Jon C. Swanson's Blog, page 40

Accountability

Rich Dixon and the team are riding tomorrow as part of supporting the kids.

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Whenever I write about justice, the same question arises.

“Setting things right sounds good, but what about the traffickers? Don’t they need to be held accountable?”

When people break the law, society ought to hold them accountable. Due to corruption, wealth, or political power, many traffickers operate with impunity. Society ought to change that. Society ought to hold traffickers accountable whenever...

Building Walls, Riding Bikes

Rich Dixon is getting ready to ride this weekend!

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Last time, Jon said I read Nehemiah.

A secret? I think I learn more from Jon’s conversations with Nehemiah. Anyway, last Thursday Jon listed the final two steps in Nehemiah’s preparation to rebuild the walls.

4. A specific plan of how to proceed.

5. A commitment to act on the plan.

Let’s talk through this related to our approach to the first FREEDOM TOUR. Perhaps we’ll all learn something about how to approach our own Gr...

A prayer for the tenth Sunday in ordinary time

God.

We often want a king.

We tell you we want a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles.

We tell you that you are nice, but we can’t see you.

And because we can’t see you, we aren’t sure how much we can trust you.

So we want someone we can see.

A king. An influencer. A broker. A fixer. A physician. A hero.

We want more than you.

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That’s really hard to admit.

Today, help us, please, to see with your eyes, not our own.

Help us to understa...

Invest in each other

I’m an old guy. I’ve known many of my friends for a very long time.

I’ve discovered that what makes friendships work is simply spending time with each other.

Years.

I’ve known one of my friends for 22 years. We enjoy seeing live music together. Our wives usually do not care for the kind of live music we love.

It’s too loud. We enjoy standing close to the stage. They don’t.

Our wives kindly release us to see music occasionally because they know we need that time together.

An...

A Simple Idea

Rich Dixon reads Nehemiah, too.

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We had our team. 7 cyclists, 2 volunteers, Becky, and me.

We had 3 months to figure out a route, learn how to transport bikes, design jerseys, plan meals, and find host churches. Perhaps the biggest blessing was that we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

I’m thinking about Jon’s conversations with Nehemiah, about the million important details and the obstacles he encountered while rebuilding the walls.

But Nehemiah distilled everything into a s...

A bit of a break.

I’m taking a break from my break.

We just finished the first three chapters of  A Great Work: A Conversation with Nehemiah for People (Who Want to Be) Doing Great Works. The next two weeks, Rich and Paul are taking care of two days each week. And I don’t want to break up the Nehemiah readings for your sake and for mine.

Because I’m tired.

We’ve had some really sad deaths at the hospital recently. I’ve been working a bit extra. I’m teaching a bit. And I’m doing some preliminary work...

Preparing for the work (part four)

Last week, we looked at Nehemiah’s preparation for his work Part one Part two Part three. Today, we finish reviewing his process.

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4. A specific plan of how to proceed.

Okay, now life gets more complicated. The planning phase can overwhelm the project. But Nehemiah has worked out the details. So when the king asks questions, Nehemiah has clear answers.

I will need a leave of absence from work, so here’s how long I need.We will need permission as we travel, so give me lett...

A prayer for the ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

God.

We need your light to shine in our hearts.

Like Paul said.

We are hard pressed on every side.

Like Paul said. 

We are perplexed.

Like Paul said.

At times we do despair and think we’re crushed and feel abandoned.

Unlike Paul said.

Today, we proclaim what we don’t always feel, that you know us inside out.

We whisper in the darkness, like Samuel did, “Speak for your servant hears.”

We stand in the crowd at your direction, Jesus, with our withered hand and he...

Justice For Our Kids

Rich Dixon writes at this blog every Wednesday. It’s not Wednesday, but I asked him to talk to us a bit about the Front Range Freedom Tour project that Rich and Becky lead every year. And so he did.

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What does justice for the kids at the Home of HOPE look like in Jesus’ eyes?

I think it looks different than society’s version of justice. I think it’s not about rules and punishment and holding people accountable.

When Jesus talks about justice, He’s talking about “setting things...

Preparing for the work (part three)

Let’s take a look at the other four parts of Nehemiah’s plan.

2. A simple confidence that God was involved from the start.

This may be the hardest truth for many of us. We don’t know whether God is talking to us. We aren’t sure whether an idea is from God or from our own imagination or from somewhere else. We don’t understand how God gives ideas.

So, let’s look at the story from the first two chapters of Nehemiah’s memoir:

Nehemiah’s brother brings him news.Nehemiah spends t...