Greetings!
Shortly after my wife and I were married, Hurricane Isabel hit the community where we live. While our home was not completely destroyed by the storm, we did have to leave our home after the storm hit. Toxic mold had built up over long years with a wet basement and our home was declared unsafe for us to live in. Flooding rains from Isabel overwhelmed the sewage lines in our community and the overflow backed up into our basement, which only added insult to injury.
And so, three months into our marriage my new bride and I had to leave our home involuntarily and take up residence in a town home in Glen Burnie, MD until repairs on the parsonage were complete. We now look back on that time and jokingly call it our exile to Glen Burnie and while that may be a bit of an exaggeration, there is no doubt that this was a challenging time early-on in our marriage. The experience gave me at least some sense of how difficult it is to have to physically rebuild from the ground up after a storm passes.
As difficult as involuntary physical remodeling project was, I think the involuntary spiritual remodeling project I've had to embark on this year is much harder. I've built my house on the Rock [Matthew 7:24-27]: and deep within me, the foundation of what I believe about God still holds. In fact I think this foundation is precisely what has helped to keep me going in the midst of the "howling storms of life" that our family has endured in recent months.
We gave birth to twin girls a year ago May; one of the girls was very sick when she was born and only lived two days. The tragedy has obviously rocked our world; we are still processing our grief and struggling back to our feet. Even with a firm foundation, over the last year or so it has felt to me like everything above that foundation lies in ruins and I must rethink all that I thought I knew about God. In a very real sense, I must rebuild that "home" where God dwells in me, and where I connect with God from the ground up.
Click here for the full article Spiritual Home Improvement by Alan B. Ward.
Alan was a participant in our Make a Living, Have a Life groups, during which time he explored pursuing his writing avocationally, or as his "day job."
Call Questions:
Where do you call home?
Are you in the midst of Spiritual Remodeling?
Do you want to be?
What is your foundation, when storms come?
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Technology...
it's not just for kids! Join Us!
Friends, you may be used to receiving a magazine from us in the mail, or attending a retreat nearby your home. We are now trying NEW WAYS of encouraging people on their spiritual journey:
1) We post articles on our website www.lumunos.org, - continually stop by to check them out!
2) We blog weekly, and can send you a notice via email.
3) We have a Lumunos Facebook community, where we also post spiritually encouraging content. Become a Friend!
All this is in addtion to our regular events and our snail mail newsletter which we gratefully send to our event attendees and donors. C'mon! Enjoy the tech connection as well!
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Lumunos in Action
Lumunos is in action in the world! Our Fall Appeal, arriving in your mail in the next two weeks, tells 3 great stories of people following their call in the world through the programs supported by your gifts. Thank you!
Hard decisions to make in these difficult times? Look for Doug Wysockey-Johnson's new 10 Things To Do When You Are Standing at the Crossroads, included in your Fall Appeal mailing.
Give generously to keep our ministry growing.
There are 3 ways you can contribute to Lumunos:
Use the Giving Envelope in the Fall Appeal mailing, Call us at 1-800-245-7378 Give online at www.lumunos.org
Thank you for your generous support!
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 MEN WANTED!
10 good men responded to our ad, and have gathered in Bethlehem, PA to pilot the "FINDING COMMON GROUND FOR SUCCESSFUL AGING" seven week series (for men and women alike).
Building a compelling vision of successful aging through common ground in community is the vision of this series. The Elder Council of Lumunos and this group are testing out the latest version of a workbook with reflections and small group exercises for this series, which will become available for churches, retirement communities, and others in 2010.
If you are interested in knowing more about the series, contact Betsy Perry at Lumunos via email: betsy@lumunos.org or call her at 603-827-3648.
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