M.C. Wright

Night Owls More Productive

The word vindication is what quickly springs to mind. Night Owls have long been the Black Sheep of the proverbial "this-is-the-right-way-to-live" world. I have always been more creative, focused, and productive when others are fast asleep. Even in the church...yes it's true....even in the church we celebrate the early risers and decry the late-nighter, as if God only listens and hears and interacts in the early morning hours.

This causes me to feel bad for the people all over the world who have night when we have morning, because obviously God doesn't hear them right :-)

All kidding aside, we are all wired differently, and for those of us who love the night time more than the morning, it's good to know that science has come to our rescue!

A recent study in Switzerland shows that night owls have more perseverance throughout the day. Their productivity levels remain up while the early risers are winding down and getting ready for bed.

So if you are a night owl and need some ammo for your morning glory friends, check out this article:

http://www.rodale.com/sleeping-late-and-productivity?cm_mmc=DailyNewsNL-_-2009_05_01-_-Top5-_-NA

Sleep well everyone!

Monty

No Security In Nature

A friend of mine sent me this quote. Many of you know I am a quote freak, but this one especially made it into brain. It comes to us from Helen Keller:

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature."

We tend to spend our lives in pursuit of security. Emotional security...Financial security...Physical security...When the world doesn't respond the way we want, or to put it another way; when our illusory security fall apart we don't know what to do. We either quit or try to re-create the security that we thought we had...kind of a denial mechanism I suppose.

When we live life as an adventure, we realize that that security is a rare commodity, and that adventure contains risk. The global economy experienced a security breach  as our financial institutions unfortunately realized that security can often be a superstition, that right when we think we have everything covered...there always remains the potential for the unexpected.

Security does not exist in nature is a compelling thought...there is raw, natural beauty, but it is always at the disposal of other elements. In an instant that which exuded sheer loveliness can be trampled, crushed or otherwise hurt. There is always a bigger animal, a more threatening danger...true, security is definitely lacking in nature.

As I think through the security question, it does strike me that while security in the realms of the emotional, physical or financial is fleeting...security in the spiritual is the bedrock of our faith. In fact, the only way we can truly live life as an adventure is if we have activated the spiritual component of our lives.

When we know, trust and experience that God is, and that God is actively involved...then we are able to trust in the storm, have faith when our security is breached, and find hope when we have spent our last bit of energy trying to control that which is uncontrollable.

I think Helen was on to something...faith creates the possibility of adventure; adventure embraces risk; risk creates a lack of security; trust in God overrides and keeps us moving forward even when life isn't fair...and that my friends is an adventure.

Thoughts on the quote?

Dei Gratia,

MC

The Paradoxical Commandments

Dr. Kent M. Keith penned 10 statements that truly affected me when I first read them more than 15 years ago. People are a double-edged reality. We experience love and good from people, but we also experience pain and darkness from people.

I have encountered too many people who have given up on their dreams and goals because the "people-realty" has left them disillusioned, discouraged and depressed!

When we allow other people to control how we feel about ourselves, or if we allow the words and actions of others to cripple, defeat, or destroy the dreams in our hearts, we miss out on the purpose that we actually are alive on this planet at this time!

I have never been one who was okay with wasting or throwing away my life. To me my dreams are sacred, my time is valuable, and my emotional state belongs to God, not to others opinions.

Sometimes you need a positive and encouraging nudge. A divine infusion of faith, or a reminder of what we lose when we sell out, give up, or give in!

That is exactly what Dr. Keith's Paradoxical Commandments did, and do, for me! They are an infusion to keep on going...to breathe deeply...to forgive freely. If I do those things, my dreams and hopes will more readily become a reality that enhances my life and others!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

Monty

______________________________

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.                                                                                           
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.    
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Tired Faith?

Tired and worn out he collapsed by the tree. His eyes gazed at the desert sand as it slowly breathed, but his body was too tired to obey his thoughts. He lay there imagining what  cool water would taste like. So much had happened, so many things had gone well. Not only well, but powerfully impressive.

 Laying on the dust he felt the rhythm of his labored breathing, deep, painful. His chest rose up and down with each dry intake of air like a bottle being tossed about on the sea. Why had he run?  He played the scenario over and over in his mind. After all that God had done, why did fear grip him and replace the power with sheer panic. Sure Jezebel was wicked to the core, but didn’t God just defeat over 450 prophets of the god Baal, and 400 prophets of Asherah? It had been another dramatic intervention of God into the world.  

While the prophets of Baal and Asherah cried out, cut themselves, and pleaded with their false gods to show up, Elijah laughed and mocked them as nothing happened.  But when Elijah had placed his sacrifice to God upon the altar, and even doused it with water, God showed up and consumed the offering in a bright flash of fire!

Again, God had proven that He alone was God, and the people of Israel were ignited again. But when Elijah heard that King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were going to kill him, he fled.
Now, having recovered his breath, Elijah stared at the broom tree, and sleep overcame him.

---

We read about the exploits of Elijah in the book of 1 Kings.  Elijah is a man who was used powerfully by God, yet, like us, also struggled with his faith. So often we allow fear to rule our lives. We become it’s willing accomplice as we fret, worry, and tremble over the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Even though we have seen and experienced God working and moving in our lives, all it takes is that one phone call from our doctor or lawyer that sets our life off in another direction. This is true with me, and this was true of Elijah, and more than likely this is something that you can identify with as well.

Elijah was woken up and cared for by an angel. He was instructed to get back in balance, to rest, to eat.  Then God sent him on his way again. No matter what fear or circumstance we have run from, no matter what mountain is facing us, Jesus is there with you.  He lovingly strokes your hair while you sleep, and speaks about faith when you wake.  He knows your struggles, fears and pain and promises that you do not face them alone.

Faith happens when we place our lives, hopes, dream, and fears in the hands of the Carpenter from Nazareth. He says, “Trust me, I will never leave you or forsake you.” Elijah came back from his fall into faithlessness when he heard that still small voice of God, and so can we. God desires to work in and through us continually.  So activate your faith this week by trusting the  God. He has proven Himself over and over and waits for you!

Dei Gratia
 Monty

Pain In The Ash...

Interestingly enough, the huge celebrations of Fat Tuesday sprang up as a reaction to the imposition of religious ritual concerning the observance of Lent...a season in the church year whose focus is on repentance and realignment with God.

In and of itself, having a time of spiritual realignment is good for everyone...however, when the grip of religion laces it's fingers around anything, it tends to strangle out the beauty and grace, and in their place are born rules, regulations and legalism.

Fat Tuesday then became the last opportunity before the 40 days of Lent to go and sin wildly. As I think about this, isn't that always what happens in our lives when rules replace relationship? When we live by a check-list of dos and don'ts, we begin to think and respond in contractual terms instead of relational exchanges. When this happens, we experience Fat Tuesday's surrounding every area of our life.

For instance, when a marriage becomes a mere contractual exchange, then love is something that is earned in light of certain actions having been done. And, contractually, if certain actions are not done, or are not done to the expectation of the other person, then love is contractually withheld until those things are accomplished.

