Pages Menu
TwitterRssFacebook
Categories Menu

Posted on Nov 15, 2012 in down we go, fundamentalism, incarnational, jesus is cool | 18 comments

“but what abouts…”

blog what aboutstoday i am guest lecturing in two classes at asuza pacific university on down we go: living into the wild ways of Jesus.  it’s pretty fun that they’ve used it as a class textbook this semester, and i’m really interested to hear more about what it stirred up.

when i was reflecting today on this past week and the crazy divide on issues like abortion & homosexuality & poverty & health care & economics, the one thing i know i want to somehow emphasize is this–love has always been dangerous and if we’re not careful, the “but what abouts” will always stop us from it.   

i can think of example after example after example in the Bible where the pharisees and keeper-of-the-laws were looking for technicalities, saying to Jesus, “but, what about…”

“but what about healing on the sabbath?” (luke 6:6-11)

“but what about her sin?” (luke 7:39)

“but what about his authority to heal?” (mark 2:6)

“but what about eating with sinners and tax collectors?” (mark 2:13-17)

“but what about sin, it had to come from somewhere?”  (john 9:13-34)

“but God doesn’t listen to sinners!”  (john 9:31)

but what about…but what about…but what about…

i’m not saying we should never explore these kinds of “but what about’s” in our faith.   the bible says all kinds of tricky things that we should wrestle with.

but my bigger question is: how have we hidden behind our certain interpretations so that we didn’t have to love? 

how have we let our “but what abouts” keep us separated from others, feeling like we are better because we have truth on our side? 

how have we used our “but what abouts” to keep us more comfortable, more divided & segregated? 

i love my friend rachelle mee-chapman’s post this week called be dangerously compassionate. it is dangerous to be compassionate.  Jesus took an awful lot of hits for it in his time here on earth.

and those who say “i’ll error on mercy instead of judgment” are still taking hits from fellow brothers & sisters in Christ for the same reason.

i think humanity likes its easy divides.  the rich, the poor, the right, the wrong, the truth, the lies, the in, the out, the black, the white. we like these categories because they keep things clear, certain, defined.

and in a lot of circles, grey is dangerous.

when i look at all of the interactions the pharisees had with Jesus, almost every one of them from a pharisee was a call to black & white.

but Jesus spoke in greys and called us to something dangerous.  radical.  nuts.  crazy. wild.

yeah, this kind of love is dangerous.

it’s the kind of love that defies logic, lays down stones and looks at our own logs, errors on mercy & grace instead of the law, offers compassion instead of judgment, inclusion instead of exclusion, cold water instead of pointed fingers.

this kind of love takes the “but what about’s” and puts them in their proper place–where God worries about them instead of us.

it makes me think of something i heard that billy graham said and my dear friend mike often repeats:  “it’s God’s job to judge, the holy spirit’s job to convict, and my job to love.”

i always say that as Christ-followers we should be known as the most wild, crazy, risk-takers, and lovers-of-people in town (wouldn’t that be a much better description of us to be known by than what we tend to be?).

i’m pretty sure it’s impossible to be radical lovers if we are always asking “but what about…”

we will take flak for love.

we will be called unclean.

we will be called unbiblical.

we will be called slope-slippers.

we will be called heretics.

but that’s okay, when i look at this list–Jesus was, too.

but what about that?

 

 

Read More

Posted on Nov 5, 2012 in fundamentalism | 30 comments

releasing “biblical” from its hijackers’ grip

blog releasing the word biblical from hijackers gripyesterday, when i was flying home from the east coast after a visit with my oldest-son-who-is-in-college, i was reading USA today when a full-page ad with billy graham’s picture caught my eye.  here’s what it says:

vote biblical values tuesday november 6th.  the legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren, and this great nation is crucial.  as i approach my 94th birthday, i realize this election could be my last.  i believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of israel.  i urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman.  vote for biblical values this november 6th, and pray with me that america will remain one nation under God. – billy graham, montreat, NC (paid for by the billy graham evangelistic association). 

my friend steve knight has already written about how jacked up that is, especially since billy graham has remained bipartisan for his entire life, advising liberal and conservative presidents alike.  his son is now controlling his communication.

