Today I sat with a good fresh bold cup of Mountain Bean coffee - and I read a "free chapter" from the book The Land Between: finding God in difficult transitions, by Jeff Manion. (also ordered off amazon) I first heard about this guy, when he spoke at the WillowCreek Leadership Summit which was simulcast and my daughter was there at Riverwood, and watched/listened and shared his thoughts.
So you have to go and look for yourself - and perhaps download the free chapter and order the book. www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/2010/between.asp
It hits me right where I am at. He talks about the Israelites as they left the Land of Slavery for
the Promised Land, but in between was "the land between" and Jeff Manion goes on to say that the "land between" is fertile land...Fertile for: complaints, emotional melt-downs, God's provision, God's discipline. A few lines really struck me, and I have put them here: they are from CHAPTER ONE: Welcome to the Land Between, by Jeff Manion.
"I believe that the Land Between - that space where we feel lost or lonely or deeply hurt - is fertile ground for our spiritual transformation and for God's grace to be revealed in magnificent ways. ... and while the Land Between is prime real estate for God's faith transformation, it is also the space where we can grow resentful, bitter and caustic if our responses are unguarded. The wilderness where faith can thrive is the very desert where it can dry up and die if we are not watchful.
The land between can be profoundly disorienting. It also provides the space for God to do some of his deepest work in our lives. Many seasoned spiritual advisers propose that this is the only space in which radical, transformational growth occurs. God intends for us to emerge from this land radically reshaped. But the process of transformational growth will not occur automatically. Our response to God while in the Land Between is what will determine whether our journey through this desert will result in deep, positive growth or spiritual decline.
While offering us a greenhouse for growth, the Land Between can also be a desert where our faith goes to die - if we let it. The habits of the hart that we foster in this space - our responses and reactions - will determine whether the Land Between results in spiritual life or spiritual death. We choose."
I think this is not coincidence that Ashley went and heard this guy speak...
I think it is just one more God-thing, and very timely in my life.
There are some good questions to ask myself - and I will be doing that - my journalling on this has just begun and I can hardly wait for my book to arrive from Amazon!
The Land Between.... somehow it feels like I have been in between for a long time... and I know I am not alone. O Lord, may this be the time that you transform me to become more like you. Remove the acidic soil and instead make my life more like you... O Lord... more of you, less of me!
So you have to go and look for yourself - and perhaps download the free chapter and order the book. www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/2010/between.asp
It hits me right where I am at. He talks about the Israelites as they left the Land of Slavery for
the Promised Land, but in between was "the land between" and Jeff Manion goes on to say that the "land between" is fertile land...Fertile for: complaints, emotional melt-downs, God's provision, God's discipline. A few lines really struck me, and I have put them here: they are from CHAPTER ONE: Welcome to the Land Between, by Jeff Manion.
"I believe that the Land Between - that space where we feel lost or lonely or deeply hurt - is fertile ground for our spiritual transformation and for God's grace to be revealed in magnificent ways. ... and while the Land Between is prime real estate for God's faith transformation, it is also the space where we can grow resentful, bitter and caustic if our responses are unguarded. The wilderness where faith can thrive is the very desert where it can dry up and die if we are not watchful.
The land between can be profoundly disorienting. It also provides the space for God to do some of his deepest work in our lives. Many seasoned spiritual advisers propose that this is the only space in which radical, transformational growth occurs. God intends for us to emerge from this land radically reshaped. But the process of transformational growth will not occur automatically. Our response to God while in the Land Between is what will determine whether our journey through this desert will result in deep, positive growth or spiritual decline.
While offering us a greenhouse for growth, the Land Between can also be a desert where our faith goes to die - if we let it. The habits of the hart that we foster in this space - our responses and reactions - will determine whether the Land Between results in spiritual life or spiritual death. We choose."
I think this is not coincidence that Ashley went and heard this guy speak...
I think it is just one more God-thing, and very timely in my life.
There are some good questions to ask myself - and I will be doing that - my journalling on this has just begun and I can hardly wait for my book to arrive from Amazon!
The Land Between.... somehow it feels like I have been in between for a long time... and I know I am not alone. O Lord, may this be the time that you transform me to become more like you. Remove the acidic soil and instead make my life more like you... O Lord... more of you, less of me!
there is also a posting on my other blog He Rejoices Over Me www. zephaniah3verse17.blogspot.com
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