Dream Awakener

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 8

  Scenic* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

We are continuing our series on developing a rhythm (rule) of life.  Debra Farrington says, "The point of a rule of life, for communities or individuals, is that life should be lived in balance, with God as the focal point. Perhaps that is what attracted me five years ago to the various rules of life. It is so easy for me to live a life that is out of balance, where work or some other aspect of my life takes over. And it is far too tempting for me to place myself at the center of my own universe. Living a rule of life helps me to keep striving for balance -- to be conscious of what I do and why -- and it reminds me to be open to God in all aspects of my daily life."

"When God is the center of our lives, when we know that we are God's beloved, we have the obligation and the great joy of sharing that treasure with others."  The Jerusalem Community Rule of Life states this very simply and beautifully: "In your heart God has excavated an immense space where he has placed a precious treasure.  From now on you have the twofold duty of receiving and giving: sharing the treasure of the kingdom you bear within you and stretching the area of your tent for those around you."

This part of our rhythm of life deals with reaching out, simplifying our needs, realizing that all we have is from God and belongs to God, and that we are to give according to what we have, and take action against injustice. Here are my rhythm of life in the area of reaching out or outward.  As you read through this, take some time to consider your rhythm of life in the outward area.

OUTWARD

• Take some time each month to consider how to live a life of simply beauty by reading as well as taking inventory of what I have and what I can give away

• Be generous with what God has given me, by giving and serving in secret as well as using my gifts and talents to help those in need by allowing air time in my schedule

• Continue to be actively involved with the Solis Foundation, growing in my understanding of Kenya and her people, micro-loans and grants and raising resources to meet the needs of those who are without

• Watch films and listen to music that inspires and provokes me to think and care more about justice issues

The last area we will look at in this series is the area of hospitality.

Virginia Tech: Remembering the Massacre One Year Later

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre.  To remember this horrible event I will be wearing maroon, orange and white. This tragedy hit my heart deeply because the first church that God had me plant was [nlcf] at Virginia Tech.  I spent over thirteen years of my life on this campus.  I just "so happened" to be in Washington D.C. when I heard the news, so my friend Chris Backert and I drove down that Monday night, to be there for the students.

While I was there that week I made a series of posts to to share what was going on in my heart and what I was seeing first hand.  As a way to remember this tragedy, I have put together a collection of the posts that I had posted a year ago.  If you click through on anything, take a moment to listen to the song Forever Changed and the slide show that I link to under  Virginia Tech: A Journey Toward Healing.  After my posts, I have three other important links to help us remember.

Forever Changed
Here is a link to a band called The Season.  This band has two graduates of Virginia Tech in it - Kurtis Parks and Josh Kim, who were members of the worship band at the church I founded.  They saw this time as a way to use their gifts and wrote a song entitled Forever Changed.  Take a moment to listen to the song, as a way to remember.

From Virginia Tech: The In-between Day
Having just arrived in Blacksburg, I gave an update on what was happening as well as shared some thoughts about a day that didn't make the Christian Calendar, the day in-between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  On Good Friday we see the reality of evil, when God took all of the evil upon Himself and in return gave a blessing.  Then there is Easter that speaks of the hope of a whole new world.  We live on Saturday, this in-between time.

From Virginia Tech: The Ministry of Presence
This is another person update with some thoughts on one of the best ways we can help people during tragedies - a ministry of presence.

From Virginia Tech: Prayer and Ministry
I shared some of my experiences at the campus-wide prayer meeting.

From Virginia Tech: The One Thing We Need
I share my heartfelt words to all affected by this tragedy.

Virginia Tech: A Journey Toward Healing
I put the photo's that I took at Va Tech in a slide show with some music.  A journey of the healing events that took place on the campus in the aftermath of the tragedy. This is a must watch to remember.

Remembering Virginia Tech - One Year Later
This is an honest post written by Eugene E. Cho today, reflecting on why this tragedy means so much to his life as a Korean.

When Answers Aren't Enough: Experiencing God as Good When Life Isn't
This is a book by my friend Matt Rodgers.  He is one of the current pastors of the [nlcf].  This book just came out at the beginning of this month, it's about the Virginia Tech Massacre.  Philip Yancey writes about this book, "Tempered by tragedy, Matt Rodgers explores both doubt and hope, and emerges with compassionate wisdom."  It might be a good read for you as a way to remember.

A Day of Remembrance
This is the site at Virginia Tech that shares the names of each of the Hokies that were victims, along with events that are taking place to remember.

