Camping in the Suburbs

It's been a lovely spring in Dallas. Due to allergies in the household, sleeping with the windows open is not an option, but nights like this (especially when you know how fleeting and rare these nights will be, possibly as soon as next week) make me seek out options for soaking it in. We have a porch that faces west and for much of the year is not a place you care to spend much time. But tonight is different, and since I have the lucky family genes that permit opening windows, I will open them wide to get a cross-breeze and I'll probably end up sleeping there for what I call "pretend camping." I get the benefits of camping, the cool air, the croaking frogs, and the silky feel of the sleeping bag, but I also have the advantage of household amenities such as an alarm clock, screens to keep away bugs and critters, and a nearby bathroom. I can also go "camping" any night of the week; I don't have to wait for the weekend or take off from work and I don't have to pitch a tent! It's camping in the suburbs! To me it's a win-win situation!

We have a friend that is camping for REAL in the hill country of Texas this week. There will be so many stars that it will be hard to find the constellations within the magnitude of the night sky. He will experience wild life scurrying through his campsite and marvel at the flowers that are native to that area. In the past he has befriended the camp rangers who seek out his company and as a partner in dominoes. He'll sit in silence so powerful that stones will be heard.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, We try to simulate your world in our world. We try to duplicate the experience without living the experience. We try to contain your miracles and make them fit our comforts and our pleasures. Help us to discern the difference between authenticity and plagiarism. Do not let us settle for make-shift relationships, provisional evangelism, and crude spirituality. None of these are native to your kingdom. You offered a model of righteous living in human form through Jesus. If we must try to duplicate your creations, then let us encounter a phenomenon in our lives that sets down our own comforts to hold up another's needs. Let us strive to acknowledge your dominion and yield to a practice of living in full acceptance of your authority. O God, it may take a miracle. Amen.