Relearning 12 Spiritual Disciplines Week 4: Meditation Part 4

This weeks reading was a selection Marguerite Porete, from her book "A Mirror Of Souls".  Reading the short her short bio read that she was a member of the Beguines (a movement within the church of women who lived and ministered outside of the social norms), and that many of them were mystics, and found myself thinking " o' no not another mystic".  I grew up in a primarily fundamentalist denomination, and went to a fundamentalist university, so I know that my view of mysticism is a little skewed, and yet I know that there is much to learn from the movement as there from all movements within Christianity.  From the two readings that in this book that I have been through it seems that mystics seem to be very experiential in there writings, and theology.  I will have to do some more study on the Mystic movement.  The only thing that history tells us  is that she was tried for heresy and burned at the stake.
In the reading this week Porete describes "the seven stages in the ascent of mountain from whose summit only God can be seen"
The first stage: Keeping the Commandments
Pretty self explanatory, a person is touched by God's grace, and does their best to keep His commandments.
The second stage:  Following the Counsel of Perfection
A person dies to his earthly desires, without remorse.  Following the example of Christ.
The third Stage:  The Death of Will
In this stage a person gives up their own will to serve only the will of others.  One again dies to them selves.
The fourth stage:  Labors give way to contemplation
In this stage a person is brought "by Love" into contemplation.  Contemplation becomes the focus of the soul
The fifth Stage:  The will abandoned to God
A person will see who God really is, and who they are in relationship to Him, producing Great humility and a willingness to give their will Completely to God.
The sixth stage:  Freedom in Enlightenment
This is the last stage that is attainable in this lifetime, and to be quite honest I don't really understand what Porete is saying here.  This is how she describes it:  "Pure and enlightened, it is no longer her seeing God in herself, but God seeing her, through her, showing her that there is nothing but God....  She sees that all is in the being of God, who is love and has paid all debts."
The seventh stage
"God reserves it to Himself, and will give it to us in everlasting glory."
I understand the first five stages, and the seventh, but I do not understand stage six.  I just don't understand what she is trying to convey.  Is it that in this stage all that we see is God, and nothing else.  But she says that God sees through her.  I just don't get it.  Maybe, some day if I ever reach this level of enlightenment I will understand but for now it is beyond my reach.
Every stage on the mountain is described in a very experiential, very pleasant ways.  I know that experiences and how we process them are gifts from God, but to rely on them in total is an error that a lot of Christians (including myself) have made and continue to make.  We need to process everything through the only infallible source that we have, and that is the word of God.  There is a lot of good material in this reading, some of it seemed redundant to me (that there seem to be different stages of dying to ones oneself).   I am also not sure that everything in this reading can be backed up biblicly.  I have been working on this for a week, and I am still having trouble lining up this writing with Biblical text, which is why I haven't put any into this blog.  If anyone who reads this blog has any knowledge of "A Mirror of Simple Souls"  by Marguerite Porete, your help would be much appreciated.
Next week I start the set of readings  on prayer.  Looking forward to it.

Relearning 12 Spiritual Disciplines Week 3: Meditation Part 3

I am a week behind, but I had some issues this week, I'll get back on track.
Okay, I have my first major problem with this book.  "Do not be concerned, as you read the following selection on contemplation about arriving at precise definitions of "meditation" and "contemplation".  Recognize that different teachers and writers define these terms in different ways. Our concern here is not to study prayer, but to practice it."  P17  I understand that not all teachers agree on definitions, but this is a study on meditative prayer, and as an editor I feel that one single definition should be discussed, not just for continuity's sake but also to reduce confusion.
That being said the study itself was very helpful.  First off Thomas Merton, in this reading selection does a very good job as an apologist for mysticism, he brings contemplation down to earth (so to speak) and makes it very attainable.  Merton describes infused contemplation as a "deep and intimate knowledge of God by union of love". Merton  points out that contemplation is an act of the Holy Spirit working in our souls "through His gifts of Wisdom and Understanding"  Entering in to Infused Contemplation came at a price though it is the price of our worldly desires.  We must give up what we desire most in this world to truly enter into a deeper relationship wit Him.  Our hearts must belong to Him.
Merton says that everyone should desire and ask for gift.  I never really thought of asking for the gift of contemplation, communing with God.  I just thought it was something that you did, but it makes sense to me that one should seek for and desire a deeper relationship with God.
One is small point of contestation with Merton in his writing.  He says that the gifts of the spirit are given at baptism.  I believe from my study that the gifts are give at conversion.  Other than that, I believe that, Merton does a great job of explaining contemplation in a very simple way.