A Recommended Read in Light of the Upcoming Anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre

It is coming up on the first anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the worse massacre in modern U.S. history.  This tragedy has held a special place in my heart for many reasons. One reason being that the first church that God had me plant was [nlcf] at Virginia Tech. Those thirteen years serving the campus shaped my life deeply and many of the people and memories are ingrained in my heart forever.

By God's grace, I was able to make it down to Virginia Tech the same day the massacre occurred, because the Lord already had me on the East Coast.  While I was there, I took the time to blog about what I was seeing and feeling at the time, so that others might be able to get a larger view of what was happening, beyond the common media.  The whole week is captured on one entry I entitled: Remembering Virginia Tech: The Week in Review.

In light of this tragedy and others that have happened since, one of the pastors from our church at Virginia Tech [nlcf] was asked by Zondervan to write a book.  Matt Rodgers is not just a great guy, but he is a deep thinker and a heart felt writer. And as the publisher says, "Many books have dealt with the theological and intellectual question, "How can God be good when the world isn't?" But when tragedy strikes, and the pain passes from theoretical to personal, answers can feel hollow and empty."

My friend Matt writes, "There is a level of grief in life which, as Rich Mullins observed, 'would not hurt any less, even if it could be explained.'  I'm a pastor; I know how to reconcile a god God with an often evil world.  I could give those answers in my sleep.  But what should I do when simple solutions fail to satisfy?  When the sadness is heavy and sinking, and answers aren't enough?  How do I find peace in a messed up world?  I believe God is good.  But how do I experience him as good when grief is raining down?

The book is entitled: When Answers Aren't Enough: Experiencing God as Good When Life Isn't.  I would encourage you to order it from Amazon today - the official date of its release. (The book has already hit #359 in Amazon's sales ranking, as of 11:43 a.m. Pacific Time 4.1.08, and #145 at 3:26 p.m. Pacific Time)  It will be a helpful book to read and to pass on to people. By getting it now, you might be able to pass it on to people you know who have experienced a tragedy in their life and give it to someone who may be reliving this tragedy on its anniversary. Here is Matt Rodger's Website, if you want to learn a little more about him.

Your Thoughts

So I am working hard this week, as this is finals week for me at Fuller.  I am reading and writing like a mad man.  I am not only writing for classes these days, but over a month ago I was commissioned by someone to do some writing for their denomination.  He had read some of the things I wrote and thought that it should have a wider reading.  It is going to be six little books dealing with the equippers in Ephesians chapter four.  (I should note that these are a series of workbooks, so they will have that kind of style) The first book is an overview and the other five books will deal with each of the equippers.  Today my friend sent me a copy of the covers to get my opinion.  And now I am posting them here to get your feedback.  Let me know what you think. Keep in mind this particular set is for a particular audience that my friend knows well.  If I were decide to in the future to put this all in one book it may take a very different form.  So now you have a little sense of the audience and work. You have a couple of days to give feedback.  I will be sharing with him my feedback this coming Monday.  I'm not personally attached to anything so be honest. Thanks for your help.  Click the image for a larger view.

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 6

  Scenic* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

One of the areas we need to develop a rule or rhythm of life in is the area of community.  One of my favorite quotes about our need for community comes from the pen of C.S. Lewis when he says, ""To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it up carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable... The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers... of love is hell."

"I consider that life passed in company with a number of persons in the same habitation is more advantageous [than solitary living]. - The Long Rules of St. Basil

"You will find a source of wisdom and spiritual joy in the feasts of the Church.  The year is crowned with the signs of God's goodness.  If you celebrate these feasts with the Church then your own life and suffering, your enthusiasm and work, your  dying and rising and your waiting for the Lord will receive significance and impact." - Rule for a New Brother

"Christ, the Word made flesh, gives himself to us visibly in the Sacrament.  Therefore nourish yourself with the meal of thanksgiving, the Holy Communion, and do not forget that it is offered to the sick of the People of God.  It is there for you who are always weak and infirm." - The Rule of Taize

"The advice of a devout sage is a great asset...No matter how much you esteem your strength of will, place yourself under the direction of another." - The Rule of Comgall

Here is my rhythm of life in the area of spiritual community for this coming year.  As you read through this, take some time to consider your rhythm of life in the area of community.

SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY

• Worship regularly with my spiritual community at Kairos Hollywood, taking the time to focus on God, remember and reenact the story of God through the Christian calendar, as well as partake of the Eucharist weekly

• Practice the craft of what it means to embody the ministry of reconciliation

• Have regular meaningful connection with my fellow leaders in the church for support, confession as well as oversight of the church

• Make at least one connection a week with my various spiritual advisors

• Meet at least quarterly with a pastors support group outside of my local church

• Take time each week to spend with people who refresh me

The next area we will look at deals with our body.  Stay tuned.

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 4

  Scenic* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

Today as we continue our series on developing a rhythm or rule of life, we are going to look at the area of work - our vocation.  Before sharing my rhythm of life in regard to work, I thought I would share with you some ancient thoughts about work as it relates to different communities who have developed a rhythm of life from Farrington's book  Living Faith Day by Day.

"By choosing to work as hard as possible, but not more than you ought, not primarily in view of a perishable end but one that last for ever, you are to stand free and challenging in a world where work has been overrated into a religion ad often into a sacred cow..." - The Jerusalem Community Rule of Life

"When the day's work is ended, thanksgiving should be offered for what has been granted us or for what we have done rightly therein..." - The Long Rules of St. Basil

"Discover for yourself what seems to be the most fruitful field for you." - Rule for New Brother

As I share my rhythm of life in regard to work, think about what your's might look like.

WORK

• Pray regularly for the congregations I serve, our focus points, as well as what God has called me to do, helping lead our congregations to fulfill our destiny

• Take time each week to listen to the Spirit through my staff and community

• Take a monthly time to consider ways to better steward my time and money, as well as take care of my relationships

• Accept the gift of limits by monthly reviewing the chapter in The Emotional Healthy Church and take the time to assess my emotional health as well as the emotional health of the church I serve

• Seek the applause of God while at the same time applauding the efforts of others and humbly thanking people when complimented, without letting it enlargen my head

• Take time monthly to review my mentoring relationships and review the notes that I have written in the area of mentoring   

So how would you write your rhythm of life in the area of your vocation?  I would like to close this entry with a prayer from the book of Common Prayer: 

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

In part five of this series we will look at the area of study. 

Developing a Rhythm of Life - Part 2

  Scenic* 
  Originally uploaded by imapix

So, as I share with you my rhythm of life or this year in the various categories, I am also encouraging you to work through developing your own rhythm of life in regards to habits that can help shape you into the kind of person that God is calling you to become.

Farrington mentions, "Many of the ancient rules, and even some of the contemporary ones, include very detailed descriptions of various requirements of the rule: the specific hours for prayers, the exact number of Psalms to be read, the amount of bread to be eaten, the number of hours spent in reading, and hundreds of other details.  Other rules, such as St. Augustine's, provide only broad guidelines that are subject to individual interpretation, rather than detailed schedules and procedures.  How much structure you require in your rule is up to you; each of us operates differently."

So for example, perhaps you consider yourself a morning person there are certain habits that you prefer to engage in during the early hours of the day.  If this is the case, then you could reflect that in your rhythm of life.  Perhaps you operate best on a regular schedule, if so, being more specific could be really helpful.  Maybe you are the more spontaneous type, then being more general might be good.

What I would suggest is that you have some general and specific practices that you engage in.  Try it out for a month, and then see what is working for you.  Develop a rhythm of life ought to have some fluidity to it. 

One of the rules for a new "brother" in the way of St. Francis was, "You want to seek God with all your life, and love Him with all your heart... To choose God is to realize that you are known and loved in a way surpassing anything one can imagine, loved before anyone had thought of you or spoken of your name."

One last bit of advice for today when it comes to developing a rhythm in life, before I share with you my first category - God.  Farrington says, "Two things are important to consider in setting a rule for yourself:  paying attention to your heart’s desires and being realistic.  Taking both of these into account through prayer, meditation, and conversation with others, and using both of them to discern your rule, will help you develop a rule you can live with for a lifetime.” 

GOD

• Start and the day with God through a Psalm of the day.  Here are the Psalms of the day for this year:  Sunday: Ps. 24 Monday: Ps. 19, Tuesday: Ps. 82, Wednesday: Ps. 139 Thursday: Ps. 23, Friday: Ps. 40 Saturday: Ps. 63.  I desire to let the Psalmist teach me how to pray more honestly and about everything

• Throughout the day remember all of the good gifts that God has given me through prayer and thanking people verbally as well as in written form

• End the day with a simplified version of Ignatius practice:  Stop, Look and Listen.  To stop is to slow down in order pay attention to what God is doing.  To look is relive the day, looking at what God is doing around me.  Thinking about what was life giving and life draining, where I walked with Christ and where I didn't.     To listen is to allow the Spirit to speak to me, to encourage me, guide me, or admonish me

• A couple times a month seek God through prayer and fasting

So take the time to think about this area and what practices you want to engage in when it comes to your relationship with God.  Our next category will be prayer, which like most other areas, is vitally connecting to God as well, but focused on prayer in particular.