This is not a marriage though, it is a contract based on rules. A relationship that is based on an unconditional covenant understands that sometimes things don't always happen or get done the way we want, desire, or expect, but since the marriage is based upon covenant love, love is always infused regardless of contractual performance.

You might also see the Fat Tuesday's of marriage enter in when a spouse is bound by duty to "do something" "be something" or "go somewhere he/she doesn't want to go." But since he/she did their contractual duty they feel justified to over indulge some area as a "reward" for their work. Maybe a husband finds justification in going on an extended hunting trip because he just got word that his In laws are coming to stay for an extended period, so he needs to get out of town for a while before that happens and his In laws rules cramp his style...or perhaps a wife limits out the credit card on a spa day because her husband's college buddies are due the next day, and since she is being the "good wife" and allowing it, she's gonna splurge!

Do you see how contractually we live? Do you realize contractual living, or religious living results in the creation of Fat Tuesday's? When genuine love and relationship fills our world, we can enjoy life, have fun and not feel guilty about it! Isn't that a novel concept. Religion creates Fat Tuesday's...Fat Tuesday's create guilt and shame...Guilt and shame turn a powerful season of grace and alignment like Lent into a ritualistic experience of dos and don't devoid of their real meaning.

When we approach God contractually, we turn something that is holy, cool, and cosmically awesome like Ash Wednesday, or Lent, into a check list of contractual duties to appease God into liking us again...This is so far away from the God revealed through Christ.

If we would live in a sense of daily alignment, in other words, simply realizing that God is for us, not against us, and that as we make mistakes, or perhaps over-indulge in something that isn't good for us,know that God isn't standing by with the lightning bolt of contractual misuse ready to smite us, but rather is simply waiting for us to say..."man, I blew that one, I'm sorry, please forgive me.."

In that moment, all religion is thrown out the window, as a relationship is born. Religion focuses on rules to keep you in line. God invites you into a relationship, where are interactions are based upon a mutuality of love.

Because I am so grateful that God loves me on my best days as well as my most abysmal days, I look forward to a season like Lent not in such a way that compels me to go out and get bombed out of my skull because I won't be able to drink for the next 40 days, but instead, I long to have a season offered to me where I can realign my thinking process with God's...Where I can experience grace in the midst of economic trials...Where I can be reminded that God doesn't care about how well I perform for Him, only that I love Him, and He is thrilled that I simply showed up!

Maybe what I am saying is that an excessive emphasis on rules naturally finds its outlet in sin or doing things that we normally wouldn't do if we lived relationally. Perhaps Fat Tuesday's exist because the religious rules push people where they don't need to be pushed. Maybe, just maybe, some of the dumb choices that are made in the Fat Tuesday's of life wouldn't happen if we understood God relationally and religiously...hmmm, I think I'm right.

What would be even more powerful is if we all realized that God intends our lives to fully experience fun..joy..laughter...and good times. Sure there are some incredibly hard valley's we will go through, but the religionists among us seem to think that that is all that God wants us to experience..."Stay in the lines, only use these colors, don't have fun if at all possible, chin up, gut in...etc."

As I think of Jesus, and all his human interactions, I think of how often He was at parties, amongst friends, enjoying the things of life...not just sitting in Temple or Synagogue assailing Himself religiously. Jesus had an incredible sense of humor that is lost in translation from the Aramaic and Greek into English. He enjoyed living, had fun, and avoided the mistakes of the Fat Tuesday's of life while enjoying all the celebrations of this life.

So on Wednesday this week (Ash Wednesday) take some time to remember that you are human, a creation of God's from this planet, and that one day you will return to the elements of this planetary creation. In light of that truth, ask God to help you realign your heart and soul to His, not because you are doing all the right things, but because He is such a great God who loves you and will never leave you in the hard moments of life.

If your in the Seattle area, come and hang with me for an Ash Wednesday service at Snoqualmie Valley Alliance...it starts at 7:00 and will be interactive, reflective and powerful, you won't want to miss it!

And guess what, you won't walk away feeling guilty (that's religion) but you will leave feeling the freedom that comes from our God of Grace and Truth.

Here's a clip to prepare you!!

Dei Gratia

Monty

Do You Validate?

I recently read an alarming statistic. It would seem that the average American receives about 40 negative messages about themselves each day. That is about 233,000 negative messages a persons receives by the time they are 16 years old!

The study also noted that on the positive side, we receive about 3 positive messages about ourselves each day. That is about 17,000+ positives messages we receive in those same 16 years of life.

I also learned that it takes about 40 positive messages to counteract 1 negative message...that being said, it becomes easy to see that we all operate in a huge self-esteem deficit that affects every area of our lives. The early years of a child's life are the most critical years where safety, security and a positive view of themselves needs to be instilled in order to be healthy. But in those formative years, the primary message that gets in is not a message the inspires or validates, but rather one that reminds us through media, culture, friends and family that we are too short, too tall, too skinny, too fat, not pretty enough, or not deserving enough...the list goes on and on.

Perhaps we should call this V.D.D (Validation Deficit Disorder). But more importantly, for me, it reminds me how absolutely essential it is that we become people who validate, encourage, inspire and love others. Not only do we need it, but every one around us is living in a world where the negative messages about themselves far outweighs the positive ones...they need it too.

Is it any wonder why so many people struggle today, or why so many people are on anti-depressant medication? When the primary message we are all receiving about ourselves is that we aren't good enough or don't quite measure up, how could we expect a different result. If we have nothing but negative self images bombarding us daily without the countering positive messages, we will become what the predominant message of the day is...and today that is negative. In other words, as a society...we don't validate.

A friend of mine sent me the link to this incredible arts film on validation. It is well written and well filmed...take some time, grab a cup of coffee or tea and be inspired to make sure the positive words that are coming from your soul far outweigh the negative ones, believe me, they will then impact the planet!

Dei Gratia

Monty

What Were Your 2008 Defining Moments?

One of the key differences between people who enjoy life and those who exist through life is the way they deal with the defining moments of life. Defining moments come in all shapes and sizes. They are good, bad, and benign. A defining moment presents itself to us when we need to make a decision that will be unpopular, or even when the decision might make us a star. The difference-maker is how we allow them to affect who we are.

I talk with people every week who are facing these kind of choices, and it amazes me how two people will navigate the same type of situation so differently. But since the truth is that we become the sum total of our choices, it is important that we think through the events of life not only before we make a choice, but again, sometime later, to take stock on how our defining moments have defined us!

That is why January can be such a powerful time of year. There is nothing intrinsically magic about the month, but it carries a belief of newness, possibility, creativity, and potentiality.

So take a moment this week and look back at your defining moments of 2008. They could have been events that impacted you on a global scale, from presidential elections to world economies, to events on a smaller scale such as the loss of a job, or the establishing of a new vibrant relationship!

Think through how you dealt with, or didn't deal with those moments and events, and how you might approach them differently in the future. Did you grow because of them, or did they control you? If some of the events of 2008 were not defining you in a positive way, make sure you don't begin the self-condemning game, simply think through ways you can change your response as you move forward into 2009.Grace is the agent that can change your responses to the defining moments of life.

