What’s the deal with living water?

I wish I could remember where I saw this connection, but when the Israelites were in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, the words Massah and Meribah would bring bitter memories as they wandered. In Exodus 17:7, the Israelites are recorded for doubting God and thinking Him insufficient to provide for their needs as He lead them on a journey to what was called the promised land.

In the land of Massah and Meribah God came through and met their needs making water spring from a rock. This was right before the Israelites complained that they had been brought to the desert out of slavery to die. Much earlier, God had caused ten plagues to cover Egypt and show His desire to let the Israelites be free. They named the place after their moaning.

Every time the Israelites would hear the name of that place in the wilderness, it’d be a reminder of their faithlessness in God to provide. It’d be a reminder of those who never made it to the promised land because of their decision to walk without God rather than trust in Him.

Still, God provided. For the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus leads her to a living water that she could only imagine. The living water was an allusion to the safety and salvation in Christ, our hope and life spring. She would find out that He provided more than what she would ever find at a well, in a rock, in anything made by man or even God unless it was God Himself. We are energized and relaxed by a water that will never run out, even when faith wavers. His waters are too deep.  

Foto found here: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/viewtopic_archives.php?TopicID=182731&page=0

Info-Techno Sabbath

In an article published in September 2007, Joe Carter writes about taking rest away from the information technology that we let control most of our day. He suggests taking a Sabbath day of rest to mentally disengage from electronic dependency: ”Ask yourself when the last time was that you went an entire day without the tools of information technology.” It’s great insight, and a nice read I’d encourage anyone to check out. But of course, take time to step away and let your computer know it’s really nothing personal.

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001584.cfm

Beautiful!

 

“Take out all your so-called problems.”

Life’s too short to feel alone

“Better put them in quotations.”

Than fear the unknown and know,

You can “Say what you need to say.”

Such a great song! I haven’t seen “The Bucket List,” but after feeling a little cheesed about the the idea, I’m sure it’d be a great movie to watch.

Blessed are the Poor

For most, our social lives are constructed around those with similar social habits. If we have the fortune of graduating a high school, we’re around other graduates…college, other college grads, and on up. When is there opportunity to meet other people? Public transportation? Inside a fast food restaurant or yoga class? Not exactly. 

Why is empathy lacking when it comes to having empathy for those less fortunate than ourselves? It’s easy to not have a clue if I don’t even understand, if I never took a class on social conditions, or had the lesson modeled by parents, friends, a movie. I have no idea that empathy can be taught until I’m taught it by circumstance. And then, before any philosophical thinking and sociological academia, I remember Jesus already covered it. ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’ (Matthew 5:3). It’s the first thing Jesus says as He gives His sermon on the mount. He’s looking out at a mass of people and this is on His mind. There will be times when you’re going to go to work and never have to face an entire grouping of my creation. There’ll be times when you seem like nothing compared to the ‘everything’ that others have. I imagine that He was seeing into the future when He looked into some of the faces in the crowd of all of us who would think again and again of how little we feel. He knew those who truly did have nothing. ‘Theirs is the kingdom of God,’ He said.

Somewhere, peace to those who live as a have-not or have-little. God’s kingdom is their domain. Where am I in all this? I want my life to be mingled up with everyone else. I want to have the empathy to understand, to better know and help someone who may have so little. So I can know what little I have. If Christ recognized those who had less, who am I? 

This issue’s Discipleship Journal is in!

So I subscribed for a year to Discipleship Journal, left it for a year, and now just started it up again. It’s a great resource and magazine. This bimonthly issue’s cover topic is “Thinking Biblically about Politics,” only a huge concern right now for upcoming elections. But what I’m really excited about is page 62: “Between Here and There: Help for navigating life’s transitions.” I’m totally in transition! I just have no idea where it is exactly that I’m going. For anyone interested, the magazine is a Christian resource with honestly impressive art which complements the thoughtful Biblical commentaries and sections. In an effort to get my work done, I’m tyring to use it as my reward and actually start writing a paper. Instead, I’m blogging. Aghhhh….

But hey, if you’re not procrastinating, check out www.discipleshipjournal.com!

