Reconnecting with the Sea

I haven't posted on this blog in almost six months. This post marks my third entry in about 5 days. Don't know what's up, I'm just running with it.

Last night I started reading America's Inland Waterway again. It was published by the National Geographic Society in 1973 and then again in paperback in 1983. My family was given a hardback copy signed by the photographer because there are pictures of my great-grandfather Stacy Guthrie in the book. That fact has always been a source of pride for the family. The book is basically a journal of the travels of a small sailing yacht up the Intracoastal Waterway. During part of that journey, the photographer stopped on Harkers Island and the rest is history.

The writer begins his journey in Massachusetts. On of his stops is New Bedford, where Herman Melville received his inspiration to write Moby Dick. As the writer details the emotional connection the locals have with the sea and their boats, I began to reminisce about my own childhood growing up in what was once a fishing village where everyone shared those same kind of connections. I find myself mourning for times lost. I experience naive and romantic notions of moving back home and somehow suddenly becoming an "old salt". I desire to immerse myself in knowledge of the history of my hometown so that I can reconnect with a lost heritage.

Our faith journeys often begin the same way. Something within our souls long to reconnect with something past. It's the calling of the Holy Spirit, inviting us to reconnect with our Creator and repairing the broken relationship severed thousands of years ago in the Garden. We can immerse ourselves in Him as he fills us with his presence. Fortunately for all of us, it's not just a romantic dream but a reality for all who believe.

How much is enough?

"Kamens said on his blog that the airline offered him a $75 refund."

says this article about two young girls who were placed on the wrong flights earlier this week. Considering the situation, I would have considered $75 to be a greater wrong than the mistake itself. How much would the airline have to offer for me to feel properly compensated for the wrong they had done to me and my child?

This begs an important question regarding our faith journey. How much is enough for our relationships with God to be restored so that we move from enemy to friend? outcast to family member? death to life? It's through faith in the death of Jesus as the only payment big enough to pay for our sins. After reading this article, I wondered how God feels about our feeble efforts to make our own way.

MGSF, Season 3 Episode 2 - Real Work

(Matt Guthrie, Suburban Farmer)

This season is all about reclaiming the Garden. Over a month ago when I was doing the back breaking work of hoeing up my garden plot, I began to appreciate the whole concept of work. I'm not a desk jockey, but as a math teacher, I do very little physical work throughout the course of the day. It felt good to use all those neglected muscles, especially when I thought about having my own farm. My dream of perfect, romantic farm life where everything goes on without a hitch rolled continuously through my mind as I drove my mental tractor through the fields and collected the eggs of my yet-to-exist chickens.

I began to appreciate once again our original purpose when we were created. Contrary to popular belief, Adam was not put in the Garden to eat bon bons all day. He was put there to work. Adam's job was to tend to the Garden and all of Creation. That doesn't mean that if we are not doing hard physical labor that we are falling short of God's design. It doesn't matter what type of work it is, as long as we do it. One of the reasons we feel so fulfilled after a hard day's work is that we are fulfilling part of our purpose.

We were made in God's image, imago dei. He wanted us to continue his work. That includes his creative work in the Garden. We were called upon to multiply across the face of the earth. That creativity is not limited to procreation. Take a good look at the art, technology, and philosophy around you. They are all products of the ability to create placed in us by God.

The continuation of God's work includes telling everyone about him. Abraham was given a promise. Part of that promise was to be the forefather of the one who would provide salvation to all. Abraham was also told to be a blessing to all he encountered. As God formed his chosen people, their purpose was to show the world who God was. Before Jesus returned to his Father's side, he gave us the commission to go out and tell everyone about him, making them his disciples. This is the most important work we could do.

How's your garden going?

Blogging from my phone-if u only had 160 characters what would u say about God & your journey if u wanted the reader to begin following Christ themselves?

Matt Guthrie, Suburban Farmer - Season 3 episode 1

This week began another season of Matt Guthrie, Suburban Farmer (MGSF).  The last two years we had straw bale gardens.  I was determined to have a much larger, more traditional in-the-ground garden.  I picked out the perfect spot in our yard with plenty of sun, etc.  I mentally marked off a plot about twenty feet square.  There was one last piece of critical info - I needed to verify the location of our septic drain lines.  And wouldn't you know it?  Our drain lines run right through all the best places on our property for a garden.  On to plan B.

After much shadow watching, soil checking, etc. we finally determined the next best place.  To make a long story short, I accepted plan C after beginning the process of preparing the ground the old fashioned way by hand.  I went to AgriSupply yesterday and bought ten bales of wheat straw.  I'll do another straw bale garden over the spot where I want my "real" garden next year.  Over the winter I'll till and prepare the ground for next spring.