Developing a Personal Rhythm of Life

Scenic*
Originally uploaded by imapix

Last year I developed what is known as a rule of life or what some call a rhythm of life, which is as Marjorie Thompson says, "is a pattern o spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness. When we speak of patterns in our life, we mean attitudes, behaviors, or elements tha are routine, repeated, regular. Indeed, the Latin term for "rule" is regula, from which our words regular and regulate derive."

Another quote that will help you think about what a rule or rhythm of life is all about comes from Marjorie Thompson, where she says, “The caterpillar must yield up the life it knows and submit to the mystery of interior transformation. It emerges from the process transfigured, with wings that give it freedom to fly. …A rule of life gives us a way to enter into the life-long process of personal transformation. Its disciplines help us to shed the familiar but constricting “old self’ and allow our “new self” in Christ to be formed – the true self that is naturally attracted to the light of God.”

As I lay out my rhythm of life for this coming year, I will be looking developing a rule for these eight categories: God, Prayer, Work, Study, Community, Body, Outward and Hospitality. These categories come from a book entitled Living Faith Day by Day by Debra Farrington. So as I share with you my rhythm of life, I hope you will take the time to develop a rhythm of life in each of these areas as well. I will give a little guidance as we embark on this journey together.

A Mosaic of Faces of Friends

There are a number of social networks around, but so far I have found facebook to be one of the more meaningful and helpful ones.  I spend more time blogging than on any social network, but I have found facebook helpful in many ways.  It has helped me to keep up with old friends, help local friends know about upcoming events and other friends about good causes to be aware of.  Here is my profile and a number of faces of my friends.

   

Silence and Solitude

  Solitude 
  Originally uploaded by Accretion Point

I am going to be taking three days for silence, solitude and meditation with a desire to connect freshly with God, to listen and to get a sense of direction.

I posted a number of entries ahead of time, so there will be fresh entries over the next couple of days, but I will not be giving any responses because I won't have any access to internet.

Feel free to still leave your response, but just be patient for me to give a response.

If you remember and have some time, please keep me in your prayers.

Mentoring Part V

  underground luminaissance 
  Originally uploaded by TommyOshima

While there are many kinds of mentors we may have in life and many ways to mentor others, if you have ever had a hard time finding a mentor, you can always take advantage of historical mentors.  Historical mentors are people who we wish to emulate in some ways, who have already passed on.

In my last entry on mentoring, I shared ten of my historical mentors with you.  Here are ten more and some of what I appreciate about them.   

Some Historical Mentors
Corrie Tin Boom - her bravery in hiding Jewish people during the holocaust and her forgiving heart, being able to forgive the guard who killed her family when she meet him

Mahatma Gandhi - his willingness to follow the way of Jesus better than most of us who call ourselves Christians

Dietrich Bonhoeffer - his work in the underground church during WWII and his understanding and focus on discipleship, the cross and living at the margins of society

Soren Kierkegaard - his uncanny ability to think deeply and write life-transforming parables

Henri Nouwen - his ability to integrate spirituality with psychology, ministry and theology.  How wholeness comes through brokenness, ministry is strong through weakness and holiness comes through suffering

Karl Barth - his writing the theology for the underground church in Germany and his ability to study the history of theology and culture and develop a theology for today   

Blaise Pascal - who shares great thoughts on the hiddenness of God, reason, revelation and how it is worth "betting" on God

St. Francis of Assisi - his passionate life of simple beauty, I recently had a whole series of post about him

John Howard Yoder - his understanding of Jesus as the prince of peace

Leslie Newbigin - his opening up the mind of the west for her need to be missional and how he dialogues with other faiths in a Trinitarian kind of way

Imagination Needed

  Morning Street 
  Originally uploaded by Jon .

For the last couple of years I have been asking God to teach me, to guide me, to help me birth something new, something fresh, something life-giving.  Giving birth always involves pain.  Giving birth involves waiting.  Giving birth requires a baby to be in the dark.  Giving birth takes time. Giving birth brings joy, because with new birth come new eyes, new ears and a new world.

