Sorry for going AWOL these last few weeks...

The busiest two weeks at International Arts Movement are upon us. In sixteen days, we will embark upon Encounter 09 "Art in Action," IAM's annual conference. The program for this event is steller. We will hold workshops led by folks like Steve Garber of The Washington Institute, Roberta Ahmanson, Ena Heller of the Museum of Biblical Art, artist Wayne Adams, and IAM's Board President (and Conversant Life blogger) Mark Meehan, to name just a few.

We'll also hold masterclasses taught by Susan Isaacs, Rob Mathes (who was the musical director for the Inauguration concert on HBO), and Chris Griffin.

And I haven't even mentioned the evening performances. Nicholas Wolterstorff, Limon Dance, Billy Collins, Helen Sung, Eva Flatscher, Ljova and the Kontraband, David Sacks, Alice Rhee and others... it's going to be an incredible three days!

And all of this will be produced by a part-time, bi-vocational staff of five and a handful of volunteers.

I'm one of those "five." And tonight, after several long days of work and a weekend that was not entirely "off," I'm sitting here requiring a little help letting go of the "practical stress" of needing to function beyond my capacity.

As I sit here, I thank God for a cat, sitting on my lap right this moment purring, and a dog at my feet, snoring. In the midst of everything I have going on, they are here to remind me that life is more than successful event planning and execution. God is here, in the simple things, and He is reminding me that the call to obedience is a call to enter God's rest.

Smidgen and Jonah have no problem entering rest. I'm the one with the hangups. After all, there's just so much to do... !

And I realize that God works with water (and turns it into wine), a few loaves and fish (and feeds thousands), a little bit of oil (multiplying it to fill many jars), and a bunch of crazy, barely educated radicals who were pretty much entirely unqualified, save one thing: they responded to their call and followed the Christ.

So I look at the list of things that need to get done - not just my list, but my co-workers' as well (we're all working our butts off!). There's no way we can do all this on our own. And I smile, open my hands toward heaven and say, "Here ya go, God. Here's my water. Here's my lunch. Here's the bit of oil I have left. I will follow you."

It's midnight now, and my little family is ready for bed. I expect I will sleep soundly tonight. 

The purring helps.