What’s going on with me?

March 20, 2008

I’ve been a bit lazy with posting, as of late. So, I want to provide a bit of an update of what’s going on. As these things continue to develop, they may possibly provide some material for more posts. Exciting.

Projects

I have several projects that will be happening over the next few months. Currently, a new site is being created for Revolution Atlanta. Hopefully, it will continue to go well. A few other projects are also in the works, and more details will be coming about some of them.

Also, I’m finally making progress (very slow progress, albeit) on creating a design concept for this website. Yes, this blog. I know I said I might have it designed by early 2008, and I also know that “early 2008” is almost over. So, let’s shoot for mid 2008, and see what happens. I feel very happy about the general direction things are proceeding with this design.

Issues of the spirit

Recently, I mentioned on this blog that God has been working with me concerning the issue of prayer. He has faithfully brought it to my attention, over and over again. Recently, I finished reading The Great Omission by Dallas Willard.

It is an amazing book, and through it, especially, I feel like I am beginning to see a bit of the bigger picture of what is being said to me. The book covers the kind of authentic discipleship that is typically missing from the Western church, which is essentially the kind of discipleship that Jesus had in mind for his followers. We in the Western church have entirely skipped a lot of it in favor of things that are easier and less powerful.

As he examines this kind of discipleship, Dallas Willard brings together the teachings of Jesus on how to follow him. He looks at various spiritual disciplines; how they can influence a life to authentically experience and grow in the experience of God.

The hardest, and thus probably the most relevant, issue for me to learn about was the issue of solitude and silence. Learning to practice the presence of God by spending time away from other things.

I’m not any good at this. I see the deep relationship that it has to new monasticism, especially, and other parts of emerging things that God is doing in the world. I see the deep, paradoxical relationship that it has to spiritual community.

Interestingly, as I work on a website that I hope will express who I am to the fullest extent possible, I am also beginning to see the relationship that this kind of authentic spiritual experience, leading through silence and solitude to prayer and awareness of God, has to art and creativity and design. I’m beginning to see that, the more I get of this, the better a designer I will be.

That’s not at all to say that the best designers have to care about spiritual things, or that they would be better designers if they did. But it is to say that I, personally, will be a better designer if I can better integrate my life, and better learn to slow it down and be more aware of spiritual things.

I’ve been reluctant to post these thoughts, as they’re still a bit murky. I’ve had many of these thoughts for years, but I feel as though they are beginning to work together in ways that they may not have in the past, and that leads me to believe that it’s worth posting them.