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.

Artful worship?

Here's a different statue of Jesus

He is risen!

He is risen indeed

Psalm 34:8

Bitterness, a taste I thought forgotten

Words are salt on my blistered lips

Anger sears my tongue 

Burning, I choke it down

Why is it so fresh today?

Friends set a table

I dined with enemies

The fruit of betrayal was the main course

Why must I eat of this today?

A cup of suffering for a Son forsaken

Filled with my sins, willingly consumed

Death and darkness give way to light and life

The Savior sets a table

I dine with the lover of my soul

The fruit of love fills my plate

Grace serves a meal undeserving

The cup, filled with forgiveness

Wine soothes my wounded spirit

Comfort gently cools my heart

I swallow its healing for my soul

A fresh taste everyday

(Not) Just another Thursday

Today is the day that all my colleagues have been waiting for - the last day before Spring Break! Spring Break is always an important time for public school teachers. February and March are usually long stretches where there are no holidays or workdays. The kids are tired of school and wishing it would end. Eventually we tachers all get tired of fighting the battle and we begin to long for break to arrive. Hope and excitement are in the air today because we all know that tomorrow begins Spring Break - 1 week away from school to recharge and hopefully come back to finish strong.

Today is an special day for more important reasons. It's Maundy Thursday. Tonight is the night that Jesus celebrated his last Passover with the Disciples. It's the night that Judas betrayed him with a kiss and the guards arrested him.  It began the countdown of the final stages of his earthly ministry - his crucifixion and death that paid for our sins and his resurrection that gives us the promise of eternal life.  There is hope and excitement in the air because we are on the backside of the resurrection event.  We can say with assurance that no matter how bad it gets, we can hold onto the promise of eternal life in heaven.

What a great day this is gonna be . . . 

That's not my job (anymore)

A disturbing realization came upon me this morning.  I have become complacent, ineffective, and inactive in the sharing of my faith.  Sure, I get up every morning and go to work, Scout meetings, and ball games, living the Christian life.  People still call me "pastor" even though I'm not one anymore.  I get called upon to pray at all the usual gatherings.  I post occassionally on this blog.  But I realized that I am not pro-actively sharing my faith, living it out in tangible ways, serving the world around me in ways that exhibit a missional lifestyle that leads non-believers to begin their own faith journeys.

While I considered all these thoughts, I wondered if I have become a victim of the believers version of being a couch potato.  Have I stopped because "it's not my job anymore"?  Or have I just gotten lazy?

Just a thought, and not a comforting one . . .