i love my mom. it seems she's reading my blog now, and i think she's a little worried about my putting most of my feelings and thoughts out there for the entire world. the thing is this - i want to be wise, but i also want desparately to be honest in my life, especially after a time during which i kept a lot of secrets. i do, of course, want to maintain some kind of healthy filters for a public forum. but don't worry, mom - i don't think i've written very much that could come back to haunt me. you are the one who taught me to be straightforward, y'know. acts 6 is our discussion topic at house church tonight. it's a strange little chapter that seems to end in the middle of the story, leaving us with stephen's sermon and stoning for next week. but there is some good stuff - the balance of loving the needy and spreading the Word, the significance of the fact that stephen was "full of faith and the holy spirit," qualifications for leadership in the church. there's something about the character of stephen that keeps grabbing my attention...he was "full of God's grace and power," "did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people." those who opposed him "could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke." when people looked at him, "they saw that his face was like the face of an angel." have you ever known anyone who just glows with jesus, and no matter how cynical you want to be, you know that christ is the source of their beauty? that is what i want! and that is what i want to want...