Generally, a change in perspective is all that is needed to transform you so that you are a person who harnesses events into positive experiences instead of allowing the circumstances of life to dictate your reality. Here are a couple ideas to get a new perspective for 09:

1. Move your furniture around. You get a new feel and flow in your surroundings. You can change any room that you feel stuck in from the boardroom to the bedroom.

2. Change your morning ritual. Everybody has a ritual, it's what you do do automatically when you get up each day. Do you go straight to the shower? Or do you go straight to the coffee maker? Do you exercise and give your body a Tai Chi stretch, or do you grumble and bounce along the walls until your eyes finally open! Whatever your ritual is, give it a tune-up, a quick change. This can change the way your start your day. Consider adding some elements to your ritual that will propel you into the day like prayer, meditation, or exercise. Maybe you need to subtract some elements from your rituals like too much caffeine, CNN or unhealthy foods.

3. Alternate your travel route. This might seem weird, but you have an ingrained travel route and by simply changing the paths you automatically take, to a different route, can positively change the way you look at problems, obstacles and life. You will see new sights, and begin telling your brain that it doesn't have to think the way it always has.

4.  "This space for your idea"   What are your change ideas? I'd love to hear them!

So, tell me what your defining moments were in 2008 and how they impacted you!

Dei Gratia,

Monty

Christmas Eve

Wow what a storm eh? The snow is still falling and the wind is still howling! Christmas will definitely be white this year!

Here is a PDF of the outline for the "Drummer Boy" message. As you look out and ponder the snow from your house-bound vantage point, may you know that God loves you as you are today. That you don't need to perform for Him, and gather the most expensive of gifts to appease Him. Jesus came to reveal the true nature and heart of God. As we celebrate the grace of the Incarnation, may we allow Christ to reframe our mental picture of who God is, and realize that He is not distant, disinterested and demanding...but through Jesus we are introduced to the real God who is close, concerned and caring!

Download Drummer Boy-student

Merry Christmas

Monty

Because God Thought It Was Cool!

Scientists just saw a new auroral light around Saturn's polar cap. As I was looking at the picture I was thinking that God must simply have a blast creating. How many such events and visuals exist across that galaxies that we will never see, but God made them just because He thought it was cool!

you can read more at: http://www.livescience.com/space/081112-saturn-aurora.html

MC

Betrayal and Release

On Sunday, as we wrapped up John chapter 18, we were dealing with an issue embedded deep within the chapter; betrayal. In chapter 13, Judas had taken his Que and left the other disciples and Jesus. Escaping under the darkness of night to sell out the one who loved him.

Julius Caesar gasped out the words, "Et Tu Brute'?" as his friend Brutus plunged the knife into his back...William Wallace fell back stunned at the battle of Falkirk as he captured a noble from the opposing army only to find out that it was none other than Robert The Bruce, the one Wallace thought he was fighting for and with...We see it again in Gladiator, The Chronicles of Narnia, Star Wars. Betrayal is a meta story in most all the epic movies that make their mark on our hearts.

The hardest wound to heal is the wound of betrayal. It attacks every sense and faculty. Injustice happens between people, betrayal happens between friends. When their is unfaithfulness between spouses. When a business deal between friends goes south. When someone at work sells you out to promote their own advancement.

In John 18 there were some key questions that if not answered correctly lead us to making some bad choices in our lives. The first question was thundered by Jesus. As the army of soldiers and temple police approached Jesus and His band of disciples in Gethsemane, Jesus said, "Who are you looking for?!"  Stunned, they replied, "We are looking for Jesus of Nazareth." The whole entourage fell back to the ground as Jesus replied, "I AM"

While John doesn't reveal to us the "Judas Kiss" that the other Gospel accounts reveal, Judas is right there leading the way. I wonder how deep the pain was in Jesus as He looked at, and into, the heart of a man He had given 3 years of His earthly life, and was about to give His life blood for within some hours upon a Roman cross.

I believe Jesus is still asking that question, "Who are you looking for?" Are you looking for a Jesus who fits what you want God to be? Are you looking for a Jesus that will help you be successful in life? Are you looking for a Jesus that will help your political party? Are you looking for a Jesus that will give you everything you want? Are you looking for a Jesus that was formed for you by a Hallmark card?

Many people are looking, but they are looking for "their" kind of Jesus...we need to simply be looking for the real Jesus, as he is, not as we want Him. Any other Jesus is anemic and truly unable to help.

The second question in John 18 came from Pontius Pilate. As he was having a higher level discussion with Jesus, who was bound before him, Jesus remarks that, "I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." To this Pilate responds cynically, "What is truth?!"

If we haven't sought out the real Jesus, not the Jesus of our culture, but who He really is, then we will fall for any truth that sounds kind of right. By the way there is a new truth out there trying to pull you away from Christ every day. Most of these other truths come so deceptively disguised. In fact they even camouflage themselves in a veil of spirituality. But the heart of their message is a very different Jesus. Their Jesus exists to simply make you happy not holy. Their Jesus would never call you on your sin and selfishness. Their Jesus has just enough truth to entice you but leave you empty after you try it for a while.

We humans have an incredible capacity to repeat the sins of Adam by making ourselves God, and God our servant. Sometimes we work really hard at spiritual things and then subconsciously believe that God "owes" us, again, we have replaced truth.

When we miss Jesus' question of "Who are you looking for?" and Pilate's question of "What is truth?" then we cry the third statement out of John 18 with the crowd..."Give us Barabbas!"

There is a real, knowable, personal God, who has been fully revealed through Jesus Christ, who says to us that, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." If we settle for an imitation Jesus, and a culturally crafted Jesus, we will ask for Barabbas when we are faced with a real choice.

We have choices every day to choose between a false Jesus and the real Jesus, and sometimes, if we aren't grounded in the Truth, we choose Barabbas, and God says, "Okay, have Barabbas." Then when Barabbas shows up and our world falls apart we get angry at God for allowing such pain to enter our world, and He says, "You asked for Barabbas."

Deep cuts. Anguish that causes you to heave and sob from a place that you didn't even know existed in your body. Anger, befuddlement, exasperation, rage, love, pain. There is no end to the descriptive words of betrayal.

Every person has experienced betrayal at some level. So while we talked briefly at some processing steps to work through, I really didn't much time to expand those steps. So Let's look at the 4 movements to breaking free from the death grip of betrayal.

1. REMEMBER:
In my own journey, when the wound of betrayal has come, it has been hard to get to a place of perspective, it just hurts. Your hurt is real, and your anger is understandable. In fact those are necessary emotions that you need to experience if you are going to move beyond the pain into healing. Their is a loss to be grieved, and in our culture we do not know how to grieve. If we don't grieve, the pain collects in our soul poisoning our heart. So the first step is the Remember that you are not in this thing alone.

In other words, you must invite God into the process with you. Here we are aligning our heart to His, so that we can experience something beyond the anger and pain. God is with you even when you don't sense Him. And perhaps the biggest lesson of the betrayal of Jesus by not only Judas, but by all of us, is that He really does know how it feels, the pain, the emptiness. His promise to never leave you or forsake you are tender words spoken to a reed that is crushed in soul and spirit. He knows, He cares.

This will not make everything all better, but it does bring in some God-light to a dark place, and reminds us that there is still presence and hope. This will begin the healing journey together with God.

