Lousiana Thoughts...

For the most part, all is well in the world. I ate a plethora of catfish last night from easily the best eating establishment on the planet...Mike's Catfish House. Hanging out with the family. The only negative was watching the beloved New Orleans Saints likely see their playoff chances go down the drain with a loss to Philly. Oh well. Some observations from Louisiana:

*Had a friend recently tell me how amazed he was at the # of carts in the parking lot of the local Wal-Mart...and thusly NOT in the shopping cart return area. Amazing. I counted 6 in the cart return area last night and 25...count em 25 in various places over the parking lot. Insanity! There's got to be some sociological conclusion from this.

*A "cold front" moved through last night and "plummeted" the temperature to a high of 52 degrees today. I saw a kid in the store today wearing a hoodie with a Texas Longhorn sweatshirt...he seemed to be freezing...and strangely none of that seemed to surprise me in light of the sweatshirt:}

*I'm 1/5 of the way through the standard Oak Grove Louisiana food "extravaganza". This includes...catfish from Mike's....chicken from the Chicken Basket....pizza from Johnny's....Boiled Peanuts (yes I'm serious and yes they're phenomenal) from the market...and last but not least the best ice cream in the world at Mer Rouge Louisiana. If I get 3 of 5...it's an average trip. If I get 5 of 5 (done this only once) then it's a record breaker. We'll see.

*Jon Green turned me onto the "Advent Conspiracy" (www.adventconspiracy.org). Great, great stuff. We delved a bit into it at DC. We live in a society of excess. I've found myself being more and more frustrated with having to think of things to put on the list of "Things I Want for Christmas". Advent Conspiracy is an idea that suggests we should give gifts that build community and give 10-20 % less gifts so that we can give to support an organization or a person that really needs the help. I challenged the crew at DC to do this and share the stories when we reconvene on January 9. Really simple but revolutionary idea. Could be an e-mail. Could mean forgiving. Could mean giving money to (fill in the blank) charity. Could mean giving money or gifts to (fill in the blank) family or person to enhance their season. We live in a very consumeristic culture (you don't realize how much that's true until you've been overseas) and I'm coming to believe the message of Jesus is very counter-culture. That's all I've got for now. Looking forward to tackling the chicken front tonight!

Christmas Musings....

It's been a bit since I posted....obviously. Raeg and I are heading to Lousiana Friday night thru next Wed. Back for 2 days then off to NW Nebraska for New Years. (Have I mentioned the lovely little invention called XM Radio!) Anyway, I plan to post a bit more over the holidays. Had a friend (www.timstout.com) create this video from the Goo Goo Dolls song 3-4 years ago for a gig I was doing at another church. Good stuff...methinks. Incidentally, I'm reading "Everything Must Change" by Brian McLaren currently...great read. I hope that you have a phenomenal Holiday season. I hope that the gifts you give and receive build stronger relationships and community.

DC-Freedom From Fear

*What are the real fears in my life? How much do those fears affect my job, relationships (spouse, children, friends, God), and how I see myself? What does scripture mean when it says "there is no fear in love" (1 John 4)? We're diving into the heart of these questions and more in the series "Freedom From Fear".

DC meets every Wed night from 7-8:30 at the location below.


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Creative...Creating...Creation

"For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God."
-Romans 8:20-21

"He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation."
-Colossians 1:15

"In the beginning, God created"
-Genesis 1

"I need a sign to let me know you're here
'Cause my TV set just keeps it all from being clear
I want a reason for the way things have to be
I need a hand to help build up some kind of hope
Inside of me

And I'm calling all angels
I'm calling all you angels

When children have to play inside
so they don't disappear
When private eyes solve marriage lies cause
we don't talk for years
And football teams are kissing Queens
and losing sight of having dreams."
-Train "Calling all Angels"



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"You can spend your whole life buildin'
Somethin' from nothin'
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway."
-Martina McBride "Anyway"



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"God created mankind in His own image
(likeness, resemblance)."
-Genesis 1:27

"ktisis"
- Greek word for creation meaning "the act of creating"

I'm coming to believe that we are most alive and in touch with life as God intended when we are creative and creating. I'm chewing on this thought a great deal these days. There is something incredibly deep and divine about being in the process of creating things that bring life. I've come to believe that there are things deep in our hearts created there by God through our life experiences, personalities, relationships, etc. When we really touch those things, we create life.

