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RED LIKE BLOOD

The website for the book is up and running. There are 11 new blog posts from me and another 11 from my co-author Bob Bevington. I think you will really like the way Bob thinks and writes. I will be blogging on the Red Like Blood website from now on so if you want to continue to get the blog I would encourage you to subscribe to it. Eventually I will come back to Coffey Talk but for now I will be focusing on redlikeblood. The blog of Red Like Blood is designed to be participatory so let us know what you think. Thanks for reading this blog, my hope is you'll like the new one too.

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Big News!

Hey everyone, I have news. It's not huge but it is something. I wrote a book. Actually I co-wrote a book with my good friend Bob Bevington. We had both read the book Blue Like Jazz and thought it was a great read but didn't talk about grace or the cross enough. Since the Gospel is the only thing with the power to change the human heart we decided to title our book Red Like Blood. The whole title was originally Grace Pouring Over Brokenness Always Flows Red Like Blood. A little too long but still a kicking title. It comes out in April and will be titled Red Like Blood with a subtitle of Confrontations With Grace. I like that too. Both titles fit the book because we believe grace is like a liquid in that it flows. Here is an excerpt along those lines,
"Grace is more of a liquid than a solid. I think most of us know that intrinsically which is why we say that grace flows. Solids are more passive. You can put something solid on a table and it will just sit there until you come back and move it. But a liquid is different. A liquid needs to be contained or it will run all over the place. Liquids are not passive. I had a small leak in a pipe in the upstairs of my house. Water made it all the way to my basement and by the time I noticed it was emerging in multiple places. In fact, there was no telling where the water had gone and what path it had taken. If there was even the tiniest opening the water slid through and kept going. Such is the nature of liquid. Grace is more liquid than solid. Once it is unleashed there is no telling how far it will go or where it will end up."
I love talking about grace. The subtitle Confrontations With Grace speaks to the violent nature of grace. If grace is a liquid than it needs a crack to get in. There is a brokenness that comes before grace. This book is full of stories of grace and brokenness. I think it is a fun read and I think it may help people really understand the nature of the most wonderful thing in the world. Next week I will be directing everyone on Coffeytalk to the Redlikeblood website to get my blog. I hope you don't mind. I think you will love the website if you have enjoyed the blog. That's my big news. As soon as the website is ready I will let you know. Until then, may grace flow into every crack of your cracked up life and may grace do the same in mine.

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The Rhythm of Life

The other day my wife was busy taking down all of our Christmas decorations. I was working on the first sermon of 2011 which is always about casting a vision for the year ahead. There is a definite rhythm of life and it is one of the great gifts from God. There is also something very deep about this rhythm. We had a wonderful Christmas season. My daughter and her husband were able to come up for nearly 2 weeks. We had 4, count 'em 4 generations under the same roof for some of that time. My mom and dad, myself and Karen, my daughter Rachel and her son Liam. It was a very sweet time. And as Karen takes down the decorations there is a certain sadness that sweeps over the house. The sweetness lingers but with it a certain longing. I sit with a yellow pad thinking about the year ahead for the year ahead stretches out like a snow covered field without a single mark as yet. It is a year pregnant with potential. Who knows what gifts or what challenges are ahead? And that is the rhythm. One door closes and another opens. If only the decorations came down the world would be too sad. If all was vision ahead then what sweetness would there be. Marv Weber, long time church member and friend, walked out into his garage on the last day of 2010. He had a heart attack and passed away on the floor of his garage. A door closed. Marv opened his eyes before the first day of 2011 in paradise. A sweetness lingers for he was loved by many here. But something new and fresh opened up for Marv and that field stretches out for all eternity. It is the rhythm of life. It is more than that. It is the rhythm of God Himself. And as I stand at the cusp of a new year it makes me profoundly thankful. Enjoy the beat of the year. God is the one who provides the rhythm you live by so be thankful.

