Dreams Unlocked

Sophia looking very smart. Spiritual direction sounds weird. When I first heard the term, and the corresponding "spiritual director", I had images of dowsing rods and sanitized horoscope readers. But, Eugene Peterson said that EVERY pastor needs a spiritual director if they expect to survive ministry. Considering the source, I decided to take him up on it. I started to see a spiritual director in North Vancouver. I discovered him through the Henri Nouwen society of Canada. Our first visit was in a JJ Beans. We hit it off right away. He was cool and funny... and most importantly he wasn't weird. So, we started to meet once a month - sometimes in his home and sometimes at the church he attends. Once we met in a cramped church library. The first meeting in his home, I remember I was talking non-stop. I finally paused, and asked "Is this ok?" He nodded that all was well, and I was welcome to continue. Now, this betrayed a truth to me, as I reflect back on it. The t

I enjoy reading to my kids. Last year, I tried reading The Hobbit to Adam (age 6). We got about halfway through it, and I could tell he was losing interest. So Tolkien was shelved for C.S. Lewis. We started with The Magician's Nephew, which was good - but didn't contain as much adventure to capture a young boy's attention. We still finished it. We have now been reading the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Adam has engaged with this book so much, that he now claims it his favorite. Last night we read the section where Aslan is killed, after negotiating his life with the White Witch, in order to spare the life of Edmund. Adam was stunned that Aslan would do that, especially since Edmund had been so bad earlier in the story. He also couldn't figure out why Aslan just didn't kill the witch and all her followers, and make everything ok. I spent the next 10 minutes explaining that this was his plan. For some reason Aslan chooses to sacrifice his life for the life of Edmund.