service must be secondary to your religious life.” After years of suffering from inside politics and constantly finding herself guilty of breaking one rule while trying to keep another, she finally decides to renounce her vows and is shunned by the order. The thing is, she is the one who is acting most like Jesus throughout the film. It is a classic example of people missing the point, of not seeing the forest for the trees.
Happy New Year, everyone…
I meant to do this yesterday, but about midday yesterday I got thrown for a loop with a sudden nasty stomach bug, and I’m just now returning to the land of the living. (Good thing I didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans…)
Anyhow…I’ve talked to you before about my friend Mike Klassen, who wrote Strange Fire, Holy Fire (I reviewed the book here). Mike has just launched a new blog called “A Daily Bible Conversation“, inviting everyone to read through the Bible with him in a year, and discussing in the comments what God impresses on you as you read. It’s an interactive way to work through the Bible, talking about it along the way. Go check it out, and join the conversation, if you’re so inclined.
Snow!
It’s already threatened the Denver metro about three times this fall (without much follow-through), but this morning it’s accumulating here in Arvada. Nothing too serious for this area. I do find it interesting because this is my first fall/winter season here, but apparently this stuff is happening pretty early, especially in the mountains. Loveland ski resort is already open–the earliest in the season it has ever opened. This morning we had a record low temp (17 degrees F), and they’re saying the Colorado Rockies’ playoff game today will be the coldest Rockies game in their history.
If you want to know why sometimes I like to make your brain hurt…blame people like Erin. Her blog is often quite thought-provoking–like this post about love and breaking the law. In it, she postulates that when it comes to a choice between showing love and keeping and honoring the Law (i.e., the Law of Moses), showing love and mercy should take precedence–even if it means breaking the Law on that point. (There’s a whole thought process behind that conclusion in her post, so please read it in context before judging the validity of the statement.)
Go over there and see what you think.
Mark over at Pragmatic-Eclectic has written a couple of great posts using Elijah’s time at the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17) as an analogy for the respite many of us feel after migrating out of the institutional church settings. I couldn’t possibly improve on what he’s said, so go read them here and here.
His posts have got me thinking, not only about where I am personally, but about our tendency to want to stay in places of rest. In particular this sentence stood out to me today:
“Over and over you will want to build a tabernacle and just stay in one place.”
