What a great holiday we had today!  The Fetzer family joined the Bleese family for pancakes and disc golf in the mid morning and afternoon.  It's good to have friends our age, with a baby our son's age.  It's especially nice that they are both aware of the Army world, but not directly involved right now, so our friendship is not so affected by all our changes and movings about.  Sherry and I have decided to walk three times a week together, which should help me on many fronts - losing weight and keeping mentally healthy being two important ones.

John and I have been placed at Minneapolis Central Corps as Ministry Interns starting (hopefully) tomorrow...word to the wise:  do not put off paperwork even one hour...it makes a big difference!

Our plan is to serve and learn this year, and enter training next year as "Ambassadors of Holiness."  This session name really solidified the timing for me, because holiness is my study theme and life ambition. 

Does anyone else feel that the closer we draw to the Lord the more imperfections are revealed to us?  I'm struggling with feelings of inadequacy even as I know God has equipt and called John and I.  We so desire to follow the Lord, and each and every failure feels so huge - even if it is procrastination on paperwork and bad attitudes about dishes; I pray that I will someday understand by experience what it means to be entirely sanctified.

I finished the book "The Shack" and highly recommend it.  It is an incredibly easy-to-follow story that weaves into it such deep topics.  You might not agree with every statement from the characters, or the general theological stance of the author - but it gets you to think, discuss and want to learn more. 

Josh Garrington:  I don't have time right now to go into all I think about the book - and don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it - but would LOVE to discuss it with you more if you've read it.

My current readings are:

Book for Studying  - Journey Into Holiness compiled by Norman Wilson (would love to discuss Keswickian holiness vs. Weslyan with anyone who knows the topics - I'm just learning!)

Book for Devotions - Speak to My Heart, O God by Kay Arthur

Book of the Bible - Exodus (still...those plagues got me down!)

Reread for teaching purposes - The Emerging Church, Vintage Christianity for New Generations by Dan Kimball

O how I love to read!  I finally realize that other people's writings are more interesting than my own, and for now have decided that my "great American novel" will have to wait until I have something important to say...even if I will have to publish under the Army's  name <<grin>>  another lesson in submission

Peace to all - pray for us!

Here's a funny picture of the Fetzer Family on our last Sunday at Lakewood.  John has blood on his new shirt from Johnny Five's nose; Johnny Five looks tired, hungry, crabby and generally beat up, and I am happily oblivious to it all - and to my lopsided hair.  Somehow, this is the perfect family picture.

On Tuesday last I received a book from elderly friends called The Shack. 

I had heard about this book throughout CBLI as a theologically controversial book, and so I was intrigued to know my 80-something-year-old friend read the whole thing in two days, and highly recommended it.

I received the book, then I avoided opening its pages.  I know myself, and once I have a good book in hand I will avoid all other obligations to read the next page, the next chapter, the next thought.

So, it is not surprising that I started the book tonight and am taking a break on page 115.  A page-turner for sure; but also a thought provoker.  In many ways I can see the theologians of a particularly conservative American and powerfully political persuasion getting nervous.  However, I am experiencing something of a deeper relationship with God as I read...almost a spiritual healing as some deep questions are being addressed.

One profound thought that struck me is summed up in this:

When Jesus died on the cross, he cried "Father, why have you forsaken me?"

I have always thought that God turned his back on and left Jesus to be alone on the cross.

However, this doesn't make sense because Jesus IS God, just as He IS human.  Jesus felt abandoned and alone - forsaken - but his feelings were not reality.

To quote God in the book, "Will you at least consider this:  When all you can see is your pain, perhaps you lose sight of me." 

If Jesus lost sight of God's presence in the midst of His pain, and Jesus never sinned, then it is not sinful to feel alone.  Sin can follow our sense of alone-ness, but that feeling itself is not sin.

Such a simple thought, but utterly profound for me. 

"God, I know that I am human, and will certainly lose sight of you in painful times to come.  I have done so in the past, and haven't changed all that much since.  But I trust that you have not changed at all - you are always love, and exist to establish relationship - even in painful (especially in painful) situations.  Please let me hear your voice through whatever storms are on the horizon."

While Pennsylvania voted today and the world listened to the regurgetated words of our democratic options, the scrolling news ticker flashed this message across the bottom of my television:  Against Pres Bush's request, Jimmy Carter met with Hamas.  A ten-year treaty with Israel will be signed if Israel agrees to return lands taken in 1967, (paraphrased by me).

So, I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but why haven't I heard much about the war in 1967 called the Six Day War, which this ticker referred to?  Our World History class in high school never covered it, and I never took a college class on it either.

In a conversation with my dad about the whole ordeal I was shocked to learn the seemingly supernatural side of this conflict. 

Israel, a nation near 20 years old and surrounded by three hostile nations, fought off all three of them (Egypt, Jordan and Syria) with nothing more than a glorified militia and less than 300 planes. 

It seems that with disciplined training, ingenius strategy gathered from the pages of Old Testament scripture, advanced warfare technology and an incredible about of blessing (some call it luck), this scrappy little nation beat all three countries in six days...with a 3:1 disadvantage!

The story is told history channel style on a 45 minute youtube clip found here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy5L3GPy7JQ

After watching that video, knowing my Old Testament and talking with my dad it is clear to me that the Lord fought that battle for Israel.  It is also clear to me through my personal Bible Study in the book of Genesis that God did distinctly promise land to Abraham, his son Isaac and his son Jacob (also known as Israel...)

Apparently, the three areas won in this war were the gaza strip, an area encompassing Jerusalem and the west bank.  (Someone correct me if I'm wrong here...I'm just starting my research...) Those are the areas constantly in the news.  I need to look closely at the area promised in Genesis - did the boundries include these modern day areas?

The reason this is so important is because it seems to me that God caused Israel to gain the "promised land" after literally thousands of years, and now Hamas wants them to give it back for a piddly 10 year peace treaty.

As Aaron Klien from World Net Daily states, "Carter's breakthrough today wasn't in formulating a new truce plan. Rather, the former president succeeded in giving massive exposure and legitimacy to a Hamas plan concocted years ago openly aimed at destroying Israel in phases."

Did anyone else catch this blip of a story?  Does it annoy anyone else that we are listening to repetative rhetoric and staring at an olympic torch while things like this scroll unannounced accross our screens?  Did anyone learn about the six day war in high school? 

Does anyone actually read blogs that have to do with anything other than childbirth and cutesy pictures?