journey through Narnia...

I know I know... why pick Narnia to read? Well, it is on the top 100 list (for those who don't know the Top 100 list yet go back to my first blog and catch up) and for good reason. And although I have already read the book several times and have seen the movie several times it seemed like a logical choice. Santa is in Narnia after all.

After what I think was probably the coldest night of the winter so far in Columbia, it got me to thinking, why do I love winter so much? I don't particularly like being cold, although I do love being bundled up with hot Starbucks coffee... I don't like waiting on my car to defrost in the morning... I don't like heat bills in the winter... Yet, I love the winter.

I think the answer is obvious. My favorite holiday is in the winter. What would Christmas be like in hot weather? Any Floridians out there want to take a shot at that? Christmas just comes with cold, snow, ice, Frosty, Hot Chocolate, etc.  Christmas would not be the same without winter. Nor would winter be the same without Christmas.

Lucy finds this out in C.S. Lewis' famous classic, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As Lucy discovers Narnia for the first time and enjoys tea and sardine toast with Mr. Tumnus, he shares with her three times in the second chapter of the book that Narnia is a place of winter all the time without Christmas. Now, I don't think Tumnus was just talking about freezing cold with no gifts, hot cocoa or candles. Tumnus was referring to a much greater spiritual reality in Narnia. Narnia was a place overtaken by the White Witch with no hope of ever experiencing life again.

Can you imagine a world without hope? Can you imagine our lives without hope? This Christmas season... spend time thanking God for the hope that is found only in the Incarnation of Jesus... and enjoy the winter... knowing full well that Christ comes and brings life again!  

journey through grief...

A favorite pastor of mine used to always challenge his congregation to never look at your circumstances and derive God's character from them... but to always filter your circumstances through the lens of what you know God's character to be. What a true statement. And yet what a difficult thing to do. Our minds are so great at creating images and ideas of what we want or think God to be and if we allow these images and ideas to be created by our circumstances we will have created a god that is the figment of our imaginations, not the God of the Bible. C.S. Lewis learned this the hard way.

The tragedy that was cancer taking his wife's life caused him to question his belief in and idea of who God was. He testifies that God constantly ruined all of his previous thoughts of who he thought God was and/or should be.

He writes in a Grief Observed, "My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks of His presence? The Incarnation is the supreme example; it leaves all previous ideas of the Messiah in ruins. And most are 'offended' by the iconoclasm; and blessed are those who are not. But the same thing happens in our private prayers..."    

What images or ideas do you have of God?
Are they consistent with Scripture's expression of God?
Have you ever thought that the Incarnation, what we are celebrating even this month, is a chief example of God completely shattering your images and ideas of Him?
And have you ever thought that when God does shatter those images and ideas it could just be a sign of His presence in your life? 

Ask God, not for greater understanding this season... but greater faith... to accept Him for Who He is in simple trust... even if circumstances would try and communicate otherwise.

journey through grief...

As I begin the next book on my list, 'A Grief Observed' by C.S Lewis I must confess that this blog has nothing to do with grief at all. Rather, it is an excerpt on gratitude.

Douglas Gresham is the step-son of the late C.S. Lewis, the child  of Lewis' wife who he grieves over in the book and the one who wrote the introduction to the particular edition I am reading. In his introduction he tells the story of the budding romance between Lewis and his wife Joy Davidman. What I came to find out through Gresham's writing is how much the two, Lewis and Davidman, had in common. They were both intellectuals, both had photographic memories, both were prolific writers and were atheists before their conversions. Their relationship was based on such a commonality of things that eventually led them to a loving and quite fulfilling marriage. Although Lewis and Davidman began as friends and with a civil marriage union, their relationship flourished through the years and they grew to love one another deeply leading to the writing of this work after Davidman passed away from a long battle with cancer.

I could not help but think about my own marriage as I was reading about the way the two got along so well and had so many common interests that they loved to be in each others' presence. They were truly best friends, what some might say are 'soul mates'.