Rough week!

It's been a long week and a half.  I woke up Friday morning and couldn't move my arm because it hurt so bad.  I iced it and took pain pill as much as possible, and stayed home from work.  Saturday I tried to go to work, made it about an hour and realized that there was no way that I was going to make it through the night.  I called someone in to help me and ran up to the ER.  They took some x-rays and said that my bones looked normal, put me in a sling, and sent to me to an orto. doctor.  Went to see the doctor and he daid that he thought that it wasn't anything major, and sent me to PT.  Went to PT and will be for at least two weeks.  I can only work for a couple hours at a time, and am on a 5 lb weight limit, but need to use my arm as much as possible.
Trying to figure out how being out of work because of an injury that has no reasonable explanation, for a family struggling to make it is even remotely part of God's plan.  I know His ways are not our way, and I will never be able to truly understand what He is doing, but I really don't get it.  I try to do everything right, I truly try to follow Him and these things that would be bad by them selves, but are really bad all together, just keep happening.  How do you understand Gods will, what he wants when you just don't get it?  I know that all the "answers"I know that I need to stay in His word, and focus in Him, it is just really hard.  It may sound like a cop out but it is really hard.
Just trying to figure this whole thing out.  We'll see where goes.  Should be interesting...has been so far.

Relearning 12 Spiritual Disciplines Week 2: Meditation Part 2

Last week I discussed the writing of Thomas More (which I read two weeks ago), A Godly Meditation, In which I said that meditation was setting one's mind on the divine.  Last weeks  the readings were by Joyce Huggett.  She says that meditation is being attentive to God, for the purpose of "seeing ourselves in the light of God's revealed word".  We meditate on Scripture so that it can become part of us, not just part of our knowledge base.  She also clearly defines what she sees as the difference between meditation, and contemplation.  She says that' "Contemplation goes further and deeper than meditation.  While the person meditating mutters and muses on God's word, the contemplative pays silent attention to Jesus, the living Word-the one who is central prayer."  So meditation is spending time in the Word, studying it, learning it, making it apart of who we are, and contemplation is entering into the presence of Christ.  She goes on to give three steps for contemplative prayer:  Step one, "we need to give ourselves time to relax in God's presence."  in other word we need to give up to God any distractions that would hinder our prayers. Step two, once we have relinquished everything to Him, we become aware of his presence. Step three is that "we open our hearts to His love."  She goes on to say that he is there in the quiet place waiting for us, and that while there our outlook changes to become His outlook.
It seems to me that while meditation and contemplation are two separate and distinct disciplines, the one is necessary  to do the other correctly.  One must meditate on God's word so that we can recognize the presence of God, and one must regularly be in the presence of God to truly understand the Word of God.
This week are readings by Thomas Merton,  on Contemplation.

"Correspondence with Nature"

Forgive me this is a long Quote:

"The light really began to dawn  on him as he (Mr. Howells) was reading an outstanding book of that time, Professor Henry Drummond's Natural Law in the Spiritual World.  Drummond was telling how he never thought it possible to give a definition of life. till he found one of the works of Hebert Spencer, who said that life is a "correspondence with nature."  A child is born with five senses and various bodily organs, and each corresponds with something in his environment:  the eye sees sights, the ear hears sounds, the lungs breath air, and so on.  "While I can correspond with my environment, I have life,"  said Spencer; "but if something happened which prevented me from corresponding with my environment then I should be dead; death is a failure of correspondence."
Drummond took the definition back to Adam.  The Lord told him that the day he disobeyed, he would surely die.  Did he die?  on Spencer's definition he died spiritually, for though he continued to have natural life, he lost his correspondence with God and could only come back to Him by way of sacrifice, the way of a victim is killed in his stead." --"Reese Howells Intercessor:  The Story Of A Life Lived For God" pp 29-20

