Transient Meeting - Rivendell Gathering

(Click title above for more info on this week's meeting time & location)

During February-April, Rivendell Gathering is trying to be a transient meeting. One who has a home, but lives as one who doesn't. Just as, we have a home in heaven, but live in this world. We make ourselves a place to hang our hat in this world, but it is not our home. We are resident aliens in this world. Just visiting for a short time, but scratching a living and making a temporary home while we live here.

We are to be friendly to the residents, and share our knowledge, our ways and our customs (which are hopefully to be a reflection of our King), but without condemning them personally for their ways, even when those ways are wrong or clash with our King's ways.

So, Rivendell Gathering wishes to take our gathering out of its four walls, into the local area.

If your wondering did they lose their place or something? The answer is no!

First - The Gathering has wanted to try to do this transient thing for awhile, as a little experiment in church form and dynamics.

Second - Giving us this opportunity to experiment, is the fact that the hosting family, the Harris Clan, has had a lot of major upheaval in many areas of life recently. Spiritually, Physically, Financially and a lot of other 'ly's' to go along with them. Some were from stupid decisions, some from the life happens (good and bad), some from God is disciplining-discipling to grow us and teach us. Stuff like breaking our attachments to money and possessions.

One thing personally that God has been doing with me, is teaching me to rid myself of my keeping everything. Showing me how materialistic I am, eventhough I don't think I am. Showing me that, eventhough I'm not into always having to have the latest thing, newest car, all stainless steel appliances or whatever is the lateest status symbol that makes you important (you know the shallow materialism), that I am materialistic in another way. Hording stuff is from an insecurity of losing things that are importantant to you.

In my case, my parent's marrige was taken away from me in divorce, things were always changing - new step parents, new homes, new rooms, new friends, ect. Then they were gone or changed. It felt like nothing ever lasted, hence hold on to everthing not nailed down.

Now, don't boohoo for me, that's not why I share this stuff. Nor do I do it to blame parents or people for my troubles in life (Every man or woman knows what they've done and there is forgiveness for their actions, through God).

I write this stuff just in case, there is one person who is where I am or where I have been that this can give insight and hope to. That they are not alone. I tell what happened to me as fact, what I think it did to me and how God is directing me through it.

Also, this is to chronicle how I go about seeing and understanding God's clues to the answers to my predictaments, and reflecting how I correctly or incorrectly respond in action to His solutions (In other words to I get it and correct it with his aide or do I screw it up even worse).

So, here goes! Let the Journey and the Adventure Continue!