Catching Idle Butterflies

Courtesy of God

Courtesy of God:
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The above picture I took last night while boating on the Missouri River with Dave and Rufus . . . right before the batteries died in my digital camera. Darn it, because it brightened not five minutes later before shimmering away as the sun set. The sun lowered behind a smoke-hazed sky blown down from forest fires in Canada that would have made the above picture seem bland. I could look directly at the blaze orange ball behind orange and pink wispy clouds as it settled behind the tall, lush cottonwoods bordering the river.

Dave a few days ago on his way to work even saw sunspots from the light-diffusing smoke. I’ve been too lazy to wake up that early and see them for myself.

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In my entry "Fill �er up!"  lethomson asked, “Any advice on getting back in touch with Him? Perhaps we can work through this together. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Build a family of spirits?”

I’ve been giving her questions a lot of thought over the last few days. I think this is why God stressed the importance of community and why “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” ~Mt 18:19-20

Our faith cannot grow in a vacuum. I have tried several times to read so much of the Bible per day, even purchasing a daily study Bible. It worked for a few weeks, became sporadic, then nothing.

The central thing missing was accountability. Promising myself I will do one thing every day is too easily broken. The list of excuses I can come up with grow with each day I break that promise. Even making the promise to God I don’t take seriously enough, and that should be the most serious promise I make.

But if I’m accountable to others, that changes things. Then I have people to push me, to encourage me, to be physically there to tell me I’m being lazy and remind me of the importance of continuously build my relationship with God. I learned this with Disciple. I had to complete the lessons every day, be ready for our weekly meeting, because they depended upon me just as I depended upon them to teach me, to show me things I wouldn’t have discovered on my own.

Though we have two lessons left, because of scheduling conflicts we won’t meet again until mid-July. I haven’t touched my Bible since, my prayer life is lacking, and though I think about Him all the time, my ability to talk about Him has lessened.

How do we help each other stay in touch? It needs to be something that we can each participate in, as well as hold each other accountable when we let the details of life get in the way. So far, I’m thinking either a forum or in-and-out where we have to either come up with a devotional, relay an experience where God felt close or taught us something, perhaps share a devotional we read by someone else and the lesson or truth we derived from it. A forum would also come in handy if we have a problem, or need a prayer. I know there’s a few prayer forums as well as devotional in-and-outs, but I want something where participation is required. Create a group perhaps?

If anyone else has ideas, I’d love to know them. Thanks.