This photo was taken a little over two years ago. Some of you might recognize the building behind me. It is the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Italy. I never thought I would get to visit this beautiful town. While in Germany my wife and I took a Church history trip to Italy. While staying with our friends in Matelica, Italy they gave us that opportunity. I remember entering the Basilica and a Franciscan monk approached our friend Harold because he had worn his hat into the building. He told Harold that he had to take off his hat because of the building he was in. The reason it struck me as funny is because Harold has been in the ministry for around 50 years. Harold surely knew about the age old tradition of not wearing ones hat into the “house of God.”

My interests in St. Francis began when I became friends with Max. I don’t even know if Max has an interest in St. Francis but I do know he has one in Rich Mullins. Rich had an interest in St. Francis. I would love to learn more about Frank but I don’t think it would lead me to preaching to the birds.

I love simplicity, don’t you. The more simple life can be the better. The problem is that life is not always simple. There are problems. Some get cancer, divorced, or lose a loved one in a tragic accident. Life can be right down hard. I think that a lot of our problems could be worked through if we did it together. I recommend linking to Tim Kurek’s May 1st post. He talks about wearing mask’s. I know for me it is so hard not wearing one wherever the day may find me. If there was just someway to remove our mask’s and move into authenticity. We really do need each other and we need each other to be authentic. How are you doing? Personally I am a little stressed. I have a paper due in two weeks. In four weeks we leave for Germany. There is a lot of work to do between now and then. I have some requests, I want to be authentic: Please pray that I make full use of my time and that I can honor God with each moment. If you would like, you too can be authentic. If there is anything you need prayer for let me know and I will lift it up to our Father. Grace and peace to you.

Because of Jesus,

David Knapp

(photo by  simplyecclesia)