Weight Loss Update

Well it has been some time since I have updated on my weight loss journey. Possibly that is because I have had nothing positive to report!!! Yeah I have fallen back into some old patterns and have not been following my plan. So I confess my short comings and really must be intentional about getting back on my weight loss plan. Thanks for your ongoing support and prayers.

Spiritual poetry

You may or may not know that one of my great loves is reading and sometimes attempting to write poetry. I have decided to include some of my favorite poetry selections on my blog for you to read and reflect upon, and perhaps from time to time I will risk including some of my own work. I have found that my personal reflection upon prose has proven to not only help me rest and relax but it has also jolted my soul and spirit into a deeper understanding of God. I hope that in some way reading these selections will be of some benefit to you. Much of what I will include will be from the medieval poet Jelaluddin Rumi. Below is my first selection and one of my favorite Rumi poems; "The Music We Are."

Did you hear that winter's over? The basil
and the carnation cannot control their
laughter. The nightingale back from his
wandering has been made singing master
over the birds. The trees reach out their
congratulations. The soul goes dancing
through the king's doorway. Anemones blush
because they have seen the rose naked.

Spring, the only fair judge, walks in the
courtroom, and several December thieves steal
away. Last year's miracles will soon be
forgotten, New creatures whirl in from non-
existence, galaxies scattered around their
feet. Have you met them? Do you hear the
bud of Jesus crooning in the cradle? A single
narcissus flower has been appointed Inspector
of Kingdoms.

A feast is set. Listen, the wind is pouring wine!
Love used to hide inside images, no more!
The orchard hangs out its lanterns.
The dead come stumbling by in shrouds.
Nothing can stay bound or be imprisoned.
You say "End this poem here,
and wait for what's next" I will. Poems
are rough notations for the music we are.
-- Jelaluddin Rumi

week 3

Well I have no triumphant news to report about week 3. I knew that I would have my hands full trying to keep on track and indeed I did. I slipped in week 3; I gained a pound so that moves my weight loss to 10 pounds instead of 11. Hope to have better news soon. The main thing is that I do not want to give up and that is important. I had a bad week but I can and will do better. I did not gain my weight over night nor will I lose in such a manner. I must settle my self in for the long haul. Thanks for your continued support.

BLOG COMMENT CHANGE

Due to a high number of spam comments I have switched my comment filter so that I have to approve your comments before they will post on my blog. Sorry for having to do this but I was getting way too many junk comments. Please continue to leave your comments but know that it may be a few hours before they post due to the fact that they will first be sent to my e-mail for approval.

Week 2

I had my Weight Watcher's check in this past Thursday and I am glad to report that my total weight loss is now at 11 pounds. I know from past encounters that the 3rd week has proved problematic for me, so I trust this next week will bring success. I'll keep you all posted.

Week 1 Weight Loss

The first week of weight loss is in the books and I am happy to report that I lost 8.2 pounds this week. I know that the first week is the time that you have the most dramatic loss but I am relishing in the moment. I am prepared for next week not being as significant, but progress is progress and I will take what I can get. I feel good about the discipline and success of this week. Thanks to you all who are part of my support.

Credit Where Credit is Due

I am excited to say that perhaps someone in the Southern Baptist's International Mission Board has acted in the spirit of grace and humility. Associated Baptist Press just released an article stating that the missionary couple dismissed by the IMB, for starting a church with non SBC missionaries, has been reinstated by an official of the IMB. It is rare that the current SBC and its agencies would over turn a decision no matter how wrong they are, but in this case I am proud to report that at least one official has broken rank. I hope this decision will uphold but I am sure that it has the potential to be over turned by the IMB trustees. I give applause to Gordon Fort for taking the risk of going against the totalitarian leadership of the IMB and instead doing what is just and right by restoring this missionary couple so that they can minister to the people God has called them to serve. You can read the complete article at the following link

New Journey Begins

Well it is actually not a new journey as much as it is a continuing something that has long been one of my epic struggles in life. Thursday April 27th I returned to Weight Watchers to resume my battle against the bulge. I admit this post is not as easy for me, because weight loss is a very sensitive subject but indeed it is my journey and has as much to do with my spirituality and faith as anything else that I have or could post. From time to time I plan to post my progress, or at times lack there of. You are invited to be part of my community of support, so amidst my postings and meanderings on life and church look for updates on my weight loss journey.

