stories from the road of faith

With permission of a close friend, I am sharing this email with my fellow travelers on the road of faith.

Last Friday I was driving from Denver to Colorado Springs in a little 1994 LeBaron (picture it...not very studly). Right outside a little town called Monument, the serpentine belt slipped off and the temperature gage shot up. I drove it to the only mechanic in the town and had a rental agency come deliver a car while he kept mine for the weekend.

Getting back on the freeway, in a much nicer ride, I saw and old Indian or Hispanic man with luggage standing by the road. I just had a strong feeling I was supposed to pick him up and give him a ride. Maybe it was because I had just experienced the desperation of not having transportation. As it turns out, he was on his way back to Phoenix after visiting a relative that was sick in Denver. His name was Ordell Iron Shell. After some small talk about his native Indian culture he told me how similar some of the old Indian spiritual lessons were to those found in Jesus' teachings. Then he spent the rest of the way to Colorado Springs telling me how Jesus had changed his life after being in the military. He explained several ways he's experienced having new life in Christ...being dead to self but alive in Him. He sang one of the Christian worship songs he has set to traditional Indian rhythms/chants and told me how he is focused on sharing Christ’s message through his music.

Listening to this extremely optimistic and focused man caused the trip to pass really quickly. I dropped him off in a parking lot close to where the Interstate splits toward Phoenix. He thanked me and I thanked him for reminding me how God cares for us in all situations, especially those in which we can’t see the future. I drove off with him standing at the edge of a big restaurant parking lot sprinkled with cars. As I made a U-turn, I thanked God for the image of a man that had “nothing”…no transportation, no financial security, no impressive job tile…but who continued to openly praise God. After making the quick U-turn, I glanced back to wave. The big lot was still sprinkled cars, but I didn’t see Ordell anywhere. I thought about the scripture of “entertaining angels an our midst” and just thanked God for my powerful life lesson.

After reading this I couldn't help to realize that the One who holds all things together is larger than I could ever image, but small enough to squeeze into the knicks and crannies of everyday life.

May you experience great joy no matter what lurks just around the curve of life.

we're all travelers on the road of faith

Today was so beautiful. The sunrise service at Lake Ella was just inspirational. We worshiped in song and prayer in remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus with our family and with family from Watermark and other neighboring churches.

We celebrated God’s restoration project by walking around the Lake and observing all of his creation. It was in the cool of the morning, did we hear the steps of the LORD among us?

Maybe it was the fountain springing forth from the water that gave the sense that we were walking on holy ground or maybe it was the love of our our family enjoying a worship time together or maybe it was both.


At Maclay Gardens we once again returned to remember where it all began, in the garden. As we walked through the rows of flowers and shrubbery, Darla commented, “This must have been what it was like to walk in the way God intended it to be.” I agreed.

Just as we were about to leave, we stopped at the gazebo looking over Lake Hall. We came upon a young man and woman. He was reading a bible, she was leaning back talking on her cell phone. We talked for several minutes about life and God. It was really amazing. We shared our journeys. We realized that all of us knew that there could be something more to this walk of faith than just going to a building once a week. They also were into the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith. As we drew our conversation to an end we prayed and thanked God for his goodness and for Yeshua. It was an amazing time of community. We will continue to remember Tim and his sister Bethany as they walk out their expression of faith and love in their local community.

Today was truly a day that the One who holds all things together has made! Amen

return to the Garden

Last year, as a tribe of the Zoo people, the Winn family made a tradition breaking exploration to celebrate the Day when the way it is in Heaven broke through on earth. It is a day to celebrate, a day when Love covered a multitude of hate, Good defeated evil, and when life conquered death. In America, we call this day Easter.

For the first time in many years, we woke up Easter morning not in a frenzy or frantic pace to adorn ourselves in our newly purchased attire, but in a state of anticipation of what the day might hold for our family. Packing up a basket of food and drinks, we made our way to Maclay Gardens. I had been thinking about how truly brilliant the Creator is, and how he crafted the most life-giving message that began and climaxed in the setting of a garden. So off we set to find ourselves in the story of the garden, literally.

“The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.” Genesis 2:8

A garden is a place of fully loaded potential. On many levels a garden is a place where something comes from the source of all things. What was once just dirt becomes an incredible organic mystery. The garden is where Hope emerges.

