Stewart 5

Genesis 2:18

For real, God.  You are smart.

How often do I think I don’t need anyone?  Or, I know in my head that I do, but in my heart I think I can do it on my own?  Or, beyond just “doing” things and really needing the help of others, just NEEDING others for who they are?

Friends, it is not good to be alone.  Find people to love you and to love.  We are created to be in relationship with one another.  If you aren’t, you are missing out on the fullness of life as God intends.  It’s important enough to fight for.  Believe me, I know from both failure and success.

This post is for you, this post is for me.

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I think most of us are quite complex creatures.  We’re a tangle of personality, history, feelings, thoughts, hopes, and reactions (among other things).  Sometimes, parts of us not only differ, but conflict with each other.  And so, we live pulled this way and that – mostly appearing to be contradictions at best, schizophrenic at worst.

Recently, I’ve recognized that certain parts of me have been neglected too long.  These gifts, talents, and interests have been a bit dormant because they’ve needed to take a backseat to other things that were more needed.  But, the season is changing and I find these parts of me reawakening.  I need to live these too!  And so, to help revive them, I’ve decided to “swing the pendulum” all the way to the other side.  In other words, I’m positioning myself to live from these neglected energies and am intentionally putting some of my more common practices aside.  Sometimes, you have to make a bit of an extreme step, don’t you think?

Today was one of those days when I wonder if I’m willing to live with the consequences…

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Glad to finally get to write that sentence

In beating Egypt 3-0 tonight, not only did we win;
we passed Egypt in the standings based on goal difference (goal scored vs. scored against you) &
we tied Italy on goal difference (because Brazil beat them 3-0 tonight) &
we scored more goals than Italy, so we passed them in the standings.

The US men’s soccer team is advancing to the semi-finals.  We play Spain (number one team in the world) on Wednesday.  Brazil plays South Africa in the other semi-final Thursday night.

I will consider this a Father’s Day gift from the national team.
Thank you very much.

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I think I may have actually got it right with my daughter yesterday.  Mairin (age 5) was home from school sick.  She was busy playing dress up and I was getting some things ready for lunch.  I walked into the living room and she was about to cut the ankle ties from one of her pretend ballet shoes because she couldn’t get it to tie correctly.  I stopped her and showed her another way to tie the shoe, bringing a smile.  I asked if she wanted me to tie her other shoe, but she said no, holding it behind her back….somewhat suspiciously.  I asked again, she said no again, so I went back to the kitchen.

She then came into the kitchen to show me that she had put her other shoe on herself.  “Can you help me tie this one?, she asked.  I bent over to tie the shoe and the ribbon came off on my hand. “I cut it off, but I glued it back on.”  Ummm, well obviously you DIDN’T glue it back on, because it is in my hand.  I could feel the anger rising up in me.  First, because she had cut apart her shoe.  Marin tends to make permanent decisions like this on the spot.  Second, she had hidden the fact that she had done this when I asked her.

So here I am, doubly angry at my daughter.  I say something along the lines of, “Mairin, you CAN’T cut up your things.  You’ve ruined your shoe.  The tie doesn’t work anymore.  I can’t fix this for you.  Why do you do this to your things?”  And I’m wondering, what else do I say, what do I do?  And she looks at me with these sad eyes.  Not, “I’ve been caught” eyes, but sad.  Sad for disappointing me.  Wondering what I will do in response.

And I realize, what else do I need to say?  She knows she messed up her shoe – why tell her again?  Is heaing condemnation on her going to change her bahoavior, or just make her feel bad about herself and further from me?  And actually, yes, I can (maybe) fix this.  So I stopped myself.  I had her give me her shoe.  I went and got our sewing kit.  I toid her that I thought I could fix it, sat down next to her, and started sewing.  [note: I did a bit of needlepoint as an adolescent - dont ask].  As I did, we talked, she organized some of her things, and I fixed her shoe.

Neither of us left the scene angry at the other.  When I finished, she said, “thank you daddy,” and gave me a hug.  I helped her put on and tie her shoe.

