The Banzai Chronicles

We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. So deep are our necessities, that until we are in heaven we must not cease to pray. Dost thou want nothing? Then, I fear thou dost not know thy poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? Then, may the Lord's mercy show thee thy misery! A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian.

—Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (2 January, Morning: "The Need for Prayer")

One of the rhythms of my life is that, no matter what else happens, Sunday pulls me outside myself, into a world of others and (when I am not so stiff-necked as to miss it) the presence of God. That's a grace. Though I'd say I'm good at maintaining perspective on most things, there are bits of my story that swallow me up when I spend too much time looking into the abyss. I need to wake up from the dreams where I am falling, and Sunday usually does just that.

Hopefully on the tail end of being a bit sick, something I probably could have shaken off with a little effort. Brooding and wallowing aren't good for the immune system.

Looking forward to 2005, another year I never thought I'd write on a check (and I haven't yet). Not much thought to resolutions; my resolve hasn't been so strong of late. Regardless, it's a good thing to live intentionally rather than by default, so maybe it's worth some consideration.