stopovers and such

This is the t-shirt my friend, Dan, was wearing yesterday. He had just flown back to Canada from South Africa and had a brief stopover in Switzerland where he picked up this fine souvenir for himself and some fine dark chocolate for me (well, his mom did, but I'll give him some credit here).

A lot of my friends are in transition of some sort right now. I personally love transition and get all adrenalised at the thought of entering some new phase of life or moving somewhere or travelling or well, anything new and different makes me jump up and down (unless, of course, it is a sad situation). Things for me are more about preparation than transition right now, which is not as exciting but very necessary. I will be having quite a few people in my home this summer and to that end, I am preparing and updating and furnishing the living quarters downstairs. It is just hard work, really, and the thing that keeps me motivated is that in 3 weeks I will be sitting down there with friends and it will be done and I will be able to enjoy their company in a fine and comfortable setting, completed and readied for their enjoyment and use.

Today's thoughts:

1. Sometimes the stopovers before we get where we are going are very enjoyable and we don't want to leave, sometimes they are less than pleasant, but stopovers are just temporary. Keep your eye on where you are going.

2. Preparation is necessary in order to fully enjoy the wonderful things God brings our way, be they marriage, jobs, other relationships, positions of authority, spiritual maturing, wonderful opportunities, service to others, broadening of ones horizons, or a change in community life. Don't shortchange your preparation, even when you think it won't make a big difference. Prepare your heart and mind to meet with and be changed by God.

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Names of God

The Hebrew word "YHWH" (read from right to left) This past Sunday I gave a talk on the Names of God, the beginning of a series on this topic. This first talk was to be a gentle introduction so I thought it wouldn't take too many hours of preparation. Well, I quickly discovered that the research is almost bottomless; every time I thought I had a somewhat definitive list of names, I found another source which added a few more or gave a different twist on some of the names I had already come across. After several hours I was getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data (and that was only looking at the Hebrew Bible). I wondered how I could present this to people in an orderly and accessible fashion and within a reasonable time frame. Not everyone is up for a 3-hour lecture crammed full of detail on a Sunday morning. So I took a break and spent a bit of time meditating on this problem and asking the Spirit for guidance. And then I thought that being overwhelmed by Go...

soul refrigerator

I went grocery shopping yesterday and came home with three bags of food. After I unpacked them all, this is what my fridge looked like: really empty. How does that happen? How can I feel so full and ready for any food emergency one moment, and after one quick glance, realise that I have nothing, really? Today is one of those days in my soul as well. I woke up with gratitude and fullness in my heart, ready to take on this day and all the wonderful opportunities that it presented. Then I caught a brief glance of some emptiness in my life and bam - my buoyancy was compromised. For the past few hours I have been treading water, trying to keep my head in a positive space, bobbing in and out of disappointment, and catching myself whining with pathetic indignity at the cement blocks of other people's stupidity that are tangled around my ankles. When I am staring at the empty refrigerator of my soul, these are my thoughts. Where do I go from here? Perhaps I should slam that refrigerator ...

3 blog time stealers

Things have a been a bit slow in my blog-world lately because my usual schedule has been disrupted by wonderful but time-consuming events. ONE: I opened my first exhibit of photos this week. It is kind of a strange sensation to see ones art displayed in a public setting and have people study it up close and offer their comments. I have been pleasantly surprised by the reaction of all and am always amazed by the wonderful support of the folks in our church group and my friends from all walks of life. One of them even compared the dilapidated old stone church basement with fluorescent lighting where the exhibit is being held to the humble beginnings of some famous artist whose name I can't remember right now. I like the concept of humble beginnings because it is something Jesus loves as well. And beauty shows well in humble beginnings. TWO: I have been helping a far-off friend search for an apartment in Montreal. She emails me the details of a place she is interested in and I go sc...

outWORD by Matte Downey

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