“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.” John 19:41

As we roam this earth and see all the death and decay, it is easy to question whether or not all the good, the fully load potential, has been pushed out or destroyed. But alas, Hope is not lost, for someone has restored the original beauty of the garden. He is One.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!" John 20:15

So once again, we will find our way to Maclay Gardens this Sunday to celebrate the LORD’s Day. With our hopes alive, we will look to find Him, and see that He is with us. With His fully charged potential, we will grow as a one, a family, the core of community.

No matter where you plan to be this Sunday, may you find yourself in the story of the Garden. May the Gardner of souls make His face shine upon you. And may you know his Love once more anew.

catalyst....or......conductor

Actively bringing about a change...or ...Keepin’ it all in line

Catalyst...or ...Conductor

Moses…or …Aaron

Who are you?

the cactus story continues

About nine months ago we started a thread on the Ooze.com labeled "church planting," we had no idea where the journey would take us. There was a post about a Cactus, a wedding gift that Darla and I had been given nearly 14 years ago. The gift was a small cactus in a 5-gallon planter. The cactus saw 9 different homes in our first 10 years of marriage. Needless to say the cactus is a good metaphor for our marriage, sometimes prickly and other times it is the aloe of healing like no other natural remedy.

It wasn't until moving to Tallahassee that we finally planted it in our garden. This picture is the cactus after our surgery some nine months ago when we removed some branches that were too heavy, causing the plant to fall over and to start to uproot itself. It must have really needed pruning.

After removing the branches, we placed them in a wheelbarrow and put them in our garage. It took some very careful preparation and care to deal with these prickly branches. In our marriage, we have also carefully given each other space to grow and grapple with our own thorny inner demons.

Over the last few months the branches have started growing in the wheelbarrow. I am just blown away by how this cactus can grow inside my garage with no water, no soil, and very little sunlight.


Sometimes new growth comes in the most hostile environment. There must be something special inside that cactus that can cause it to withstand being out of its natural habitat. (I can't help but to think our spiritual journey from the "institution of church" into "becoming the church.")

As Darla shared in her post about our oldest daughter giving up "running to home plate," we are really beginning to see growth in our marriage and our children as we have been in this season of "intensive family care." Thank you to the One who wants to heal our souls, our families, and all our relationships. He has done good things for us!

Is this cactus gospel ready to go mobile? Can it be planted into the rich soil of those who want to receive the seed of Jesus and his incredible message of hope and restoration? This is my prayer.

We also planted a couple of sprouts in two more large 5-gallon planters and here is what they look like today.

Every day I walk by the wheelbarrow in the garage and the plants in our garden and I wonder when the time will come to go out and plant more? What are we waiting for? I think we are just scared we are going to mess it up or something... I pray for courage and humility. I pray for wisdom and guidance. Did I mention we also have 5 bags of 40 pound potting soil in our garage too?

noticeably different

“When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, he gathered them together at Mt. Sinai in order to give them the law (the Way). He instructed them, through Moses, about what it meant to be his special people. The law was not a way for Israel to earn God's favor; rather, the law was meant to tell Israel how to live so that they would show the rest of the world what it meant to serve the living and true God. In his Commentary on Exodus, Old Testament Scholar John Durham writes that to be a holy nation meant to be "set apart, different than all the other people by what they ate and what they are becoming, a display people, a showcase to the world of how being in covenant relationship with Yahweh changes people." Allen M. Wakabayashi author of Kingdom Come

You know I always heard the "set apart" as a way of justifying the Christian sub-culture. But now I hear it differently, more as "noticeably different" but still right in the middle of current culture to "put on display" the Way of living in harmony with God and restoring His creation.

“So when God gave Israel laws about how to treat one another and how to treat the alien, the poor, the orphan, and the widow, God did not mean to say, "Ok, you do this; then you get into Heaven." Rather, he meant, "Do this to show the rest of the world what I am like and what I desire for humanity. Act in these ways so that the world knows that I desire loving relationships. Show them that I love the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the alien." The law was meant to reveal the true and living God to the world through his people.” A. Wakabayashi

Sad to say, most of the time I don’t feel “noticeably different,” but I really want to know the Way!

an invitation to the secret message of Jesus

Darla and I just ordered Brian McLaren’s new book The Secret Message of Jesus. I flipped through it at Barnes & Noble and it looks like a good book to wrestle with. We are opening up a discussion forum on theRealZoo mBoard for this book. Maybe this will give us some “off the map” territory to roam together. This might be a good way to explore questions, doubts or whatever as they come up. Our hope is that this will create some space for spectators to become participants in the uncharted waters of faith.

