"We are made to be in ecstatic union with God and with others... and with creation... We experience loneliness when we are not in ecstatic union with God and with others and with the world... We experience this [loneliness] at every level in our being: spiritually, in our thirst for God; aesthetically, in our thirst for beauty; psychologically, in our desire for love and unity with others; emotionally, in our desire to feel a oneness with others and with all things; intellectually, in our thirst for experience and truth; and physically, in our sexual tensions." -- Ronald Rolheiser, "The Restless Heart"

Isaac and I went to Waffle House to drink coffee and study. We talked about Ecclesiastes. Its message: "The world is $@#%ed up. Fear God and keep His commandments."

There is nothing like sipping chai tea and studying Genesis in the coffee shop. Kudos go to my friend Nate, the supervisor, who through on some Straylight Run "just for me." As I study Genesis, I am captivated at the numerous stories. Captivated with the stories of broken people being used by God, people who screw up all the time, people who suffer doubts and character flaws. Anyone who thinks the patriarchs are saints needs to actually pick up Genesis and read it. A simple reading will blow all such ideas clear out of the lake. Of all the Genesis stories, the slaughter at Shechem in chapter 34 is my favorite. It's just so chillingly epic.

So sings Straylight Run: "Big shot screaming, put your hands in the sky; he says, 'Give it up, boy, give it up or you're gonna die. You'll get a bullet in the back of the neck, in the back of the neck right between the eyes.'" This is terrible advice. Never give up. I want to die with a few scars. Live adventurously. Relish the moment. Take chances. Make life worth living--we all end up dead anyway.

What blessings has God given me, and how can I use them to glorify Him?