I don't know if I have shared this or not. I'm sharing it today. Just take it as not only a song I'm loving, but something that is stirring in my heart in a strong way.

Some thoughts on be truly inclusive and welcoming

This is going to be very brief today, as I've not slept and am reasonably cranky today.
I was just wondering (after a conversation with a fellow Braums lover) can being inclusive and welcoming be described most simply as being willing to give up my position and comfort to someone else? Basically, it is not so much about being nice to someone else, as it is about giving up my own position to someone else. 
We'll talk more about this soon.  Any thoughts?

Wanting when we don't want to

So, last night Lora was (as usual) very cute. It was after VBS, and therefore, very much after her bedtime. She was roaming around not sleeping while her mom tried to get dinner together. Josh Groban came up in conversation (again, as usual), and Lora came up to me and asked to see him. I picked up my phone, and showed her my background, which is of Josh. She immediately gave me the "are you kidding me look" and said, "make him sing." So, I pulled up "Awake" on youtube (it seemed appropriate since she was refusing sleep). And for 45 seconds, Lora was completely enamored and engaged. She stared at that little screen with joy and contentment. Then, at 46 seconds, she was done. There were other things in the room to play with before she finally lost the battle against sleep. She was off, and Josh was left singing alone.
I was thinking about that this morning. We have experiences were we so openly beg for God's presense and spirit. And for awhile, we cannot imagine anything but getting it. Then, life happens and we get distracted. Suddenly we remember all the other things in the world we want to fill our lives with, and we push the Spirit back down. This cycle seems fairly common, and I'm not sure how to break it. Maybe just being aware that we are all a bunch of toddlers when it comes to our relationship with the Father will be enough to lengthen our attentions on him and short our distractions elsewhere.

On Grace when you'd prefer Karma

Yoga wasn't all that great today. My instructor did a great job, and the room was comfy and more quiet than earlier in the week. I'm just in a little bit of a foul mood today. I won't go into great detail why, just know that my usual favorite pose (child's pose) was not all that comfortable today. I'm a stretched out, but not much more relaxed.
I've had a very weird day. I know that a fellow believer is taking advantage of my feeble attempts at going 2 miles when she only asks for one and all that. I was up most of the night crying and screaming in frustration. It doesn't seem to bother me much when non-Christ followers take advantage of grace, but I have about zero tolerance for the same from believers. Higher standards and all.
All that being said, at around 4:30 am this morning, I decided I was going to do everything in my power and at whatever cost to find a way to show grace to this person. And I wasn't to happy about that decision, I just felt like it was I needed to do.
Fast forward a few hours to being at the pool. I was walking laps, and felt the Spirit very calmly nudge me. This is a rare experience for me. I'm usually the one that needs the Gibb's smack upside the head. But this morning, there was  a very gentle voice that very comfortingly and sadly said, "Giving grace hurts when the recipient takes advantage. But that is what makes grace so rich. If everyone accepted grace the way they should, we would need a lot less grace because people would already be more just." I could easily, and in many people's eyes (mine and those of people I greatly respect) would be completely justified, in putting my foot down and saying no more. But, if I miss this opportunity to show grace when justice is fair, I miss the chance to experience a small taste of the Father's heart. We have the chance to look into His love, it's a small and blurry window, but it is a window all the same. I will probably fail at showing this person grace, I have before. But everytime I find a way to show just a little bit, I see His heart a little more.

I end today with a couple of quotes from one of my favorite bloggers from a recent post of his on grace. I'm including the link to that post, as it is excellent. So, from Richard Beck:

But it's hard not to get into a fight about grace. Grace has always been scandalous. It makes no sense, morally speaking. In fact, it can seem downright immoral. Why? Because grace violates our innate, deeply rooted sense of morality. Grace isn't natural. Grace is about the hardest thing you can do. It's damn near heroic.

Rather than retaliation, followers of Jesus are to love and forgive. We are to leave the moral debt outstanding. The debt isn't repaid. It is forgiven. Grace is a bomb that explodes our thirst for moral balance and proportionality.

I know, I know

I did not disappear or fade away. I just got a little distracted and discouraged with blogging. But, I'm back. And there is a plan.
So prepare to hear from me personally every Thursday, and from my fellow ministers at BHCC on Monday and Tuesday. We'll figure out a way to fill in the other days with something exciting.
As a "please forgive me" gift, here is some Josh Groban.

Thanks to Nathan for sharing this!

So, I in turn, am sharing with you.  Happy Lent!

http://www.churchyear.net/lentfathers.html

It's hard to claim an identity in a divided world....

So, I'm stealing this idea from a few other blogs, but it makes too much sense not to use.  So here is why I would make a lousy Progressive and a lousy Evangelical.

Why I'd make a lousy Progressive:
1. I'm not a universalist.
2. I talk a lot about creation care and radical inclusivity, but I"m not very good at either one.
3. I think Paul was an alright guy.
4. I believe Jesus really did physically rise from the grave.
5. And I believe His mom was a virgin.
6. Sometimes I get tired of deconstructing theology and questioning orthodoxy.
7. Even though I won't be joining the GOP any time soon, I don't have much faith in the Democrats either.

Why I'd make a lousy Evangelical:
1. I believe the world is billion years old.
2. While I haven't read The Origin of Species yet, I think there's some truth to Darwin.
3.  I do NOT watch Fox News!
4. I don't believe in Just War theory.
5. I've never "kissed dating goodbye."
6. I don't think a specially worded prayer has much to do with salvation.
7. I think the cross did more for sin than some are willing to admit.

There it is. Maybe we "in-betweeners" can get together sometime.