There are emotions, thoughts, ideas in my mind and heart that only my wife gets. There are common interests that the two of us have that I think no one else in the world can understand or appreciate. I can go to my wife and communicate with her about things that I experience and she gets it like no one else does. And I am sure those of you who are married can echo the same sentiments regarding your spouses.  

Our lives have been brought together by a God who loves us and calls us to share that love through the love we express to one another in our marriages. Our marriages are to reflect the love Christ has for His bride. As you take time to read this feeble attempt at expressing my thoughts about my own marriage let us take time to bow before the Lord in thankfulness for our spouses. Let us be grateful in our hearts to the Lord who has brought a friend, companion, lover and soul-mate to so many of us. And let us never take them for granted. None of us are promised tomorrow.... for ourselves or for the ones we love...    

journey through the memory...

I have great memories! I remember vividly going to Disney World as a kid and watching the electric light parade with awe and wonder at Mickey Mouse. I remember jumping into cold swimming holes in the Smoky Mountains with my brother growing up and feeling both frozen and invigorated at the same time. I remember my first days as a freshman in college trying to make new friends and the exhaustion of staying up all night hanging out. I remember my wedding... the people, the cake, the euphoria... I remember the birth of my first, my little girl and after hours of staying by my wife's side being overcome with emotion as I got to hold her for the first time.

I also have memories that are not so great. I remember the first time a girl dumped me, I thought life was over as I knew it and that I would never find another one like her. I remember my first 'B' on a report card and the fear of my parents' reaction. I remember leaving college and all the good memories and having to start a new chapter of life. I remember my grandma dying of cancer and the absolute devastation I experienced that life as I had always known at 'Grandma and Grandpa's' would be no more. I remember moving my family away form home and to a new city, and having to watch my wife and kids struggle with the whys...

Sometimes we take for granted our memory... Even now I am watching my grandparents from a distance battle dementia and Alzheimer and losing essentially all of their memory to disease. What would it be like to have memory function lost in my life?

The memory is a blessing and a curse and is a complex thing to understand. Augustine says this about memory, 'The power of the memory is prodigious, my God. It is a vast, immeasurable sanctuary. Who can plumb its depths.' Augustine says a lot about the memory and the mind that I just do not get... and yet I walked away from his chapter in his 'Confessions' with a sense of wonder at my own memory. God has given us memory... and do you know why?

Maybe for the sheer joy of remembering life... maybe to create a dependence on Him when we remember the not so great parts of life... but ultimately He gave us our minds, our memories to remember Him...

In the Scriptures, especially in the Psalms we are exhorted to 'remember' the Lord, His mercy, His deeds, His miracles, His faithfulness. God constantly gave visual symbols to His people (Passover, altar of stones by the Jordan River) to cause them to remember Who He was and what He had accomplished for His Name's sake and on their behalf. One of the greatest instances where we are called to 'remember' is at the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper where Paul quotes Jesus as saying, 'Do this in remembrance of me'. Steve Brown once said, "The world drinks to forget, but we drink to 'remember'". What a remarkable thing, to have been given by God the gift of memory in order that we might remember first and foremost, Him!

And yet, there is something in Scripture even more remarkable... God 'remembers'. Psalm 105:8 is just one place where the Bible states, 'He remembers His covenant forever...' God remembers His covenant with us... He will never forget... His memory is perfect. And finally, yet best of all, God does forget... The Psalmist cries out in 25, 'Do not remember the sins of my youth...' God does not 'remember' our sins but casts them as far away as the east is from the west.

When is the last time you thought about the vast sanctuary of your memory? Do not take it for granted, but remember this day the greatness of your God!

Journey through the unknown of self...

I had the distinct privilege of attending a 'Regroup' conference in Loveland, CO last month. During this youth ministry training conference we participated in a 'self-awareness' exercise called 'Who's On My Bus?' During the exercise we were supposed to come up with at least 5 people who represent your personality. I thought I had this one down pat. I scribbled furiously and quickly all the people who influence my thinking (because I am a strategic thinker) which only consisted of preachers and teachers (what a boring bus). But then when I shared my bus with my group I was quickly taken off guard when a lady in my group (not my wife) said 'there is no way I would get on that bus'. Not liking to not be liked at all this comment sent me into a wave of high-strung emotion. I thought my bus was cool?! This started a long night of processing and stressing about who was on my bus. Over the next 24-48 hours with much help from my wife I identified at least 5 or 6 people on my bus. But it truly made me realize that sometimes I just do not know myself as well as I might think.  