a friend of mine shared this quote from billy graham with me yesterday, from 1979, when he opposed the “moral majority”: “i’m for morality, but morality goes beyond sex to human freedom and social justice…evangelists cannot be closely identified with any particular party or person. we have to stand in the middle in order to preach to all people, right and left.”

but the point here about the ad is the word biblical sells.  and tricks. and confuses.

yeah, the word biblical is such a loaded one! i can unequivocally say that i dislike it (much more more than the word “missional”, ha ha, and even though i love & value the bible) because of how it has been utterly mis-represented. it’s been hijacked & twisted so people who vote or believe in a certain direction are considered “unbiblical” while a certain other select group of people have the market cornered on what that means and have “God on their side.”

it also strikes another personal chord because i am sometimes criticized for not being “biblical” enough.  as someone who is pretty into Jesus, it feels insulting, and it’s mainly because i don’t quote a lot of bible verses & support certain conservative views.  really, on the whole, when used in the context of this advertisement, “biblical” is about two primary areas: being against-homosexuality, especially gay marriage, and remaining against abortion.  these then get tangled up in “family values” that has the most to do with a God-centered america.

the last i read, these things were not the central tenets of the Bible.  they are not things Jesus talked about.  in fact, what he was railing against was people who had hijacked religion and were focused on the law instead of love.  who used the law to burden people.  who proudly professed they had the market cornered on God when really they had strayed far from what he had in mind.

when i think of the word “biblical”, these are some thoughts that come to mind:

caring for the poor, the lepers, the widows, the orphans, the marginalized.

equality and freedom for all–men & women, rich & poor, sick & healthy

worrying about our own sin instead of the sins of others.

sacrificing our lives, comfort, hearts, time, money, pride, and energy on behalf of others. 

radical forgiveness and loving our enemies.

justice, mercy, humility.   

how come we don’t seem to associate these things with being biblical when they are the far bigger message in scripture?

my take is that it’s because these things are way harder than talking about abortion, gay marriage, and a God-centered america.

i respect that we all have different views on biblical interpretation, some more conservative or liberal than others.  i love that part.  it’s interesting & challenging & we’re supposed to live with that tension.  but it makes me sad that “biblical” has become a way to say to others–”we’re with the real God and you’re not”. and that’s not fair.

i’d love for us to be more honest about how the word “biblical” has been misused for political and church-marketing gain.

i’d love to have more honest conversations about how we slap the word “biblical” on things and hide behind it instead of wrestling with the reality that people see the scriptures differently from us (and still love God).

i’d love to unhook the word from being associated with conservative politics & worldviews and have it more readily attached to Jesus’ crazy-upside-down-ways of love & hope & freedom & equality & mercy & compassion & justice.

i’d love to have the focus shift from picking apart particular bible passages as a great distraction to actively, tangibly, passionately living the principles Jesus modeled for us in the Bible because that’s the work of our lives.

yeah, i’d really love to release the word biblical from its hijackers’ grip.  it deserves better!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read More

Posted on Jul 2, 2012 in faith shifts, fundamentalism, healing, spiritual formation | 34 comments

a more honest theology.

blog image a more honest theology“for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  - isaiah 55:8-9

* * * * *

even though I find a lot of things in the Bible confusing, i have always been strangely drawn toward Jesus.  i can’t really describe it, but at the end of the day, no matter how hard i’ve tried to shake Jesus, i know i can’t.

my faith doesn’t all make sense to me.

but it doesn’t have to.

that’s what faith is–that leap we take between what make sense and what doesn’t.  

it’s why i never try to explain faith through logic and reason because it will never work. logic and reason are human inventions anyway and are imperfect.

plus, a life centered on the beatitudes will never fully align with the usual world.

there’s no doubt, my faith often wavers and i wonder why in the $*#^!&!*! God isn’t showing up to save the day in the ways i often hope for. people aren’t healed the way i want them to.  life doesn’t miraculously shift the way i think it should.  chronic illness, mental illness, death, divorce, generational poverty, abuse, and a whole host of other-hard-things-in-this-world continue to persist for so many.

there is so much about life that i will never understand.

but i also no longer think we are supposed to understand.

the other day i was with a friend who is healing from all kinds of hard things.  coming from a charismatic fundamentalist background, she was raised with what i call “if…then…” theology: “if we pray enough and in the right ways, then life will be easier….if we confess sins in a certain way, then we won’t be sick anymore….if we do this or do that then God will take care of us in the way we want to be taken care of.”

