In The Living of These Days

Jesus said, “Everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." - Luke 11:10 I remember watching just recently a video of a now 18-year old woman in my internship congregation speak of what the Church is to her.   In some sense, one would think that she would say “more screens and multimedia in worship” or “Ipads with the liturgy on them for everyone!”   However, she didn’t.   She said those are worship things, or church matters.   The Church, she says, is something different altogether. What she says is very good and compelling, and her basic message is summed up in a hashtag:   #Churchisfamily (or community). I know, I know, some of you are asking what a hashtag is and it is one of those social media words or ideas.   A hashtag is a way to group related messages on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.   The hashtag begins with the “#” sign and then end...

Apologies if you're offended by some of the wording that follows.  My wife posted this earlier this week on Facebook, and ever since reading it, I've been so grateful for it: This morning I asked God to make me awesome. I was like, "Lord, would you please make me strong enough and smart enough and good enough? Make me capable and steadfast and secure and then make me all the other things I'm not and give me everything else I need to be awesome, so I can finally be kickass at life." And God was all, "Actually? I have a better idea... You do you, frail and broken; you be who you are - and I'll do me, strong and whole; I'll be who I Am. And then we' ll kick life in the ass *together*, because when you're not enough, I Am sufficiently graceful, and when you're too weak, I Am perfectly powerful. I don't even need you to be awesome, I just need you to remember that when you're not, it's ok, because I Am on your team." ...