What really matters...

So today it is 45 days until my 30th birthday... or as I have referred to it sometimes, the 1st anniversary of my 29th birthday. But the 6th graders found that confusing and thought it meant I was 58, so that was not ideal... Anyway, the point behind bring all this up is I want to come up with a list of 30 things to accomplish in the 30 days leading up to my birthday. It works out well because exactly 30 days before my birthday is the quarter marathon. Other things already on the list are party like I'm 29, and moving to my new apartment. I took the plunge and joined pinterest today, so I have also been getting ideas there, though I have not started my goal list yet. Some thoughts I have from pinterest include trying a new recipe and creating some of my own art work. But I need more ideas - so let's brainstorm! What ideas do you have?

I started reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan recently. The book is about the holy spirit and how we as the western church are missing the holy spirit. So far all I've really read is the introduction and the first part of chapter 1, but there are already parts that have stuck out to me. Here are some quotes... "The church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation. We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God. "Perhaps it's not theology we're missing, but rather theological integrity. Many have the knowledge but lack the courage to admit the discrepancy between what we know and how we live." "And perhaps the core issue is really about our holding back from giving ourselves to God, rather than our getting 'too much' of Him. Perhaps when a person says, 'I'd just like a little God, thank you very much,' she or he ...

Well Easter Sunday has passed. Lent is over. My daily blogging clearly is over too. I actually intended to write a post on Sunday, but my computer power cord is dead and the only internet I have at home right now is on my Kindle. Which is fine for the occasional Facebook status, but not really functional for writing anything of length. (I'm writing this at my office computer) So what happens from here? Basically I will continue posting as I feel inspired to do so. I don't know how often that will be, and I may or may not post on Facebook when I do it, but that's what will happen next... In that spirit, I read this today, and think it's an important message. Charity or justice? I should add, perhaps, that posting this on my blog seems a little like "liking" something on Facebook. But it puts into words something I have thought for awhile now, so I'm sharing anyway :-)

Thought I'd share this skit that was the inspiration for tomorrow's sunrise service. A preview for those of you who may attend, but of course the youth will do it better, right??? :-) And on that note, I'm going to try for an early night (as in before midnight) of sleep, so that I can be up dark and early to celebrate the resurrection... Sunday's coming!

"A love unlike any other. A God unlike any other." (N.T. Wright in Lent for Everyone, Good Friday) These words closed out my Lenten devotional today, and I was struck by how true they are. On this day, when we remember the crucifixion... it's easy to jump to the end of the story. We know how it turns out - the amazing things that happen on Sunday. But can you imagine the confusion and sorrow of those who lived it? They didn't know what Jesus was doing on that cross. They expected a completely different God. We also often want to make Jesus fit our understanding. I read an article today that resonated with me. It's called "I'm Christian, unless you're gay." I don't want to get into the issue of homosexuality here, and that wasn't the author's point either. His point was that we tend to be "Christian" towards those who are like us, but when people are different or don't fit into our understanding of what it mean...

Hey when I keep reading things by other people that have something to say, sometimes adding a lot of my own words seems excessive. So today I continue the trend of sharing something I read... 15 things you should give up to be happy... I found it to be some good insight - hope you find the same!

I'm not really sure why I am so tired this week, but I know I am. This is the second night in a row that I have fallen asleep without really meaning to, and then woken up around 1 am, finished stuff that needs done, and will be going to bed for real shortly. Because I don't want to spend a long time thinking about something to write about, I am again going to share something I read. Your passion is not my passion I read this article, and it really struck me because I think it is important to know what our passions are, and how that will work in ministry. Whether we are on church staff, or just members, we need to know what gets us excited about being in ministry. That doesn't mean those are the only things we should do. Sometimes we need to do things outside our passions - that's just life. But those things that are our passions will keep us excited and revitalized to continue doing ministries, and we need to make those a priority. I know that for me, I am always...