Amidst changing diapers, making bottles, and losing sleep, I have been wondering about just how I fit in with the whole emerging church movement/philosophy/worldview. I wonder if I am too much of a modern to interact successfully with postmoderns. I wonder if I could handle leading a worship gathering for people who have little or no church background. I wonder if I know enough about the emerging church to do it justice.
My prayer is for an understanding that moving my focus in this direction is correct and for a rising within my current sphere of influence to help me lead in this direction.
Grace & Peace
REVISION - After posting this I visited a new site I follow and someone who attended a discussion session with Brian McLaren posted on this very subject. Check it out!
Grace & Peace - again!
31 October 2005
New Year's Retreat
I am very excited about this coming New Year's weekend (12/30-1/1) because the YAs of TMUMC will have the chance to spend 2 1/2 days connecting with God in ways never before possible. I don't want to give away too much info, but the weekend will be filled with lectio divina, times of silence, and creative projects. I am grateful to Wonder Voyage for inspiring me to take on this adventure. Please be praying about your participation (if you are a YA between 18 and 29) in the weekend retreat, as well as for those who will be leading the retreat.
More information will be available soon.
Grace & Peace
More information will be available soon.
Grace & Peace
24 October 2005
back to the grind
well, today is my first day back at work following caitlyn's arrival and i must say that i sure do miss my girls at home. there is lots to do here, but my heart is back at the house with debbie and caitlyn.
in other news, the house that tmumc built during our 40 days campaign was moved this morning. it was quite a sight to see - lumbering over the curb, blocking traffic in both directions, and wondering how the house was going to stay on that trailer! i know stephanie santa maria and her family will enjoy their new home in denton.
ok, i promise i won't post pictures of caitlyn all the time, but here is one i really love - hope you do to!
grace&peace
in other news, the house that tmumc built during our 40 days campaign was moved this morning. it was quite a sight to see - lumbering over the curb, blocking traffic in both directions, and wondering how the house was going to stay on that trailer! i know stephanie santa maria and her family will enjoy their new home in denton.
ok, i promise i won't post pictures of caitlyn all the time, but here is one i really love - hope you do to!
grace&peace
16 October 2005
welcome to the internet caitlyn!
the stats
name: caitlyn anne libby
born: 10/13/2005
time: 1:58pm
weight: 7 lbs. 15 1/2 oz.
length: 19 3/4 in.
thanks for being patient with me as debbie and i get adjusted to having a newborn in the house. i
hope to upload more pictures as time allows, but 
here are some from caitlyn's first few days on planet earth. she is truly one of God's most precious creations! 
grace&peace (from caitlyn's daddy)
12 October 2005
the wait is over!
tomorrow morning at 8am, debbie and i will be venturing into uncharted waters (at least for us) as we prepare to welcome caitlyn anne libby into the world sometime later that day. we are scheduled for an induction and we couldn't be more jazzed! i will be out of pocket for the next couple of days, so leave a message if you need to and I will get back to you when i have a free moment or two.
thank you for all your prayers and well wishes - without them we would not have arrived at this day in such fine fashion. i will post pictures as soon as possible!
grace&peace
thank you for all your prayers and well wishes - without them we would not have arrived at this day in such fine fashion. i will post pictures as soon as possible!
grace&peace
06 October 2005
anticipation
have you ever wondered what it would feel like to wait for both christmas and your birthday to come at the same time? i think that is what i am feeling right now as deb and i wait for caitlyn to be born. underlying all the responsibility and nurturing that is ultimately necessary for her survival, we are giddy with anticipation at being able to hold her and see her face.
her room is ready, the bags are packed, the short-term disability claim has been filed, the car seat is installed, and the grandparents are chomping at the bit, but as of right now - no caitlyn!
