Outside the Pigeon Holes

Don't let the spirit of religion dictate your 'fear of God'...Let your fear - the awe, the reverence for God's hugeness as the Creator - come naturally through a growing understanding of Who He is and how much he loves you. This is in great contrast to the obl igatory fear that religion teaches about a God who throws people into the pit of hell with no mercy or grace.. Religion's goal is control and slavery to rules. God's goal is relationship, restoration and reconciliation.  At least that's what Jesus teaches... :)

A couple of months ago, I sent this question in to Brian McLaren. His response follows... YAY!  Here's the Q: As one who has walked in charismatic circles, I'm sure you have heard the adage 'God never goes against his word'. This is usually said when teaching people how to discern a 'prophetic word' or inklings that are received in prayer. I have employed this guideline myself, but as I transition from a literal, constitutional reading of Scripture to your suggested 'library' reading, this 'rule' becomes harder to apply. I don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater and walk away from the 'prophetic' lifestyle ('prophetic' as in truth from God - not as in fortune-telling) because it's too subjective. But at the same time, I want to work out how to move in this way with integrity. My spiritual life, my relationship with Papa, has been enriched by a more conversational approach to my prayer life. I enjoy ...

I found this short version of the classic 'prayer of examination' on the Mars Hill Church (Rob Bell's church in Grand Rapids, MI) website. While I like free form prayer and shy from too much introspection (I can get compulsive about that) I copied down the essentials of this classic prayer model and made it my own. I find that it is a helpful tool to focus my mind and appreciate each day. Or I use it just to get me started during quiet time. It is an opportunity to talk the day over with Papa (or just enjoy and thank him for His presence in my life)...I have sometimes written out my thoughts/answers or have also simply prayed 'in my spirit' with the questions in mind...Of course, speaking out the words is also powerful. The cool thing is, there's really no right way or wrong way to do this... Below is the outline I use... You can find the short version in its entirety and the guided long version of the prayer here ...

I spend a lot of time daydreaming. I spend a lot of time thinking about later on or tomorrow or where I want to be in a year or five years...My church upbringing taught me that what mattered was what would happen to me when I die and that my job is to make other people focus on what will happen to them when they die and then help them make sure that all their treasures were stored up in heaven so that when they got there they would have everything they needed. I realized yesterday when I was reading an article about day dreaming that I really don't spend a whole lot of time appreciating all the glory of God that is present in my, well, PRESENT. I spend very little time taking in all the sights and sounds, all the blessings that surround me each moment that I am alive. Instead of using the fountain of life that is flowing inside me for bringing the Kingdom to today I daydream about a time - sometime in the future - that there will be peace, that Jesus will come back, when things wil...

You broke the bonds And you loosed the chains Carried the cross Of my shame Oh my shame You know I believe it But I still haven't found what I'm looking for ... -U2 Jesus is True. That's the one thing I know for sure. Because I've met Him. Beyond that, it's all just commentary (props to Rob Bell). Some random thoughts on life, love and faith from a girl who's just calling it like she sees it and who is done apologizing and hyper-spiritualizing her way through the journey. There are beautiful Christians who aren't Conservative Republicans. My daily struggles and questions and processing does not preclude me from being a good prayer minister. I can be a Charismatic without subscribing carte blanche to Pentecostal traditions. It's OK to enjoy the love I have been given. Everyone is a hypocrite about something. Chances are I am more annoyed at myself than God is. The Bible is not an object to be worshiped. The One whose li...

When I step outside of the tangled web of 'which version of Christianity is the end all be all' and trust God to know my heart, I find a place where I can breathe, rest, and hear His voice the most clearly...It's like moving from dysfunction into a realm of the sacred.

I am in a wonderful, scary, being stretched place right now...It is all about trusting my Heavenly Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit in ways that I never have. See, I used to have lots of rules and shoulds and shouldn'ts and a well crafted life plans that kept me in this false sense of self-security. In the last 24 months so many things have come in to turn those things upside down to make me look at them in a new way. It's like taking off the float-a-floats and swimming in the deep end. At first I thought I must be under attack from the enemy - and in some ways I was - mostly in the lies that came to mind about who I am and that God was out to mess me up or trick me. But now I am beginning to see Like being in the middle of chaos all around and God walking in front of me as things crumble around me saying 'look here...Focus...Focus....Eyes on me...Put down the play book and trust me completely no matter what things look like around you...' My theology is being mes...

Let me preface by saying that I believe in participating in the governmental system. I am Independent/Libertarian in philosophy and will vote that way and support those candidate I believe will best keep the forefathers' ideas alive. I am not a fan of what is currently going down in America. I don't believe in being passive...But sometimes I wonder where my energies really should be spent as someone who claims to believe that Jesus Christ in me is more powerful than anything outside of me... There is so much imagry of war in the Christian mindset...And I think that's OK...I have a tattoo that says "Mighty Warrior" on my ankle. But I wonder if sometimes I miss the point of what that 'war' really is. I think that this parallel isn't meant to reflect an earthly battle with guns and swords and blood and physical violence. I think that maybe some of us Christians get caught up in that and lose sight of what we're really called to do which...

