Comments on Decompressing Faith: Promise of a New Day

Welcome, PW. Read away!

2009-05-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome, PW. Read away!

Looking forward to reading your journey.

2009-05-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to reading your journey.

Thanks Beth, I'm pretty surprised, because there h...

2009-04-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks Beth, I'm pretty surprised, because there hasn't been that much traffic here lately. But then, I haven't been posting, so maybe that's it :)

I know there are millions of other spiritual bloggers out there whom I don't know...but it strikes me as odd that most of who I DO know have slowed down all at the same time. I wonder if we have just learned so much in the last few years that we have to take time to process it? That's what's up with me, anyhow.

33 comments is a lot! So much for that assumption....

2009-04-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

33 comments is a lot! So much for that assumption...

And so...what are your thoughts??

Donna - The way you embrace change inspires me! Yo...

2009-04-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Donna - The way you embrace change inspires me! You are a blessing to so many people's lives.

Gary, I have enjoyed sharing this journey with you...

2009-04-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

Gary, I have enjoyed sharing this journey with you. So many of these relationships where someone "gets" where we're at makes the whole thing easier. I'm excited for your new venture and hope it becomes what you imagine. Most of my faith community is online too, and I hope maybe one day I'll be able to invest in something "real".

I would have gone mad if it wasn't for the interne...

2009-04-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

I would have gone mad if it wasn't for the internet, Sue. This is just a damned hard thing to get through alone, and thinking I was the only one was so very hard, until I found the "community". These relationships are so valuable to me.

LOL I love changes in seasons, especially when it's winter to spring!

I get it, Nate, really I do. I used you as an exam...

2009-04-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

I get it, Nate, really I do. I used you as an example because the season has changed for you, and you're going with it. I'm proud of you for following that and not trying to keep a tight grip on something good when you're led to let go.

That said, I'm hoping you're around more often than not. Selfish, I know. :)

Mike, you are dealing with some very real transiti...

2009-04-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Mike, you are dealing with some very real transitions right now, and I would expect your online presence would change, at least for awhile. Take your time, because while some things we need to process out loud, other things have to be sorted out more privately.

I don't know about the US being harder hit than Au...

2009-04-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know about the US being harder hit than Australia, Sue...maybe. But yes, it's like a birth...everything is changing right now. It's a weird feeling.

I do think there is something cyclical about it, J...

2009-04-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

I do think there is something cyclical about it, Jeff. I used to post every day...for 3 years I averaged a post per day, now it's less than once per week. But I think that's OK. I don't think we should post air just because we feel we should.

I agree that we just have to "hold on loosely, but don't let go"...which is what I'm trying to do.

This excites me for you...said from your friend wh...

2009-04-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

This excites me for you...said from your friend who loves change & new horizons!!!

Sue had a very interesting comment, "Isn't it stra...

2009-04-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Sue had a very interesting comment, "Isn't it strange, that whole phenomenon of so many people feeling like their faith collapsed around them, all at the same time." That's certainly been my experience. I have no answers as to why that might be for others. For me, it was exposure to Brian McLaren's books and then other emerging and emergent thinkers.

Back to the subject of blogging though. This may be a sad commentary on my life, but most of my Christian community is online. I visit churches, but none regularly. That's part of why a friend and I are starting a Meaningful Faith Group.

I don't read as many blogs as I used to. I don't write quite as much as I used to either. A lot of it is the busyness of life. For a while a lot of it was disillusionment, and frankly, depression.

You said, "There is still fire in our bellies, no doubt. I hear it in the conversations I have with my online "neighbors", see it in the actions they take and the struggles they face." Indeed.

I look forward to hearing what the future will bring in your life. You are an intelligent and articulate voice of reason, compassion, and hope. May God's loving presence be apparent as you explore that new territory.

Isn't it strange, that whole phenomenon of so many...

2009-04-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Isn't it strange, that whole phenomenon of so many people feeling like their faith collapsed around them, all at the same time.

Thank God for the internet. I don't think I would have got through it otherwise. To know there were other likeminded people out there, and that I wasn't going into complete and utter heretic land, it kept my faith intact in many ways.

I would like to think now that season has passed for so many people that we could all now share life with each other via our blogs.

Viva the changes in seasons :)

Hey sweetie, not gone, just not posting anymore. T...

2009-04-06T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hey sweetie, not gone, just not posting anymore.

The season that had us posting, searching, and learning from one another, was a special time. One that will be precious to me for the rest of my life. But now that we have come through that, we are being made whole from the inside, instead of needing to go and find that which will make us whole. It is a bit confusing. To have my own answers. But God has refined my faith enough that the answers are there now.

