“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”

• Søren Kierkegaard,
  philosopher

No, the love of our God isn't dignified at all, and apparently that's the way He expects our love to be. Not only does He require that we accept His inexplicable, embarrassing kind of love, but once we've accepted it, He expects us to behave the same way with others. I suppose I could live, if I had to, with a God whose love for us is embarrassing, but the thought that I've got to act that way with other people-that's a bit too much to swallow.

Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

”I could more easily contain Niagara Falls in a tea cup than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God.”

Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

Finished reading: He Who Fights with Monsters A LitRPG Adventure by Shirtaloon 📚

Definitely not as good as Dungeon Crawler Carl but a nice placeholder until the next DCC book hits my Libby app.

Finished reading: Scion by James Islington 📚

I enjoyed this short read from Islington. It was fast paced and enjoyable. It’s a fun take on a BladeRunner type concept.

“Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours."

• St. Teresa of Avila

Hat tip to Englewood Review of Books

Currently reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning 📚

To be alive is to be broken; to be broken is to stand in need of grace. It is only through grace that any of us could dare to hope that we could become more like Christ.

That’s good news.

"Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music — the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." ~ Henry Miller, novelist

This really resonates with me. Being intentionally present is rooted in this perspective. As Ted Lasso said, “Be curious.”

Finished reading: How to Talk about Jesus by Sam Chan 📚

Read through this little book today at the recommendation of a colleague. It’s not earth shattering.

It provides some nice suggestions for folks trying to be a bit more open about their faith.

I still struggle with the transactional tenor of the text.

Currently reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning 📚

Our resistance to the furious love of God may be traced to the church, our parents and pastors, and life itself. They have hidden the face of a compassionate God, we protest, and favored a God of holiness, justice, and wrath.

There they are. There we are-the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to the faith.

My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace. - Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

“For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?”

• bell hooks, essayist / critic

This really hits.

Finished reading: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman 📚

I cannot wait for the next installment to hit my Libby. The story is starting to really get good beyond the humor and action.

“Aristotle said I am a rational animal. I say, I’m an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.” - Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

This book. Oh this book! I haven’t read it in nearly 30 years. It is still life giving and radical and timely.

"Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest."

Wendell Berry, Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front​

I love the way that Berry always called us into the infinite game.