Real

For those of you who actually ‘follow’ this blog it will shock you to see that I’ve taken the time this afternoon to write something.  It’s safe to assume that writing here is not a priority on my list these days.  Oh, I’m writing plenty still, just not blogging.  In the past seven months my daily schedule has become a frenzied network of chores, construction projects, lists, errands, and quality time with the people and things I love most in this world.  Basically I’m trying to fill my life with things that are real.  Things that matter.  I have very little time (or desire) to sit in front of a computer and stare into cyberspace, hoping that someone out there will be as bored as I am and actually read the drivel I’ve put on here.  And so as not to be insulting, for those of you who actually do that, ‘thanks’.  But for me, I’m over the whole blogosphere scene.  I’ve stopped reading blogs.  Most of them have really devolved into lengthy Twitter or Facebook posts anyway, and quite frankly I’m just not interested in that.  Sadly, at one point I was faithfully reading 22 blogs per day.  And some of those blogs took nearly thirty minutes or more to get through.  Especially if there were recipes or photos involved.  I’m a sucker for recipes and photo contests.

However, in the past seven months my life has changed.  Radically.  My priorities regarding my time have changed as well.  Time is our most valuable commodity; and yet, every day we waste most of it.  No wonder life passes us by so quickly.   We spend our childhood wishing we were an adult.  By the time we reach adulthood and enter the working world we spend our week wishing it were the weekend.  And on the weekends we wish we were kids again so we could forget that dreaded “to-do” list that awaits us.  Such a shame to wish our entire life away and forget to live in the moment.

Today I was doing some research on a company called Monsanto.  They’re an evil, multi-national, chemical corporation that is completely engrossed in their own greed.  And they have the balls to cloak that greed in the nobility of “feeding the world,” when in fact, they care nothing for the world at large, but only the myriad of ways they can control our food chain and thus line their already massive pockets.  And as I finished up my research, I came to the conclusion that I need to do something.  I need to take control.  Even though I’m only one person I can still make a difference.  It only takes one, remember?  So I’m not exactly sure what it is I’m going to do yet, but it will be something.  And I can guarantee you it won’t involve sitting behind this computer a moment longer and blogging…..

Peace, out.

Crave

Last night my beloved and I treated ourselves to a date night.  It doesn’t happen often, especially since starting up the farm.  There are so many chores to be done in the evenings and on weekends that we really don’t have a lot of extra time to ourselves.  But yesterday we managed to finish early enough to head to the QT for a snack and then off to the cinema to see Secretariat.  For years Sam and I have been dreaming of the day we could retire from this hectic life we live and move back to Kentucky, start a little farm, put up some horse fence, and live out our days in quiet wonder of all that God has created.  The movie didn’t help that desire any – we’re more determined than ever to realize our dream.

Despite a wonderful evening, I didn’t sleep well.  I don’t know if it was the excitement from the movie (I do love good horse racing), or just realizing how much of a contrast in lifestyle I crave.  Right now, we live a life of comfort and ease.  Sure we’ve got some hard work to do each day with the farm and garden chores, but for the most part we’re very comfortable.  God has very richly provided for us, however I’m desperate to turn my back on all this “stuff” in search of a much more simple way of living.  All that we have is lovely and grand, but it has come at much too high a price.

Awkward moments

In my life there have been numerous moments where I, or those around me have wanted to die and fall into the deepest, dark hole they could find.  I’m a whiz when it comes to saying inappropriate things at inopportune times.  It’s a gift really.

Today I had one of those embarrassingly awkward moments.  Right now, we’re smack dab in the middle of allergy season in Georgia.  We’re on the 13th month of a 12 month allergy cycle.  But things are looking up for us.  The ragweed is nearly done….just in time for the pine pollen to begin again.  Anyway, I’m struggling with the slightest stuffy nose.  It’s nothing big, but definitely enough to change my voice a bit and make my words run together slightly.  Out of the blue I decided to make a phone call to someone I haven’t talked to in a few months.  Its a family thing, and if you have extended family I’m sure you understand where I’m going with this.