What I have been thinking about for the last couple of years, I am trying to intensively focus on for the next few days in particular.  I will be immersing myself in a cocoon of study, swimming in words of missional eccleisiology, with the hopes that God would plant some fresh seeds in my heart that would birth something new. For the purpose of being in a cocoon is not to stay there, but to come out as something different.

One book I am engaging with now is Kester Brewin's book signs of Emergence.  It is a book that contains story and poetry in a way to open up our imagination.  Imagination is one of the things needed in the church today.  Here is one poem from his book worth contemplating, and a prayer from Vaux liturgy.

THE GREAT REVERSAL
Walking with the crowds
Carried along by the pressing forward.
Each one eager to get ahead
But each one starting the same:
Born as a baby, and from then on, struggling towards
       meaning, power and influence.
Be someone
Be remembered
Make a big impression
Leave some indelible mark in your 3 score years and 10

From birth, a struggle to find eternity, to burst
      through life with such dazzling intensity, that
      everyone will remember forever.
But walking the other way, picking out a route
      against the crowds, a solitary figure passes me...
      passes all of us - all straining away innocence, to
      be someone,
And he passes us, a quiet chaos in the crowd.

Christ, eternal, omniscient, creator, beyond time,
      source of wisdom and beyond petty claims of
      influence... in very nature God, slips into reverse
      and walks back past us - away from Kingship,
      away from power, away from influence, away from
      eternity, away from wisdom... towards infancy.
Calmly stepping into the body of a tiny child.

And even as this baby grows, figuring out how to control
      the body he himself designed, he still walks the
      other way, realizing that life cannot be found in the
      struggle for permanence, but in giving it up.

This Great Reversal subverts me.  Tired of pressing
      forward, I realize I need to turn, for what I have
      been searching for has just walked past me the
      other way.   

PRAYER
Infinite God we have struggled to make our marks on this world.
We confess that this has often led to trampling on others;
rushing for seats on the train; pushing in front; me first.
Infinite God teach us about the great reversal; lead us into self-less-ness.
In this city straining towards success help us to live a different way in the simple things: courtesy, honesty, humility.

Crucified God in the bread we remember your body broken,
given up so that we might live. In eating it we commit to the way of sacrifice.
In the wine we remember your blood shed,
poured out to reverse our wrong doings. In drinking it we commit to the way of forgiveness.

Amen.

East Hollywood Election Results

  That's Hollywood 
  Originally uploaded by tata_aka_T

So, some of you have asked how the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council Elections went.  I just wanted to let you know that I did get elected and that each of the candidates that I endorsed were elected, aside from one candidate who was a write in running against others who were on the ballot.  He only lost by two votes.

Now comes the hard work, transforming the neighborhood.

Halloween in Hollywood

  something scary in Los Angeles 
  Originally uploaded by incendiarymind

It is interesting to me that the biggest party time of the year here in Los Angeles is not New Year's Eve, not Christmas, not Easter, but HALLOWEEN.  There are huge parties everywhere, especially in West Hollywood.  People come from all around to celebrate Halloween here.

Today my friend Chris and I went to lunch down the road and on the way back decided to stop by this costume place right down the road from where I live (I live on Hollywood Blvd in East Hollywood).  While we were at the costume shop it turns out that Ricky Martin was picking up his costume for the night.  My friend's cousin really likes Ricky so he asked him if he could have his picture with him.  I snapped it on my iphone.  Just another day here in Hollywood. 

I called my friend in the paparazzi, but it was too late, for by the time I got a hold of her, Ricky was gone. One of the interesting ministries I get to engage in by living in Hollywood is connecting with people who have the most interesting vocations.  In my desire to live incarnationally and to build bridges with people so that Jesus might walk from my heart to theirs,  I sometimes hang with people at their jobs.  Last week I did that with a guy in the paparazzi.  It made for a very interesting day.  Who said ministry couldn't be fun.  Sometimes it is too fun to be legal.

I enjoyed this little piece by Richard Mouw (Pres. of Fuller) on Halloween.  Here is a portion of it: 

"I’m not a hardline Christian critic of Halloween. For the most part it strikes me as fairly innocent fun. I was even quoted in USA TODAY a few years ago as wishing that the Christians who warn against the celebration of Halloween would lighten up a bit.

