the Blue Parakeet

I have been reading a book by Scot McKnight called The Blue Parakeet, and it is rocking my world about the way I read the Bible. It has changed my perspective from "How should I think, feel, and live?" to "Who is this incredible God of this interactive story told over time by several authors from several perspectives?" And in reading in this way, I am undone. The God of the Bible can in no way be boxed to conform to our minute ability to describe Him nor can He be mastered. To quote Scot McKnight:

"God did not give us the Bible so we could master him or it; God gave the Bible so we could live it, so we could be mastered by it. The moment we think we've mastered it, we have failed to be readers of the Bible."

The Bible is the Story of God, the unfolding of who He is, told from the perspectives of different authors from different cultures and various time periods. It's a story that cannot be tamed, boxed, nor (do I dare say this) is it complete. For the God of this story eternally existed before any words of Him were penned, and is so vastly above our ways that the story serves merely as a window into the height, depth, breadth of our wonderful Creator. It no longer is a matter of readers laboring and studying to grasp His ways, but rather it is a matter of readers, so in love with Him, listening to know Him so that His ways grasp their very hearts in radical transformation.

How then does this affect the way I teach my children about God? Do I present Him as a taskmaster with rules to submit to? Do I force scripture on them when their hearts and minds are elsewhere? Do I summarize the text of the Bible from the traditions I have always believed? Do I content myself with mere outward behavioral obedience? NO! I must patiently weave the Story into their everyday existence. I must remember to present it as God's amazing Story full of action, blood, deception, romance, treason, beauty, art, passion, death; and then let them find their own way with this Beloved Creator of their souls. I must introduce this Savior whom I love from the depths of my heart, and leave them to find Him who is already seeking them, that they will love Him, know Him, and let Him radically transform their lives.

Image by lori joy.

Finding My New Normal

Here I am, sitting down to the computer in an effort to express the thoughts, feelings, emotions of the past few months.  Honestly, a lot of "water has gone under the bridge" since I last shared.  Details of the separation of my marriage have been discussed, and I am now left with what I call my "new normal," sifting through thoughts, ideas and God's word in order to discover how to walk the now delicate line between appropriate boundaries and sacrificial love.  There is really no manual on how to best walk this, no clear cut black and white lines,so I find myself learning as I go, doing some things right, and some terribly wrong. Yet in all of it, I am growing past grief, anger and difficulty and finding something beautiful emerging from the ruins.  I don't yet know exactly how this "new normal" looks, but I do know that my Heavenly Father who holds all things in the palm of His hand will be right by my side.  There still will be moments when grief hits me like a ton of bricks, but new joy will be found in walking as one who overcomes baby step by baby step.  I invite you to join me in this journey as I now plan to use this blog as a place to share my thoughts, struggles, ideas, and dreams as a single mom who desires to partner with God for the souls of my four incredible children and find beauty in my home and my life amidst the ruins.