In addition to that topic, we also added a link to the daily Lexionary readings here (side colomn under the clock)and a corresponding discussion forum for the readings. I was encouraged by RJ’s reading of Jeremiah 31 on Sunday, and was compelled to seek out the history of the ancient liturgical readings. I find it somewhat romantic knowing that I am joining in with my brothers and sisters across the globe in reading the sacred text and praying the laments of the patriarchs of the faith. For our story is their story and their story is ours. May we all experience a deep connection with those who have come before us and with those who will come after us.

church 2 church

Tonight I had a great evening with some of my brothas’ and sistas’ from another motha’who meet in a rented coffee bar in mid-town Tallahassee as a new community of faith called Watermark. They have been sharing life together for about a year or so and have a small group of college/post-college folks who seem very interested in being Jesus to the community.

It was cool to come from “www” to the “real world” and connect with other disciples of Jesus. RJ, the guitar guy, introduced me as the guy he met online who has an online community of faith called theRealZoo. When he said that, I realized that an online community is just one slice of God’s Big Project that I see people of faith being called to be in the world today.

My dream is that theRealZoo will continue to be an online community but that also has real world connections with the people we find ourselves in natural connection with locally and nationally. From the schools our daughters go to, to the people we work with, and the places we patron every day like the Library or Tropical Smoothie are all part of theRealZoo community because when we are there we bring the community of faith with us. I believe we are all part of the mobile Gospel on the largest network of history.

It was good to sip and sing with the people of Watermark. I connected with RJ as he sang about “Help us Lord to love mercy, Help us to love justice, Help us to love all people.” I believed that RJ believes what he is singing, and that makes all the difference. This is the kind of people I would gladly join hands and hearts to serve the poor, the oppressed and marginalized in Tallahassee, Florida. May the One who holds all things together by his Word bring forth his plan in his timing and may we church to church partner with one another so that no needs go by unmet.

As we left, we had candles that we lit to represent our prayers of faith that the way of Jesus would be realized in the communities we call home. Thank you Michael Anthony, RJ, Stratton, Caleb, Jim, Dave, Trisha, Jim, Rob the tattoo guy for welcoming a total stranger into your community like a brother in the faith.

May each of you who read this find yourselves engaged in bringing Heaven to earth in whatever expression of faith the Creator calls you to be. May you be the good news wherever you go.

common grounds

Last night we had a little coffee caper. It was really great. We invited our friends from the library to try some samples from Stone Creek Coffee, since we all share the love of a good cup of coffee. Over the last few years we have developed a close relationship with them; there is just something about the library that just oozes community. I guess because the library is such a natural place for people to learn, read, and explore.

The librarians have a very service oriented attitude about them. As we sat and talked last night, our conversation gravitated toward the subject of “homeless people” in our area. Maybe it was steered there by the fact that in our dining room there is the painting I did of John Carryman, or maybe there was something else guiding our conversation. Our friends shared about the various experiences they have had with homeless people coming into the library, most of them seeking shelter from heat or cold. They too had come in contact with Bill (John Carryman’s real name).

Maybe our theme “common grounds” was quite appropriate, since we all have a common thread; we have all felt like at one time or another that we have no place to call home leaving us with a deep sense of loneliness.

I really don’t know what will come of our coffee caper, but I look forward to what happens next. I start volunteer computer tutoring there next Tuesday. I am glad to be associated with the people of the library and the good deeds that take place there.

has the Kingdom Come?

I am reading a great little nugget of a book Kingdom Come. It really is helping me to grapple with some of the difficult words of Jesus. Jesus says, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” Answering St. John’s question “are you the one or should we expect another?” Jesus says , "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." Matthew 11.

This being said, my daughters still get incredibly sick have awful skin infections and my friends suffer great affliction in life. So has the kingdom come? It seems as though it is not on earth as it is in Heaven.

As I was reading Kingdom Come this morning, I was reminded of a real life illustration. My daughter brought home a small seed planted in a cup. The cup has her name written on the front. Darla has been nudging that we should plant it in our garden. Well I have been some what reluctant to plant the thing because it is a cabbage seed. I don’t care for cabbage. Here are the facts, the seed is in the cup, the seed has all the potential to become a 40 pound cabbage plant if given the space to mature. The question is do I want it?