First off I want to point out that Adam and Eve did die a physical death, as well as a spiritual death, though the physical death was not immediate.
Second I have never heard it described like this before, and it is probably the most accurate analogy that I have ever heard.  Jesus is the eternal sacrifice that satisfies, the requirement of a sacrifice to correspond with God.
Third, our relationship with God should be as natural as breathing, hearing, or seeing.  These are natural to us we just do them, unless of course there is some deformity, that would cause us not to.  In the same way we should naturally be in a relationship with God the Father through Christ and the Holy spirit.  We must believe and be born of  Him.  For even Satan and the demons believe and tremble.  I also know many people who believe that Christ is the Son of God but are unwilling to make him Lord of their life.  It should be as natural a relationship as the one we have with our parents.
For as much as I "know" about Christ and the relationship I should have with him this passage in Grubb's book really made me ponder if what I have is correspondence with Him.

The first three chapters

I just started reading a book the my mom recommended to me.  she told me that it had a profound influance on her life.  I would read pretty much any book that my mom recommends dealing with the spiritual realm, because she is the most Godly woman I know, she lives the phrase "pray without ceasing".  Sh is truly a woman of God.

"Reese Howells Intercessor; The Story of a Life Lived for God"  is about a man who was a missionary, born October 19, 1897.  I thought is was going to be a hard read for me considering it was published in 1952 and written by an Englishman, but it has been quite pleasant so far, with many insights into the mid of the author, the subject and most importantly the mind of God. Here are some things that have struck me so far:
- Speaking of his life before he was born again (the author and it seems Mr. Howells makes it clear that in his eyes there is a difference between being a "Christian" and being born again.); "I felt I could face God every night, because I lived such a clean, pure life,..."  This statement will become important in a later chapter.
-Mr Howells, was always a Church goer, he decided to move to America before he left he went to church and God spoke to him through the pastor. The author describe it this way, "It was God's overshadowing Hand again, putting an external restraint on His chosen vessel, until He revealed His Son to him..."
-Later on after he came to America, he is invited to go to a boxing match, something he enjoyed in his youth, and he refuses.  The author once again refers to the restraining hand.
-"Living and upright life like that, how could God bring him to the realization that he was born in sin and needed to be saved?"
-"...until there is conviction of need, there can be no desire for a change.  But God has His ways!"
-there is a five chapter discourse comparing the correspondence of the five sense to nature, to correspondence, which I am still in the process of digesting mentally.

There are some things in the book that are question marks for me, for instance the author and indeed HOwell's refers to "seeing Calvary" when talking about conversions experiences.     Not sure exactly how I feel about that.  So far I have seen theological elements of Calvanmism, and mild undertones of the Charismatic movement in the book.  Almost every paragraph makes you think, about what you are reading.  It is very deep spiritually, and I can't wait to "wade in" as it were.

Relearning 12 Spiritual Disciplines Week 1: Meditation

I started working on a new Bible study last week, "Spiritual Classics, Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups on the Twelve Spiritual DIsciplines", long title I know, but I have been in a place over the last couple of years where I haven't been very consistent in practicing any spiritual discipline.  The first discipline is Meditation, now os all the topics in the book meditation is the one that I could never quite wrap my head around.  I just don't really get how to do it.  I looked up the definition of meditation, Webster's define's is as the act of meditating.  This is their definition for meditate: to engage in contemplation or reflection; to focus ones thoughts on: reflect on, ponder over.    I understand the concept os meditation, I just have a really hard time doing it.  I thinks its because I'm dyslexic.  From the the time I was really young I have always used association to compensate.  I have learned to think in patterns, and associations.  In turn thinking about one thing has always been difficult, because when I am thinking about something I will automatically associate it with something else and move on to that.  With that in Mind I start my study on the discipline meditation, hoping to learn how to do it correctly and consistently.

