december

One trip down... three or four more to go. While I was in Florida this week I finished the book "the shack" by William Young. My future bro-in-law bought it for me months ago but reading gets tough during the semester. It's been on the NY Times Bestseller list so I've been anxious to check it out and I think I could even benefit from another reading just to try and grasp everything better. But... one of the chapters was called "Verbs and Other Freedoms" and has really left me thinking. One of the characters Sarayu was teaching another character, Mack about the differences between nouns and verbs in a relationship with God. Mack was stuck thinking of religion in terms of responsibility and expectations and Sarayu said "Before your words became nouns, they were first my words, nouns with movement and experience buried inside of them; the ability to respond and expectancy. My words are alive and dynamic - full of life and possibility; yours are dead, full of law and fear and judgment. That is why you won't find the word responsibility in the Scriptures."

Sarayu went on to try to explain religion without law, fear and judgement. "Let's use the example of friendship and how removing the element of life from a noun can drastically alter a relationship. Mack, if you and I are friends, there is an expectancy that exists within our relationship. When we see each other or are apart, there is expectancy of being together, or laughing and talking. That expectancy has no concrete definition; it is alive and dynamic and everything that emerges from our being together is a unique gift shared by no one else. But what happens if I change that 'expectancy' to an 'expectation' - spoken or unspoken? Suddenly, law has entered into our relationship. You are now expected to perform in a way that meets my expectations. Our living friendship rapidly deteriorates into a dead thing with rules and requirements. It is no longer about you and me, but about what friends are supposed to do, or the responsibilities of a good friend."

Mack responds that he would much rather live in expectancy. I too, would rather live in expectancy.

On another note, my boss was telling me a story (one of many during a 10-hour van ride to florida) about one of his former players finding his wife. A Jewish guy, he was going to Israel to serve as a player-coach in the Maccabiah Games (Jewish Olympics) and wore a sign at the opening ceremonies that read ''Single male. American. Looking for Israeli Wife. Contact Todd Schayes at the Tel Aviv Hilton.'' Thousands of women responded and when the media caught on in the U.S. a woman in Connecticut forwarded her niece's contact information to Todd and they eventually married. I thought perhaps my boss had inflated the story a bit but I found all the details from the NY Times. Quality reading...
Schayes search
Schayes wedding
My favorite quote... "I'm not a hopeless romantic. I'm a hopeful romantic." - Todd Schayes

I'll be in Colorado until Tuesday and then the Bahamas from Wednesday until Sunday. Heading to Maryland on Monday if all goes well. Please pray for safe travel!