Notes on The Call- Chapter 3 "The Haunting Question"

0 comments Posted by RDA2 at 8/08/2009 09:32:00 AM

"Responsibility does establish identity, but we are not responsible because of our identity; instead we have an identity because we are responsible." - Vaclav Havel


I posted this quote as a status for Twitter/Facebook for a while. Thinking it was not only poignant but actually fairly condemning. It reveals that most of my thinking has been backward concerning the various "identities" that have been bestowed upon me. I say bestowed because nearly all of them have come or been granted to me by God. Son, Husband, Father, Uncle, Pastor, etc. All of these things have been granted to me by God through many means (miracle of birth, favor of choice, you name it) and the more that is laid out before me, I am aware of the difference between "title" and "identity". Have parents, you're a son. Have a wife, you're a husband. Have children, you're a father. All of these remain titles though until you accept and live out the responsibility that you have been "called " to.

Os Guinness writes of the "biography question". The ever present "Who am I?" Am I just another person who fits into some pre-defined categories? Am I who I make myself to be? Am I who I am fated to be? The answer is that there are elements of the first three questions in the overall answer but it all falls flat without acknowledging He who seeks us out in the first place. He calls us. He calls me. I am who God calls me to be.

Well, at least that's the goal :) More later, I seem to be being "called" by my youngest son to come and play.

 

New book- The Call

0 comments Posted by RDA2 at 7/24/2009 08:49:00 PM

I was recently given a surprise gift by a friend. It came in the form of a book, written by Oz Guinness , called simply "The Call". I mention this because I will probably be posting more than a few thoughts about this book. I am two and a half chapters in and it already has caused more valuable introspection than any book I have read in the last 8 years.


Best quote from chapter 2

"The secrect of seeking is not in our human ascent to God, but in God's descent to us. We start out searching. but we end up being discovered. We think we are looking for something; we realize we are found by Someone."

Seekers Sought! Remind you of anyone?

 

Complex prayer practice- Step 1

0 comments Posted by RDA2 at 5/07/2009 06:11:00 PM

Do you have something that you want to say?  Something that you just need to get off of your chest?  Do the words inside seem like they are ready to just burst out of your chest?

Do me a favor, just talk.  Out loud.  Really.  The people in the car next to you won't care (they'll care that you're reading someones blog on your phone while driving, but they won't care if you talk out loud.)  

Do me another favor....tell God about it.  Sounds weird , i know.  

-Speak to Him like you would a close friend....no wait, speak to Him like you're absolutely desperate for someone to hear you.
-Don't wait for the "best time" to talk. Just bust down the door and start talking.
-Don't hold back...I have a feeling He knows anyway.
-Be honest about how you feel. 

Last favor.. I promise (at least for the short duration of this blog)

Listen
- Don't look for the lightning.
- Don't wait on the wind.
- Don't feel for the thunder or the earthquake.

Listen for the still, small, quiet, comforting, Voice of the only one who could possibly under how you feel at the moment.

Try it , what do you have to lose?

 

What's up with the title?

0 comments Posted by RDA2 at 4/27/2009 09:45:00 AM

A several years i was lead to venture out of my normal spiritual practice and do something off the wall: Plant a church.  This idea was met with seemingly equal amounts of support and scorn (I'm not sure what the percentage was).  As my wife and i were thinking/discussing this idea, my oldest daughter came up with a question:


 "Dad, what the name of the church going to be?"  

This being so early in the process, i realized that i hadn't really thought about what to call this work. There is something within me that says names are important, i believe they carry within them the origin of an idea. Well at least they do for me.

"Gideon's Call Fellowship", I replied.  This was not something i had running around in my mind.  

But the name fit.  More on what happened with the church plant later.....

Years later , when trying to blog for the first time, the thought of Gideon crossed my mind again and the issue of direction came to the forefront.  I have always struggled with what do in my life.  Whether it was too many options, too many talents (subtext!!!!), or whatever.  I had a hard time deciding on what i needed/wanted/desired to do.  Cue my friend, Gideon.  

Gideon was a young man who, reluctantly, was given a seriously difficult task by God.  Before taking this task, he wanted assurances:
a)  the task that God had for him was the right one
b) that he (Gideon) was the right one for the job

So we have Gideon using a unique way of inquiring of God.  He takes a fleece (a covering made of sheep's wool) and lays it down on the ground.  Gideon's verification would come if, in the morning, his fleece was wet and the ground was dry.  Next morning, fleece is wet and ground is dry.  Gideon wanting ABSOLUTE confirmation decides to reverse the parameters and wants the fleece dry and the ground wet.  Next morning,  fleece is dry and ground is wet.

I'm not constructing a sermon or lesson so I'll get to the point.  Gideon wanted assurance.  Direction would come later.  As a matter of fact, once he was assured of what God said (the task was right and that he was the one for the task),  all of the other weird, miraculous, supernatural stuff took place later.

What's with the title?  The title of this blog remind me to always look for the same things that Gideon look for.  Assurance of God's leading and assurance that i am the man He as called for the task.

 

Lame excuse for not blogging

1 comments Posted by RDA2 at 4/27/2009 09:34:00 AM

I came into the blogging world late.  It is not something i do habitually because writing is not something i absolutely love to do.  I have mentioned this in a different entry but it's rather difficult for me to let go and just write some things down.  I remember a English Writing and Comp class i had at UT (Austin, of course) where the T.A. gave us an assignment.  The assignment was to "free write" at least thirty minutes a day,  but I could never get the hang of just sitting down and writing about whatever came to mind.  I say all of this because current events in life require me to sit down (on a regular basis), and just write.  This seemingly new thing for me will probably not help anyone else but it will be therapeutic for me.  If you instend to read this, hang on.  The ride could get bumpy (and if you're a literary critic, keep your comments to yourself :)  )

 

What just happened?

0 comments Posted by RDA2 at 2/05/2009 05:52:00 AM

I'm in the process of streamlining a few things.  One of which is synching up my blogs with what i really do.  If you want to read all about my mindless ramblings on various topics (most of which include spirituality of some kind), then this is the place to be.  My other blog View from OA will be the place to read about the goings on of a new discussion group (C3) and the RDA comics reviews (me reviewing one comic a day... hence the Recommended Daily Allowance schtick). All relevant blogs from the other site have been posted here

 

Lunch @ 1AM

0 comments Posted by RDA2 at 1/14/2009 02:00:00 AM

I don't have a title for this so I'll just keep the one above.


Had a stirring conversation with a co-worker and good friend concerning the overwhelming complexity of religion.  Too many points to cover here but a few things stand out:

- What are the questions that really cause you to think and even lose sleep over (I'm betting it's not what to wear in the morning)?
-The power of despair is ....well ...very powerful, but I think it's all done with smoke and mirrors (thank you Stephen R. Donaldson).
-I'm tired of trying to explain the Trinity.  I think I'll let God take that one from now on :)
-Atheism as a primary belief (someone else's belief)  no longer makes me angry/confused/defensive.  It does make me aware/inquisitive/sad
-The real enemy is trickier in his dealings than I had previously realized

.....more to come ....

 

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