So…I’m venturing into the world of blogging. I am a bit nervous about it, I can tell you. I’m mostly interested here in tossing some initial thoughts out to take the first step or two.
To begin, here is a selection from Frank Laubach’s book, Letters by a modern mystic: excerpts from letters written to his father (2007).
“Home from a wonderful hour with God in the sunset. Oh, those colors, those awful piles of clouds, those misty mysteries, those silent changes across the sky. If one could only forget oneself entirely and enjoy the universe—but some of us are too selfish to wipe ourselves out of the picture.” (p. 46).
“….those awful piles of clouds, those misty mysteries, those silent changes across the sky…”
Oh my.
Such illustrative language. So evocative. I can imagine, almost feel and smell, a dusking, a darkening, a closing of one tiny chapter, one short day, in that reclining sun.
Frank Laubach was a Christian evangelical missionary in the Philippines, beginning his work there in 1915. Known now for his adult literacy work, he developed a way to help people learn to read their own language and also to teach others. The program, called “Each One Teach One” has helped over one hundred million people learn to read.
He kept “a diary of a man’s walk with God” (p. iii), as his son described it, over the years. His intent and experiment became one of “filling every minute full of the thought of God…” (p. 2). His “Letters” tell his story.
I am on a journey. You are on a journey. We will not finish where we intended to go, though we may go further than we originally envisioned if we stay the course. Perhaps wiping “ourselves out of the picture” for just a bit, then more, and to then evermore will take us there.
P.S. – this Profound Bartender project is an opportunity to work with one of the most creative people I know. My brother. I’m pretty pumped about doing this with him. We’ll see where it goes, but it should be fun.
OK, first one down…
Laubach, F. C. (2007). Letters by a modern mystic: excerpts from letters written to his father. Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications.
The Profound Bartender 