Slivers of Glory

A New Journey...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:36:00 +0000

It has been a long time! I actually forgot I started blogging, but like a faint fragrance on the wind I was reminded and feel a prompting to place my thoughts down. There is a sense of new beginnings in our home, and I hope to capture some of that here. Not because I believe it's important for anyone to read, but it is important for me own.

So...here's to a new journey with an old friend...

100 Day Journey - Week 3

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:48:00 +0000

"The longest journey of any person is the journey inward." - Dag Hammarskjold

Week 3 of the 100 Day Journey began yesterday. So far it has been different from my expectations. My journey has begun with a deeper awareness of myself as well as God. I don't think I've been self-focused, but I'm simply becoming much more self-aware. Aware of the tension inside to remove God from the center of my life and place myself in His place. Aware of just how deeply I can hurt others, especially those close to me. Aware of how much life I have to give, and how deep the joy is when I give it away. Aware of how long the journey to "Christlikeness" is, and how much every step is worth it. Aware that "Christ in me" is the deepest part of my reality, and my only hope to find the joy and peace my soul longs for. Aware that there is much beauty in the world that is waiting to be recognized and ackowledeged. Aware that there is much pain in the world that needs to be recognized and acknowledged. Aware that neutrality is not an option.

-- Posted from my iPod

Gary Moon Quote…

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:00:00 +0000

“Saints are just like you and I—except they have determined to live their lives so close to God that it makes the devil too nervous to follow.”

Gary Moon, Falling For God

100 Day Journey - Day 8...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:30:00 +0000

So far this journey has taken some interesting turns. As I begin a new week I am pulled to the reality of the condition of my heart. Alan Hirsh and Micheal Frost point out that biblicaly the heart is the source of emotion, will, loyalty, and commitment. While it makes sence that this the place to start I am finding that it is also easy to confuse the heart and the head. Thinking about or on God is good, engaging God with my heart is transformational. Part of spiritual maturity is learning to discern between the two.

"lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi" - how we worship reflects what we believe and determines how we will live. Seeking "God only" isn't something I want to study, it is a prayer for my life and the lives of my family. God please grant me the courage and perseverence to engage you with my whole heart.

-- Posted from my iPod

100 Days - Who I am...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:23:00 +0000

New
Emancipated
White

Child of God
Redeemed
Elect
Awake
Thought of
Indwelt
On mission
Needy

-- Posted from my iPod

100 Days - What He has done...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Didn't have much time to reflect today while at the AACC conference...hopefully more tomorrow.

-- Posted from my iPod

100 Days - Who I Was...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:01:00 +0000

Dead
Empty
Passive
Retched
Alone
Vile
Exiled
Desperate

-- Posted from my iPod

100 Day Journey – Who He Is…

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Yesterday I began my 100 Day Journey with broad reflection on the five movement “rhythm” of…Who God is, Who I was, What He’s done, Who I am, and Who He is in me. Each day for the rest of the week I’m sitting with one of the movements to evaluate the current condition and direction of my heart and let God redeem and realign my heart, making “God Only” a deeper reality of my life.

Today’s pause is on “Who He is”. I have to admit even as I type those words I chuckle. The infinite size and scope of “Who God is” is humbling; and reckoning how little of my life is guided by the reality of who He is feels shameful. I carry His name, but do I bear His image? But see even that question reveals a fatal flaw…it’s not about me! I start with Him and sit with Him alone. There will be a time to reflect on the impact of who He is on me, but not now. Sounds easy, but the praxis of it is less than “natural”. As I ponder where to even begin I feel drawn to Job 38-42. As God’s words to Job become His words to me I feel Job’s response become my own…“My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”

So I begin today grateful for new “eyes to see”, and hopeful that transformed seeing will translate into transformed living.

A 100 Day Journey…

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:32:00 +0000

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

We are surrounded by the presence of God, though if we are honest…most of us go through our day unaware of Him at best, and feeling abandoned by Him at worst. C. S. Lewis said, “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.” Yet even in our redeemed state, we are often a distracted people. The busyness and chaos of life rob us of the comfort and power of knowing He is near.

