True Community. Is it possible?

Ok...I can't help but put up one more Daily Reading from John Eldredge. Denise brought up the previously posted reading in Sunday School this past week. The book it was from is Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge. (not Waking the Dead as I mistakenly said on Sunday.)

The reading below is from Waking the Dead. I stopped at my computer Saturday morning and read this as I scrolled through my e-mail. As I began to read, Clinton leaned in over my shoulder. When we finished we just turned and looked at one another, blinking, saying nothing but thinking the same things. Then I read it again today and the Holy Spirit linked this brief excerpt to our discussion on Sunday about who we trust.

How about you? What thoughts does this stir up in you? Share them when you are through reading. Don't worry if you are not a part of this Sunday School class I'm speaking of. There is enough here for you to jump in where ever you are and make this discussion more rich and interesting.

It Will Be Messy
11/03/2007

The family is…like a little kingdom, and, like most other little kingdoms, is generally in a state of something resembling anarchy.

Chesterton could have been talking about a little fellowship (our true family, because it is the Family of God). It is a royal mess. I will not whitewash this. It is disruptive. Going to church with hundreds of other people to sit and hear a sermon doesn’t ask much of you. It certainly will never expose you. That’s why most folks prefer it. Because community will. It will reveal where you have yet to become holy, right at the very moment you are so keenly aware of how they have yet to become holy. It will bring you close and you will be seen and you will be known and therein lies the power and therein lies the danger. Aren’t there moments when all those little companies, in all those stories, hang by a thread? Galadriel says to Frodo, “Your quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true.”

We’ve experienced incredible disappointments in our fellowship. We have, every last one of us, hurt one another. Sometimes deeply. Last year there was a night when Stasi and I laid out a vision for where we thought things should be going – our life-long dream for redemptive community. We hoped the Company would leap to it with loud “Hurrahs! Hurrah for John and Stasi!” Far from it. Their response was more on the level of blank stares. Our dream was mishandled – badly. Stasi was sick to her stomach; she wanted to leave the room and throw up. I was…stunned. Disappointed. I felt the dive towards a total loss of heart. The following day I could feel my heart being pulled towards resentment. It's moments like that which usually toll the beginning of the end for most attempts at community. 

(Waking The Dead ,197 )

My own thoughts are pretty much an echo of what we said on Sunday. We can know the will of our Father - to love one another. I was going to link to a verse here but here are 10 all giving the same instruction!

We can always trust Him with the love we give to others and the love we receive from others even when the object of our love lets us down. Keeping our love for Him and our love for one another in the proper focus will allow us to live in community with one another. We can expect it to be fraught with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, faithfulness and falseness, even betrayals, because we are human and we sin, mess up, wipe out. But, when our eyes are fixed on and our hearts are filled with our Saviour and the truth of His word we don't have to despair. We don't have to become cynical, resentful or despondent. When we humble ourselves toward one another, He promises to lift us up. 1 Peter 5:5-6

Your turn...

I want one of these...

...really bad!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, Dyson has agreed to give away one of their Dyson Vacuum Cleaners in the Pink color. Actually, they have been sponsoring these give-aways on several sites/mommy blogs. Check out this post at The Domestic Diva Blog or click on the Dyson button in the side bar for details about this one. But hurry! It ends today.

**edit - The perky pink Dyson goes to someone called SJ.   I'll have to wait for Christmas.  A girl can dream can't she?**

Daily Reading from John Eldredge

We Find Our Tears
10/25/2007

Part of the reason women are so tired is because we are spending so much energy trying to “keep it together.” So much energy devoted to suppressing the pain and keeping a good appearance. “I’m gonna harden my heart,” sang Rindy Ross. “I’m going to swallow my tears.” A terrible, costly way to live your life. Part of this is driven by fear that the pain will overwhelm us. That we will be consumed by our sorrow. It’s an understandable fear – but it is no more true than the fear we had of the dark as children. Grief, dear sisters, is good. Grief helps to heal our hearts. Why, Jesus himself was a “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” (Isa. 53:3)

Let the tears come. Get alone, get to your car or your bedroom or the shower and let the tears come. Let the tears come. It is the only kind thing to do for your woundedness. Allow yourself to feel again. And feel you will – many things. Anger. That’s okay. Anger’s not a sin (Eph. 4:26). Remorse. Of course you do. Fear. Yes, that makes sense. Jesus can handle the fear as well. In fact, there is no emotion you can bring up that Jesus can’t handle. (Look at the Psalms – they are a raging sea of emotions).

Let it all out.

As Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “The tears . . . streamed down, and I let them flow as freely as they would, making of them a pillow for my heart. On them it rested.” Grief is a form of validation; it says the wound mattered. It mattered. You mattered. That’s not the way life was supposed to go. There are unwept tears down in there – the tears of a little girl who is lost and frightened. The tears of a teenage girl whose been rejected and has no place to turn. No one understands. The tears of a woman whose life has been hard and lonely and nothing close to her dreams.

Let them come.

(Captivating, 101-102)

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Looking for something to do?

I know at least a few of my friends/readers who would be interested in the Art Show on Main 2007 taking place this weekend. Check it out over at livingpalm's blog here .

that just bites

Clinton has his 15 year college reunion this weekend. I'll be with him. Most of these people don't know me. I have 3 very large, very red mosquito (or perhaps spider) bites above my right eyebrow. Honestly. Don't I have enough to worry about?

Refreshed

I've been thirsty lately. Spiritually thirsty.

This was crystal clear, cool water this morning.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. - Ephesians 3:20

"...working within us..." He is so patient!

"...deeply and gently within us." He is so loving, so devoted!

All I had to do was invite Him into my life. He gave me this and so much more. Himself- His Spirit living in and through me. That takes my breath away this morning and I am renewed...refreshed.

Absent

4 kids, school starting, family and family events, traveling, etc. all have contributed to my recent absence. And, I started another blog. Actually, I moved our family site and have been maintaining it more faithfully. This was prompted by my dad's trip. The site makes it easy for far away (and not so far away) friends and family to see pics and read about the latest happenings here. And, it is easier and a bit more flexible than sending out mass e-mails. Now that it is hosted by WordPress I don't have to wait to use Clinton's Mac either! Why WordPress? Because I read some blogs powered by WordPress and like what I see. I wanted to give a try for myself. And - it is free just like Blogger.

So, I'm still here. God and I are o.k. - I just don't have the time, energy or frankly the will to put it all into writing for others to read right now. My attentions and energies are happily diverted in the direction of my family. My blogging energy is currently being channeled in the direction of our family site. I'm not posting the address in a effort to keep it more private. I want to be able to put pictures and stories about my kids on there without having to worry about the creeps that troll mommy blogs looking for kid pictures. Unfortunately, our main computer died a few weeks ago. I'm missing many e-mail addresses. So friends, if you didn't hear from me with our new family site address, please get in touch with me and I'll pass it right along.

I'll be back...promise! :)