An experiment: Intro to this whole blogging thing

Hello family and friends. This summer has been one filled with a lot of talks with those close to and a lot of self-reflection. In this process, it became apparent that I needed a way to process my daily thoughts. After some thinking about how to do this, I started thinking about starting a blog. As my favorite writer (and the author of the only blog I read or “follow”) Don Miller says "I write blogs, misspellings and all, as a way of journaling through ideas.” (You can read his blog here: http://donmilleris.com/ I promise you it is far better than mine. For me, I’m too much of a perfectionist to let too many misspellings go by, but over the next several months I will be trying out the whole blog idea as a way of reflecting on all that I’m learning about and some of my thoughts. I’ll try to post different thinks once or twice a week (along with the occasional Youtube gold for my fellow fans out there). Some of the posts will serious and some will be less so. For you all who are reading this please read as many or as few of what I post as you want. This experiment is primarily as a way to get my thoughts on paper and I’m humbled if you find what I write interesting or entertaining. I’d love to read any comments you have about what I post. I think that’d keep things a little more interesting.

The “title” of my blog comes from the name of one of my favorite songs, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2. (Check this out if you haven't heard it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSv-lKwOQvE) If you didn’t know, U2 has long been one of my favorite bands. This song has always carried great weight for me because of its brilliant lyrics and killer instrumentation. I feel the song speaks of the struggle and longing that we all have...the desire to be whole. We go through our lives searching for something, anything to make us feel whole, to appease the deep inner desires of our hearts to be healed from the heart and saved from the suffering that is all too common in this Fallen world. My favorite part of the song is the third verse, when Bono sings

“I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes I'm still running

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it”

These lines so poetically capture what I believe is the answer to these longings of our hearts: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was him who carried the cross of our shame, loosing the chains and breaking the bonds of sin that entrapped our lives. Jesus’ Kingdom is coming through his death on the cross and triumph over death. As Jesus’ Kingdom continues to be ushered in, the transforming work of the Gospel breaks down all the barriers that separate us (all the colors bleed into one). Pain and suffering still are so present on this earth as we work to bring Jesus’ Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven and wait for his second coming, when the picture painted in Revelation 21 will become a reality. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (21:4-5 NIV). So in the midst of the tough times and pain and disappointment of life, run to Jesus, the one all of our hearts are looking for.

Miles