Happy New Year 2008!!

I don't know about you, but I don't really have many "resolutions" this year, other than the general resolution to keep getting better, to try each day to do more of the things I know I should and less of the things I know I shouldn't. There are always little helps along the way, things that appear as if out of nowhere ... books recommended by dear friends, the inspired turns of phrase that grab you during a sermon. There are several that have popped up lately, and I want to share the best with you:

1) Anne Lamott ... read anything -- she provides beautiful new ways to think about faith and life and community and friendship, and the comfort of sharing her journey and showing us that there's at least one other person out there as screwed up and confused as we are.

2) Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles (thanks again RP) - an amazing story of conversion and incarnation -- how to become the words of Christ to a world in need.

3) Greg Boyd, author and Senior Pastor of Woodland Hills Church in Minnesota -- in June 2007, Christian Ethics Today hosted a conference on "The Minister and Politics" in Washington, D.C. You can get a DVD of the 4 main speakers, Jim Wallis, Melissa Rogers, Greg Boyd and Tony Campolo. They were all thought-provoking, but Gred Boyd's radical call to living the Christian life grabbed hold and hasn't let go. If you can, order a copy of the DVD. The proceeds go to support the work of Christian Ethics Today and publication of their journal. If not, Greg has a blog, where you can read his thoughts and reflections on a number of different issues. He's a compelling speaker and a "very smart man" (to quote my Dad...)

I hope 2008 is an inspiring time of change and renewal for all of you, and for our world.