Well, it's Saturday evening, and I am just presently curled up in a reclined chair in the living room, watching television in the background. I'm comfy, warm, and really should get up off my butt and go back to the things left to be accomplished on my to do list for the week.
I just finished eating a couple of kiwi fruits. This is only important information because someone told me once that kiwi is one of the healthiest fruits you can eat. Also, I had a conversation this week with someone who told me that you can eat the skin of the kiwi fruit. This is kind of disgusting to me. I am texture girl when it comes to food, and eating something generally furry in nature is anathema!
M. and I went to see "Knocked Up" last night. I really don't know how to describe it to you. I'm afraid if I say nice things about it you'll think I'm endorsing it, and then you'll get mad when you see it and don't like it! Here's the deal - this is a movie that will offend tons of people, it has too much swearing, too much sex, too much crude humor. That being said, I liked the movie. It had a generally endearing set of characters, tons of laughs, and an enjoyable story line. So, see it, don't see it - but don't blame your choice on me!
I woke up this morning and was all ready to jump into the mile long list of things I needed to accomplish today. As I was laying in bed, prompting myself to get up, I felt God reminding me of the last couple Saturdays when I started my weekend by walking and praying in Fish Creek Park. It seemed He was prompting me to take time out and start this weekend that way too.
Some weeks I do better than others at integrating my relationship with Jesus into the stuff of my daily life - at seeing the spiritual in the mundane. This was not one of those weeks. As I walked, I couldn't help but be grateful for a God who loves me enough to pull me out of bed and strongly suggest that I might want to spend a bit of time hanging out with him before I dove into the routine of the day. It was so helpful to take that bit of time and space - that bit of quiet and reorient some stuff before I jumped into my list.
I worked an extra four hours this week - I'm doing admin stuff for the church while Mom and Dad are overseas.
I bought the greatest pair of jeans ever last night. I don't have to shorten them. This is what qualifies them as the greatest pair of jeans ever. At five foot two inches, every pair of pants I purchase requires time consuming alterations in order to be wearable. And where did I buy these marvelous jeans you ask? American Eagle Outfitters, that's where. Just to give you an idea of how short I really am, I bought jeans clearly labelled in a "short" length and, though they fit well, they could still be a bit shorter to really fit perfectly.
Okay... I think that's all I have for tonight. I pick up my potential roommate at the airport tomorrow morning after I drop the bulletins and other stuff at church.
I still have some cleaning and stuff to do to be ready for her to arrive, so I'm off to do that! See ya later!
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
Empowered to Speak
Just popping in here quickly with a bit from Henri Nouwen. The work day (and week!) is almost over, and I have girls' night plans with M. tonight, that should hopefully not be compromised at the last minute with the presence of the guy she's interested in! Planning to go for dinner and see a chick flick... See you late tonight, or sometime on the weekend, and enjoy these thoughts from Henri!
Empowered to Speak
The Spirit that Jesus gives us empowers us to speak. Often when we are expected to speak in front of people who intimidate us, we are nervous and self-conscious. But if we live in the Spirit, we don't have to worry about what to say. We will find ourselves ready to speak when the need is there. "When they take you before ... authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say" (Luke 12:11-12).
We waste much of our time in anxious preparation. Let's claim the truth that the Spirit that Jesus gave us will speak in us and speak convincingly.
Empowered to Speak
The Spirit that Jesus gives us empowers us to speak. Often when we are expected to speak in front of people who intimidate us, we are nervous and self-conscious. But if we live in the Spirit, we don't have to worry about what to say. We will find ourselves ready to speak when the need is there. "When they take you before ... authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say" (Luke 12:11-12).
We waste much of our time in anxious preparation. Let's claim the truth that the Spirit that Jesus gave us will speak in us and speak convincingly.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
The Mostly Dark
I’m sitting here in the mostly dark, and the light from my laptop screen is reflecting off my glasses, catching on every speck of dust or smudge, and highlighting the fact that they need to be wiped clean. My chair is just below my window, and it’s open, letting in the cool late evening air, and the ambient noise from nearby streets. I’m at peace.
My life feels like that right now too… mostly dark, but at peace. No real illumination. Lots of places where I am paused, waiting for what comes next. Where I have taken every step that has thus far presented itself, and now I wait, in the mostly dark – just enough light to know that things beautiful and freeing are coming, but not enough light to yet claim them.
Maybe the mostly dark is what it’s all about anyway… just enough light to move from one step to the next. I’m thinking of a Bruce Cockburn lyric “…another step deeper into darkness/closer to the light…”
I’m thinking too about all the various scripture passages…
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…”
“You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way. Walk in it.”
“The Lord turns my darkness into light…”
“before I go…to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness…”
“He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.”
“When I looked for light, then came darkness.”
“He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit and I will live to enjoy the light.”
“You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning. My god turns my darkness into light.”
