Monday, January 23, 2006

A few of my favorite things...

C.S. Lewis - I recently read the second book in his science fiction trilogy and wow...what an imagination. It’s good and thought provoking and if you go into it expecting Narnia you soon know you’re wrong. This is Lewis the philosopher and these books read like Plato’s dialogues... philosophy, theology and social commentary all wrapped up in a story of a man’s trip to Venus. It was tough to get through because of the language and the largeness of the ideas but it was enjoyable. I always enjoy Lewis’ tone. He writes like a cool uncle... wistful, thoughtful and not afraid of unconventional ideas that always lead you to the most foundational things after all.

Missionary Stories - I also just finished “Tomorrow You Die”, a YWAM book by Reona Peterson Joly about her trip with a friend to pass out Bibles in communist Albania. The two were caught toward the end of their journey, facing interrogation and fear tactics from authorities. It’s a good story about God’s faithfulness to prepare his people for what he’s called them to do.

I also had the opportunity to see “End Of The Spear” with Amie and a group of friends this past Friday. I would highly recommend seeing it. It is a griping story around the 5 missionaries that were killed in Ecuador by members of a violent tribe they were trying to reach. Told from the perspective of Steve Saint, the son of one of the victims, it is an important story about the power of forgiveness to bring real change.

When a plan comes together - Last Thursday happened like every Thursday. We loaded up our gray, “has seen better days” van with bread and distributed it to families in needy areas of our city. At our last stop, a mother that we have been getting to know and her 4 small children were hanging out around the van toward the end of our time. It was a very cold day (yes, we have them in California). Getting curious, we asked her what she was up to and where she was staying. They had just lost their housing and she had been on the streets with these little kids all day not knowing what to do.

The sun was going down and it was getting colder and threatening to rain. We were on the verge of leaving but I’m so glad we asked her if she had a place. I quickly called the mission while my father-in-law loaded all their bikes in his van and Jimmy and Leah loaded all the kids in our van. The mission didn’t know if they had beds for them but committed to finding some place warm for them for the night. Thank God! I know you can’t win ‘em all but this was a case of the right place, right timing and willing folks to help make a difference to some little kids and their stressed out mom.

Guilty pleasures
- I’m really digging reruns of the one season show “Firefly” and I’m a good ways into “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”. What? You gotta let up sometimes!

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