people say that sleeping after the baby gets here is a luxury, well after last night, sleeping while awaiting your baby's arrival is a luxury in and of itself. after tossing and turning for about 30 minutes last night, i decided that i better not disturb my sleeping bride with my incessant movement, so i went to the living room to read a book and quiet my mind before returning to bed. i read about 10 pages in lotr:2towers (the rest of the chapter i didn't finish before trying to sleep) and was thoroughly exhausted - or at least enough to return to bed and sleep for the rest of the night. (no one writes like tolkien any more - what mastery of the english language!).
waiting expectantly (with a little bit of nervousness and "hurry up" thrown in for good measure)!
grace&peace
her room is ready, the bags are packed, the short-term disability claim has been filed, the car seat is installed, and the grandparents are chomping at the bit, but as of right now - no caitlyn!people say that sleeping after the baby gets here is a luxury, well after last night, sleeping while awaiting your baby's arrival is a luxury in and of itself. after tossing and turning for about 30 minutes last night, i decided that i better not disturb my sleeping bride with my incessant movement, so i went to the living room to read a book and quiet my mind before returning to bed. i read about 10 pages in lotr:2towers (the rest of the chapter i didn't finish before trying to sleep) and was thoroughly exhausted - or at least enough to return to bed and sleep for the rest of the night. (no one writes like tolkien any more - what mastery of the english language!).
waiting expectantly (with a little bit of nervousness and "hurry up" thrown in for good measure)!
grace&peace
scratching God's back?
i had a conversation with one of my fellow staff members over lunch the other day and he said something that stuck me as out of sorts. i initiated to conversation by asking about a friend of his who has recently moved into our community. during his explanation of his friend's new situation, he mentioned that the favor that he did for his friend (letting him stay with he and his wife) did not go un-reciprocated. i was intrigued by his comment so i pressed him a
little further. i asked if he always asked for reciprocation when doing a favor. he said "yes, that's what i do." intrigued again i probed a little deeper...."has anyone ever said 'no' to your request for reciprocity?" he said that no one has ever told him that they were unwilling to return the favor to him, altho some has asked for suggestions as to how. he further stated that this form of tit-for-tat was the way he always approached doing favors or granting requests. he gave a couple of recent examples to explain himself further. the conversation ended there, but i was not done thinking about his comments.
now my friend is a fully committed christian, loves jesus and loves worship, but i have a hard time reconciling his stance with that of what God has done for me....what if God required reciprocity when dispensing grace? what if He demanded that we fulfill certain obligations before He covered us with the blood of the lamb? what would our God look
like if we needed to scratch his back in order for him to scratch ours? i don't care for a God that requires appeasement prior to blessing, that just reeks of conditionalism (not sure if that is a real word or "-ism"). i believe that God covers us with grace long before we even realize that we need to be covered by grace. God doesn't bless us only when we agree to bless God in return. God doesn't withhold answers to prayers b/c we did not adequately return the favor! that's crazy, that's definitely not the God who calls me his child.
ok, i've got that off my chest.
grace&peace
little further. i asked if he always asked for reciprocation when doing a favor. he said "yes, that's what i do." intrigued again i probed a little deeper...."has anyone ever said 'no' to your request for reciprocity?" he said that no one has ever told him that they were unwilling to return the favor to him, altho some has asked for suggestions as to how. he further stated that this form of tit-for-tat was the way he always approached doing favors or granting requests. he gave a couple of recent examples to explain himself further. the conversation ended there, but i was not done thinking about his comments.now my friend is a fully committed christian, loves jesus and loves worship, but i have a hard time reconciling his stance with that of what God has done for me....what if God required reciprocity when dispensing grace? what if He demanded that we fulfill certain obligations before He covered us with the blood of the lamb? what would our God look
like if we needed to scratch his back in order for him to scratch ours? i don't care for a God that requires appeasement prior to blessing, that just reeks of conditionalism (not sure if that is a real word or "-ism"). i believe that God covers us with grace long before we even realize that we need to be covered by grace. God doesn't bless us only when we agree to bless God in return. God doesn't withhold answers to prayers b/c we did not adequately return the favor! that's crazy, that's definitely not the God who calls me his child.ok, i've got that off my chest.
grace&peace
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