The Writing Life
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
Luke 21:1–4, New American Standard Bible
So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?”
Romans 8:12–5, The Message
Morning workouts seem to have turned into times of processing and self-directed, gospel-centered counseling. A few weeks ago I wondered, What if I can’t do this [support raising]?
God’s Spirit answered, You can’t. That’s the whole point. I want you to depend on Me, and Me alone.
This week, the question took a different form. My brain asked, How can I pay people back?
What if I can’t do this?
The thought hit mid-workout the other morning. I jerked to a halt, almost like I’d been physically assaulted.
What if I can’t do this? What if I can’t raise the necessary support for the residency? What if I can’t do this?
When you have type 1 diabetes, you don’t risk the supply chain, your access to insulin, test strips, constant glucose monitors, insulin pump supplies, glucagon, et cetera, et cetera. You play it safe. If a new job opportunity comes up, you don’t ask if it’s a good career move; you ask about health insurance. This is the normal state of affairs. People with type 1 diabetes rarely risk their health, their lives, on startups, freelancing, or mission work.
[Read more…] about How Can You Pursue a Support-Based Residency when You Have Type 1 Diabetes?
I attended support(er) raising training two weeks ago. (Two weeks? That sounds about right. Life’s been a blur since then with support meetings, odd jobs, and one-ff projects.) Since then, I’ve talked with a couple of people about the residency. One of them asked if I’d write a blog post about the program, sharing why I’m pursuing a residency, what the residency entails, and how people can partner with me.
[Read more…] about Why I’m Pursuing an Austin Stone Institute Residency & How People Can Help