My new blog
Check it out and tell me what you think.
I'm pretty sure I'm changing.
http://apilgrimsway.wordpress.com/
My Life::My Thoughts::My Way
Check it out and tell me what you think.
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Labels: Nouwen, Relationships, Wounds
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"Perhaps hell is an experience in this life not to say it doesn’t transcend beyond this. Perhaps it’s a sort of invader, an unwelcome guest in the present which robs us of true life. Perhaps our primary concern should be that we are not robbed of life during life rather than after it’s over."
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I spent another 6 hours in the car today so I had a lot of time to listen to podcasts and think. It's funny how seemingly random events can turn out to have some kind of theme to them. I think God was trying to get my attention about something today.
A couple thoughts that smacked me in the face...
The tragedy with christians is not that they don't care about poor people, but that they don't know any poor people.
If you don't hear the cry of the oppressed, maybe you are a part of the system that's oppressing them.
As I was thinking about the statements above feelings of guilt immediately rose to the surface. I'm not doing enough. I'm part of the problem, not part of the solution. How can I help people I don't know? How can I make a difference? I don't have the time. Don't have the resources. Don't have the know how. Why do we serve? Why do we try to reach people? What's the point?
For me...I'll be honest, I serve mainly because I feel I'm fulfilling my "Christian Obligation" as a follower of Jesus. It's service out of duty and responsibility rather then joy and love.
But I realized something else today. Serving and helping people is just as much about me as it is them. It sounds kind of selffish, but in a twisted way it makes perfect sense to me. When I put myself in a position to serve, when I see the needy, the poor and the oppressed I'm reminded they're out there, they exists. I'm forced to take the blinders off, I'm forced to feel uncomfortable and uneasy. I'm forced to face the ugly realities of our world. And my heart is stirred. Compassion and love flood my soul again and the dulling pain that I've so easily ignored becomes alive and throbs once more, compelling me to change. Change something. Change everything. Change the world. Change myself.
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"The [person] who can articulate the movements of [their] inner life, who can give names to [their] varied experiences, need no longer be a victim [theirself], but is able slowly and consistently to remove the obstacles that prevent the spirit from entering. [They] are able to create space for Him whose heart is greater then [theirs], whose eyes see more than [theirs], and whose hands can heal more then [theirs]."
"It is not the task of the Christian leader to go around nervously trying to redeem people, to save them at the last minute, to put them on the right track. For we are redeemed once and for all. The Christian leader is called to help others affirm this great news, and to make visible in daily events the fact that behind the dirty curtain of our painful symptoms there is something great to be seen: the face of Him in whose image we are shaped."
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Labels: Anniversary, Marriage, Relationsip
We had some friends over tonight for diner. Nothing big, just simple dinner and conversation around the dinner table. It was great though. There's something awesome that happens when people get together and share a meal and experiences with each other. I walked away feeling encouraged, uplifted, and energized. What's really interesting though is that our conversation was nothing extraordinary, it was just general stuff about our lives. You know, what we've done where we've been. I think there was just something special, an energy maybe, that was just present while we were together.
Labels: Dinner, Friends, Relationships
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