lost...

also in soul graffiti, mark scandrette proposes "experiments" at the end of each chapter. here is one that piqued my interest...

most of us have looked around the religious landscape and wondered, "why can't it be different than it is?" on a sheet of paper, brainstorm ten words you would use to describe your dream faith community. if you can imagine it, maybe it can happen. what can you do to take the first step to initiate it?

maybe i like lists (well, i know that i like lists), so i immediately made a list. i also was curious as to what ten words would come to mind first.

sharing.
giving.
faith-filled.
fearless.
focussed.
open.
community-building.
loving.
ethereal.
humble.
hospitable.

funny, looking back at this list (which i made over a week ago), i now have new words come to mind...

forgiving.
spirit-filled.
embracing.
teaching.
feeding.
helping.
caring.
worshipping.
patient.

when i think about my list, i realize that the list i created is what i want myself to be.

imagine if what we all wanted from our church, WE, the church, were willing to live. every day. with no fear, only faith.

"for whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." matthew 16:25

let's get lost.

living...

i just finished reading soul graffiti by mark scandrette, and these thoughts of his caught my attention...

"our society's preoccupation with celebrity can often make us feel the best of life is happening somewhere else...it can be tempting to live vicariously through the experiences of others. in a media-drenched culture you run the risk of knowing more about someone you've never lived met than someone you live with, or the somebody that you are... sometimes we become paralyzed by thinking of what might have been...a sense of scarcity fuels our jealousies and insecurities, and inhibits us from receiving the gifts of creation with gratefulness...the journey back to God involves recovery of our sense of abundance and trust in the Creator's provision. we choose whether to be ruled by wanting or thankfulness."

i have found myself spending too much time reading blogs about other's lives and feeling like i've missed something in mine, feeling like maybe i haven't heeded God's calling. that maybe there's more i should be doing. feelings of longing and maybe even guilt...

yet i know that i am where i am in my life right now because of God. that He placed me where i am for a reason.

so i declare this week a no-blog-reading week. i need to step away from the lives of others and focus on my own. and my family. and things on my heart.

i will be posting, just not reading. for this week.

but i do love you all!