God has a little cup too. On the outside it reads Heaven and Earth. Inside the cup there is a seed. The seed is Jesus. Inside Jesus is the full germination potential to grow into the on earth as it is in Heaven reality. We have yet to fully realize the magnificent garden of fully restored lives. As Paul says to his fellow men “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed” Romans 8:19

Thank you Allen Wakabayashi for helping me to scratch another layer of the mystery of God, I think you had help!

collision of spiritual significance

What does it look like when on-Earth-as-it-is-in-Heaven breaks through? According to Jewish tradition the gap between what we call spiritual vs. secular was very thin. There was hardly any delineation between the two planes. The spiritual realm for the Jewish people was a plane on which things are as God intends them to be. In this heavenly realm things remain for eternity in their “original design” state. This “original design” state is not rigid but fluid in composition and is held together by the very being of God or by his will for it to be as he intends. The atmospheric reality of this plane is one of peace, not void of war, but a sphere of divine harmony where everything is connected or integrated into one another.

The second plane was an earthly realm. This earthly realm was also created by the very being of God or by his will with “original design” intent. The atmospheric reality of this plane was also to be one of peace with the same sphere of divine harmony where everything is connected or integrated into one another. This beautiful earthly realm was given to mankind to nurture, tame, and cultivate.

Driven by greed, throughout history, mankind has taken this gift and exploited and consumed all its resources to satisfy our lust for more. The divine sphere of how-God intended-it-to-be was fractured. So mankind roamed the earthly realm conquering it tree by tree, river by river, people by people building an empire for ourselves. Mankind’s vision was and still is to create a world where things are as we want them to be.

In history the first century B.C. was a symbolic epic climax of man’s world empire. An invisible collision, greater than any Richter scale could measure, shattered the momentum of man’s empire. Like a divine magnetic explosion, the forward progress of greed was being reversed, a reversal that results in the restoration of the “original design.”

Today we find ourselves in an internal dilemma, will we peddle the crack of greed or will we be the agents of restoration? Will we become agents restoring the sphere of divine harmony, where everything is connected or integrated into one another, restoring the beautiful earthly realm that was given to mankind to nurture, tame, and cultivate?

a different view

I hadn't watched it until tonight, but this video session with Rob Bell is in a nutshell the teaching that ruined Darla and I. And I mean that in the best way. We are ruined in being satisfied with the idea that just going to the church building is the height of the Christian life. We have been scratching our way into living the gospel today in a raw expression of faith in our little corner of north Tallahassee, Florida. When it happens, in the truest sense, it can't be explained. It's absolutely crazy. It's like a zoo! Hence the name "the real zoo," as a reminder of when we find ourselves in it. We don't have a clue as to what we are doing, but we are compelled to seek it where ever we are and where ever we go.

It is completely worth investing 40 minutes of your life time. There are a few more videos linked on the others on the journey page on therealzoo.com which is meant to be a big bucket of resources for those who want to take a swim in the deep pool of life.

365 degress of reflection

Today marks the one anniversary of stepping into the blogoshpere. Archive files make it easy to look backwards in order to see where we have been, maybe it will provide some direction as to where we are going or who we are becoming. Let’s peak inside:

March 05 - welcome to a relational space to ask questions without assuming the answers

April 05 - we are who we are, wherever we go, even to the Zoo

May 06 - inward journey… the first Abrahamic step of a meaningful journey of faith

October 05 - self-preservation vs. vulnerability in the context of community

November 05 - the deep root of the family circle – sharing life together – The homeless – John Carryman

December 05 - praying “on earth as it is in Heaven”
The Gospel has its own momentum; will I get in on The Amazing Invisible Project?
Anne Rice explores Jesus age 9, I remember fear and guilt at 10.
Narnia speaks!
(eNFp) Heralding the experiences of good and evil!
Courage to look into the unknown

January 06 – creative people must drink a cup of criticism now and then
Agents of good in a wreck of evil - entering the lament of King David
Face to Face sketch “wondering is a period of discovery and cleansing”
A slice of humble pie is hard to choke down – 2 degrees back on path
Friendship is the Blue Flame of Old sketch
Guilty of Murder you Idiot – controlling the thoughts of bitterness

February 06 – The journey of Alex and David begins
Handling the sacred scriptures with care not as a utility source
The passion of ONE
The earth-hands emerge – reading “Heaven is not my Home” by P. Marshall
Jealousy rears its ugly head like a venomous viper
Love take the wheel – a message from my valentine
A true community expressed in the “WORD” picture is my family
“the community you're longing for will be an extension of your love for Darla” Rob
Break on through to the other side…