In reading Augustine's Confessions, I ran across a statement that has been tossing around my mind for a few days now. Augustine states, "“For though no one can know a man’s thoughts, except the man’s own spirit that is within him, there are some things in man which even his own spirit within him does not know. But you, O Lord, know all there is to know of him, because you made him.” I think Augustine is on to something. There is so much about ourselves that we are so unaware of. And of course this has to do with sin, but so much more than sin. Tim Keller recently preached a sermon in which he said that the inner spirit is so complex that even we ourselves cannot understand it.

Why do we have this type of personality? Why do we act this way around one group of people and that way around another group? Why do we prefer to be alone sometimes and yet sometimes are afraid of being alone? Why do we treat the ones we love the most the worst one moment and yet the best at another? God has truly created humans complex and beyond understanding, even to themselves. This might stress some of us out... however, I take comfort in the fact that He created me intimately, just the way He wanted me and He knows all there is to know about me.      

So, when you are trying to become more self-aware, and stress out about who might be on your bus... don't worry, you'll never figure it out completely but there is one who knows you best of all walking the journey with you. Trust the Lord into the journey of the unknown land of your inner-self. 

journey... just a thought...

Just a quote for thought from Os Guinness... "Far closer to the mark is the observation that the modern world has scrambled things so badly that today we worship our work, we work at our play, and we play at our worship."

journey through the prideful sacred...

Being in full-time ministry for 12 plus years now has certainly accomplished one feat for me... it has afforded for me the constant battle over a sense of pride at what I have been and am doing for God. You see from the earliest days of my 'calling' to full-time ministry, sad to say, there has resided deep in my heart this twinge of pride over what I am doing for God in comparison with others who 'just' chose to work in the 'secular' world. Os Guinness has convicted me by finishing the work of obliterating any sense of pride I had remaining.

Over the past several years I have sought repentance and transformation in this area by seeking to understand and value those working other jobs and seeking to live for Christ in the midst of those jobs. It seems recently through my reading and what can only be called a supernatural cleaning of the Spirit, I have experienced an overwhelming sense of appreciation for all called by God to serve in other capacities... while also bringing me to my knees in humility that even though in full-time ministry I constantly observe those who are not who are leaps and bounds ahead of me in their journey with Christ.

Let me help you see where I am coming from in my thoughts... Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by Him, to Him and for Him.  We are first and foremost called to Someone, not something or somewhere. This truth gets so perverted in my warped mind. So often I find myself acting as if I am called to 'ministry' over and even above my calling to the Caller. A second thought is that our secondary calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere and in everything should think, speak, live and act entirely for him. Therefore, in whatever it is and to wherever it is that we are called, we are called to be His and answer to Him in that.

Unfortunately, the church has distorted these two points and has created perversion in the realm of calling leaving countless people feeling prideful about their sacred jobs and even more feeling unworthy because of their sacred jobs. The first distortion arose within the Catholic church under Eusebius' influence when he categorized two stations in life: the 'perfect' reserved for priests, monks and nuns and the 'permitted' reserved for everyone else. This began a long history within the Catholic church where those of the 'perfect' way looked down on those who chose the lesser 'permitted' way. Thankfully, Martin Luther came along and helped pave the way for equality. He said that the work of a monk is no more holy than the work of a house wife and he stated that a man changing a diaper brought a smile to the face of the angels and God, thus bringing all 'jobs' under the Lordship of Christ and and bringing back into order the points of calling... we are called to Someone before we are called to something or somewhere.

Now don't get too happy Protestants because further on the Protestant church ran into its own distortion. While the Catholic church found itself elevating the sacred above the secular, the Protestant church found itself doing the opposite, elevating the secular above the sacred. How? 'Calling' began to be synonymous with 'vocation'. Thus there became no sense of 'calling' to a 'Caller' but to a job. Both distortions are far from Biblical.