So I dial the number and listen patiently as the phone rings two or three times.  The line picks up and I hear my beautiful aunts voice on the other end.  I offer her my most chipper, “Hello Auntie ______”, and then there’s silence.  And I’m not talking about that take a breath kind of silence before you go on with your conversation.  It was the “who in the heck is this and how did you get my number?” kind of silence.  It’s that “crap, why did I answer this?” kind of silence.  It’s the kind of silence that makes you (the caller) feel at a complete loss for words.  And in that silence you think to yourself…did I dial the wrong number?  Has my tongue swelled to twice its normal size and I’m talking like I’ve had an injection of novacane?  Did I just call this person by the wrong name?  Poop…it was the name thing again, wasn’t it?!

And as it always happens in these types of situations, my dear sweet auntie asks the questions we all do…”who is this?”

When you have to introduce yourself to your kin, its been too long!  I’m horrible at keeping in touch.  You’d think after all these years I’d learn to either call more often or just throw in the towel and become one of those funeral and wedding kinds of kin.  You know, the ones who only show up when there’s free food and liquor….

And as I was sitting here reflecting on the conversation; which by the way went charmingly well once we got past the formal introductions; it reminded me of another phone conversation that didn’t end so well……….

Sam and I were living in Iowa at the time.  His daughter had gone off and married a hairy Scotsman.  I didn’t attend the wedding (it’s a long story), so I’d never met the chap.  I hadn’t even spoken to him on the phone before this conversation….a conversation which is told and re-told at all major family gatherings…much to my horror and shame.  Anyway, Sam and I were in the process of getting ready to head out of the house for an evening of fun and frivolity when the phone rang.  Sam was in the shower so I answered it.  This is how the conversation went…

Caller: “Is SUM there?”

Me:  “Who?”

Caller: “SUM?”

Me: “Um, I think you have the wrong number.”

Caller:  “Oh, sorry ’bout that.”

*Call ended*

I turned around to walk back to the bedroom and the phone rang again, so I answered it.

Caller: “Is SUM there?”

Me:  “I think you just called here and I believe you have the wrong number.  There is no SUM here.”

Caller:  “Oh sorry.”

*Call ended*

As I turned to head back toward the bedroom the phone rang again.  And like an idiot I answered it…..again.

Caller: “Is SUM there?”

Me: “Um I think you’ve still got the wrong number.  There is NO SUM that lives here.  You might check your number again.”

Caller:  “Is this 237-6439?”

Me: “Yes it is, but I’m telling you, there is no SUM that lives here.  You’ve got the wrong number!”

Caller: (in a very reluctant voice) “Oh, okay, sorry ’bout that.”

*Call ended*

Thankfully the phone didn’t ring a fourth time or I might have ripped the cord out of the wall.  However, when Sam exited the shower and inquired about the multiple phone calls I relayed the jist of the conversations to him.  I explained that the caller was looking for SUM and there were no SUM’S that lived in our house.  Sam thought for a moment about the strange calls and then turned to me and asked it the caller would have possibly been asking for “SAM”?  I explained that if he was looking for SAM that he needed to learn English!  And then Sam did the funniest thing…he put on his own Scottish accent and asked if the caller was looking for “SUM”?

It took me a second to process it all, but I’m sure the blood flooded my cheeks as I realized I’d just hung up on Sam’s son-in-law….three times!  I was mortified.  Laughing, Sam picked up the phone and dialed Scotland.  Yep, it was his son-in-law all right, who was just as befuddled by the conversation as I was, only in a different way.  But truly, if you’ve ever heard a thick Scottish accent over long distance it’s very confusing…at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.  Now anytime I see their phone number pop up on the caller ID I just ignore it because I know the caller will be looking for “SUM”!

Where does the time go?

Holy cow, its been a while since I’ve posted anything on here.  I’ve just become so overwhelmed with farm projects that I don’t have much time to just sit here and type anymore.  I know that during wintertime things will slow down a bit for us and I’ll have more free time during the day, but the last couple of weeks have just flown by with projects coming out my ears.  Here’s what we’ve been up to:

* We added about 5 acres of pasture fencing to the farm

* We moved all the animals into one of the new pastures

* I built a new hen pen with 10 nesting boxes

* We’ve moved chickens four different times between pens

* I built a portable shade barn

* I repaired a chicken tractor we got from some friends of ours who prefer the traditional chicken coop layout

* We spent a Saturday stretching fencing and repairing/strengthening corners

* We harvested two raised beds chalk-full of sweet potatoes – I still have to do something with those

* We’ve started gathering eggs (only a few so far, but the girls are all coming into maturity so it won’t be long now before we’re getting lots of eggs every day)

* I’m currently building pastured rabbit pens for the farm so we can get our bunnies off the back porch and out with the rest of the gang