2. RECYCLE:

Once we have invited God into the healing process, and allow the Holy Spirit access to the wounds of betrayal, we will begin to become aware of how the pain has affected our life. The attitudes, thoughts, mental sermons, wrongful reactions all need to be recycled.

As we feel angry, we ask God to help us recycle it into peace.

As we feel hopeless, we ask God to recycle that into faith.

As we feel resentful, we ask God to help us extend grace.

As we want to avenge our wrong, we ask God to retake control in our lives.

As we feel fear, we ask God to replace it with courage.

As we feel hatred, we ask God to recycle that with forgiveness.

Recycling the pain happens as we allow God in the process as the director, not merely as a spectator. It doesn't come easy, and it won't just happen with one little prayer. This is a moment by moment, breath by breath surrender to the will and care of God in our lives. Perhaps the first step here is to ask God to help you desire to get to the point where you want to recycle the emotions. So that leads me to the third step.

3. REPLACE:

We need to replace self-rule with God-rule.In other words, we need to let go of our desire to exact judgment, and have everything come to a close the way we want it to. When we take control of the retribution and justice of the betrayal, we have just taken over God's sovereign role as the giver of all true justice. That doesn't mean we become a door-mat mind you, but it does require that we turn over the controls to Him, even when events seem utterly wrong to us. We must trust that God is at work.

One thing I have learned over the years is that God is far better at dealing justly with people than I am. And that when I try to take on God's job, I generally end up far worse than I was when the betrayal first happened. If you have been gripping onto the betrayal and holding it as yours, then you need to repent of playing God and ask God to call the shots. He will have some soul work for you to do. This work will lead to a greater trust in His goodness, and will hep you move from driver to back-seat driver, and then finally as guest. The biggest hurdle to the replace step is the fourth movement.

4. RELEASE:

Finally, the way out of the vicious betrayal jungle is to release the offender. This is always the hardest step because a wronged person feels that to release the offender is to let them off the hook for what they have done. With the betrayal wounds so deep, this goes against their sense of justice, and their desire to make the betrayer pay for the pain and damage they caused.

Some psychiatrists I have read have stated that upwards of 90% of their client load would begin to experience healing if they would be able to do one thing...forgive the person(s) they are resenting, and holding anger towards.

Unforgiveness can also be sly and deceptive. In fact, it can even feel good...for a while. Forgiveness isn't about the person who is forgiven as much as it is about the person who forgives. To remain in a state of unforgiveness keeps us disconnected from the goodness and voice of God. Jesus states that if we desire being forgiven by the Father, we must forgive those who have wronged us. He didn't say that just because, no, He knows that unforgiveness slowly erodes your soul, making you a prisoner of it's slow death.

Forgiving the offender is also not a one time shot, but rather you will need to release your offender many times. Sights, smells, and sounds will transport you to a place of vivid memories of the wound, and you will need to release again. Many people have asked me, "how will I know when I have forgiven them?" To that I would say there are a couple good signs:

1. When you see the person, does your stomach still knot up and give you a sick feeling? If it does, then you still have some releasing to do. When you can see them and not feel it in your body, you have probably released them.

2. Are you able to pray for them and honestly ask God to bless them as they are? If you can, you have probably released and forgiven them, if you can't you need to keep forgiving as it enters your mind.

To forgive doesn't mean that you have to be best friends again, or even friends for that matter. There is a long road of trust building ahead of a deep betrayal. In fact, the person may still not even be safe enough to be around, and you may still be too fragile to be in their company without getting re-triggered by their unchanged behaviors.

So we forgive to release ourselves by releasing the offender. We forgive not because they have asked for forgiveness, but because we choose to be free, experience healing, and place God on the throne of our lives instead of ourselves and our agenda.

None of these movements are easy, but they are necessary if you are to live the abundant life. Jesus experienced betrayal so that you could experience life, real life.

May you use these steps to experience the freedom that can only come from Jesus Christ today.

Dei Gratia,

Monty

Embracing The Wound

"Humility is the recognition of the truth about God and ourselves."
~St. Francis of Assisi

I finished reading a book on the life of St. Francis the week. I was struck over and over on his all consuming passion and love for Jesus. How a playboy turned monk turned the church around with his emphasis on love, simplicity and charity towards all things.

I found myself longing for the longing of Francis. There were so many stories, so many events, both joy-filled, and crushing that captivated my reading, thinking, and meditating. In the book, one chapter began with the title, "Embracing the Wound." In this piece, the editor, Mirabai Starr, expounded a bit on a certain encounter Francis had with a leper that forever changed his life. So read on...

Embracing the Wound

What is within yourself that horrifies you? Can you gently resist the urge to turn away and instead allow yourself to turn toward it? Can you not only face that which repulses or frightens or offends you, but embrace it? Can you let yourself be irrevocably transformed by the encounter?

Early in his awakening, Francis, who was raised with wealth and privilege, crossed paths with a leper. The man's face was eroded by disease, his sores oozing. With the help of two sticks, he hobbled on the rotten stumps of his feet, dutifully clanging his clapper to warn passerby of his proximity.

That day, before Francis had a chance to register the sound, he found himself face-to face with the leper. Everything in him wanted to run. Revulsion rose in his belly like bile, and his heart thundered in his chest. He drew a deep breath.

"Good morning, brother," he said. Then he walked up to the man and took his ravaged hands in his own. He brought them to his lips and kissed them, then released his hands and pulled the astonished leper into a close embrace. He stroked the man's sparse hair.

A powerful wave of love washed away any traces of horror. What was ugly became unspeakably beautiful. Francis saw no difference between this man's physical wounds, the suffering of humanity, or Francis' own shattered heart. No difference between deep sorrow and profound joy. Compassion and gratitude.

Francis never again turned away from brokenness, in other creatures, or in himself. Can you embrace the one inside you whom you were taught to disdain? Can you invite the banished one home?

*******

The wounds of ourselves and of others scare us at a deep level. "What if their wound infect us?" or better yet we might think, "What if their wound affects us?" To embrace the wound in others will leave us different, stirred, affected. The degree in which you engage the wound of society might even infect you, not physically, but spiritually, and that will affect every area of your life.

Jesus seemed to always head towards those whose life choices or life's circumstances had built a wall of isolation around them, that only a love that embraces wounds could melt. Once the outside wound is touched by grace, the inside wound begins to heal. To embrace the inside wound is no easier than staring into the oozing sores of the outward condition.

We often live so long with our wounds that they become one with who we think we are. We begin to identify more with the wound, than with the One who would, with love, touch and heal the wound. Sometimes the wound allows us to justify our behaviors, or serve as a scapegoat for our weakness in character. So to embrace the wound is to admit that we are not the wound, and if healed, we must stand on our own.

Sometimes it is easier to embrace the wound in others than to embrace the wound in ourselves. God would gently speak to all of us the reality of the wound within, and the truth that His Son came as the remedy for the wound, or as Isaiah says, "By His stripes we were healed."

