Shalom

after thinking about sabbath some more i've come up with more thoughts. the word "create" has been used a lot around me lately. i'm currently in new york for my job and i've been doing some thinking about what we create. since we were created in the image of a creator, it is natural for us to create. since the beginning of time life has progressed to this point.
think about it. our homes. the way we travel and communicate. the tools we've created to make things easier. faster. better. we've evolved. i've even read somewhere that the bible is an illustration of progression. the world was created and man was set in the garden. and as we flip through scriptures we find ourselves in the last book, revelation where man is in a city. a garden to a city. progression.
so this brings me back to this idea of create. everything we do is "create". this may be far fetched or it could be so easy it's profound. either way, in our everyday actions we're creating. we're creating a reality that either expands heaven or hell. i don't think there can be an "inbetween". when we do things out of love or as paul says, "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit" we're restoring or re-creating the image of god in ourselves and in others. the kingdom of god being restored here and now looks a lot like hope. peace. and love.
when we create healthy relationships, attitudes and actions, our world becomes visibly different. we begin or add onto the creation story of old. we fill up the earth with the heavens. the kingdom is near.

i forget about sabbath. i forget that god made it so that one day a week i would do something different. nothing. just one day where i am surrounded with friends and family. a day where i am rejuvinated, not worn out. a day where i do as little work as possible. a day where i am connected with god. a day where i am focused on being alive because i'm not a machine. i'm not a computer. i'm not a robot. i'm not a clone. i am a human created in an image of a creator. and if the creator made a day for no work, i think it's important to observe a day like that.

when's the last time you've really had a sabbath? a day where you were "out of touch". a day where you remembered why you were created and that work should only be done 6 days a week. not 7.

sabbath is a part of shalom. it's a part of the fabric of creation. if we choose to ignore the sabbath. in essence we choose to ignore shalom. if we ignore the peace of god in our midst, we ignore his kingdom.

i am thankful for the reminder of sabbath. my response needs to be creating a life lived in sabbath. a day to look forward to. a day to celebrate of an empty tomb. i look forward to sabbath. i hope you do too.

well actually, i'm back in the army. the salvation army. i'm working for the South West Ohio North East Kentucky division (Swoneky) as the worship arts coordinator. i'm really looking forard to the opportunity of teaching and modeling a life lived of worship. i'm sure i'm not the best person for the job, but i absolutely love the army.

i don't think health care is a "right".
i don't think it should be a privilege.
i don't think health care should cost as much as it does.
i don't think it's fair that some people can afford insurance and others can't.
i do think everyone should be treated equally.
i do think that all life is valuable.
i think that health care for all would bring peace.


a friend of mine told me that when he was diagnosed with his condition his insurance wouldn't cover him anymore because of something they saw on his medical records from five years ago that has no evidence to contributing to his condition. is it fair that a father of four should pay 1800 dollars a month because his insurance said they don't have to cover him? that's messed up on many levels.


what do you think about health care?

do you ever wake up thinking about your life and wonder why you're doing the things you're doing? do you ever ask your self why you care about things that you care about? and why is it that when pain and suffering enter our lives the things we care about shift to something(s) much more meaningful. why don't we just live that way all the time?
catherine of aragon said, "none get to god but through trouble". these are strong words. i don't think she meant only "go to god" when you're in trouble. but the truth of the matter is, we tend to have perspective when things aren't going our way. the way we planned.
catherine knew this far well. losing her husband months after she had been married and then remarrying and losing four children in the process. she knew a thing or two about loss. trouble. pain.
so this christmas season, remember that god came in the form of a human. who suffered the same way that we suffer. he knows what we feel. how we feel. remember that jesus came to be like us. remember that he came. remember what the cross means for our suffering world.

i'm currently reading some church history books and something dawned on me. life is short. i was reading about nero and how brutal he was to christians. nero made christians serve as objects of amusement; torn to death by dogs, crucifixions, set on fire to be used as light if the sun was hidden by clouds. years and years of this torture. abuse. it made me think about how short life is.
when we crack open a history book you can read a hundred years of history in one paragraph. one paragraph gives one hundred years of life justice. i don't know what it is about that thought, but it just blows me away. think of all the things that happen everyday. every year. that's only a fragment in a history book. i just hope my life is telling a good story. and i hope i never get eaten alive by dogs.

i'll be 26 soon. this weekend actually. quite weird, to be honest. i had a list of things that i wanted to have accomplished by this stage in my life , and honestly, i forgot most of them already. they were cool things though, like get a tattoo and sky dive. you know, "that" list.
i think i made that list because i wanted my life to feel like it counted. like i lived with risk and passion. but how much risk is taken when you follow a list?
i guess what i'm getting at is that my life has turned out pretty great without a list. i'm very content with life. do i want some things that i don't have? sure. do i worry and get anxious about things still? everyday. but somehow i'm reminded that god is my midst. he's surrounding me constantly. somehow that calms me. the creator of everything in my midst. this reality brings peace to me. so no need to freak out at 26. i'll save freaking out for hearing words like, "honey i'm pregnant" and "daddy meet my boyfriend".