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“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott

“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott

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A Timely Prayer

George

I am reading daily the Asbury Theological Seminary’s Kingdomtide Reader. This prayer from yesterday’s reading resonated deeply.

Eternal God, we have been led by the Spirit to places unfamiliar, to wildernesses barren, to areas uncomfortable and frightening.  We are surrounded by temptations; we are hungry; we thirst.  We have wondered if truly the Spirit led us, or if it was the devil.  Meet us in our desert, we pray, and strengthen us to overcome every sinful craving and temptation, through the power of your Word and the guidance of the Spirit.  Amen.

Holiday

George

It is Labor Day and it is nice to have a day off. We are cooking out for lunch. Mark and Margo Black are in town and they will join us for lunch with the Crocketts. We enjoyed a visit by Carter and Lori Saturday evening. They left Sunday morning to return to Birmingham. Although it is supposed to be hot today, it is a beautiful morning. I got in a run and now I’m cooling off on the front porch.

This is a big week in Wilmore. The seminary starts their fall session this week. There is a community wide welcome home celebration on Friday. I hope to attend opening chapel on Tuesday. This may be the week that we complete our outside painting. With Asbury College and the seminary in full swing, activity has really picked up. Maybe a little fishing one day?

Crocketts and Blacks - Labor Day
Crocketts and Blacks - Labor Day

Telling Our Story

George

All of these lines across my face,
Tell you the story of who I am;
So many stories of where I’ve been,
And how I got to where I am.
But these stories don’t mean anything
When you’ve got no one to tell them to.
It’s true – I was made for you.
THE STORY

This morning I attended a class led by Marilyn Elliott. She opened the class with a recording of the song above. She shared deeply the experiences of her life over the last year. I was amazed at the depth and meaning of her words. The presence of God was pervasive. Here are some insights from her experience that were shared:

  • God is the redeemer of everything. 
  • Formation happens continually.
  • God’s redemption is a long haul.
  • People we share our mess with will become our treasure.
  • You will not find friends in the Christian community if you just have a smile on your face.
  • It is not important that you feel God is there if you are sure that he is.
  • Do not push against the pace of grace.

I consider this morning’s experience as a highlight of my journey.

A Look In the Mirror

George

Occasionally I have the opportunity to see myself as though I am looking in a mirror. This morning I was listening to a speaker from Mosaic taking about the importance of discipline. Not being very discipline himself, he was describing disciplined people. One trait many disciplined people have is that they live by To Do Lists. They religiously write down everything they plan to do and check it off when it completed. They get energized by checking off their To Do items. For some discipline freaks they even write down things that they do that were not on their list and then check them off. OUCH!