To close this rumination, I leave you with one more prayer of Francis

Where there is love and wisdom,
    there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is patience and humility,
    there is neither anger nor annoyance.
Where there is poverty and joy,
    there is neither grasping nor greed.
Where there is peace and contemplation,
    there is neither anxiety nor restlessness.
Where there is awe of God guarding the dwelling,
    there no adversary can enter.
Where there is mercy and moderation,
    there is neither excess nor harshness.

~St. Francis of Assisi, The Admonitions XXVII

The Dark Night of Mordor

It was a sinister feeling, foreboding, eerie, like the clenched throat and stomach you had when you were awash in your first scary campfire story. The tension was mounting about some story of a severed hand which was never found. That tidbit of information was beautifully wound into the factional account that the very place where the flames of the fire leapt into the oblivion of the night just happened to be the last place the severed hand was spotted before it used it's bloody digits to crawl off into the darkness of the night. Then..."Shazam!" a hand appears from nowhere and screams engulf the night sky!

That was the feeling that settled over me like a mist when I saw Sam, Bilbo and Smeagle at the Gates of Mordor in Lord of the Rings. The journey to Mordor was hard enough, but now a new courage was required of our reluctant heros.

The Dark Lord Sauron’s massive eye was ablaze atop the tower looking…searching…hungry. My first thought was, “man, don’t go in there, that’s nuts!” But in “there” beyond the great gate into the desolate plains of Mordor was the point of the quest, the conclusion, or at least, the next destination.

I have often felt that my soul is a very real depiction of the phantasmal Middle earth. The journey to the center of the soul, to deal with realm of Mordor, to dethrone the Dark Lord of myself who rules with an eye always wary, always watching, protective of what might be lost or exposed.

Truth be told, I think we long to dethrone the powers that rule the Mordor of our souls…we journey towards a God-centric life. We have adventures along the way that seem dangerous, risky, and life giving. There is change in the journey, and the goal of allowing Christ to destroy all the darkness within us through His light and truth propel us when we are tired, angry, lost and unsure.

But then we stand gazing at the massive gates that lead to Mordor. We cast our eyes out across the desolate and seemingly endless desert that stretches depressingly towards that burning eye in the center.

Our feet tremble a bit and then stop. “Do I really want to go there?” “Am I really ready for this last push?” “Is this really necessary, doesn’t God love me the way I am?” The civil war begins inside as the eye searches out our weakness.

All of the other roads we had traveled, though hard, were familiar. I could use the tools I had to survive, improvise, astound and move forward. Yet here, in this place, each trail was unknown, every hill seemingly insurmountable. None of the tools in my kit worked…this is a new desert, a very different desert unlike any land I had ever seen.

Darkness covered everything removing my courage the way an extinguished candle’s smoke races towards an opening. Where am I? Who am I?

St. John of the Cross calls this “The Dark Night of the Soul.” When we come into full contact with who we are, the same way Isaiah did when he was in the throne room of the Almighty. When he got a glimpse of the holy, he saw how unholy he was, he saw how powerfully the Dark Lord Sauron of Self ruled his interior.

The Dark night comes upon you when you have been on a journey, a purposeful journey, of knowing God. Not just doing the religious thing, the church thing, or the right thing, but doing the surrender thing.

When we truly engage the journey of following Jesus we will end up standing before many gates that lead to a place that Jesus longs to cleanse, free, and rule in the Middle earth of our souls. Each new gate, and each new dark night has its own level of foreboding attached to it. Each new dark night opens the gate to a new desert you have never traveled and the tools that got you through the last desert may not be effective in the new one.

Yet one thing remains the same…surrender…trust…light…not trust in some generic god that is here one day and gone the next. Not a weak hope that things will turn out okay in the end…Not a self manufactured light that is unable to shine into the darkest of places. Not a surrender that can easily be negotiated out of when the road is hard.

No, it takes the living Christ, illuminating a path that seems impossible to you in a land that is foreign to you on a journey that seems avoidable. Trusting that no matter how dark it gets on your journey, no matter how bad you look, how battered your body, in your heart you know God will never reject or abandon you. On this journey we surrender our plans and routes regardless of outcome, knowing God is with us.

Most turn around at the gate and never experience the journey to dethrone the king of self that rules over Mordor…and the same never experience the depths of love and light that come from facing those deep fears and going forward in the power, strength and person of Jesus Christ.

There is a reason your old skills and tools don’t seem to help much in this new land. If they did, you would not need Jesus, and until we fully grasp that apart from Christ I can do nothing, the Dark Lord of Self will always remain.

He is okay with some small victories here and there, but to loose the kingdom is where the battle truly kicks up. This happens when we burst through the gates intent on moving forward…dealing honestly with what we see in the recesses of our heart.

The only way we can ever get here, to face what comes out of the darkness, is to hold tightly to Christ, clinging to Him as if he were holding onto us as we dangled over an endless ravine.

If you find yourself at the gates sometime soon…go for it, you will never be the same!

Remember the brightest light comes after the darkest night. God is not done with you yet, let Him move you to the deeper life found only in Him, and when Mordor falls…you’ll be ready for the next adventure!

Dei Gratia
MC

Wonder

Do you remember when it happened? When you realized you were not little anymore. The mysteries were slowly being solved, and wonder began to dissipate like steam from a kettle.

As wonder diminishes, responsibility increased and the mysterious form of wonder turned into the be-puzzled type of wonder.

When wonder starts it's exodus from our souls, it leaves behind an empty space that we instantly begin addressing with items created to entice and products that come with a promise larger than the cosmos to fulfill every need, desire or want.

But they don't and we are left with a bunch of wonder-less stuff that really doesn't matter in the meta scheme of life.

Have you noticed that we even lose a sense of the Divine wonder we once had. In the book of Revelation Jesus deals with their loss of wonder. He says,

"I have this against you, you have abandoned the love you had at first." Rev. 2:4

The people were doing many of the right "religious" things. In fact Jesus said to them,

"I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary." Rev. 2:2-3

Isn't that wild. It sounds like they really have their doctrine down. It seems like they are testing people's teaching to make sure that it is good and true. They are even enduring hard circumstances for the name of Christ...come on, honestly, don't they sound stronger in their faith than you or I?

Yet Jesus was going to remove His incredible blessing from their midst because their hearts were cold. They had lost the wonder that comes with fresh and new love, unspoilt by time, definition and circumstances.

Two thoughts immediately hit my brain. First, it seems that all the Bible knowledge in the world, even if it is right, doesn't guarantee a relationship with God that is alive and relational. There is a knowing deeper than knowledge about God, it is to be in relationship with Him, to know and to be known by Christ. This is a transformational knowing. This knowing can grow cold and wonder-less if we don't pay attention, and keep doing the things that breathe life, mystery, love and knowing into the relationship, be it with God or others.

The other thought was one of grace. I am thankful for grace. Grace to me is the key ingredient of wonder. Grace allows me to come back to God when my heart has grown cold, and wonder has slowly been leeching out of my soul. Grace levels the playing field again, reminding me God longs to be in a wonder-filled relationship with us, and nothing can separate me from the love found in Christ.

When I understand grace, wonder is all around me. But that grace is not only about the grace given to me by God, but what truly keeps my mind focused on Christ is when I extend that grace to others. That is amazing, that is a wonder.

