Extreme Reconciliation & Extreme Love...

Several years ago I read MLK's letter from the Birmingham jail it was written in the early 60's. His words are powerful and challenging and call me to live out extreme reconciliation and extreme love. I am far from figuring out how exactly to do that but it is a journey worth exploring. I hope this challenges you...

"Was not Jesus an extremist for love -- "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice -- "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ -- "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist -- "Here I stand; I can do none other so help me God." Was not John Bunyan an extremist -- "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist -- "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist -- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice--or will we be extremists for the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thoughts that stir...

Here are some thoughts & quotes from things I have been reading or listening to over the last month. I hope they stir your mind and heart...

"We cannot attain the presence of God. We're already totally in the presence of God. What's absent is awareness?" --Richard Rohr

"To know who we are, we first must know WHO'S we are." --Jeff McSwain

"Novem te, novem me." (May I know YOU, may I know myself.) --St. Augustine's Prayer

"After decades of Bible reading. I realized that my relationship with God was based more on what I believed than on what I experienced." --David Benner

"Kids grasp social justice better than adults...God is the Father to the fatherless...We are Plan B, it is up to us to turn to the poor." --Tom Davis

"I love the poor, the sick, and the weak because I see the face of God in them not because I am called but because I am desperately loved by God." --Me*

"Grace is what makes Christianity different from all other ways to God. It allows us to be embraced." --Me*

"I want to be in a community where you are giving and receiving so much to each other that eventually you forget who is giving and who is receiving." --Me*

*I am sure these were inspired by someone, I just cannot remember who, sorry to whoever deserves the credit for these Truths.

Things to work on in 2009...

1. Live into the fact that loving God and loving my neighbor are inseparable.

2. Embrace the uncomfortable. I have been doing this with kids for awhile but I am going to work on doing that with my peers this year.

3. Dance more.

4. Ask more questions.

My Happy Place...

I moved into a wonderful little townhouse about two months ago. There really are a few joys of moving: reorganizing, purging junk, decorating, and creating new comfort spots. My newest happy place includes my new favorite hobby. I am still very much of a beginner, I feel like a little girl learning to ride a bike, a little out of control and shaky but lovin' every minute of it. In my happy place I feel free to day dream, free to waste time, free to laugh at myself, free to dream of rockstar status, free to worship, free to be myself.







This is a piece of eye candy hanging in my bedroom. It makes me smile.

I tried to be chill...

"Well you dawned on me and you bet I felt it, I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted, I fell right through the cracks and now I'm trying to get back. Before the cool done run out, I'll be giving it my bestest. Nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention, I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some." -Jason Mraz

I cannot get enough of these lyrics. I try to be chill all the time, but passion takes over. If you know me well you know I don't work well in neutral.

It is a good risk...

Oh Henri, good word...

Love and the Pain of Leaving

by Henri Nouwen

Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain. The greatest pain comes from leaving...the pain of the leaving can tear us apart. Still, if we want to avoid the suffering of leaving, we will never experience the joy of loving. And love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair. We have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking.

Soak it in...

My job allows me to be surrounded by some truly amazing and encouraging people. Today I had an encounter that reminded me of that.

A RM prayer warrior came up to me and said, "Julie, you are stunning and beautiful, inside and out." And my first reaction was "Aaawww, thanks that's sweet. I actually feel sweaty and gross." Than she hugged me real tight and did not let go and said, "No don't let that bounce off you, soak it in. It is true."

She was dead on, my first response was to let it bounce off. Why is it so hard to "soak in" compliments and truly believe them? I often automatically assume when someone is giving a compliment they are just being nice (I mean this is the south). But when I stopped assuming and just let the compliment truly "soak in" what a blessing I received.

I also want to state that I do know about "humility" I hope this post doesn't reflect that now I think I am a supermodel...

The point of sharing this is to encourage you to believe the compliments that are true of you and let them soak in. And I am speaking of the compliments that Jesus himself would say to you.