It's been way too long since I blogged last.  A lot has happened since then but it's going to be my endeavour to blog a lot more.  I'd like to reconnect twitter to our sermon series, probably have people tweet their thoughts and comments during the sermon, then I'd unpack them Mondays through this blog.
Whatever shape it takes I'd like to blog more and I'd like to hear more from you, my blogiverse.

Green Means Stop

The car rolled quietly to the white stripe running length-wise across the street. I never noticed it before but this time dad commented on it. He does that when he thinks he needs to teach us a lesson. "Be sure to stay a safe distance from the cross-walk," he says, as though he's a driving instructor. He forgets I'm only eight. "That's what this thick stripe of paint is for." I look at it. It's worn and beaten down. "The paint sure looks old, hey dad?" I call from the back seat. "I bet it's been a hundred years since it was first painted!" Dad chuckles. "Yeah. Either that or someone's been chipping away at it and painting it with rubber-tire-black colored paint," he calls over his shoulder with a grin. It's the "guard stripe." At least that's what dad calls it. When the light finally turns red and we continue driving, dad points out more things. "Notice that the red of the street light is the same red as the car's braking light?" I hadn't noticed that before either. Dad says it's so we all don't get confused when driving. Too many colors, he says. I ask him why the colors mean what they do. Why does green mean "stop" and red mean "go"?
"Well, I don't have scientific evidence to back it up but..." "That's never stopped you," mom interrupts. We all laugh, including dad. "I think the colors mean something mentally. Just look at the color green. We see it and we have the natural urge to stop. What do you do when you see a piece of moldy cheese or boogies? You stop!" "You're gross, dad!" I say while scrunching up my face. "But now take the color red. You see it and you want to go. What did you do last summer when you bumped into the new fence post? You got a bleeding nose. The color red made you run, didn't it? See? It's mental." "Speaking of mental..." mom says, intentionally letting her voice trail off. "I heard." Mom's "I" is loud and pronounced. She stops speaking and looks at us, letting her two words serve as a vocal way of putting her foot down. When she had our attention mom continued. "I heard that it wasn't always like that. I heard that years and years ago green used to mean 'go' and red used to mean 'stop.'" Now we're all looking at her. Just then we stop at another green light. "Take this intersection for instance. People would have kept driving right through the green light." Now she looks at dad, "Instead of stopping too quickly like dad just did." Dad smiles and shakes his head. "Let's pretend that this light makes us wait for one minute." "I hate lights," dad says. Mom ignores him and keeps talking because he always says that at intersections. "We're stopping for one minute at our red light while the other traffic is going for one minute for their green light. You all following me?" We nod. "But what if those people, when the light turned red didn't stop. What if those people ran their red light for an extra few seconds? Our light is green, which means go, but we can't because people are still driving through the intersection. It's unfair because they got more than one minute to go but we had to stop for more than one minute. Still following?" We all nod again as dad proceeds through the red light. "Once all the cars finished running their red light, our traffic only had, not sixty seconds but only forty-five seconds to make it through. So, to make up for that time our traffic now ran the next red light for 15 seconds to make up for lost time." We're all trying to picture what she was saying. "It kept going like that. Every line of traffic would run the red light because they had to wait at their green light while the other traffic ran their red light. On and on this went. The time got longer and longer that people were running the red light until people were no longer stopping for red and going for green," mom slowed down her speech now, "they were going for red and stopping for green." Mom lets her last sentence sink in as we pull up and stop at another green light. "Run it dad!" I call out from the back seat. Dad mulls the logic of mom's story over. "Stop at red and go at green. That's crazy!!"

Throwing in the Towel

Had To Stop But Back On Track

Last week I had to change up my Lenten commitment a bit. I experienced some mild health "issues" so I broke from the all-day fast. I added supper with the family. The day fast still included prayer at lunch time. I'm in the habit of spending about half an hour in focused prayer, listening and Bible reading--I'm almost through Nehemiah. It's really cool to read the ancient saints. I also walk around our sanctuary and anoint the pews with oil. I'm praying that whoever sits in those seats will feel God's presence in a powerful way. I'm also praying that God will fill the seats. We have many visitors each month and if we could only retain and enfold one per month it would change the face of our church--roughly forty to fifty new people each year.
That was last week. The health issues are all-but resolved so it's back to the all-day fast. I'm looking forward to it. It's amazing how little the body needs to get by. I think it helps having an office job. If I was still landscaping I wouldn't take this on.
God bless you this week. May you feel His presence powerfully and intimately.

Side-tracked

Going Strong...sorta

This week is almost over and I'm looking forward to Sunday. It's the day we remember the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, it's the day-special set aside for the gathering of the people of God, and...there was one other thing special about Sunday. What was it? Hmmm. Oh yeah: I get to EAT!!!! I'll be honest and relate that I've had a few bouts of hunger this week. I'm enduring one right now, actually. Hunger is something I'm not used to. If ever I go hungry I can simply go digging in our fridge or cupboards. An oven, toaster and microwave are all there at my disposal. We have plenty of dishes and cutlery. We have an ample supply of canned goods. We have taps that have running water (full of chemicals, my mom would say, but water nonetheless.)
I'm not used to going hungry. I can eat when I'm hungry. I eat when I'm not hungry. Dealing with hunger is an issue many people experience each day, however. I don't know all the details but suffice it to say that millions the world over experience what I'm experiencing ALL THE TIME. I hope this isn't disrespectful to those millions, but it hit me that in a very small way I'm identifying with those in need.
Today is the World Day of Prayer. I attended a service this afternoon. We prayed for the oppressed and the hungry. I hope they feel our prayers and our thoughts.
So I trudge onward in my Lenten commitment. I've given myself some leeway this week simply because this is the first time I've done this. I'll be better prepared next year if I take this on again. I'll know what to expect and I'll be ready for it.
If you're in a Lenten commitment, God bless and press on! It's Friday but Sunday's coming. We can celebrate the Resurrection. We can worship and fellowship in the Lord's house. And afterward we get to do that other thing!

Awesome day Sunday!!

Yesterday was a great day for many reasons. First and foremost we had our public church service that day. We talked about being a LIVELY Community, meaning we share with one another our ups and downs and we rejoice together at what God is doing in our midst. We also shared Communion together in a little different fashion. Change is good sometimes. I also got to eat since Sunday's aren't included in the over all Lent Season. Here's why: every Sunday is a min-Easter unto itself. I was pumped 'cuz I got to eat but it hit me throughout the day that I get to eat because Jesus has Risen! He's Risen indeed. It's amazing how that truth can impact someone, and it did and that someone was me. What an awesome God we serve!
Now I'm into another fast. This one will be longer than last week's. I only fasted for four days but I'm into a six-day stretch. I also gave myself a bit of leeway last week but this week I'm going to tighten up the boot straps. I will endeavor to stick to the solution ("death mixture" as one friend put it) and lemon and water solution.
God bless you today. If you too are fasting from something during Lent may God give you the strength to finish!