Through the fence

Ever feel like you don't know?  We're in a season right now of transition.  The time at which some of these changes will happen feel very imminent.  I've noticed that when you start to feel the stress and the pressure (and make no mistake - we feel it), you become somewhat fixated on it all.  It feels as if the one pressing question eclipses all the other answers you have in life.  

So I feel like I don't know much of anything.  Which is not all that true, it's just I feel that way.  I wish I knew more about what God was doing.  As I wrote to someone in an email the other day, I catch glimpses of God behind the stuff I see, moving about, but there's so much in the way I can't tell what's he doing or where he's going.

It's like watching a neighbour through a wooden slat fence.  You see slivers of a person moving here and there, but you can't tell what they're doing or working on.  

So ya, He's there.  And that's good (in the very best and largest sense of that word).  In many ways we're in a better place in this transition then we have been in the other ones in our life.  But .....

So God is there.  And while I still feel like there's lots I don't know.  I working at choosing to trust.

The one thing I keep 'hearing' from God, or perhaps the better way of expressing it is, the one thing that I keep going back to in my thoughts, is:

I'm forgiven.

Which is a good thing to reflect on, if you're needing something to reflect on...

Trusting. Forgiven.  Waiting.

Us May 2011

We went and played at Sandy Beach today.  I took some photos.  It was fun.

"Mark dilemma"

I think I solved my "Mark" dilemma. If you click that link, you will see a Facebook status update I wrote lamenting  the problem.  Which is, 11 Sundays to fit ten chapters into, oh and we have special Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services in those 11 weeks too.  Some suggestions were given and at least one person wanted to hear how I resolved to approach the dilemma, thus this post.

Backstory:

This year I wanted to preach through the gospel of Mark.  For some reason I don't often look to Mark when I'm studying the gospels.  So, to learn more I decided to preach through the book.  I had preached from Mark 1 through Mark 6:44.  Then as I sat down to sort out how to break down the rest of the book with the number of Sundays that I have remaining as pastor of Timbers Community Church (blogged about here), I realized that at the pace we were moving it wasn't going to come together the way I wanted.  

So here's what I'm planning on doing with the rest of the sermon series.  Date, Passage and then the subtitles that may (or not) be in your Bible.

• April 10 - Mark 7:1-23 Jesus teaches about Inner Purity
• April 17 - Palm Sunday service 
• April 24 - Easter Sunday
• May 1 - Mark 8:11-21 Pharisees demand a miracle and the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
• May 8 - (Mothers Day) Mark 8: 27-38 Peter's declaration about Jesus, Jesus predicts his death 
• May 15 - Mark 9:2-13 Transfiguration
• May 22 - (Victoria Day weekend) - Mark 9:33-50 Greatest in the kingdom, using the name of Jesus
• May 29 - Mark 10:35-45 Serving Others
• June 5 - Mark 12:1-12  Parable of the Evil Farmers
• June 12 - Mark 13:1-37 Jesus foretells the future
• June 19 - (Fathers Day) Mark 14:12 ->> Last Supper and onwards

Some thoughts, I will draw from the Mark accounts for my portions of the Easter services, and while it will not be a part of the series, we will as a community look at the accounts, even if it is out of order a bit.

I have felt like some of the portions of Mark that I have outlined above are what 'we' need to look at.  I dislike that we have to skip parts.  I should have planned the front end of the series a little better.  

I think there are some really excellent things we can learn from these scenes in the book of Mark and I look forward to working through them with our church.

I have lots in my head these days, but every time I try to articulate it and it doesn't work.  As Tara blogged about a little while ago we are in transition.  I will finish as pastor of Timbers Community Church no later then the end of June.  This was not a surprise to us.  I was in discussion about what was going on with our church all the way through.  In fact, we were struggling with the idea of taking a salary when our church hasn't generated enough revenue to support it.  There would've been time and space to continue for a period of time, but it seemed unwise.  So changes are coming to both our Timbers family and our immediate family.

What and where? Don't know.  We'll see.  I have learned a lot in the short time we've been here.  We have truly enjoyed it here.  And we wait to see what God has in store for us next.  Wherever that may be.

In other news, I got a suitcase full of cameras the other day.  How much fun is that?

Maybe you need to read this too.

I get a daily email from the Henri Nouwen society thing.  I don't always get around to reading them.  Today's however was something that brought perspective.

Finding Solitude

All human beings are alone. No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.

Letting our aloneness grow into solitude and not into loneliness is a lifelong struggle. It requires conscious choices about whom to be with, what to study, how to pray, and when to ask for counsel. But wise choices will help us to find the solitude where our hearts can grow in love.

Here's the photo that this prompted me to remember.