The Seeing

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

I have written many posts on this blog about taking risks, exploring unknown places and launching the proverbial boat towards deep waters. And I have meant every word I have written as I feel passionately about not settling for status quo. That being said, I have been thinking a great deal about air travel and the altitudes at which different aircraft fly. And I want to share some thoughts that I have about this in relation to the topic of risk-taking.

Different aircraft are assigned particular altitudes based on a number of factors; direction, distance being flown, and the size of the plane. The ideal altitude for each craft is the one that has them flying most efficiently and thus using less fuel. Passenger jets typically fly between 31,000 and 37,000 feet. Smaller business jets operate up to 45,000 feet. And the Concorde has flown as high as 51,000 impressive feet, a height at which one can often see the curvature of the earth. Air traffic controllers determine when, where, and how high planes will fly based on all of these factors with the goal of getting people where they need to be safely, efficiently and without hurting others in the process.

My point here is that risk for the sake of risk is a life of madness. Risk for the sake of obedience to God is life at it's very best. And risk looks different for each individual. Some will be required, in the tradition of Star Trek, "to boldly go where no man has gone before", to hit the heights of the Concorde. For some, the greatest risk will be to stay the course, cruising at a normal altitude, when running off impulsively is easier. No one can define what is risk for another. Some will see risk and call it irresponsible while others will view a sound decision and say it lacks the vitality of adventure. Only the person taking the next step, in harmony with the heart of God, is capable of making that call. One thing is most certain...we were all created for high adventure, for ardent, technicolor living, and for, as Mark Batterson calls it, "refusing to allow your human responsibilities to get in the way of pursuing the passions God puts in your heart." Technicolor living is the full embrace of your own life, wrapping one arm securely around whatever risks He calls you to take and wrapping the other arm tightly around the beautiful mundaneness of the everyday. The ability to see the heaven and the fire that is right in front of you only happens when you are seeing your life through His eyes. The key is in the seeing.

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What Is Wrong With The Church: Some Simple Thoughts

Churches, like individuals, come in all shapes and sizes with varying personalities, purposes and visions. Some are full of life and draw you in, beckoning you to become a part of its' vitality. Others are cold, arid and devoid of life, causing you to want to run for the door like one might hurry to leave a mausoleum. The living won't linger among the dead. And many, many are somewhere in between, unremarkable, uninspiring and largely unattended.

Yesterday morning I attended a service at a church that is full to bursting with the life of God and I came away encouraged, challenged, and hungry for more. More of God and more of healthy body life. And just for the record, that is how I believe church should be. It seems that everyone has their own idea of what church should or should not look like and some believe that their way is the only way. But, if I might make a bold assertion, I don't believe God is the least bit offended by diversity. The last thing He is going to be crammed into is a man-sized box designed to formularize the God of the universe and the "building of His church", which is His job-not ours. (Matt 16:18)

What does offend Him is pride, which, oddly enough, is at the root of every problem that is encountered in the church. Pride elevates self over God and this is, quite simply, what threatens the furthering of the Gospel and the very life of the church. It would seem to me that if we stopped trying to do His job (building the church) and merely cooperated with Him by disregarding self, adoring Him, and loving others.....the church would explode in such a way that our finite minds never imagined. I don't pretend to have all of the answers and I don't even know what such cooperation with Him should necessarily look like. I suspect it will look gloriously different in different places. But always is will be devoid of pride. Always His children would refuse to focus on what they find disagreeable in the church and choose to focus on all that is good and right in His Face. Simplistic, I know, but I am foolish enough to believe that the Gospel was intended to be just that.

Your thoughts?

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Completely Freaky

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Friday Jumbles

--Conversation that took place at my house this week:
14-year-old son: "Can I take my coffee into my bedroom?"
44-year-old dad: "Can you keep from spilling it on the carpet?"
14-year-old son: "Dad, I am 14...not 4."
44-year-old dad: "True, but you just microwaved a metal spoon..."

--I know I refer to Tim Sanders frequently here, but he just says so many things that make sense. Check out this post on cell phone conversations. It is good stuff!

--The tragedy of the week involves my poor laptop. Apparently something unfortunate happened to the keyboard and now the "shift" key is broken and the a, a ..."A" key sticks and it is a hopeless mess that has sent me spiraling into a deep depression. so, my hubs recommended taking it in to Dr. Hard Drive, but i just cannot bring myself to enter an establishment that sounds like the name of an adult film star. i mean really. but clearly i cannot live without my shift key and without capital letters in my life. and "a"s that stick? don't even get me started! what's a girl to do/ do/ do? i will tell you what...my hubs took it in because he isn't concerned much with his reputation and, quite honestly, he has been to see dr. hard drive before. it's his dirty little secret. well, up until now, that is. sooo, here's hoping that i get back in the land of capital letters. and "a"s that don't stick.

