Haven't blogged in ages, work's been superbusy and inspiration elusive.
But I came across this page while I was searching for something completely unrelated and thought I would share the laughter....
It's certainly been a long time since I've been bored at work, but it's nice to know that if it does happen, office bingo could liven things up. I've experienced everything but the popcorn nuker....who microwaves popcorn at work??? Maybe it's an American thing.
What everyday office moments would you add to your office bingo card? I would add:
out-of-office autoreply from someone lucky enough to be on leave
attempt a conversation with someone before realising they are on the phone with their headset
junk mail - to read or not to read, that is the question
At Mike's insistence, I'm pumping Debness into the blogosphere again ;) Here's a short break from the 'recently read' series, but there are many more gems to come...
Every May/June our church spends four weeks focussing on mission and the various ways we are seeking to impact our neighbourhood and the nations. The day before kickoff Sunday, we realised it might be a bit much to launch both of our theme songs at once in the regular band-worship time, so I volunteered to make a video presentation for 'Beautiful'. This was my first fiddle with Windows Movie Maker...already there are things I wish could be done differently so let me know if there's other software you recommend!
Music credit goes to Lucas Parry, originally from Penrith Christian Life Centre, now based in Nashville. This recording of his song 'Beautiful' is from Youth Alive NSW's album Elevate. (the song was trimmed with Audacity, my fave audio capturing and editing program - and it's free!)
What do your churches do to keep mission emphasised? We're open for ideas....or just comment whatever you feel like, really.... :P
Wouldn't it be cool if Jesus was still around? If, after rising from the dead, he had decided to stay on earth, travelling around showing off his old scars and new body. Then who could doubt it was true?
He could be the ultimate travelling minister - someone could work out an itinerary for him so he could be a guest speaker at all our churches, visit hopitals to heal the sick, gather crowds to the cause, take the chair at our conferences and make sure we get our theology right.
Wouldn't it be awesome if he visited my church! But...my plan, although a nice thought, is not what's best. Jesus left the earth and ascended to heaven deliberately, telling us it was better for him to go, and for the Holy Spirit to come.
So as cool as my little eternal-itinerant-minister Jesus plan would be, the gift of the Holy Spirit is better! I've grown up in Pentecostal churches, studied at a Pentecostal Bible College, been blessed with Spirit-baptism....yet I suspect there's still a lot more power, love, wonder, and direction I could be receiving from the Spirit. If I take Jesus' words in John 16 seriously, listening to the Holy Spirit and allowing him to lead me every moment of every day is even more beneficial than if Jesus came in bodily form to visit my church every so often.
The apology to the Stolen Generations on 13 February 2008 marked a place in Australian history that The GetUp Mob - featuring Kev Carmody, Paul Kelly, Urthboy and Missy Higgins, have commemorated with the release on April 21 of the new GetUp StandUp version of 'From Little Things Big Things Grow'.
Now we must continue to remember the feelings and hope that grew out of the events on that day and plant the seed for a further process of reconciliation and equality for all Australian citizens.
Through this new GetUp Stand Up version of the classic Australian hit we hope to inspire and encourage Australians to GetUp and StandUp for the rights of Indigenous Australians.
After all, from little things, big things grow.
The GetUp Mob includes: Kev Carmody, Paul Kelly, Urthboy, Missy Higgins, Mia Dyson, Radical Son, Jane Tyrrell, Dan Sultan, Joel Wenitong and Ozi Batla.
Film clip featuring: John Butler, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Leah Purcell, Ernie Dingo, Anthony Mundine and Matty Bowen amongst others.
Below is my interpretation of the lyrics...let me know if you hear it differently! Thanks to Hoyden for collaborative help on a few tricky bits, and to RJ at Pumphouse for drawing my attention to the video!
As Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry On behalf of the Government of Australia, I am sorry On behalf of the Parliament of Australia, I am sorry And I offer you this apology Without qualification
To say sorry means to give respect And it's long overdue Now you've failed to imagine, What if it happened to you? Now they're not only words now, It's not just a symbol Accepting the past, well, it's not always simple
But thinking of yesterday We live for tomorrow We can't face the future now Until we face the sorrow Now under the colours, yeah, Of red, yellow, and black We're saying "Never again", We're saying "No turning back"
From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow
Lighting the path With good in our heart See the more that you look, The better for all So he sang as he walked And together we'll stand For us all to stand tall We must all play our part [Indigenous and non-Indigenous] With tears within our brow
Yes, forward we've struggled And all we've achieved Would mean nothing If greed was the only motivation of man So we can love one another And with respect for each other May we move forward [reconciled] together
From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow
There are moments in the lives of nations Where hope and history rhyme And now's one of those times Let's close the gap and if we truly mean it We can stare down our future and find We can see through those eyes Let us not stand with those who deny
It seems to me that if we can Imagine the injustice Then we can Imagine its opposite And we can have justice
From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow From little things big things grow
All of us are one Because we are human And if I cut you, or you cut me What comes out? Red blood. Not different colour blood Only red blood. Yes.
Now alas, I didn't find out about Close the Gap Day or Reconciliation GetTogethers until after I committed myself to other things on those dates. So instead, how about a 'virtual close the gap get together'? Comment here with a yarn about reconciliation, and what I/you/we can do about closing the gaps.
Also recently read in pages 13-15 of Show Me The Way, Henri Nouwen talks about hospitality being more than tea parties and small talk. In the midst of it, he paints the best picture of the idea of 'turning the other cheek' that I have ever come across:
It is indeed the paradox of hospitality that poverty makes a good host. Poverty is the inner disposition that allows us to take away our defenses and convert our enemies into friends. We can only perceive the stranger as an enemy as long as we have something to defend. But when we say, 'Please enter, my house is your house, my joy is your joy, my sadness is your sadness, and my life is your life, we have nothing to defend, since we have nothing to lose but all to give.'
Turning the other cheek means showing our enemies that they can only be our enemies while supposing that we are anxiously clinging to our private property, whatever it is: our knowledge, our good name, our land, our money, or the many objects that we have collected around us. But who will be our robber when everything he wants to steal from us becomes our gift to him? Who can lie to us, when only the truth will serve him well? Who wants to sneak into our back door, when our front door is wide open?
So...in the battle of Hospitality vs Hostility, hospitality wins....with a cherry on top! It only remains to be established, which side am I on?
couldn't resist a moment of rockin nostalgia with Audio Adrenaline video clip of Big House thanks to Hugo1000 :)
Let's overcome hostility by showing the same hospitality to others that God has shown to us....and on that note, Mike has a powerful post on praying for terrorists at The Upper Room. Check it out!
He's on a rip but he's a better rider Than the boys who get caught up in the undertow He's on a roll 'cause he's a child of nature Take away the water and you freeze his soul yeah
And when he's on the big slide He lets his hand trail through the water And then he really feels alive But he can't tell me why He feels so close to the water
She's on the beach and she can see his laughter He's as free as drunken kisses oh yeah And she knows this is the boy she's after Make a little wish But he only lets the waves this close
And when he's on the big slide He lets his hand trail through the water And then he really feels alive But he can't tell me why He feels so close to the water
He's in a dip on a road of danger He'll never love if he can't let go yeah He's in the grip of a holy stranger Walking on the water when the sun sets
And when he's on the big slide He lets his hand trail through the water And then he really feels alive But he can't tell me why He feels so close to the water
And when he's on the big slide He lets his hand trail through the water And then he really feels alive But he can't tell me why He feels so close to the Big slide He lets his hand trail through the water And then he really feels alive But he can't tell me why He feels so close to the
He's on a trip but in a bigger picture Always in the water even when he's dry He takes a sip from the living water Now he's ready for the ride of his life On the big slide
Another challenging quote recently read, page 45 in Henri Nouwen's Show Me the Way:
A Christian is only a Christian when he or she unceasingly asks critical questions of the society in which he or she lives and continuously stresses the necessity for conversion, not only of the individual but also of the world. A Christian is only a Christian when he refuses to allow himself or anyone else to settle into a comfortable rest. He remains dissatisfied with the status quo. And he believes that he has an essential role to play in the realisation of the new world to come - even if he cannot say how that world will come about. A Christian is only a Christian when he keeps saying to everyone he meets that the good news of the Kingdom has to be proclaimed to the whole world and witnessed to all nations (Matt 24:13).
