Thank Full

"Thankful"

No matter how you say it, no matter the culture in which you live,no matter what has happened in the past, no matter what is happening right now, no matter what tomorrow may bring, no matter what you've won, no matter what you've lost, no matter the condition of your health, no matter the condition of your heart, no matter where you've been, no matter where you dream of going, no matter if you have a lavish feast, no matter if you feed others, no matter if family and friends fill your home, no matter if you are walking alone. no matter what...there is always a reason to be full of thanks.

A simple word. So many ways to express. So many languages in which to say it. So many ways in which to live it. So many ways to share it. So many ways to mean it.

Express it.
Say it.
Live it.
Share it.
Mean it.

Благодарен אסיר תודה الشك Gràcies 的,感激的;欣慰的 Zahvalan Vděčný Taknemmelige Dankbaar Nagpapasalamat Kiitollinen Reconnaissant الشكر Dankbar 感謝 Bersyukur Riconoscente pateicīgs dėkingas takknemlig wdzięczny agradecido Recunoscător Благодарный Захвалан Vďačný Agradecido Hvaležen Вдячні cảm ơnm Tacksa
Write on.

B&B

Your Answer:

Your Answer:

I want you.

I do not need to hear the sound of your voice. Your heart speaks.

I want you.

I do not need you to figure out the path to take. Follow my footsteps; breathe in the intoxication of my dust.

I want you.

I do not need you to understand each other. Like within the forest, I will whisper

Amongst you; when the bark of your lives rub up against each other it will fill me fragrant song.

I want you.

I do not need you to teach my words to each other. Let the letters, sounds and

pictures dance and play and embrace you; then they will feel, know and keep

dancing.

I want you.

I do not need you to judge each other in my name. I Am.

I want you.

I do not need you to do everything you think you need to keep doing to make things better, stronger, faster, holier. In your weariness you miss the quiet should of my love. The lullaby of my waiting arms. The pillow of my heart.

I want you.

I do not need you for anything.

I want for you everything.

My Question:

SixPack

No, not a confession about a drinking problem or bribe to get more people to fill out the survey. Actually, it is to thank the six people who have completed the blog survey so far. So, to that Six Pack, my humble thanks and I toast you for your time and thoughts. To the rest of you, you know who you are, no...I am not going to try and guilt you into taking the 15 minutes to answer the very short survey. Just going to sayI really need at least 15 to get a strong cross section. So, if you can it is greatley apprecated. And if not, I defer to the great sage and prophet, Don Henley, in his song "Wedding Day" when he says, "To want waht I ahve, and take what I'm given with grace...."

As an aside...I want to share an INsight I had during a conversation with a good friend, mentor, coach and partner in wave making - TJ Addington, http://www.leadingfromthesandbox.blogspot.com/ . We were talking about his new book, it's working title having the phrase Intentional Leadership. OK, I agree with this idea, intention, intentionality or any other version...and candidly, I am exhausted by its use. Sort of like branding. Or quality. Or relationship. After a time, even the best new word/descriptor/trigger of thought become the latest fad or trend. So, being a word-a-holic I have what feels like intentional 2.0: deliberate.

de-lib-er-ate

adjective

1.	carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional: a deliberate lie.

2.	characterized by deliberation; careful or slow in deciding: a deliberate decision.

3.	leisurely and steady in movement or action; slow and even; unhurried: a deliberate step.

verb (used with object)

4.	to weigh in the mind; consider: to deliberate a question.

verb (used without object)

5.	to think carefully or attentively; reflect: She deliberated for a long time before giving her decision.

6.	to consult or confer formally: The jury deliberated for three hours.

in-ten-tion-al

–adjective

1.	done with intention or on purpose; intended: an intentional insult.

2.	of or pertaining to intention or purpose.

3.	Metaphysics. a. pertaining to an appearance, phenomenon, or representation in the mind; phenomenal; representational. b. pertaining to the capacity of the mind to refer to an existent or nonexistent object. c. pointing beyond itself, as consciousness or a sign.

So, when you compare the two definitions it sure feels to me that "deliberate" has more action and context and solidity and focus and impact than "intentional." Right, I see the reference to "intentional" in the first definition, but then it feels like a more hands-on and grasped impact than the definition for "intentional." So...why all this hyperbole for these two words? Seems to me that when God called Abraham outside to look up at the stars to support His covenant of children for generations to come He "deliberately" called him outside the tent. "Do it right now, Abe!" What about Moses standing in front of the burning bush. As if that was not enough to convince curl his beard, God "deliberately" tells him to take off his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground. "Do it now, Mo!" And we can go on; Nehemiah, Joshua, Paul, Steve Carrell (Evan Almighty)....

So, agree? Disagree? Let me know.

Typing your response? WELL, THAT MEANS YOU COULD HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED MY SURVEY!! Gotcha! 9 more out there??

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228HJHXFBBU

Write (survey) on.

B&B

"Survey says...."

I know you are very excited to have this chance to....control yourself...hold the gleeful cheers...stop jumping up and down like that so you don;t hurt yourself...yes, that's right: a survey. Ah, but wait, this is a first. For me.

After having visited and read my book blog (and have even accepted messages from Bentley), you know that there are more than a few issues I have, and continue, to deal with along my messy path. Needless to say, it is not easy to lay myself out there and ask you what you think about these last four months of posts. Let alone what I will have to struggle at my next session with Jim if no one chooses to answer these 15 questions (actually, fewer if you only answer the multiple choice questions).

