How far are you willing to go?

I believe in Jesus. Son of God. Maker of Heaven and Earth and so on goes the Apostles Creed. I believe that Jesus died a cruel and painful death to pay God's price for my sin. I believe that death didn't hold Him - He conquered death and came to life three days later. I believe that He has rejoined His Father in heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe. I believe that He has called me to worship Him in my life and to live in the pattern that He set while on earth.

So...

I guess my initial question - How far are you willing to go? is me wondering what do all these beliefs mean to me in the way I live my life. How much am I willing let my belief shape my actions, my decisions. How do you not live radically different that the people around you if you REALLY believe all this stuff? How can you not give sacrificially, hold your life loosely, love without boundaries, forgive constantly.

How far am I willing to go - how far am I willing to allow my belief system alter my day to day behaviour. I pray that The Lord will be pleased with my answer.

We finally saw "Motorcycle Diaries" last night. Very beautiful movie. Slow, thoughtful, amazing scenery... It set my mind thinking various things....Che Guevara was shaped, not from one big earth shattering event - his beliefs, although probably already there, were honed and shaped by a series of simple encounters with people in Latin America. It was the people, who were from all walks and stations of life that started the line of thinking that led him toward revolution and ultimately hard line communism. I might hate his politics but I can appreciate how he saw the world.

It makes me wonder what shapes my thinking. What makes me believe the way I do - more often than not it is simple encounters with people that shape me-encounters that make me consider what I believe and Who I believe in. Life quaking, earth shattering events are few and far between. I'm going to seek to keep my eyes open for the people around me, to pay attention to their stories and let those seep into my soul.

"Most Christians today have one of two responses to the subject of art. They either know nothing about it — hence, they care not a wit about it — or what they do know about today's art world is repugnant to them. As a result, they are openly hostile to the cultural domain of the arts. This circumstance is both understandable and tragic.

But Christians must not run and hide from art — we must not totally abandon the art-driven cultural domains. We should take up the challenge of involving ourselves in the world of art while striving to build and to hold a biblical foundation for working in its arena of life and influence. Christians need to wisely enter the powerfully influential arts arena and ask God for the grace and wisdom to live as gospel carriers there, too. We can do this. And it would be a great encouragement to our children to see and to hear us do this."

~Wes Hurd

A hearty "amen" to Mr. Hurd's thoughts. We, as Christians, have avoided art for so long we have forgotten the link it holds to our Creator. God, the Master Artist, creates beauty and beautiful things scream in worship.

Old Friends...

Tonight we just spent the evening with an old room-mate of mine. We were good friends-I was even the maid of honour in her wedding. I haven't seen her for about 13 years. So tonight, as they were driving through Hope, she and her family stopped and had supper with us. It was like we hadn't missed a beat, we picked up right where we left off. What a blessing to enjoy them all.

I wonder if it's that way for God when we fail to maintain any sort of relationship with Him. I wonder if when we do get around to sitting down and chatting with Him, He feels like we haven't missed a beat.

But oh, the joys we miss. I missed all of Joanne's important moments. The births of her 3 boys, the big anniversaries, the birthdays, the joys and the pain - just the intimacies of a close relationship where you care about another person and they care about you. I wonder what biggies we miss when we don't chat with God, when we don't listen to Him. When we fail to praise Him. It is so easy to allow ourselves to opt out of the discipline of maintaining relationships ... tonight has been a good lesson.

"Think what the world could look like if we took care of the poor even half as well as we do our Bibles!"

So says Dorothy Day who I read in my Bruderhof message this morning. It got me thinking two different things. One, my immediate reaction is "Yah, no kidding!". We are so careful with the Bible buying different versions, updating as it gets worn looking, buying it a fancy case. And all the while we are missing those verses (over 3000 of 'em) that speak about the poor. Things that make you say hmmmm.

Second thought...so what about God's Word: the Bible. I've been reading a lot lately about how we read the Bible. It is hard for me when so many things are unclear. It's hard to read things that seem to contradict, and it's hard to realize that Godly Christian people who are far far more intelligent than me, can read the same passage and come to two totally different conclusions. My oh so wise Pastor, who also is my brother-in-law, has posted some great thoughts regarding this on his blog. If I had a clue how to link, I would but since I don't...go to www.jeffsjourney.blogspot.com and see what you think.