As long as a Christian lives she keeps searching for a new order without divisions between people, for a new structure that allows everyone to shake hands with everyone else, and a new life in which there will be lasting unity and peace. She will not allow her neighbor to stop moving, to lose courage, or to escape into small everyday pleasures to which he can cling. She is irritated by satisfaction and self-content in herself as well as in others since she knows, with an unshakable certainty, that something great is coming of which she has already seen the first rays of light. She believes that this world not only passes but has to pass in order to let the new world be born. She believes that there will never be a moment in this life in which on can rest in the supposition that there is nothing left to do. But the Christian will not despair when he does not see the result he wanted to see. For in the midst of all his work he keeps hearing the words of the One sitting on the throne, "I am making the whole of creation new" (Rev 21:5).
[top artwork: Metamorphosis by Jan Balch; below, one of many stunning rainbow photos and skyscapes by Dan Bush]
Recently read in Henri Nouwen, Show Me the Way, p.19-20:
To say with all that we have, think, feel and are: 'God exists', is the most world-shattering statement that a human being can make...
When I want to know if I ever have come to the true knowledge...of God's existence, I have simply to allow myself to become aware of how I experience myself. It doesn't take much to realize that I am constantly with myself... I am aware of my desire for food and clothing and shelter... I am aware of my intellectual, physical, and artistic skills and my drive to use them. I am aware of my anger, my lust, my feelings of revenge and resentment, and even at times my desire to harm. Indeed, what is central to me is: I exist. My own existence fills me, and wherever I turn I find myself again locked in my own self-awareness: I exist. Although experiences of hatred are different from experiences of love, and although a desire for power is different from a desire to serve, they all are the same insofar as they identify my existence as what really counts.
However, as soon as I say, 'God exists', my existence no longer can remain in the centre, because the essence of the knowlege of God reveals my own existence as deriving its total being from God. That is the true conversion experience. I no longer let the knowledge of my existence be the center from which I derive, project, deduct, or intuit the existence of God; I suddenly or slowly find my own existence revealed to me in and through the knowledge of God. Then it becomes real for me that I can love myself and my neigbour only because God has loved me first. The life-converting experience is not the discovery that I have choices to make that determine the way I live out my existence, but the awareness that my existence itself is not in the centre. Once I 'know' God, that is, once I experience God's love as the love in which all my human experiences are anchored, I can only desire one thing: to be in that love.
[thanks to Justinrockalot from Coast City Church for this beautiful arrangement of Michael Frye's song Be the Centre]
I read a good book, and tag the sections I find particularly challenging/moving. Then, when I'm finished the book, I reread the tagged bits and let them sink in all over again.
As you can see, I've found plenty to marinate in while reading Will and Lisa Samson's Justice in the Burbs and Henri Nouwen's Show Me the Way. About a dozen posts in the near future will share the most impacting/effective short quotes.
Short overview of each book: Show Me the Way has selections of Nouwen's writings from all over the place, gathered into 1.5-4 page devotionals for each day of Lent.
Justice in the Burbs is a three-ingredient recipe for serving up social justice in YOUR community. Each chapter includes:
an instalment of novelist Lisa's story about a family's journey into issues of justice
a reflection on the theological and cultural issues raised in the story with Will
a meditation from a variety of emergent/justice voices, eg Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt etc.
Get ready to be affected!! (And later on you may just have to order the books to read the lot for yourself!!)
I watched The Story of Stuff a few weeks ago, and it impacted me profoundly, answering questions I hadn't figured out how to connect into words yet - and giving motivation and sparking practical ideas for some new habits.
I refuse to tell you any more....it's so thoroughly well done you just have to watch it for yourself. Don't even stop to read comments just yet, click over and watch online NOW!
CCMBuzz community (I don't make it over as often as I used to, but it's still my original online community and one of my homes away from home)
Daily Devotions (a selection of Scripture, classic and modern devotional readings for each day)
Dullest Blog in the World (read it and be comforted that you are not the only one who suffers from dull moments; and in fact, an imaginative blogger can turn the potential terminality of the repetitive mutations of life into a fascinating and amazingly popular place of online refuge and solidarity)
Emergent Kiwi (Steve Taylor's blog, quite profound, creative and fun!)
Feedblitz (top service - join and tell them all your fave blogs, and they email you daily with everyone's latest updates (if any) - no more checking in vain!)
Follow the Rabbi (yes, Jesus came for all nations, but he came as a Jew, and understanding more about first century Jews sheds more light on Jesus' narrative thought world, and the Scriptures begin to make 'extra sense')
Frederica Mathewes-Green (contemplative, forthright, witty and creative, she's a mentor in what it means to be 'twice-liberated')
Google Images (I love recreationally searching with random words for cool pics)