What if there was a way to quiet our hearts and hear His voice? What would happen in and through us if we became a people that lived so that our focus and concern in every situation and relationship was “God Only”? We as a church body at FBCK are going on a journey. Over the next 100 Days it is our hope and desire to become a people of “reflective movement”, seeking to live continually aware of His presence and attentive to His invitation to join Him in His activity in the world around us. A people that live with a daily “rhythm” that empowers us to connect to the divine amidst the everyday. A “rhythm” that counters the chaos and disorder in our lives and creates space for us to become more aware of the nearness of God. In discussing a particular type of rhythm called a “rule of life”, Adele Calhoun says…

“A rule for life is a simple statement of the regular rhythms we choose in order to present our bodies to God as our “spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1). Each rule, or rhythm, is a way we partner with God for the transformation only he can bring. Rules keep our lives from devolving into unintended chaos. They aren’t a burdensome list of do’s and don’ts, enumerating everything you might do in a day. Life-giving rules are a brief and realistic scaffold of disciplines that support your hearts desire to grow in loving God and others.”

As we become accustomed to the rhythm it fades into the background and we are free to enjoy His presence, hear His voice, and know His heart in any situation and circumstance. Over the next 100 days we are seeking to develop a rhythm of worship. That rhythm is:

Who He is — Who I was — What He’s done —
Who I am — Who He is in me

Over the next week we our journey will pause each day on one movement in this rhythm. I am hoping to blog along the way to share thoughts and stirrings from the journey.

Soul Work (pt1)

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:42:00 +0000

“Your plight is your redemption.”

Dan Allender

This phrase stopped me cold Saturday evening, and has gripped me ever since. That seems to be a reoccurring event these days…simple truths fitting into slots invisible and unlocking doors long sealed. As the key turns and the portal opens there is a painful wave of remembrance as to why it was sealed in the first place. Hurt, disappointment, shame, fear, rage and other unspokens filling the air like dense smoke, making it hard to breathe. As my soul gasps for air after the initial shock there is deafening silence…a vacuum created by the absence of an answer to the question left unasked, yet relentlessly binding like iron bands around my chest. The boy in me wants to turn and run, but something holds me still. Not maliciously, but purposefully. A voice whispers, “Wait, don’t run, this is only the beginning.” And that’s where I find myself today…waiting in a dark room I hoped to never enter again. Exposed…and…expectant…

to be continued…

Proof…

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:31:00 +0000

“The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief.”

T.S. Eliot

“Faith without works is dead”

James

I’ve had the realization this week that I make things way to complicated. Less talk, more walk…

Watch your word count…

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:31:00 +0000

“Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God for God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.”

King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

I’m teaching this Sunday. We are walking through the book of Ecclesiastes and I’m teaching on chapter 5. I’ve been looking at the words above all week and I’m amazed at how little I seek to listen in God’s presence. The art/discipline of silence is counter to just about everything else in my world, and I feel the impact of it’s absence. Adele Calhoun in her excellent book “Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us” says regarding silence…

“In quietness we often notice things we would rather not notice or feel. Pockets of sadness or anger or loneliness or impatience begin to surface. Our own outer agenda looms larger than our desire to be with God in silence.”

I’m not sure where this finds you today, but I know there is a deep place that stirs as I think about being in God’s presence empty-handed and silent. I’ve realized that I presume a lot, and in those presumptions often miss God’s heart. Yet there is also a hope…a hope that if I’ll be still and silent, He will move and speak.

God’s Big Picture…

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:42:00 +0000

God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible is a simple and accessible book that provides a great framework for grasping the greater story of the Bible. It’s basically a primer on Biblical Theology, the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing Himself to humanity. This subject was new to me, but has already been helpful in personal study, reminding me to not miss “the forest for the trees”. The authors establish the paradigm of an overarching “kingdom” story that permeates all of Scripture. This serves as a key to unlock the smaller stories of men like Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul as well as my own. Viewing through the lens of a larger narrative to help discern the implications for my own has been refreshing and deeply insightful. It has also rekindled a passion to view life missionally. As you begin to hear the whispers of this ancient story and find God’s invitation to join Him in even the most mundane of life’s moments life seems deeper and more beautiful even in the midst of brokenness.

If your looking for something to help kick-start your devotional journey in 2009…I’d recommend checking out God’s Big Picture.