it creates so much shame when life isn’t going the way we had hoped.  oh, i know this feeling!

for me, even after all these years of becoming more free from jacked-up theology centered on performing a certain way for God in order to get certain things, when the going gets rough in my life my first weird thought is:  “am i somehow not right with God and that’s the problem here…if i only could ____, then God would somehow make everything easier.”  it’s crazy thinking to someone who has never been taught this kind of theology, but for those who have experienced it, you know what i’m talking about.

one of the reasons i go a little nuts when it comes to church stuff is that i end up talking to a lot of people who have been fed this kind of spiritual food for a long time.  it’s common in a lot of circles.  go to any Christian bookstore and see what i mean.  listen to some popular preachers or watch Christian TV and it gets even scarier.

everyone who’s been indoctrinated with an “if….then…” theology when it comes to God tends to be a bit of a head-case when it comes to freedom.  we’re easily convinced whatever-negative-that’s-happening-to-us is somehow our fault in the faith department.

we rarely feel free.

i’m learning more than ever that we can’t control God.

and it’s not fair to blame God for everything-that’s-wrong-in-the-world, either.

life this side of heaven is weird.  broken. hard. confusing.

but it’s also beautiful and good.

to me, the kingdom is God’s goodness seeping in, here, now, in little and big ways. it’s love piercing through the darkness. grace breathing new life into us despite our circumstances.  it’s being healed in some areas and still sick in others.  it’s miracles that don’t look like miracles but really are. it’s the weird paradox of dark & light mixed together in the same space.

Jesus was crazy in the eyes of the world.  and so not clear.  he told weird stories and healed in all kinds of creative ways.  he kept telling the religious leaders that they were on the wrong track and told the hurting and lost they were on the right one.  he honored pain & humility and railed against spiritual pride.

i have come to see that a more honest and practical theology is not a popular one.

because it doesn’t really sell.

we’d much rather get a solid “if i just do this, then God will do this….”nailed down and call it a day.  we prefer the law over mercy. certainty over doubt.  clarity over mystery. strength over humility.  works over trust.

these days, as a pastor and spiritual director, it is sometimes hard to offer this honest of a theology, one with more questions than answers. it’s painful to sit with friends who are struggling in all kinds of hard ways and tell them God loves them but i, too, don’t understand why life has to be so freaking hard all the time.  aren’t i supposed to have a better answer than that?

but i don’t.

because any other answer is dishonest.

i have so much hope in God. i believe God is alive & well & working in all kinds of beautiful ways that we don’t understand.  i think God is with us even when we can’t feel it, that he’ll never leave us, never forsake us.  that he weeps with us & rejoices with us. that he makes beauty from ashes.  that when we’re weak, we are strong.  that small mercies heal big wounds.  that a little love goes a long way.

and that i really can’t understand his ways because they’re higher than mine.  

Jesus did not promise an easy path or an “if, then” kind of theology to a more comfortable life here on earth.  he promised this:  we’re “blessed” when we are humble, mourning, merciful, meek, pure in heart, seekers of justice & peace, and persecuted (matthew 5:3-10).

yeah, living with more honesty does not mean living with less hope.

it just means living with more honesty and respecting there’s an awful lot we don’t understand.

i’ve come to believe we don’t really need to.

* * * * *

ps: this will be my last post for a month; i’m taking a blogging sabbatical so see you in august! i love this space & am thankful for your readership and all the ways you challenge and encourage me, but i also love summer. it’s time to unplug for a bit and get some rest. if you are new here, there’s plenty to catch up on (warning: it’s sort of like drinking a water from a firehose). if you have been around a while, thank you for your faithfulness and all the ways you bring me hope. i look forward to being back in a month. peace, kathy

a few other things i wanted to pass on, too:

1. my friend and teammate in creating-safe-spaces-to-heal-from-church-wounds phyllis mathis and i are partnering with sophia grace and mars hill refuge to offer a special session of walking wounded online: hope for those hurt by church specifically for mars hill church/acts 29 network refugees starting july 23rd.  their experience is uniquely painful and destructive and finding a truly safe space is pretty hard to do so registration is not open to the public. email sophia directly for details.