March 06 – Lent for the 1st time – exploring what is separating me from LOVE
The hidden face of a Liar
Pay attention without going to sleep – Beholding a miracle by L. Kushner
Cleaning the inside of the bowl and the mildew on the outside of the house
Landscaping from the True Gardener
Confessional space heals the wounded heart
Alex and David – where are they going?
The Prayer of St. Patrick
The gospel goes mobile – the community of faith goes with us where ever we go
Loving the Complainer – joining the Exodus story

Well I guess looking back over the last year,

we have entered the creation story,
walked through the deconstruction steps just like Abraham,
and now we find ourselves in the wilderness with Moses and God’s people preparing ourselves to enter a new land full of possibilities where we will plant our own crops and build our owns dwelling communities.

Now that sounds exciting!

loving the complainer

What do you do when find yourself caught up on the unknown path of faith where there is no map? We find ourselves in this place today. Having tried a small home bible study and failed miserably in conventional measurements, we are still traveling down the path looking for the possibilities of growing new relationships. Surely the Great Map Maker hasn’t left us out here to wonder aimlessly and to shrivel up. Is this what it felt like for my ancient brothers and sisters who traveled in the wilderness for 40 years while Yahweh was molding them into a nation?

Wikipedia has some interesting commentary on the Exodus. Having done some study over the years on the people of the Exodus, I considered them to be a bunch of whiners. Now I find myself one of the chief whiners. This journey is so HARD! It’s like breaking a habit, one that on the surface seems harmless. After living on the accolades of man to sustain our soul, we are looking to the Trinity to affirm our being. I know God has heard our complaining, we are dying over here! We are walking the Exodus story, it’s their story, and it’s our story. The scriptures are not just a bunch of things that happened; it’s a bunch of things that are happening, and they are happening to us now!

What is the manna and quail? What has been the spiritual nourishment while we have been the desert of life? Anne, David & Melissa, Rob, Gaston, Karen, Jeff, Dustin, Rod, you have been the spiritual nourishment of Jesus people loving the complainers. Through your comments, calls, blogs, and IM, you have helped us wrestle with “what is it” questions. We deeply appreciate each one of you! If you could only know how each one of you have held us together, while it seemed like we were coming loose at the seams. We long to be with each of you face to face. You have truly embodied, as the zoo people say, “on earth as it is in Heaven.”

May we stand together on the Mount as the Lord of Heaven and Earth proclaims over us You Are My People! I AM your GOD!

do you have roaming?

Look around. We have become a mobile society. Every day we are bombarded with advertisements of the latest technology that will allow you to “take it with you.” From the RAZR to the iPod to Instant Messenger, even though you may be “away,” you are still connected with the people and things you associate yourself with. It used to be when you were in your car traveling you were simply unavailable, but now you are accessible as long as your battery is charged. Thank you to Rod Brace who charged my batteries to write this blog.

Why were these devices invented? We, as human, are intrinsically created as communal beings. From deep within our DNA, we have the desire to be connected. This desire drives our thoughts, actions and imagination, the desire to be connected, but yet as one airline company touts, “you are now free to roam about the globe.”

The question is: If we are constantly on the go, have we become less of ourselves? That may sound like a very strange question; so let’s try to rephrase it. Am I defined by where I am? In the past people have been known for who they are by geographical or physical location. But more recently, within the last 50 years because of mobility, people can be away from their “homeland” and still be wholly and completely themselves. An example would be, are the Harlem Globe Trotters less the Harlem Globe Trotters if they aren’t in Harlem? No. They are known by what they do. Another example of a people group who remained a people no matter of the geographical location is the Jews. These fellow men were a nomadic people. Whether in captivity or free, they were still the Jewish people. It was their actions and faith that defined who they were. Have we become Digital Nomads? Are we a people followed by the “largest digital network?” I guess that only applies if you have Verizon.

Now in a thriving mobile society, there seems to be a state of confusion for a lot of people who used to identify themselves with buildings, turf or labels. For those looking from outside, these identity-crisis people make other assumed identity people very nervous. Barna, one research group, estimates these identity-searching souls to be around 20 million. Closely related to their Jewish brother and sisters, they seek to find their identity not in buildings or services but rather in actions of service inspired by faith, hope, and love. In doing so, they have come alongside a movement that is as old as the Earth itself. They have become participants in The Sacred Project, a project that found its birth in the heart of God lived out in perfect demonstration by Jesus Christ. Throughout history many people have had a hard time with the followers of Jesus, yet very few have had a problem with the compassionate Jesus himself. Maybe these passionate seekers of community are trying to reclaim and restore the Spirit of Christ everywhere they go, not just calling people to come in and get the message, but to go mobile and allow the spirit of service and compassion to naturally germinate and cultivate everyone into life-long relationships where something unexplainable happens. People who once perceived life as futile, or who had no hope, or whom were so broken in spirit were contemplating suicide, now find themselves embraced by a love, a compassion, and a justice that breathes new life into their very soul.

