Prayers for a Most Blessed New Year

To all who will read this posting. My prayers are with you for a blessed 2009. May you experience the Prince of Peace in His awesome fullness. May the character of Jesus Christ be borne in you anew. May you know his presence in your life each and every moment of the new year. May December 31, 2009 find you closer to the heart of Jesus Christ than you are tonight.

Lessons Learned at the Moose Lodge

Earlier this month I had the priveledge of attending a memorial service for Mary. What made this memorial service different was that it was held at the Moose lodge. Admittedly, I had never considered the Moose lodge as a venue to hold a memorial service. I was unsure of what to expect. I went to honor a courageous woman who was loved by many.

As I entered the hall, I was greeted by the Lodge Governor who offered me a drink, whatever I wanted. He made small-talk and generally made me feel at ease in his lodge. He introduced me to several other lodge members and officers. Several of these men were people that I knew. For the next few minutes, I had pleasant conversation and was generally made to feel important and welcome at the lodge.

The memorial service was conducted by the Ladies of the Moose. It was a very dignified and hopeful service. The ladies honored the memory of one of their own. Mary worked with these women. It was obvious that the members of the Moose lodge were her family. What struck me was that this was more than a Memorial Service, it was a service that pointed to the amazing hope we have in the care of God, who gives us life. These people boldly pointed to God as the source of comfort and hope.

Towards the end of the service, people who knew Mary were invited to stand and share memories of her. As different ones shared, tears were shed and laughter was heard. These people were there. They had no fancy or pat answers. They were there, as family, to support one another and Mary's family. They were a community.

I was honored to be a part of such a wonderful, celebratory, and loving service. True community and family were illustrated at the Moose lodge.

My prayer is that the Body of Christ would learn the lessons that I learned at the Moose lodge...

Stillness in a LOUD world

The week, so far, has been an eye opener for me. The first two days of deer season have passed uneventfully. I spent Monday on stand with my youngest daughter (a real treat!) and later on my brother. During that day, hunters moved all around us. At one point in the morning, a fellow just below us on the hillside harvested a deer. My brother and I got caught up watching this fellow take care of his deer. All the while, another deer (A BUCK) was sneaking up behind us. When we became aware of his presence it was entirely too late. We were busted and could only watch the really nice buck leap away.

It became readily apparent to me that in my focus on the distractions around me, I had lost focus and my ability to hear what was going on around me. Even in the middle of the quiet of the fall woods, I had allowed my mind to become cluttered and unfocused.

I have come to realize that all too frequently, I allow this distraction to happen in my personal life and spiritual life as well. I am good at allowing things, schedules, time, other people, music, television as well as many other things to clutter my thinking, my hearing and my relationships. How many times I have found that I have been talking to people and realized some time later that I have completely missed what they said because of the clutter going on in my mind. Many times, I realize that I have missed the voice of God speaking to me because of the volume and pace of the world going on all around me.

Unfortunately, the volume only decreases when I realize all too often how dry that I really have become. In the same way that the blown opportunity to harvest a really nice buck awakened my focus for the balance of that day hunting, the internal dryness and dearth of the voice of God and meaningful relationships awakens me to my need to slow down, to turn down the world and focus on God and what really matters in life.

Of course, God already knows this. His word tells me to "step out of traffic and take a long loving look at me" (Psalm 46.10 The Message) or more well known, "be still and know that I am God." The challenge for me is to create stillness in the middle of a very LOUD world.

I guess that I just need to be still...

Beginning this Webjourney

This is a whole new world for me. As I am drug into the new age of the communication of ideas, I try to move forward to make myself known and heard. What you will find here are the thoughts, ponderings, questionings, and ramblings of one who does not profess to have the answers. In fact, I have many more questions than answers. My prayer is that my journey will in some way bless you and cause to to examine your own thoughts, feelings and mental paradigms.

I would love to interact with other sojourners, so feel free to contact me, post comments or otherwise discuss what I have thrown up here for discussion.

May the presence of Jesus Christ be yours as you thoughtfully and thankfully follow him.

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