what josh is teaching me about God #6

I arrived home from the U.S. yesterday, and it was so great to see Ali, Josh and Rachel again. I missed them a lot while I was away, and Josh didn't cope real well the last few days.

As is our custom at nights, last night I lay down with Josh to talk about his day, and (not surprisingly) he didn't want me to leave. Ali was at music rehearsal for Sunday morning, so I said to Josh I'd stay a bit longer if we could just lie still and not talk (he really needed to go to sleep). That moment was one of the richest of my life. he snuggled into me, and just lay there (something pretty rare for Josh!), letting me stroke his hair... bliss.

Then it hit me - maybe that's how God sees us when we've been away for a time. He doesn't want us to necessarily talk and tell him everything, grovel or enter with fear, but just says "let's lie here for a while - it's great to have you home".

what's really important?

I've had the pleasure of spending the last few days in Kansas City and Chicago with my very good friend, Chris Folmsbee. Today, a snowstorm came through Chicago, something I've not seen before. It was exciting and fun (I even got to shovel snow for the first time...)

What has amazed me, though, is how things can just shut down. We saw news reports about 400 flights being canceled at O'Hare, the trains stopping, the roads coming to a near standstill - and it wasn't even a bad storm! Apparently it gets a lot worse at times, and things can shut down pretty much altogether.

It's so easy for us to expect things to happen - from our favourite food being available at the supermarket to our sporting team to play a certain way, from planes being available when they're supposed to be, to people driving the way we expect them to. And when they don't... isn't that a great opportunity to realise that maybe something we thought was vital actually wasn't, and in that disconnect, we allow our minds to repent, and see things from a totally different point of view.

the desert

Last week, we went on a road trip to Canberra for Ali's brother's wedding. 14 hours each way, driving across the hay plain...
For those of you who don't know, the Hay Plain is a huge strip of road that connects Adelaide and Sydney and Canberra. It's a couple hundred kms of road, that in places is just plain straight for kms on end.

It's a very desolate place, and as we were driving it, I found myself able to pray and think really clearly, because there was nothing to distract me and a thought struck me that I'd never considered before. One of the advantages of desert experiences, and, I think, one of the reasons they are so powerful is because there are no distractions. As we move into the desert (whether that is literally or figuratively) we move away from the distractions that stop us thinking clearly, hearing clearly, praying clearly.

The other thing that hit me is that the purpose of spiritual disciplines (including the discipline of simplicity) is to take us into the desert - into places where we can move away from distractions, and hear, listen and pray.

hoping to live... but not living

I read this quote from Blaise Pascal (French mathematician and theologian who lived in the 17th century) today - wow.

"We never keep our minds on the present moment. We remember the past, as if we wanted to slow down the passage of time. And we look forward to the future, as if we wanted time to accelerate. We wander about in times that do not belong to us, and do not think about the only time that does. We dream of times past and future, and flee from the present. The reason is that the present is usually painful. We push it out of sight because it distresses us - only on those few occasions which are truly enjoyable are we sorry to see time slip away. We try to reduce present pain with joyful hopes of the future, planning how we are going to arrange things in a period over which we have no control and which we cannot be sure of reaching... The past and the present are our means, and the future alone is our end. Thus we never actually live, but hope to live. We are never actually happy, but constantly planning how to become happy."

What a challenge to think about the present in a different way...

finally...

I had one of those "moments" the other day. I love watching House, and regularly, at the end of a show, they have incredible songs - real poignant, and generally real chilled. I've been thinking for the last couple years "why don't they bring out a CD of those songs", and... they have!


I bought it yesterday - love it.

trust

I've been doing more thinking about this whole trust issue (some of you know the reasons for that!), and yesterday, I journalled the following:

What have I learned about trust?

— It’s about believing in the unknown – you don’t need to trust if you know the answer.

— It’s about believing the best – trust is not expecting that the other party is going to do you wrong, but believing they want the best for you

— It’s about not being in control – you don’t need to trust if you’re the one driving… if you’re in the passenger seat, you have to trust the driver knows where they’re going

— It’s about moving into the undefined – not about a clear plan (so why keep trying to make them?!)

— It’s loaded with patience – you have to be patient and wait for the outcome

— It’s about peace – if you trust, you don’t stress, you just “are”, and you can exist in that moment, not worrying about the next

Still trying to learn how to trust...

the kingdom

As you can see from my "reading" list, I'm reading "The Secret Message of Jesus" by Brian McLaren at the moment. In it, McLaren writes about how the imagery that Jesus uses of the Kingdom of God may not be as helpful for us, because Kingdoms are largely irrelevant to us, so he lists a number of alternatives that he's been pondering.

