Self Destruction

I resigned as an Elder at my church a year ago. Since then, I’ve been living with the sensation that I’m just floating through my days, and ultimately, my life. While I realize this isn’t a necessarily healthy statement, I feel that I was a better man when I served as Elder. My close friend Guy and I have talked a lot about the idea that we need a cause, something to give ourselves too. We need a battle to fight in; a hill to charge. The scary truth is that I think we realize that the danger is very real of just totally disconnecting from a purposeful Kingdom life.

Brennan Manning wrote the following devotional, which seems to articulate what I am feeling. I pray that I, Guy, you – all of us, together – will allow the living, vibrant, magnificent image of Christ that is within us to be expressed. May we truly live our lives and not watch them drift by. Here’s to living with Hope!

Self Destruction

There are three ways of committing suicide – taking my own life, letting myself die, and letting myself live without hope. This last form of self-destruction is so subtle that it often goes unrecognized and therefore unchallenged. Ordinarily it takes the form of boredom, monotony, drudgery, feeling overcome by the ordinariness of life.

We begin by admitting in the inner sanctum of our hearts that the Christian calling is too demanding, that life in Christ Jesus is too sublime. We settle into a well-worn groove and lose the stuff of gospel greatness. We become like everyone else, fail ourselves and the community by failing to respond to the living, vibrant, magnificent image of Christ that is within us waiting only to be expressed.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD is unfailing love

And with him is full redemption.

~ Psalm 130:7

Journey Management

Each year, the government requires that my company is to give me eight hours of annual safety refresher training. Yesterday was my day to sit and watch videos on how to give CPR, which fire extinguishers are for what kind of fires, and how to safely de-energize an electric motor. Big fun! :)

But there was a section of the class intended for those at my plant who work on the rotating shifts, and it had some great content on how to sleep well under those tough circumstances. The video they showed was actually very informative, and in it was a section entitled "Journey Management" which dealt with driving home safely after working a night shift.

But I gotta be honest - after I heard "Journey Management", I heard little else. I thought that was a brilliant description, not so much for a section of a DVD dealing with circadian rhythms and work, but for those of us who are walking through our days with Jesus. A series of questions tumbled out of my head after I considered that phrase, and so I'll share them with you in hopes of prompting some good conversation.

• Do you consider yourself to be "on" a journey, or is life just a series of steps where you hit "play/rewind/repeat"?
• Are you on your journey alone, or with others? Lone Ranger or do you have a Tonto? Who is your posse? Do you have peeps? :)
  
• Where are you going on your journey? (Cue up Dave Matthews please)
• Are you satisfied with your journey?
• Do you need to start out on a new path, a new trail, a new journey for a new day?

We are all on a journey, really. But as I type this, I so want me - and you too - to seek the best journey. The journey that will end with hearing "Well Done."

If you've lost your way, maybe we can rediscover the path, together. Peace.

Me, Writing, and Maybe You

April of 2009 was the last time that I made a post to my blog. 6 months.

That is significant, at least to me, because I am a person who needs to process. A person who needs to think through an issue or an event or a conversation. In doing so, whatever it is that I’m thinking about often becomes a part of me. I am different than I was before that issue, event, or conversation. After I’ve rolled around whatever it is that I’m thinking about, writing is a way for me to verbalize my thoughts. They become more real to me when I can see them with my own eyes. And every once in awhile, whatever jumble of thoughts that falls out of my head might speak to others as well. It’s for those reasons that I hope to again return to the world of blogging.

For me, it is an outlet. I push myself to see and hear God in the everyday coming and goings of life. When I’m actively engaged in putting that down into a tangible expression, it gives me ownership of the truth that my life is a part of the larger story of God. To not write, at least for my own benefit, is to deny God an opportunity to speak to my soul. My words may not always mean much to you, but to me, they are a record of the Journey.

So, here’s to writing. Again.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Lord, you live! Alleluia! Alleluia!
What have we to fear?
Your resurrecting love has overcome
the darkest night. You are alive!
May the light of this news shine
from every cell in our body,
in every thought of our mind,
in every breath of our spirit.
You are alive,
and we exalt You with joy!

Good Friday

I think sometimes that I struggle with calling the Friday before Easter "Good." And really, how many people ever slow down long enough to think about it? How can we (how dare we?) call the day that Jesus was nailed to a Cross - the day that he experienced such amazing physical pain - "good?"

Then I come face to face with the Message of the Cross, which is this: The demands of justice that I was due to pay for my wrong-doings to a holy, just God were paid by Jesus taking my place on a wooden execution stake. Theologians call this "substitutionary atonement." All I know is that by His Grace and Mercy, I AM FREE.

