Whatever is Noble-2011

As with every year, there are those moments and events that not only inspire, but very well may change one's life forever. Here are those such events for me this past year:

Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 16-19

My Pastor Eugene is asking us to live 2012 spiritually, to open our eyes to the movings of God in our daily lives. Telluride awakened me to the movement of God is some rather unexpected places. Somehow in a sea of hippies, I found God. Read more about it here.

The Next Step of our Journey

In mid September, Cliff, Michala, and myself had a conversation with a friend in Nashville that drastically changed the direction of our lives. We were invited to join Michael Carpenter and his family in planting a new church in downtown North Little Rock, AR. This oppurtunity has streched our faith, challenged us, but also given us hope. Read more here.

I am a Pastor

While I've been pursuing vocational ministry since 2006, my actual role has been an area of mystery for me. After answering the call to Argenta, I began to explore what it means to be a pastor. Through the example of Eugene Scott and Eugene Peterson's memoir I found myself redefined. A sense of purpose was awakened in me, as I realized this is always who I've been. Read my testimony of this call here.

A New Baby!

Although we found out about the new addition to our family back in October, we are just now making the news official to world. We are so excited for Mary Grace to be a big sister. Although we have some amount of fear about how we're going to do this, we look at our daughter and at our God and smile. Blessed Assurance.

Whatever is Lovely

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 

As we approach a new year, our thoughts reflect on the old year. 2011 has been perhaps my best year yet. This week I want to follow my daughter's (and God's) example and give thanks for everything.

As you can see in the video, our daughter's prayers are basically, "Thank you for that and that and that and that and the chicken and the family and friends, the end....amen." She makes sure that she expresses her thankfulness for everything she has. While I smile at her innocence, I also grow from the example of her pure faith. We have so much to be thankful for.

So this week, I will take some time to remember the lovely that I encountered in 2011, to give thanks where it is due. And hopefully, this recollection will produce a hope in us for the future, that there will be time again to give thanks.

(You can read about my favorite books I read this year at The Neighborhood Cafe Blog)

Hanukkah

Put the Lights on the Tree

We are a little over a week into our Advent conspiracy to give away something everyday of Advent. So far it has been...uneventful. We've been somewhat faithful to our pledge, selecting something each day but waiting to give a lot of it all at once. So we haven't actually given anything away, yet.

The sad thing is that we're starting to realize that 30 or so days are not enough. We can easily see reaching Christmas day and not having felt a bit of discomfort in our giving, not a bit of sacrifice. We simply have too much stuff.

We've begun to dare to dream of if we could do this for an entire year, til next Advent. Perhaps then we might actually begin to feel the pain and release of simplifying.

Regardless, Christmas is so much more fun with a two-year-old. Mary Grace is determined to see every Christmas decoration in the Rockies. Tonight as we listened to Sufjan Stevens' and put lights on our tree, she exclaimed with sheer joy, "Its Christmas!" Despite our seeming inability to make room, her hospitable heart is making up for it when she she says "Happy birthday, Jesus!"

great commission…

The sin of greatest omission - to live

neither in nor of but merely on, to

refuse the world’s magic, eyes sewn

shut with fishing line, ears packed

tight with doctrine and twigs and

mud, a scarecrow’s existence always

haunted by the memory of Noah’s

raven that never returned.

But some speak of a redemption,

a thorn-sprigged hope if you dare:

commit, rip-stitch your eyes,

unpack your ears, lash yourself

to the charmed mast, whisper the

two-word incantation of saints -’thank you.’

To get started memorize her body’s contours,

or learn to chew tobacco like your Pepaw,

or collect amber bottles to arrange on a

shelf just so beside the prints a friend

loaned but you never returned.

-John Blase