This is not meant as a yeah me.  It’s much more of a PRAISE GOD I think I got it right.  And as much as it reflects what God is teaching me about parenting and expressing love, it has all the more to do with my understanding of His love for me.  He does not condemn me, His beloved child.  He does not heap shame on me when I do wrong.  I don’t need to hide, or try to cover up my failing.  He loves me and fixes it.  And it makes me love Him all the more.

May I know this in my heart, believe it to be true for me, and share this same love with others.  May we all….

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I am aware that in choosing to link my blog posts to facebook, when I write something it drops the first few lines to my fb posts.  Consequently, I should really come up with something much more compelling to get you to keep reading than this: A couple of thoughts from my reading of Transforming Mission by David Bosch – chapter 6: The Missionary Paradigm in the Eastern Church [patristic era]

First, I should begin by saying that I am part of an awesome reading group – all practitioners and thinkers who are really wrestling with the challenging ideas Bosch presents.  Every time we meet, our discussions are always personal and meaningful, never purely philosophical.  Yes!  As such, no need to give  abook report of the chapter.  Rather, just want to offer a few thoughts on two quotes/idea from this particular chapter on the Church’s thoughts on mission in the Greek Patristic era.  They aren’t necessarily even major points of the section, but ones that jumped out at me.  Can’t wait to hear what Tom has to say on this chpater, as this era is where he has been studying.

“In the final analysis, it was not the miracles of the itinerant evangelists and wandering monks that impressed the populace – miracle workers were a familiar phenomenon in the ancient world – but the exemplary lives of ordinary Christians” (p. 191, referencing Kretschmar).

Is this true, or do I just want it to be?  I DO believe that the greatest witness is a transformed life.  But where we live, miracle workers sure do get a lot of press, and there are plenty to go around.  I suppose part of the argument is that miracles draw crowds, but changed lives keep them coming.  But what about revolutions?  Isn’t there always some spark – generally a person or a few people – who exemplify, demonstrate, and propagate something new?  To be fair Bosch continues to spell out what these changed lives looked like and how this was so counter cultural at the time that people couldn’t help but notice.

Maybe that’s the better measure – lives transformed not just to “good” – but to radically different from and prophetic to – the culture around us.  I can get behind that.  Sadly, when we envision a life changed by Jesus, it is generally so pedestrian that I don’t think many people notice at all.  I don’t mean that we all have to become John the Baptist types, but I do think we have exceptionally low understanding and expectation for the life God would hope for us… that He has made possible for us…. that could indeed transform our world.

Are you with me people?

Second quote:

“…For a while, the church had to forfeit its opportunity for rapid growth ; it devoted its time and energy to finding clarity on crucial theological issues and to consolidating internally” (p. 200).

Hmmmm.  Can it be that all those eras of Church history that I look on with disdain, the ones where we spent more time arguing with ourselves than extending God’s love to anyone else, might have actually been necessary?  Granted, Bosch is not justifying all the crapola in Church history.  But he does give me reason to pause and drop some of my judgmental attitude.  I do believe in seasons of rest, rhythms of life – maybe that applies [and should/must apply] to the Church itself?

Case in point – the Church today.  Are we still seriously arguing about the rapture, emerging church, and original sin?  Yes we are.  And I have so little time for it.  BUT, maybe we’re in one of those times of regrouping.  Makes sense.  We’ve come off a long run of being the big influence in culture and are now faced with our loss of voice.  I don’t think anyone still tries to argue that we are in the middle of massive paradigm shift.  Everything is changing.  So, maybe we do need to get our act together.  I still don’t think that means endless arguments over trivia to the neglect of partnering with God’s Kingdom, but maybe it’s not that either/or.  And MAYBE we actually do need to get it together to address whatever our world will look like tomorrow.  Not the message, but certainly how it is presented lived.