The one I love the most is the idea of the Dream of God - stronger language than the "wish" of God - so when Jesus says "the Kingdom is at hand", we could interpret that as "the dream of God is at hand". Because I've done a reasonable amount of thinking on the Kingdom, I hadn't connected the truth that for Joe Public, this is probably a foreign concept - I think I've actually been interpreting "Kingdom" along the lines of "dream", but haven't had the words to explain it.

I also love the idea of the network of God, and the dance of God - again, very powerful images which help me as I consider what it means to live according to "Kingdom values".

a prayer

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago (the divine hours), I have been aiming to engage in midday prayers each day.

Today's "Concluding Prayer of the Church" was brilliant:

O Lord my God, to you and your service I devote myself, body, soul, and spirit. Fill my memory with the record of your mighty works; enlighten my understanding with the light of your Holy Spirit; and may all the desires of my heart and will center in what you would have me do. Make me an instrument of your salvation for the people entrusted to my care, and let me by my life and speaking set forth your true and living Word. Be always with me in carrying out the duties of my salvation; in praises heighten my love and gratitude; in speaking of You give me readiness of thought and expression; and grant that, by the clearness and brightness of your holy Word, all the world may be drawn to your blessed kingdom. All this I ask for the sake of your Son my Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Amen is right!

making music

I'm often amazed an in awe of writers who can put words into such beautiful pictures that they move me. I'm currently reading "The Secret Message of Jesus" by Brian McLaren, and he writes:

"Jesus forms a movement of people who trust him and believe his message. They believe that they don't have to wait for this or that to happen, but rather that they can begin living in a new and better way now, a way of life Jesus conveys by the pregnant phase kingdom of God. Life for them now is about an interactive relationship - reconciled to God, reconciled to one another - and so they see their entire lives as an opportunity to make the beautiful music of God's kingdom so that more and more people will be drawn into it, and so that the world will be changed by their growing influence." (p 83)

What a fantastic picture of participating in the word of God. In sharing with my friends Simon and Luke this morning, we talked about how different that is from the "to do list" version of Christianity so many of us are used to. It also struck me that the music is playing, all the time, in people's lives, including our own, and our role is to stop long enough and often enough to hear the music, and help others to hear it and be drawn into it and influenced by it.

the divine hours

I re-read "Presence-Centered Youth Ministry" by Mike King (magnificent work that has shaped me a lot) a few weeks ago, and I'll probably put some key quotes up here soon (don't want to overwhelm you with book reviews!) One astounding comment which has changed my disciplines was this:

"I like midday [prayers] mainly because of the time of day it happens. Lunchtime is when I would set my course either toward or away from God. Midday is a great way for me to pause, reflect on God's character and invite him into everything I do throughout the rest of the day" - Nick, college student (p 135).

Those words smacked me between the eyes, and for the last while, I've been trying (at least when I'm at work) to implement them (I do hope to make it a routine every day, but one step at at a time...) A really useful site I've found is The Divine Hours. The great thing about the site is you can localise it to your timezone, and when you open it up, it comes up with morning, midday, evening (called vespers) and compline (to use just before you go to bed) prayers as appropriate. I've set a reminder in my calendar for noon and I stop whatever I'm doing, and take some time to work through the readings. As Nick says, it changes the direction and focus of the rest of the afternoon, and I try to take one main thought away to kind of digest throughout the arvo.

Give it a try and tell me what you think.

If anyone has any "portable" (ie PDA) versions you know of (I'm not always at my computer (!)), please let me know.

the ragamuffin gospel

While I was on leave, I read "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning. Manning is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I love his emphasis on a personal, relational, grace-full God, and the implication on us that this brings. I'll only give a couple of quotes here, because there are so many great things he says that I could fill up the page with them if I wrote them all out.

On Prayer:
" Pray as you can; don't pray as you can't (Don Chapman) ... A little child cannot do a bad colouring, nor can a child of God do bad prayer" (p 123-4)

On repentance and forgiveness:
"[The saved sinner] knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven" (p 54)

On guilt:
"Preoccupation with self is always a major component of unhealthy guilt ... Yes, we feel guilt over sins, but healthy guilt is one which acknowledges the wrong done and feels remorse, but then is free to embrace the forgiveness that has been offered" (p 90)

On our past:
"Whatever past achievements might bring us honour, whatever past disgraces might make us blush, all have been crucified with Christ and exist no more except in the deep recesses of eternity, where 'good is enhanced into glory and evil miraculously established as part of the grater good'" (p 36)

On "needing" to feel loved:
"In trembling insecurity the disciple pleads for proofs from the Lord that her affection is returned. If she does not receive them, she is frustrated and starts to suspect that her relationship with Jesus is all over or that it never even existed. If she does receive consolation, she is reassured but only for a time. She presees for further proofs - each one less convincing than the one that went before" (p 89)

On the Kingdom:
"The Kingdom is not an exlcusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there. No, it is for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious cast of people who understand they are sinners because they have experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle" (p 7)

To finish, a prayer Manning quotes from Charles Foucauld:

"Abba, I abandon myself into your hands. Do with me what you will: I accept all. Let your will be done in me and in all your creatures. I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my spirit. I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and I give myself, surrender myself int your hands without reserve, with boundless confidence, for you are my Father" (p 94)

weeds

Yesterday, I did my first weeding of our newly landscaped front yard (picture of my fantastic work down below...)

