View from Our Back Porch

Yesterday it was raining pretty hard here and as I looked out back, I was just captivated by the scenery. It might be difficult to see the rain but you can use your imagination. It really looks like a rainforest... even in Indiana!

My first Audio blog... much more to come!

Do you want to know what it is?

Are you ready to enter the Meatrix? Click here to watch the first short film. Also you can view the sequel The Meatrix II: Revolting. Spread the word to let others know about what we can do help support independent/small family farms.

You comfort me (a.k.a. 23rd Psalm)

You're my guide and my guard, my minder, my mentor.
What more do I need? What's better at the center?
You sit me down, put my best CD on,
And my soul remembers who I am again.

You call me to the streets. You show me such good things.
Right things with no hidden strings,
Just your name on, and its game on.
Your great repute, like a distant flute it comforts me.

And you hold my swaying heart - so soft, so strong.
You're with me; you comfort me.
You stop them tearing me apart - I fear no wrong.
You show me where to go, without telling me;
You set a value on my life; without selling me.
You're with me; you comfort me.

I crawl through the alley of the shadow of cancer;
I know you know the answer, and the battle won't rattle me.
You're around, and I've found that there's something about your empathy,
Your symphony of sympathy, that comforts me.

You lay out a table, you sit me down;
My rivals arrive from the greatest to the least,
But my cup's kept full and my head's held high
As you boast about me, your least priest,
And make them toast me right through the feast.

I know that your good, your best, your love and passion
Will stalk me, steer me, stand alongside me,
Outlast every fad and fashion through all eternity.
For I'm going to live with you,
See heaven's great views from my own cosmic mews;
No lease to renew, no terms to review, no one else to view -
Just me and you, me and you, me and you,
Right through to the end of time.

- Excerpt from The Word on the Street by Rob Lacey

Picture added

I've been trying to get my picture on the blog for some time. I now have it in my sidebar under view my complete profile. Just in case ya'll wonder what this stud looks like...

Two People. One Year. Zero Watts.

"It is surely not I who am radical or extreme in my practices. It is the Americans around me."
- Eric Brende from his book Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology

I picked up a book a few days back that I remembered from an NPR interview in 2004. You can listen to it by clicking here. You can get his story by clicking on his name above.

There is a real hunger, I believe, among young and old alike for a return to the simple life. I know that my longing to live a simple life comes from my family and church heritage. But there is a gnawing in our souls that all that we have attained in the realm of technology isn't always for the better. My struggle will be how I can best implement some of Brende's ideas for my own life. Right now, it doesn't seem plausible. None the less, it is still a longing that lives in me.

Wonder as we wander...

I receive regular e-mails from natureskills.com on a variety of different wilderness topics. This most recent article spoke to me as I continually seek to break from the pace of the world. It is time to re-discover wandering as an art form again.

Dvorak or Qwerty?

Are Qwerty's days numbered? Could we eliminate the possibility of getting carpal tunnel if our keyboard underwent a change? You can actually change the keyboard layout on your settings if you have Microsoft. If you're a pecker, (meaning you type usually with one finger) click here to learn how you can possibly save your hands from Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI).

Hail Mary?

To shed some light on Travis' post regarding the possibility or question rather of whether Brethren and Anabaptists can come to see the possibility of a salvation power from Mary.

First, let me mention that Mary was talked about during the retreat as one who models the feminine Warrior, Mystic, Monk mentality. She is also lifted up as the New Eve reversing the consequences of of Eve's action in the Garden. I believe that if any of those images ring true with you then you already have given Mary a significant part (dare I say it, even role in the salvation message). Please note that the key word is role. Much like John the Baptist plays an important role in preparing the way.

Maybe we (Brethren & Anabaptists) shouldn't be afraid to look more often to Mary and Mary Magdalene as strong feminine models of the Good News.

Mary as Warrior:
Luke 1:46-55

Mary as Mystic:
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 2:19
John 2:1-11

Mary as Monk:
Luke 1:38
Luke 2:7
Acts 1:12-14

Sacredly Engaging the Profane

Interesting reading (not directly related) on the warrior, mystic, monk model presented two weeks ago.