Perhaps the church at Ephesus (the one addressed in Revelation 2:1-7) that had lost a sense of wonder, lost it because their focus was diverted from experiencing and extending the incredible grace of God to others, and instead got focused on scrutinizing the letter of the law. Life, freedom and wonder are found in living and extending to others the Spirit of the law.

Paul tells us that a life focused on the letter of the law brings death, but a life surrendered to the Spirit brings life!

May you experience light, grace, life and wonder this Advent season,

Dei Gratia
MC

More Than A Canoe

I just re-entered reality...Do you know that transitionary frame of the moment when you are between two worlds, the world you just came from, and the world you normally find your existence in? This last week I was with a group of kids from our student ministries program at SVA.

It was a wild week with kids from every kind of background, and quite a spread of ages. We headed North early Monday morning to Diablo Lake, unloaded a bunch of canoes, and put everyone in them; most of whom had never been in a canoe, and definitely had not been in a situation where you needed to team with another person so intensely to get from point A to point B!

After about 5-6 miles on Diablo, we arrived at Diablo Dam and had to have our canoes portaged up and over the Dam and drop us in Ross Lake, our destination for the week of camping, canoing and fun!

It was kinda rainy the first day, but slowly each day dawned brighter than the day previous. We found rock cliffs to jump off.Some were ready to leap into the unnown, while others had to take some time to warm up to the idea of hurling their bodies off a cliff a long way down to the absolutely clear water below!

The week would be a week to read through Colossians together. It was great to see some Jr. Highers reading a chapter of Colossians in the morning...again at lunch...and then to go through it all together at campfire...the Logos slowly creeping into the conscience and sub-conscience of each kid, no matter where they were at spiritually.

We had canoe wars, sinking each others canoe, relays, prayer for each other, and even 3 baptisms during the week! God always moves in the most un-mapable people and the most surprising of ways!

What makes these canoe trips so powerful for me personally is that these old- beat up canoes - that we have been using on retreats for years, are the same canoes that I paddled when I was 19 years old on my first canoe trip to Lake Chelan in 1983...that was the trip that forever changed my life...that was the canoe trip that I sat alone upon a rock- looking up the lake and told God, "Okay...I'm done,...I give up...I am wholly yours for whatever you want to do. I will go wherever you want me to go...I will do whatever you want me to do.

After that canoe trip, I did one more year at Central Washington University, then I transfered to Bible College, and I have been church planting ever since. Before that trip I was planning on being a high school music teacher...after that trip I began a God-centric adventure that is still going on today.

As I shared some of my story, a bunch of the kids began to come up to me one by one to say that they were making that commitment even though they really didn't know what it all meant. I responded that I still don't know what it means most of the time, but that God does, and as long as He is in the drivers seat we can glide across the waters of life sure that what we encounter will deepen us, grow us, open our eyes to see the God-reality around us all the time!

Perhaps what was most impacting for me on this trip is that my daughter Emma and my son Liam were there...Jr. Highers on their first canoe trip. I know God was working deep within them, I could see it in their eyes. That brought me right back to being 19 again and re-experiencing the dynamism through their eyes. Watching some of their canoe firsts like: struggling to paddle into the wind...figuring out that the only way to move ahead is to keep the bow pointed into the wind and power it out... that is a life lesson that is still with me.

So often we get tired and let the wind catch us sideways. That will always take us backward, never forward. And what is really amazing is that sometimes, even when you keep the bow of the canoe facing the wind...and you are powering it out...your eye is watching the shoreline, and it seems that you are not moving forward very much...the wind seems so strong...but sometime in life to go forward you need to simply hold your ground...don't quit...don't let the lack of movement discourage you. If you do, you will be moving backward and that will really cause you to enter the lake of discouragement!

Other firsts like looking off the rock cliff that seemed to not be so high from the canoe, but when you reached the top you think, "Oh my God this is high!" But by this point you're committed and you simply jump even though you're scared. Isn't that an incredible moment...the pause after you KNOW you're going to jump and everything inside you is screaming, "DUDE DON"T BE A FOOL!" But you jump anyway, and on the way down you're thinking..."What did I just DO!"

How about learning to navigate relationships when you get triggered by others, and you are living in such close quarters...that's life together, life in the church, life with a family. We are all different. We are all triggered by different personalities...yet we are called to a higher kind of living called love.

I was overwhelmed a few times as I thought about all the kids that have been in these canoes on so many different lakes. Learning different books of the Bible, and experiencing God in so many ways. I thought about how many of them have given their lives to Jesus on trips in these battered old aluminum canoes.

They are so much more than canoes...they are portals of grace where God gets you away from ipods and X-box. Away from T.V and all things electronic...a place where you are left with that which is the most scariest realm in the universe...simply you.

To be alone with yourself...your thoughts...your God. Our ADD culture has a very hard time with that, and when we have trouble stilling our minds we get angry, antsy and often give up. But God is good with even the effort! I believe the church would transform at an exponential pace if we would practice silence...centering...dealing with our thoughts...and finding God in the blank spaces between the notes and between the myriad of thoughts that create our reality.

The canoes transport you to a place where God has been waiting for you to come to simply be with Him. To throw away the prayer lists and the what-ifs, and calm your mind, breathe the air, look at the water falls and know that He is.

It takes some trips like this to come to the realization that God actually dwells inside of you...in your heart...and that after a while you can go to that place the canoe took you without a canoe...hmmm, think on that one for a while.

Not every life changes so dramatically...but every life is effected and affected. Many of the kids still don't get all that Paul was speaking to the church of Colosse...it probably seemed weird, non-relevant, hard to grasp...but they were initiated into the spiritual dimension where the Word transforms degree by degree.

We are a people stuck with the notion that we must get it...understand it all...motivate and inspire! Right? Believe it or not, God is able to use the obscurity of Paul's letters and transform the heart of a Jr. Higher, even if they were antsy, being funny, puzzled and illuminated! It's probably time we learn that it is all Christ...all Him. Even when we are at our masterful best at communicating the Truth...it is Jesus only.

I wonder what these kids will do 10 years from now and a couple more canoe trips? Will they change the world? Will they plant churches? Will they create music that morphs the heart. Will they love their spouse with all their heart? Who knows, but there is one mystery that I am sure of....They are definitely more than canoes!

Illuminate Deo,
Monty

Digging deeper

During the talk on Release a couple weeks ago, I had mentioned the process of taking some time to go through a moral/spiritual inventory so that you could bring to light the issues, stuff, and hurts that could very well be keeping you from experiencing greater awareness in your life with God.

Here is a pdf you can download of an inventory Download moral_inventory.pdf

This is something that powerfully helps your spiritual alignment. Carve out some time, make this a priority, get out of dodge or at least to a quiet place where you won't be distracted.

Pray before you begin...as you go through the inventory you will soon experience freedom from some of the events in your life that have been buried, but not dead...as you work through the process of release, years of weight begins to dissipate and the voice of God becomes much clearer!

Illuminate Deo,
Monty

Awareness

On Sunday we looked at the first part of unleashing the power of the Lords Prayer in your life...So often when Jesus was asked a question, he would respond with a question, causing his listeners to think, contemplate and open their spiritual eyes...yet in Matthew 6 when he is asked by his followers..."teach us to pray" he answers quickly, deeply and powerfully.

