Demons of Hope - ATN Fall 2008

The new issue of All Things New is out!

You can access it here.

I highly recommend the article "Demons of Hope" on page 12. Should win a pulitzer, or something. Plus, the author is really hot.

Bre

Stars and old dudes.

So every Christmas it seems to happen that I really connect with one part of the Christmas story. Last year it was Mary – her faithfulness, her willingness, the bizarreness of the entire situation for her. I felt her story was one which I have often overlooked.

This year, I am struck by the story of the Magi.

I am struck that God orchestrated this amazing celestial event to mark the coming of Jesus. This makes me consider the wonder and meaning of the stars up above. And I am struck by these men – non-Jewish men who saw this star and did not ignore it, but pursued it to a faraway place with extravagant gifts for the Jewish Messiah. The faithfulness and dedication of these individuals is not only admirable but inspiring.

This picture gives me great hope and joy for my own journey. I want so badly to follow that star that I see, even though it sometimes takes me to places which are really scary and unfamiliar. I want my life to reflect the faithfulness of the Magi – to follow God’s leading at all costs and to wherever I am lead. I want my heart to be open to new ideas which may seem crazy at foreign but are filled with Jesus.

I see that star today, and it is so bright and it is so clear. And it is so beautiful. And I intend to continue following it with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Merry Christmas, yo.
Bre

Merry Christmas. This is awesome.

A short video from Reverand Billy's Stop Shopping Choir.

John Maynard Keynes: "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of reasons, will somehow work for the benefit of us all."

ParticiPaction a la Hal Johnson

I received this Newsweek article from a friend, and thought it really thoughtful and well-written. There's lots I could say about it, but am more interested in your thoughts and reactions . . .

Gay Marriage: Our Mutual Joy

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Religious silence is silence that is undertaken as an act of worship. Whether I hear God or not makes no difference.
- Thomas Merton


Merton’s a pretty wise dude.

For the last few years, thanks largely to my Anglican friends as well as my Pastor, I have been offered many opportunities to engage God through more traditional forms of worship. These include fasting, lectio divina, meditation, liturgy, and many different forms that I was never exposed to in my evangelical upbringing.

I have found much meaning in these times of worship, and credit much of my spiritual development to thoughtfully engaging in and pursuing more traditional types of sacred ritual. I have been able to experience God in new and real ways, and for that I am thankful. And during those times where God is silent – when I seem to be unable to encounter Her – these rituals allow me to remember that much of that meaning lies in the act of worship – in my choice to offer God that moment and that sacrifice. Whether I feel Christ’s presence in that moment is not necessarily the point. Christ and I are connected regardless of my feelings.

In Christ Alone

Hey all,

We played this at church this week, and as we played I found the words striking. A good song of hope, and of our life in Christ.
Perhaps it will affect you as it affected me . . .
Blessings


In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.
*Getty & Townend