Journey to pie

We had our second “get-together” last night. We started by going out for Mexican food. Surprisingly, we all ate healthily with the exception of the beer and chips (win some, loose some) = ). We came back to our house, settled the kids, and started talking about the book. Each couple had read the intro and first chapter of the "Secret Message of Jesus". We talked about some of the questions from the back of the book. We didn’t get too far and spent the majority of our time talking about two things:

1. Why even embark on a spiritual journey?
2. How has our image of Jesus changed in the past few years?

Why even embark on a spiritual journey?
We all agreed that even atheists have a spiritual journey and everyone has questions they want answered. We talked about that piece of our hearts that is always searching for something, longing for answers (even Christians). **At this point it may be important to point out that we weren’t talking about an evangelical journey, a journey to save people, or a journey to “be spiritual”, but rather a journey to really find out who Jesus was and who Jesus is. Sounds simple, but it’s huge.** We each talked about how the organized church, our families, our experiences, and our up-bringings have shaped our views of Jesus (good and bad) and how we each wanted to have freedom from all the extra stuff we’ve attached to Jesus.

*******************Side note ****************************
I want to mention a book I read this week that really was parallel with this new path. I know there a lists and loads of books (trust me, I have stacks), but I really feel this gave me a direction and added to this forward movement I am feeling. I finally feel justified in that we have a place seeking God outside of the boundaries we’ve know. My articulation may sound disjointed, but trust me the book is right on and it’s one you can make your own. I read the book in two nights, so it’s not a big time investment. John Barna’s "Revolution" (yep, Barna Research Group)
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How has our image of Jesus changed in the past few years?
I don’t have time to embark on everyone’s stories, but I can tell you mine. I think I have finally reconciled the Jesus of my heart and the Jesus of the *C*hurch (big C). They are the same. I think I had just meshed a bunch of Jesus of the *c*hurch (little c) in with everything else. God’s *C*hurch is people who love Him and love people. *c*hurch is all the extra stuff. I also think my view has changed in that I feel Jesus is not trying to pull me in a direction, persuade me to be more holy, or make me win hearts for him. He is with me, offering me his company, his presence next to me. Offering me the best and letting me know I can be the best too. This isn’t new stuff folks, but for some reason it has all taken on new meaning for me. Direction, holiness, and people knowing Him are not bad, but the are effects of me being with Him. It should be interesting as we progress through the book, as I am sure that my views will continue to change, not just about Jesus, but about myself too.

Books aren’t creating truths for us (the truths are already there), but providing a jumping board for us to really seek God and what He is doing.

We prayed and talked about the senior housing again. We also talked about some of the suggestions from the book.

We also talked about pie. Yum. I love pie!