“FATHER-SON-HOLY SPIRIT-INTIMATE-ONENESS-UPTOWN-FUNK-YOU-UP-UPTOWN-FUNK-YOU-UP-SWEET-BEATS-SOUL-STIRRING-JAMS” pumping my heart pistons!"

Impression 1 – He finishes the message by repeating the phrase – “You are included. You are included. You are included.” This phrase, “you are included,” for me, as I consider our training, rings synonymous (sort of) with the phrase “you are befriended.”  In our training, the very first, what I would call “official”, paragraph begins with the sentence “First, our job is to simply befriend them.”  With our training in mind, as the sermon ended, I kept hearing in my head with the zing-pap of “FATHER-SON-HOLY SPIRIT-INTIMATE-ONENESS-UPTOWN-FUNK-YOU-UP-UPTOWN-FUNK-YOU-UP-SWEET-BEATS-SOUL-STIRRING-JAMS” pumping my heart pistons – Ok. Start of over. As the sermon ended, I kept hearing – “You are befriended. You are befriended. You are befriended.”  I found myself riveted by the astounding wonder that the Father-Son-Spirit per karisis dance of beauty and power drives our training’s first invitation to our staff – BEFRIEND.

Impression 2 – He speaks at length on the idea that “no person exists on their own.” He uses oxygen and food as examples that “we are constantly taking in from outside of ourselves.”  He expands the taking to relationships, saying we are “constantly relating to others” and in a “profound sense others are making their way inside of us and we are making our way inside them.”  He ties this need for intimacy with others to our most fundamental need to be alive in the life and love of the trinity.  Put another way in the message, Christ’s desire is that our need for relationship and/or relating point us to our fundamental need to live in and be alive in the oneness of the triune God of love.” These thoughts that I’ve labeled as impression 2 add depth, power, spiritual perspective to the second sentence in what I call our first official paragraph of the Ultra packet which is, “Everyone needs genuine friendships.”

These two impressions and their ties to the Super Ultra Packet definitely flipped on the excitement and enthusiasm switches for Barney training next weekend.  I felt very fortunate to hear from Darrell this week about the inestimable depth, breadth, & mystery that surrounds the simple mission of befriending folks who need genuine friendship.

On the prayer front – the gal who hurt her arm when I was blogging last week needed emergency surgery. Felt like a long summer season night last Friday  at Lodi Memorial sitting with her dad into the wee hours of the morning.   After she returned home to L.A. they decided to have a follow up surgery with a children’s specialist.  That surgery finished yesterday.  The second surgery created a lot more pain than the first one so she’s pretty bummed right now. Thanks for your ongoing prayers for this little one.