in 1789 President George Washington issued a national Thanksgiving Proclamation.
“Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country.”
we’ve got this thing we do as a team on the 5th tuesday. sort of a day of building strength and community in the leadership team at the outpost. before we set out today we spent some time reflecting on Habakkuk 2. as we each shared the verse that caught our attention, three of us stopped on verse 3…
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
the thing that really stood out for me is found in the “linger” and “not delay”. there’s that old tension from my days in seminary. talking about the Kingdom of God…the already and the not yet. so we live in the tension. as i read that chapter earlier this morning and then reread it and then heard 3 individuals out of 10 share it has the words they heard…i took courage.
you know…i’m having a hard time about finding my voice here in the blogosphere. it would be so much easier to simply post some pictures and let that do. early today i listened to a podcast from a new friend. on it he was talking about how we all need to be using blogs to connect and broaden our network. makes sense…but for what sake and to what end? those are the questions i’m rolling around between the ears. since my last post much has passed (doesn’t it usually?). there is much uncertainty in some things and more clarity in others. and it seems as though i gain as much as i loose. i’ve had several good conversations lately and they have been encouraging. one tonite was with john. he and his bride, julie and their two children minister greatly for the Kingdom. you’ll find their stuff here. i’m hoping we can get them to do a gig at the new space when we are ready. it was good to connect with john on the phone and hear how much good they are doing. although its been awhile since they really did a road show, but i could hear in john’s voice some excitement about the prospects.
the picture is from our travels over the weekend to the family compound on the north coast. it was a dreary day on the way up…but in the morning after a great night of feasting and watching the bucks and the world series…i awoke just in time to walk to the beach and catch the beauty of a new day unfolding.
on my way to the outpost i encontered another incredible sunrise. i met a new friend…it watched me closely as i walked towards it to get the right perspective to the sun in the background. in the midst of the busyness i’m enjoying seeing the sunrise in the mornings as i head to outpost. its a strange feeling of sorts…but part of the journey.
well we’ve begun. and today i’m recovering. the “begunning” was for the year of student ministry. we waited to start until the fairs were out of the way. i’ll post some pictures and videos later, but i gotta say it was a very cool nite. somehow about a month ago i stumbled on the details to invite a band, one life lost who i had heard at the alive festival this summer. they rocked the house down. besides the 234 hotdogs…a few dozen bags of chips, multiple dozens of cookies and 9 gallons of lemonade it was a night fun and community. it amazes me, and it really shouldn’t… at the generosity of so many. not just generosity of resources but of talents and helps too. from moving all the chairs out of the auditorium to moving all the chairs back in and everything that happen in-between it was a solid message of welcome and openness to the 200 plus that gathered. now the real task comes in developing a solid program of growth and engagement at both the jr hi and sr hi levels. that in the midst of our renovating the space. should be fun to say the least. of course getting a huge head cold in the middle of the whole finalizing time this week was not helpful, despite that God showed up in spite of us and gave us all a great night together.