I have changed the tag line to my blog a few times. From the search to define my faith, to the belief that it would constantly change, to now the my faith is indeed defined. What a weird strange trip its been.

As with this, I will still be around. but in just a different way.

The real life bullshit sooo gets in the way. I ha...

2009-04-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

The real life bullshit sooo gets in the way. I have not been posting as much and what I have been has sometimes been pretty harsh but yet, I'll get through it the same as I always do and eventually, I'll get back on track.

Lately, I have disliked my life so much that it was totally not worth sharing and that's a lot of the reason I've been missing.

I'm not going to shut down my blogs but my time is limited

The shifting and the groaning. Yes, it does defin...

2009-04-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

The shifting and the groaning. Yes, it does definitely involve those things in transition, doesn't it. (Like birth?) That is such a good description of it. I feel like I can feel an entire country's groaning sometimes. It also feels like there is greater measure of freedom on the other side.

I'm glad you're not ditching your blog either :)

(My friend also reminded me yesterday that the financial downturn has hit the States far harder than it's hit Australia, at least at the moment. So I need to remember that when talking about this stuff too).

"Is there an antidote for thoroughly-bored-of-hear...

2009-04-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

"Is there an antidote for thoroughly-bored-of-hearing-myself-speak?"

Yes, there is. It's called "narcissism." That's what keeps me going. :) Maybe give that a try and see if it helps... {takes tongue out of cheek}

I do find it odd that so many in this makeshift community are feeling the same way...either getting busy with real life, or sometimes in a fog. And it isn't just in blogland; so many people around me are in the throes of transition, uncertain and insecure because of the inevitable change happening around them.

At times like these, I find it works best to hold everything loosely, to see where things land before making final decisions about them. And I think blogging is a part of that. So maybe we don't shut our blog down, but we don't post as frequently. Like so many others have already said here...it cycles. Heck, I'm even slowing things down a bit--I don't always post every day anymore. What's wrong with me???? ;)

Looking forward to what the new day brings to this blog...

Mary - Thanks. like change. It takes getting used ...

2009-04-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

Mary - Thanks. like change. It takes getting used to, but I do think things are changing in a lot of ways, and many are changes I'm thankful for.

I can relate. Change is in the air for a lot of p...

2009-04-04T10:06:00.001-07:00

I can relate. Change is in the air for a lot of people. I look forward to hearing what you've been thinking.

I know what you're saying about poverty, Sue. Thin...

2009-04-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

I know what you're saying about poverty, Sue. Thing is, I think that while what you say is true, there is the angle that when we are accustomed to a certain standard and are now unable to maintain it, there is a shifting, a groaning that goes on while we recalibrate our lives. This can be very emotional, I've watched people close to me go through it. It takes time to gain that appreciation for a home, food and good health, even if the other things have to be let go of. We grieve losing the things we are used to, as selfish as it may be.

But the shifting does eventually happen, and I think a lot of people are abandoning the life of excess and extravagance, the "live as well as we can" for a life of "live comfortably and give the rest away." I'm looking forward to seeing it, too.

Barbara - it takes emotional energy to write, to b...

2009-04-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

Barbara - it takes emotional energy to write, to blog. Sometimes what is going on in our lives, our homes, our jobs, drains us of that emotional energy we would normally use to write. I do think we have to make our lives a priority, because we have to live in them.

Don't ditch your blog, Sue. I'd miss you! But I kn...

2009-04-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Don't ditch your blog, Sue. I'd miss you! But I know how it is. Once or twice it has crossed my mind that maybe I'm done. But I'm gonna push through because I know deep down I'm NOT done, just in a lull.

And so if we don't have anything else to talk about, at least we can talk about not having anything to talk about! There's some reverse psychology, or something!

In some ways that is where I am right now, too. I'...

2009-04-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

In some ways that is where I am right now, too. I'm training now, and that can take up to 4 hours a day on heavy days. I have also had a strong sense of the "nothings"...nothing to say worth writing about.

Then there is always that "real life" stuff. Some seasons are better than others, some are more difficult. I know a lot of people who have been in a difficult season lately.

I suppose, Glenn, maybe there is a separating the ...

2009-04-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

I suppose, Glenn, maybe there is a separating the wheat from the chaff season. Like, so many of us have been trying to sort out so many things and maybe we can't always take on all the things we want to, so we have to search out those things that we are truly passionate about.

But then again, maybe we do also need some new stirring up.