2. if you haven’t seen it yet, i have a guest post up at rachel held evans’ blog for her faith & parenting series. it’s called anger is not a sin. so thankful for rachel’s willingness to engage in tough topics!

3. this wednesday, for july 4th, i’ve got a post going up at sheloves magazine that’s a little twist on independence day. i’ll share the link on facebook but for those of you who aren’t familiar with it yet, check it out. oh how i love those dedicated-to-justice-and-mercy sheloves women!

4. because i know the ex-good-christian-women post resonated with a lot of you, i wanted to share my friend pam hogeweide’s recent post called “i’m not a good christian woman. neither was Jesus.”

enjoy your july!

 

 

Read More

Posted on May 23, 2012 in church stuff, equality, ex good christian women, fundamentalism, healing, identity | 51 comments

on becoming less divided.

blog on becoming less divided“in an effort to not be a divisive woman, i became a divided woman”

- pam hogeweide, at the unladylike: resisting the injustice of inequality in the church event at the refuge this past friday night.

* * * * *

in an effort to not be a divisive woman, i became a divided woman.

oh these words resonate.  so many of us (men and women) have struggled in the church with not wanting to be divisive.  there’s been a subtle and sometimes very direct message that any kind of conflict or dissonance equals being divisive and a challenge to unity.

really, it’s usually not about divisiveness; it’s about control. unhealthy systems will not tolerate any kind of pushback or challenge or questions.   healthy systems will.

i believe one of the most important parts of rebuilding after deconstructing is to become more integrated, less divided–in our faith, in our souls, in the way we interact with the world. learning to accept and work with conflict is part of that.

pushing parts of us down to stay part of the systems we are in is harmful.

hiding because our real selves, our real questions, will not be tolerated damages our soul.

splitting off and pretending will drain us of hope over time.

not everyone feels this way; plenty of men & women feel undivided in church. it’s working fine (this post is not for you!). there are a whole bunch of others who know what i’m talking about.   who feel that weird disconnect of desire & reality.  who have been settling for crumbs for a long time. who long to live out the ways of Jesus more freely but don’t see how the church they are in supports that.  who are called to lead but can’t.  who have a lot of questions & doubts but are afraid to voice them.

who feel divided.

i have been called divisive by people who think that those who publicly challenge the church are sinning.  any form of anger or discontent or challenge is perceived as negative.  in my good-girl-days, i used to try to smooth it over and make nice, but what i keep discovering over the years is that well-behaved women (and men) won’t change the church.

if we keep trying, out of fear, to not be perceived as divisive, over time we will become more & more divided.

our passions & gifts will continue to be squelched.  we will continue to give time & money to systems that don’t really care about us.   we will live with a subtle and sometimes overt shame that who we are is either too much or not enough.

we will never feel free.

because we will never be free.

we can’t be free in a place that tells us we are less than because of our gender.  we can’t be free in a place that won’t tolerate our questions or doubts or pain or struggles.  we can’t be free in a place that only loves us when we are towing the line and following the rules.  we can’t be free in an environment that won’t engage in healthy conflict.  we can’t be free when we are being controlled.

the thing that makes me happy right now is that many people i know are finding freedom and becoming less divided.  we’re breaking free.  we’re finding our way.  we’re loosening shame’s grip.  we’re stepping into who God made us to be.

it’s not an easy task when there’s a nagging voice in our heads that says “if i just did x or y maybe it will work…why can’t i let it go?….why can’t i just be content with what i have?…they’re fine why can’t i be?”

even though we are supposed to offer grace and accept that things will never be exactly the way we want them, when it comes to issues of oppression & unhealthy systems of power, we need to listen more to our gut.  we need to tune into our hearts and be more honest about what we are feeling.  we need to open our eyes to reality.  we need to ask God to show us the way to greater and greater freedom and give us courage to start walking toward becoming more whole, less divided.

i was struck by pam’s powerful words friday night & the subtle message that rumbles underneath so much of our hope–if we are afraid to be perceived as divisive, we will remain divided.

i was also reminded how Jesus was perceived.  um, pretty sure divisive was the word. any pushing on the status quo will be perceived as a threat.   he got killed for it.  i’m pretty sure we won’t get killed, but we may lose our churches & some relationships & reputations & a lot of things we once held dear.  but in the end i believe we will find life, real life–more abundantly.  as i become more & more integrated and less & less divided, i feel more alive than i’ve ever felt before.  i still have the nagging voice in my head sometimes, but it’s fading, losing it’s power over me.

that’s my hope for all of us, women & men alike.  that we’d become less divided, more whole.  less controlled, more free.  less confined, more empowered. less stuck, more hopeful.  less worried-about-what-others-think, more focused-on-what-God-is-stirring-up-in-us-in-deep-places-of-our-hearts.