The first reading in the book was by Thomas More.  It is just a meditation the he wrote down. The first couple lines are :
     Give me thy grace, good Lord,
     To set the world at naught,
     To set my mind fast upon thee.
That in essence is what spiritual meditation is, setting your mind on the divine things and not on the worldly.  Sounds simple right, but how do you do it?  That is what I intend to find out over the next three weeks.  This weeks reading is by Joyce Hugett, expounding on the importance of meditation ad how to meditate.

Rob Bell Part 2

I just want to say something to people who think that not reading one of Rob Bells books means that I may have a different opinion of him.  My opinion of him was pretty much solidified after reading.  Velvet Elvis, this new book just furthers my opinion of the man.  When he says "This love compels us to question some of the dominate stories that are being told as the Jesus story.  A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spend forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better.  It has clearly been communicated to many that this belief is a central truth to the Christian faith and to reject it, is in essence, to reject Jesus.  This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately need to hear."  Those are his own words people.  Now as I read and study the Bible as a whole it is pretty clear that a "select" few will enter heaven while the rest of humanity will  spent the rest of eternity in torment.
One other thing that he says that I am in total disagreement with is "I believe the discussion itself is divine."  Discussion or debate for the sake of it is a usles endeavor, there has to be an end game.  A point you get to that closes the discussion.  This may not be possible in the Church as a whole but personally there must (sometimes after much intellectual and spiritual struggle) be a answer to the questions of faith. I myself have struggled with and sometimes still struggle with how a loving God can leave people to eternal punishment.  I always come back to the same conclusion:  God is loving, but he is also just and righteous, A just and righteous God must punish humanity for it's sins,  but this God has also prepared a road to grace, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  John 3:16-21 explains the entire process, these are the words of Christ.
Just one more note I am a proud Calvinist.  This discussion has truly made me more of a one and is teaching me to defend what I believe.  While I disagree with Rob Bell on a lot (not all) of what he says, he has opened the Christian debate up to many non Christians and offered many in roads that were not previously there for Christians.

Theology

I keep running across things that Rob Bell and others like him say, and it bugs me.  I was having a hard time figuring out why is bugged me so much, until just now I realized why is bugs me so much.  It's my theology, I know what I believe.   For the most part, and I have struggled through a lot of the "tough" questions of Christianity.  Here's what I have so Far:
     -There is one triune God; God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
     -God the Father sent his only Son to Earth to be to die and rise again to defeat death and satan once and for all, and that all who believe in Him are saved through grace, and not of works
      -Through Jesus is the ONLY way to have a relationship the Father, and to eternal life
      -God alone is sovereign
      -The Holy Spirit indwells all who believe
      -The Bible is the inspired (by the Holy Spirit) inherent word of God
      -There is an eternity either with God, heaven, or without God, hell
      -We see God through our existence and not as he fully is (this does not mean however the knowledge os his character given to us in the Bible is in any way false or untrue, or that it is impossible to know God on a personal level, only that we have an incomplete understanding of Him.  Scripture acknowledges this.)

Now there is a lot more to my theology than what is listed here, but I think for the most part I have listed the major points.  There are some points of my theology that I am willing to debate, but there are also points that are nonnegotiable.  For a leader of a body of believers to "spark debate" without leading that debate to it's conclusion is irresponsible.  The point of asking questions, and debating should not be to tear each other down or to change someone's mind, but to truly seek God and learn from the opinions of others.  A leader should be leading people to the answers not just throwing the questions out there.


There is more I could say, about this, but I far I am already rambling.  There is one more thing I need to take care of.  There are a few men of God that helped me through the early years of forming my theology into coherent thought:
Dr. Rushing
Professor Webb
Dr. Nebeker
Hudson Shires
John Write
These men spent time teaching and discussing the Bible and theology with me.  I am almost positive that I am not in total agreement with any of them, but they taught me how to look at the Bible and theology in a systematic and rational way. 