                                                     (image from: http://farm4.static.flickr.com) The other day I was driving home from work and having a very familiar battle with 'the voices' (the ones of doubt and fear that plague me and rarely let me rest in where I am). They were again nagging me, second guessing me, my life, my choices, etc. Then I got the feeling that I needed to just let the words flow rather than resist and battle each one (as I usually do). So I stopped fighting and just 'stood'. The flow of thoughts washed over me and I began to relax. A vision began to appear in my head. I was standing up, facing a huge dragon. The words were coming from his mouth in the form of the fire that he breathed. I stayed there facing him. I let the fears and ac...

After stepping out I still find that it is safer to keep my 'faith-digging' to myself. Relationships are more important to me than arguing and risking the feeling that A) I become a spiritual charity case B) I will lose more friends over it. LOVE WINS. Period. That's all I' m gonna say except to my Papa (who knows my heart), my man, and my girls.

I was nervous about praying at Shiloh...I didn't feel worthy. So I did it anyway. The Holy Spirit said "Whatever - open your mouth and say what comes to you". It was good. I got weepy. Then I was asked afterward to join in on a prayer with a guy who wanted to be healed of addiction. It was also good. I want to invite him to have a Sozo. Love Wins!

It's crazy how many times a day it happens and how 'natural' it seems to entertain the 'voices' of the mafia (see, even there it was a struggle just to leave that sentence say 'voices' because I started traveling down a path which worried that people might think I am hearing audible voices when 'voice' is refering to thoughts, not exterior voices. I did put the word in quotes though to indicate the figurative way I was using the word...Is that a compromise I should avoid in the future? :) ).... Just about everything I think or do is run through an internal approval system. It's very efficient because if I wasn't paying attention I wouldn't have noticed, that's how engrained it is. At least 5 times in the last 24 hour period I have had to stop and remind myself of my freedom. It will be interesting to learn the difference between a healthy 'stop and think before you act' (I am guessing that for everyday decisions this is ...

This is something that I have always believed to be a possibility. Despite what my upbringing in evangelical Christian circles has taught me. Despite the idea we all have of perfect justice that punishes the wicked for their heinous deeds. Despite the popular idea that when you die you're SOL if you haven't signed off on your one way ticket to Heaven by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Deep down I have always wondered just how far the love of God will go. If I am to believe that God is all knowing and all powerful, and that His will is for no person to perish, and that according to the Bible, in the end, God's will shall prevail, how can I dismiss the possibility that God would reach into the eternal and rescue ALL of His kids? I've never been one to swallow what I am told without question. In fact many know me to press the envelope and question even what Scripture says. I have never been of the camp that takes every word in the Bible as my author...

I'm seriously not. These are my strengths: Input Communication Harmony Intellection WOO Note that LEADER is not in there anywhere...Nor do I think it would pop up anywhere in the next 3 of my top strengths. But I think that because I am an extrovert and generally not afraid of being up in front of people I am mistaken for a leader. I have mistaken me for one and usually end up over my head and completely ill-equipped to do whatever it is that leaders do...I'm not saying this as a self-slam....Only a self-realization. I seem to always want to lead something...I come up with ideas and visions, etc. And then get overwhelmed by all that is entailed in making that happen and all of that stuff goes way above and beyond any of my gifting. Now, I can lead circle time at school, I can lead a scene in improv, I can sing lead for a band, I can lead a Sozo session. But I'm not convinced that kind of leading is the same as true leadership. That's just strong teaching/act...

It's like I have fought my way through a party full of loud people to finally push through a door to reach a place of quiet. I wouldn't trade attending the party, but it's sure nice to be where I am. I think of the lyrics to the song "Home" from The Wiz . I 'get' Dorothy and her journey in a way that I never have before... Suddenly my world has changed its face But I still know where I'm going I have had my mind spun around in space And yet I've watched it growing If you're list'ning God Please don't make it hard to know If we should believe the things that we see Tell us, should we run away Should we try and stay Or would it be better just to let things be? Living here, in this brand new world Might be a fantasy But it taught me to love So it's real, real to me And I've learned That we must look inside our hearts To find a world full of love Like yours Like mine Like home...

This is an OLD post from MySpace...It's from 2006. I was re-reading some old ones and this was such a great example of how God deals with people in such personal ways. It's why He is such a good Father! I respond well to humor. And He knows this...So this was how he dealt with me on pride: May 1, 2006 Last week I was slighted by the Bible study leader at Shiloh. She made a really insensitive comment to me when I shared something that was kind of personal. One morning after that I was laying in bed thinking of skipping the next Bible study. In my mind I started composing an e-mail to the leader explaining why I wouldn't be there. I daydreamed about how I would dish out some biting sarcasm. In the middle of relishing in those verbal one-two jabs, I suddenly had an image of myself...I shrunk down into this little cartoon character, punching away at the air. A huge hand came down and with thumb and forefinger plucked my up by the hood of my sweatshirt. There I was dangling from...

I got to be a part of my friend's photo project for VWS...Here is his completed piece...Awesome job, Ryan - thank you again for asking me to be a participate. I had a great time!