One of the great things about a 1GB memory card in your camera is that it holds tons of pictures. And one of the frustrating things about a 1GB memory card in your camera is that because it holds tons of pictures, you sometimes forget what is on the memory card!
I recently downloaded a pretty full card of pictures, and ran across a few shots that were of me on a walk last January in Spring Mill State Park. Seeing the pictures, I remembered my small journal that I carry in my fanny pack. I dug it out, and found these words, written the week that my high school friend John Foddrill took his life:
"In the midst of a crazy week, I am reminded that I have a full life. My heart is full. On a crisp, cold day, I sit at Bronson Cave with my body warmed by the walk to get here. I feel good. I snapped a picture, and the smile is real. The running water speaks a language that soothes my soul. It's good to be alive."
Spring Mill State Park
Trail 3
1-18-08
Let's live like it's good to be alive today as well. You with me?
For the past few weeks, I've intentionally stepped away from some things in my life that, though good things, were demanding so much of my time that I was loosing touch with other things in my life that are critically important. In particular, over the last two years, there has been a tendency in my life to forget the importance of Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God." God became real to me, on a deeper, personal level, in the early 1990's. But around 1997-98, God really showed me the connection between prayer and the scriptures through a way of reading the Bible called "lectio divina." Lectio Divina is Latin for "Holy Reading." There really isn't anything magical about all of this, but there is mystery - the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. And our Bible - words written some 2000 years ago - have meaning and relevance for our lives today. But I have to listen; I have to hear God speak through His Word. Duffy Robbins says that "lectio divina is about creating the space and time for God to speak to us."
So, I'm intentionally making the effort to give time to this holy reading. And I've been confirmed in this through the words of Brennan Manning, in his tremendous book The Ragamuffin Gospel, where Manning writes:
"The Word we study has to be the Word we pray. My personal experience of the relentless tenderness of God came not from exegetes, theologians, and spiritual writers, but from sitting still in the presence of the living Word and beseeching him to help me understand with my head and heart his written Word. Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace. We must never allow the authority of books, institutions, or leaders to replace the authority of knowing Jesus Christ personally and directly. When the religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited."
By the reading of Scripture I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be purer, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green, light is sharper on the outlines of the forest and the hills, and the whole world is charged with the Glory of God and I find fire and music in the Earth under my feet.
~ Thomas Merton
There are probably 10,000 reviews of this movie on the web after its blockbuster opening, so I won't spend a lot of words on this. But I will simply say that if you loved the first 3 Indiana Jones movies, then you owe it to yourself to see the 4th one in a theater. The movie doesn't disappoint - Indy is still Indy, even if he's got a few (several?) more age lines on his face. He still cracks a whip and sarcastic one-liners with ease. He can still fight his way out of trouble. He can still figure out which rock to pull to open the secret door. Indy does everything you would have hoped Indy would do.
A couple of interesting side-notes: (1) I bet the average age of folks watching this movie was close to 40. It's been a long time since Indy first hunted treasure in 1981! And (2) Rachelle made the comment that kids today are so overwhelmed with movie effects and graphics that this movie may not have floored them like it did us back in the 80's. Movies have evolved a lot in the last 25 years!
This is a cool bridge movie, because when the first installment came out, I was in high school, just a couple of years older than my son. It's been fun talking with him about the others, and we're now going to have an Indiana Jones movie marathon at our house.
Give it a look - I think you'll be glad you did!
For most of my life, I think I've only engaged half of The Story. As Jesus continues to write me into The Full Story, I pray that I can share that story with you along the way.Peace!
Charles Colson, at the 2008 Q Conference. HT to Scott Hodge!
The sky this afternoon is one of those blues that you just know can't be recreated ~ it's just so blue that no other blue can ever match it. Know what I mean? I came home from a busy day at the lab, and swung my leg over my bicycle and rode my usual "lap" around the country roads. After finishing my ride, I did my arm routine, in hopes of keeping a little tone in these 43 year old muscles. That was followed by a shower and fresh clothes.
Michaela and I decided that pasta topped with yellow squash and zucchini from our freezer would be a great healthy supper. Sis chopped fresh garlic and got everything going. I grabbed my book bag and sat on the porch, listening, thinking, reading, writing . . . and just simply considering what a beautiful afternoon it really was. In so many ways, life is amazing, isn't it? I hope you saw that lived out in your own life today. I really do.
After some moments just being still, I grabbed my Bible and turned to a passage in Psalms that a friend encouraged me to look at. The treasure of the day, though, was reading on in Psalms to discover this amazing reality: "He rescued me, because He delighted in me." (Psalm 18:19b)
Let that wash over you. I'm still sitting on my porch, with that satisfied feeling that comes after working out. Birds are reminding me that last weekend's cold rain can't hold off Spring. The afternoon sky is still blue. And as wonderful as all of that is - as beautiful as this afternoon really is - all of that pales in comparison to the staggering truth that God delights in me.
And He delights in you, too.
Amazing.
I'm reading a wonderful book called The Organic God by Margaret Feinberg. In it, there is a question that is simply great, and I want to bounce it off you guys as well.What do you love about Jesus?So, what's your answer?
For the last three years, I've had the privilege of coaching the throwers on the Mitchell Junior High Track Team. This group includes 3 conference champions and several who have flirted with school records. But more important than all of that is this - these are good kids. They worked hard, played by the rules, and made this a fun season. I've tried to tell them that their lives have value, and that it doesn't matter what clothes they wear, or what kind of car their parents drive, or if other kids think they are "cool." What does matter is living each day fully as they enter into the life that God has for them.At the end of the day, I really don't care if they throw 20 feet or 200 feet, if they've done their best. But I do care that they have ears to hear when God whispers to them. Guys - if you read this, know that I think you all are awesome, and that you have someone in me who will listen if you ever need a friend. Peace Out!
Back in April, I shared my friend Heather's emails from Haiti, where she passed on the experiences from her mission trip over spring break. In one of those updates, Heather mentioned how the Haitian poor would eat mud pies. Another friend shared this link, which goes into more detail on the actual "mud cookies." I've heard it said that the average US household has one month's worth of food in its cupboards at any given time. We are blessed, and I pray that we realize that!http://jameslimblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/eating-dirt-by-jonathan-m-katz.html
"Movements can grow only in proportion to their capacity to make disciples."~ Alan Hirsch
What do you think?