That’s a beauty of Bosch’s work.  He makes such a good case that the Church has indeed approached mission (and it’s own self-understanding) quite differently over the ages.  No need to fear change, or think we are being unfaithful to the Church of the ages.  Rather, this is how God has always worked, and presumably will continue.

How will we respond?

May your life be transformed today, even if it means resting a bit.  I find that sometimes, this is when God does the most work in us.

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Apparently, as you grow up, you are supposed to change your style of clothes.  Something about maturing, etc.  Of course, I have no desire to look like a teenager, or someone trying to look like a teenager.  But, you (or at least me) find clothes and styles you like, and stick with them.

This is all complicated by changing body shape.  That favourite shirt doesn’t quite fit the same way it used to (do you really believe the SHIRT shrank?)  You can’t quite get the pants fastened.  Sometimes I keep these clothes around – for that someday when they will fit again.

My wife thinks that I don’t have any pants that fit properly.  This is partially because I bought many during a baggy clothes phase.  This was due due to both fashion and my attempt to buy clothes slightly too big to cover up a slightly too big/out of shape body.  This was, of course, a long stretch of years – about 15 years – as I think about it.

Now, two big changes have taken place.  First, everyone wears really tight clothes!  My old clothes pretty much look old.  Second, I have lost some weight.  Yes indeed, I am probably in the best shape I have been in for years (and feel great, btw).  I have lost 20 pounds in the past 4 months (since we returned from our trip to USA).  So, things are looking a little big on me.

This is most evident in the pants department.  See, I usually wear my pants low.  Not “show my butt” low, but on my hips instead of my waist. And I don’t tuck shirts in – ever.  So, they all hang too low now (I am walking on them, or worse, have to cuff them!).  And, as Melissa will point out, the butt of my pants just hang empty.  No big deal (I don’t see this anyway).  But I am off the Andrew and Mariah’s wedding and Melissa thinks that I am not going to be able to wear my khaki pants for the aforementioned reasons.

Help me with my pants.  Where exactly in my middle section should they sit – waist, hips, other?  How long should they be?  I’m NOT willing to go too tight through the crotch and I have slightly bigger than normal thighs.  Taking this into account, and some amount of my style preference, I would love your advice.

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Sometimes, I look at the stars
and they seem so bright,
close,
warm.

Reminding me of all that is possible and powerful
in the universe and
in my life.

And I am full of hope.

Sometimes, I look at the stars
and they seem so far away
tiny,
cold.

Leaving me feeling
the gulf of space between me and you
endless, overwhelming darkness.

And I am lonely.

Come to me, star
let me hold you in the palm of my hand,
No more night.

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man, that title could have about 10 different meanings

When you write the date, how do you write it?

Seems like most (all?) Americans write month/day/year. Good job USA in getting us all to do it the same way.

My experience was always that other (European?) countries wrote day/month/year.  Makes sense as it is from smallest/most immediate to biggest unit. So, that’s how I learned to write the date in French class in high school and I’ve been writing the date since we moved to SA.

Here, I have found that people write the date all sorts of ways.  Seems like on hospital forms, they generally use year/month/day.  I’ve filled out bank forms one way, misc. official paperwork another way, and never know HOW an individual may write the date on something they give me.  I asked my son how they do it at school (where you’d think they’d be teaching the standard) and he told me that the do it one way (I’ve actually forgot which now) in all of his classes except math.  In math class, they write the date a different way.  What?  Maybe this has something to do with the changeover since Apartheid or some reality of Bantu education?  I don’t know, but I find it strange that everyone in the country doesn’t use the same way of writing the date.

Beyond making some clever societal observation, I am really interested in why this is done the way it is in different places.  There must be some meaning behind this…

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Tomorrow, Melissa and I are going to Victoria Falls to celebrate our 15th anniversary!  It’s a little early (our anniversary is the 15th), but some scheduling things meant that we needed to go now.  With everything we’ve had going on lately, the timing is just right.  So looking forward to being together, without the kids and much to do but have fun, rest, and take in the beauty.  It’s been too long.  Pray for us for the next few days and I’ll post more when we get back.

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