outWORD by Matte Downey

winter on the farm where I grew up. UPDATE: these trees were damaged in a storm the summer after I took this photo and are no longer there. I gave this photo to my brother and his wife (who currently owns the farm) this Christmas. good memories.

I have a confession to make...I hate being told what to do. I like to think that if everything and everyone in my world would just order themselves according to my wishes, things would work out alright. But welcome to an earth filled with billions of beings each with free will, and each probably thinking very much the same thing! A sure recipe for trouble! Perhaps that is why traffic can be so frustrating...all those other people are just not lining up with your idea of how things should go!!! So irritating. You know, I have come up with some ideas that have been rather good and enjoyed implementing them, but when I think about it, the most meaningful and effectual events or changes in my life have come as somewhat of a surprise to me - something was initiated by someone else and I got to participate and benefit. Here's confession number two...I love to be loved. Well, who wouldn't, but very few of us come right out and say it. I crave attention, affection, acceptance and any o

This afternoon a friend of mine challenged me to write something on politics. My first reaction was "NO!" because if you know me at all, you know that I am apolitical. I don't have much of an opinion on politics one way or the other, I generally don't like to talk about them (though after some practice, I can now hold a fairly simple conversation on the subject when necessary), I don't make an effort to be informed about them, I will probably find a way to change the topic when it is brought up, and on occasion I have been known to burst into tears when the subject is broached. What can I say? I don't understand it either. So what changed my mind? When I opened up the bible for my daily reading, this is what it said: "The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. Th

I have been discussing community (and the sad lack of it in our lives) with a friend of mine (http://wherewelive.blogspot.com ) and this afternoon I happened upon someone's blog (http://www.johnalanturner.blogspot.com ) who mentioned that he had moved his family across the country in order that they might be close to friends - be a part of a community. Hey - I really admire the man's courage to pursue the things he believes are valuable to the health of his family, but just the opposite happened to my friend and I: due to different circumstances, we both made the choice to move away from a great community of supportive friends into the barren wasteland of strangers, people of un-like mind, and unfamiliar surroundings. The novelty is exciting for a few months, but then the silent phone and the empty front steps start to wear on your pioneering spirit. If you are going where you think God has called you to be, shouldn't friends be easy to make? Alas, it seems not. Friends

A lot of my friends and acquaintances (and yeah, me too) seem to be at a point where they need some direction in their lives. We get to a certain point, and then we wonder...what next? We are faced with some choices and we hesitate because it is not clear which one will get us to the right place. And by the way, where were we going anyway? In a quest to offer some help to people in this area, I offered to speak on the topic at church one night (what was I thinking?). I had no idea what I could do or say to bring clarity in the area of guidance, so I asked God about it. The next thing I knew I was reading the story of Abram and Sarah in Genesis 12 - 25 and here are the points I came up with. Maybe you will see yourself in a few of them. 1. God gives a general invitation to be a blessing, to make something of your life. (Genesis 12:1-3) Condition to move onto the next step: You must leave your comfort zone, you cannot rely on yourself. 2. God gives you a glimpse of the possibilit