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…”
Cockburn again:
Gone from mystery into mystery
Gone from daylight into night
Another step deeper into darkness
Closer to the light
My life feels like that right now too… mostly dark, but at peace. No real illumination. Lots of places where I am paused, waiting for what comes next. Where I have taken every step that has thus far presented itself, and now I wait, in the mostly dark – just enough light to know that things beautiful and freeing are coming, but not enough light to yet claim them.
Maybe the mostly dark is what it’s all about anyway… just enough light to move from one step to the next. I’m thinking of a Bruce Cockburn lyric “…another step deeper into darkness/closer to the light…”
I’m thinking too about all the various scripture passages…
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…”
“You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way. Walk in it.”
“The Lord turns my darkness into light…”
“before I go…to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness…”
“He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.”
“When I looked for light, then came darkness.”
“He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit and I will live to enjoy the light.”
“You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning. My god turns my darkness into light.”
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…”
Cockburn again:
Gone from mystery into mystery
Gone from daylight into night
Another step deeper into darkness
Closer to the light
All's Quiet on the Office Front...
I am in between tasks, with a little free time while most of the staff are in meetings. I am sporadically busy these days. I’ve spent large chunks of each day over the course of the last week or so sticking return address labels on what will ultimately be 5000 envelopes. I have 1500 (3 boxes!) left to go.
I inadvertently played third wheel for most of last night, when M. invited a guy along to our girl’s night out. You really can’t take a boy to Ikea unless you’re married to him. It just doesn’t work. They mock the furniture, gasp at the prices, and just generally refuse to get into the spirit of the thing.
They talked me into accompanying them and another friend to see a late movie. “Hot Fuzz.” Very British. Quite funny. Very gory. Lots of somewhat extraneous violence. A send up of every bad cop movie ever made, done with a dry sense of humor. M. and I agreed about halfway through, while we were looking at each other, instead of a particularly gory on-screen sequence that the guys now owe us a VERY sappy chick flick out of the deal. Also, not something I’d recommend watching late at night, when you have to get up early and you suffer from nightmares. I figure I got off pretty easily by avoiding the nightmares this time, and sleeping quite restlessly.
Tonight I have plans to clean the house (we have company – my possible future roommate – arriving Sunday), maybe do an errand or two, and do a couple of hours of work for the church (they’re paying me to do some admin stuff while Dad is overseas this time – a nice way to pick up a bit of extra cash just in time for hopefully moving out…) Maybe a bit of television or a DVD thrown in for good measure.
And with that, I think I’ll go back to sticking labels… See you later!
I inadvertently played third wheel for most of last night, when M. invited a guy along to our girl’s night out. You really can’t take a boy to Ikea unless you’re married to him. It just doesn’t work. They mock the furniture, gasp at the prices, and just generally refuse to get into the spirit of the thing.
They talked me into accompanying them and another friend to see a late movie. “Hot Fuzz.” Very British. Quite funny. Very gory. Lots of somewhat extraneous violence. A send up of every bad cop movie ever made, done with a dry sense of humor. M. and I agreed about halfway through, while we were looking at each other, instead of a particularly gory on-screen sequence that the guys now owe us a VERY sappy chick flick out of the deal. Also, not something I’d recommend watching late at night, when you have to get up early and you suffer from nightmares. I figure I got off pretty easily by avoiding the nightmares this time, and sleeping quite restlessly.
Tonight I have plans to clean the house (we have company – my possible future roommate – arriving Sunday), maybe do an errand or two, and do a couple of hours of work for the church (they’re paying me to do some admin stuff while Dad is overseas this time – a nice way to pick up a bit of extra cash just in time for hopefully moving out…) Maybe a bit of television or a DVD thrown in for good measure.
And with that, I think I’ll go back to sticking labels… See you later!
The Power of the Spirit
More from Henri Nouwen...
The Power of the Spirit
In and through Jesus we come to know God as a powerless God, who becomes dependent on us. But it is precisely in this powerlessness that God's power reveals itself. This is not the power that controls, dictates, and commands. It is the power that heals, reconciles, and unites. It is the power of the Spirit. When Jesus appeared people wanted to be close to him and touch him because "power came out of him" (Luke 6:19).
It is this power of the divine Spirit that Jesus wants to give us. The Spirit indeed empowers us and allows us to be healing presences. When we are filled with that Spirit, we cannot be other than healers.
The Power of the Spirit
In and through Jesus we come to know God as a powerless God, who becomes dependent on us. But it is precisely in this powerlessness that God's power reveals itself. This is not the power that controls, dictates, and commands. It is the power that heals, reconciles, and unites. It is the power of the Spirit. When Jesus appeared people wanted to be close to him and touch him because "power came out of him" (Luke 6:19).
It is this power of the divine Spirit that Jesus wants to give us. The Spirit indeed empowers us and allows us to be healing presences. When we are filled with that Spirit, we cannot be other than healers.
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