We have entered a period of consequences

What will be the most important movie coming out this month that the church should be concerned with? If you said the Da Vinci Code, I encourage you to look at another film entitled An Inconvenient Truth. Pledge to see the movie at the site. You can view the trailer here. It is certainly something we must pay attention to... in the midst of practicing fearlessness we must rise up and take action to help prevent any more damage to our planet that hasn't already happened.

Only do so much

Travis left a comment on one of my recent posts that I feel needs to be clarified. The previous 3 posts The Warrior, Mystic and Monk Life have a list of things that I am seeking to best cultivate those archetypes into my life. Don't be fooled, it doesn't mean that I am doing all of these right now. Some of them yes, but most of them no. Some may not happen until years from now.

They are simply a means of creating a shift in thinking and living for me so that I have something in front of me to look too. They are also there to inspire others who read my blog as to what they might do to become alive. Check out some of Travis' posts regarding the A Place Apart retreat here, here, here, here and here.

The Monk Life

The third archetype is the Monk. This model becomes more difficult for me due to the order and structure it invokes. These are the ways in which I am striving to live as a Monk:

- I am trying to follow the rhythm of the Liturgy of the Hours at least seven times a day as my schedule allows for it. It usually consists of me being outside with a time of song, scripture and silence. It normally is no longer than 15 minutes.
- Finding ways to build community. My wife and I are trying to schedule more times with neighbors and friends to get together, have a meal and enjoy a time of fellowship more often than we do now.
- I am actively seeking to live a more simple life by not buying into the “consumerism culture” projected onto me by society. This means becoming more scientifically and environmentally conscious.
- Experimenting with community dance more and within worship.
- Becoming a servant and helping out either with Habitat for Humanity or our local Food Bank.
- As soon as I am able to, I will pick up my old hobby of woodworking to be used in a utilitarian perspective, such as building things for our home and others as opposed to buying them.
- Participating in a weekly communion service.
- Incorporating the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, study, meditation, service, simplicity, solitude, confession and worship into my daily routine.

Jesus as Monk:
Matthew 5, 6, 7
John 13:34-35
Luke 9:51-62
Luke 14:28-32
John 17:13-23
Luke 22:14-20
Acts 1


How many examples of the Monk can you find in Popular culture (i.e. books, film)?

The Mystic Life

The second archetype is that of the Mystic. This model comes much easier for me since I identify myself as a mystic. Still here are the ways in which I am embodying a Mystic lifestyle:

- Doing an occasional “sit-spot” where I am able to just sit in the woods behind our apartment for about 15 minutes. Simply observing the sounds, the movement of birds and animals, the sky the wind, the temperature, the position of the sun.
- Taking more time to journal. Be it personal reflections, poetry, songs.
- Taking time to allow the artist in me to emerge. Using drawing or painting as a form of meditation.
- Meeting at least once a month with one other spiritually mature person to connect in deeper ways with the scriptures, the Spirit and life.
- Studying the rituals, arts and mystical connections that “primitive” cultures have with creation.
- Plan to visit Taizé and the Iona communities in my lifetime.
- Eating more intentionally and allowing the meal to be a sacred time.

Jesus as Mystic:
Mark 1:32-39
Luke 8:22-25
Luke 7:36-50
Matthew 17:1-8
John 1:1-5
John 6:35
John 20:11-18

How many examples of the Mystic can you find in Popular culture (i.e. books, film)?

The Warrior Life

A model that was explored at the A Place Apart weekend was that of Warrior, Mystic, and Monk. These are archetypal symbols that keep showing up throughout human history and continue to speak to our souls today.

I don’t want to spoil the work that Paul, Jim and others have put into it by posting everything that they presented to us last weekend. So I would much rather name in what ways I will incorporate the individual practices of each archetype into my life. Maybe you can get a sense of it through my longings. I hope that Travis and I’s posts would tease you enough that you would inquire more about A Place Apart and even go on a retreat with them, because it is their vision that has inspired me. If you are interested please contact them by clicking here.

