Category: reflections

Christian Liberation

“The liberation that Christianity preaches is a liberation from something that enslaves, for something that ennobles us. Those who talk only about the enslavement, about the negative part of liberation, do not have all the power that the church can give one.

It struggles, yes, against the earth’s enslavements, against oppression, against misery, against hunger. All that’s true – but, for what? For something.

St. Paul uses a beautiful expression: to be free for love. To be free for something positive, that is what Christ means when he says, ‘Follow Me.'”

– Oscar Romero

Related ::
HT – Tripp Fuller

Change for the better

Shared this with our community 2.0 leaders today….

Hello community 2.0 peeps…

Last night at our community group the three of us (yeah it was a slow week :-)) sat and talked about a number of things from prayer, to leadership, to future community groups etc. etc. We each talked about how refreshing Sunday at encounter was this past week. How it was a change from the ordinary and really seemed to spark something new.

It made me think about how often we get set in a routine even in our weekly community groups.

This morning, Small Group Dynamics touched on that as well. If things are starting to get “stale” or “traditional” in your group maybe it’s time to change things up a bit. Here are some of the things they suggested…

  • Change the expectations. If people expect to gather around a Bible study or a DVD curriculum or even around social interaction, the presence of the Spirit will be minimal. If people expect to meet with God and trust Jesus’ words: “Where two or three gather in my name, there I am also,” then people will seek something different in the group’s life even if they do not know how.
  • Shorten the Bible study to make room to wait on God together.
  • Take the risk of allowing silence during the meeting.
  • Vary the agenda from week to week.
  • Eat together. You might be surprised by this one, but I have found food as essential to connecting with one another and in inviting God’s presence into our midst.

    • I know some of the groups have had “coffee house night” and met at a local coffee house. Its not only given a change of pace for the group members, but also opened opportunities for discussions with others.

    What other ideas have you and/or your group done to change things up and keep it fresh?

    re: Simply living simply

    Suzanne at Adventures in Daily Living shared some thoughts and ideas on how to live simply. She shares the following list from A Vision Splendid:

    1. Living within our means in a small house with no debt
    2. No commercial TV
    3. Cooking from scratch
    4. Finding old ‘sturdy’ items second hand rather than a constant supply of cheap ‘made in china’ items that need replacing every 12 months
    5. Spending quality family time together
    6. Baking our own bread
    7. Brewing our own beer
    8. Fixing things ourselves
    9. Growing what we can
    10. Doing our own renovations
    11. Using the town library as a resource
    12. Buying local produce
    13. Composting our food scraps
    14. Minimising plastic packaging on foods
    15. Avoiding petrochemicals in products
    16. Work on a completely cash budget
    17. Changing all lights to CFLs
    18. Line dry the washing
    19. Menu planning
    20. Buying Australian grocery items where local not available
    21. Stockpiling
    22. Managing my home in a single binder
    23. Getting ahead by applying the 6P principle
    24. Having a planning day once a week
    25. Having a cooking day once a week
    26. Work hard at ‘saving’ through the year for an annual holiday
    27. Using old fashioned items and remedies – e.g. washup with sunlight soap, put eucalyptus oil on your hankie if you feel a cold coming.
    28. Wear an apron to keep your clothes clean
    29. Turn the TV off and read out loud to my children
    30. Wear hand me downs
    31. Avoiding food additives and chemicals

    The original list also contains some ideas for a “family eco-challenge.” Are you and your family doing any of these things? Anything you would add to the list?

    Related ::
    Adventures in Daily Living :: Stay Home Day
    A Vision Splendid :: Our Simple Life
    SSL :: Simply living simply pt 1
    SSL :: Simply living simply pt 2
    Shaun Groves :: Simplicity

    Update on Laurie

    Well Laurie went and saw the neurologist this morning. I probably should have gone with her – I couldn’t focus on work after her initial txt message ;-).
    The neurologist said she did fracture her t-spine in 4 places from her fall last week.
    When she passed out last Tuesday morning she basically took a nose dive off the examination table and landed on the top of her head.
    She then continued her roll and strained her neck and shoulder muscles.
    The resulting compression from the fall is what likely fractured her t-spine.
    She’s still in a good deal of pain but the neurologist said that because it is her spine and not her neck her rib cage works as a natural protection so no C-Collar is necessary and she can return to work tomorrow – but must avoid any heavy lifting.
    The doctor expects her to heal naturally on her own and X-Rays from this morning seem to show that has already started.
    Please continue to pray for her healing – specifically a continued reduction in her pain.
    The mornings seem to be the worse and if she returns to work tomorrow she won’t be able to take any pain meds early in the morning to help reduce the pain.
    Thanks again for all your prayers, txt messages, emails and such – and a special thanks to those of you who helped out by providing several meals for us!
    We do have some great friends and family!

    Related ::
    Info on the T-spine
    Vertigo :: Laurie’s recap of the fall
    SSL :: Meeting the girl of my dreams
    SSL :: Red Oak water supply and other updates

    Meeting the girl of my dreams

    Almost 2 years ago… exactly (as I write this)… I sent a text message to a beautiful woman.
    The message read, “standby for a knock at your door.”
    She didn’t get the message till 4 or 5 hours later.

    But in the meantime I met and got to know this same beautiful woman over a dinner at Blue Mesa, a trolley ride and coffee at Cafe Brazil.

    Yup. 2 years ago today I met my wife for the very first time… in person that is.

    Come to find out later – she’s not a big fan of Blue Mesa and she had a strict one-date rule. If she wasn’t impressed on the first date – you’re done – you’re through – no more attention from her.

    Yet some how another I managed to impress her with not knowing where to board the trolley and running out of things to do by 8:30 p.m…. luckily you can always count on Cafe Brazil (or maybe it was the singing of the Aladdin theme that impressed her — doubtful).

    Now after knowing her for two years its amazing to think about all the changes that have happened in our lives – and all for the better.

    I can’t imagine my life any other way than with her by my side.

    Happy “unofficial anniversary” Laurie. You are the pride of my life. I love you more than I ever thought possible!