Thursday, October 25, 2007

Scheduling and Prioritizing

I'm thinking a lot about scheduling and prioritizing again lately. Having conversations with a variety of friends. Reading a book another friend recommended I pick up.

Needing to figure out what exactly the most important things are. Knowing what some of them are, and needing to figure out how to give them the time they deserve. Needing to build white space into my life on a regular basis - not just on unexpected evenings like tonight when something is canceled.

I fell asleep on the couch trying to read and pray for the last hour... I had an abnormally late night last night, abnormally early morning this morning, but still... needing to find a way to rest more consistently...

laying here, thinking about priorities, and half-way watching my television show... going to bed soon...

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Now playing: Frou Frou - Let Go
via FoxyTunes

An Evening In...

I have an unexpected quiet evening... plans fell through so I did some errands, and now, I'm enjoying a quiet house.

I don't get a lot of evenings alone these days, but my roommate is out of town for a couple of days, so I have the house to myself...

I have all the essentials within arms reach.

A cup of lemon mango fruit infusion loose tea.

A couple of cookies.

Candles are lit, and burnt some incense a bit earlier so the smell is still hanging in the air.

Tonight I'm going to do some reading, a variety of sources...

I have the following titles within arm's reach:
C.S. Lewis "The Silver Chair"
The Autobiography of George Muller
J. Matthew Sleeth, MD "Serve God, Save the Planet"
Lauren Winner "Mudhouse Sabbath"
Andy Stanley "Choosing to Cheat"
Jeannie Ostreicher & Larry Warner "Imaginative Prayer for Youth Ministry"
Andy Freeman & Pete Greig "Punk Monk"

and a pen - because I can't read without a pen...

Grey's Anatomy is on later... love that show, may watch, may not... the commercials are showing a Halloween episode - looks a bit creepy and not sure I can watch that before sleeping...

I'll probably turn some music on soon.... maybe the soundtrack to Garden State, or maybe something from Jason Upton or Jacob and Lily...

see you later....

More on church from Henri Nouwen

For a week or two now, the daily reflections from the Henri Nouwen society have had to do with church, and they've served as strong reminders for me. I've stuck a bunch of them up here for you too.

The one today reminds me of a conversation I had on the phone with a dear friend on the weekend... we talked a bit about church, and recovering from church, and having a heart for the church...

Meeting Christ in the Church

Loving the Church does not require romantic emotions. It requires the will to see the living Christ among his people and to love them as we want to love Christ himself. This is true not only for the "little" people - the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten - but also for the "big" people who exercise authority in the Church.

To love the Church means to be willing to meet Jesus wherever we go in the Church. This love doesn't mean agreeing with or approving of everyone's ideas or behavior. On the contrary, it can call us to confront those who hide Christ from us. But whether we confront or affirm, criticize or praise, we can only become fruitful when our words and actions come from hearts that love the Church.