May this life be,

in balance containing good ingredients in the right proportion,

exciting….a story worth living..as the hops spice and preserve,

of you not the world lest the wild yeast sour your perfect plan,

expectant waiting in faith for each new batch…that first draft,

filled with awareness of your divine spark of making it all good.

Lord may I be like this Ale.

I am considering restarting or reviving the virtual accountability group on this blog.  I found it an important tool for growing in faith and discipline during the season it was active.  So….if there is anyone out there who would be interested in becoming an accountability partner please comment on this post.  All that is required is checking in each day with a post or comment detailing your struggles for the last day.  Look through the archives and you will get the idea.

grace, peace, and awareness,

bart

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Moses to the Israelites Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord.5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.6 Always remember these commands I give you today.7 Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.8 Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you,9 and write them on your doors and gates.

The Silver Chair, Aslan’s instructions to Jill (pg 25) “But first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things happen to you let nothing turn you from following the signs.”

Some important text dealing with meaningful membership are

Pliny letter 10.96-97, http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/texts/pliny.htm, talks about the early church meetings one small group and one communion meal,
Henderson- a model for making disciples, http://www.amazon.com/Model-Making-Disciples-Wesleys-Meeting/dp/1928915701/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231686268&sr=8-1, talks about the class meeting, and Cole- Search & Rescue, http://www.amazon.com/Search-Rescue-Becoming-Disciple-Difference/dp/0801013097/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231686308&sr=1-1, talks about the life transformation group (LTG)

Follow this link http://deeplycommitted.com/2009/01/09/class-meeting-as-guarantor-of-meaningful-membership/ to a very important post by Kevin Watson.  It is short, but very powerful.

I have worked at a meat packing plant all my life. Lately I was promoted to the sausage department. I used to love sausage, but after a few years in that department I have negative associations with the plant. The problem is now that I know the ingredients and process that goes into producing sausage all meat is somehow different.

My problem with the ingredients lies not in the quality of the meat, but in the other stuff that is added so it will be edible after the processing. The man made stuff that goes into sausage is pretty gross. Preservatives, flavors, and dyes are not what I want when I eat meat. The process of grinding, mixing, and stuffing the sausages take what is a really decent cut of meat and really screw it up in order to achieve the look and texture we desire.

I am thinking of becoming a vegetarian. The idea of planting a seed, waiting for it to grow, harvesting, and finally enjoying is very appealing. I must be willing to give up the control I had with sausage, but I trust the end product will be both healthier and better tasting.

You probably guessed I am not really talking about food, but it describes how I feel about what we have done to Jesus.

Lord please have mercy on us.

I was shopping at Good Willl Sunday afternoon.  When I say shopping I mean watching my girls play in the toy area while my wife shopped.  As I watched the kids playing with the other kids I realized they did not care if the other kids were dirty or sloppily dressed.  There was even one boy who had on a pair of jeans that were way too large and no underwear and to make matters worse he had them on backward.  The kids just played together.  The only time there was trouble was when one would not share or grabbed a toy from another.  There was no notice of social status.

Later that night I was watching the show where Tye demolishes a needy families house and rebuilds it to fit their particular needs.  The son was being interviewed.  He was blind and in a wheel chair, but a talented musician with a great outlook on life.  He said that he saw blindness as an ability and sight as a disability.  He explained that sight hinders seeing people as they really are on the inside.

Sometimes I think someone is trying to get my attention.

bart

Ephesians 3:10 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

The challange to the church is set forth.  We are to model God’s plan that his wisdom may be made known to the angles (principalities and powers).  I have a hard time modeling Christ to my neighbors much less the angels.  The view of many none christians toward the church might be a good measure of our success toward God’s intent.

For the next few months I will be blog’n Crazy Love by Fancis Chan on Tuesdays.

The first chapter talked about the awe factor of God.  Chan challenged us to stop praying at God and listen in awe for a while.  I will let you know how it goes.

Last night our church started a biweekly outdoor movie night.  Free Market Jesus by Donald Miller was the first flick.  I liked it and am still digesting some of the content.  The main point went something like Jesus is not a product to fix you and me.  He loves us and will change us to the extent that we follow Him.