My Strike has ended

I have ended my months long strike against blogging It became official a few moments ago when I published my first post since June of 2005. I would like to thank everyone for their patience as I protested the Iraq War and Immigration reform. Clearly these issues are now resolved so my blogging can now once again continue:) Seriously I am glad that I started back blogging, thanks for reading my thoughts.

And The Beat Goes On!

Unfortunately the good ole boys are back to their old tricks. It seems that the conservative SBC is once again imposing its will on its missionaries. I just don’t get it, will the vicious cycle continue till there is no one safe? That is the sad fact about fundamentalism, no one is really ever safe. As is presented in this article it seems the SBC missionaries were looking to carryout the work of God only to be stiffed armed by the International Mission Board for starting a church alongside non SBC missionaries. Heaven forbid that we as Christians put aside denominational lines to carry out the mission of God. How long must the beat go on?! The article can be read at the following link. click here

What's Love Got To Do With It!

I wanted to share some thoughts I had after performing a wedding last week. I entered this in my journal.
"I was reminded tonight of the thing that is closet to God here on earth, love. Love in all its simplicity and complexity is the closet thing that we have in this world to the very being of God. Love, like God, cannot be scientifically proven, we can't taste love or see love but we can sure feel it deep within our souls. I performed a wedding tonight, it was an outside wedding with just a few guests. This was no extravaganza to say the least. The wedding took place in a backyard, decorations were few and it was low on hype. There was Celtic music playing in the background and the breeze was gently working its way through the trees as it brushed against my skin. It was such a peaceful moment, as if nature itself had paused to acknowledge human love. As I stood there, minister's manual in hand, I did not want this moment to end. My own stress was escaping and my weary tattered frame was finally relaxing. Then the bride came marching forward and when her eyes met with the groom's eyes it was as if heaven had settled down right in our midst. The moment was so honest, so holy, that I was rendered speechless. I clumsily stumbled over a few lines of the ceremony until I regained my composure. Love, the closet thing to the very being of God."
I wanted to share this reflection. Some may disagree theologically with my assessment, yet there is something about love that is pure and holy. Love, both giving love and receiving love, is one of the few things that we have on this earth that resemble what heaven may be like.

Blue discussion

I have finished the first few chapters of the book and would like to have some discussion around some of the themes. Don Miller says that we are all self absorbed and that contributes to much of the evilness in the world. What do you think are we born with a bent toward being evil? Are we born evil or is it something that we learn early in our lives?

My thoughts are as follows: I do not embrace the concept of "original sin" as I once did. Because I do believe that Jesus was born without sin I am hard pressed to say that every human is born into sin. I think that this concept of original sin has caused us to develop theologies such as "age of accountability" and infant baptism, which are hard to maintain from scripture and this causes us to rush children to make some sort of commitment to God. I believe that Miller is right on track when he says that we desire to do evil. Evil is very much present in this world and I think that we succumb to the pressure of evil early on in our experience of this world. Evil is so natural because it is visible and so enticing, we are self absorbed people because that gives us satisfaction. We do have animalistic instincts but that is not necessarily evil or sinful, yet this can led us to commit sin. Indeed we are born with the instincts that led us to choose evil but I have come to believe that this is something we are influenced in rather than born in.

Our book for discussion. Can be found at either Amazon.com or at Barnes and Noble, both in store and on web.  

This is a group photo outside the chapel at Samford University. We just got back from the Baptist Women in ministry confrence held in Birmingham AL. 

Blue Like Jazz

I recently purchased the book "Blue Like Jazz" and would like to have a discussion on its contents. If you have read or you are reading the book lets talk. I will list the chapter number for discussion and then we can blog away!