God, help us let go of fear of being perceived as divisive and give us courage to move toward becoming less divided.

 

 

Read More

Posted on May 17, 2012 in church stuff, crazy making, equality, fundamentalism, incarnational | 34 comments

of logs and stones

blog of logs and stones“let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” john 8:7

“why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” luke 6:41

“do to others as you would have them do to you.” luke 6:31

* * * * *

i have been reflecting a lot about these words from Jesus this week in light of our conversation about equality.

i think they are possibly the least-applied-passages-that-could-actually-change-the-church in the Bible.

honestly, it’s a little comical, how much time and energy has been spent picking apart passages about homosexuality, of which there are few, and women in leadership in church, of which they are even fewer.  book after book and blog after blog have been written about those ones, that’s for sure.

i wonder how come we prefer those to Jesus’ powerful words in the sermon on the mount? how we’d much rather talk about who’s right & who’s wrong than live out the beatitudes?  how we’d much rather spend time & energy defending what’s a sin and what’s not a sin than feeding the hungry or loving the lonely?

umm, i’m pretty sure of that answer (and i’m not certain of much):  it’s a helluva lot easier.

laying down stones, worrying about our own logs & treating others how we long to be treated is some seriously heavy lifting.  one of the things i love the most about the 12 steps & recovery is that people are focused on our own stuff, not someone else’s.  one of the most important rules of the process is to stick with our own struggles, our own hopes, our own work and do what we can to stay on our side of the street as best we can.

it’s really quite beautiful.  and freeing.

and really hard to do in human skin that loves to control.

control is a way to protect ourselves, to distract ourselves from the bigger work of looking at our own painful patterns that keep robbing us of life, of love.

but offering ourselves in humility is what Jesus told us we needed to do–to worry about our own logs instead of anyone else’s.  to worry about the inside of our cups not the outside.  to offer mercy instead of sacrifices to satisfy the law.  to love our neighbor instead of judge our neighbor.

my theory is we’d much rather talk theology and ministry theory than be spiritually transformed ourselves.    it’s a great distraction.

spiritual and personal transformation is painful.  loving our neighbor is easier said than done.  loving God & ourselves, sometimes even harder.  reading blogs & defending positions is a piece of cake.  looking at the logs in our own eyes–pride & control & ego & self-protection & a whole-bunch-of-other-character-defects–isn’t nearly as fun as defending a couple of Bible verses to the bitter end.

i also wonder for all who love using the Bible in every conversation, how come not much time is spent on passages that challenge us on greed?  or power and control?  or comfort and pride?   or sacrifical love?  or humility?

those ones aren’t nearly as fun to rattle on about because they are seriously convicting in our own lives, not just the lives of others.

i get the irony here of me being a hypocrite, of pointing the finger, of throwing stones in a blog post but that’s about not doing that.   and i guess in this moment i would say “yep, i often am”; but i’m being convicted, too.

i can’t help but think that the world is crying out for hope while we’re talking about theology.

people are starving while we’re feeding on blog debates.

women & children are being violated while we’re haggling over whether a woman should be called “director” or “pastor.”

refrigerators are empty & electricity is getting turned off for people while we’re giving money to pay for flat screen TV’s.

if we layed down our stones and worried about the sin in our own lives, i have a feeling we’d be having radically different conversations out here.

if we tended to the forest in our own eye and didn’t give the speck in our brother’s another glance, i have a feeling we’d be plenty busy.

i think Jesus told us these important words for a reason.  he knew we’d much rather throw stones & worry about others’ specks than be radically transformed.

the church has so much it can learn from the 12 steps and the incredible wisdom of the beatitudes.  they embody an attitude of humility & mercy & meekness & purity of heart instead of an attitude of pride & judgment & control & division & finger pointing.

they help us lay down our stones.
they help us focus on our own logs.
they help us let go of needing to be in control or be “right.”
they help us be set free.

free to follow Jesus instead of defend Jesus.
free to learn instead of have all the answers.
free to listen instead of talk.
free to love instead of hate.

