Ring Stackers

I think one of the greatest toys for kids is this stack of colored rings made by Fisher-Price. (By the way the offical title is Rock-A-Stack.) We've all seen them...we've probably all played with them at one point.

I think the brilliance of this toy is that it has so much to teach. It teaches color, size differentials, order, stacking...etc. What's fascinating is that as Cadence has grown, she has enjoyed the toy in different ways. At first she loved taking the rings off and holding on to them. Then she let us put them on her amrs and legs (Grandma Fiegl's idea). She did figure out how to put them back on the post...but didn't know how to put them on in the right order until recently. And she will soon be able to learn the difference between the colors. But as she has discovered new things about this...you should see her face when she figures it out...sheer jubilation at the discovery.

The rings have always been the same, but Cadence has experienced them in different ways as she has matured.

I wonder if truth is similar to Rock-A-Stack toys. Truth remains constant, but as I grow and mature I experience it's complexity.

Love is similar too...the more I engage in my relationship with Aubrey, the more I find out the depths.

There is joy, simple and exuberant joy, as the facets of truth and love are discovered.

What I'm Reading...

So I have the annoying habit of reading many books at the same time. I find I treat my books like my relationships...I just hate ending them. So for fun, I thought I'd put the books that I'm reading on here.***

So, I'm reading Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Intro for Christians by Lawrence Kushner. I've read this book in the past while I was perusing at the Messiah College Library. I relied heavily on the chapter on Teshuva (Jewish concept of return) for a prodigal son sermon I gave several years ago. The book is very accessible and can actually be read in one sitting, but is best processed over time. And I'm enjoying it again.

The Next book I am enjoying is The Shaping of Things to Come. This book was actually given to me by Doug, and I'm greatly enjoying it. I'll put some more thoughts from this book on this blog for a bit of discussion. Primarily the book hopes to get it's readers to see the world as a place God wants to shape through them, using the culture that they find themselves in.

God was in this Place & I, i did not know. This book is beside my bedside. Another Lawrence Kushner book, this one explores a variety of approaches to explain the time when Jacob dreams of the ladder and realizes that God was with him, even in the middle of nowhere.

Colossians Remixed. This book was recommended by Doug and also by Byron Borger. And Byron is actually mentioned in the forward. How fun is that? Well, I haven't gotten very far in this book, at all. I enjoyed the intro and have only begun the first chapter. But I already like the book, because it's written by a husband and wife team. Now that's cool. I'd love to do that someday.

I, Francis. I've wanted to read this book for quite some time. Ever since I have read the quotes in A Prayer Guide For Ministers and Other Servants. This is a unique approach to telling St. Francis' story. Carlo attempts to tell the story through first person narrative. It's quite fascinating. At times Francis is incredibly captivating and other times he's annoyingly emotional. But that's what makes it a good read.

Raising Your Child to Love God. This book was loaned to me by my Uncle Dan when I first got married. He thought it'd be a good read for being a youth pastor. It so happens that I forgot to give it back to him when I last saw him, but it's providential, because I am enjoying it. It's got great practical things on how to be a godly father and family.

***I linked all of these to Amazon, but if you're local, you can get them from Hearts and Minds.

Joy

What does joy look like?

I've been thinking about the passage in Hebrews where the writer describes Jesus going to his death "for the joy set before him". Here it sounds like the destination (the result of his death and resurrection) is the joy for Jesus. In this we see that joy is not the fleeting bounciness of a beach ball, but more like a tenacious bull dog that won't let go.

I read somewhere (I think it was John Ortberg's The Life You've Always Wanted) that "joy is serious business." Which makes me ask myself, how often am I intentionally developing this. I know that I ask myself how I can love others, but I don't often ask myself how I can be joyful. But as I think about it, being joyful invites others to experience the same joy...love and joy are intimately connected. Maybe I'm being picky...but I feel challenged to ask myself on a regular basis...am I set on the joy before me?

So...what brings you joy?