Draw the Circle - Day 1 - Get Ready

In Caesarea, there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. - Acts 10:1-2

Rereading the intro again. I can't stress how important it is that we do this together.  Mark Batterson confessed that he had never taken his church though a season of corporate prayer and I feel the same longing.  He also shared how it transformed his church.  It can do the same for us!

When I first read the book, The Circle Maker, I sensed God calling me to schedule bi-weekly prayer walks to support this series and challenge. in addition to our gathering on Sunday mornings - a given, I want to invite you to join me on Saturday, June 8 in the EES parking lot  (Not sure, but Chris might be offering some "prayer runs" as well.)

I also envision us in times of daily prayer.  In order for that to happen, I need and you will need to set up a daily appointment with God.  A time not to be interrupted by any other pressing need - because prayer is the most pressing need.  Mornings are best (or right before bed if you are a night person).  Most likely something will have to give way - sleep? television? morning paper?  But I can't encourage you enough to put this prayer time on your calendar and do not interrupt it - even if it feels awkward at first.  Priority One.

And I see this blog as our way to stay connected when we cannot meet together.  To encourage one another to stick with it.  Do you need this?  I do! Please comment!  Hearing cricket's chirp on this site will cause me to waver.  Hold me up, will you?  Everyday at 7:14 a.m. expect a new entry.

God is calling me into a daily divine appointment with Him so he can set up some divine  appointments with others throughout my day.  While I have may have doubts about the quality, quantity  and content of my prayer life - I do not doubt this.  Prayer is essential for all of us - like breathing.

I've already mentioned us taking a road trip to National Community Church (in Washington, DC) during this series.  This can give us a taste of what could be if our prayer life is transformed and we align to God's work and will.

Finally, we will probably also need to host a concert of prayer - a vigil - an extended time of prayer.  If you are interested or intrigued, let me know.  I could use your help in planning and prepping.  Any takers?

Cornelius prayed regularly.  A Gentile (non-Jew) without benefit of the Holy Spirit was consistent in his petitions to God.  Peter, a Jew, while praying received a special revelation from God - a revelation that knocked down barriers to Cornelius and his family coming to Christ.  What visions does God want to give us?  They will only be given when bathed in prayer.  Regular prayer.

I am energized by the possibilities of Viners abiding in the Vine - bearing fruit.

Draw the Circle - Introduction

An Experiment in Praying Circles around our Fears and Dreams

"Go home. Lock yourself in your room. Kneel down in the middle of the floor, and with a piece of chalk draw a circle around yourself.  There, on your knees, pray fervently and brokenly that God would start a revival within that chalk circle." - Rodney "Gypsy" Smith

Welcome to Draw the Circle - The Vine's 40 Day Prayer Challenge.  As I start this forty (one) day prayer challenge with you, I've come to the conclusion that i don't want this space to be a regurgitation of the devotional we are reading together.  Mark Batterson, the writer of Draw the Circle, does an excellent job of telling the story and weaving in the miraculous - and it's apparent to me that I would be foolish to try to duplicate his work or improve upon it.

Instead, I want to use this space to share my doubts, my wrestlings, my breakthroughs and (hopefully) victories - in the small hope that it will inspire you to do the same.  And that we would find encouragement in one another's losses and victories.  Honesty and authenticity - in a public forum.

But being honest and transparent is also scary.  To be honest, I don't have Mark Batterson's faith. I think too much causing too many doubts. His history and life experiences are not mine.  I read his stuff and go "yea, but . . ."  

So my first thought is - it's gonna take all forty days.  Not because I don't believe in prayer and the power of prayer and a God who answers - I do believe (help my unbelief!).  But that I've always come from a place that says, God has already given me all that I need in the person on Jesus Christ - how could I ever ask for more?  One of my life theme songs is "You Don't Owe Me Nothing" by Steve Taylor (oh yeah - dating myself).  I have an allergic reaction to the prosperity gospel and ST was speaking to this.

Even as I was reading the introduction to the devotional, I started having doubts.  Mark's making some pretty outlandish statements about prayer and God's readiness to answer that have me thinking what have I gotten myself and my church into!?!

My great fear in this exercise is that i would discourage you - you've put me on a pedestal that I have no business being on and are flummoxed by my climbing down from it and baring my soul.  Let's not go there!

But my greatest hope is the opposite - that we are encouraged together to grow our faith and our prayer lives in whatever measure we can.  Shared successes should bolster us all.

So my first prayer is simply to be open and to begin to ask God for the "big stuff" that would bless my family and The Vine.  This is an experiment.   That's what we say the Vine is about - trying new things until we find the sweet spot.

I want to be someone who prays regularly and fervently- to see God work beyond my wildest dreams and visions.  Let's see that happen together.

Now where did I put that chalk . . . .

Overcome Evil with Good.

I just read the story of the heroic rescue of Jeff Bauman - the young man who lost both legs below the knees at the tragedy in Boston. On Monday, I had viewed the iconic picture of a man in a cowboy hat helping get an injured young man to an ambulance and today, I was glad to learn the story behind the picture.  Here's the full story from the New York Times . . .

In Grisly Image, a Father Sees a Son

In the article, the man in the cowboy hat is identified as Carlos Arredondo - the man who saved Jeff's life.  In the immediate aftermath of the bomb, Carlos raced to the devastation, put out a fire on Jeff's clothing then applied tourniquets to Jeff's badly damaged limbs.  Without that selfless act, Jeff would not have survived.

Amazingly, I also thought I had heard Carlo' name before in another photo and a quick online search turned up another photo from that day . . .

And that story has to do with Carlos losing his own son, Lance Cpl. Alexander S. Arredondo, a marine killed in Iraq in 2004. Since his son's death, Carlos has traveled around the country with a coffin in the back of his pickup truck, a coffin filled with mementos of his son that came with a "burden" to never let his son be forgotten. I would have missed that story, also from the New York Times written in 2007, had I missed clicking on the link of his name. Here's that story . . .

A Father With a Coffin, Telling of War’s Grim Toll

And now the stories are connected.  And I begin to tear up.  Carlos made sure that another father did not lose his son.

In Romans 12:21, Paul wrote that Christ followers should "not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good."  These were the words that were echoing in my mind all day yesterday as men and women ran to the bomb area rather than away from it.  There was far more good than evil that happened on April 15.  In that alone, the bomber or bombers failed.

Overcome evil with good.

On April 15, 2013 Carlos Arredondo lived this out and we were fortunate to have his story captured in those photographs.  And I pray that if Mr. Arredondo has not already found peace in the years after that first New York Times article,  in this heroic moment, he does find that his life rescued from the flames has purpose and meaning -- that the greatest memorial to his son is the living Jeff Bauman.

The man in the cowboy hat who lost a son, on Monday, saved a son.  There is redemption in this.