Change is good

Lots is changing in my life.  My daughter is graduating from high school, my son who's in college becomes more independent every day, I got a new car, I sold my new car...Strategy at my church (www.gracechurchreno.org) is one thing, then it's another.   Sometimes it's sad.  (My kids growing up.)  Sometimes is exhausting.  (Managing things that don't matter, like cars.)  Sometimes it's maddening.  (Nothing named here. :)  )

I am learning this: Nothing should be static.  Nothing is designed to stay the same, except the Word of God and the Truth of the Gospel.  Everything else is supposed to change.   God made it that way...We are in a constant state of moving, either forward or backward.  When I get especially irritated at change, that's when I know I need a gut check.  A reminder that transformation requires change and I want to be transformed.  I want to grow.  I want to move forward.  I want to embrace change, even initiate change...so I can really make a difference.    What about you?  (Seriously...comment.)

relationship matters

Tomatoes are always a staple in my home.  They just are...I measure my need to go to the store  by whether I am out of tomatoes...I can run out of milk, bread, even coffee, but what really makes me go to the store is when I run out of tomatoes.  Hmmm.  Why?  Is it the taste?  Is it the nutritional value?

I think I've figured it out.  Tomatoes remind me of my grandparents.  Mama Jewell, the most generous woman I've known, grew and gave away most of her tomatoes.  (She hid the plumpest most robust tomatoes under her bed for her favorite friends.)  And Gran Gran, the meekest, kindest man I've known, who measured the value of a meal by how many colors were on the table.  (Tomatoes brought the brilliant red...)  Both people modeled great faith, integrity and unconditional love.

I love tomatoes because they remind me of two people I adored.  People who I respected, loved, miss, and look forward to seeing again...It's about relationship.    Things that matter to me, really matter, whether it's food, art, places, books, or movies...matter because they connect me to either God or people...people I can love, respect, give to, and do life with.

Tomatoes...relationship.  Who knew?

What do I know of holy?

1 Peter says 'Be holy, because I am holy'.  Indeed He is.  Set apart.  Beyond compare.  Different than the world...

Me?  Not so much.  But it is my desire...it is my hope and what I strive for...Here's the rub, though.  As I sat in class next to my smart friend Jane (@janeygal), she showed me a commentary in her "Dallas Willard" Bible (he's even smarter than Jane--) that said often we miss what being holy really means.  It isn't defined by what we do or don't do...and it certainly doesn't separate us the world so that we aren't approachable...or at least it shouldn't.  I was reminded that Jesus attracted sinners...he didn't repel them.  Who did he repel?  The Pharisees...

My point is this...in our quest as Christians to "be holy", are we setting ourselves apart to the point of turning people away?  Because if we are, we are not being Christlike.  People far from God should be drawn to us by how we are different, not turned away....

Be holy in all you do...Is that holiness about the being, or the doing?  Have we gotten that out of balance?  Which is more important?  Being holy, or "doing" holy...I think it's the being...it's who we are in Him...

I want to be holy.  Like He is holy.  Holy in that I love the unlovable, serve the unpopular, and see the invisible. I want to be like Jesus.  That's all.

(God help me.)