About this time last year, I came on staff part time to work with Dan McCracken on the transition at Barclay Press. Dan had been an integral part here (and in several prior locations) for more than four decades, and we both knew it was going to take a little while for me to learn the ins and outs. As you can probably imagine, last fall didn’t give Dan and me all the time we needed. There are still a lot of moving parts that don’t make sense to me. So I’m trying not to do too much damage while also doing my best to move us forward in an age that is increasingly digital, increasingly connected, and increasingly complex.
In the meantime, we’ve published two books and have three more in the works for release in summer 2017. We’ve expanded the number of digital Fruit of the Vine subscriptions and moved forward on plans for a significant but subtle transition to Illuminate. Much of what used to fall under Dan’s responsibility has been transferred to other staff in order to allow me to continue in a half-time role. This gives other staff more autonomy and ownership while also saving us money. And we’ve started to attack our ongoing debt in earnest.
This last year, we’ve been able to retire more than $4,000 in continuing debt, putting us closer to our goal of being completely debt-free. That continuing debt – just a little more than $20,000 – won’t keep us from moving forward, but it’s a burden that slows us down, makes it harder to take on new projects, means I have to do careful calculations in deciding which bills can safely be paid at the end of each month.
It’s not a very exciting project, but this is what we’re aiming to do in 2016 – to finally get caught up on all our bills. And I could use your help. Please pray that God will help me to identify the right kinds of ministry opportunities that will meet real needs among Friends. Please take a look at our discounted books – stock we’d like to move out of our offices and off of our bottom line. Please also consider what you might be able to give to help us reach our goal. You can click on this link here or on the Share Stories Change Lives link in the margin to make a donation through PayPal.
Thank you for all the ways you’ve already contributed to the work of Friends and the work of Barclay Press!
Eric Muhr
More than pixels
I’m sitting in front of my computer, typing these words and also watching as they show up on the screen. Pixel-points of light and color. In her devotional focus on Psalm 139:13-16 in this morning’s Fruit of the Vine, Katy Matchette thanks God that “we are not random pixels dancing across a disorganized screen.” Of course, this reality doesn’t always feel good. Katy acknowledges that her aging body, for instance, sometimes makes her want to shout, “Help! I’m falling apart!” The flip-side of these aches and pains is that they focus Katy’s attention, force her to notice “the marvelous complexity of my body.”
I think this is important. I am more than a brain, more than my passions. I am also a human being with a body, created by God. As a gift. And even though we know God “created us humans,” Katy notes that we may forget or overlook the fact that God also created each of us: “Much better than merely putting the whole cycle of reproduction into motion!”
In the image above from the Oregon Coast, my body made it possible to walk out on the sand and step into the water. I climbed a rock to get a better view of others on the beach. It was glorious. But then, on my way down from this particular rock, I had to jump, and I didn’t hit the landing right. It hurt. I limped up the hill and back to the parked car, and I wasn’t as grateful for the beauty of God’s creation as I had been just minutes before. Maybe you can relate.
Maybe that’s why Katy’s reading seems especially important for me this morning. “‘Fearfully and wonderfully made’ applies to more than interlocking body parts.” But those “interlocking body parts” help me to remember – especially when they’re not working the way I want – that “God cared enough about each of us to anticipate the life he wanted for us. He created us for a reason.”
Katy ends with this prayer: “Father, thank you for knowing me. I am awed that you wove all my intricate parts into a person who fits into your scheme and your kingdom.”
This is my prayer this morning as well.
Eric Muhr
To walk in light
In this morning’s Fruit of the Vine, Kay Wilson writes about being afraid of the dark as a child: “I always wanted a night-light so I could see if anything or anyone was in the room that might cause me harm.” All these years later Kay still has a night-light but “for a different reason. Without the light I ... run the risk of stubbing my toes or falling.” Her point, reflecting on 1 John 1:5-7, is that “light brings clarity and allows me to see what is otherwise unseen.”
I know from experience that light can also overwhelm. I have a photo of Thor's Well, a feature on the Oregon Coast where waves at high tide rush onto a shelf of basalt just south of Cape Perpetua and put on a dynamic show of sound and spray. I wanted to capture a particular effect, the way that waves rushing into this hole create the impression of a waterfall in the middle of the ocean. But a slow-shutter setting on a bright September morning captures too much light, washes out the image. Instead of waterfall, my first photo was all bright white.
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. But I sometimes live in the darkness, and I am frequently surrounded by it. So even though I need the light, it can be overwhelming. Too much.
Kay reminds us that walking in the light is to “walk in blessed obedience with clarity of the truth ... [to] walk in a manner consistent with the character of God.” Kay also reminds us that walking in the light is to “walk in fellowship with the Father and with each other.” What if this asks too much? What if it overwhelms? What if instead of being able to see more clearly, we are blinded?
Kay reminds us that we can pray: “God fill me with your light and then give me the strength to walk in it.”
And God does.
Eric Muhr