So, is there one of you out there? If so, here's link:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228HJHXFBBU

Me and Jim thank you...OK Bentley too.

Wrote on.

Brian

P.S. I will keep the post open this week (wishing, wishing) and let you know what the one response revealed.

"I'm dragging my feet."

Right. I know I said I was going to quickly post a survey link to get your input and support for continuing this blog in a "new and improved" model. And,(or as some who know me might say I say... "comma, and")it's not so easy! Plus, I was a bit distracted by my amazing time in D.C. this entire week; great meeting with the Wild Goose Man himself, Mark Batterson: http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Goose-Chase-Adventure-Pursuing/dp/1590527194 , being in our nation's capital for this historic moment in history, working with my amazingly creative team of magazine designers and generally letting the moments wash over me. The net-net: it's coming VERY soon!

To make sure that your effort to read this was not in vain (c'mon, admit it -- it was on the email and it didn't numb any of your "clicking" fingers)I am sharing the following quote from Mark's book, Wild Goose Chase that I feel was encouragement and reinforcement as to why I started this blog and what "Writing INbetween is all about.

"Few things are as disorienting as in-between times - between jobs, between relationships, or between a rock and a hard place. But nothing rattles the cage like a bad diagnosis, a pink slip, or divorce papers. They cause the compass needle to spin.And we feel lost because our plans and our lives fall apart. But the upside is that it causes us to seek God with a raw intensity that cannot be manufactured any other way. Disorientation has a way of driving us to our knees. And that is why the bad things that happen to us can actually turn into the best things that happen to us."

I take this as a God wink, reminding me that it is in between the extremes of life that faith resides.

Where are you right now? My wish for you: partner and celebrate with the ambiguities as they weave in and out of every moment.

Write on.

Brian

ONE word more...

The morning after the vote. The first day of the next four years. Just one day in. Here’s ONE thing to think about for all of us who wonder and hope about what’s next for our country…for our world...for this time...for all time.

On the Journey To Becoming a Peacemaker
written by ALBERT LEWIS

(Rabbi Lewis has written this reflection using only one-syllable words. It is an old discipline, intended to be simple but not simplistic.)

What if God were to speak to us now; to give us a fresh look at what's real, true, and the core of our world? Might God say, "Be just, be kind, care, share, give, take, love, laugh, cry, feel the pain, and dance in the time of joy"? And what would we hear? Would it be what we want to hear, or what was said? Could we each hear in our own way? Must we all be of the same mind? Must the one who hears at twelve feet fight with the one who hears at twelve yards? Will the black one and the white one and the child of the land all know God in the same way? And if not, will they then fight?

What if God said, "I grant you a gift: a world full of peace, health, and food for all. I give you a time, now, when each may sit by his vine and by her fig tree and none will cause you fear"? Would we heed the words? If God came to each of us in a dream, would we hold the dream in our hearts and souls, or would we cast it off as just a dream? What would it take to look deep within, where we live and know truth, and there to find the one God, who cries for us and waits and hopes and says, "I am here. Do not fear. Live, love, talk, and walk hand in hand with me. Let no child learn war anymore, but let each bring what is right and just in his home and in her land!"

Write on.

Who I voted for...

The inescapably annoying ads are done. The speeches promising everything, but committing to nothing are done. The one-liners are done. The debates where no one answers the questions asked are done. The attacks on character are done. The blogs of arguments, party-centric rage, humor, disgust, fear and general ambivalence are done. The incessant broadcast coverages are (almost) done. I'm done; I voted. And I cast my vote for...well, hold that thought for a moment.

I have the good fortune of sitting at this moment in Union Station, Washington D.C. I had a meeting this morning next door to the SEC and Federal Judiciary Building. No, I was not giving my messy perspective on the lousy sitcom manner in which the economic meltdown situation is being handled. I met with an amazing pastor, author, entrepreneur, leader, father and evolving friend and co-Kingdom conspirator; Mark Batterson. OK, here's a must read plug -- Right now get a copy of his two books -- In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day and his newest book, Wild Goose Chase. He is a gifted dreamer, doer, goer, leader and communicator. After another of our series of "Whoa, this was a powerful and igniting meeting!" I told him I wanted to walk the Capitol area. He grinned, paused and pointed ahead and said, "Just walk that all the way down one side of the Mall, then up the other. You'll pass...everything."

Washington D.C. Election Day 2008. November 4, the trees looking like God spilled the remaining buckets of autumn's paints on this city. Change. Ending. Beginning.

OK, so here's how I cast my vote. I voted for:
Hope
Inclusion
Caring
Touching
Holding
Reconciliation
Listening
Hearing
Knowing
Perspective
Margin
Patience
Discernment
Humility
Favor
Grace
Faith
Freedom
The right to agree
The right to disagree
The right to vote
The right not to vote
Republicans
Democrats
Independents
Children with families
Children without families
The hopeful
The hopeless
The found
The lost
Muslims
Jews
Hindis
Atheists
Agnostics
Christians
For the Christians other Christians think are not really Christians
I voted for me.
I voted for you.


Read John 21:1-14.
Cast your vote on the other side.
Expereince the miracle.

C'mon. Join the party.