editorial note: Brad Johnson was in the ministry for nearly 30 years, most recently at the helm of a suburban megachurch. He now heads up lifechangecommunity.org and is a Starbucks barista. In early June, Ex/Urb ran a feature interview of Brad Johnson. Since then, Brad has been contributing to Fresh Faith, a Sunday blog about religion, renewal, faith and grace.

Where do you go when you’re down?  Where do you turn when life is turned upside down?

There is a word that gives expression to the direction and momentum Jesus Christ brings to life. A short word…a simple word: UP!

Listen to these words from Jesus—

To His followers He said, “Let’s ARISE and go to the city”

To a man crippled, He said, “Pick UP your cot and walk.”

To a little girl who had died, He said, “Rise!”

Ultimately, Jesus ROSE from the dead.

When your outlook is at the bottom, when your spirits are low, when you’ve been knocked down…

Look UP, God will come with help.

We all know that life isn’t just about being up, and we know the goal of life isn’t upward mobility.

But in the realm of our soul, our outlook, our attitude, Christ offers UP.  He lifts UP the fallen, lifts UP the broken hearted.  He picks UP the pieces of bad decisions.

“Down” is a temporary state of being. “Down” is not our destiny. “Down” may be where Jesus meets us, it is not where Jesus leaves us.

When you’re down, take heart… God is UP to something!

Perfect for back-to-school! Thanks to Ex/Urb fan Laura Brown.

What’s your most memorable/favorite moment?

This was the scene at the community pool today. A ghost pool except for my son, his friend and one other lone swimmer! Las Virgenes Unified schools started today and our district, Conejo Valley Unified, starts tomorrow. Everybody is either going to school or getting last-minute supplies.

This year, our district will have a magnet and a charter school (we also have Conejo Open, an alternative to a neighborhood school that stresses parent participation). My son was accepted into EARTHS, the new science magnet. It sounds like it’s going to be an awesome school, but it’s at least 15 minutes up the 101 freeway. A few months ago – after several nights of waking up worrying about sending him to the school – I withdrew his name and enrolled him in our neighborhood school.

Officially, I blamed it on work. As a freelance writer I use his school hours to do whatever assignments and other writing I can. If so much time is eaten up in driving, that doesn’t work so well. I also reasoned that our neighborhood school is 3 minutes away (less driving = more enviro friendly), has a stellar reputation and we know so many of the kids who go there.

Yeah, I anticipated the nervous breakdowns I might have when the freeway backs up in the morning but, truth be told, I mostly just didn’t want my kindergartener that far away from home.

Today, I saw a friend of a Facebook friend post a note about how EARTHS parents planted an organic garden last week. I was confronted with a serious pang of something close to regret. I haven’t even been told who my son’s kindergarten teacher will be yet (that will be posted today at 5pm) and they’ve already planted an organic garden.

The only solace is that in almost every conversation I’ve had with other parents over the last few days – with kids attending all sorts of schools – they’ve all been bringing up the same issues…are we doing the right thing? Is this the right school for my kid? Will we get the right teacher?

Ironically, we live in one of the best public school districts in Southern California. It’s definitely the “selling point” of the area.

So after I check that posted list in a few minutes, no matter which teacher it is (even it’s the one who everyone says isn’t as great as the other ones), I’ve decided not to worry about it. It’s time to chill out, think positive for tomorrow and maybe even have a drink!

editorial note: Brad Johnson was in the ministry for nearly 30 years, most recently at the helm of a suburban megachurch. In the midst of his divorce, he stepped down and now heads up lifechangecommunity.org and is a Starbucks barista. In early June, Ex/Urb ran a feature interview of Brad Johnson. Since then, Brad has been contributing to Fresh Faith, a Sunday blog about religion, renewal, faith and grace.

I married at 20.   I shared a bed with my wife for 28 years.  More than two years after our separation and divorce, I woke up recently and realized:  I’m sleeping in the middle of the bed.

This was a big ‘aha’ moment for me.  Here’s why.   For 28 years I slept on the very same side of the bed.  Mainly, I slept on a third of the bed, left side.  I’m usually not a restless sleeper and seldom require more than my third. Once I began sleeping in the bed alone, the habit of sleeping on my portion stuck.  That became a metaphor for my divorce process.  I was stuck.  I couldn’t imagine life un-married.  I had never dreamed that this would be the condition of my life.  And though I was primarily responsible for the wreckage of our home, I was unprepared for this single life and I didn’t know how to function or even consider it.

So I kept sleeping in the same spot I had occupied for all those years.

I don’t know exactly how long it had taken me to inch my way toward a wider expanse of the bed, before I realized that the boundaries of my little sleep-world were loosening up.  But one morning, just recently, I was lying awake and it occurred to me that I was smack-dab in the middle of my bed.  From the wrinkling of the bed covers, it was obvious I had been in the middle most of the night.

I was almost afraid to move.  At an intuitive level, I knew this was significant.  I was no longer Brad-the-left-side-of-the-bed guy, consigned to the same space I had occupied for nearly three decades, but I had become Brad-this-is-a-new-way-to-live guy.   It was a transformational moment on my continuing road of divorce healing.

Please hear me.  I know why scripture says that God hates divorce.  I do too.  I’ll be forever sorry and repentant for my part in my marital demise.

But after this passage of time, I am beginning to see that perhaps there is a ‘new normal’ that begins to creep into the fringes of life which helps make all things new.

This must be part of God’s healing, restorative work.  The middle of the bed….must be part of a fresh start on the next leg of the journey.

www.vapur.us

This water bottle is soooo cool. Once you drink all your water you can roll it up and put it in your pocket or backpack . There is even a hole so you can clip it on to your belt or purse! Great for traveling and you can freeze or microwave it! A must have for kids going back to school.

www.korwater.com

The cool thing about this Kor bottle is the hinged cap that you can’t lose and doesn’t hit you in the nose while you’re drinking!

www.camelbak.com

Camelbak bottles are pretty cool. You bite this rubbery spout and drink your water without tilting the bottle. The cap is spill proof which is pretty handy around your computer.

www.nathansports.com

The Nathan bottle lets you drink your water without tilting the bottle, too.  The QuickClip attaches the bottle to a belt or pack strap with ease. Easy to fill and easy to clean.