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Receptivity and Offering: The good versus the perfect

Lynne Baab • Friday January 7 2022

In 2022, I am offering to God my willingness to purse good rather than perfect. I am asking God to help me receive love and acceptance so I can embrace the messiness of the journey of good.

These thoughts were precipitated by a podcast I listened to recently by Rob Bell, an author, speaker and former pastor of a rapidly growing church in Michigan. (If you want to listen to the podcast, the material on good versus perfect begins at 9 minutes 20 seconds.)

Bell begins the podcast by talking about the creation story in Genesis 1, noting that the rhythm of each...

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Receptivity and Offering: Welcoming God's transformation

Lynne Baab • Friday December 31 2021

I first read the prophet Malachi in my early 20s. When I got to chapter 3, I was stunned by the parallels with some of the events of Jesus’ ministry: John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus, and Jesus enters the Temple and drives out the money-changers and the people selling animals.

The first two verses of Malachi 2 seem to foretell those events: “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says...

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Receptivity and Offering: Preparing for Christmas

Lynne Baab • Wednesday December 22 2021

If you’re like me, the Christmas season will involve some conversations – in person, online, or on the phone – with people who might be challenging. The section I wrote on receptivity for my book on listening seems particularly relevant for holidays:

Being receptive requires a kind of holy curiosity that enables us to wonder what God is doing in a situation before – and after – we arrive. Being receptive helps us slow down a bit and pay attention to what’s already happening in the lives of the people we encounter, their thoughts, feelings, concerns, passions, and desires.

Love motivates us to...

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First post in a new series: Receptivity and offering

Lynne Baab • Friday December 17 2021

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what exactly we offer to God. After all, so much of our relationship with God involves us receiving gifts from God: life, breath, relationships, love, strength, comfort, forgiveness, intimacy with God, and much more. Obviously we are called to offer thanks for all that, but what else do we offer? Our very lives? Yes, of course. However, it is often hard to figure out exactly what that looks like in real life. Maybe the way to do it is to offer parts of ourselves to God at different times. Or maybe we offer our...

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