Rest

I don't think Americans are particularly good at rest...at least I'm not. I recognize that a solid work ethic is a good thing and I am thankful for that but as I get older I have found it more and more difficult to actually rest. What is interesting is that I long for rest and I know I need rest and yet it still seems elusive. I remember when I was in kindergarten we used to have to rest. We would all roll our mats out on the floor and lie down. Here we are at the holidays. This is a time where most of us have at least some time off to spend with families and rest. If you are like me you have been looking forward to it. And now we are here. Are you resting? Here at Christmas it seems we have created quite a few musts. Here at the Coffey house we must have a Christmas tree. We must have presents and a scavenger hunt to find the presents. We must have a family feast on Christmas afternoon. I love these musts. I think we should add another. We must rest. I think we should have Christmas mats with little trees and wreaths and pictures of tiny little mangers. I think at a certain time each day during the entire holiday period we should roll them out on the floor and have a mandatory rest. I think Jesus would like that. I have been thinking about the verse, "Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am gentle and meek and you will find rest for your souls." Rest is one of the things God knew we needed so when he sent Jesus he made it part of salvation itself. This Christmas go ahead and enjoy the wonder and mystery of the incarnation. Enjoy all the musts your family does. Eat the feast. And don't forget to rest. God loves you. He sent his Son. The heavy lifting is over. The price has already been paid for you. Roll out your mat and rest and worship with your eyes closed and your heart open.

Jose

My wife and I were married while we were in college. We had many of the same classes so while we saw plenty of each other we were pretty far below the poverty line. One night we decided to go to a concert on campus. The singer was Randy Stonehill. At one point in the concert Randy started talking about Compassion International. Compassion International supports impoverished children around the world. Karen and I were both touched and decided to support a child. His name was Jose Martinez and he was 2 years old. We taped his picture on our refrigerator and reworked our budget and began to send $30.00 per month to Compassion to help little Jose. We would receive letters with crayon drawings and updates regarding how Jose was doing in school. Each year we would replace the photograph on the refrigerator as Jose got older. In 1985 we went to Bolivia, South America for a 6 month stint and had the chance to meet Jose and his mother. We took some pictures and talked through a translator. In 1995 we received word from Compassion that Jose was old enough to matriculate out of the program and our obligation had run its course. For the last 15 years whenever I have heard about Compassion International I have thought about little Jose. Last week I received an email from Jose Martinez asking if I was his "godfather" who had supported he and his mother throughout his childhood. He said he had been on our website and compared the picture of me to the photo he still had from 1985 and he was sure we were one and the same. Jose is living in Spain now and wanted to get back in touch and tell me what a difference we made in his life. Little Jose Martinez had made his way out of terrible poverty, was now living in Spain, has access to a computer and is savvy enough to find me after all these years. When Karen and I decided to sign up for Compassion we didn't have any idea where we would get the money. God touched our hearts and we responded. Now 30 years later we can't think of a single thing we missed from giving $30.00 a month. Sometimes you never know the difference you make in someone's life. And then every once in a while God gives you a little glimpse and it makes every little thing worth it. May God give you glimpses of the miracles you have participated in and may it humble you and give you great joy this Christmas season.

The Gift of God- OH-IO

I am learning to like the weather in Ohio more and more. Sometimes I think we are disrespectful to God in the way we talk about the weather. There is a beauty in every season and every day of every season. The snow has been falling in heaps and the other morning I was out early shoveling. There must have been about 8 inches on my walkway. My breath came out in plumes of mist. It was just me and my shovel and snow and it was still falling gently on my shoulders. A car passed by and I looked up. It went by quieter than a car should. The snow had fallen and covered the earth like a blanket and like a blanket deadens the sounds around so the whole earth had become more quiet. I stood and stretched my back and let the quiet sink into my soul. My world is full of noise. God knows it is too much noise so this day here in northeastern Ohio he sent me silence and pushed me outside so I could hear it. I realize winter has just begun and I may feel differently in early April but I think we should all be careful. The God of the universe made northeastern Ohio and he allows us to live here. When he finished creating Ohio I think he stepped back and said it was good. Each season of the year laden with gifts for us. Winter has just begun, that is true. The gifts of this season are just beginning as well. Listen and look, smell and touch, for the King of Kings created it all and put you here. Your joy and noticing the gifts he has given gives him joy. Joy to the world, the Lord is come.