While I read a lot in preparation for teaching our intern classes, I wanted to be more intentional in my personal reading. So, here are the books I plan to read in January 2022.
Oh, and Happy New Year!
January’s Reading
Uncategorized
Cities
I don’t particularly like big cities (to be fair, I don’t particularly dislike them). I prefer open spaces and grass and unobstructed views. But I do like early mornings in the city. There is a sense of awakening, of a place shaking off slumber to engage (embrace may be too much to hope for) the day. I will be headed out on my own little walk to awaken with the city here in a few minutes and begin to engage this last.day of 2021. And to find some breakfast tacos!
SALT 2021
As best as I can recall, this is my 32nd winter student conference. Most of these have been the South Central Chi Alpha SALT conferences. These are three day events with some great teaching and preaching, worship, community and so much more. For many of those years I brought university students and saw lives changed. Now I bring interns preparing for a life lived on mission and see God reveal the impact potential for their life. Not everyone wants to spend time with 2000 university students and staff being challenged to be the Church in a lost world, but it is a great place to be.
Morning
“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” (Psalms 23:3 NLT)
Christmas Around the Fire
This year is the “in-law Christmas” which means all our married children are with their spouses families for the holiday. Since it was going to be a quiet Christmas, we invited a Korean family that is in Kathy’s conversational English to come and spend a few days with us. It was a long day of presents, food, and throwing an American football around, capped off with hot dogs roasted on a fire outdoors. We sat and talked, enjoying being able to be outdoors on such a beautiful night. It was around 9:30pm when we finally doused the remaining embers and went back inside.
So, a very slow Christmas topped of with a time of reflection, good friends and a fire. I think this may become my new Christmas tradition.
Merry Christmas!
Living in the Kingdom of God
A massive assumption has been made in Western Christianity that the purpose of being a Christian is simply, or at least mainly, to “go to heaven when you die”…
— N.T. Wright, “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church”
I remember singing “heaven” songs when I was a kid in church. “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.” “I’ve got a mansion, just over the hilltop…”
We sang them loudly. This might be a world full of problems to endure, but we could rejoice. This world was not our home. It was a temporary thing to tolerant until we got to heaven and everything would be alright because we would be with God.
Then, somewhere in my life journey, I discovered I already was with God. Every day, every moment, I was with him. I walked with him. I talked to him. I found that I was already a part of his Kingdom. And I had a Kingdom purpose in my being here.
My goal wasn’t to “get to heaven” anymore. My calling was to live like Christ so the Kingdom of God would come now, that his will would be done here, just like it is in heaven. And those things that I thought I had to tolerate were things that I learned help me to grow to be Christ-like.
I still like “heaven” songs. But I like living in the Kingdom of God more.
