Bringing the heat

It has been a bit hot lately.

Actually, it got hotter than this as the afternoon rolled on. The wind blew strong, but also very hot. It was like sitting in front of the heater blowing hot air.
Courtney has had Softball tournaments this week. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Nights. And they are done now, we are proud of the way the girls and coaches have played and conducted themselves. Did I mention it was hot tonight?
Looking forward to some good stuff this weekend at Central Plains Mennonite Conference Annual Meeting at Henderson, NE.

Nebraska, the good life!

Did you know that Nebraska was ranked as the happiest state? Check it out. And I would have to vouch for this, unbiased of course:)

Sometimes we say, "God is good." I wonder if we mean, "My life is going the way I want it to."

Fair enough, but why blame God for that:) Is it really God's fault, that I am getting what I want? Can I say, "God is good", when my life isn't going the way I want it to? Do I recognize that goodness is God's character? God can't be bad. God's work in our world and in our lives is for goodness, not happiness nor freedom from problems.

Recently, I read an excerpt from Julian of Norwich. She actually prayed for a bodily sickness that would come so close to death that she would expect to wake up in Jesus' presence in Heaven! Her reason was so that through her experience she would be drawn into a deep understanding of the goodness of God. She got what she prayed for. This helped her to see the goodness of God, even in "lesser" things like discipline, obedience, and suffering.

Oh, that we would desire to know the goodness of God, rather than just live "the good life".

Be Lucky!

Are you good at praying? Is your prayer life a great one? What tricks and shortcuts do you use?
If you said you are good, then you probably have a lot to learn, and a lot to practice.
If you said its a great one, then you probably have learned a lot and practiced a lot. And you've struggled; prayed when you didn't feel like it. Prayed when you wondered if you were just talking to yourself. Prayed when you wanted to think about something else.

Where's Shawn?

Tricks and shortcuts? Well, I'm not aware of any. Its a relationship; talking and listening. Spending quality and quantity time. And yes, some things like Spiritual Disciplines can help. Spiritual Disciplines allow us to do something which puts us in the mindset, posture, and occasion to notice when God speaks.
I had a soccer coach in college who told us to "be lucky". What he meant was, do the work, practice, and set yourself up to be in a position to be lucky when the ball gets deflected.
The more prepared we are to encounter God, the more likely we will be to notice.

Soul health

Consider your mind's ability to protect your body: Place your hand close to a burning fire. Now pull it back before you get hurt. Not so hard, eh? In fact, you could do this a thousand times and be successful.
Consider your mind's ability to protect your self: Place your self close to a burning temptation. Now pull it back before you get hurt. Not so easy, eh? In fact, each time you do this it becomes harder for the mind to keep the self from leaping into the flames.
Protect your soul. Nurture its health.

God's love flows

Vacation Bible School at Salem Mennonite this week. Theme-Take me to the water: God's love flows. I shared from John 7:37-39 on Sunday. When we believe in Jesus, a river of living water flows from within us. An EMT took me aside afterwards and said, "I would consider that a medical emergency, if rivers of water were flowing from someones body."
How right you are sir! And as dramatic as that would be, I think we could use a little more drama in our lives. To let the Spirit fill us and spills and create a stir; a mess; an inconvenience. Flow river flow!