For millenia + people have memorized the prayer, mantra'd the prayer, and have often missed the path embedded in the prayer. What Christ explained is not a rote vessel of words, but rather some movements to live which unleash a God-centric and saturated life within us and through us...

The first movement is to practice awareness...awareness of God, and awareness of your thoughts which are a form of prayer that God is always hearing. Our thoughts consume us, and most of our thinking centers around things from the past that we can't change, and fear of the future which hasn't happened yet. Our mental energy is consumed with these things...and guess what, that is really your prayer life...your thought life is your prayer life. That is why Paul tells us to retune our thought life to the things above where Christ dwells, and he also tells us to stop our mental gymnastics of anxiety and worry and replace those with God thoughts...why, because you receive and move towards what you think about...that means most people are praying to stay stuck in a rut and they don't even know it!

Awareness...to become aware of God ask Him to help you...ask Him to remind you about Him throughout the day...that you would see Him in creation, notice Him in your conviction, and experience Him in His care...As you start to think about your thoughts, you become aware not only of where your thoughts are centered, but you are reminded that in this very moment you can change they way you are thinking, and then you will change the direction you were heading!

Can you feel the dog collar coming off...it begins in your mind. As you become more and more aware of God and then trust in His ability to do the impossible, you will begin to experience a prayer life and a tangible life like you never have...

The Lord's Prayer is not words to recite, it is movements to live...this week practice the movement of awareness and tell me what happens as you become aware of your internal prayers and you awareness of the reality and capacity of God!

Illuminate Deo,
Monty

Aftertoughts

I had alot of people asking about the video on culture shift. I'm posting the link to get it off my YouTube site so you can watch it or shoot it to others out there.

incredible stats, alarming, interesting, mind boggling. May your voice and your life bring you true friends as you move deeper than our culture allows you!

Here's the link  click  you can also check out my afterthoughs by clicking here

MC

Ahh..election season

I was pondering these last few weeks about the interesting similarities between the pre-presidential election season and pregnancy...the main difference being that I wish the pre-presidential election season only lasted 9 months!

It seems that each year the political season gets longer and longer...names are thrown into the running so much earlier than in years past. In a way, it seems to me, that the last two years of a reigning president's term in office can be a rather pointless one. If the president was planing on a second bid, his energies are diverted towards the campaign ,and off of the leadership our country and world actually elected him to accomplish. If the president's term is coming to an end, or if there is not a second bid in the works (I know, that's beyond rare), they become marginalized. Our elected officials in Washington vote and speak out in attempts to gain party favor, and our loyalty, for the next election rather than negotiating on what needs to get done today.

Now, I know that is too broad-brushed for all elected officials, but much of that rings true, yes?  Right now, at this point in the process , various candidates are tossing their hat in the presidential ring, is much like the newness of pregnancy. There is excitement in the air...new possibilities...freshness...new hope.

The candidates are for the most part unknown. We see many faces and read about many names that we know very little about. This shrouds the candidate in mystery and potential. I remember when Amy and I found out when our babies were to become a reality...man, what a mind-blowing time. The newness, the unknown kept us preoccupied and living in the now, not really thinking about what lay ahead, or what changes were coming down the pike...none of that really mattered, we were going to have a new baby!

Right now, the political scene has that feeling to it...there's a new baby coming, name after name crosses the airwaves and we wonder who and what the next president will be like...That is phase one eh?

The second phase of pregnancy is when reality slowly creeps into the process. In the election contrast we also experience the reality of the candidate and the process slowly materialize. Every person promises to run on their platform, and vows to withhold from the temptation of political slander against their opponent.

As this season begins, we begin to see the differences or similarities between party candidates, and for the most part...I say that slowly...the candidates keep to the issues, and we begin to think and contemplate the various running platforms. This phase in pregnancy is very much the same. You have the ultrasound and begin to see the new life forming inside of mom's belly. Mom and Dad are still excited and hopeful, but reality unmasks itself as they see the future baby moving, stretching his/her hands and fingers, and moving their head around in-utero.Thoughts begin to quickly contemplate the reality that a new life is joining the family, and there will be change in the near future.

Phase three is when the candidates are feeling the heat, and the possibility that they will not get the party nod, so the heat turns up, the promises of a clean campaign miraculously vanish and the television is filled with pictures of opponents that look like they were edited in hell. The floodgates are unleashed and the ugly side of politics is unleashed upon us.

You wonder what happened to that smiling face that was kissing babies in front of the camera and making promises about integrity and honor. Of course, they say, they had no idea and would never have approved those ads...right, sure, we know, call me a cynic but a presidential election is to big to make those kinds of mistakes. Humanity is capable of incredible darkness and has a brilliant  ability to justify the means as long as it reaches their ends.

In pregnancy this might be the time when you get some ugly news that came from the results of the ultrasound. What was previously all joy and hope, enters a world of fear and anxiety as you saw deeper into the womb of life. I remember with Emma, my daughter, when the doctor called to say there were some results from the AFP test (alphafetoprotein) that were a concern and we would need to talk about our options.

The doctor told us that the test gave indication that our baby could possibly have Down Syndrome, so if we wanted to abort, now would be the time. Man, talk about the wind getting kicked out of your sails. Amy and I prayed. We questioned God. We questioned our ability to handle this. The dark side of pregnancy had visited our home.

Our hearts told us to move forward, life offered us the possibility for some refining decisions, but to us life is life, and it comes from God, so with fear and trepidation it was forward ho. The fear didn't go away, but the reality that God was with us in this carried us through the worries. I remember cutting the cord, holding Emma in my arms, and the whole process of days filled with confusion and anxiety were gone. As it turned out, Emma was fine, but God had given us a pop quiz in the midst of the journey.

Even in the presidential-election season, God is giving pop quizzes to see how His people, and our candidates act with honesty and integrity. Sometimes we have done well, other times we see the dark side of politics and humanity.

Of course the final phase for both areas is often the most painful! There are commercials every 10 seconds where the final candidates shred each other, shred the other party and move to the birth process of the final election!

The last two major elections I have been in Africa. Being an absentee ballot kind of guy, I watched the news from a different perspective in a foreign land. Just as an aside, being a man, I can enter into the experience of birth only so far...my wife has a much deeper insight and connection into the process than I do. It was great to be there, but there was something going on at a much deeper level with Amy. I can't enter that zone, but to see it and sense it is like a glimpse into the divine. In an election, there are many life experiences, teachings, and traditions that consciously and subconsciously form a persons choice, and those experiences are also something that I cannot totally understand. But when I open the dialog and enjoy the conversation, there is a deeper connection and understanding that transpires even if I can't completely enter their journey.

The birth process involves alot of pain. I am amazed at the strength that a woman has for the life-giving act! I remember being so proud of Amy with both births. Birth exacts a toll on the mom and election night exacts a toll, and alot of pain too. Maybe the nation should get an epidural before tuning in to get the pole results!

It was interesting being in Africa, surrounded by a large number of people who were against the person I had cast my ballot for. I felt uneasy, unsafe to express my position, yet they sure felt fine with theirs! A life of integrity is forged in moments like that...when we choose to listen and not retaliate...to hear even when unheard. Jesus dealt with encounters like that almost daily!