This season the theme of MGSF will be "Reclaiming the Garden After The Fall".  While doing all that hoeing by hand on Saturday, thoughts of Adam working the Garden of Eden before the forbidden fruit incident kept coming to mind.  It has been said that all of salvation history is about God trying to get humankind back into the Garden.  Think about your faith journey in those terms.  Stay tuned for more episodes of MGSF as we flesh out those thoughts and more.

NCCAT Reflections 2

One of the themes that was reiterated continually during my workshop on web 2.0 resources for the classroom was "Use it for yourself before you try to implement these in the classroom."  It can be very daunting to try and implement some of these tools.  You might even get worse results by trying to use them before you're ready.  Read here for some thoughts I've posted for teachers in these regards.

During my time at this workshop, I began to think about this in terms of our spiritual lives.  I phrased that theme this way - "learn, use, apply".  When we begin our faith journeys, our entire lives should be affected and changed.  Granted, that takes time to see the full effects, but it should happen.  The Holy Spirit enters our lives, begins to fill us, helps us learn what it means to be a follower of Christ, and we are hopefully using and applying them to our everyday lives, not just our church lives.

I can't help but think how many of us are like the teachers I reference in the above post, trying to apply or live something out that we don't really use.  I want Christ's influence on my life to be THE factor in all I do, not just some second nature.   Learn, use, & apply - that's a faith journey.

Peanut Butter, the Super Bowl, and other important thoughts concerning our faith

I know I'm a couple of days late, but the New England Patriots dream of a perfect season capped with a Super Bowl win was shattered. I honestly thought they would pull it off. Of course, a record of 18-1 is nothing to throw sticks at. Unless the one loss is the big one. I bet if the Patriots could trade one of the regular season wins for a win this past Sunday, they'd take it. I'd take it. Who wants to win all those games and lose the championship?

I've been indulging on peanut butter again. After the big salmonella scare last year, Peter Pan peanut butter returned to the shelves a few months back. I had eaten virtually no peanut butter during my favorite brand's absence from the shelves. The regular stuff returned back in August, but I prefer the taste of the reduced fat stuff. That has finally returned. I have resumed my daily indulgence of spoonfuls of the wonderfully delicious stuff since my wife brought home a jar of Peter Pan reduced fat creamy. However, as good as that is, I cannot wait for the crunchy version to come out. Then I will be as close to heaven as I can get while here on earth.

Both of these thoughts are extremely relevant to our faith journeys. Specifically they have to do with the return of Jesus. That's right. In case you didn't know it, Jesus is coming back. He did not remain dead after he was crucified. He was raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit on the Sunday morning after his death on Friday afternoon. A little more than a month and half later, he ascended back to heaven with the promise he would return to earth one day to get all his followers.

What's the Super Bowl and Peter Pan reduced fat crunchy peanut butter got to do with that? I'm glad you asked. Why would I want to live a perfect life, only to mess it up at the very end and miss my chance to go to heaven when Jesus returns. The Apostle Paul urged his readers to run the race so it could be won and they could receive the crown of eternal life. The Patriots were a great team this year. But they won't be remembered for winning it all. They'll be remembered for losing the big one when it counted.

And what about my peanut butter? I am waiting anxiously and excitedly for the return of my favorite brand. I know it will return if I'm patient. This other stuff is pretty good so far, but I want the whole package. I anxiously await the return of Jesus. I can't wait. Things are good right now, but they will be so much better when he returns. Why even be on a faith journey if it's not about waiting for his return?

Just a thought, a creamy, peanut buttery thought. Ummmmm.

Hope and Holes

Last night filled me with a little more hope for the future of our society. The kids and I watched Kid Nation. For those of you unfamiliar with this show, it's reality tv involving kids. Forty kids between the ages of 8 and 15 have been dropped off in a ghost town out west and they have to make society work. They have a town council, division of labor, etc. They do all the work.

Last night's episode dealt with matters of faith. Through cunning editing, we got to see kids from all different faiths argue about whose faith was best. The town council was given instruction to make time during the day for faith observances and a time of rest. They were given the option of either planning one service of the "one size fits all" type or organizing several different services. When the town council decided to "force" everyone to attend one service in order to learn about the faith of others, there was rebellion. More arguments ensued. No one attended the scheduled service.

However, later that night, right before lights out, a couple of kids organized a prayer vigil on their own. They went around inviting kids to gather around the fire for prayer if they wanted to, no pressure. An amazing thing happened. Due to camera angles, it was hard to see how many actually attended, but there seemed to be a lot of kids - Christian, Jew, Hindu, and even self-proclaimed atheists. The scene was so moving that one 12 year old boy broke down into tears at the expression of unity.

