It was more years ago than I care to remember. Gone is the cute outfit, odd little hat and very likely the guy who portrayed Santa that season at the mall. What remains is an amazing smile, warm eyes, deep compassion and an innocent wit that can have me chortling like a schoolboy.

Somewhere over the years we have raised two children, moved eight times and buried three parents. The twentyseven plus years since our meeting have flown. To continue to have days together full of laughing, griping, talking, arguing, smiling, crying, doubting and hoping is an incredible blessing for which I’ll never be able to give enough thanks.

I often wonder if this has been an arranged marriage…

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Communionity
2. Tuesdays with Nicole
3. From a Friend

I was touched tonight by one of those wonderful and all too rare moments in life. Those moments where the special of our past bumps into the ordinary of our present. I had the sweet opportunity to chat with one of my ‘wayback’ friends. Throw in dinner with my daughter and on a dime my somewhat crotchety day has turned into a gently pleasant evening.

That and a healthy dose of sweet tea inspired the following:

Crossed Paths

by jeff mountz

The paths I have crossed,
memories sneaking a peek –
I count myself blessed.

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Didn’t Forget My Lunch
2. Price of Happiness
3. Christ, Be Our Light

In the words of Navin Johnson,

The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!

OK, so it’s not the new phone book exactly. But, it is quite cool. This evening I received my Google Voice invite and went ahead and got the basics set up. I’m thinking this will prove to be quite the geek-fun for awhile. I know, I know, easily entertained…

Just one more Navin Johnson-ism before I go:

Ah yes. I have my temporary driver’s license – and – my astronaut application form… I didn’t pass that though, I failed everything but the date of birth.

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. I’ve Always Tossed ‘Em
2. On The Loose Again
3. One Great Peace

I mentioned how the faith community I hang with took time this past weekend to visit and worship with other local communities. Well, below you will find my responses to a questionnaire that we use to kinda gather and share thoughts and observations from the weekend. I was able to attend two separate services given that one was a Saturday service.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS for Mennonites on the Loose

1. Name of the church:

first dip - Sha’arei Shalom

second dip - Covenant Christian Church

2. Denomination:

first dip - Messianic Synagogue

second dip - Disciples of Christ

3. How would you characterize the building?

first dip - Simple, unassuming, contemporary, flexible (modular seating) – someone mentioned that there are some renovations planned that will make it look a bit more synagogue-like.

second dip - Simple, unassuming, contemporary, flexible (modular seating).

4. How many people attended the worship service?

first dip - 50, maybe 60. The Rabbi, several from the worship team and some from the congregation were in Florida at a convention.

second dip - Maybe 20. It is the earlier of the two services (9:00).

5. Did anyone welcome you personally?

first dip - Yes, several.

second dip - Yes, so many names so quickly. I only remember Carol… I think.

6. How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere?

first dip - Very welcoming, but still with a sense that greeting is done by the ‘greeter’. This may be because there is a handout and some explanation required regarding some upfront instructions/information — which I found quite helpful. The handout mentions to look for people wearing a “Shalom!” badge, but I did not see any. As I mentioned above, there were many who were not there.

second dip - Very welcoming. It felt very much like RMC in that regard.

7. What books did the congregation use during the service?

first dip - A prayer book (Siddur) – which is read back-to-front and has Hebrew and English. The songs were projected up front.

second dip - While there is a hymnal at each seat, the songs were all projected up front.

8. Was the worship style liturgical, traditional, charismatic, contemporary, or blended?

first dip - Contemporary, informal and relaxed with a huge reverence for tradition. It was a meaningful tension that I really enjoyed.

second dip - The 9:00 is their informal service. Again, this RMCer was quite ‘at home’.

9. What musical instruments were played?

first dip - Electronic keyboard, electric-acoustic guitar, percussion of the Ten-thousand Villages sort and a vocalist — Hillsong a la Tevye. I did not fully appreciate it until after the service, but the songs were missing much of the I’s and me’s so prevalent in contemporary Christian music and were way focused on G-d and His holiness.

second dip - There was a small praise band. The predominant sound was the electronic keyboard and vocals. Again, the songs would have found themselves at home at an RMC service. An interesting note about the band; the physical set up precluded the musicians from taking a place up front. They were positioned to the left of the congregation. This went far to avoid the sense that they were there for our entertainment, but rather they were worshiping with us. Whether this is intentional or not, I don’t know, but it did make an impression on me.

10. What was the overall theme of the worship service?

first dip - G-d is holy.

second dip - Offer what we have, where we are, to Jesus.

11. How long was the sermon?

first dip - 15 minutes, maybe 20.

second dip - 10 minutes.

12. In a nutshell, what was the sermon about?

first dip - Job… ‘nuf said.

second dip - Thousands of hungry people… and all we got is five loaves and a couple fishes.

13. When during the service did you most connect with God?

first dip - Scripture readings and the handling of scripture, literally.

second dip - Upon reading the inscription on the alter; “That all may be one”.

14. Did anything distract you?

first dip - To a degree trying to ’soak’ it all in may have prevented me from fully connecting at any one point.

second dip - The chairs were plenty comfy.

