This year I have been coming to terms with the idea that the primary thing God gets out of my life is not what I do for Him but who I become. I’m learning to be satisfied with being and responding rather than initiating and producing.
I haven’t spent as much time writing this year, though I’ve still done a fair amount of contemplating. Sometimes I have a thought that captivates me, and I jot it down to think on further at a later time. Here are a few of those musings from 2024:
1. To one who is pursuing their own kingdom, that kingdom is their world—their cherished existence—their own constructed reality—and so any attack on that kingdom feels like murderous violence against THEM. It feels, in an ideological sense, like the physical descriptions of hell that we have entertained as we contemplate God’s ultimate reckoning of all things (which of course includes their kingdom).
2. A theology of burdens – a small component of God’s heart of compassion for the world, bestowed upon one—a delight to be light and love in a particular place at a particular time.
3. It seems like the main reason people assume that God no longer communicates with humans through experiences is their own experience (or lack thereof). So in effect they use a rubric they say they don’t believe in to arrive at their conclusion.
4. It’s not my job to control my children. Rather I just train them toward godliness, respond to them in godliness, and respectfully protect them for godliness.
5. So God lovingly created man and placed him in a suitable environment that for all intents and purposes would urge him toward the type of life which would enable him to thrive. Creation itself would both bow to his acts of virtue and rebel against his moves away from the Divine. In this way he could readily see the best way forward at any given time and have the best possible chance of choosing the type of life he was created for—the abundant life of trust in a good and capable Father God and partnership with Him for the ever-increasing joyful participation of all in the life of God.
6. The goal is not to arrive at perfection, but to grow and discover more and more of God, and to continue transforming as we experience Him more and more.
7. How do blessings work?
Sometimes I look for a resource that I feel a need of, and am unable to find it, and so after months of feeling agitated by its nonexistence, I cave and begin to create it myself. This year, that resource has been a family devotional series which would introduce to my children practical ways of training for and truly seeing the counter-intuitive kingdom of the living God—not a kingdom of "oughts" and "shoulds", but a repeated, unending invitation to let love cast out fear. This is still an ongoing project for me, but the initial introductions to my children have been very encouraging. And the invention of it is so life-giving for me.
When we do family devotions now, Skye likes to ask, “Will we doing experiments this time?” Disclaimer: I have not referred to anything in our devotions as “experiments,” but it’s kind of fun that that’s how she sees our learning activities together.
Books that have impacted me this year:
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Devotional Classics edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith
I love the way this book takes some of the juiciest nuggets from some of the great writing of Christian authors from the past 2000 years and serves it up in bite-sized, topical delicacies. I will warn you, however, that you’ll find yourself ordering a lot of secondary books when you read this one. I took my good time going through it but have not begun going through it a second time, because some of it is so deep and penetrating, that I want another go and digesting it.
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Letters by a Modern Mystic by Frank Laubach
Similar to Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, this book is incredibly brief (too brief, really) and refreshingly raw as it portrays one disciple’s journey to experience God daily. I found myself motivated and inspired every time I read one of the short excerpts.
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Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith
I have read very little fiction in recent years, but a couple things made me unable to not read this one: 1. It’s a story which deals with visions of heaven by an author I respect, so obviously that’s enticing, and 2. I know a bit of the author’s own story, and could tell that this book was significantly related to the his experience of losing loved ones and seeking meaning. In some ways it is similar to the Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis. I found it much more accessible, though (easier to understand and follow). It also proposed ideas about heaven which were a true delight to contemplate. Anything about heaven revealed to one who has longed for it so desperately, is worth paying attention to I think.
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The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle
I picked this up at the library after hearing that it describes a phenomenon of the Christian church at large in which every 500 years, cultural and historical dynamics crescendo into a pivotal theological “rummage sale” that inevitably results in a parting of ways between branches of the church but also an ensuing upsurge in evangelistic effort and global exposure to Christianity. The book’s clear and concise description of this occurrence was fascinating. The reformation, the great schism, and the initiation of the monastic movement/Council of Chalcedon are examples that the author looked at; I was thankful for the simple overview of each. The language this author gave to current religious dynamics at play in our own cultural moment was really helpful to me as well. I found the whole thing very thought provoking and historically educational as well.
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Becoming Dallas Willard by Gary Moon
Having read many of Willard’s books, this biography brought it all together for me in a narrative of his life, that I identified with occasionally, and that inspired me often. It helped give additional depth and credence to his books, and also helped me see that God doesn’t bestow pearls of wisdom overnight. Biographies about a disciple’s journey with the Lord through highs and lows are always so, so good, and this one is no exception.
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Honey For a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
At the recommendation of my sweet friend Whitney, I delved into this fun read and found myself so inspired to read aloud to my children from truly GOOD books. As a result, we have enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh series, the Little House series, and many others. I especially appreciate the book lists provided which I periodically use as I’m placing hold requests at the library.
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Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
Lencioni is always a super engaging read with incredibly practical application points. This fable was no exception. This one, in particular, showed me the value of contributing counter opinions and additional ideas in a work setting. Instead of assuming that the first opinion shared should rule the day in order for Christian principles to preside, boldly sharing a counter-view and being willing to respectfully discuss pros, cons, and addendums can bring all the gifts of the body into play and result in a much fuller, representative product, not to mention a process that sharpens and deepens the team itself. I’m working on boldness.
As I close out this post, I’m realizing that I am more and more finding myself impacted by podcasts just as much or more than I am by books, and yet I haven’t written about them. Perhaps I shall soon. The 3 most significant ones coming to mind right now are:
- Bema Discipleship
- The Working Genius Podcast
- Strengthening the Soul of your Leadership