Things got more interesting the next day. At the regularly scheduled challenge that determines the social class of each group of kids there is also a chance to earn a town reward. Last night the choices were a mini-golf course to provide some entertainment OR a set of holy books - the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, etc. Much to my surprise, the kids overwhelmingly chose the set of holy books.

Several thoughts come to mind. I value diversity and try to be intentional about incorporating it. So did these kids but they resisted a politically correct attempt to force it on them. Good for them! They proved when given the chance, they would actually reach out to those around them in respect and genuine interest, as proven by the prayer around the fire.

I'm still trying to process the choice of the holy books over the mini-golf. It's hard to judge how much the books were actually read because we don't get to see everything that happens, only what the producers allow. Yet, we saw all the kids taking some kind of interest in the books. At different times thru the day, a group of kids could be seen taking time to read them. Deep down I want to believe that what we witnessed despite all the careful editing is an attempt to fill what has been called the "God-shaped hole" within all of us. St. Augustine is credited with first articulating this concept, though he put it much more elegantly -

"What place is there in me to which my God can come, what place that can
receive the God who made heaven and earth? Does this mean, O Lord my God,
that there is in me something fit to contain you? ... Or, since nothing that
exists could exist without you, does this mean that whatever exists does, in
this sense, contain you? If this is so, since I too exist, why do I ask you
to come into me? For I should not be there at all unless, in this way, you
were already present within me."

Just a thought.

Hell Revisited

Well, let's hope you aren't really revisiting hell, or have even visited hell the first time. One would think that after going there once you would not choose to go back. In the spirit of my previous post relating to dialog, I feel the need to clarify my thoughts about hell and its place in our journeys. I encourage you to check out the comments here and here before reading any further (or is farther? maybe someone will dialog and help me get it straight which it is).

Hell is something to be avoided, that's for sure. I do not think it is something to avoided in talking about out faith journeys. In Losing or Winning, I reference the rewards of entering into a faith journey. It must also be understood that these rewards are not options. It is not a case of "I don't really want a glorified body and all that. Is there a cheaper package I can get?" There really are only two options - ALL or NOTHING, Heaven or hell.

The second option has to come into play at some point. In What exactly is a faith journey, I reference the fact that sin has us on a path that takes us away from God. What I do not say in that post is where exactly it takes us. Some readers will immediately recognize this and be quick to point it out as a shortcoming. Maybe so. But, I think the discerning reader and the person whom the Holy Spirit may be working with will be able to fill in that blank. It's an obvious question that most will ask, whether aloud or internally.

Timing is everything. For some people, they will understand and respond to the hell option much more quickly and receptively than others. Other people will need to hear about the heaven option first before they can understand the hell option. My issue with the "avoidance of hell" methodology is that is all some ever talk about. It is many times presented as the "You can passively choose hell by not choosing God. Don't worry about the joyful things that come from choosing God. Let's just get you out of the fire."

Just a thought.

Losing or winning?

Merv Griffin died this weekend. The late night news began its report on Merv by saying, "Merv Griffin died this weekend, finally losing his battle against prostate cancer." I immediately thought, "Did he really lose?" In the church, we rarely say someone "lost" when they die of some disease. We usually say, "Their battle ended." Why? Despite our grief at having lost a loved one, we believe that person, if on a faith journey, actually wins the greatest prize of all.

Last week I cautioned against using "avoidance of hell" as the primary reason/method by which to encourage someone to begin their faith journey. I still stand by those thoughts. It is true that at some point you have to understand the reality of hell as part of your faith journey, but does it have to be the main thing you understand? What about the benefits of being on a faith journey? What about the fact that in heaven, you are in a place where you receive a new body, just like the one Christ received at his resurrection that will never need repair, never grow old, never suffer aches or pains? What about the reality that in heaven there is no sorrow, no grief, no emotional disorders or mental illness? What about the joy of knowing that you get to be in the actual, physical, and literal presence of the God who created the universe and you get to do so forever? That sounds a lot like winning to me, regardless of how it phrased by the people of this world.

There are lots of other ways to talk about losing and winning on our faith journeys. Maybe that's something for my next set of thoughts. For now, think about what you win on your faith journey.

Feeling the Heat

This week promises to be a scorcher. Temps are forecasted to break 100 in my neck of the woods. All last week they hovered around the triple digit mark. We've been carefully planning our daily activities to avoid the heat of the day whenever possible. Overall the summer hasn't been that bad. I've seen a lot worse. The humidity rose substantially a few weeks ago, but again, this has been a pretty cool summer, no pun intended.