Regardless of which party line you vote, if your candidate loses, there is often a sick feeling that morphs in your gut.This is only natural because you have become invested ideologically, theologically, and sociologically in a person. I know that feeling myself, and I am sure at some point, so have you.

The pain though, is the portal to the joy that comes after.

My heart's desire is that we would learn to walk in community with integrity in the days ahead. No matter which lever you pull, or which chad is hanging on your election ballot. I pray that we would chose to walk with honor. There will be a candidate that wins and one that loses. Within your community of faith there will be people for either candidate. God will be giving us all a pop quiz in the season ahead to see if we will seek Him and keep the unity of the community of faith first...above losing our integrity by shredding each other, whether in the pews or in the papers revealing the dark side of politics or the painful journey of birth.

Right now there is the joy of anticipation and newness, but in the days to come there will be the beginnings of the dark side...it will come.

My challenge then is, may we live in such a way that God is honored, and we all pass His pop quiz of integrity instead of someone asking..."man, I think that baby needs a diaper change!

Illuminate Deo,
Monty

Mountain Men

On the second Saturday of every month, there are men from my community of faith who gather together to pray. 

This month we had groups of men on three different mountain tops...strategically timed to summit together, pray, share communion, and just simply enjoy being guys!

This group of wild men are sitting on top of Mount Si, doin' some hang time on the haystack. You know, in this day and age, it seems that men have abandoned the incredible God-adventure that they were created for, and have instead, traded that adventure in for the mundane, or at best for a few, the religous.

What pumps me up about the men I hang with, is that they are engaging full force, with every ounce of testosterone in their bodies, into the adventure that God has for them. No mere behavioral religion will do...no these guys, like me, long for more...yearn for more...and are out there on the edge with God experiencing more!

It's not about climbing or any one thing, but rather about realizing that playing it safe is risky...it's risky for your faith, it's risky to your relationships...and it's risky for your heart. When a man ceases to engage His God with all that he is...and plays it safe, doing the 9-5 bit with a soccor game and maybe a church service thrown in for jollies...the result is a shriveled heart, a bored mind, and an apathetic life.

I am proud of the men who found their way to the top of Mount Si...Rattlesnake Ridge...and Snoqualmie Point...Not only did they step out, but they sought the face of God for other men who are trapped in a world they were not made for...men fighting for men to be free. The heavens are exploding with praise!

Illuminate Deo,
Monty

The Spirituality of the Disenfranchised

We are a culture of disenfranchisement…or to put it another way, we live in a culture of discontent…or yet another way to look at it is that we are a culture of complainers. We complain about everything from an internet connection that takes to long to a Fast Food drive through that took more than 30 seconds to get me my food! We hear it in our spoken and unspoken words of cultural competition with our neighbors. “Why don’t we have one of those…I can’t believe what they did to their yard…when can we get a better car…the Smith’s got a new car, when can we get one?”

Our disenfranchised state stems from a disease I’ll call homosapienmyopisticsm-syndrome…or translated…It’s All About Me-itus.  When things don’t go our way, or when our confidants, soul mates or great dates don’t have that Houdini-esk ability to fathom the depth of our minds and answer our needs and wants before we have actually articulated them.

Let down after let down, and broken communication after broken communication have lead to a self imposed wall of expectations that would cause even Gandhi and Mother Theresa to blow it! We seem to forget one massive point in all our expectational living…we are merely human, prone to drop the ball and prone to think you heard her say “Where’s little Eddie” when in reality she said, “I’m all ready!” for which a clash of  misunderstood words were volumized as the search for little Eddie began, and you notice a haze of confusion slowly shrouds her face into a contortion of wrinkles and lines around the eyes asking the unspoken question, “Does he/she ever “hear” me?”

Soon we become the Eeyores of the philosophical world espousing a belief in doom and conspiracy that leaves us lifeless and always wondering if Aunt Bertha is really who she says she is…or why no one seems able to simply “Get It.” This creates within the heart a superhighway to disenfranchisement, often resulting in abandoning the quest that God placed within your heart.

The spiritually disenfranchised live another reality. Have you ever been living in the land of spiritual atrophy? I have, it isn’t fun, pretty, or easy to figure out. Generally, you have no idea how you crossed the border into this new realm, and there is absolutely no road map showing you the way back to Kansas, all you know is that Toto looks frantic.

Our thoughts begin to wonder (and complain if we are honest) about God’s apparent vacation from our earthly reality, and that maybe the world needs a “Mighty Smiter” again to right the wrongs so visible to us as we cocoon against the forces of an out of control culture.

If we are afraid to vocalize or admit to God that we have thoughts about how well He is or is not doing His job (by the way, He already knows what you think) it all internalizes, germinates, sprouts some wicked wings and leaves you stuck in no mans land. Maybe life has dealt you a serious blow…maybe a spouse walked out with no warning…maybe there was a company shift at work that left you without work…whatever the situation, if we don’t feel safe to approach God in raw honesty, we really do not have an active relationship with Him, but one of fear, denial, lack of honesty to keep a supposed peace…in other words, the kind of relationships we are probably experiencing on the human level which has left us dazed, confused, and scared.

This reality tend to magically grow suction grips on our hands as well tenaciously hold on to, clutch, strangle or grasp anything that seems to give us meaning, purpose, or a medication from the reality that life is not flowing on the outside or the inside the way our hearts and minds believe it should be progressing. And guess what? These behaviors are generally a huge reason there is a relational disconnect in our lives vertically with God and horizontally with others.

The symptoms are not the reasons, they are a result of the spiritual disenfranchisement which has a deeper root which is a struggle with God. The way out is closer than you think..The Kingdom of God is so close. The move to realign is so close, but it takes courage!

The incredible thing is that when we get here…an honest, raw, incongruent, confused place…religion goes right out the window. Often we try to figure out the problem through religion (sometimes religion is the problem!), but what God desires is truth in the inmost place of your heart…He can handle your thoughts, struggles, doubts, anger, pain, blame-shifting…

Courage leads to honesty...Honesty leads to integrity...Integrity leads to peace...Peace increases our faith...Faith reveals the infinte!

I love what Paul said to young believers who were once an anathema to Israel and cut off from the heart of God:

Ephesians 3:8-13
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

The disenfranchised have two options: 1. Lose heart and lose life, or 2. Boldly enter the reality of God with all your questions, concerns and cares. God will meet you there, He will never be unavailable for you, He will never be on an extended coffee break. Your call will never get lost in transfer…

So perhaps part of the quest and part of the journey is to enter the realization that on many levels we are all spiritually disenfranchised at varying degrees. Interacting with and identifying those areas are part of the Sovereign plan to open the spiritual eyes of your heart illuminating the infinite. Denial eliminate the infinite, it only hurries the finite, and you were made for so much more.

Let’s end this with some higher thought from Paul, who experienced life in all it’s fullness…mountaintops and prison cells…yet through his honesty, his disenfranchisement drew Him into the heart of the One who caused him and loved him.

Ephesians 3:14-19                                          
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Wow eh?

Illuminate Deo                                       
Monty