Just how engaged with your work are you?

Who do you work for?

Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

What challenges you?

What touches or moves you?

What inspires you?

What's happened this past week that was beautiful and brutal?

Where is Jesus in your life?

What's causing you stress and angst?

What do you really want to say?

Who do you want to say it to?

the higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments.

Many think that 'dying to themselves' is what causes them so much pain. But it is actually the part of them that still lives that is the problem.

But what happens when we live God's way?

He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. (Galatians 5)

The worst handicaps are those we place on ourselves...

Do you have a sense of adventure?

Share it with those around you.

"Going into the unknown is invariably frightening, but we learn what is significantly new only through adventures." (Scott Peck)

Are You Living in a Comfort Zone That Provides Little Comfort?

Reach out for some help.

Aggressively live life!

The fear of human opinion disables;

 trusting in God protects you from that.

What keeps you up at night?

There is no spot where God is not.

Look for Him in the very circumstances of your life.

It isn't happy people who are thankful;

It is thankful people who are happy.

Psalm 19

The revelation of God is whole
      and pulls our lives together.
   The signposts of God are clear
      and point out the right road.
   The life-maps of God are right,
      showing the way to joy.
   The directions of God are plain
      and easy on the eyes.
   God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
      with a lifetime guarantee.
   The decisions of God are accurate
      down to the nth degree.

Who's on display in yours?!

Have you ever just considered forgiveness?!

Some people are so poor all they have is money...

Are you soaring or are you souring?

Don't ask the Lord to guide your foot steps if you're not willing to move your feet.

God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
   You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
      you find me quiet pools to drink from.
   True to your word,
      you let me catch my breath
      and send me in the right direction.

Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, 
    for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

God's adventures are intoxicating.

(re) Discover your heart. Listen for the Spirit... then GO FOR IT!

Love is a 'do' thing; you learn love by loving.

C'mon, share it with others!!

Moments of doubt are a part of life.

Accept them & remember that Jesus Himself said,

"My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness."

I really like Volvo's...

If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo. (d. miller)

What's the story of your life all about?

I Share Therefore I am

Recently Sherry Turkle did a TED talk & follow up article in the New York Times concerning the idea of being connected, but alone.

Turkle highlighted,

1. We’re letting technology take us places we don’t want to go.

2. Little devices in our pockets are so psychologically powerful they change what we do & who we are.

3. The ‘Goldilocks Effect’: Can’t get enough of each other, only if we can have each other at distances & in amounts we can control.

4. We need to develop a self-aware relationship with technology and with ourselves.

5. We need to focus on how technology can help bring us back to our real lives, our own bodies, our own communities.

We even text at funerals!

We expect more from technology and less from each other.

We are tempted to think that our little “sips” of online connection add up to a big gulp of real conversation. But they don’t. E-mail, Twitter, Facebook, all of these have their places — in politics, commerce, romance and friendship. But no matter how valuable, they do not substitute for conversation.

The feeling that ‘no one is listening to me’ makes us want to spend time with machines that seem to care about us.

When people are alone, even for a few moments, they fidget and reach for a device. Here connection works like a symptom, not a cure, and our constant, reflexive impulse to connect shapes a new way of being.

Think of it as, “I share, therefore I am.” We use technology to define ourselves by sharing our thoughts and feelings as we’re having them. We used to think, “I have a feeling; I want to make a call.” Now our impulse is, “I want to have a feeling; I need to send a text.”

Technology appeals to us where we are most vulnerable.

I spend the summers at a cottage on Cape Cod, and for decades I walked the same dunes that Thoreau once walked. Not too long ago, people walked with their heads up, looking at the water, the sky, the sand and at one another, talking. Now they often walk with their heads down, typing. Even when they are with friends, partners, children, everyone is on their own devices. (Sherry Turkle)

Perhaps one of our roles in the neighbourhood is to look up, to be present & available ourselves so that the abundant life Jesus offers can really be seen & experienced...  

Buckle up!

I used to think knowing God was like going on a business trip with Him, but now I know He's inviting me on an adventure instead! (Bob Goff)

Love does...

... in your neighbourhood.

Get involved.

Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can tear our hearts out.

Speak kindness & encouragement.

Words spoken by kind people have the ability to endure in our lives.

Thank God in the Desert

Thank God in the Desert from Jeff Jones on Vimeo.