Beautiful...

...What we can and must do in the present, if we are obedient to the gospel, if we are following Jesus, and if we are indewlt, energized, and directed by the Spirit, is to build for the kingdom. This brings us back to 1 Corinthians 15:58 once more: what you do in the Lord is not in vain. You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that's about to roll off a cliff. You are not resoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown in the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that's about to be dug up for a building site. You are--strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself--accomplishing something new that will become in due course part of God's new world. Every act of love, gratitude,and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or to walk; every act of care and fir that matter one's fellow human beings, and for that matter, one's fellow nonhuman creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honored in the world--all of this will find its way, throguh the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation God will make. That is the logic of the mission of God. God's recreation of his wonderful world, which began with the resurrection of Jesus and continues mysteriously as God's people live in the risen Christ and in the power of his Spirit, means that what we do in Christ and by the Spirit in the present is not wasted. It will last all the way to God's new world. In fact, it will be enhanced there. -Surprised by Hope, NT Wright

My Life is like...

a never-ending "choose your own adventure" book...

...Always changing...

[I will be in Traverse City for two days [Aug 26, 27]. Why? Well, my baby brother (16 years old) asked me to come see him. And I want to see him. Plus, Vinny is scheduled for an appt. up there in the morning on the 26th. But honestly? As soon as my brother asked me to come up and see him, he became my focus. If you want to get together, I have time open in the afternoon on the 27th]


My life lately has taken an a theme of restoration. Sure, there is a self-element to this theme, but it's much larger than me. I have become the hands and feet of restoration; learning what love looks like lived out here in this way. Restoring relationships that encountered some kind of schism, restoring hope to some who are sensing darkness looming, restoring shalom (or at least assisting in its restoration) to youth who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, restoring wonder and beauty and and love as the foundations of life with God.

It's an idea that, when you think about it, is so simple and easy and yet so challenging and demanding, all at the same time.

Think about it.