Jon C. Swanson's Blog, page 7

Prayer and honest talking.

Martha likely owned a house in Bethany. Her sister Mary and her brother Lazarus lived with her there. We know from events a couple years later that Lazarus will die and be raised again. We know that Martha will understand who Jesus is far better than we read here. We know that she will keep hosting large groups of people.

But on this day with this house full of guests, Martha is feeling pretty frustrated. And Martha is willing to ask the person who she believes is causing the problem to fi...

On praying and talking.

“In the lovely name of our Lord Jesus.” That’s how one of our friends used to end prayer.

“Father Dear”. That’s what another friend would say instead of “Dear Father”

The way we structure our conversations with people is a reflection of the kind of relationship we have with them. The kind of relationship we want to have. The formality, the topics, the timing.

I think about the ways we talk when we do the thing we call praying in contrast to the ways we talk when we do the thing we ca...

A prayer for the sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

God.

It’s been a long week.

We know that it’s been exactly the same 168 hours that every week has, but you know that the feeling of time is different than the counting of time.

You know that minutes spent waiting for answers are longer than days spent living with the answers.

Paul talks about the hope of glory, and I think he’s talking about a confidence that comes from the certain anticipation of being with you in your glory.

We confess that we don’t have much confidence. And ...

The Barrett Clan

Rich Dixon invites us to meet some friends:

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This photo is the Barrett family on the day of the FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC.

Jon & Jennifer invited this entire group – kids, mom & dad, brother, nieces & nephews – to travel from Springfield, Missouri to join us. They ranged in age from Jon’s parents to munchkins. Everybody rode and had a blast.

Except – Jon isn’t in the picture. As I told you last time, he had to skip the ride to deal with a crisis involving women and children in the s...

Grandpa John.

I always sit on one end of the sofa. Last week, across a couple days, I ended up taking three photos of coffee cups while I was sitting in that spot. Three different photos. One with tea, one with coffee, one with decaf.

I think I took naps after two of those cups. I’m becoming a bit like my grandfather who took naps every day after lunch. He’d be out early, working. He’d eat lunch, take a nap, and go back out to work.

But he always was in to watch Walter Cronkite at 6:00 pm. Sitting...

An awareness of will.

I was asking Paul one day how to pray for other people: “What do I ask God for on behalf of other people?”

He didn’t answer. Not exactly.

But he did write a letter to a group of people that he was praying for. And he told them what he was asking; “I’m asking God to give you an awareness of his will.”

I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean, “I’m asking God to tell you what job to take.”

Or where to move or what major to take. Or what treatment to choose.

It’s asking God to help the peop...

A prayer for the 15th Sunday in ordinary time.

God.

We need rest.

Not sleep, not distraction, not medication, not relief.

We need rest.

We hear you say, Jesus, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

We long for rest, but we confess, we’re not sure we can come with our burdens.

We confess.

We confess that we are afraid that you will scold us rather than giving us rest.
We confess that we are likely to scold others for not giving us rest.
We confess that we are afraid that you will remin...

The significance of the ordinary.

So what?

What does it look like to live in this second or third or sixteen chance at life?

I think it looks pretty unspectacular, actually.

I think it looks like loving one another.

I have a friend who really really likes coffee. He has learned to make lattes.

He doesn’t like lattes, those drinks where you start with coffee in a cup and then pour milk slowly and carefully to get remarkable patterns. He learned to make them because his wife likes them. So now, when she has her m...

One Day – An Entire Year

Rich Dixon has an update.

FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC was a huge success.

It’s curious to plan an event for nearly an entire year, then it’s over in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it’s my job to keep reminding folks that the kids we support aren’t a one-day event. Their needs continue year-round.

This year, we had a reminder of the urgency of those needs. Jonathan Barrett, CEO of Project Rescue Foundation, was on his way to the airport to join us for the ride when he got a phone call. An eme...

More on a second chance.

Yesterday I said “Sometimes miracles will happen through mundane steps.”

Notice I didn’t say because of mundane steps. In the story of Naaman, there is no formula. No one else ever, as far as we read, is healed from skin disease by dipping themselves in the Jordan. Instead, the healing happened when Naaman did what Elisha said to do.

That happens around here, of course. The treatment plan is to exercise. To adjust our eating just a little. In the emergency room, I often hear physicians...