But I will not be doing any trick-or-treating or going to any Halloween parties again this year. I do plan, however, to have my own quiet observance of the Protestant Reformation. Even though Reformation Day seems to be getting less attention each year, it does happen around the same time as Halloween.

Actually, the Reformation and Halloween have some things in common. At their origins both were addressed to the power of evil in the world.

Halloween traces back to a time when folks believed that this is a time of the year when the spirits of the dead are roaming the earth, and they need to be placated by treats in order to ward off their malevolent tricks..." Check here if you want to read the rest.

Favorite Flickr Photos

Click to Enlargen

Every now and again, I like to share the last couple of dozen photos I have added to my favorites on flickr.  Here is another installment of my favorite Flickr photos.  I guess today is all about photography.

From Maryland and Delaware

  Maryland State House Annapolis 15734 
  Originally uploaded by thw05

I've been on the East Coast for a board meeting in Maryland with the Ecclesia Network and a conference in Delaware that we hosted with Scot McKnight as our guest speaker.  The topic of the conference was Re-Jesusing the Church.  Scot talked about the The Missional Jesus through the eyes of Luke as well as some thoughts from his new book entitled A Community Called Atonement. 

I had a great time getting some face to face time with Scot and his wife Kris.  They are a great couple, fun and enjoyable to be around and talk with.  During my time with them I took some time to interview Scot on two topics: Blogging and Jesus. So next week you can look forward to my entries that contain those interviews.  I think you will find them stimulating.

Become More Eco-Friendly Through GreenDimes

Have you heard about GreenDimes?

My roommate and I just signed up for this.  Not only is it great for the environment, but how great will it be to cut out most of your junk mail?  Here is how they put it:

"GreenDimes is a company that decided to stop junk mail. For good.  Over 100 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water will be lost this year alone for the junk mail that comes to US residents.  In their first ten months alone they have stopped over 1 million pounds of junk mail and planted over 250,000 trees.

The GreenDimes Do-Not-Mail Petition will take less than 1 minute to complete. Also, the GreenDimes Junk Mail Reduction Kit can reduce up to 90% of the junk mail you get at your home."

A Prayer When You Need Rest

  Time for rest 
  Originally uploaded by AmmarQ8.com

This week has been another very full week.  I was up past 3 a.m. at least four times this week preparing for our 4th year anniversary at Kairos Los Angeles and doing my normal weekly schedule.  I am still trying to catch up on my e-mails, which rarely get under 1,500 unanswered.  Anybody have some good suggestions on how to keep up with e-mails these days?  The technology is both a blessing and a curse for me.  I am up to date on answering phone calls, so if you need to get a hold of me for something, phone is the best way.

With e-mails I am keeping current with new ones but I have some old ones I have yet to answer, so please forgive me if you have yet to hear from me.  I want to get to them.

I am happy to say that I almost always take a Sabbath Day rest and this week I was able to go surfing at one of my favorite spots.  I was able to get 10 good rides.  It was a great day for me.  I took another church planting friend along with me this past week.  Also on Friday, I was able to take my monthly day-get-away of silence and solitude, where I took some time to pray and meditate on the scripture.

In light of this past week and this being Sabbath day for many (mine is typically Thursday because the nature of my vocation) I have the following prayer from Eddie Askew, one of my favorite people I go to learn how to pray honestly besides the psalmists and Eugene Peterson.

"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."  - Jesus (Mark 6:31)

A PRAYER
Lord, I'm tired.  Exhausted.
Sometimes I wonder how I find the strength.
So much to do, so little time and energy.
And always one thing more,
nagging at the back of my mind like toothache.
Unwelcome yet hard to ignore.

I buzz around, a frantic fly
battering the window pane
until I fall exhausted to the sill.
All noise and movement but so little done.
And in the effort to respond
to all the calls that others make
I find I'm losing touch with you.
The crowds get in between.
The more I do for you
the further off you seem.
A paradox until I hear your voice,
not asking more of me
but telling me to find a breathing space,
a place to rest.

And in the quiet you are there.
No accusations,
and no suggestions that I could do more.
And as we sit together
I being to realize that many of the demands I face
are self-imposed.  They're mine.
Born out of ego,
and the guilt I feel when I can't cope
comes from my pride and not from you.

Forgive me, Lord...
because I ask more of myself than you do.
And when I'm faced with something
I just can't find the energy to do
give me the honesty to face the fact
that maybe you're not asking it of me.
You made the world,
it wasn't me
and, valued as I am,
it's you who keeps it going.

by Eddie Askew - Cross Purposes