It is I

" [God says,] 'It is I' that is to say, 'It is I: the power and goodness of fatherhood. It is I: the wisdom of motherhood. It is I: the light and the grace which is all blessed love. It is I: the Trinity. It is I: the unity. I am the soverign goodness of all manner of things. It is I that make you love. It is I that make you long. It is I: the eternal fulfillment of all true desires."
-Julian of Norwich 

Playing in Key

"When I think of God, I hear a song. It's a song that moves me. It has a melody, it has a groove, it has a certain rhythm. And Jesus came to show us how to live in tune with the song.

The song is playing all around us, all the time. It's written on our hearts and everyone is playing the song. The question isn't whether or not you're playing a song, the question is whether you're in tune.

The song is unrestrained, unconditional love.

So when you see somebody sacrifice themselves for another, when you see someone love another person for who they are--that's why it's so inspiring---they're playing in the right key."

--Rob Bell

Change is in the air.

Noticing new, leaves flapping in the wind for the first time since fall. 
Hearing the buzz of a tattoo needle before it hits your skin.
Interviewing freshmen as they share their hopes for next year.
Feeling the air around my feet as I throw on a borrowed pair of sandals. 

Embracing the liberation that comes with only 13 credits. 

Taking a position that I've only begun to process the implications of. 

Befriending the homeless of Seattle and praying they're onto new things. 

Listening to new music as my friends and I speed to Portland. 

Things are pretty new this quarter.

Yet I know I'm really just approaching a mountain of realchange. 

(and I thank God for that.)

Hospitality

"Hospitality, therefore, means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy.  Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place."
Henri Nouwen Reaching Out, 71

"To convert hostility into hospitality requires the creation of the friendly empty space where we can reach out to our fellow human beings and invite them to a new relationship"
Henri Nouwn Reaching Out, 76

Thank you Monson family for leading by example.