BFB. Big, freakin', baby.

I'm on vacation this week and am catching up on a boatload of projects that fall to the wayside during my busy weeks. Why am I blogging on vacation? That's another story. The first thing on the list yesterday was to put the yard to bed for the winter. Leaves had burrowed under shrubs and the gutters needed to be blown out one more time.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to get out of the 30's yesterday---so it wasn't like I was enjoying a beautiful fall day. I'm Norwegian and I've always believed that I have a gift of being able to withstand cold temperatures. I don't like cold, but I can withstand it. The trouble is I think way too much about preparing for the weather. If I was on one of my ancestor's Viking ships, I'd be the one with the extra layer of wool.

So, having to spend a couple hours outside yesterday didn't thrill me. I threw on a base layer , a midweight fleece, then a fleece vest (gotta keep the midsection warm, you know!). I always have a beanie (the shaved dome loses way too much heat)---jeans, gloves, smartwool socks and construction boots completed the ensemble. I was ready.

You guessed it. 30 minutes into the project the vest was off and I was warm. I kind of knew that was going to happen, but what occurred next is really what I want to share about---after 35 minutes I was comfortable and happy doing the project that I had not really been looking forward to because of the weather. I was facing the weather and enjoying it. I had immersed myself in a condition and was finding that I could easily tolerate it to the point that I liked it. In fact, there was a moment when I stood on my driveway and put my face to the north wind and enjoyed the cold.

If you're new to faith or searching for something better that is beyond yourself, you're probably wondering about getting plugged into a church. It's very possible that the very reason you're not involved in church is because you were subjected to 'religion' the wrong way during your younger years, and the last thing you feel like enduring is more hypocrisy and doubletalk.

So you avoid church. Too many weirdos, too much singing, not enough singing, too many hands in the air, not enough hands in the air. You visited once and didn't find it welcoming so you didn't go back----to any of the churches you visited. It became easier to just not go. After all, do you really need church if you think you have the Lord?

Yeah, you do. And you need to subject yourself to what you think might be a little less than pleasant so you can discover that the GOOD of the church is far, far better than what you thought was the BAD of the church. Sit in the back---if you can find room. Leave right away---but come back the following week. Pretty soon you might find that sitting one section over suits you better. Then, the person you've sat in front of for two weeks taps you on the shoulder and mentions they saw you at the gym. You see that IT dude from work---he's a Christian (it makes sense, he's always patient and kind with your seemingly endless questions)---and you strike up a conversation. He mentions a class in between services you'd like and you actually go with him. You meet more people. Yeah, some are goofs---cause you're there----but it's actually pretty cool.

Y'know what you've done? You've faced the cold weather and you stood at the end of the driveway and celebrated it. It wasn't bad, it wasn't what you thought, and it added a layer on your Christian walk.

My experience was a little different----I had gone from darkness to light when I dropped to my knees---and I was hungry to get plugged in. But I'm an usher now and I see lots of folks who walk in with a slightly detached look who are praying that no one looks at or talks to them. They are beginning to stick a toe in the pool and need to just jump in to get that shock out of their system. It might take 'em a year or two, but they'll get there.

And so should you.