thelokey

Where to begin? I just finished reading "Contemplative Youth Ministry" by Mark Yaconelli. By far one of the best books I've read in my entire life. Not just because of the content, but mainly because it taught me how to connect with God in a way that's old, new, and refreshing all at once. Let me see if I can sum this up... The basic idea of Contemplation is realizing that God's presence is everywhere and being aware each moment of our lives of that simple truth. What it means for me is spending time in silence and listening, also using contemplative methods of Bible study and meditation. This allows me to apply the same type of calm listening with my interactions with students. Looking for moments when I can see God in them and in the things around me. I'm not there yet, and I may never be "there", but I can say that I'm on the journey. I'm looking at youth ministry and students in a whole new light. Maybe I wasn't called into youth mi...

Lately I've been talking to my best friend more on the phone. Usually we talk quite a bit but not really about anything important, it's more talking because we're working on something cooperatively or we need help with a practical matter. That changed in a way. He and his wife experienced a miscarriage recently and as selfish as this sounds, that may be the reason the two of us have found a reconnection. I'm in no way happy about the way the reconnection came about, but nonetheless, our friendship has started growing again for the first time in a while. So maybe "The days of old" isn't the best title for this posting, since we aren't just a couple of high school friends trying to relive the past. We are two high school friends who take our friendship seriously enough to not take our friendship seriously. We don't "work" on it, it just happens. There will come another season when we don't get to talk (really talk) as much as either on...