the whoosh-quotient

Have you ever played the game Minesweeper? If you haven't, click the Minesweeper pic to give it a try. 

The goal is to uncover (left-click) all the spaces without mines but using basic math skills to locate and flag (right-click) the spaces with mines. If you uncover a space that has a mine the game is over. If you uncover all the spaces without uncovering a mine, you win! 

My favorite part of this game is when you uncover a space and WHOOSH... a whole bunch of non-mine spaces open up. Sometimes I would even restart the game if I didn't get a good whoosh-effect. 

I've been in a season of whoosh-ness lately. Nothing over the top; God has just seen fit to allow me to uncover a few spaces that have had fantastic whoosh-quotients. I am learning the coolest repeatable experience in this planetary life is uncovering new spaces of my personhood. Sure, there can be some fear when uncovering new spaces because the potential of a mine lying in wait is very real. But... when I uncover a space because I've done the spiritual math in faith and then WHOOSH happens, it is absolutely exhilarating. 

God created us in such cool ways and we get to experience all that coolness "click-by-click" as we uncover new spaces within our selves. Settle into the reality of God's complete work in you and that "working out our own salvation" (though it may be with fear and trembling at times) is an exhilarating journey of discovering who we are in Christ as we learn more of who He is in us. 

There are so many gifts 

Still unopened from your birthday,
There are so many hand-crafted presents
That have been sent to you by God.

The Beloved does not mind repeating,
"Everything I have is also yours."

~hafiz

live out loud

I recently discovered that our beloved JEREMY MILLER has an album on iTunes. Yes. Jeremy. iTunes. (how cool is that... and isn't he just a dreamboat in that pic?!?)

His album dropped in November 2006, as a single with two songs. Now, I know Jeremy pretty well, so I will say this for him (and because he already said it to me)... the album was not fully mastered prior to being released (i.e. it sounds great but don't be too picky). And, to his praise, he wrote these two songs as well as many, many more! I say we do our best to keep him writing!

[ok, here's a little attempt at being spiritual]

The coolest part of being in the Body of Christ, specifically the creative part, is that our gifts - by their very nature - are visual and aural expressions of Christ in us. Paul wrote in Philippians 2.12 "my beloved... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." 

Salvation is life (forgiveness is just the door we pass through to receive life). God has worked into us all that makes us unique: our gifts, passions and personalities. And it all is for his pleasure. 

So, another way to say what Paul wrote might be: Hey friends, lets live our lives out loud for God and the world to see, but let's be intentional to do so with humility and grace; it is God who gave us this life (and all the intricacies that make us "me" and "us"), so there is no greater gift to give him then to use and share all he has given us with one another and the world!