These are a few of my favorite things

The air that we breathe
Om mani padme hum
Father son holy spirit
Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow
Be here now
Eyes to see and ears to hear
Scientists who make the world a better place
Taking a walk in the woods or by the river
The way that a farm field looks in summer spring winter and fall
The good news of the kingdom
The family of God can change a life and the world
Vincent van goth
Tv shows like ncis csi numbers and all great movies like ghandi
I love joy david rachel jamie and you
As the dooby brothers say jesus is just alright with me jesus is just alright oh yeah
The andy griffith show
Reading a good book while sitting by the fire
Pinkfloyd
A good whiskey sour (What is it about Christians that makes me scared to include this?)
Love God with all your heart soul strength and mind
Helen keller said life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all
The emergent church
Listening to the waves of the ocean
GOD IS LOVE!

God Sitting Next To Me

Last night, I lead our base group in a Bible study. The group has grown quite close since coming together about 4 years ago. After going through several Christian living studies, several in the group decided they wanted a Bible based study and asked if I would lead it.

I had a Bible study that I picked up at the last UMC Men's conference I attended. I kept it around thinking someday I might need it. It's designed as a low commitment study for seekers or those new to the Bible, but there is ample opportunity to dig deeper.

As we talked about Abraham and faith, it opened a door for many questions about faith, salvation, and grace. I thank God that I have read enough about this, and even recently had written down some of what I have learned in this area. God gave me the words to speak and calmed my nervousness. I'm always so afraid I'm going to get something wrong! I literally had no time to prepare. We were away all weekend and not sure if we could even attend. I had skimmed over the first lesson about a month ago, and the hosts of our base group meeting had the book in case we couldn't make it. I was definitely winging it, but God was sitting next to me.

Well, it all worked out. The conversation was amazing. Their appreciation was apparent. I feel very lucky to be part of a great group of people who desire a relationship with Christ, and want to go further on their journey.

Lord, help me be a spiritual leader for my friends. Amen.

Go!

Go Barak! (Who you rooting for?)
Go politics of hope and not fear!
Go America the land of democracy!
Go world that God dreams of and works for!
Go!

Most Not All

Tired tonight.
Going to read a book my friend Timothy sent me called Change Or Die. Great book so far.
Nothing profound to say right now...unless it might be the words of Thoreau,
"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave
with the song still in them."
May God bless us tonight with God's love and peace
yet give us courageous restlessness to sing our song.

He Invites You and Me To Pray

Our Divine Parent
Who has created and is creating the God reality
Within which we live, move, and have our being,
Praise be to You!
Your kingdom and will
Your dream and rule of love
Vs. chaos, craziness, and apathy about the brokenness
Come on earth and in our lives as it is in heaven.
Give us what we need and help us be content with what we have
One day at a time sweet Jesus.
Lead us in the right paths, and yank our chains when need be.
Deliver us from and help us overcome
the darkness that threatens our lives and this world.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory
And the joy, love, and peace
And movies, TV, books, flowers, sunsets, and oceans
And all sorts of beauty.
Both now and forever,
Amen, or in other words, May it be so!

I Don't Know

Watching the HBO show The Wire. You should check it out.
Us rich, isolated folks don't know anything about reality on the streets.
It seems there are some brave people trying to make hope possible where little exists.
I don't know if you and me will ever make any difference in this world.
Maybe we do, I don't know. Seeing a real show with real darkness, makes me wonder.
How much in this world is going on that we DON'T want to know about?
God help us. Maybe one or two of us will be brave too.