The Ragamuffin Gospel

The days are melting away and we have less then two weeks until our 30 hour bus ride to the very north tip of Chile. I am really looking ahead with a lot of excitement and anxiousness as well. We really have no idea what to expect! Myself and another girl from Germany will be the translators for these 10 weeks which also brings some mixed emotions but I am really looking forward to the challenge. It has been wonderful having this experience in leadership for Aaron and I. We have learned so much as a couple and in our journey with Christ. At times it is not so easy but through everything we are catching a deeper glimpse of God's faithfulness.

Recently, I have been reading through a book by Brennan Manning called "The Ragamuffin Gospel." It's not that new of a book, it actually came out like 15 years ago but his ideas and concepts are so beautiful and simple. I am personally being really blessed and challenged by it and am seeing grace in a new way. Through reading it I am constantly thinking, "Yes! this is what it is about!" It is definitely on my list of recommendations so if you haven't read it, I would encourage you to! Here is one of my favorite parts and a little something to wet the appetite...

"If we maintain the open-mindedness of children, we challenge fixed ideas and established structures, including our own. We listen to people in other denominations and religions. We don't find demons in those with whom we disagree. We don't cozy up to people who mouth our jargon. If we are open, we rarely resort to either/or-either creation or evolution, liberty or law, sacred or secular, Beethoven or Madonna. We focus on both/and, fully aware that God's truth cannot be imprisoned in a small definition. Of course the open mind does not accept everything indiscriminately- marxism and capitalism, Christianity and atheism, love and lust, Moet Chandon and vinegar. It does not absord all proportions equally like a sponge, nor is it as soft. But the open mind realizes that reality, truth, and Jesus Christ are incredibly open-ended."

Beautiful.

Well, lately I've also been practicing my photography when I have some spare time so here are a few shots I've taken around Pichilemu. Enjoy!