Now, the first archetype is the Warrior. This model represents the best longing within me and overall how I wish to see myself. Here are some ways that I am seeking to cultivate a Warrior lifestyle:

- I am working out 2 hours a day, six days a week using strength and cardiovascular training in order that my body may be able to endure the physical battles I may face.
- Developing a diet that best suits my physical needs.
- As often as I am able I am spending at least one hour a day outdoors to reconnect with the earth and to meditate.
- Living out an active nonviolent lifestyle.
- Discerning how I may be more involved in social justice ministries to protect the weak, powerless and oppressed. One way I will do that is by writing to a Death Row inmate.
- Living without fear and insecurity. Whether it be of what other people think of me or how the culture seeks to control me be keeping me afraid. I am practicing fearlessness.
- I plan to participate in a Vision Quest.
- Have a strong desire to learn wilderness survival skills. I am also considering possible training in Tracker School to develop a hypersensitive awareness to my surroundings by learning to track animals and nature observation.

Jesus as Warrior:
Luke 4:1-13
Matthew 8:28-34
Mark 11:15-18
Matthew 26:36-46
Matthew 26:50-56
John 19:1-16

How many examples of the Warrior can you find in Popular culture (i.e. books, film)?

Mmm... a slice of warm Radical Pie

Travis is also going to be blogging his experiences with the A Place Apart weekend. Be sure to bounce back and forth between here and there to get his experiences as well. I appreciated the time spent with him this past weekend as well, and he'll most likely give a fresh perspective to things that I may be missing.

Mennonites on Dr. Phil

After I came in from None (Liturgy of the Hours), I happened to be flipping through the channels and came across an interesting Dr. Phil episode. Click here to read about a father who abducted his 13 and 15 year old daughters from Illinois to Belize to live in a conservative Mennonite community. The show is the second part of a two part series. The first episode aired yesterday.

Awakening Atrophied Spirits

This reflection comes from my retreat with an emerging community known as A Place Apart. There will be more reflections coming...

Something happened. For the first time in years I felt as though I was becoming alive. The numbing that had occurred over the past few years began to wear off. I had feeling again.

Gathering for worship seven times a day in the midst of creation. Walking barefoot through the forest to commune with nature. Paying attention to the rhythms of the day. Living in community. Tracking animals in the forest. No longer afraid of being afraid. Sharing my longings with others who have those same longings. Learning to build a fire without matches or lighters. Feeling more like a Native of this land than a resident alien. Dancing unafraid.

See, I did not know that my Spirit had atrophy. Just like in the film The Matrix, when Neo awakens in the real world and ask why his eyes hurt. Morpheus tells him it is because you have never used them before. This is why Jesus came, to show me that my pseudo life was not really life at all. He came to illustrate to me that there is a new way of living in the Reign/Dance/Dream/of God.

This aliveness does not depend on how much I am entertained by North American Christianity. All they are doing is demanding my attention while defending their systems and beliefs. It is a system of emptiness based on the old rules of the right way to do church. The North American Christian Church will die defending those very systems and beliefs. They have forgotten who Jesus was, who he is. There are many of you who feel the same way I did. You feel as though you are plugged into their system. This is what we have to walk away from. And it may hurt because it is all we have ever known. We have to begin to look at what Jesus was really about; no matter how much that fits into our capacity to understand. The time to awaken from our slumber is now. Jesus shows us how to be alive again. No more atrophied Spirits. An ancient yearning begins. Where will you be?

Awaken
Life is meant to be full
Dare to live it

Our souls have been damaged
By a culture that demands our attention
In every waking moment

Now step apart
And become a part
Of all that was
And all that is
And all that is meant to be 1

1 Taken from Warrior, Mystic, Monk: A Training Manual for Being Fully Alive pg. 10.

Disturbing can do some good

Not sure what you think about the Da Vinci Code? Do you boycott? Do you engage in dialogue?