--oh, and in case you want to get all sassy with me and leave me a comment telling me that my keyboard has two shift keys, let me spare you the trouble. my sons, all three, pointed this out already and i let them know that when i took typing in high school, i always used the left shift key and i have no living idea how to even use the right one. it would be like trying to paint with my toes, okay? sorry. i have been a wee bit out of sorts this week.

--have a lovely weekend. hope it is filled with shifts that work and "a"s that don't stick!

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Dust Buster

Last night I saw 75-year-old grandma do stand up comedy, a 35-year-old cancer survivor sing opera like an angel and a nine-year-old electric guitar player who made my chin drop. I am NOT a fan of reality television but I caught a few minutes of America's Got Talent last night and I went to bed feeling inspired. The world is full of people who say "you can't" every day. Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Dream Giver, calls these people border bullies. And because most border bullies are well-meaning people who cling faithfully to the obviously attainable, they can be very convincing as they seek to keep dreamers "grounded".

But I love seeing people at least try to go somewhere that others say is impossible. That show may be a vehicle I would not necessarily choose, but I love to see a dreamer step out of the everyday to shoot for an extraordinary moment. I have a teenage son who dreams some pretty big dreams and I am not about to tie his feet to the ground. Someone's son has to grow up to be the rock star...why not mine? The world is full of nay-sayers, and disappointment and circumstances alone will challenge hopes and threaten dreams--why should I stand on my own child's border and ask "why?" when I can shout "why not! "I believe one of my strengths is helping people, my own sons included, to dare to believe they can do whatever they love. There are too many people getting paid to do what they don't love while their passions sit on a shelf and collect dust. And I love to do some dusting and see people really love their lives and pursue their passions!

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Learning to Wait

Psalm46:10 "Be still (cease striving) and know that I am God..."

There is a direct relationship between waiting in stillness and knowing God. When we cease our striving and our religious activity long enough to rest quietly in the stillness, we find that He is there. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." This seeking and searching has been mistaken for activity and in a society drunk with accomplishing more in less time so that we can get even more done, most of us do not have the vaguest understanding of what this means.

The activity associated with searching and striving is for those who are unwilling to exist in the quiet places of the soul where God accomplishes great works that are largely unseen. He tells us to be still and in that stillness, that waiting....there He is found. And that is the great secret of seeking. Waiting is not passive and fruitless, a waste of precious time. It is an intentional repositioning of ourselves at His feet, knowing that transformation will surely come. Waiting in stillness is the divine mandate that most of us miss and so He must orchestrate our circumstances in such a way that we are forced into periods of waiting. But when we embrace this waiting and this stillness we find places in our own souls that we did not know existed and it is there that we see the reflection of His face, the branding of His image. And that is where we are changed and transformed. Sue Monk Kidd defines this paradox as "achieving our deepest progress standing still."

There are divine pockets of waiting throughout life that hold deep treasures and it is only the ones who are willing to embrace the stillness and to wait on Him that discover that this treasure is but more of Him. For years I wrestled with this, acquiescing on the outside but resisting and resenting within. It has only been recently that I have wrapped my arms around this thing called waiting so that I might discover the depths of truly knowing Him. Give yourself permission to pull away, to cease so much activity, to engage in quiet waiting. The "knowing" is worth all the "waiting".

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Friday Jumbles

--One of the blogs I follow is Jeremie Kubicek over at Giant Perspectives. He writes on leadership and recently posted The What, Why and How of Reading. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of reading, both for recreation and for personal/professional growth, and I found this post to be encouraging and insightful. Just sharing the love...cause that is what I do!

--Those of you who know me are aware that I can be quite absent-minded at times. On some levels this can be cute and quirky. This week, however, I took it to a whole new level. A much LOWER level. I was making homemade chocolate ice cream for the bottomless pits that live in my house and had completely assembled my trusty Alton Brown recommended ice cream maker. Or so I thought. After preparing the ingredients and pouring them through the opening at the top, I was astounded to see no churning action going on and all of the delicious chocolatey goodness was running out all over the counter. Now, I ask you...what kind of thinking individual forgets the FREEZER BOWL in the whole ice cream making process??? Uuummmm....that would be me. Obviously thinking was not involved that day. It was a small miracle that I didn't totally destroy our favorite small appliance.
**please note that no small animals or children were harmed during this process. I, however, was thoroughly ridiculed by every member of my family, including my visiting sister**

--Fav quote: "The shell must be cracked apart if what is in it is to come out, for if you want the kernel, you must break the shell." ~Meister Eckhart

--In case you didn't know, having your shell cracked is agony. And that is all I am going to say about that.

--I am headed to the great state of Alabama this weekend for a wedding ( I love weddings). Our very special friends, Greg and Pam Rogers, who planted and pastor Tuscaloosa Life Church will be watching one of their sons marry the love of his life. I love weddings...did I mention that? My favorite moment is when the bride appears because I love, love, love seeing the look on the groom's face when he sees her for the first time and watches her come toward him. It makes me think of the joy it must give the Lord when He looks at me and at you, His bride, coming toward Him. And it makes me want to draw nearer still to Him.

Do have a wonderous weekend! See you on Monday.

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