Oubach Cohort (Northern Indiana)

Oubache Cohort

1. Shalom
   I am done writing this blog.
   Do you remember in the movie when Forrest Gump ran and ran back and forth across the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific and then...finally...just...stopped.
   Well, I just stopped.
   Been writing these about weekly for a number of years now. I'm done.
   There's was a time for the Qubache Blog, and there is now not a time.
   Thanks to Tom for getting it started and those of you who have been reading.
   Let us remember to
   Love God,
   Love our neighbors especially the wounded ones,
   Love our families,
   Love our selves,
   and love and serve the kingdom that God is so faithfully creating even in the midst of the craziness.
   
   Shalom,
   Craig
   
2. a day
   Sleeping....being re-created, dreaming, silence, wholeness.
   
   Waking...slowly, coffee, morning God focus, fixing up the body, more coffee.
   
   Working...organizing, planning, communicating, computing and phoning, loving, challenging, doing team, doing one's little part to make a difference, making it through all the stuff with God's grace.
   
   Being with my loved ones...sharing meals, conversing, serving, doing chores, laughing, getting on the same page, supporting, entering into each others worlds.
   
   Moments of sabbath...reading, walking, celebrating the creation, music, tv, movies, traveling, embracing God.
   
   Dreaming...remembering the big picture, trusting The Force to give direction, believing the good news of God's way for the planet being greater than the very real bad news.
   
3. Memorial Day
   I remember the love of my doggie Jamie.
   I remember the courage, discipline, and sacrifice of soldiers.
   I remember my grandma telling me if I kept rubbing my eyes they might fall out
   and my preacher grandpa intentionally sneezing real loud to scare some girls walking down the street
   I remember Sara and Ray Davis from my papa's church who were like my grandparents.
   I remember Matthew who performed a horrendous crime...and I'm so sorry.
   I remember Kathryn who made a homemade strawberry pie and had it waiting for us in the fridge when we moved into our first home.
   I remember Todd who died at age 13, and I got mad at God.
   I remember Jim, Dane, Bob, and so many more.
   And I remember Jeshua.
   Thanks to all of you who have blessed my life and the lives of so many more.
   I remember.
   
4. I Stand Before the Wonder
   
   Wow. Life!
   Sight, sound, music, family, tough challenges and grace enough, giving love.
   Blue skies and green trees and all of this on a ball flinging thru space.
   The stories and memories of our life, our story as it's unfolding now, the stories in books and film, the stories of our family and friends, the stories of the ages, The Story.
   I am alive!
   I am filled with wonder, and hope.
   May we turn up the music and dance.
   Jeshua, shine in us and through us. Help us to see and love the wounded ones.
   Help us be ourselves and celebrate diversity and yet be united to make a difference.
   Drink the coffee, read the book, read the Book, bend on the knee, taste the wine,
   walk in the creation, love that family, work hard, and most of all
   allow God to use us to whisper and shout and be good news to a world often full and focused on other kinds of news.
   
5. 
   
   Some powerful books I've recently read are:
   
   A Team of Rivals by Doris Goodwin about Abraham Lincoln. It brings this incredible man's life, colleagues, and times alive.
   
   The Book of God by Walter Wangerin. It's the Bible in narrative form. It is written in a beautiful manner and kept me close to God.
   
   The Unlikely Disciple/A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose. A journalism student from a liberal university, Roose spends a semester at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. This book brings you closer to understanding God's kingdom and is entirely fun!
   
   Thank God for good books!