Don't Ask

Jerry and I hosted a Maundy Thursday fellowship with our small group last week. We had a teaching about the Seder meal, and then we sat down to eat a delicious potluck and to visit and to laugh. Everyone knew that I was pressing toward a deadline on my revisions and expressed how much they appreciated me having them over. They knew I hoped to be done by Friday evening, but the rewrites were (and still are) proving more difficult than I expected/hoped.

On Friday evening, when Jerry was at a meeting that quite a few of our small group members also attended, all were asking if I'd finished. No. Sigh.

On Saturday evening, at the first of three Easter services held by our church (the other two were on Easter morning), we saw several of our small group members and once again, the first question was, "Are you done?" No. Sigh.

This post will go up Monday morning. You may be asking, "Are you finished yet?"

Don't ask. Sigh. All prayers appreciated!!!

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In our daily devotions for Holy Week, the Pastor of Education quoted a lot from John Eldredge's book, Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus. So moving, those brief excerpts. I had to order it so I can read the whole book. Have any of you read it? Here's the book blurb:

Reading the Gospels without knowing the personality of Jesus is like watching television with the sound turned off. The result is a dry, two dimensional person doing strange, undecipherable things.

In BEAUTIFUL OUTLAW, John Eldredge removes the religious varnish to help readers discover stunning new insights into the humanity of Jesus. He was accused of breaking the law, keeping bad company, heavy drinking. Of being the devil himself. He was so compelling and dangerous they had to kill him. But others loved him passionately. He had a sense of humor. His generosity was scandalous. His anger made enemies tremble. He'd say the most outrageous things. He was definitely not the Jesus of the stained glass.

In the author's winsome, narrative approach, he breaks Jesus out of the typical stereotypes, just as he set masculinity free in his book, Wild at Heart. By uncovering the real Jesus, readers are welcomed into the rich emotional life of Christ. All of the remarkable qualities of Jesus burst like fireworks with color and brilliance because of his humanity.

Eldredge goes on to show readers how they can experience this Jesus in their lives every day. This book will quicken readers' worship, and deepen their intimacy with Jesus.

I'll be back next week, hopefully to report that my revisions are finished at last!

~robin