God, help us lay down our stones & worry about our own big ol’ logs so we–your body here on earth–can be wonderfully transformed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read More

Posted on Apr 10, 2012 in faith shifts, fundamentalism, healing, spiritual formation | 24 comments

jenga faith

blog jenga faiththank you all for your love & honesty about sunday’s post when easter is hard.  i am always reminded in these moments how many amazing people are out there feeling similar feelings in different ways. i’m more convinced than ever we need an underground railroad to help each other on the way to freedom.   the timing of this month’s synchroblog is interesting, too, because it is centered on the resurrection & “what if it was really a hoax”, a controversial conversation sure to stir up some challenging perspectives.  i am traveling this week and last week was a wild & crazy holy week so didn’t have time to write a post specifically for it.  but as i was walking yesterday i remembered this post i had written almost exactly 4 easters ago called jenga faith (it was from one of my first few months of blogging, holy smokes i’ve been doing this for a long time now!). i hadn’t read it in several years so it was interesting that it came up in several conversations with friends this past week.  i thought i’d throw it into the mix for this month’s topic & maybe for those who might be reading post-easter who are wrestling with doubt. .  i’d love to hear what it stirs up.  i’ll post the synchroblog link list once they come in later today.

* * * * *

many i know are going through huge transformation & transition in their faith.  it’s a scary, scary process.  giving up clearly held tenets of the faith:  hills we used to be willing to die on….issues we used to be bulldogs about, refusing to waiver…positions & theology that brought us a wonderful sense of comfort because they were just so “clear”…”it says right here in the Bible” kinds of answers to extremely complicated questions.

i recently shared with a friend that all of this spiritual shifting can feel a lot like the game of jenga.  in the game of jenga, the idea is to keep the tower from falling when various pieces keep getting taken out.  in the game of spiritual jenga, some of us wonder, “if i take out this piece is the whole christian tower going to fall any minute?”….”will this one end it all for me?”…”how far can i go before the whole thing crumbles?”  a lot of times i think “i’m a pastor for goodness sake, i can get in trouble for ‘not knowing’ like i used to.’”  (by who, i have no idea, it’s just the weird stuff that rattles around in my head, and i am grateful for my community where we can process these jenga pieces out loud, look at them, talk about them, disagree about them and still love each other and trust each other’s journey).

while i clearly understand there are many people deconstructing from christianity right and left, becoming atheists, walking away from their christian faith completely, finding meaning and purpose in different types of communities that don’t use the word “religion”, i am finding that even though i’ve been pulling out some jenga pieces over the past few years, my christian tower hasn’t crumbled.  i am comforted that i am not alone. there are lots of us living with jenga-holed faith that is beautiful and wild and probably even stronger than it ever was before (even though it often doesn’t feel like it).

regardless of the holes, i still believe in Jesus.  i still believe in the weird and crazy ways of the Spirit, the unexplainable way God brings hope, peace, and  freedom to darkness, brokenness, and emptiness.   the upside-down ways expressed in the sermon on the mount still resonate in deep places in my heart and stir up a desire to live this short life on earth differently.  i believe in the power of Jesus’ love and that it gets expressed in many diverse and wonderful ways that cross over our limitations of language and expression and culture.  i do still really love the conviction and hope scripture brings.

and when i think of the power of the cross this holy week, it is comforting to me in ways that all of my cynicism about weird religious stuff and church politics can’t take away. 

i don’t have new answers to all of the jenga pieces i have taken out over these past few years. it’s not like i simply replaced the blocks with new certain, stronger, better ones.  i am living in the tension of a lot of holes, a lot of uncertainty about things that somehow don’t seem to matter as much as i thought they did.    some blocks i’ve looked at for a while and put back in.  they didn’t need to come out all the way.  others, i honestly don’t think they are going to be finessed back into place or placed back at the top; they’re pretty much out of the game.

when i reflect on Jesus’ ministry in the gospels i am reminded that he didn’t really have a long list of pieces that i needed to have in my jenga tower in order for it to stand. in fact, he sort of honed in on what was enough to focus on:   love God, love people, including ourselves. 

honestly, that is plenty to play with.

* * * * *

here’s the link list:

Read More