A Journey of Transformation

I have been silent for a while now. In part because I have not had time to process all the things I have been pondering - though I have at least 3 blog topics. In part because of the journey I have been on. And in part because I have simply been tired - mentally, emotionally, and spiritually - a good tired, but tired none the less.I

I had two seminary professors - Steve Sandage and LeRon Shults who wrote a book on spiritual transformation and used as their model a crucible. This crucible is where we go to have our impurities cleaned out of us. How we respond to this firing really determines how “pure” we become.

For the past few months I have been repeatedly jumping into and out of the crucible. A process that has made me so very tired. Through this process I have been pulled & stretched, I have been pushed to the limits and then reeled back in to find rest, I have gained clarity to where God seems to be directing me to go. I have to admit that it is not where I was headed when i began my doctoral work. I seem to be coming to a junction where a step of faith my be needed to get me over a rather large obstacle.

So what has been the results of this process? I have come to a deeper, richer appreciation of community. I’m not talking about community light, I’m talking about community where we allow transformation to happen to each other and we are their to help each other edit our stories.

I have come to see that I enjoy coming along side people who need some assistance I allow me to be their sounding board or to offer some words of encouragement or wisdom. I am not their to fix them, rather I am their to help them hear God’s still small voice and how they can respond to it. Or perhaps it simple helping them rethink how they can accomplish their goals in new ways.

Living out these changes has resulted in getting involved in a new ministry at church and the prospect of another possible ministry opportunity. This has also got me thinking about what I might have to give up to pursue these new opportunities.

It has also led to a number of questions that I am looking to answer - How do I recharge myself? What is my “land between” looking like?