Rob Bell

What is the deal with Rob Bell? Seriously, I mean all that I have heard about this guy is that he is misguided in his teachings.  I don't get it, he asks how a loving God can send someone to hell.  The answer is simple... a loving God can send someone to hell because he is not just a loving God, but also just and righteous.  Which means that Sin deserves to be punished.  The entire thing reminds me of a book I had to read for a theology class called "Your God is Too Small".  Well Rob Bell-your god is too small.  God is Love but he is so much more.  He is just, and mercy, and wrath, and righteous.  He is all of these things infinitely, he is all of these things and more in perfection.  (this isn't a perfect analogy) It's like we see God through a prism.  We see all the different colors, or attributes of God, broken down and individually, but they are distorted because we see them through the prism of our existence and not what they truly are. They are all perfect in one triune-God.

Life as I know it...

It has been a long 4 months, well more like 7, but Emry has been a champ, and so has Charlie, she loves her little brother more than we knew, today she sat by his bassinet and held his hand for a couple of minutes.  It was so cute.  Katie is starting to go full steam ahead with On The Fly.  She is really hyped up, and wants to do this right.  We both know it's a lot of work but if she''s willing I am more than willing to support her in her endeavor in any way that I can.  I have been working and taking care of the kids.  I am always exhausted.  If any of you have ever had a child that has been sick for an extended period of time you understand.  Side note:  I am sick of people telling that it's what parents go through....excuse me but I know all parents of young kids are tired, but not all parents have to wake up in the middle of the nigh to feed their child or take almost 2 hours to feed and clean up after feedings...so not every parent knows what we are going through.  I know some have it worse than Katie and I do and I pray that God gives them the strength to do what they need to do.  Sorry about the rant!  I am struggling with balancing my spiritual life with my family life and work life.  It seems that my spiritual life gets pushed to the side because I am taking care of Emry or Charlie or both, and hen I have to go to work, than I come home and feed Emry and try to sleep.  Katie is amazing; she takes car of Charlie and Emry while I'm at work and lets me sleep in while she gets Charlie up and breakfast.  I really try to balance my life it just seems so hard with everything that has happened with Emry.  I was doing good with just Charlie and until Emry started to get really sick, but now...  It seems like something always has to give.  It can't be taking care of my family, and I don;t know how to let it be my job so, it's God.  That sounds so horrible, I know.  I just truly don't know what else to do.  I cling to the hope that God will pull us through and yet, I walk away.  This is my struggle, to follow God and do everything else.  I think of pastors and missionaries who have to be rooted in the Word as part of their job, their ministry, and at times like this I almost wish I was in full time ministry.  Instead I go to work at the hospital and spend eight hour trying to figure out a way to pay the bills and keep Emry healthy.  So that's it that's where I'm at right now, nothing like bashing your head against a brick wall (figuratively).

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart...."  I know I've done it before, I just can't figure t out right now, in this situation.

Morning

This morning, after finishing up with Emry's feeding I decided to go out onto our deck and see what the weather was like.  It was cool and slightly breezy, the sun was just over the house behind ours and sining through the trees.  Inside everyone else was (and still is) asleep.  Never in my life would I have thought that I would enjoy a morning, but today it is nice to have peace.  I am exhausted, from feeding Emry 4 times throughout the night, but the stillness is good.  I think this is the first time in a long time that I can actually hear the keys on the keyboard!  This is nice after a not so great Father's day; it's nice.
Don't get me wrong I love my family, Charolette, Emry and Katie, but it is nice to have the stillness.

"In the secret, in the quiet place, in the stillness You are there...."

Speaking of.....

The song that inspired my last post is "fix me" by Ten years.  It's pretty much a summation of where I have come to over the past few months.  The line that is really the summation is, "I'm fine in the fire, I feed in the friction, I'm right where I should be. Don't try and fix me."  While I don't think I'm where I should be. I am not a fan of others trying to fix me or my family.  My wife and I have received a lot of unsolicited advice about what is happening with my son and other issues.  Don't get me wrong I appreciate people trying to help, but it does get old after a while.  I feel like I am in the fire, I am growing and learning more and more every day, I relish learning new things, it's just not always that comfortable to stretch yourself.  There is another song, (I can't for the life of me think of the title or band, so f anyone knows please let me know) which goes " I'll take the narrow road, there's a whole more to go.  Hope yours is filled with sunshine, right now that's not my road... abundant life, to many joy is to survive"  Right now my road is not filled with sunshine, but it will be someday again.  I have faith that what we are going through is a learning experience, as every trial is.  Just pray that I learn from this instead of being hardened.  

