Bear Grylls on the importance of fruits and veggies

It works for Bear Grylls.

Order and inquire at: www.monktakesjuiceplus.com

The Last Thing by Monk Gibbon

My friend Stanley Hauerwas wrote that he reads this poem every day. That makes it good enough to print.

Who'd be afraid of death,
I think only fools
are. For it is not
as though this thing
were given to one man only, but all
receive it. The journey that my
friend makes, I can
make also. If I know
nothing else. I know
this, I go where he is.
O Fools, shrinking from this little door,
Through which so many kind and lovely souls have passed
Before you,
Will you hang back?
Harder in your case than another?
Not so.
And too much silence?
Has there not been enough stir here?
Go bravely, for where so much greatness and gentleness have been
Already, You should be glad to follow.

Eagle's Nest Camp

Do you know the camp that I have attended for 11 years? It's so influential, better not to write to much, but I will just share this video.
PARENT VIDEO

Susan is Praying with Integrity!!!

A win is a win--FHP

One of my very best friends, David Tallon, finally won today in Statesville, North Carolina. I was not there. The last time we raced I came ahead of him, but he slipped. I knew it was not his best day in Charlotte. I had a pretty good day, gutsy, but sloppy that day in Charlotte. Still, I broke through from several 10th place finishes to a 2nd.

Jack was there today. They went 1st and 3rd. Hard to say where I would have finished. Jack seems like a much better rider than me. Every time we are training at Forest Hills I have a hard time hanging with him.

Maybe we can all race together in Winston-Salem. I am happy to be beaten by these guys. I like them a lot. I am learning a lot from them, about cycling, and life. It's all good.

Then there are the elder statesmen and women, Josh and Angelina. We are all, all of us, just good buddies. We are the Forest Hills Posse.

I missed the cyclocross race today in Statesville. I hope it was a great one for the whole Durham Cares team and the larger, Forest Hills Posse.
I missed the race so I could stay home and prepare for church. It feels like the right decision. There was much praying and fasting that needed to occur in this transitional season for the Tobacco Trail Church. We take our worship indoors tonight and I believe it will be a great blessing.
Alta Walk Senior Living is hosting us for the next three months.
We have weddings to prepare for around Durham.
Christmas is coming and with it winter and cold temperatures. We are already experiencing the shortening days. Everyone gets bent out of shape that Christmas' date is close to a pagan holiday, but it's okay. The days are short and we do have the light, the Light of Christ, to look forward to that points us on our way.
Tonight we will explore Matthew 22 and the parable of the wedding banquet.

Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, we may recall that Jesus has come to feed us. He fed the 5,000 and the 4,000. We loathe the invitation to eat at tables that we think we are above.
Susan said to me yesterday, that we might be invited to have dinner with our hosts in the weeks to come. Will you eat at this Table?

The Alban Institute - 2010-11-15 There Once Was a World

The Alban Institute - 2010-11-15 There Once Was a World

Among the good quotes from this excellent article: "Regardless of the nature of change, the church affirms that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God who has been active in history and who will be active in the future."

How are we responding to an era in the life of the church when we as Christians no longer have a growing presence in the culture? How is the church responding to meet an ever-changing world?

I believe one answer is the church in the market place. How are you being The Beloved Community where you work? This is not just a call for some, but a call for all who have chosen to follow him.

Dog Days are Over

Did you know that happiness is coming and coming fast? You can't stop it.

Listen to Florence + the Machine


You should probably get up and dance to this song.

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
Because here they come

I'm reading more onto this song than Florence + the Machine might want, but such is the way with all art. I get to have my say as the listener.

I hear the horses thundering forward out of Isaiah's mouth (read chapter 40) and into this Advent season. The princes are brought to naught and such princes are brought to naught by the Prince of Peace not on a white horse, but on a donkey. First, the one for Mary as the Prince bounces along inside of his mother's womb. Later, the Prince strides along humbly on a donkey among palm fronds entering the gates of Jerusalem.
But in Revelation it is a white horse, a powerful steed and the rider has a crown.

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better run

Advent and Eschaton
The waiting we do at Advent, the hope we have in this season of expectation is the kind of hope we have for the End-Times, the Eschaton. God is going to come again and bring this project to fulfillment.

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your love and your longing behind
You can't carry it with you if you want to survive

The kind of love that we leave behind is the love that has let us down. This is not God's love which never fails us.
We seek out the light for Advent, Christmas, and for The END that we can barely see. It is a long way through the darkest night, but reach out for Mother Mary and your Father in Heaven and the children of God and your sisters and brothers in Christ.
What we love on Earth are the things to which we hold to tight. Leave them behind. You can't take it with you.
We are not giving up on the world, but we hold it lightly because our tight hold is on the hope of Heaven. It is scary through the dark night, days are short in December, but light is on the other side. Reach for it. Run for it.