* We amended about 20 EarthBoxes and have finally got all of our fall garden planted

* I gathered about 5 pounds of fresh chestnuts, and the tree is just now starting to “shed”

* I’ve managed to squeeze in making a few wheels of cheese as well

And I know that’s not a huge list, but when you’re working alone for most of it it takes a bit longer to accomplish things.  I was delighted to have my parents here for a two-week visit the first part of September, which gave me a chance to slow down a bit and visit with them – the break was wonderful!  My baby brother is coming for a couple of weeks at the end of October as well, and our major project is going to be another fencing one -  I need to build some garden fencing in our back yard.  Iris and Guinness are still ravaging my tomato plants.  We haven’t gotten one single slicing tomato all year long – between the blight and the dogs its been a rough year for the garden!  But good, solid garden fencing will stop at least the dogs, and thankfully my brother has some fencing experience.  Good thing too, because we have between 30 and 50 holes to dig out with the post hole diggers, and anyone who knows this Georgia clay knows what kind of hellacious task that’ll be!

Is it fall yet?

I am one of the few people who doesn’t like to complain about how hot summer can be.  I would much prefer to endure the heat of summer than the dead cold of winter; especially since we moved away from northern Maine three years ago.  I was pretty sure we were never going to dig our way out of that state!

But I have to admit, that this summer has been really hot and humid.  Even the weather people are saying that this summer has been one of the record setters, with multiple weeks of day-after-day of 90 degree plus temperatures and minimal rainfall.  And the humidity has been the real killer for me.  I can handle the heat.  I can handle the dry.  But the humidity seems to zap my energy every time.  And since we’ve been spending a large part of our time out on the farm working with the animals, I’ve found myself sweating a great deal more than I ever have in my life!

So, in an effort to psych myself out and to gently encourage summer to submit itself to the greater good I started putting up my fall decorations last week.  I’ve got a lovely garland of fall leaves wrapped around my banister, some beautiful burgundy mums ready to go out on my front porch, and scarecrows and pumpkins placed strategically around my living room.

I’m ready for the beautiful patchwork of leaves on the hillsides, beckoning me to crunch through the forest.   I want to spend the evenings enjoying the sunroom, listening to the crickets and locust sing the stars into the night sky.  I’m ready to wrap up in a flannel throw and sit by the fireplace with a steaming mug of hot cider.  I can’t wait to burn Macintosh scented candles and go apple pickin’.  I’m desperate to resurrect jars of harvest spices from their resting place in the cupboard and combine them with winter squash and sweet taters, for succulent and sweet creations.  I’m ready to throw the windows on the house open at night and snuggle deep into homemade quilts, finding my way into dream lands full of sugar plumbs and gingerbread men.  I want to awaken to the glisten of frost on my windows and the sight of my breath in the early morning sunshine.

Oh fall, how I’ve missed you.  Please come to visit soon!

Doesn’t that just figure!

In an effort to continue on our path of self-sufficiency and healthier eating, I ordered a nut grinding machine.  I love natural peanut butter, but to purchase it in the grocery store is dreadfully expensive.  How does that work exactly?  Process it less, add fewer ingredients, and charge more.  Seems like a great gimmick to me.  So I searched online for an economical, home grinding machine, and I found one.  Only one.  It had a few reviews, which were all favorable and seemed to indicate that this machine would be perfect for our needs.  So I ordered it.  That was this spring!

A couple of weeks passed and I didn’t receive the order.  I checked our bank account and the money hadn’t come out yet either, so I sent an email to customer service requesting an update on my order.  I received a prompt reply that went something like this:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your recent order.  Unfortunately, this item is temporarily out of stock.  We do not have an estimated restock date from the manufacturer at this time.  Your account will be charged when this item is ready for shipment.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you.  Have a nice life.

Okay, I didn’t end with “Have a nice life,” but it might as well have.  Basically, what that response told me was you ordered something that no longer exists, so don’t hold out any hope of ever receiving it.  After all, how many people do you know who grind their own nut butters?

This past week Kroger was having one of their 10 for $10 sales, and peanut butter was included in that.  So we decided it was time to stock up since our nut grinder was obviously not going to come through for us.  And stock up we did.  We now have 20 jars of peanut butter in our pantry.  Did I mention that we’re suckers for a good deal?!  But who doesn’t use peanut butter?  It’s not like it has a short shelf life.  It’s practically as indestructible as Twinkies are.

On Monday morning I sat down at my computer with my coffee in hand and pulled up my email.  And wouldn’t ya know it!  Smack dab in the middle of my list of emails was a notification from the nut grinder place.  My order is getting ready to ship.  Well, doesn’t that just figure.  Maybe I can give jars of peanut butter away as stocking stuffers this year…

What does this look like?

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”  James 5:16 (NKJV)

In the modern-day world, I just don’t understand what the effectual fervent prayer looks like.  In Christian circles we like to talk about being in an attitude of prayer during the day, but is that what effectual fervent prayer means?  I feel I’m in that kind of attitude most of the day.
And if so, why then are my prayers not being answered?  Even the ones I’ve been praying about for years.  I’d certainly classify those as fervent prayers.

“Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.”  James 5:17 (NKJV)

How is it that Elijah prayed and no rain fell for over three years, and then he prayed again and rain fell?  Just like that – nothing else to it – just a simple prayer.  Since becoming a Christian, I’ve prayed for rain before, and the rain never came.  Why is it that God chooses to answer the prayers of some and not others?  Sam tells me that it has something to do with the motivation of the prayer, and the righteousness of the man.  This makes me wonder just how differently from Elijah my Christian motivation and my righteousness are before God.  Sometimes I wish I could see myself through God’s eyes so I could know what areas are keeping me from being the Elijah kind of righteous.   I want that kind of righteousness in my life.  Truly.

“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”  James 4:17 (NLT)

I wonder if this is why I don’t see myself through God’s eyes?  I wonder if this is what keeps my prayers from being answered in the Elijah kind of way?  If I take a good, hard, long look at myself I can see that I choose to sin every day.  Most of the time it’s not even consciously.  I can really relate to Paul’s words – I can’t stop myself from doing things I don’t want to do, and I can’t seem to do the things I do want to. What a spiritual quandary this flesh puts me in.  Some day I hope to master my flesh in total surrender to God – there’s another quandary for you – I am perfected only through surrender.  Sheesh, and some people say Christianity is a crutch…seems to me that giving up control is a whole lot harder than doing things on your own.   Well those are my random thoughts for the day.  What are yours?

What’s in a name

Sometimes I sit and think about names.  What do they mean?  Snappy name combinations.  Funny names.  Things like that – very deep stuff, I can assure you.  For example, if we ever come to own a basset hound I want to name him Wilbur Fawcett.  I think that’s the funniest,  most appropriate name for a basset hound ever.  But naming animals is hard.  For me, I want to name my animals something fun.  Something different.  Something that fits their personality.  And I sometimes just want them to have names that are odd.  After all, Wilbur isn’t a name one hears much these days.

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about names, especially since all of our animals are getting frisky.  We know for sure that one, if not both of our goats have been impregnated and will be due about the first week of December.  One of our ewe’s is coming into heat and if she is bred will be due around New Year.  And the donkeys are trying to have a baby too, which means a summer baby for next year.  Oh the excitement of new life.  But what to name everyone?!  I think it would be funny to have a baby donkey named Joash.  Think about that one for a minute…

Recently on Facebook one of my oldest friends posted some class photos from grade school.  I don’t know why I never really thought about it before, but I think he and I were in the same class from first grade up through sixth grade, and we had many of the same classes together throughout Junior High and High School.  What a fun guy, and I’ve enjoyed looking at all the old class photos.  But for the life of me I can’t seem to remember many of my classmates names, which is sad because I grew up with these people!  Thank goodness others have better memories than I do, and they’re willing to take the time to tag the photos.  One of the things I think has been most fun for me though is reading through all the names of my old classmates.  There’s not a Brittany or Lindsey or Paris among them.  We had down to earth names like Leroy and Amanda and Scott and Laurie.  I think I had the most unusual name among the bunch, and as a kid I hated being the odd man out.  I can’t tell you how many times I had to explain that my name is Brittan, and not Brittany.  Eventually I just gave up.  And even to this day I’ll generally not correct people if they get it wrong.  Why embarrass them; I suppose that’s what grace is all about.

As I read through those names and looked into those adolescent faces, I began to imagine what those names meant to their parents.  Why would they choose to name their child what they did?  Were these family names?  Were they names of a best friend who died in some tragic childhood accident?  Or were they just words that sounded good together?  My heart was saddened to see a few of my childhood classmates have passed on already, and I know that their names are even more precious now to the ones they’ve left behind.  And then I began to reflect on the names that I might have chosen if I’d had a child or four…

Names; they’re so very important.  They’re how we’re known.  They’re who we are.  They define our very character.  We don’t get to choose them, but we grow into them, and sometimes even grow to love them.  So what about you?  How did you come by your name, or the names for your children?  Have you ever wished you could change your name?  Or an even bigger question, have you ever wanted to change your child’s name?

What is this? Ancient Egypt?

I’m currently reading a book called No Other Gods by Kelly Minter.  As you might guess from the title, the content deals with false gods in our society.  And surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), there are a lot of them.  And I’m realizing that there are some in my own life.  *gasp*

“An idol is something within creation that is inflated to function as God.  All sorts of things are potential idols, depending on our attitudes and actions toward them…  Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God’s existence or character.  It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is, in itself, perfectly good…  And idol can be a physical object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero – anything that can substitute for God.”  Richard Keyes

I like Keyes definition.  Not because he’s saying that if we love anything more than prayer meetings and revival services we’re enslaved to idol worship, but because he points out that anything we elevate to a place of priority (want) can become an idol in our life.  And I like that he also mentions that idol worship doesn’t involve an explicit denial of God’s existence or of His place in our life.

2 Kings 17:33 says, “They worshiped the Lord, but they also served other gods.”

2 Kings 17:41 further explains, “Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols.”

We’re not so different from the Israelites, you know.   As Christians we take a couple of hours to worship God with our mouths on Sunday morning at church, and then spend the rest of the week in service to our other gods.  Think about that one.  Let is settle into your mind before you just toss it out.  Mull it over for a bit.  I’m not trying to sound judgmental or legalistic here, honestly.  I find myself in this exact same predicament every day.  And most days I find myself falling miserably into idol worship.

But what are idols anyway?  It’s not like as Christians we have little carved statues all over our homes – this isn’t ancient Egypt for cryin’ out loud.  I think, simply put, and idol is anything that we absolutely have to have.  It’s something that we’re sure will make us feel better, or will elevate our status among our peers/friends/family, or is just on our list of must have’s in life.

For example, how many of you just had to have that expensive luxury car that sits in the garage and gets washed every singe week?

How many of you ‘would have died’ if you couldn’t live anywhere than your current home?

How many of you just had to put your kids in that school?

How many of you just couldn’t pass up those overpriced killer shoes or that trendy handbag?

How many of you had to upgrade to a bigger boat/RV/ATV,etc?

How many of you can’t miss an episode of American Idol or The Bachelorette or Survivor or Madmen (or the Super Bowl or the World Cup or ESPN sports, or any number of television programs)?

And how many have said they just had to get a certain promotion or a raise or a job in a certain company?  

And it’s not like any of these things in and of themselves is bad.  After all, the majority of us aren’t independently wealthy so jobs are necessary.  And for most people cars are necessary.  And certainly clothes are necessary.  And schooling for kids is crucial.  And being homeless isn’t a safe or desirable lifestyle.  And having ‘toys’ isn’t sinful either.  But it’s the attitudes that we have toward those things that makes them idols.  For lots of people the belief that driving a certain type of vehicle, or living in a certain size of house (or neighborhood), or wearing a certain brand of clothes, or having a 62″ plasma TV hanging on the wall gives them a sense of accomplishment.  A sense of self-importance.  A notion of life or wealth or status.  In essence, we will literally work our fingers to the bone in order to attain these things.

And another indicator that these things have become idols in our life is the fact that once we achieve these goals or possessions we find that they don’t bring us the satisfaction that we thought they would.  That boat that we just had to have suddenly isn’t fast enough, or shiny enough, or big enough for us and we’re already contemplating a trade up.

The allure of idols is so subtle and so enticing, and yet they’re so completely unsatisfying.  And as Christians we suffer greatly under idol worship.  If you don’t believe me, just read the Bible.  There are many passages in both the Old and New Testament that deal with satisfaction, self-worth, and possessions, and the value we place on these things.  We see a classic example of this in Jesus’ encounter with the Rich Young Man.  This man wanted more than anything to have an assurance of his place in heaven.  He’d kept the letter of the Law, he was generous, and an all around good guy.  But he had a life filled with idols, and we see that he left Jesus a very disappointed and dejected man.  I’m not saying that wealth is bad – Jesus doesn’t say that either – but wealth buys a lot of comforts and pleasures, and those things quickly and subtly take up a god-place in our life.

And in America we are wealthy.  You might not think it because you don’t have a 6-figure income or live in a mansion, but if you have a television in your home, or a car in your garage, or more than one set of clothes, or a refrigerator with food in it, or a bed to sleep in, or a roof over your head, or a few bucks in change in the console of your car then you are rich.  America is the land of excess.  We’re taught to always want more.  Even in churches there’s always a dream of a bigger building, or more parking, or newer tech equipment, or upgraded seating, or fancier productions – all for the sake of having them.  Oh, we can justify them.  But that’s the point, isn’t it?  If they weren’t idols we wouldn’t have to justify them, they’d be necessary – logical – obvious.

So what about you?  It’s a tough question, I know.  I’ve been rolling it over in my own head for a while now, and it’s scary how many things in my own life I’ve elevated to a position of importance and influence.  There are tons of things I turn to first for comfort, instruction, wisdom, peace, joy, love, and attention instead of to God.  I need to re-evaluate their place in my life, and put God back as the figurehead…and find a way to keep him there.  Think about it, will you?  Pray it over.  Don’t just dismiss me as some legalistic nutter who wants everyone to live a life of poverty and prayer, but really search your own heart and life and ask the Lord to reveal to you anything that you’ve elevated (even unknowingly) to God’s place in your life.  And then ask him to strengthen you as you tear down that (those) idol(s), and help you to build an altar of intimacy and relationship with Him.

Crazy Love – a book review

I finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan about two weeks ago now, and I’ve spent the past ten days or so processing all the information he presented.  I originally choose this book as a possible study for the upcoming ladies Bible study season at church, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to use it.

If you’ve never read the book I encourage you to do so.  It’s an easy read with large print and wide margins.  But be prepared to have your idea of authentic Christianity shaken up a bit.   Each chapter deals with certain misconceptions Christians have cultivated over the past couple of centuries, and he uses God’s word to counter those misconceptions.

Misconceptions such as how/why/what we pray about; how we’re to really love others; what service is really all about; what God really wants you to do with your money (and no, the book doesn’t tell you to give it all to the church!); and what authentic Christianity really looks like in every day life.  In some chapters I found myself shaking my head in total agreement, and in other chapters I was horrified at how easily and blindly I’d fallen into the trap of deception.

For me, chapter 4 was the ringer.  I’ve said many times that I’m a realist, and I don’t have a problem with calling something what it is.  I appreciate honesty more than anything; even critical and hurtful honesty.  In chapter 4 Francis paints a pretty harsh and accurate picture of a ‘lukewarm Christian’.  As I read through the chapter I found myself reflecting on my own poor behavior, attitude, and complacency.  I was mortified…I fit the description of a lukewarm Christian to a T.  Yikes!!!  Chapter 5 was equally as cutting.  I discovered that I’ve been content with serving ‘leftovers’ to God throughout my Christian walk.  In some ways, after reading this book I felt like I wasn’t sure I had the right to even call myself a Christian!  Thank goodness for God’s unfailing grace.

Despite the ‘wounds’ I sustained I’m very glad I read the book.  It has challenged me to think beyond myself and our local church.  It has changed my focus from what do I need/want/deserve in my Christian life to ‘what are the needs of the lost, and how can I meet them?’  I want to be known as an ‘obsessed’ Christian, not just another Christian.  I want to serve the needs of others in a way that really shows them that Jesus loves them and cares about them; and I want them to know that He really does want a relationship with them.  I don’t want the world to see me as just another person who gets up early on Sunday mornings and rushes out the door to sit in a comfy little building and sing a few songs and then come home and forget about Jesus the rest of the week.  I want to really touch the life of someone who might not have ever had the privilege of encountering Christ.  I want to love the unlovable, and serve those who can never return that service.  I want to demonstrate a crazy, unabandoned kind of love for the lost, poor, dying, weak, and hurting.  I’m tired of being a complacent and comfortable Christian.  What about you?

Crazy Love.  It’s radical.  It’s challenging.  It’s real.  Read it.  You’ll be glad you did.

“When people make changes in their lives like this {living Christ instead of just spouting Christian ideals}, it carries greater impact than when they merely make impassioned declarations.  The world needs Christians who don’t tolerate the complacency of their own lives.” (pg. 172)