L'Abri Journals...ACGray

August 2003
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Time of Wild Chamomile Again....

I want a lifetime of holy moments.  Every day I want to be in dangerous proximity to Jesus.  I long for a life that explodes with meaning and is filled with adventure, wonder, risk, and danger.  I long for a faith that is gloriously treacherous.  I want to be with Jesus, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.If Christianity is simply about being nice, I'm not interested...I'm ready for a Christianity that ruins my life, that captures my heart and makes me uncomfortable.  I want to be filled with an astonishment which is so captivating that I am considered wild and unpredictable and well dangerous.  I had no idea that God's love was extravagant, irresponsible and irresistible.  I had no idea the God of the universe loved me with no conditions, no addenda to my contract, no fine print.  I had no idea God was passionate about me!  His passion for me, His love for me, makes me want to love like Him.  In a day when most of us are tired, worn-out, thirsty, and starving for life and joy and peace, maybe it is time to become a child again."

      Michael Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder

 

Chalet LAbri, August 2003

a page from my journal...acg

        Now an exuberant burst of color explodes along the byways of the Shenandoah. Choreographed symphonies of chicory, golden rod, black-eyed susans, ironweed, dogbane, ox-eye daisies, joe-pye weed, Queen Anne's lace,and wild chamomile elicit our  applause.  Somehow the colors blend more intense than ever; perhaps it is because of our abundant rainfall this year or because I appreciate these wildlife icons more keenly now than ever. 

In the news....Bob Hope's notable life, Lance Armstrong's exuberant fifth victory in the Tour de France, and Seabiscuit, the remarkable horse that inspired the book and movie!  I read that Bob Hope began his USO service of entertaining troops at March Field,California though it would be fifteen years later before I was stationed there.  In all those Air Force years, Bob Hope never appeared where I was posted, but newsreels brought his laughter to our officer calls.  Lance Armstrongs fifth winning of the Tour de France coincided with my reading of his autobiography, It's Not About the Bike , the primary focus of which was his courage in defeating cancer.  And Seabiscuit is the story of how horse and jockey recovered from defeat and took on the Triple Crown winner War Admiral, and won.  We learn that Seabiscuit garrisoned more newspaper copy than Franklin D. Roosevelt, that his comebacks from repeated defeats gave hope for millions struggling through the Great Depression, and that interest in his winning match race with War Admiral eclipsed all sports events before or since.  Fitting common denominators might be courage and hope, still needed in our world today.

        Of late I have been pondering ancient lessons in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Obadiah, the focus of our International Bible studies.  It seems fortuitous that these books scholars believe to have been written at least four centuries before Christ should be so charged with contemporary meaning for the living of our days.  They focus on the eternal struggle of brothers Jacob and Esau, and their descendants,-- ergo the war on terrorism, Middle East turmoil, Israel versus Palestine, the flesh versus the  (Holy) Spirit..  They challenge us to consider what is meant by a remnant and the diaspora, God's promise of judgment and His protection of His own. Its not what we own or achieve that gives life meaning; rather it is He who owns us, watches over  and loves us everlastingly!

Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.  Isaiah 40:28