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| Lately, I've been very enamored with the artwork of Caspar David Friedrich. If you don't know who that is, I suggest you google his artwork, because it's incredible. Here is a link to my favorite painting of his:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/5/5b/20060809190128!Caspar_David_Friedrich_032.jpg
It's interesting, because Shane and I both love this painting, but for entirely different reasons, and we sense entirely different emotions that the artist is portraying. Shane looks at this painting, and he sees Romantic optimism: the height of beauty and human achievement, a spirit of endless possibility. But, I look at this painting and see the ultimate frustration of Modernity: a yearning for something beyond this place I find myself in. And, even though I find myself atop this mountain in this beautiful scene, it's never good enough, and it's never high enough. And, so I wander on into the mist, looking for the highest mountain to climb.
What do you see?
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| I cannot sleep, and so I blog. Life has been so crazy lately, and it felt so incredibly good spending today just being. No commitments, no running to and fro, no busy and taxing worries of my day to day life. Just time to relax and reflect. Sometimes it seems like we get so busy with our day to day lives, we forget about the idea of sabbath. We forget that God assigned us a day to simply be and remember the Lord our God.
So, how do we do Sabbath in our busy lives? Especially for those of us heading into ministry, we can't simply spend Sundays relaxing, learning about God, and reflecting on who we are. Most of us can't spend our Saturdays this way either because we work or spend time catching up on the things we couldn't get done around the house because of work. And then weekdays we spend our time either working or in class or taking care of children, or a combination of the three, or possibly for a rare, brave few, all three. So where do we find time in there for rest?
I don't have an answer, but I do believe that for some of us it is simply a problem of time management. However, I know there are others who manage their time wisely and still have no time at all. Do you do Sabbath? If so, how?
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| Wow. It's been a while. I have a couple of questions for those of you who might still be Xanga users and read this:
Do you think that we have ideas and ethical beliefs that bind us all together, or do you think we are all trapped in our own cultural perspectives?
Do you think that the essential function of a pastor is to be relational, or to preach?
I know these are tough questions. Get back to me.
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| Whew! It has been one crazy semester. I've been thinking about a lot of things, and have been doing my best to seek God's will on my path to wherever he's trying to lead me. And, in the interest of spreading God's truth, I thought I'd share some things I've learned this semester:
1. Dice Wars is an addictive game.
2. Job was not tested by God to see how loyal he was to Satan (actual answer on a Bib Lit reading assignment).
3. The Kingdom of Israel did not divide while in exile (Also from Bib Lit).
4. John Wesley is one of the coolest theologians I've read about thus far in my college experience.
5. Hardcore Calvinism is a very scary concept.
6. I still have a lot of work to do before I'm ready to be what God wants me to be.
7. God will never abandon you, and he gives out way more do-overs than you deserve.
8. You do not want to experience the wrath of Shane's chicken farts.
9. I am more capable in Youth Ministry than I thought.
10. God loves you. He always will. There ain't nothing you can do about it.
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| 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6
We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your
name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people
of the land. 7
"Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the
men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far,
in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our
unfaithfulness to you. 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you...
17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your
sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18
Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the
city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we
are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19
O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O
my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."
-Daniel 9:3-11, 17-19
Lent has me thinking about sacrifice, and all the things in my life that take precedence over God. I surely don't deserve him, or all the blessings he pours out upon my life, and I stand amazed at how much he loves and how persistent he is in his plans for me.
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