:: inamirrordimly :: A theology and culture blog with the Bible in one tab and a news feed in the other.

I had a long day yesterday. Last night was the volunteer appreciation party that I throw every year. It’s a lot of work, but it’s always one of everyone’s favorite events.

The forecast for the evening was rain and thunderstorms. I felt a bit selfish for this, but I prayed for good weather. Good weather can make or break the mood of a party sometimes, and I wanted the people in attendance last night to be able to stroll around outside, walk in leisurely, and not have thunder booming overhead.

A lady who has to drive through some intense farmland came running into the party exclaiming, “The cows were standing, the cows were standing!” I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the sign that my little prayer to hold off the rain was answered.

So I am very thankful to God for his favor last night, silly as it may seem now to have prayed so earnestly for good weather. I’m kind of wiped out now.

I spent most of my morning cleaning out the rabbits litter, cutting flowers for Julie before the frost gets them tonight, and drinking coffee. I’m on my third cup now.

The party was a success. The volunteers felt appreciated, and now I need to get into work to finish cleaning things up!

If my blog post this morning was a disappointment by the way, take a look at “In His Courts.” It’s one of my favorites of late and may work it’s way up to “addiction” status soon.

I used to think that I needed to have a slick answer to this question. Something like: Jesus make ssense or Jesus gives meaning to my life or I saw a blinding light and heard God speak to me.

Whatever. We all know that dramatic conversion experiences are few and far between for the most part. We also know that many of us lack decent reasons for being Christians. In fact, I’m guessing that many Christians can’t quite explain it.

How did I end up following Jesus?

God called me. It’s as simple as that. He in fact is calling everyone. It’s just a matter of following when your eyes are opened to his calling.

I realized this last night while driving home, devoid of entertainment between a lame book on tape and a lame NPR program.

I was thinking about why I pray, read the Bible, or mess around with theology, and the best I could come up with was, “He did it.” Yes, it’s all God’s fault. I can’t take any credit.

Following Jesus really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It doesn’t make life easier. It doesn’t mean your problems will fall into place.

In fact, God demands that we live by faith in him. That is frightening. Letting go of control, seeking God above all else, and trusting him to catch you . . . that can be quite uncomfortable.

And yet, I cannot imagine living any other way. I think it should sound foolish. It should be worthy of scorn to those who are unfamiliar with the Lord and his ways. God has called me and I find real contentment in that.

For more about this, check out 1 Corinthians 1, especially verses 23-25 and 30-31.

While praying with some fellow Christians this morning I had a powerful impression that we need Jesus to be our rock today.

The image of God as a rock speaks of someone immovable, dependable, and secure. Though everything else around us shifts and changes, he remains the same.

A friend of mine who moved to Paraguay as a missionary shared the powerful realization that God must be our home. Anything else is a poor subsitute.

Julie and I were chatting a few nights ago about the US policy on torture. She put it this way, “Has our government lost it’s mind? Are we insane?”

It is clear that something is wrong. There is a lack of accountability and politicians have become increasingly irresponsible. Speaking as one who was raised mostly Republican, I think a lot of blame rests on the Republican White House and House of Representatives.

So much of the torture question is not only immoral and sinful, speaking as a follower of Jesus, they are also unAmerican. We are denying people due process, stripping them of rights that were once considered inalienable and endowed from the Creator.

In case you’re wondering what’s been happening lately with the debates about torture, Jordon Cooper has the run-down that I didn’t have time to make.

Last weekend we hiked up Stratton Mountain. The hike up was challenging, but not as abusive as Equinox.

Swithbacks help a great deal. It’s amazing how tolerant I can be to a hike provided that it’s a gradual climb and not a mad scramble over boulders.

My congrats go to the folks who designed the trail. It’s a great hike.

Unfortunately, there is a major down side to Stratton. If you want to have a decent view from the top, you must ascend a rickety old fire tower with steep, submarine-like steps. I got to the second landing . . . twice . . . and could go no further.

Julie said the top wasn’t too bad because it was enclosed. I was seized with terror once I got up there. I did manage a few pictures, though the glare from the sun washed them out.

On the ride home we drove down forest road 71. That was a really pretty drive. If you want a nice foliage drive next weekend, try going up Kelley Stand Road in Sunderland and then taking 71 South to Route 9 and then looping back around. You can reach 71 via Route 100 as well.

In any case, here are some foliage pictures from our weekend.

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We don’t have the book of Exodus or the story of Israel’s Exodus just for the 10 Commandments. They’re great and everything, but there is so much more to the story.

Apparently, Penny Woolcock, a film-maker in Britain has caught on to that.

Over the weekend “Margate staged an Exodus of its own, re-enacting the Bible story in modern terms with a cast of several thousand local people, a phalanx of film crews and assorted news media and cultural celebrities to help out with the locusts, flies and lice.”

Woolcock stated,

“It haunted me as the subject for a community arts project that I could also make into a film,” she said. “Who are the Jews today? Who are the people we don’t want among us and herd into ghettos, where they wait for release?

“That we settled on Margate was accidental — the result of a misplaced phone call — but it fit the bill. The town had seen better days, morale was low, and the presence of a high percentage of asylum seekers temporarily placed in its empty hotels and guesthouses had generated a lot of social tension. People here knew the issues.” NY times article

And there you have it. The Bible isn’t just a collection of rules and truth. It is a narrative that we can be a part of and that relates to us here and now.

The context of the stories may be foreign, but there is so much that connects with our struggles and desires today.