You wonder why I was so eager to make it home yesterday? And, yes, I made the plane… the last seat on an over booked flight… prayer works. Thank you!
Yes, today is my beautiful wife Miriam’s birthday! She is a constant fountain of blessing to me. Nothing I do in ministry and otherwise would be accomplished without her. The Lord has blessed me abundantly by having her a part of my life.
So Happy Birthday Miriam! I’m a better man because of you!
Oh man, what a day. It pays to have good friends. Kevin Bussey scored us some VIP seats, sweet cushy seats on the floor of the Conference hall. All the action happened 6 feet in front of me. It was awesome.
I’ll say this, I’m not a conference guy. They’re okay, I just don’t get real excited about sitting all day and not doing much. YS is great, but I’ve been once and don’t really need to go back. So, I carried this mindset into Catalyst and was blown away. The day passed so fast - it was amazing. Great speakers, it was incredible.
I was really hit by Craig Groeschel. He is a phenomenal communication, and I’ve never seen someone so powerful and transparent. He really shook me and leveled me. I’m still unpacking much of his message in my heart. The basics: we need to continue to be stretched, pushed and ruined by God. We need to pray for that. If we’re not face down and broken on a regular basis, then something is wrong. Powerful message.
And we were also part of making the world’s largest ball of Floam.
Today is Rosh Hashana and the next nine days following are referred to as the “Days of Awe” in Jewish culture.
The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur. More here on Jew FAQ
So rarely do we look inward and reflecting upon what the Lord has done in our lives. The next 10 days are a time for reflection and introspection before the Jewish New Year. It’s never a bad thing to pause and reflect in our busy lives. So often time passes and we just keep on going. Let these next 10 days be ones of prayer, remembrance, introspection and repentance.
To hear more about it The Days of Awe from a Jewish perspective, listen to this podcast (the first 10 - 15 min are the most succinct and interesting;, the rest is fairly superfluous)
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God’s creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbors who are poor.
Amen.
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