Life in the Medium/Fast Lane

It's been a a while since I was last here. These unannounced breaks happen every so often, not by conscious choice, but as a result of not feeling like I have anything significant to say. I'm still here, alive and kicking at the darkness til it's bleeds daylight. (Thanks, Brian, for the reminder.)

Life has been strange lately. I have been thinking a lot about church, and my lack of involvement in it. On February 22 it was a year since I was let go from Lakeview, and I've gone through phases that range from forgiveness to indifference and anger. Right now I'm in the latter stage, and I feel like a boat adrift on the water. I thought that I had a few things figured out 18 months ago, and that is gone now. I am still trying to find my place in this new job as commuity chaplain, and not feeling connected to any church body at all. I wish this wasn't the case, but it is. There are a few people from Lakeview tht I still connect well with, and our kids like it there, so we call it our church home. Lakeivew is in the middle of a huge building project that is exciting, but taking up much of the thought and energy of the leaders there. They are an evangelistic church, and put much emphasis on drawing people in who don't know much about God or a relationship with Him. My concern has been that there is no place for them to go after they've been around for a couple of years and are looking to dig deeper and explore this new kingdon they have entered. I'm not sure what will happen there with this seeming unbalance. I still try and do what I can, as do a number of others, but it seems to be too little, or not heard.

My position as Community Chaplan is fairly new to Saskatoon, and there is not a lot of structure. I know that there is the expectation that much of my connection needs to come from the local church body that I am involved with, but, as you can see, there's not a lot of that right now. So...I putz along and try and do what I can for the men who are getting out of prison. All this is tough to do without some kind of community anchor.

I helped out with the Alpha retreat weekend on Friday and Saturday. It was wierd to be in that place with those responsibilitites again, as I used to be in charge of that area at the church. The weekend went well, and it was good to connect with a few people that I hadn't seen in the last year.

Every day I think about what I can contribute to the body of Christ. Writing? Music? Leading in some way? These thoughts weigh on me, and I have no outlet right now to be creative and give my opinion on things. There have been times in the past when it seemed that no one wanted to here my thoughts. I don't mean to complain, but that's the way it is these days.

Other thoughts...

...family...doing well
...Olympics...sad that they're over; I love watching, and there are so many inspiring people and stories

That's all I have in this moment. Appreciate your prayers over the above thoughts. I'll be back soon.

NEW @U2 U2 SWEEPS THE GRAMMYS
February 08, 2006
posted by: m2

U2 swept all five awards for which it was nominated at tonight's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb won for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album; "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" won Song of the Year and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal; and "City of Blinding Lights" was named Best Rock Song.

BONO'S REMARKS TO THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

This is a lousy post to use to break my self-imposed blogging silence, but it quite intriguing. A Quote:

I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill… I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff… maybe, maybe not… But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. “If you remove the yolk from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places”

It’s not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It’s not an accident. That’s a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. [You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.] ‘As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor.