Easter

What a past couple weeks it's been. From all the stress involved in finally getting the Fishbowl up and running to the conclusion of the whole Lenten season with Easter weekend, I'm not exactly sure how I stayed conscious, let alone sane.

Beyond prayer and an incredibly supportive wife, there were some incredible words of encouragement from a few of different sources. Two of them fell very much along the same lines. One was a pastor back East who found me through the Genesis page and sent me a message titled, "Renegade Lutheran". The other was one of the elders at Christ Lutheran in Denver where I've been helping out in the absence of their pastor. Both gentleman are very conservative and commented how refreshing it is to see an LCMS pastor who is passionate about reaching the lost, and yet also bold about his Lutheran confession.

The other compliment came from a long time LCMS pastor who a friend of mine might coin as "theologically loose". When he got word of the Fishbowl he was simply delighted that somebody in the LCMS was truly willing to step outside the box and engage the world at large.

Then of course, you have the other pastor who's assisting with me here at Christ. His encouragement? He sent me this cartoon (and took sermons on both Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday)!

To all of you, for all of your encouragement, I thank you.

Yeah, it's sort of obvious that I'm seriously off my blog these days. I think it has something to do with it being Lent, assisting at Christ Lutheran in Denver, and getting the Fishbowl ready to launch this Easter. Robbie's also been sick which has things a bit off at home. Hopefully I'll get back to regular blogging soon, in the meantime, if you'd like something funny to read, check out one of my new favorite blogs, Stuff White People Like.

Writings from the Wilderness are the 2008 Lenten devotions I wrote for Lutheran Hour Ministries. During Lent 2008, you can also discuss the devotions with other readers from around the world through the online version. The community that initiates with the devotions which will roll over into the fshbwl come Easter.

In their promotional material, LHM described the devotions as:

... an open invite to readers who may not yet know the Savior or, if they do, to consider from another perspective the dynamics of a relationship with Him. These reflections allow room to explore the realities of our everyday existence, contemplate how these challenges take place in our life, and consider God's triumphant solution sealed by the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Readers are challenged to keep a journal of their passage through the wilderness so they can look back and reflect on where they've been - and where they're headed. These gritty and life-tested observations are written in a way that challenge readers and bring them into the faith conversation.

You can also go here to download the devotions in pdf format.