Do I mean it?

"Why do we sing songs we don't mean?" My 10 year old daughter has been listening too closely to the worship songs, .... During worshiping in song I've encouraged her to read the words and sing along and she has done this and become a beauty to watch and join with in worship but now what? She has noticed a problem, a discrepancy. .... we sing "I surrender all" but yet we don't really surrender all. .. give my everything ... with all my heart ...sing of your love forever ... we sing it but do we mean it? She asks because she sees within herself the age old battle between God and self. She is wise beyond her years to proclaim such insight into the human heart. I've often pondered on this myself and maybe you have too. Pondered, reflected, confessed and then asked the one we praise for the power to over come our failures.
Ariel's question should be our question for this week, bring it with you into this weeks worship service.
When you're singing to Jesus this week, ask yourself "Do I mean it?"

Thoughts from the weekend

This weekend we had a very good speaker David MacFarlane at our EMMC Conference Gathering. He challenged and inspired. I am trying to find a way to capture what was said briefly .... I don't know for sure what to say because he said so much. Maybe I will do this...

This is what I am thinking and feeling-
- I love to talk with other Christians about faith and mission and Jesus
- I love to pray with people and I need to listen to the Holy Spirit more, it's so rewarding when I do.
- I want to plan community outreach, anyone want to brainstorm ideas?
- I want to share Jesus with people, up to this point I've really sucked at it.
- I want to move to Quebec and start a missional community and ...
- I want you to join us, could we really send a team out within the next 5 years?
- I can't wait till 2 years from now when we all meet again
- I saw the beauty in the gathering of Christ followers
- I am glad for a rest, it was a full weekend

I'm a human being

Hold still ........stop what you are doing and hold completely still ....... just humor me and try it ............ keep breathing ............stay like that for minute ........... what do you feel? what do you notice?

I tried this recently, it was very interesting, I became keenly aware of my physical presence right were I was..... my mind and body were in the same place for a change.

This awareness of my physical presence along with reading and listening to a few interesting teachers, Henry Nouwen, Ben Klassen and Brennan Manning, have me on a summer plan.

To be a Human "being" ....32 years old and I have figured out, I am a human being. laugh if you like because this is funny but let me explain.

I almost always have to have something to do and I don't sit still for long, I have been acting like a human "doing". In Devotion time I have to read this, read that, pray for a list.... do it.

God is teaching me, I am his beloved and that is who I am. The beloved of God is my identity, in just being I am loved, that is my value, that is all. period. Eternally from the beginning and eternally in the future God loves me(and you)and the short stint we call life we get to learn to love God back but the whole time our value is based in our being not our doing.

The last post I wrote about "wasting" time(which is really the most valuable time) with my family, this is also what I am doing with God(or trying to do) just to be with God, not try to accomplish my list of devotional tasks but just to exist with him in the present moment. Giving God the pleasure of his true value on me being recognized and for me the pleasure of knowing it. I don't need to do anything to be valued, I just am, and learning to bask in that. (Amazing, an unbelievable truth)

I looked back at a question I asked you in May, in Make a Plan?

What do you do?
What will you do this summer to intentionally connect with God?

Nothing really wrong with the question but from what I've been learning since then I want to change my question, "How will you be this summer in order to connect with God?"

So my summer goal has turned quit different than I expected, from doing to being, Goal - to "waste" time.

Note - This "being with God" does not mean that the other structured things of a "devotional" time need be ignored. It is a balance.