A Picture of Our Relationship with God

I read a great post in Donald Miller's blog today and wanted to share a quote. It's a bit longer than I usually share, but it's only a portion of an ever longer, better post. This is a beautiful way to understand God and our relationship with Him. Here's a clip.

I had a long conversation with a distinguished scholar last month whose lifelong expertise is story structure. He is not a Christian. And as we talked, he said something that fascinated me. He said this:

“I understand you Christians. I understand the essence of your message. It’s this: If you are not a good person, you are going to burn in hell for all eternity.”

As I said, this man was a distinguished scholar and so it surprised me when he made this statement from a position of absolute knowing. There was no doubt in his voice. He wasn’t asking me to confirm. He knew. But he was absolutely wrong. That isn’t the essence of the Christian story, and anybody who believes so is a heretic.

Our story, and by our story I don’t mean the Christian story, I mean humanity’s story, is this:

The Trinity existed forever in a completely loving community. They were and are other focused, without what we think of as ego (though I believe they have something like ego, we would not recognize it in comparison to our own) and they created an existence, including you and I, to enjoy their company. That is the most loving thing a perfectly loving being could do. But love cannot be controlling, it has to set it’s muse free, so they gave humanity an option out. And humanity took it, thus, by necessity, there was a separation between pure good and anything other than pure good. So now, we who have been designed to be complete in God, seek affirmation and validation from each other as though our lives depend on it. But it doesn’t work. Nobody has agency but God. So God sends his son to earth and his son essentially says this:

“You guys have all walked away from God. He can’t have anything to do with you, because he is purely good. But look, I haven’t walked away from him, so if you marry me, and we become one, you’ll be reunited with the Trinity. He’ll look at you and see me. We’ll do this at a wedding in heaven. Until the wedding, though, just have faith. It’s as though it’s already done. But it’s going to kind of suck until then.”

So that’s where we are in our story. We are waiting for the wedding, and until then, we have hope, and we have an explanation for our hope.

Be sure to read the entire post: "How the Stories You Believe are Screwing With Your Mind". Not a complete theological treatise or explanation of the Gospel, by any means, (nor is it meant to be) but it is a wonderful starting point for discussing our faith. I can't wait to read Don's next book: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It's about the personal implications of story and it should be fascinating.

USA Monk Tribute Promo

If you watch any of USA Network's awesome original series (Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, In Plain Sight) you'll get a kick out of this hilarious tribute video for Monk. It's amazing how many great shows USA has put together. Our family enjoys all of these very much. Great storytelling and wonderful characters.

Blogging, "Micro-blogging", and Facebook

What's the difference between having a blog and keeping your Facebook status updated (or Twitter, or MySpace, etc.)? Isn't it the same thing?

I've been a Facebook fan for some time now and recently added my 300th friend. That may seem like a lot to some, depending on how long you've been on Facebook and your age. Others may find this quite a small number - usually younger people or those who friend at random anyone they've ever met. But I digress.

For a little while now I have been much better at keeping my Facebook status updated but have allowed the blog here to languish. Part of this is the assumption that most of the people I know are Facebook friends and can "follow" me there. Recently, however, I have begun updating my status a lot less frequently. I started updating my status only when I felt that I had something more significant to share than "heading to work again" or "staying up late tonight". I weary of reading some of my Facebook friends' updates that are constantly filled with trivia. It's not that I don't want to know what they are up to, but there is a point when the trivia becomes trivial. (For instance, there is the new habit some of my friends have gotten into where they post lines from a song as a status update. Sorry, guys, but I just don't care unless there is something in those lines of particular significance to you. If so, then explain it. Otherwise you may end up in my "hidden" list of status updates.)

The benefit of blogging is that there is the opportunity to expand on a thought and really flesh out items of more significance. No, I won't be giving up Facebook, which I think is a wonderful way to keep in touch, network, etc. But I think a nice balance of blogging is a great way to keep my communication skills sharp (as Seth Godin pointed out in my blog post yesterday.) Also, as these blog posts get highlighted in my Facebook status updates, there will be opportunity for interaction via the Facebook comments rather than on this site. Hopefully I can share some helpful, interesting, thought-provoking, or simply entertaining things on the blog and we can discuss together via Facebook. Let me know what you think.

Why blog?

Saw this today and thought it was brilliant. Certainly something worth aspiring to, for sure. I'm going to give it a try. We'll see how it goes.

Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover LIVE!

Meeting Dave Ramsey and sitting in on a taping of his radio show was one of the highlights of 2007 for me. Rosalie and I also were able to host a Financial Peace University class at our home early the next year. But the one thing I've always wanted to be able to do but never had the chance to is to go to one of Dave's Total Money Makeover LIVE events. These events are held in various large cities around the country, but there has never been one close enough for me to be able to attend.

That's changed now that Dave's September 19 live event will be simulcast to thousands of locations around the U.S. Our church - Evergreen Community Church - is privileged to be able to co-host this event along with Our Redeemer Lutheran Church which will be held at the Evergreen Community Church campus - 710 5th Ave SW, Pine City. The event runs from noon until 5 p.m. with the doors opening at 11 a.m. The cost to attend is $25, which includes a workbook.

This is a high-energy 5-hour event where Dave shares great information about taking back control of your money. Whether you are married and need to get on the same page or single and need the tools to stay financially focused, this event is for you! Dave shares personal experiences, stories, and information not found elsewhere. It's packed with humor, energy, and incredible information.

Because we're hosting this locally, you won't have to drive to the Cities, try to find a place to (pay to) park, and fight huge crowds and long lines. Instead you'll be able to gather with a couple of hundred people from east-central Minnesota right here in Pine City to laugh and learn together.

I'll be the key contact person at Evergreen and Glenn Westing is the person to talk to at Our Redeemer. Checks for tickets can be dropped off at either church office or given to either of us personally. Reserve your spot now as the facility will accommodate about 200 people and we anticipate this filling up quickly.

Working on Time Out! for Sunday

Stress, overwork, pace of life, burnout. These types of issues are epidemic in our society. But that's not the kind of life God calls us to. So how do we take advantage of the Time Outs that God gives us? That's what we'll be talking about this Sunday.

I am excited about the opportunity to share with our church.