15. What happened after the service?

first dip - Spoke to some more people.

second dip - Great conversation with the Pastor. I believe she and RMC are very much kindred spirits.

16. What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days’ time?

first dip - Informal formality.

second dip - Feeling welcome.

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Christ, Be Our Light
2. On The Loose Again
3. Out and About

It is about that time. We have a tradition in our faith community to take a Sunday once a year and close up shop in order for the community to go out and worship with other faith communities. We call it Mennonites On The Loose… catchy, ain’t it?

This will be my fourth time participating in M.O.T.L. and I am looking forward to it. The idea is to worhship with friends, coworkers, neighbors or fly solo; but to find a faith community that you may not be very familiar with and may even bring you out of your box a bit. I have detailed previous adventures here and here. This year my son and I are planning to attend Sha’arei Shalom, a Messianic Jewish Congregation here in town.

I am not familiar with this particular group of worshipers myself and I am not at all familiar with what to expect, hence I sent a preemptive email to flush out anything that may be even mildly embarrasing. The extra cool aspect this year is that Sha’arei Shalom gather on Saturday mornings, which means I could actually sleep in on Sunday Actually, it also gives me an opportunity to check out some other community as well. There is a local church that holds an early morning Taizé service. Perhaps double-dipping is in order…

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. On The Loose
2. “He hates these cans!”
3. Prayers for L

I have been reading several things lately and enjoying most of it. Definitely in the enjoy column has been Kevin Beck’s work This Book Will Change Your World: How All Things Become New. Now, let me start out by stating that I am neither a theologian nor do I play one on television. To tell you the truth, between you and me, I’m not even sure I pronounce it correctly… theologian, not television.

On a personal note, my inner-journey became a bit bumpy. This process began several years ago. There were things that challenged my personal status quo in a way for which I was not prepared. I found myself reading a passage of scripture as though for the first time. I had discussions with people I would not have ‘associated with’ in the past. And there was a good bit of questioning. What I found was that it was all good. I would read, discuss, question and then read some more, have more discussion with even more questions. The cool part was when I realized that I did not need, nor expect to have the answers; at least not in the same tied up, trite little package that my faith was becoming. I am growing to strongly believe that my faith is not a matter of having all the right answers, but rather asking the important questions.

A particular set of questions for me tended to float around various aspects of prophecy. How can one tell whether a particular prophecy was for ‘then’ and another for ‘now’? How does one know if a prophecy was fulfilled or in the queue waiting for a Falwellian pronouncement? The hitch in the giddy up for me was when I seriously began to consider that the Jews of the day totally misread the Messiah’s coming, might we be totally misreading His second coming? That and what exactly does the Kingdom at hand suggest?

I still carry these questions with me and occasionally I travel by something that catches my attention and I am able to sit these questions of mine down next to someone else’s and enjoy the view from a different perspective. This is what Kevin’s book afforded me; another perspective and an odd reassurance that I may not be crazy.

While I could go through Kevin’s book chapter by chapter and give you a color commentary, why do again what others have done so well? There are a couple of other reviews of Kevin’s book that I will point you to that I feel are well balanced and helpful. The first is by Graham Old.

So, if we were to embrace a hope-filled eschatology, in place of a destruction-based one, just what would it look like? And what about the millennium, the resurrection, the Church and issues like universalism? That’s where This Book Will Change Your World comes in. The main thrust of the book – intended to be an introduction to where the Transmillennial view is today – is to provide an alternative way of reading the Bible, one that is creative rather than catastrophic; one that is guided by love rather than fear; one that respects the varieties of language used rather than reducing everything to a crass literalism. — Graham Old

The second is by Jesse Medina.

This book can and will change your world. Regardless of whether or not you become convinced that Transmillenialism is true, this book highlights the importance of love in all things and shedding the baggage that Christianity has piled on along the way. Give it a try, and see just how much your world can be changed. — Jesse Medina

So, with that I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Kevin’s book:

Going back to the Biblical story, Jesus’ contemporaries looked forward to a time when God would overthrow the Gentile oppressors. They hoped for a repeat of the Maccabean miracle in which God would destroy all of the bad guys and set the world straight.

Meanwhile Jesus reminded them that the kingdom was of a different order. He touched lepers, ate with outcasts, and befriended unlikely characters. This is his way of demonstrating the essence of the kingdom of God. The kingdom would not be one of escaping the world’s problems. It would be the means by which we can enter into them with love and grace.

Be peace!

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Jesus And The Victory of God
2. Desire to Go Deeper
3. Tagging: Tagged and Taggees

I mentioned in a recent facebook/twitter et al status update that I was helping serve communion this past Sunday. This was the first time I helped out and I was a little nervous at first, mainly because I was afraid I would speak before I thought and say something completely off key like… “Cheers!” That, and I was so hoping not to spill any on anybody. As it turned out I am not on the hook for any dry cleaning and the overall experience was one that I will treasure.