Click here to read Brian McLaren's take on the popular novel and the May 19 release of the film. It may challenge the way you think about the book/film and about Jesus.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come. – Song of Songs 2:11-12

After coming off a weekend that enabled me to be in communion with God, my brothers and sisters and creation in such a way I have not experienced in years, I determined that it was time to make some changes to this blog.

When I initially created it 16 months ago my focus was in a different place than it is now. I titled it “The Liminal Space” because that was in essence where my life was; hanging in the balance on a bunch of what ifs. Just read my first post and you’ll get a sense of where I was coming from. Truth be told my life was becoming a semblance of the title. Call me silly, but I believe that every time I looked at or posted on my blog, my subconscious was seeing “liminal space” and so I chose (without knowing it) to keep my life in that liminality. It was becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. I want to be clear and say again that liminal space is not a terrible place to be; it’s just that maybe its better to not spend one’s entire life there. At some point you have got to move on to a better place, I'm now choosing to no longer live in liminal space.

I have renamed this blog “Quest for Abundant Life” because it marks the transition in my thinking. My life is now all about that quest. It will consume my being. Anything that doesn’t allow me to truly feel alive will simply be abandoned and I will not exhaust my energy wrestling with those circumstances/folks any more. Jesus came to give us abundant life and I want to become alive again… maybe even for the first time.

But know this, that this aliveness in Jesus will look very different than North American Christianity, which is full of emptiness and fear. This aliveness will look more like indigenous and even non-Christian traditions, which we are beginning to understand are more rooted in the church than North American Christianity attempts to be. The best the North American Christian Church can do is imitate the secular, which feels like home because society has a firm grasp on the church. Which is why we must now walk away from it.

Liminal space is best illustrated as being in the hallway and not yet into the room that you want be in. The quest is illustrated as a roadway, it is a journey, which is the picture at the top of this blog best suits the new name. Maybe the self-fulfilling prophecy is true. Let the quest begin!

*Note: I will keep the site address the same to eliminate confusion; symbolically it may represent the transition from liminal space to abundant life. Also, note that sometimes the columns on the right may break as you scroll down the page. If this annoys you simply refresh the page or drag your pointer across the link. I decided that it too would be a reminder that we have to daily refresh our lives with the grace and mercy of Jesus.

Funny cough medicine faces... we all make them

When it comes to the church, have we offered a cure or relief? Do we want to be liberated or just medicated from our sleepwalking life? There has been some interesting comments on a post that I wrote a few weeks back. I hope more people can read it and join in the conversation. You can read the comments and post your own thoughts here.

Maybe these conversations will help us move from the realm of a medicated church, to an aliveness found in Jesus Christ. Oh man then maybe a conversion/transformation/healing/a cure could really start to happen. With God's help, of course.

The Happy Virus

I caught the happy virus last night

When I was out singing beneath the stars.

It is remarkably contagious-

So kiss me.

Maybe that's what our deepest felt experiences of God should be like.


- Selection is from The Subject Tonight is Love; 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz. Transl. by Daniel Ladinsky.

A new way of living

“I long to be able to slow down. The pace of my life owns my life.”

“I long to be able to do something meaningful with my life, to make a difference.”

“I don’t want to be afraid any more - of what might happen, of what people think of me, of my life.”

“I long for a place where I truly belong, where I am loved and where I can love.”

It might be a common misconception but these longings are not necessarily satisfied within the context of the North American Christian Church. Otherwise, why would we continue to have these longings? If we’re honest we really aren’t free, we are slaves to the pace of our culture and the demands that it places on our lives. If we were free, we would be alive. This longing to become alive again is at the forefront of our being. Where will that desire interconnect with the world we live in? What is it that we long for? Where will we find it?

A Place Apart is a place where the new way of living,

the new way of being alive introduced by Jesus Christ

and empowered by the Holy Spirit

can be experienced and participated in.

My wife and I will be at Camp Mack this weekend to participate in an experience called A Place Apart. The weekend retreat is an immersion into what life at A Place Apart seeks to be. I plan to blog my experiences from each day once we get back on Sunday. May my longings be met in that space.

"We don't think ourselves into a new way of living,

We live ourselves into a new way of thinking."

- Richard Rohr