You could say we co-create life.

I look at my life both now and in the past and I'm realizing that the times that I've felt most alive are the times where I've been involved in creating. The Greek word is ktisis (pronounced "cat-tee-sis") meaning "the act of creating". It's a broad word. It involves creating and creation in all things. Creating in myself. Creating in my family. Creating in my life. Creating in the world at large. All of the act of creating flows from the inner depths of my heart.

What would it be like to be a "ktisis" community? What would it be like to be a person that is pursuing "ktisis" and life in myself and others? What if we are most aware of the "kingdom of heaven at hand" when we are ktisis from the depths of us? What am I creating in my life right now and in the lives around me? Who are the people that inspire the "ktisis" in you? Places? Movies? Songs? What would your life look like if you created more "creating"? Thoughts...comments...observations...holla back on any of the above.

There is no spoon

"All in all you're just another brick in the wall."
-Pink Floyd "Another Brick In the Wall"




"Fear has with it the thought of punishment"
1 John 4

"What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world (all that the world has to offer and it's lies) and forfeits his soul (who he essentially is)."
-Jesus

*Fear keeps me from being who I am and becoming who I am. It fleshes out in a variety of different ways, but at the end of the day...it's fear.

*We often evaluate the risk of doing (fill in the blank "risk"). We rarely, if ever, evaluate the risk of doing nothing.

*Give me any person that life is working for them and you will see someone who walked through fear recently. Maybe it was 1 month...6 months...1 year ago. That person got to a place in their life where the dissatifaction of their life was louder than the lies keeping them stuck.

*I was sitting with Jerry and Steve recently talking about this topic over coffee. My latte was bumped and spilled a bit on the table. My thought was to put something over it...cover it up. Eventually, I cleaned it up. There is a difference between cleaning up and covering up. In order to really walk through fear...to clean up things in my life...I have to acknowledge that it's messy. I have to acknowledge that it's there and it's influence. If I just cover it up...I don't want to acknowledge it. Denial....is fueled.......by fear.

*The real question is what is the magnitude of fear in my life? Relationships? Job? Addictions? Life Choices?

*What would my physical life, emotional life, relational life, financial life, spiritual life look like if I pursued what God had put on my heart to pursue? What keeps me from pursuing it?

*Imagine being out in a field and seeing in the distance a large wall. As you walk closer, you notice more and more people camped out on this side of the wall. The wall seems endlessly high and long. As you get closer, you feel that it's a big deal. You hear voices whispering things that are specific to you and make you hesistate to go further. What would those voices be for you? You get closer the voices get louder...but you keep walking. There are so...many...people...who quit walking. Strangely as you get closer to the wall....it seems to fade. The voices are really loud. The wall seems to be disappearing.

"As long as you're struggling, like the Pharisee, to be alive in your own eyes--and to the precise degree that your sturggles are for what is holy, just, and good--you will resent the apparent indifference to your pains that God shows in making the effortlessness of death the touchstone of your justification. Only when you're finally able, with the tax collector, to admit that you're dead will you be able to stop balking at grace.

It is, admittedly, a terrifying step. You will cry and kick and scream before you take it, because it means putting yourself out of the only game you know. For your comfort though, I can tell you three things. First, it's only a single step. Second, it's not a step out of reality into nothing but a step from fiction into fact. And third, it will make you laugh out loud at how short the trip home was. It wasn't a trip at all: you were already there. Coffee, anyone?"

-"Between Noon and Three" by Robert Farrar Capon

Dr. Paul Fitzgerald Speaking at DC this Wed Night!

Dr. Paul Fitzgerald (check out his blog on the right) of Heart Connexion Ministries is speaking at DC this Wed Night. We're in the middle of a series called "Freedom From Fear". DC meets each Wednesday Night at the Henry Home. Details are below.

When: Wednesday Nights (7-8:30 PM)
Where: Henry Home
14606 S. Alden
Olathe, KS 66062

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Anyone is welcome.

Bumper Sticker...

Had a friend give this bumper sticker to me at DC last week. I'm thinking about making t-shirts. It makes me smile!