WEDNESDAY?

Well, Tuesday got away from me and I forgot "to blog".

I'm sure that I am not the only one who has slipped through an entire day and missed a detail or two. Even so, yesterday was a good day. I had a very enjoyable (although late-starting) meeting about the upcoming youth rally St. David's is hosting in mid-March (http://www.anwconf.com/public/upcomingevents.htm). I finally feel on track. Some of the nagging worries I have been having were shown to be moot or were alleviated. I now have a list of what still needs to be arranged and it is mostly slotting in the many people who have offered to help during the rally.

I also got things together for another major part of my life (being a minor football team registrar). Midget registration begins tomorrow and I think I have all my things ready to go.

This kind of settledness is not going to last, is it? Ah well, better enjoy it while I can.

THE END IS NEAR

There are sure a lot of those post-apocalyptic movies out in recent years: 2012; Children of Men; I, Legend; Deep Impact; Armagedon; The Road; The Book of Eli and let's not forget the literary masterpieces - the Left Behind series. And serious documentaries or showing on A&E and TLC about the Mayan calendar ending, the quatrains of Nostradamus and a world without humans.

It's kind of depressing. Why do I keep watching these things?

The Bible is no stranger to apocalyptic literature: the books of Daniel, Revelation, as well as small sections of the gospels and other books. What seems to be the common context in the up-swing of these writings is that the world around the authors is filled with uncertainty, war or domination. When people feel helpless, they begin to wonder openly if God will just wipe it all out and give the righteous a fresh start.

I suspect that this has a lot to do with living in a post-9/11 world. The shadow of fear that those of us who grew up during the Cold War knew only too well is back for generations of today: thanks to suicide bombers and invading armies.

Is life really that fragile? Are we that devoid of hope?

EPIPHANY

I Am the Light of the World!
Arise! Your Light is Come!

Yup, we sang 'em on Sunday, the first Sunday of Epiphany. I spoke about "noticing the light": Finding the hints that point to presence of the Spirit. And how life is up-lifted when bouyed by the Spirit.

In light of that ... this is my New Year's resolution for 2010:

I WILL TRY TO MAKE EACH DAY A GOOD DAY
in terms of ..
..attitude
..health
..faith
..family
..happiness
..compassion
..justice

It seemed to make sense for me this year - the light has come on!

A WEEK OF SATURDAYS

Happy New Year;
It's just a turn of a calendar page, but it reminds us of the cycles of life and the constant opportunities for fresh starts.

I had the last week of 2009 off from any formal responsibilities at the church. With the kids home from school - it felt like a week of Saturdays. And in a strange sort of way, that was kind of stressful. You see for me, as a minister, Saturday is sometimes a day off, but it can also be the last day of preparation for Sunday Worship. Every once and a while over the holidays, I would feel a flush of panic - "I'm not ready!" Then my concious mind would kick in and remember that it is (first of all) only Tuesday and (second of all) I don't have any worship prep responsibilies this week.

I like to be prepared. Truth be told, I seldom leave Sunday planning to Saturday. I try to avoid that last minute panic. But I know the feeling - and it's uncomfortable.

There is a modern proverb that says that God comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. I'm glad to be afflicted with panic from time to time, especially when I am getting too comfortable.

This is a good message for me, at the start of a new year or at anytime!

HAPPY NEW YEAR