Music

Music...
It can ground you or take you to new wolds.  It touches the soul when done well.  It can tear down and build up.

I used to be interested in just rock, more specifically punk, but my music horizons have expanded.  Now I really like good music, from pretty much any genre.  My favorite song is actually a Hymn.  So what is "good music"?  I think it's more than just what one likes but there is something more.  Good music, great music move some ones soul, it is beautiful and can be, if not enjoyed by every one, respect for it's artistry.  With some bands or artist it's just one song, with others it is very consistent.  It is however very rare that any band or artist will do it all the time.  For one to find truly goo music though you have to be willing to expand your musical horizon.  I am by no means perfect when it comes to this but.  I am finding the more music I listen to I find more good music, much of it in styles that I never thought I would.

 Music is an amazing thing.
Be open to hearing new things!

Grace Like Rain

When I was in seventh grade I started looking at Christians and who they were.  What I was for the most part was people who said and did on thing on Sunday mornings and Wednesday night (awanna) then went out and lived something else entirely throughout the week.  With few exceptions all I saw in the Church was a bunch of hypocrites(the thing I hated most in this wold was hypocrites).  So, I left the church and God, I was gonna find my own way.  for about two years I searched.  They say hind sight is 20/20.
What I failed to realize is that while all I was seeing was hypocrisy, there was something else at work.  Gods grace.  I am not making excuses for the sins that myself or others were committing, but as you read through the Bible God uses the flawed among us to accomplish His will.  King David is called a man after God's own heart after he commits adultery, and murders a man to cover it up.  Peter who swears that he will not betray Christ, than denies Him less than 24 hours later, is call the rock upon which Christ will build his church.  The 11 disciples, men who continually question, doubt, and totally misunderstand Christ teachings are the same men who were used by God on Pentecost to bring many to Christ.  Paul who called him self the greatest of sinners and who, before his conversion was on a mission to kill all Christians, was the first, and perhaps greatest, missionary to the gentiles.  The point is that God uses the imperfect people that we are to bring people to him, & while we are all hypocrites, it is Gods grace that saves us and allows us to be tools for His work.

Reawakening

So, I am reading a book by Timothy Stoner called "The God Who Smokes".  As I am reading I am seeing a lot of what I have come to believe reflected in the book.  Sometimes the things he sais, I think, are too soft, and, other times I disagree with how he constructs his argument but for the most part I am in agreement with the premisses of the chapters and the book as a whole.   Agreeing or disagreeing with Stoner in my case isn't really the point.
The point is that reading what he rights has reawakened something in me.  Something that as I wrote in a letter to my wife, "died long ago".  It is a burning desire to know God and about him, but mostly to know Him.  One of the first things that God has shown me throughout this book is that all of the "great" modern Christian theologians, Like C.S. Lewis, Towser, Simpson, and others all have in common is that they trully know the God that they serve.  This is was also true of the earlier theologians like Calvin, and Luther.  I want what they had, that deep relationship with the Creator God.
While I want it and I am working twords having a deep relationship with God I know it is a lot of work and that I need to commit my self daily to studying His word, praying and living a life of worship to Him.  In one of my favorite hymns it says "let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wondering heart to thee...".  That has become my prayer over these pas couple of months.

"Come thou Fount"

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

-Robert Robinson 1758

My Story

I am starting this blog to share thoughts and lessons on my spiritual journey, some I have learned long ago, and some are new to me.  I am by no means perfect nor will I ever claim to be I just want to put into writing what I am learning.  Some of my ideas will change and mature as I go along some will become more concrete without changing at the core.  I am a Christian and have been for 13 years now, but for the past 4 or 5 I have not ben living as a Christian should.  It has just been within the past several months that I have realized that I need to come back to him.  This is due in large part to attending church more regularly at the Lincoln Barean Church and the sermons of Paster Bryan Clark.  I have been reminded of so much recently and learned so much more.  If anyone ever reads this I hope it will bless them as God is blessing me.