I number of years ago I had honour of going to the CNE with my family as well as my in-laws (really… I like them). What an incredible experience! All the lights, the huge rides, the horns from the those rides attempting the break the land-speed record. I thought it was simply incredible. Apparently there were others who felt differently.

Somewhere between the cotton candy booth and the man telling me that all I had to do was put a softball in a bushel basket; in the middle of a crowd larger than life, I felt a tiny little hand slowly but methodically slide into the middle of mine. I looked down to see my daughter taking in the sights… mesmerized, but a little overwhelmed.

It reminds me of the Psalm that says “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. (22:11)” Sometimes we can get a little like that. We enjoy our independence. We look forward to the ‘fun in the sun’ but when life becomes a little overwhelming, a little staggering, and we don’t know where to turn, we can raise our little hands and set them in the palm of the One who is not only in control, but desiring to take us through the journey together.

At least that’s how I see it,

C

Okay… I don’t know much about Julia Child. Some would be surprised that I wouldn’t know much about cooking. I like one of her quotes, “I didn’t start cooking until I was 32. Up until then I just ate.”

But in my limited and very primitive research on her one thing jumped out to me… she didn’t care what was expected of her. Julia just did her own thing and ended up changing cook books & cooking for an entire generation.

Imagine if we followed Jesus the same way? Imagine, for a moment, what could happen if we chose to not concern ourselves with how we thought other people would act / react to our choice to follow Jesus? A journey of faith void of second guesses, shallow judgments, and pre-determined expectations could be such a liberating experience.

People were drawn more to Juila’s passion for what she believed in than whether or not she was qualified enough. Jesus is not looking for people with more letters beside their name than the alphabet. God is looking for men and women who will, like Julia Child, be passionate for what they believe in.

At least that’s how I see it, (now what’s in the fridge?)

Craig

This is another one of these “haven’t quite thought this through yet” blogs but I’m stuck pondering this thought…

Do people text because they don’t want to talk and deal with people?

Hey… don’t get me wrong. I text… I tweet… I status… like the best of them. But lately I’ve wondered if people text on their cell phones because they don’t want to have to deal with a) how the recipient will react and b) how they will react to the reaction.

Look at it this way… We are living in a society that is isolating people more and more. Get in your car alone; go to work… eat lunch in your cubicle… come home… drive into your garage with your garage door opener so that you don’t have to see your neighbours… look at the Caller ID and choose to take the call or not… if they leave their message on the voice mail then I can call back on their voice mail… it keeps going.

Texting is just the next phase of ‘downloading what you want to say’ while having to control when and how you give a response.

Man… this can go a lot of ways… think about it… Many people take prayer with God the same way. God… this is the list… now deal with it. I don’t care what you think… I don’t want to get your opinion. Here it is. Thanks… I’ll talk to you the next time ‘I’ am ready with my updated list.

That’s not prayer… that’s texting God.

We need to stop ‘texting’ God and start talking… communing… sharing feelings and waiting for a response. That goes beyond our relationship with God… but with others as well. We need to start looking at the relationships around us as opportunities to not just ‘dump’ info but rather grow, hear, learn, and encourage one another.

Romans 12:10 says to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Chime in. Give me your thoughts on this one. But don’t just ‘give me your opinion’. Let’s dialogue… let’s reason this out.

At least that’s how I see it.

C