Just think of a few examples: Paul was a tent-maker and continued a tent-maker after being 'called' to be an apostle. The disciples continued to fish after being 'called' to follow Jesus. Jesus Himself was raised a carpenter, and there is a strong argument that He faithfully followed God even as a carpenter.

Let me not ramble on... let me close with this...

Mothers, artists, musicians, writers, students, doctors, lawyers, teachers, plumbers, businessmen, engineers, computer people, full-time ministers... you are all called to our great and glorious 'Caller'. May you heed His call on your life and may all that you are, do, think and say be for the glory of the One who calls!  

journey to the Caller...

I am so pumped to be starting a book I've wanted to read for years now and should have read years ago. I first heard about "The Call" by Os Guinness from John Musselman, founder and president of  'The Jackson Institute', who uses this in his discipleship program (check out his organization here: www.jacksoninstitute.com). Os Guinness' classic is also on CPYU's recommended reading list and is included in "Besides the Bible: 100 Books That Have, Should, or Will Create Christian Culture".  Interestingly, Os Guinness comes from the family most famous for 'Guinness' beer. Os' family also has a long history of faithful ministers of the Gospel thus proving that ministry and beer are not mutually exclusive.

I wanted to leave everyone with Os' definition of 'call', one which I think will provide much food for thought... "For the moment let me say simply that calling is the truth that God calls us to Himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to His summons and service."

Thinking critically about my life... this sums up my life, albeit with many flaws and times of wondering what in the world God is doing and what in the world I am supposed to be doing... I know God has 'decisively' called me to Himself and my prayer everyday is that everything I am, do and have is in response to His call.

My prayer is also for you... Is your life characterized by a dynamism and devotion directed at the 'Caller'?

'Cheers' to the beginning of a great book and 'cheers' to all living in response to the call...

journey through worship from an outsider...

I am always compelled with people's opinions of Christianity who are outside of Christianity. You see, I became a follower of Jesus at a very young age and know nothing different. However, there are so many in our world that have no long standing history with the way things are in the church.

In my latest read 'Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock', Andrew Beaujon records his experiences as a journalist investigating the phenomenon of Christian 'rock music' focusing on the history of Contemporary Christian Music and evaluating the Christian Music Industry. I have found much of his writing to be interesting but have also been challenged by his viewpoint of the industry (to which I have contributed a significant amount of money through the years). However, I think one of the most striking perspectives he has that has provided much consternation for me was his evaluation from an 'outsider's' perspective of a contemporary 'worship service'.

Beaujon, during his research process, had a chance to attend the GMA week in Nashville, TN and during the course of the week experienced a worship service not unlike the one I worship within each week.

His take on the actual music was not anything to write home about. He pretty much chalked every song up to being the exact same in time, progression and volume progression. I would have to agree... Inserting songs into Worship Media for the last 10 years of my life bears the truth: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus... unless you are charismatic then the Spirit may lead you to another chorus or two or three, etc. There is some creativity when the song actually ends on an abbreviated version of the first verse... 

His take on the content disturbed me, not because I think he was wrong but because I think he was right. 'Worship tunes tend to evince an adolescent theology, one that just can't get over how darn cool it is that Jesus sacrificed himself for the world... Moreover, it's self-centered in a way that reflects evangelicalism's near-obsession with having a personal relationship with Christ. It's me Jesus died for. I just gotta praise the Lord... Absent is any hint of community found in hymns such as 'The Church's One Foundation' - the Jesus of worship music is a mentor, buddy, a friend whose message is easily distilled to a simple command - praise me... this is music by the saved only, for the saved only, an art form where the images projected on the giant  screens are more fruitful sources of meditation and reflection than the lyrics superimposed on them."

Now, my philosophy of worship music and worship in general is that it be a way that we communicate to God and those around us Who God Is and What God Has Done. Ultimatelt we are praising Him! However, if this is what people on the outside are getting when they walk throuh the doors and 'experience' worship my assessment is that the church may not be on the exact train track we need to be on! Jesus should be procalimed as way more than buddy or friend, but as Creator, Redeemer, Savior and King!