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" so says John Lennon.

I tend to think he's right. Reid & I are really focused on our future. What is God calling us to, how can we best serve Him, how does working for a bottled water company fit into our plans, should we pursue schooling, how do we change our lifestyle so that it better reflects who we are as Christ followers both in our manner and financially.

But then...our oldest daughter turned 11. We took her and some friends go-karting. We LAUGHED all day. Our youngest is 8. She is such a spark. They both create these moments of sheer joy for us. THIS is life.

So we have these two things going on...our plans and our life. Both good things and somehow I think we've got to meld these two together so they aren't so separate. To make sure that we don't get so caught up in planning - in trying to figure out our future, that we miss the stuff that life is made up of.

How does God speak? This is what I've been thinking about for the past few weeks...y'know wondering if He's actually offering me the guidance I've been seeking. I know that He speaks through His Word: the Bible, He can speak through my Pastor and other Christian friends, He speaks through His creation and maybe, just maybe, He speaks audibly.

So I've been trying to figure out why it is that I'm just not hearing...and wouldn't you know it - I discovered I was asking the wrong question. Instead of "How is God speaking?" - I began asking myself "How am I listening?" aaagh - there's a better question! Silence has never been my strong suit. So I'm going to begin again this process of seeking God for some specific answers that I need but I'm going to concentrate on listening. I KNOW God is hearing me and I know He will answer me. I've just got to be paying attention.

The "Daily Dig" from Bruderhof hit me today. The quote is talking about how the world is eaten up by boredom. He (George Bernanos) says that perhaps boredom is the true human condition - that we've allowed it to seep into our lives and now we don't even notice it's there. A hearty agreement to that from my corner. You don't see much in the way of passion and zeal any more, and when you do, it is something of an oddity. Jesus was full of life, full of passion and zealous for the Lord. The apostle Paul - zealous!

I hope I can learn to live with the passion of my faith. To so allow the Holy Spirit to flood me, that passion becomes my 1st nature. Passion for living, for following and living like Jesus. Passion and zeal for the things that are important.

Two quotes that have really sent my wheels turning - and fortunately, they set my husbands spinning as well. Y'know, it's good that if you are travelling down a specific path that those God has chosen for you as travelling companions, travel down that same road. Seems that it is especially important if those roads are taking you down a radically different path, and it will alter your lifestyle dramatically, that God sends you all walking at the same time!

“When someone steals a man’s clothes we call him a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry man; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the man who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the man who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”

Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea, 365 AD

The righteous care about justice for the poor,
but the wicked have no such concern.

Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)

Quite a challenge - yes?

Ever have so many thoughts bouncing around in your head - you just don't know where to start sorting? I've just finished reading Anne Lamott - who always makes me think. I found profound and extremely simple truth in her words. For all the capital LIBeral she is and all the capital CONservative I am - I find in her writing the gospel straight up without a twist. She gets the whole Jesus thing....and after reading her - I feel that much closer to understanding Jesus and the gospel He taught.

Live 8 was this wkd. I listened to the highlites on CBC radio and caught some on tv. I was pretty moved. Yes, I get the cynicism. I get that a bunch of really rich singers singing to raise awareness about poverty in Africa is really, well, kind of useless. But then, so what? The point was made, it was done well, and it seemed that everyone had a lot of fun in the process. I like that. This whole "Make Poverty History" stuff has really got me thinking. How should I live? How do I change my lifestyle so that I (& obviously my family) makes a difference. What exactly does my faith - my being a disciple or apprentice of Jesus, have to do with eradicating poverty? How does it play out in real life?

The choices that we make in everything need to reflect our value system. If I really believe that God will supply my needs, and I am to take care of the poor, the orphans, the widows, the suffering and the oppressed, then I must make daily choices that relfect those beliefs. By North American standards, I may not have much, but I can still live simply, choose wisely in which companies I do and don't support, I can give much away and in doing so I am, in one respect, living my faith and I'm teaching our daughters to do the same.

May I have the wisdom to understand my choices, and the courage to live my convictions.

Selah.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

I love being Canadian! It is truly a great country! We are so blessed to be born here, to enjoy all the freedoms this land offers.