funny conversation

so, i thought i'd start off simply.
just a conversation that made me laugh.
better that than nothing, right?

a few days ago i took a seven-hour train ride that began at 6 in the morning. across the aisle from me there was a couple who had just finished an overnight train ride, and to finish their journey had another five hours on the train. so they were really tired. like about half of those on the train, they fell asleep. each having two seats to stretch out a little, with a small table between them. at one point, the wife woke up, looked around and decided to wake her husband up. their conversation went something like this..

johnny. johnny!
   hmm .. what happened?
what time is it?
  well, where is the cell phone?
in my pocket.
   what do you want me to do about it?
well, i'm too tired to reach down and get it.
can you reach across the table,
reach in my pocket,
and tell me what time it is?

i'm not sure what else was said, but nobody pulled the cell phone out to find out what time it was. and shortly thereafter, they were asleep again. but it sure made me smile. like a comedy routine .. in real life!

silence

greetings, whoever might still read this. i apologize for the long, unexplained hiatus. i don't have a good reason. but i have something i want to write about, so am glad to be able to actually post today! no promises about when i will post next, but my plan is definitely less than three months! :P

tomorrow afternoon i will head to a place called the mercy center. as recommended by a number of wise people. and i will begin to do the ignatian exercises (short explanation found here). and spend about a month basically in silence. which sounds somewhat extreme. but .. with good reason. there are two main reasons for doing this -- 
- to spend time focusing on being in God's presence, listening well, re-centering, being refreshed by Him
- clarity!

i'm not exactly sure what to expect. i've never spent a month in silence, or even close. i will have conversations with a spiritual director most days, but in many ways i will be secluded. this is a gift. not many people are able to take time like this. or make the space to take time like this. although i am not exactly sure what to expect .. i expect to be in God's presence. and to be changed. may it be so.

standing in line..

after almost two months of silence, i'm not sure who is reading this .. but i hope to post more often than once every two months! so, jumping right in ..

each year i spend a few weeks (or months..) working toward renewing my visa. you would think after four tries it would be easier .. but it still takes lots of energy. but there are some good things. yesterday i went to pay two taxes, and it meant standing in four different lines. but it is done, which is a very good thing! and of the four people that interacted with to accomplish these tasks, two of them were smiling and interested in what i do and why i'm here in romania. often people at big offices, banks, or government buildings can be pretty serious and not particularly happy. so i was grateful for these two women who didn't fit my stereotype, and were helpful and gracious. it made standing in line much better!

a purpose for worship

the second week of the wonderful class that i am taking had more intriguing articles. yay! and here are a few quotes that i have been pondering the past couple of days.

"God is not threatened; rather He is immeasurably saddened by false worship. When people worship anyone or anything besides Him, they become like it. God has better intentions for people." -- Steven C. Hawthorne

and the well-known quote from John Piper: "Missions exists because worship doesn't."

"We will not bring the kingdom or build the kingdom, but our privilege is to live out previews of 'coming attractions,' revealing what this kingdom will look like." -- Tim Dearborn

one idea which i have been pondering is motivation for mission. motivation for how we live and what we focus on, not just mission. if our motivation has to do with people, we will be disappointed. because people are sinful and selfish and make mistakes. (everyone -- including ourselves!) if our motivation has to do with our own selfish desires, we will probably not last very long. but .. if our motivation comes from a deeper, wider, bigger purpose .. then it just might be possible for us to stay involved exactly where we are. if our internal motivation is based on the One who is stable, we will have the capacity to face external challenges. and being invited to participate in the plan of God is much more exciting than making my own plan anyway! :)

a new book!

on the way to hang out with a couple friends, i stopped to get my mail. and i found a book that i've been eagerly waiting for! once i arrived, i pulled out the package and opened it, and had this silly grin on my face as i saw the book and started looking through it. my friends looked at me like i was crazy. (this happens more than you might think.. :P ) on this particular occasion, the look was well-merited. because, you see, the book has 782 pages, and it is a textbook. all about the world Christian movement!

i am taking an online class called "perspectives" and am really grateful for the opportunity to read a large variety of authors and subjects, to be challenged in my view of God and mission, and to do so with a cohort of fellow believers from various places around the globe. here are a few quotes from this week's reading that stood out.

"Holiness is wholeness. To be holy is to be wholly the Lord's." -- Walter C. Kaiser

"None of God's gifts were meant for our own consumption. They were not meant to be mere badges or titles. They were for the purpose of declaring His wonderful deeds and calling people to His marvelous light." -- Walter C. Kaiser

"Blessing is God's provision for human flourishing. But it is also relational: to be blessed by God is not only to know God's god gifts but to know God himself in his generous giving." -- Richard Bauckham

I hope to continue to share quotes and ideas throughout this four month class. Some ideas are just better when they are shared!

an abrupt transition

this past saturday afternoon it was 32˚C .. almost 90˚F.  nice, typical summer weather. warm, but not overwhelmingly so. then .. sunday morning i wake up and it is raining. the warmest it gets all day is around 21˚C .. 70˚F.  that is a big drop in temperature! and since then, it has continued to rain and be cooler. which is nice autumn weather. but it is so sudden!

change is a natural part of life. it happens to everybody. in all sorts of ways. internally and externally. but, it is nice when we can get accustomed to the idea of change, when we can prepare ourselves a bit. this change just happened faster than i was expecting. and made all the other changes going on just a little bit more challenging to deal with. ah well .. i am grateful that we are going to have a real autumn!

an expression

while i was out walking this evening, i passed a man walking with his wife. when we passed, he looked at me, and the word that immediately came to mind was 'sneer'. not that his expression was horrible .. but it wasn't all that polite, either. two thoughts in rapid succession came to mind..
1. was that expression meant for me?!
2. did his face get stuck like that?

(necessary explanation for thought number 2 .. there is a 'calvin and hobbes' comic strip where calvin makes a horrible face. and an adult says 'be careful. it could get stuck like that.' calvin, of course, spends the rest of the panels with the same face, hoping it will become permanent. in the last panel, he is gravely disappointed .. it didn't get stuck!)

strange, i know. but it made my day better. and .. instead of being offended, why not find something humorous?!