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Our church annual meeting has a tradition of pies. 

Not throwing them.  Eating them!

Each year we ask people to bring a pie.  In previous years I sat back and let Jill pick and choose our contribution. 

This year, I was left to consider what I might do.

My choice?  Use up some more of my freezer contents.  There was a two-pack of pie shells.  Surprisingly, they were in fairly good shape (although they had been moved and cajoled more than once in this past year).  Another packet held peach pie ingredients.  And a further packet had frozen raw pumpkin.

With a little help from the internet, I was able to prepare two pies.  I have left them in their baked state (in other words, I haven’t tasted them yet!).  Tonight I will place them before an adoring audience.  And I will soon find out what ingredients were left out, or what more could have been done.

All for the sake of learning to bake!

Believe it or not, I’m loving it!

I am thankful for a day.  Each day.  That phrase – this is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it – rings in my ear.

Today I had friends sit in front of me and ask life questions of me.  I attended a funeral of a friend’s mother.  I culled files (a good archival thing to do!).  I rode two hours in a car.  I exercised and prayed. 

And now I am reflecting on the day.

I firmly believe that God calls us to His work.  That means that the tasks of a day should require power that only He can give – whether we feel we are strong enough to do the work or not.

There are many doors that are open in front of me.  The more I pray, the greater the opportunities seem to grow.  Somehow God is increasing my faith and with that my horizon for serving others.

Here is the new horizon – instead of praying that God would open a door, I’m praying that He would close doors.

Now the question is, which door does God want to close?   

So, I’m thinking words are always interesting.   You sort of get into that mode being around pastors whose stock for their trade of preaching is words.

I looked at the word retreat.  I am at a Pastor’s Retreat.  Most people think of a retreat as leaving the battlefield.  Some have decided to call their “retreats” by another name – an “advance.”

Maybe we need to reclaim the word retreat.

To “re” something often just means to do it over again.  When we remember we put back together the members (memories) of the past.  When we restore we gather together the parts that would usually have been in our store but have been scattered. 

So what would retreat mean.  How about getting another opportunity to have a “treat”.

That is exactly what these last few days have been.  We have had plenary (talking) times where prayer and sexuality have been discussed – such an interesting combination.  I have sat at meal with old and new friends.  Exercise and discipline has been enjoyable – and the food is fantastic.

And God is here in ways unexpected.  I love it!!

I’ve been reading about prayer.

People realize that we have a need.  A need to pray.  We realize we can’t do it all.

Our prayers tend towards being comfortable.  We like security.  We want our cancers to be healed.  We like the idea that we will be prosperous. 

The further I walk in a journey with God, the more we realize those prayers should not be primary in our lives.

Imagine taking the prayer – God, let me die – and praying it each day. 

If I was dying I would inherit humility.  I would inherit service of others.  I would inherit the reality that I am not really all that I think I am.

I think I like that inheritance.  I’m not so sure I like the prayer to die!