An Earth Day Good Friday

I remember seeing on my calendar a few weeks ago that Earth Day and Good Friday coincided on the same day. Yesterday in the office, a co-worker commented on the overlap, not remembering a time when the two were celebrated the same day. Tongue-in-cheek, I said that anyone celebrating Earth Day was probably not celebrating Good Friday and vice-versa.

Iconoclasts: Sheldon Cooper and Coach Taylor

Yesterday was a very productive day for Dayann and myself. I read a chapter referred to me by my professor to help frame my thesis...and I watched the entire third season of Big Bang Theory from the comfort of our bed.

This is why God made Saturdays.

Guilt and Grace

We have been developing a series of sermons at church that are looking at Witnesses to Jesus' final week before his execution in preparation for Easter. Sunday night, our witness was Simon Peter.

Simon Peter is probably a pastor's favorite character, because he is most identical to himself. Speaking before understanding, making bold claims and being rebuked, ascending to leadership and shrinking from conflict-- these are pastoral traits, generally and personally speaking. Simon Peter is a character in scripture whose humanity we can resonate with because he also screws up more often than he succeeds. If there is a champion for the journey of discipleship, it is Simon Peter.

Finding a Pursuit of God

A friend posted a quote that he had heard in a lecture from the Bible Study Fellowship:

"It is cool in our culture to be looking for God. It is not cool, however, to find Him."

Setting aside the statement's assumption of a normative (assumingly North American) cultural value in seeking spiritual enlightenment, the issue centers on a post-modern understanding of whether any declarative statement can be made about anything.

A new week

3 weeks and $3400 later, my truck is ready to come back home!

(This is a follow-up to last week's blog about my week which, for lack of better descriptors, sucked.)

No more waking up Dayann early to take me to work or having to ride Brother Joel's bicycle:

He is a bigger man than me in so many ways…

To help us along with some finances, my folks sent us a check. A bit of unintended irony from my dad is that he also sent a copy of NT Wright's book, "Following Jesus". I had been wanting to read this for a while and I had talked to dad about it when we were home in December. We have enjoyed reading Wright and I was looking for a book on discipleship that would not be as heavy as the bishop's heavier tomes. If you have an interest in a thinking-man's theology, you must be conversant with Wright, and if your critique of NT Wright is that he is not John Piper...get over yourself.

I had prayed last week, in the midst of our financial calamity, that I might have the opportunity to depend more deeply upon grace. It is of divine coincidence that the book I receive in the mail is centered upon discipleship.

My prayer:

"Open wide my door, my Lord, to whatever makes me love You more..."

A Week's Descent

When it rains, it pours.

I have never been of the mind that those who would follow after the way of Christ would never fall, but I would (subconsciously, at least), expect things to land better.

Let me outline my past week...

Seeing leads to serving

Last night in Life Group, our topic was centered on how we view people in our life as opportunities to serve God in mission.

A phrase that stood out in our lesson was that "seeing leads to service", and that the spiritual discipline of service is a matter of developing our senses to look beyond ourselves to find ways to live in Christ's way. We don't have to do extraordinary acts of healing, but begin with an awareness of how the people in our immediate vicinity form the context for us to serve in the way of Christ.