I can so see why Jesus decided to use weeds as an analogy - he must have done some gardening growing up, methinks. There's so much depth in it - the fact that if you deal with them early, they're easy to pull up, if you let them grow, they can get so interwoven with other plants it's hard to tell where one starts and the other finishes, sometimes you can pull weeds out, other times they just need to be sprayed, the plants grow a lot bigger and quicker when the nutrients aren't being stolen by the weeds... I could go on.

Apart from anything else, I'm going to keep trying to weed, just so that it reminds me to think of the weeding that I need to do in my own life.

everything old is new again

I'm currently finishing up at the National Youth Ministry Conference on the Gold Coast (I know... suffering for Jesus), so I'll make this pretty brief (more thoughts when I get back to business next week).

As I've blogged previously, I've been doing lots of contemplating about contemplative practices. I've found these have been referred to a number of times up here (which both pleases and encourages me), but what I've heard (assuming it's true - it came from Tony Campolo, so you'd think it would be) today shows me that this is not the first time contemplation has been back in vogue. Apparently a lot of John Wesley's (yeah, that old guy to the left) theology and practice was shaped by these same practices, from reading St John of the Cross, St Ignatius and the like). I know my Dad (who has done a thesis on Wesley) will be pleased I'm looking into this, and I'm sure he'll have lots of resources waiting for me when I return...

I'll be very interested to look into that and see exactly how this man who shaped a movement was shaped by these amazing early Christian thinkers. Stay tuned.

oh my...

Well, another month passes very quickly. Thankfully, I haven't been just sitting around doing nothing (I'd go mad!) I'm currently in the middle of a month off, which has been very refreshing, in lots of ways. I've accomplished two major goals which I'm very proud of...

Firstly, I've pretty much finished the renovations. All of the major, big jobs are done, and I'm really happy with the result. The most satisfying bit has been the landscaping out the front, because I did pretty much all of it (as opposed to the internal renos, which I finished off. There's something very satisfying about having a nice garden with a cool retaining wall that you've built yourself...

Secondly, I completed the 12 km City-Bay run on Sunday. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it, but my couple months of training paid off, and I did it in 1 hour 9 mins, which I'm pretty stoked with. Next year, my aim will be to break the 1 hour barrier.

Hope life's going well for you, too.

more on renovations

We've been doing some renovations for nearly a year now. The builders finished long ago, but I've been slack and haven't finished off the painting and landscaping that needs to be done.

Ali made a comment the other day about not being able to remember the last time that she didn't feel "unsettled". When we talked more about it, we realised it was before our renovations started, and I agree. Our house isn't a mess or anything (well, no more than usual), it's just that as we walk around, subconsciously we know that things aren't as they should be.

So, I finally bit the bullet the other day and started to get back into painting, and as I was, I realised how much I need things to be "complete" - I love clean lines, clean painted walls, rooms that are arranged as they should be.

As I was painting the cornices in our passage on Tuesday night, I realised that God must be a renovator at heart. I'm passionate about getting our house looking "right", and I didn't even make it. How much more passionate must God be, then, about restoring us, renovating us - his creations? How much must he long for things to be "as they should be" - knowing how much more "settled" we'd feel, if only we'd let him do a DIY job on us? Sure, we function as we are, but there's so much more than merely functioning...

the miracle of renovation

I read this awesome quote today...

When a new day dawns there speaks a voice, for those who have ears to hear, the voice of God, proclaiming: ‘Here is a fresh, unspoilt opportunity! Here is a clean page of the book; and even though some of the earlier pages have been full of blunders, smudges and mistakes which shame you bitterly to think of them, here is this page, untouched and spotless, waiting for the story you will write on it today. All the past is finished and forgiven. This is your hour of opportunity. I make all things new.’

That miracle of renovation can happen every morning. And all that you require, in order to know the joy and thrill of it yourself, is the resolve to begin each day by surrendering your life to God, as definitely as if you had never done it before… Every morning, to go down on your knees and say, ‘Dear God, I don’t ask to see the distant scene; but here, for the next twenty-four hours, is my life – I give it back to you, to guard, and bless and control!’ That is why the morning seasons of prayer and communion with God before the business of the day begins are so important – they give the daily divine miracle its chance to work out in your experience, and will make all things new and fresh and fair.