And that is GOOD.

If you have never given your life to Jesus - if you have never accepted Jesus' atoning work done on the cross in your place - I invite you to email me (thirdstringATyahooDOTcom). I'd love to listen to your questions, and walk a path towards Jesus together.

May the Marvelous Light of Easter shine brightly on you this weekend. Peace!

To read a physician's account of the crucifixion, go here.

Maundy Thursday

The Thursday of Holy Week is known as Maundy Thursday, and it is for me always a profound day. The Cross was just hours away, and Jesus knew that time was short. He spent his last hours in an intimate setting around a table with his disciples - his friends - and gave them amazingly direct and revolutionary teaching. First by washing feet, and then simply by uttering the new commandment to "love one another," Jesus taught us about Kingdom Living. And the world has never been the same.

Today, we will all have things crying out for our time and affections, from baseball games to jobs to a hungry family ready for supper. In the swirling moments of this day, I urge you to create a quiet space and read John 13. Listen to the heart of the Rabbi teach on Love, knowing that the Cross will soon be his to carry. And may we all carry his Kingdom Message.

(You can learn more about Maundy Thursday here and here.)

Passionate Worship

I have been staggered by this song since my friend Kevin shared it with me last weekend. This Holy Week, may you too be overcome by How He Loves Us. Peace!

Probably True . . .

Locating the Divine Mystery

The true role of biblical and theological science is not to reduce, much less to destroy, the divine mystery in human life, but to locate it.

~ Father Cipriano Vagaggini, OSB

Prayer for a Friend

I would like to ask for prayer for a fraternity brother of mine from DePauw University. His name is Randy Bernier, and his 6 month battle with cancer is coming to a close.

His wife, Lynn, posted this on their family blog:

I am writing this entry with a huge heavy heart. For those of you who don't know, or those of you who have heard part of the story.

Randy suffered and massive stroke yesterday, with catastrophic hemmoraging to the left side of his brain. Apparently there was a massive tumor on the left side of his brain that burst and has bleed out in to the left side. Due the extreme severity
of the brian injury the doctors are unable to do anything for us, but make Randy
as comfortable as possible. I have been with him nonstop since this occurred
late yesterday afternoon. He has also been surrounded by his family and some of
the best friends that two people could ever ask for. His care has been moved to
Hospice and we are now going one hour at a time

Please say your prayers for our family.

Thank you all for praying for my friend.

Peace,

Mike

No Line On The Horizon

I skipped lunch today to zip to Wal Mart and pick up U2's latest album "No Line On The Horizon."

Been rockin' it all afternoon - it's got what you've come to expect from U2: Deep, thoughtful lyrics, classic Edge guitar, a probing spiritual bent voiced by Bono, all mixed in with some driving rock grooves and a bit of an attitude. Give it a listen, I think you'll dig it!

Snow Emergency

The county that I live in has declared a "snow emergency." The local newspaper had the announcement on its web site, which allows comments on the stories. Here are two such comments:

Mrs.WTuesday, January 27, 2009:
10:02 pm
After reading what WBIW.COM has written about
the weather, I think I should of bought more milk and
bread!

jlgaddisTuesday, January 27,
2009: 10:05 pm
Mrs.W said:After reading what WBIW.COM has
written about the weather, I think I should of bought more milk and
bread!
I should've bought more beer.

Gotta love the spirit of the people of Lawrence County!

Starbucks Pledge 5

Check out the new Starbucks movement: http://pledge5.starbucks.com/

Cracked Front View

I gotta be honest. I’d like a new vehicle. If not new, at least new to me. All of our vehicles have 100K miles, complete with rattles and knocks. I battle feeling second class when I take my kids and their friends somewhere. No DVD in the van. No new car smell. Only spilt coffee stains and dirty, sweaty sports gear. Sweet.

While I’d like a different vehicle, the reality is, like many folks caught in our economic funk, it just ain’t happenin’. So I’ve been kind of pouting about not having any money. Yada yada yada. Know what I mean?

And then on New Year’s Eve, someone politely threw a bottle at the windshield of my van, shattering the glass. It’s funny how my desires shifted. In the time it took for the spider web of cracks to run across my windshield, I found myself only wishing that I could get my old 146K mile “Adventure Wagon” put back together so it would be safe. Wishing for a cool ride was replaced by being thankful that I at least had a van that my family could fit into.

With the toss of a bottle, God taught me about contentment. May it be a lesson that stays with me as my old van carries the Collins’ to further adventures!