Growth: Jul 06, 2011

Now that the persistent heat of summer is here, a subtle change is taking place in my yard and garden.  Plants that just a month ago were enjoying the warmth of the sun have decided they’ve had too much of a good thing; they are now either dormant or dying.  In surveying my front beds, I notice that the last of my petunia plants (that I paid good money for!) are preparing to surrender to the withering fire of the long Austin afternoons.

While flowers like these determine to call it quits, I find another group of plants, however, …

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Take the Community challenge: Jun 20, 2011

Take the Community challenge:

• What are you struggling with today? What is bringing you joy? Who else knows the details of this? Unpack the phrase: “Be somebody with someone.”
• An African proverb states, “Alone I have seen many wonderful things, none of which are true.” Why is it essential to read the Bible and experience the Christian faith in community with others?
• React to this observation by Basil Pennington: “We do not readily fit together. We are like a bunch of porcupines trying to huddle together for warmth, who are always driven apart out of fear …
  
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Take the Adventure Challenge: Jun 15, 2011

• When you think of your own encounter with God, would you say you have come to know Him as wild and powerful, or as predictable and safe? What prior experiences with God or with the organized church might be contributing to this reaction?
• Have you ever told God you are ready to follow Him, regardless of the cost? What might keep you from making this kind of commitment?
• What emotions rise to the surface when you consider following a God you cannot see on an adventure of which you do not know the outcome?
• Take a …
  
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