So what does this mobile gospel look like? One piece of the puzzle looks like volunteerism. Volunteering as a teacher’s aid, or writing the neighborhood newsletter, or teaching the elderly how to use a computer at our local library are the avenues of service that my wife and I have found to be the most natural way to serve in our local context of community. When we serve out of a genuine desire to help, it creates space for something special to happen. On the other hand, if we were to volunteer out of a materialistic sense of personal gain or some kind of social status elevation, there is less room for organic faith to grow. We find ourselves stumbling through all of this wondering if anything is really happening. If we were to see with the eyes of the divine, I think we would see at least the fruit of genuine kindness and that is a beginning. When we are serving the people of the community around us through these various roles, we have taken The Message mobile. In essence, we can take it with us where ever we go.

May you type “LOVE” into your internal search engine and hit “GO!”

what to wear today?

This morning I was trying to find a green shirt to wear for St. Patrick’s Day. I guess I still have flashbacks as a middle school kid and getting pinched for not wearing green. I can’t help but to think about St. Patty’s Day falling in the middle of Lent. Does it matter?

I think St. Patrick thought about what he might clothe himself with. Here is his poem prayer from 433:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the UnityThe Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.
I bind to myself todayT
he virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself todayThe power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me todayAgainst every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ at my right,
Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

Here is another writer, St. Paul, who also gives great advice on what to wear:

“Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” Colossians 3 (from The Message)

I am so glad that I found my green shirt today. May it remind me of my brother in the faith, St. Patrick of Ireland, who was once in chains (like Paul), and broke free to go and love his fellow man in service of the sacred mission.

Alex and David part 2

Attention all passengers of Flight 747 to Denver, due to weather conditions Flight 747 has been delayed…

David let out a sigh of frustration. Alex asked if that was his flight. David responded that it was. David was on his way to Cellular Expo 06 in Denver. He was an aspiring designer of a new kind of cellular device. He had been working for many months on his concept and was going to the Expo to share his vision with anyone who would listen.

About that time a 5 second sound bit of U2’s Sometimes You can’t make it on your own played out of nowhere. Alex reached inside his denim jacket and pulled out his cell phone.

Hello...

Lent is difficult

For me Lent has been a reminder of my brokenness. Broken thoughts. Broken speech. Broken actions. Lent is an individual journey, but I think it is something that can be shared with someone close, if you are willing to enter into it whole heartedly.

The closest person that I can tell my deep dark struggles is my wife. We have come to the place where we are giving each other room to stumble into the mystery of faith. There is no pretending or putting on the mask. Vulnerability is a scary proposition for anyone.

Am I willing to risk the loss of my most treasured friend by disclosing the underground world of my temptations? As I enter into the confessional space with my soul mate, the questions of doubt roll of my tongue. The little voice in my mind tells me she will not understand, she will think less of me, she will think I am weak. Don’t go there!!!

In fear and trembling I confess the ever subtle shades of evil that lurk in my heart. Almost immediately I am internally confronted with accusations of failure and disappointment. Once again I am a child, asking the question, will you still love me if you know what is deep down inside?

Lent is difficult. Sharing this Lent season with my wife may be the closest understanding I can comprehend of the grace of God. A grace made known in the life, death, and resurrection in Jesus Christ. There must be a deep connection between an honest marriage where grace and mercy abound. Just as Darla gives me space to fall, Jesus gives me the stumbling space to explore the fullness of his mercy. Confessional space is where his heart finds mine and we are reconciled to one another. In him the accusations are dispelled and I am found again. I am truly loved beyond all I can comprehend. In my tears, the waves of forgiveness roll in and I swept into his Love.

There is nothing that can separate me from the love of Christ.

May you come to know again the joy of your salvation in this season of Lent.

post this on all the blogs

Dear friends,

Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

Paul to the people of God in Colosse

Friday is garbage day for our neighborhood, may it also be for me today. AMEN