She said "yes!"

14 years ago today at a picnic dinner by a river, I asked her...and she said yes...I'm still in awe...

Next to Jesus, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

When she walks into the room, she still makes my heart go into over drive...

I need to change what?

So, Kiley called me to tell me about Ian this morning...

She asked him to go and change out of his Pajamas and into clothes for today. He came down a few minutes later with yesterday's clothes on. When Kiley asked him why he had the same clothes on he said, "But I changed my underwear!"

Normal?

I had someone ask me this week, "So...are you ready to get back to normal life?"

The question, surprisingly, caught me a little off guard. It has made me stop and think.

What IS normal?

I know, maybe it sounds silly. I don't want to get into wild theories and metaphysics, but it is a valid question I think. In so many parts of life people have accepted that ABnormal for the normal. Marriage, for example, is accepted to have the "goal of permanency" but with an escape clause called divorce that's not fun, but OK for anyone to use if you aren't "compatible." Obviously, that's not God's definition of normalcy. Sexuality has certain "normal" patterns in culture, but God's pattern is entirely different. I could go on, but the point is that there are many places in which the world around us has conformed to a pattern that is not of God and has called it normal. In many cases, followers of Christ have put on the brakes and said, "Whoa...that's NOT normal. Don't conform to that pattern." But not in all cases have we done so...

And so it begs the question when it comes to patterns of work, play, family, priority, etc. "What is normal?"

Industrial society has set up patterns that have changed the application of the Christian work ethic. The hours, demands, and normal patterns for work in modern industrial society in the name of a good work ethic, have, in many cases, created a pattern that in pre-industry were only seen in three areas: slavery, conscripted military and brothels.

Daniel Spaite, in his book Time Bomb in the Church talks about the patterns that we have come to accept as normal and their effects on our bodies. He says that there are chemicals which are released when we experience certain events and circumstances to help our bodies handle the moment well. The problem comes in when the pattern of our life moves us from one of these events to another for an extended period of time. Our bodies begin to accept the presence of these chemicals as normal, when they should be abnormal. I understand this a little experientially right now. Like coming off of an extended fast, my body is moving back into the patterns of daily life, and it's reintroducing some of those chemicals it needs to adjust to these patterns.

I have a ton of questions about this subject. I'm far from proclaiming that "I have discovered the pattern for normal." What I do know, is that many of the patterns we have conformed to as normal are not, but what patterns ARE normal and how do we put ourselves in a place where we can be transformed to them?

What God has Taught me

I've had several ask me what God has taught me over the course of our sabbatical. I'm not prepared to share it all, as I'm still trying to learn it, I'll tell you if I have six months from now. Three things, though, come to mind as being significant lessons for me:

1. Rest ~ God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath. He created Sabbath patterns and seasons. These were not designed to be super spiritual learning times, but times of rest. Don't overspiritualize these times, but don't miss their vital importance FOR our spiritual well-being. When the Sabbath was instituted, man's daily life was filled with the chores of life. Now, we seem to save all of the "non-work" (personal) related chores for our day off and so we never do rest.
2. God's Ministers/Pastors SHOULD be the most healthy people on the planet and yet they are among the most UNhealthy. We have God's Truth. We have God's pattern for life. And yet, somehow we think that we can be disobedient and live "above" this because we are called to be ministers. This isn't just physical health, but emotional, relational, patterns of work, drivenness, etc.
3. I am PART of God's plan (and that's vital) I am not ALL of God's plan ~ God often works in generations to accomplish His work. I so often get trapped into thinking that He's going to accomplish it all in my lifetime. This doesn't mean that I don't work hard, but it does mean that the "production" is up to Him and His timing and not me.
   

Headed to the Office

I'm headed back into the office for the first time in over seven weeks this morning. some have asked if I'm ready for it. The short answer is "no" ;-). Others have asked if I'm despressed that our time is over. The answer to that is no as well. The only experience that lasts forever will be when we finally are home with our Heavenly Father.

Until that time I am reminded of C.S. Lewis' teaching on how so often we overindulge ourselves with a good thing. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but, bottom line, he says, "There comes a point when even a good thing, the best of things, becomes a not so good thing. The flavor begins to fade due to familiarity. The joy is not as much. God made us, in this life, to experience life with limits, but in heaven...there will be no end to increasing joy."