“The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I spent an embarrassing portion of my life standing in the same spot at Target one afternoon.
There were two photos I wanted framed in the family room: Hubby and me strolling on a beach before we morphed into sleep-deprived parents and two cherub faced boys under five who made it worth it.
Domestic diva I’m not, so my right brain was fried numb trying to figure out the style, size and color. Once that decision tree was solved, I proceeded to scan the espresso stained wood pieces with laser intensity to make sure the frames that ended up in my shopping basket had the fewest scratches.
I wanted my photographed memories to be picture perfect, decoratively trimmed.
As the cashier scanned the items, ringing me up, she haphazardly banged them against each other.
She shoved the frames into the plastic bags, while I traded in my ideals for a dose of reality.
I was at a department store, but God taught me this lesson much closer to home.
I had to chuck my idealistic mindset about Christian community — when I found myself sitting at a large round table, heads down and hands folded at a very peculiar prayer meeting…
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…To read the rest of my story and see what happened next – click here and jump over to DaySpring’s (In)Courage website, where today’s post is published.
Share a comment there – I’d love your company!
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THANK YOU & REMINDER TO JOIN THIS THURSDAY!
I would like to stop and give a big shout out to everyone who blogged and commented on our first Faith Barista Jam last Thursday!
The topic was Unexpected Encouragement. 27 of you linked up and over 30 of you chose to add your voices by directly commenting on the topic!
Thank you for keeping it real. Blew me away. You all served up faith that is fresh and hot! Click here for some incredible reading (people linked up & commented at the bottom of the post).
We have another Faith Barista Jam Thurs tomorrow. Come join in!
Tomorrow’s 9/23 Topic: “Letting Go Of Worry”.
Publish a post tomorrow on the topic of “Letting Go of Worry” and link up at the end of my Thursday post. Or you can simply write your thoughts in the comments section.
Have your blog post ready
or comment directly
on the topic —
“Letting Go Of Worry.”
Join the Faith Barista Jam &
*Keep Faith Fresh*
Click here to get the skinny on how to join the Faith Barista Jam! See you!
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5 Comments
Of course it does, because community forces us to be real. It makes us open up . If are part of a functioning body of believers, it is difficult to hide.
I must admit, that if I wasn’t a believer, I would still be attracted to church and small groups just for the friendships.
I find ‘community’ a lot easier now that I am older and have learned in the Lord to accept myself and others as flawed but loved intensly. I asked God to help me see others and myself through His eyes…..what I saw broke my heart and put a smile on my face and I have never had a serious struggle loving past personal insult or offense again….so much easier to get over the faux pas of a flawed group when God’s eyes see them redeemed, redeemable and calls them family, and when one is compelled to desire to encourage others out from behind the masks that were once believed necessary. Practicing unconditional love and genuine concern that the scripture teaches us is necessary and is truly freeing. I enjoyed your article today on (in)courage posting….thanks….Lila
glad to have found you here… i will be visiting more frequently. i find community hard too.. but am learning that vulnerability is a gift of the spirit. thank you for this, friend.
.-= in the hush of the moon´s last blog ..be still and know =-.
Hey Bonnie! Just wanted to let you know that I commented over @ (In)Courage…and I’m excited for the Faith Jam tomorrow! 🙂
.-= Melissa Brotherton´s last blog ..Watch What You Say =-.
Bonnie,
When I read chapter one of “Life Together” in the spring of 2008, it burned me to ashes. My expectations of people were far from healthy. Around the same time, I had a 10-minute church-hallway conversation with a dear woman named Shirley (a counselor by profession). She helped me tremendously with some practical advice on pursuing relationships.
Thanks for your voice in the community, Bonnie.
Monica