Wild in love
mood: 
loved
loved—Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (18 July, "The Mystery of Believing")
"Backing away from the recreating power of His redemption." That nailed me.
It's been a good morning, full of quiet that only comes early. Got more sleep than I have been on Saturday nights (or most nights) so that's a pretty huge blessing. I fight so hard against the few baby steps of discipline that would really bring me life: going to bed a bit earlier, leaving the television off more, eating a little less and a little more healthily, reading more often, being intentional about spending time with friends. It's encouraging to know there's not one of those things I can't do today.
The best thing about the quiet is His presence there. I sat and prayed at the bus stop, knowing that He was with me, listening, guiding, comforting, loving. I can live wildly in love. I'm free to do that, if only I will.
Today, I will.
I think one of the larger changes in my faith in the last few years is an increasing ability to see our Lord in the city, rather than the city as a force opposing Him. Seattle used to strike me as a particularly godless, faithless town; our city worships many masters, but rarely does it seem to follow Him.
For years, it seemed that Jesus lived in His Cathedral, and in the churches, but was difficult to find otherwise.
It's only relatively recently that I've begun to see Him everywhere . . . in the trees, in the streets, in the people around me, in the poor in the alleys, out the window of the bus...
bah, I'm not wording this as well as I'd like to, since I'm really tired today. But I hope the idea comes across. Seattle's a better place for it.
Two questions: (1) Which church? and (2) What approaches are you taking?
My church (St. James Cathedral) tries to do a lot of this through ministry--through the winter shelter, through the community kitchen, through many varied missions to our downtown/First Hill/Central District population. (Some of them are pretty standard, like running a kitchen and a shelter; some of them are ones I'm not as familiar with, such as a fund that gives no-interest loans and grants to people who are in shelters and can afford rent, but can't afford first and last rent / deposit / etc.; it gives them deposit and such so that they can get into actual homes.)
Beyond that, it's also just trying to live the best we can and to try and make our area a better place in everything we do.