Dream Awakener

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

Heinz 57 Spirituality Series

This series is designed to understand the type of spirituality that will enable us to become more like Jesus.  We will discover the various ways in which culture influences us, but also how to develop counter-cultural communities that bring a sense of joy, justice and peace.

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part I
The goal of spiritual transformation is to become more like Jesus

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part II
A look on how spiritual transformation happens

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part III
Understanding the power of culture and counter-culture

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part IV
An introduction to the five seven matrix

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part V
Understanding Heinz 57 Spirituality through different tables

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part VI
Living Out our Calling - Sabbath

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part VII
Walking with God - Fasting

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part VIII
Incarnating the Good News - Hospitality

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part IX
Pursuing Wholeness in Community - Confession

Heinz 57 Spirituality Part X
Shaped by the Sacred Text - Worship
Plus Summary

Are You Satisfied?

  the birth of a better Day 
  Originally uploaded by a COWsignal from outer space.

I find today's question at ON FAITH, hosted by the Washington Post and Newsweek interesting.  This is the question that they posed to people of various faith's.   

THE QUESTION
Are you satisfied with where you are now in your life?

SOME RESPONSES
Satisfied? Never. Grateful? Forever. - George Stephanopoulus
There are a whole lot of things about my life I wish I could change, improve, alter or eradicate.

I am content, but not satisfied - Cal Thomas
I can always do better in my work, as well as be a better person in my inner character and outer relationships.  If you're satisfied, you will never grow.

Of course I am, Of course I'm not. - N.T. Wright
Am I 'satisfied'? Of course I am; I'm not grumbling; many people would cheerfully change places with me.  But of course not, not at all.  I would love to be able to pray for longer and with more depth.  I would love to know the Bible much, much better.  I would love to be a wiser pastor...

Satisfied and Full of Gratitude - Chuck Colson
The answer is an unequivocal yes.  Thirty-four years ago, after the shame and tragedy of Watergate, I was converted to Jesus Christ.

The Journey is the Destination - Salman Ahmad
I'm constantly challenged by the unpredictability of life, but this 3-step method helps me to refocus towards my purpose.

Here you can find the other responses from the panel.

MY RESPONSE
For me, I would say I am thankful for so many things, yet I have what some have called a holy discontentment.

I'm thankful that God was able to break through to my life in a dramatic way, over twenty years ago,  and begin to help me become a more like the hero of my life - Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful for God's rich provision of friends and family here in Los Angeles and around the world.  I'm thankful for the many ways that God has used me and provided for me.  God has certainly given me more than what I deserve.

Yet, I hate the fact that right now so many people are suffering in the world; whether it be hunger, disease, war, loss, emotional wounds or interpersonal conflict.  I hate the fact that I am not doing more to relieve the pain in the world.

I have a hunger to know Jesus better, a desire to be more self-aware, to be more like Christ and to be used to bring more of heaven to earth. I want to be a greater blessing to my local congregation, and to the neighborhood in which I live.  I want to exercise more, surf more, learn more, create more, care more, pray more, plant more churches and live more authentically. 

I want to see more of the world, meet more people, and grow in the art of photography.  I want to help see more churches in the west partner with churches in developing countries, in a way that makes the both of us richer.  I want to tend "the garden" better and consume less. I want to be a better friend, a better pastor and a better coach of churches and church planters.  And last, but not least, I desire to become a better writer and blogger.

While I experience a holy discontentment, I have to say that I am enjoying the journey.  God is good, and I know He will continue to do his work in and through me until the day I see Him face to face.

HOW ABOUT YOU?
What about you? How would you answer the question?

Coming Home to LA

PHOTOGRAPHY by JR WOODWARD (except the one I'm in)

Whenever I take trips for work or for pleasure (like my recent trip to China with my friend Sander, who makes a great travel mate), I always find it refreshing to come home.  Here are some reasons why I call Los Angeles home:

1. I have many good friends here
2. My primary ministry is here
3. My church family is here
4. My neighborhood  “East Hollywood” is here
5. I’m familiar with the city
6. LA is a microcosm of the world, so I feel in touch with the world
7. My favorite walk-in bookstores in the world (Fuller Bookstore and Archives Bookstore) are here
8. My apartment is here and my favorite books are in my apartment
9. It is great to practice photography here, even drive-by photography
10. The mountains, beach and desert are here (I thoroughly enjoy at least two of these, the third is interesting)
11. Both beauty and grittiness are here
12. Every kind of food in the world is here (click through the by cuisine section)
13. Great live bands are here, many bands got there start at these clubs
14. There are many great places to surf here
15. There are many places of interest here
16. A wide variety of people live here, people from 140 different countries who speak 224 languages, most speak some English - the LA Almanac has a bunch of interesting stats
17. The rest of California if close by here (including some secluded places)
18. It doesn’t take long to get to LAX to fly anywhere in the world and come back here (LAX handles more"origin and destination" (i.e. not connecting) passengers than any other airport in the world, according to Wikipedia.)
19. Practically all of the time we have great weather here (though lately we’ve had a heat wave)
20. Jesus is here and He is my true home; Yeah, He is wherever you happen to live as well, you just have to tune into Him.

Key Words That Brought You Here

This is a picture of the last twenty key words that people have put into the search engine to get to this site:

WHITEOUT

My friend Chad just sent me a connection to a cool surfing video, giving me inspiration to go surfing this next week.  This video is less than 2 minutes long and super cool.  It has already been viewed 118,193 times.  Make that 118,194 times.  So check it out.  At peak hours it may take a little while to download.

This past year, with all of my traveling, it has been tough to carve out time for surfing.  But I am planning on going out this next week with my friend Linus. I'm looking forward to hitting the waves.