Rebirth...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:44:00 +0000

Last night Tracie and I spent time talking about our hopes for the coming year. She asked for a word that described my desires and dreams for the next year. Now when you really think about it...that's a HUGE question! To try and look forward and sum up that much time in a single word is tough, I can barely think ahead to the next 24 hours. Yet as soon as she asked, a word came...rebirth. Her question immediately after was, "what do you mean?" to which I replied "I don't know." I didn't know why I spoke that word, I just knew it came from a deep place and is true to what I am both feeling now and long for over the next year...rebirth.

So I got up this morning with the fragrance of that word still fresh in my soul...rebirth. In Christian circles that word is spoken often, but I'm not convince it is truly experienced to the depths that God intends. If I'm honest that is my observation of my own life. I know the word, but feel more like a "new manager" than a "new creation". By that I mean I spend more time doing old things in new ways rather than living as a new person from a new heart toward a new destination. Yet even as I type that hope swells in places still unexplored in my soul...and that feels good. This morning rather than anxiety about the future, I feel humility and gratitude for the present. I am thankful for both the work Christ has done, and has planned for the next chapter in our lives.

How about you...what is your "word?"

Limitations

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:59:00 +0000

"Sometimes the limitations you are willing to accept establish the boundaries of your existence."

- Erwin McManus, "Wide Awake"

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

—Mark Twain

Picked up Erwin's new book "Wide Awake" recently and once again have been blown away. I forget how inspiring his writings are for me. His ability to speak to the human spirit in a way that challenges and encourages is amazing...and comes in perfect timing in my life. Sometimes I need to be reminded that often limits are self-defined and created.

I woke this morning viewing life through the bars of circumstance and time, then remembered that Christ has freed me to embrace eternity today. As I reflect on this reality fear gives way to hope, and courage wells up to live from faith for love.

Power of Mystery

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:23:00 +0000

"We have long emphasized preaching the truth and have usually defined truth as biblical facts that can be ingested and defended. We forget that facts do not produce life, only the mystery of godliness can do that. The key question of vitality is not 'Do you have the facts of the faith?' but ' Are you in touch with the mystery that empowers them?'"

- Calvin Miller, Into the Depths of God

The mess we find ourselves in...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:23:00 +0000

This Sunday I'm teaching from Jonah 2 and the study has had a significant impact on me. Almost the whole chapter is made up of Jonah's prayer to God from the "belly of the whale". It's actually a beautiful psalm/prayer of someone who is the middle of suffering the consequences of their idolatry and turning in desperation to the only place they know to turn...God. In many ways Jonah is the anti-missional prophet. I've learned a lot from his story, and unfortunately see a lot of myself in it as well.

Jonah's prayer is not for deliverance from trials, suffering, or persecution, but from the consequences of his poor decisions and his running from God. Something this passage has made painfully clear to me is I am NOT like God! God's pursuit of Jonah in the midst of his open rebellion is humbling and convicting. I would've given up, but God is relentless in His pursuit of Jonah and limitless in His grace once He has him. As I transfer that into my own life I'm humbled by God's reach through time and circumstance to rescue me; and convicted of my judgement of who else God should extend His mercy to. Callousness, prejudice, self-righteousness, and hate are ugly in all their forms...even if they wearing a W.W.J.D. bracelet.

Examen (05.03.08)

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:46:00 +0000

Examen - the practice of discerning the voice and activity of God within the flow of the day. The practice is simply to ask yourself two questions and then reflect on your answers asking God to reveal His presence and guidance.

This week's questions are:

Where do I see the pain loneliness in others? How can I be an expression of love in those places?
Where did I experience loneliness? Why and what does it reveal about my connection to Christ?

Quote for Thought...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:40:00 +0000

"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for, and deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love."

- Mother Teresa

Examen (04.24.08)

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:03:00 +0000

This week's questions are:

In what relationship do I feel the most relational connection? Why?
In what relationship do I feel the most relational disconnect? Why?

Examen (04.14.08)

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:39:00 +0000

This week's questions are:

What was the most beautiful/inspirational experience of my day?
What was the most painful experience of my day?

Caught Between Two Worlds

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:04:00 +0000

We, our local church body…Fellowship Bible Church, began walking through the book of Ephesians on Sunday mornings last August. There is so much life-sustaining truth that is rich and deep but is still practical and applicable to my daily life.