Solitary Confinement

So I’ve been sick for an entire week, and unless your bedroom overlooks the beach, things can get pretty downcast while you’re stuck there. Thankfully, I’ve been able to get a lot of rest. It’s speeding up my recovery. On another note, staying in bed is just a reminder of how easy it is to let all that bad energy seep into my thinking. I’m sick, I’m not working, and suddenly my life is going nowhere and nobody likes me. Get out of bed!

Thankfully, God’s been very good and I was able to spend some sweet time going over scripture and devotionals. I highly recommend a little book called “Joy Breaks” by Johnson & Swindoll. In times when we get off-balance, I think it’s important to remember who we are. When we’re by ourselves for a little too long, or in a different group of people, we always have to come back. There’s a reason I listen to relaxing music, and hanging out with people who make me laugh. It’s who I am. I like fellowship, making peace, sharing the love of God. It’s not enough to dwell on the idea. We have to do it - for all those moments when we’re caught off guard or stuck by ourselves. We have to be doers of the word and not hearers only to help us in those hard times when we forget how good life is and forget “what manner of man we are” (James 1:24).

Recommended chill out music: Da Lata - Songs from the Tin (Brazilian)

 

Mr. Rogers and family time

Our family bought a piano and so the first thing I tried to play after a long hiatus was from Mr. Rogers. It was a good idea, but you wouldn’t be able to tell what I was doing. I’m getting better, however.

In an interview from 1986, Mr. Fred Rogers spoke to Hour Magazineabout children, his work on the television show he referred to as “the Neighborhood,” and parents. He was asked several questions including his thoughts on quality time versus quantity time with children. I was amazed that in 1986, they were looking at this new phenomena called the ”two-parent working family” and talking about a book that would help children understand the concept of daycare when the time came. Crazy. Mr. Rogers gave his thoughts on family time by saying something to the effect that ten minutes a week, month, or year, does little for the child despite any quality time being used. As he was speaking, it’s like I was in front of the televesion again. The voice, the mannerisms were all the same, all there. He was captivating. As he was speaking, you could understand that his heart goes out to children, to their innocence, to the caring and nurturing of their mind and body. I loved watching this guy. It does well to know that the family unit - although so drastically distorted within the past 22 years - is still sacred. His personal decisions with his wife for their children were thoughtful and loving on both parts. His comments on affirming that children will always be taken care of, even when Mr. Rogers is gone, were so simple that it felt monumental. I want to be sure that simple truth isn’t memorialized, celebrated with the passing of a hero, but lived daily in my own life and those around me. I’m in full support of the beautiful neighborhood he loved to talk about.

Ready for the Dog Days of Summer

‘Nuff said. I’m ready for summer!

The Divorce Generation - Newsweek

Rather than write a review, I wanted to link the Newsweek article following a highschool class of 1982 entitled “The Divorce Generation Grows Up.” It follows the adult alumnae of an LA school who went through their parent’s divorce during adolescence. It serves as a cultural commentary to the expectations that exist for our current generation of youth as they date and form beliefs regarding their own singleness, family, and concept of marriage. From my privileges working with youth, it hurts me to see the pain that many young men and women are going through because of divorce. The reasons are endless, but the growing prevelance of the divorce category does little to offer hope to those who want to fill the void of a family that has separated. The good news of Jesus’ love for us stretches out to them and speaks to their hearts even more so in times that seem to them so dark, and when love is most needed but unmet.    

Feelin’ Good

Today was a gorgeous day - for Texas, for April, for anywhere. The birds were singing, the breeze was light picking up these little leaves that had fallen and rolling them around, and thy sky was just beautiful. I mean it felt good; it felt godly. I felt badly for anyone who wasn’t able to walk outside. On days like today it doesn’t too much matter how I feel or thought I felt. My shoulders have been aching from my first attempt at bouldering which is also causing a small tremor in my hands. I think the veins in my arms have gone down, but the pain is definitely still there. My throat is sore from an infection I’m developing, and I had to take the day off in hopes of shaking away a fever. And then I look outside. It’s like the sun was kissing everything it saw and the grass was waving at its presence here in my little neighborhood. Spots of shade move around on the ground and on the sides of houses where the pine trees cover the sun. And did I mention it was beautiful? I thought I felt bad and then I stepped outside by accident. Now, I’m feelin’ good.