Friday, October 10, 2003

GeorgeWBush.com :: Official Blog

Now this is cool! Thanks to Josh Sargent for the link.
the friday five

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?
WNBA basketball and the Olympics

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?
Los Angeles Sparks; Phoenix Mercury (when Cheryl Miller was the coach... not so much now)

3. Are there any sports you hate?
Everything but basketball and the Olympics, but especially baseball and football

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?
Sparks games; Long Beach Community College football (yuck); Globetrotters

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?
Me, play sports... now that's funny

Thursday, October 09, 2003

OK, lest everyone think I've gone all lofty...

Last night on the train, I was in a car with three elementary age boys. They decided it would be great fun to run the length of the car. The first time, I let it slide. The second time, they came tearing up the aisle, coming to a stop about ten feet past me. This time I spoke up:

Me: Stop running and sit down.
Biggest boy: Shut up!
Me: No!
Biggest boy:
Me: Besides, I'm on this train too, so I get to say.
Biggest boy: Yes ma'am.
Me: Anyway, you're making the little boy cry.
Biggest boy: Man, why are you crying

Result--they stopped running... and frankly, they were probably told "No" for the first time. It was cool. It was funny.
COLOSSIANS 1:24-29 Msg

"The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less."

What would church be like if our main purpose was to bring each person to maturity--to be like Christ--no more no less? If we taught that maturity flows from the fact of who we are--we are people with Christ already in us? If we broadened our focus to think of ourselves and others as whole persons, not "Church" persons? If we made it a point to share life with each other and worried less about programs and curriculum and events and... and... and...?

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

TODAY'S READING

COL 1:21-23 Msg


As I read this passage this morning, this phrase jumped off the palm pilot screen:

"...Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that!"

Our church is working on a new Mission-Vision-Values thingy and last night a small group of collegians and a couple of others (along with two pastors and a deacon chair) talked about the draft. One of the pieces--a small, but important piece--is the "slogan". Right now it says, "Helping people become fully devoted followers of Christ." (I know, sound real familiar--still, I like it). We had some discussion about what it means to be devoted. I think the passage above hits the proverbial nail on the head.

- Christ brought us over to God's side. This means that who we are has changed. Our allegience has changed. Our behavior and attitude has changed (though it is a process this side of heaven).

- Christ put our lives together--we are whole and holy in his presence. It isn't our doing, so we can rest in it. We are whole and holy in his presence, and bit by bit our life here is transformed into what we already are in his presence.

- We just can't walk away from a gift like that--at least no when you really understand it. We may struggle, but if we really understand what it is that God has done for us we just can't walk away.

So, the question is, why is it that so many of us walk away--in our attention, in our thought life, in our treatment of others, in our worship of stuff that's not Jesus?!?

Understanding is more than head knowledge. In fact, I don't think it's head knowledge at all. That may be the starting place, the fodder for contemplation and action, but understanding is something that happens after you've wrestled and struggled and pondered and questioned and doubted and maybe even cried. It's something that I don't think we'll ever finish working on, even in heaven. After all, God is infinite and we're not. There's way more to him than we can even imagine.

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Nothing profound today. Too much to do.

Monday, October 06, 2003

On the way to campus this morning, I smelled, then saw, a dead cat squirming with life. No picture of this. I had to avert my eyes for fear of losing my latte--and I don't mean dropping the cup... On the other hand, I took a picture of a flattened bird at the GreenLine Harbor Freeway station. It's actually kinda cool... check it out on the fotolog.
Pre-Lit Stick Tree

I saw one of these at Lowe's yesterday. Now, I'm not into Christmas trees, but even I know this is just wrong! I mean, it's a bunch of sticks, poked into a big stick, and wrapped with white twinkle lights. What ever happened to the sweet smell of fir????

Sunday, October 05, 2003

Scary pictures of the famous Gussy--the cat--on the fotolog. These pix explain why we're really glad he doesn't weigh 40 pounds.