All this heat reminded me of a saying I heard a while back. "It's hot, but Hell's hotter. Don't go there." It was said in jest and yet it was also obvious to anyone listening that the person saying this was giving a half-hearted suggestion to whomever might be listening that eternal damnation in the lake of fire was something to be avoided. I believe this person spoke with all sincerity in his concern for someone's soul. Many of us have been exposed to the sincere efforts of someone (whether a "professionsal" evangelist or just a friend) to scare us into Heaven.

I believe in a literal Hell that fits all the descriptions you would expect a preacher to believe in. However, I'm not sure how effective or even appropriate such an approach is to helping someone see the need to be on a faith journey. There is a time and place where the reality of Hell needs to be discussed. I just don't believe it's at the beginning of the journey.

Lots of people interpret such tactics as intimidation. I've heard countless stories from people very dear to me who feel bitter resentment at such an approach being used on them. They sincerely believed all that was being said to them but something in the approach and forcefulness of the speaker left a bitter taste in their mouths that caused them to turn back later. Some people have galvanized their resistance to Christianity because of it.

Some of the people reading this aren't going to like it. I'm going to be accused of watering down the Gospel. My faith is going to be questioned. That's ok. If you visit here frequently and read the comments of others, you'll know I get hit from both sides of the fence. So for those of you who disagree, be kind and comment appropriately. For all of you, I'd like to hear about your experiences with someone trying to tell you about the need for a faith journey. Was it positive or negative and why? If you said "Yes", why? If you said "No", why? I'll be here looking for a cool spot while I wait.

What exactly is a faith journey?

For the last week or so, a reader by the name of Zora has been asking what I mean by "faith journey". Unfortunately, I don't think I've done a good job of answering her questions. I had hoped some others would join the confusion and clear up the mess I was making. Here's a link to the original discussion.

I've decided to answer her last set of questions here in a separate post.

1. What exactly is a faith journey? People who are more familiar with church and church terms would call this "being a Christian". Read the post I've linked to above for some of my particular nuances on the phrase, but here are the important details of what "being a Christian" means from a "faith journey" perspective. When we are born, we are automatically on a journey that takes us away from God. This is a result of original sin - the sin that Adam and Eve committed in the Garden of Eden. We will continue on this journey until we do some about it. We may do good things, be good people, etc. but the reality is that we are moving away from God. The Bible calls it "being dead in our trangsressions". At some point in our lives, we will hopefully realize we are going in the wrong direction and desire to move towards God. We have to acknowledge that the sin that was taking us in the wrong direction can only be counteracted by and removed by the death of Jesus on a cross. The church term for this is "repentance". At this point, our journeys change directions. We are now on a new path, heading towards God.
2. What do you do to stay on this faith journey? After we "repent" and begin our new journey, the Holy Spirit does a few important things. He cleans away the sins from our pasts that happened along the journey that was taking us away from God. He makes us new people who now live for him. There are things I do to help keep me on the journey and to strengthen my faith. They are things like Bible study, prayer, and being part of a community that shares my faith. That means being involved in a church on a macro level. It also means joining some smaller group within that church (like a Sunday School or a small group) on a micro level. The micro level enables you build relationships of mutual encouragement. There are many other spiritual disciplines that can and should be practiced to help us stay on the journey also. Here's a couple of good books on that matter: The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and With Unveiled Faces by Keith Drury.
3. What do you have faith in? As noted above, it begins with a belief that the only way to have this faith journey is by having faith that the death Jesus died on a cross is the only way to get off a path towards death and onto a path towards life. I have faith that there is a God who relates to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I have faith that he really cares about all the little things in my life and provides for my every need - whether it be my material needs or my spiritual needs. I have faith that he will answer my prayers and it will be for my good, even if I don't like or understand it initially.
4. How does prayer help on your faith journey? Prayer is conversation with God. That means I talk AND I listen. If I listen, I will "hear" him speak and know what to do if I'm seeking guidance. But it's like learning to talk to anyone. You don't always understand everything they say in the beginning of the relationship. There are nonverbals, mannerisms, even dialectical issues you have to learn. If you really work on praying regularly and incorporate listening, you will learn to recognize his voice.
5. What types of things do you pray for? Everything! I pray for myself - that I will be a better father, husband, pastor, friend, and yes, even a better Christian. I pray for others in all the same ways. I pray for people to be healed. I pray for wisdom in important decisions. I pray for peace and comfort in times of difficulty. I pray that people who are not on a faith journey will begin one. Sometimes I just spend time praising and thanking God for who he is and what he has done. Other times I just sit and enjoy being in his presence. This is the mystical part that is perhaps the hardest to understand. Here's another book that can help in that area - Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ. It is written by Madame Jeanne Guyon, who was a 17th century Christian mystic. (Christian being the operative term!)

I think this addresses all of Zora's questions and I'm sure will generate more. As always, I would love for some of you to join the discussion.

Have a great day!