One last thought... Jesus told the Samaritan woman that true worshipers must worship in spirit and truth. Do you think the church may be at a place where we are worshiping more in spirit at the expense of truth? So, needless to say, Andrew has me thinking... what are we as a church communicating through our worship?

Your thoughts? 

journey in conversionalism...

Christian evangelism, in my expert opinion, is extremely formula based. Pray this prayer, raise that hand, bow that head, close those eyes, don't look around or it may not take, use the cliche 'accepted Jesus into my heart', etc., etc. As much as I despise Christian conversionalism I find that I succumb to the same level of formula based evangelism all too often. O, not the classic 'Arminian' altar call... I would not think of such a thing. However, I do find myself in the sinking ship of classic 'Calvinistic' verbiage.  Did you 'repent' of your sin? Did you 'trust' Jesus only for your salvation? 'Have you experienced the 'irresistible call of God in your life'? Maybe I do not impose conversion actions, I sure do impose conversion language. 

It is interesting to me that in one of the most powerful conversion stories in all of the Gospels (again my expert opinion) we see great theology with no theologically imposed language. In Matthew, the tax collector and later disciple's conversion account, this is what we read. "'Follow me', Jesus said to Him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed Him."

For all of us good Presbyterian Calvinists we see plainly Unconditonal Election as well as Irresistable Grace. And for all of us good soteriologists we see repentance and faith clearly. But Jesus never imposes these beliefs or this language on Matthew. He simply says follow me and Matthew simply responds.

What do you ask has this to do with my goal of the 100 reads?

In A.W. Tozer's book 'The Pursuit of God' (my 2nd read out of 100) he has three references in his first chapter that speak to this explicitly. And it just so happened that I was reviewing his work after preparing a Sunday School lesson on the story of Matthew. Tozer states, "The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless." To me this sounds like conversionalism. It even sounds a little like my judgment of students' testimonies. But it sounds nothing like the conversion of Matthew. You think Jesus did it right?

He goes on to say later in the first chapter, "The moment the Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition." This is the barometer of judging a person's following after Jesus. And I dare say this characterizes Matthew quite accurately. Finally, Tozer states, "Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart." We have a lot of people being subjected to methods of salvation and appropriate theological language we and the Bible use to describe salvation and yet a lot of people devoid of the simple satisfaction that comes from knowing and following Christ. Matthew followed Christ, desired to know Him and make Him known.

This Sunday I will be teaching a group of high school students that the question is not how you encountered Jesus? The right question is 'what happened'? Did Jesus come to you? Did you leave everything and follow Him? According to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke that is certainly enough.

Grace and peace...        

journey with aging parents

I am in the midst of a time in my life when I witness frequently and hear frequently of the time, energy, resources and sacrifices my mom and dad are making to care for their aging parents. I witness the countless hours they spend helping with finances, visiting with them, running errands for them, running them to and from doctor appointments and countless days and nights sitting with them beside a hospital bed. There is something remarkably Christ like in those actions and attitudes flowing from a humble, gracious, loving and kind heart.

It seems from Scripture that the religious leaders and/or Pharisees had devised a way around this seemingly God-given task. Jesus confronts them about this exact issue in Mark 7:9-13. It states, "And he continued, 'You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) - then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” 


What Jesus is saying is that the Pharisees instead of dealing with the time and energy it takes to care for aging parents (which I might add is a greater sacrifice than even the money), devised a 'religious' way out. The Pharisees could designate or devote a certain amount of money to the Temple to be used by the Lord as a gift and they were off the hook for helping minister to their parents. Jesus said this type of action was out of an attitude of arrogance and unkindness and completely nullified the teaching of God. 

Now what, you ask, does this have to do with the Apocrypha, the 1st of the 100 books I am slowly making my way through? Well, where do the Pharisees traditions come from? Certainly not the Apocrypha. In the Apocryphal wisdom book of 'Sirach' (much like Proverbs) there is a short passage dealing with the issue of children caring for their parents. It states, 'My child, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives; even if his mind fails, be patient with him; because you have all your faculties do not despise him. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten and will be credited to you against your sins; in the day of your distress, it will be remembered in your favor; like frost in fair weather, your sins will melt away.'