My favorite communions, logistically speaking, are when we approach the front of the room in groups of about ten, plus or minus. Each person is given a piece of bread broken for them and then presented the cup into which they dip their bread and partake. When all in the group are finished there are hugs all around and they make their way to their seats and another group comes forward. This is repeated until all have been served. As you can imagine, after just the first few, I found my rhythm and was less worried about what may come out of my mouth and more intentional about looking each person in the eye. It was then that it became powerful.

This community has become very important to me over the past several years and looking each of them in the eye and telling them that “this cup is the outpouring of Christ’s love for you”, just begs for an ear-to-ear smile. I suppose there is a certain protocol of solemnity that risks being broken with too much smiling, but I suspect they’ve already forgiven me.

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Didn’t Forget My Lunch
2. Another Way
3. I’ve Always Tossed ‘Em

In the past I have used a writing prompt or two to get through some times dry of ideas. Tonight I went looking for such inspiration. It was not long before I got distracted with this:

Prompt:What if cows gave root beer instead of milk?

As a serious writer one must first decide on perspective. Will it be from that of a bottle-fed infant, or perhaps his parents. No, I think this prompt begs to be handled from the perspective of the cow.

Imagine, if you will, how gingerly those less than graceful bovine must attempt their navigation of the pastures and fields. One wrong move and… burrrp! Devastating. OK, well at least embarrassing.

A sunny meadow, quietly grazing and then an antagonizing fly buzzing around where no fly has a right to buzz. Bessy holds out as long as possible but the urge to swat her tale gets the best of her… burrrp!

It is a source of much amusement to the other farm animals. Particularly the other hooved critters. The stately draft horses try hard to be understanding, but too often the uncontrollable whinny is let go and another and then the whole team is chortling like school kids.

Then there is Pedro. Pedro is often the brunt of jokes himself; not exactly a horse, Pedro is a donkey. If Pedro, who has experienced so much ridicule himself, can not find within himself the restraint to not make jokes about walking root beer floats, then can the cows really expect anything more of the poultry? The swine?

Bessy and the girls gently make their way past the barn on their way to the south field. One of the girls, not sure which, stubs her hoof on a rock and… burrrp! Heard from Pedro’s corner of the barn is a taunting snicker. Heard from the cows, “jackass”.

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Perspective
2. What’s In A Headline
3. Hybernation

I was listening to a piece on NPR several days ago where they were talking with officials from the admissions departments of a few large universities here in the US. They were talking about those essays that are often required. They were asking what purpose they really serve and if they really were effective in differentiating potential students.

They then posed an idea to the officials. How about you writing just such an essay for us? There were maybe three or four that they read on air. While this whole story was only mildly interesting, I found the question they posed for the essay to be very interesting. They asked these individuals to write page 217 of their 300 page autobiography.

I found this idea interesting in that it is a peak into a person, but just a peak. A typical page contains maybe 300 words. Unless page 217 is the very beginning or ending of a chapter, it will likely not be a clean beginning or ending to a single topic, scenario or idea. 217 is a little better than two-thirds of the way through the whole 300 pages. A typical male life expectancy in the US is something like 72. Two-thirds of 72 is 48. I am 47… but that certainly does not suggest that it must be two-thirds of the way through your life; as if that is something any of us even knows.

So, after giving it at least a little bit of thought, here is my page 217:

No one was hurt and overall there was very little property damage. A day would come when apologies would be made and relationships restored, but for now some basic personal maintenance was needed. A reliable and affordable means of therapy was called for. Yes, I would reignite my blogging…

My blogging had served me fairly well. I got to ‘meet’ some wonderful people and follow along with them through some leg of their journey. I also had the opportunity to air some things personally. It was kinda like talking to myself out loud. Occassionally someone would look at me strange, but for the most part they just gave me a knowing look and leave me to my business. It was right around this time that I moved my blog from a small community blog site to my own domain. I had such grand plans for the space.

So, maybe those plans were not fully realized, but blogging has certainly been a blessing to me. Just getting to glimpse into the lives of an English teacher in Japan, an Anglican Priest in Edmonton, a Rabbi in training in New Hampshire, an Anabaptist in England, an urban homesteading family in California, a DJ in Australia or a Kiwi Mom who can deliver a great preach… has been endearing. Occasionally sharing life’s heavier moments has also been very special. I’m not suggesting that blog connections replaced those face-to-face relationships built throughout our lives, but when you prayed for someone, or knew that someone was praying for you, there was a connection that surpassed the virtuallity of any relationship. Yes, as it turned out blogging was very much the therapy I sought, especially when I actually became more regular at posting. Now, if only blogging could have prepared me for what came next — grandchildren.

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. Maybe Tomorrow
2. Allow Me To Introduce… Rachel
3. A New Friend

My 2009 New Year’s resolution went something like, “I would like to be able to do something on New Years Day 2010 that I couldn’t do on New Years Day 2009.” Well, today I passed my exam for the Technician level (Element 2) Ham operator’s license. Now, what exactly I’ll do on New Year’s Day 2010 that I did not do on New Year’s Day 2009, I’m not sure… 73

Other posts you might find interesting:

1. What? 2009?
2. ‘08 New Year’s Resolution
3. Yep, Here We Are Again