Blessings and maybe even more Blessings

One of the blessings Cathy and I have received on this sojourn is the opportunity to counsel/disciple young folks who are getting married and are seeking guidance for their partnership. We worked with a young couple recently who gave us hope for the generation behind us.

They are not perfect, they know it, and they are just now realizing how miraculous it is that God saved them and brought them together. I think they are beginning to see now, that He has a higher purpose for them and they are beginning to embrace the mystery of what that purpose might be. It is our privilege to walk with them on this part of their journey.

Sometimes we older folks can gain from a relationship with young ones like these. The trouble with that is that we are segregated from young folks in our culture. We live in single family homes, we put the old folks in retirement centers, and even our Sunday school classes create separation and lack of opportunities for relationships. We hope our small groups will be a mix of young and old.pan style="font-style:italic;">

As Dallas Willard writes, it matters for all the world to know that life is ahead of us.

To Build or Not to Build....... a Fence

From Mark Priddy's blog and Simon Carey's blog....

There’s an interesting post by Chris Smith circulating at the moment entitled 10 ways to live more intentionally in the suburbs. It includes some great insights and is worth a read.

There is one thing in Chris’s list, though, that I’m not sure about. His point 8 reads "Don’t fence in your yard", and includes the following assertion: “the fence is a major component of the impenetrable fortress syndrome; it protects our privacy and keeps out our ‘evil’ neighbors. It often is a statement of distrust.”

On one level, I understand Chris’s point. In today’s suburbia, the fence is often a marker of exclusion, a clear communal preference for anonymity, privacy and independence—the higher the fence the louder the preference.

I have noticed fences going up in my neighborhood. When I was a kid we had very few fences. We knew every neighbor for at least a block around us. There were a few who yelled when our "army" ran through their yard. Why are we building fences?

Did Jesus come to tear them down? Did He penetrate our fence? Did He knock on our door; our gate? Is there another side to this story? What about loving your neighbor as yourself? Do you have a fence? Do I have a fence?

Is it in your back yard? Is it in my heart?

We've been Elf'ed

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1114109919

Free night at the children's museum

The first Thursday of every month there is a free admission night from 5 to 8 to the downtown Evansville Children's Museum (picture to the right).

We have been the last couple months and will probably go next week.

If anybody is interested, please join us. We can meet you there or you can follow us from Newburgh. There is a cafeteria room to eat if you take food, but only vending machines.

ugh...

Well, the layout got all messed up with the graphics b/c I cancelled a host for the graphic.

I may or may not get to this, but since we are converting over to www.thesojourn.org, I have to admit, I'm not sure this will ever get fixed.

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