Monday 30 April 2012

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Let's make disciples of Jesus, immersing them into Trinitarian life in the kingdom of God, and teaching  them to actually do do what Jesus says is best. (Dallas Willard)

We must first consent to this journey, too!

Sunday 29 April 2012

Care is the manifestation of community.

Who cares in your neighbourhood?

Love your neighbour.

Saturday 28 April 2012

Open hands

Hope is an attitude where everything stays open before me. It is daring to stay open to whatever today will offer me, or tomorrow, two months from now or a year from now, that is hope ... Whenever we pray in hope, we put our lives in the hands of God. Fear and anxiety fade away and everything we are given and everything we are deprived of is nothing but a finger pointing out the direction of God's hidden promise. (Henri Nouwen)

Friday 27 April 2012

Everyone needs a little TM

When we consider that most men want to be loved as if they were gods, it is hardly surprising that they should despair of receiving the love they think they deserve. Even the biggest of fools must be dimly aware that he is not worthy of adoration, and no matter what he may believe about his right to be adored, he will not be long in finding out that he can never fool anyone enough to make her adore him. And yet our idea of ourselves is so fantastically unreal that we rebel against this lack of “love” as though we were the victims of an injustice. Our whole life is then constructed on a basis of duplicity. We assume that others are receiving the kind of appreciation we want for ourselves, and we proceed on the assumption that since we are not lovable as we are, we must become lovable under false pretenses, as if we were something better than we are. 

The real reason why so few men believe in God is that they have ceased to believe that even a God can love them. But their despair is, perhaps, more respectable than the insincerity of those who think they can trick God into loving them for something they are not. This kind of duplicity is, after all, fairly common among so-called “believers,” who consciously cling to the hope that God Himself, placated by prayer, will support their egotism and their insincerity, and help them to achieve their own selfish ends. (Thomas Merton)

Thursday 26 April 2012

no man is an island

You don't have to pretend you're strong all the time.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Monday 23 April 2012

Who can best teach you how to live?

1 Peter 1 
Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. 


 Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life.


No written word, no spoken plea can teach our youth what they should be. Nor all the books on all the shelves -- it's what the teachers are themselves.

Thursday 19 April 2012

Don't do life alone.

Find some folks in your neighbourhood & practice radical commitment together.

"I want in on something like that!"

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Do you bring Good News or bad news to your neighbourhood?

... or no news?!

Join the movement to discover the life at work in your very own community.

Say 'goodbye' to anonymity. Meet your neighbours. Open your life up...

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Prayer is theological research.

Until you are convinced that prayer is the best use of your time, you will not find time for prayer. Hilary Ottensmeyer

Sunday 15 April 2012

What kind of life do YOU envision?

I envision a life that is not as hectic. We always seem to be on our way to the next place, never really arriving at a destination.

I envision a life with either more money or less expenses. I strongly suspect it's less expenses.

I envision a life with less time in the car and more time for walks. Can this ever become a reality?

I envision life where there is a time for work and a time for play. I love to work, but I just want it to keep from getting offside. I want to play more, but I think after all these year I've forgotten how.

I envision a life with less fast food in the car and more spreads of home cooking with family and friends. Shoving burritos in our mouths while driving can't be what God had in mind for us. We have lost the beautiful art of sharing a meal together. I want to regain that art.

I envision a life of less accumulation and more conversation. I already have way too many manuals on how to care for the stuff I bought. Plus, people have to be more interesting than things. I don't think most of us really know for sure. (Randy Frazee)

Saturday 14 April 2012

Gratitude -

... turns what we have into 'enough.'

Friday 13 April 2012

Let's live life together...

Make it a habit to join with your neighbours in the ups & downs of life!

Thursday 12 April 2012

Temper the bitter things of life with a smile.

Philippians 4:10-14
I'm glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you're again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it.

Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty.

Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don't mean that your help didn't mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

Sunday 8 April 2012

Easter

It is not easy to convey a sense of wonder, let alone resurrection wonder, to another. It’s the very nature of wonder to catch us off guard, to circumvent expectations and assumptions. Wonder can’t be packaged, and it can’t be worked up. Eugene Peterson

Saturday 7 April 2012

“The Jerusalem Gazette” 33 AD.

Jesus Christ, 33, of Nazareth, died Friday on Mount Calvary, also known as Golgotha, the place of the skull. Betrayed by the apostle, Judas, Jesus was crucified by the Romans, by order of the Ruler Pontius Pilate.

The causes of death were crucifixion, extreme exhaustion, severe torture and loss of blood.

Jesus Christ, a descendent of Abraham, was a member of the house of David. He was the Son of the late Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth, and Mary, His devoted Mother. Jesus was born in a stable in the city of Bethlehem, Judea. He is survived by His mother, Mary, His faithful Apostles, numerous disciples and many other followers.

Jesus was self-educated and spent most of His adult life working as a teacher. Jesus also occasionally worked as a medical doctor, and it is reported that He healed many patients. Up until the time of His death, Jesus was teaching and sharing the Good News, healing the sick, touching the lonely, feeding the hungry and helping the poor.

Jesus was most noted for telling parables about His Father’s Kingdom and performing miracles, such as feeding over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, and healing a man who was born blind. On the day before His death, He held a Last Supper celebrating the Passover Feast, at which He foretold His death.

The body was quickly buried in a stone grave, which was donated by Joseph of Arimathea, a loyal friend of the family. By order of Pontius Pilate, a boulder was rolled in front of the tomb. Roman soldiers were put on guard.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that everyone try to live as Jesus did. Donations may be sent to anyone in need.

Friday 6 April 2012

Prayer

Your will be done on earth and in me.