ooooh I love the rainy nights....

I love the rain. it reminds me of God. there's just something about it that feels refreshing. I can't describe it, but the rain makes me smile.

Anyway, the rainy nights make for great sleeping, and rainy days make for great "getting stuff done" days. No chopping wood and getting wet & cold. In teh office, with a cool Wesco drink in my hand. Feels good to be alive.

it's good to be useful

yes, it's true, I am severly validate by feeling a sense of being useful. I hate being lazy, though you wouldn't know that by the way I resemble a beached manatee in front of the TV, but I do love to work. I got the hook up with this guy who needed some help splitting some wood. So I've been outside, in the fresh air, getting dirty and getting sore. it's good to be useful.

As a large side note, I got my second letter from Immigration. At the end of this month I have an appoitnment to get my picture taken and my prints taken.

So life is rolling by, the bumps suck, I mean they really do, but apperently according to a spiritual gift test we took on saturday, I have the gift of faith, so I trust that the upcoming road will be smoother.

Rediscovering the art of being Un-Dignified

“In Christ Jesus freedom from fear empowers us to let go of the desires to appear good, so that we can move freely in the mystery of who we really are. Preoccupations with projecting the “nice guy” image, impressing newcomers with our experience, and relying heavily on the regard of others leads to self-consciousness, sticky pedestal behavior, and unfreedom in the iron grip of human respect. Unconsciously, we may clothe the Pharisee’s prayer in the publican’s formula. For most of us it takes a long time for the Spirit of freedom to cleanse us of the subtle urges to be admired for our studied goodness. It requires a strong sense of our redeemed selves to pass up the opportunity to appear graceful and good to other persons.”
(Brennan Manning, ragamuffin gospel)

I've rediscovered this book, and was reminiscing the change that it was a catalyst to. I opened it up this past week to the chapter titled "freedom from fear" and began to read and this passage really jumped out to me. funny thing is I don't remember ever reading it. But it definitely impacted me.

Being un-dignified...let the process continue