What a great word. One I witness nearly everyday of my life put into action. My prayer is that at the end of my parents life I will be God's instrument to show them the same kindness they have shown. 

journey through the Apocrypha...

Growing up I attended 3 separate and radically different churches: one during childhood, one through junior high and one through High School. The first was a Southern Baptist church with hymns only, lite-hearted teaching and nearly no theology to speak of. The second was a PCA church with a very diversified worship style and completely Reformed in its theology in every way. The third was a non-denominational charismatic church with all the gifts in operation and theology that was all over the map. In neither of the 3 churches did I ever hear the word 'Apocrypha' much less have a clue as to what it was.

It was not until my freshman year of college, sitting under Professor Jenks at Toccoa Falls Bible College that I was introduced to the Apocrypha, a whole other world of 'Scriptural' styled writing. While understanding that the Apocrypha was not canonized and therefore not inerrant, it could still be of great help.

Furthermore, it was not until years later that I realized that the Roman Catholic Church actually included the Apocrypha in their Bible, thus deducing why we Protestants are probably so ignorant of or scared to death of the writings. Most Protestants are ignorant and scared to death of Catholicism as a whole, this just giving further fuel to the fire. It gave me great joy, on this side of ignorant, to actually have a High School student in a Sunday School class recently (formerly Catholic - she professed faith in Christ and joined our 'Protestant' church in October) bring her 'Catholic' Bible to class and ask if she needed to purchase a new one because it had the Apocrypha in it. I told her unwaveringly that she did in fact need to be accompanied to the nearest Christian bookstore and buy the coolest, hippest, easiest to read and preferably pink copy of the Bible immediately. I also wrote that last line with great sarcasm.

Anyway, I digress... I am revisiting or rereading the Apocrypha, the 1st of the 100 books that should be read, with a better understanding now than I had 14 years ago sitting in that freshman class. And no, I am not afraid of being converted to Catholicism or of claiming that we Protestants should include it in our NIVs and ESVs either. But, who knows, through it all I just may learn something.

Grace and peace...

the journey begins...

I cannot remember a time in the past where I have seriously made a New Year's resolution. I have never been a strong advocate of resolutions. I do not smoke; I do not drink (too much); I am not overweight; I read the Bible regularly and I pray with semi-regularity. I am plagued with sin but must I make an annual resolution to stop? We all know the reality is that I will not stop until Jesus takes me to my final resting place. So, I have never really known what resolution to make...

But this year is different... I have made a New Year's resolution! We should probably call it a goal more than a New Year's resolution but it's all semantics. One of my Christmas gifts this year was a book, "Besides the Bible: 100 Books That Have, Should, or Will Create Christian Culture" by Dan Gibson, Jordan Green and John Pattison. (find it here: http://burnsidewriters.com). Having made it only about 20% of the way through the book, I can still honestly say that it is a gem and has spurred me to my New Year's Resolution.

I resolve to begin the journey of reading the '100 books' identified in this read. Furthermore I resolve to blog about my journey along the way. This should not be a 2011 resolution but rather a life-long resolution or as I like to call it, a life-long journey. But it is one which I think will be well worth it in the end. Following is how I will map out this journey:

1. I resolve to blog no less than 2 times per month. For many this may seem like child's play. One of the bloggers I follow averages about 10-12 per month. But for myself, I need to be realistic. Between being a husband, father of 4, Director of Student Ministries, and Master's Degree Student, I think 2 per month is a great starting point.

2. I resolve to have no certain time table. Some of the books are short reads, some may take me a year or more just themselves. The end of the journey will not be the only reward... the journey itself will be the reward.

3. I resolve to read one at a time from each time period. This is so I do not get bogged down in the first 1500 years of the 'church' but will have some more current reads interspersed as well.

I truly hope some will follow along with my journey. Some may even want to take the journey with me. I have absolutely no expectations, except that God would, through it all, reveal more of Himself to me, more of myself to me and more of His world to me.

And so it begins...

Grace and peace...