daily life as life goes on . . .

A quick quote from Leonard Sweet in his book, “Out of the question, into the mystery”, p. 167:

The one thing I am sure of when I get to heaven is that I will have to edit my theology.

When I was young, my father taught me about flux that you use when you solder electrical connections.  The flux we used was designed to melt quickly, cleanse grease and impurities, and help the solder adhere.

I’m a bit perverse, but I loved the smell of the flux melting!  I also like the smell of burnt toast.  And things that go pop in the night!

Back to the flux and solder.  One without the other ends up being useless.  The solder will gather into small globules and sit all by itself.  The flux by itself will stream into all sorts of nooks and crannies with no use to anyone.

Put them together and you end with a great opportunity for a solid connection. 

So, perhaps you are wondering whether you fit in the grand scheme of things.  YES!  You are meant to be a part of others lives.  You are meant to get a little heated every once in awhile.  You are meant to help bring together what is often held apart.

Thanks for being flux and solder.

I’ve always been intrigued with what happens when life goes on ahead.  We expect our own grand vision and we find in the small things that the true picture emerges.

Some are calling this convergence.  The daily routines converge to form a quilt of inspiration.

So with today.  Two young ladies from our congregation have been working with us in various ministries.  Chance conversations confirmed their very real commitments to our church.  Both love God and love people.   Both talked in these last few days of ways in which they can continue to contribute to the life of the body of Christ.

And so, one will direct an enormous undertaking, another will share with me speaking time.  I wandered away amazed at the gifts that God gives to his church.  When the unexpected happens I just sit back and marvel, in the midst of life.

The lawn was populated with leaves.  Beautiful colored leaves.  Seasoned by the weather.  Ready to be picked up.

This morning was the morning.  Out in below zero weather to check out gutters.  Nothing clogs up the easy flow of water like a few leaves stuck in the eavestrough.  thankfully recent wind made that task easy.

Then the potted plants were removed to winter in the backyard.  Back alley leaves were raked.  Trees trimmed just slightly.

And then the task of the day.  We have a good sized lot.  Raking takes forever.  OK, not quite forever, but my watch seems to tick away the time every time I’m out there.

So, the lawn mower was put into service.  And superb service it was.  Within a 1/2 hour the lot was cleaned and bagged.  A few minutes drive to the compost area of our town and the yard work was done.  By noon!

That’s what I call a good day’s work!