We are finishing up with Paul’s explanation of the spiritual battle we find ourselves in. This is always such a fascinating subject to study. I also just finished Ted Dekker’s new book Adam that is a cross between Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist (it’s a great book). The book includes a discussion between Ted Dekker and John Eldredge about spiritual warfare that was also really good. In that discussion, John Eldredge makes this comment…

“There is something in human nature that just doesn’t want to face the reality that we live in two worlds. We live in the physical, material world where we have jobs, read books, and go about our business. And we live in a spiritual world—and that is a world at war.”

I was reflecting on these words and found myself asking …“Why is it our nature to deny the spiritual world?” I came up with two reasons in my own life.

First, we live in a physical world. A world measured by the five senses where, according to secular humanism, science is the ultimate authority on what is real. In our daily maneuvering through this physical world topics like spiritual warfare simply don’t fit. Yet, when we are still and quite, there is a voice in us that whispers “there is more.” We can’t touch it, we can’t taste it, but if we are honest with ourselves not only do we hope there is more, we need there to be more! One of the glories of being human is that this physical place is not our only reality and to deny this is to be sub-human.

Secondly, to acknowledge there is more puts us in a much more dependent position than we like to admit. If our struggles really are not with flesh and blood but with an unseen enemy we need help. We can’t do this alone, and no matter how hard we fight to order our physical world, there is a huge part of our lives that is beyond us. What is interesting is that this realization is part of what makes the Gospel “good news”! We are dependent, whether we admit it or not, and we have the help we need. Though we may be physically alone, we are never abandoned! Once again, our dependence is a trait of our humanity and once embraced a source of limitless joy.

So, as with most things, it comes down to a crisis of belief. What is the final authority in our lives? What defines reality? Make no mistake…a decision must be made. Either we will seek to define reality ourselves, or we will submit to the one who spoke the worlds into existence. The choice is ours.

Examen (04.08.08)

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:23:00 +0000

This week's questions are:

In the last 24 hours, what has captured my minds attention?
In the last 24 hours, what has captured my hearts affections?

The LORD is holy

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:22:00 +0000

Exalt the LORD our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the LORD our God is holy!
Psalm 99:9

I read Psalm 99 last night with our kids as we settled in to go to bed. After they drifted to sleep I continued to ponder the closing verse and realized how easy it is for me to forget this simple truth...God is HOLY! In a world of bumper stickers and one line cliche's I've lost the eternal significance of this simple three word statement. I know it on a subconscious level, realize I rarely bring to the surface so that it colors the world around me. As I've continued to keep this truth at the front of my mind I've found my sense of gratitude growing. I see the reality that the compliment to "God is holy" is "I am not!" To realize the gulf that separates our very essence, and the intention and sacrifice God displays in crossing that gulf by filling it with Himself...I'm honestly left speechless. All that rises is "thank you", then again...maybe that's all He's wanted to hear.

Dental Theology...

noreply@blogger.com (Ted Ancelet) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:47:00 +0000

Okay...so I went to the dentist today for a filling. No matter how you package it, not something you exactly look forward to. I had a short, but insightful conversation with the dental hygienist about the similarities between dentistry and ministry that has stayed with me.

As a pastor, particularly a pastor trying to live and lead missionally, there was something in this exchanged that moved me. I honestly believe that God has not only rescued us from Hell, but from living for ourselves (i.e. Hell on earth). Fundamental to our calling is participation with God in His redemption of His creation for His glory. Living outside of this gives us "life-cavities", places where excess and self-indulgence causes rot and decay. It's never fun to find out you have a cavity, but denying you have one is even worse...it's stupid! Decay doesn't fix itself, it has to be cleaned out and replaced. The dentist's role is to find the decay and replace it before it get to the nerve and does real damage. There is decay in the church...I find it in myself. We've forgotten our role as ambassador's for the gospel of peace. We've been called to participate in the answer, not merely point out there's a problem. As much as I hate to admit it, there is still a lot of "me" that needs to "decrease so He can increase". It's painful, but I'm thankful for the grace to see it.

Things must change. I'm not sure what that means fully, but I'm grateful God does and that His persistence is greater than my resistance.