Kingdom signs

So Steve Taylor whose idea this is set these guidelines:
"I am simply asking you to be willing to
a) look for the Kingdom in your life
b) write a paragraph 5 days in 7
c) reflect on those 5 days once a week
d) make that public

Why do this? I suspect that many people lack confidence in looking for God. I suspect that the more we do it, and the more we see examples of others doing it, the better we will get. I suspect that watching other people, is a great way to learn."

Thursday - Sunshine, uncertainty and money
I felt happy this morning: in the car listening to my husband chatting excitedly about the downturn in global capitalism and how economic models from the 1970s are making their way back into the argument; going past the Swiss cows with the wonderful reassuring ringing bells round their necks; looking at mountains in the far off morning haze; drinking in the sunshine and being able to "be" in the beautiful chapel while someone else led prayers. I was more attentive this morning to the play of the light through the stained glass and felt blessed to be able to start my day in such a beautiful place.
At lunchtime a song sung in lamentation for Zimbabwe lifted my spirits. I also realised I try to contain and absorb alot of conflict, I need to find a way of offering this to God - perhaps that just means recognising that the Kingdom is not an easy process - Blessed are you when ... - but I have experienced how hard this can be at a personal level in recent weeks. Somewhere along the line we all desire ease as well as stress in life - are both part of the kingdom?
Interprettng for the pension board in the afternoon I wondered about how we hold together sound financial management with kingdom values, perhaps something that goes beyond ethical investment. I thought about the Zimbabwean lawyer who had taken a billion Zim dollars out of his pocket yesterday and said it would be just enough to buy an egg with. So to get our pension fund back to good health, following the chaos of the non self-regulating global markets an extra 1% of our salaries will go into the fund. What would 1% of my salary buy for folk in Zimbabwe's rural areas today?
And money has been the issue tonight as well, as we try to think about paying off the mortgage. Ah what it is to be fiscally responsible - is that a kingdom value? Hmm ... I think not.
I can't help thinking about the Gospel parable of the rich man who amassed a fortune and then died.

You can follow the other kingdom bloggers and Steve's instructions:
Regina is journaling here;
Phil is journaling here;
Judy is journaling here; Viv is journaling here; and outside Opawa, outside New Zealand, Eleanor is journaling here.
... anyone is welcome to join them, introduction here, instructions here and here.