who or what do you pay attention to?

Proverbs 4
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.

Ruff, ruff!

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

What do you want RIGHT NOW?

Do you really need it RIGHT NOW?

Are you REALLY listening?

Most people practice negative listening. They just keep silent, either to catch a breath or to re-load.

Drop your preset agenda & really encounter another who is made in the image of God. Offer the gift of full attention.

Be a blessing.

Psalm 116
I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy.
He listened so intently
as I laid out my case before him.

Everyone can use a friend

Connect for life!

Rub my tummy!!

What are you happy about these days??

Our agenda, His agenda

We say to Jesus, ‘I don’t mind you making some changes in my life,’ but Jesus wants to turn your life upside down.

We say, ‘I don’t mind a little touch-up work’ but Jesus wants complete renovation.

We’re thinking tune-up, He’s thinking overhaul.

We think a little decorating, why not, but Jesus wants a compete remodel.”

Whose agenda will it be?

The Bible...

Proverbs 1
A manual for living,
for learning what's right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There's something here also for seasoned men and women,
still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

What are you killing them with?

Love is always the appropriate reaction.

Matthew 5
"You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.

"This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

"Or say you're out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don't lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you're likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won't get out without a stiff fine.

Overflow

John 16
"This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!...

Because you've gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly."

Spread the love vibration

Step out into the sun
Step out into the world and love someone
Save yourself from hate
Save yourself from hate and all the hassle

Let God help you grow a thick-skin & a tender heart.

Have you eaten with anyone from your neighbourhood recently?

I passionately believe that the home dining table is our last remaining family gathering place. It’s a place for friends and family to nourish the relationships that are at the heart of homes, neighbourhoods and communities. Graham Kerr

Let's get galloping to it!

Service is love made visible

Serve others.
You will truly serve only what you love.
If you love friends, you will serve your friends.
If you love community, you will serve your community.
If you love money, you will serve your money.
And if you love only yourself, you will serve only yourself.
(S. Colbert commencement address to Northwestern University)

Those are some pretty good words to help us graduate past selfishness in life...

John 15
"I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.

"I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father.

"You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.

"But remember the root command: Love one another."

Ditto.

My highest hope is for all of us to stop trying to fool others… we need to become better known for what and who we actually are. Perhaps a good place to begin would be telling the world – before the world does its own investigation – that we’re not as bad as they think. We’re worse. At least I know I’m worse.

Let’s get real. For every mean-spirited, judgmental thing some preacher has said, I’ve thought something nastier, more hateful and more cutting about one of my neighbors. For every alleged act of homophobia by my fellow Christians, I’ve done something stupid to demonstrate my manliness. For every brother or sister whose moral failure has been exposed, I’ve failed privately… If we really believe the gospel we proclaim, we’ll be honest about our own beauty and brokenness, and the beautiful One will make himself known to our neighbors through the chinks in our armor—and in theirs. years. Fil Anderson

Wouldn't it change the face of our culture and the history of the world if we stopped merely saying 'Lord, Lord,' and began to live the way Jesus lived?

Not censuring the world or citing doctrines or trying to prop up old traditions. But loving and sharing and healing and dying. It would make a tremendous difference, wouldn't it? John Killinger

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own.

Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor." (Jesus of Nazareth)

Beware you be not swallowed up in books: an ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.

So said John Wesley.

Something for me to keep in mind as I have many books stuffed here, there & everywhere.

I could only hope some love squeezes out occasionally here & there...

no man was ever wise by chance

1 Peter 1
What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.

I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.

Let's move...

...into the neighbourhood and help create an active community.

Eat better.

Take action now.

According to Gallup,

• Schools and businesses can help reduce obesity and encourage healthy behaviors by eliminating sugary drinks and foods that are deep-fried or high in sugar, replacing them with healthier alternatives accompanied by nutritional information.
• Schools can initiate "walking school buses" to encourage kids and parents to walk to school safely in large groups.
• Businesses can give their employees an incentive to maintain healthy BMIs by increasing contributions to medical spending accounts when these goals are met.
• invest in widening and lengthening walking/biking paths to encourage pedestrian traffic to grocery stores, schools, and mass transit

Communities also can,

• denote bike lanes on city roads
• levy additional taxes on foods that are high in sugar to reduce their purchase and consumption
• maintain a security presence in at-risk neighborhoods to ensure that people feel safe when they shop fresh food stands and farmers markets
• certify and promote restaurants that offer smaller portions and a wide selection of heart-healthy fare as "community wellbeing" establishments
• certify and promote grocery stores that make it easy for shoppers to find healthy, low-fat foods and that provide free recipes for healthy home cooking

Neighbourhood

A good place to grow up...

Everybody needs somebody

Yesterday one of my daughter's friends dropped by with a big plate of chocolate chip cookies for us. She said she had been thinking of what's been happening with my mom in the hospice & she wanted to do something to bring us comfort.

It was such a loving act from a 12-year-old who did what she could do. I instantly thought of Peter's writing,

1 Peter 4:10
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

What would God have you do?

Do you need to get back on better terms with someone?

It's not just union-management talks that go off the rails...

It's never too late to mend.

gloating

To contemplate or dwell on one's own success or another's misfortune with malignant pleasure.

Are you guilty of gloating?

(Let's not mention the historic 12-1 beatdown the Canucks just took...)

Baby steps...

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.

139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Character Challenge

1 Corinthians 10
You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

How are you dealing with stress?

Is it helping your situation?

Is it really that easy?

Willpower is rarely enough.

Take a good look at your 'addictions.'

The need for approval.

The need be right.

The desire for praise.

The __________.

2-minutes for "Delay of Blog."

I spent the day hanging out with my mom at the hospice which prevented me from having a blog post ready to go.

It was good day for her as she finally got the perm & haircut she had so desperately wanted for so long but couldn't get because she was so sick.

The day wasn't without it's challenges - as after my mom's bath I came into her room & the sheet was pulled up over her head.

I froze - afraid to pull the sheet back off her head. After what seemed like an eternity I swallowed hard & pulled the sheet back - her eyes were closed.

My heart was racing & then my mom opened her eyes!

I asked her what she was doing & she said, "I was cold."

I had to leave the room to get her some warm blankets & to compose myself.

Has anything scared you that deeply lately?

It is in the shelter of each other that people live.

It is fitting that the day after U2 plays Edmonton I am reminded of an Irish Proverb.

I am so blessed to have so many great friends who have been an amazing support on this journey of cancer with my mom.

She, too has been blessed by all the care & concern her friends have given to her.

Grace & peace & thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

WINNING!

There is a great difference between successful and fruitfulness.

Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame.

Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another’s wounds.

Let’s remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness. Henri Nouwen