Several times over the past few years I’ve begun, then quickly abandoned, the practice of blogging.  And while I love communication–written and spoken–I’ve struggled with the concept of blog themes.  Should I focus on intercultural ministry?  Perhaps chronicle my first years as a SFP (Single Female Pastor)? Or should I use it as a public forum with which to regale readers with stories of my dog Gracie, a topic on which I am willing to hold forth at great length at the slightest provocation! 

While I was busy trying to think up themes for a blog I hadn’t written, I was actively engaged in telling stories from last Thursday’s conversation with the mail carrier or that eventful morning in the laundry room; something God showed me while driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel or while sorting through boxes of childhood memorabilia long-lost in the attic.  And the thing is, more often than not, these stories connect with people on deep levels and usually lead to conversations (and, let’s face it–laughter!) about God’s activity in our lives.

Last week, after a remarkable and chance encounter singing hymns in the Bronx with a man who resembled Santa Claus (this will likely wind up in a future blog!), I realized that here–at the intersection of these experiences and my love of communicating–is the sweet spot that I’ve been looking for.  And it reminded me of one of the blogs that I created almost three years ago but never once used.  I called it “The Malachi Message” after I was struck by a Scripture I had read that day.

Malachi, or “the messenger,” is the name given to the last book in the Old Testament.  God’s people had suffered through generations of captivity and bondage and had been given promises of a better day just around the corner. But, that day hadn’t come just yet.  While they hoped for blessings they found poverty, famine, drought, sickness and moral decay, instead; skepticism, pride and rebellion were gaining ground and–in feeling forgotten by the Lord–they themselves were the ones who had forgotten God.

So Malachi wrote.  He wrote to encourage the discouraged.  He wrote to rekindle the flames of God’s favor that they had extinguished by their disobedience.  He wrote to strongly call them back to remembrance of the Lord’s work in their history and of their responsibility to follow Him with unhindered hearts and whole offerings.  Only in remembering his faithfulness and obeying His rule would they experience his favor.

Here’s the verse from Malachi 3:16 that struck me:

Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.

The Malachi Message is a place where people who fear the Lord can talk together while He listens in!  And maybe our stories of seeing Him illuminated in rush-hour traffic, in chance encounters with strangers on subways, in grocery store check-out lines and hospital waiting rooms will become our own scrolls of remembrance that honor His name and encourage us to never forget the infinite demonstrations of His great faithfulness.

And along the way, we’re going to laugh.  Yes, I think we’re going to laugh a lot!