JS Stewart – The Strong Name (1940)

I love that comment - "the miracle of renovation can happen every morning". Wow.

what Josh is teaching me about God #5

Last night, Josh was getting ready for bed, putting his pyjamas on, when I was struck by one of those "moments". We're trying to teach Josh how to do up buttons at the moment, but before we got to that, Josh asked me to help him put his top on (knowing that the button thing was next). I said to him "no, you can do it", to which he replied "help me, Dad".

My first instinct was to do it for him - put his shirt on, do up his buttons, but a remarkable thing came out of my mouth instead. I said "No, you do it - I am helping you, Josh". I knew that I wouldn't actually be helping him if I did it for him, but would be helping him far more if I helped him learn how to do it.

I immediately wondered how many times I call out to God, "help me, Dad". I also pondered how often God's first instinct is to take away our pain, remove our suffering, fix our problems, but in God's infinite wisdom, he chooses not to - knowing we learn far more by working through it ourselves, and that we can't become whole if someone always does up our buttons for us...

learning from sore muscles

Yesterday, I had a personal training session at my gym, and I'm pretty sore today. I told my trainer to hammer me, and he certainly did that! But I feel good, because part of the reason I wanted to see him was because lately, when I've been at the gym, I haven't felt terribly sore after, so I've wondered how much I'm achieving. I know I achieved something yesterday!

There were a bunch of things I learned from him, but one which stood out was that part of the reason I've possibly not been hurting after my sessions is because I'm trying to do too much each time, rather than focussing on one muscle group, working that hard, then working another the next time I go.

Muscle is built most effectively by ripping the muscle, then allowing it to rebuild, then ripping it again (I can vouch for that today - ow!) When I go to the gym and work too many groups at once (arms, back, legs), I don't spend time on any particular area, drilling it, ripping it, so that it rebuilds. I just give them a little workout and don't achieve much. On the other hand, if I was to go and maybe work my triceps and calves one day, then back and biceps, then shoulders, core and upper legs, I would achieve much better results. By doing less each time, but being more focussed, I would in fact do more.

That made me reflect on my personal spiritual training. I probably operate the same way as I have been at the gym - generally covering some areas, but not in a focussed way. Perhaps I would be better served to "hammer" certain areas in prayer, Bible reading, other reading - working one area part of the week, and another at other times. Could be interesting to consider...

I also think there is possibly something there about working and resting - that again, muscle is build by drilling it, then giving it time to rebuild. That seems to give me even more reason to believe that rather than thinking of life (or ministry) as a marathon (as so many have said), my notion that it is rather a series of sprints (with adequate rest in between) is more valid, because if we just keep plodding (marathon-like), we'll get somewhere, but probably lose body weight, etc. By living by working real hard, then resting well, then working again - in theory, this should make us stronger. What do you think?

soul cravings

I know - 2 posts in 2 days... incredible!!

I've just finished reading Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus. Here are some key thoughts that stood out to me from the book (I can't give you page numbers, because McManus breaks the book up by theme (cravings, destiny and meaning), then writes as journal entries - not sure how one would reference that in an essay!):

"God calls us out of the life we have known and calls us into a life we have never imagined"

"It's important to fully live each moment, but equally important to make sure that we do not live only for this moment."

"When you give up on hope, you become paralyzed in the present and begin to live in the past"

"Spirituality is more identified with tradition and ritual than it is with a future and a hope. Too often discipleship equals standardization"

"While religions have historically tried to make us the same, Jesus calls us to be different"

"Clearly we can't know everything ... Genius might be less how much you know and more the ability to know the right things."

And finally a quote from Cheng Yi which I think sums up my blog... "To exert thought is like digging a well. At first there is only muddy water. Later on, after one has done some drawing, clear water will come out. One's thoughts are always muddy at first. After a long while they will naturally be nicely clear"

another year older... amongst other happenings

Well, once again, a number of weeks have passed, with no blogging. Ah, discipline... how you mock me...

Here's a brief overview of a couple of highlights of what's happened during this time. If you want any more info, you should leave a comment!

I bought a new camera - Panasonic FZ7 - very cool
We've run multiple "crazy" nights in our evening gatherings at RBC - been a lot of fun
In one of these (last Sunday night), I had part of my head shaved during the service
It's been really cold - and I've had 2 colds...
Watched the end of Heroes - brilliant
Prepared for the last episode of Lost (tonight, our time)
Josh and I just celebrated our 4th and 33rd birthdays last weekend.
We gave Josh a slot car set - sooo much fun (but it is his present... right?!)
I bought the new Smashing Pumpkins CD (I didn't even know they had a new one coming out) - Zeitgeist - as well as On a Clear Night (Missy Higgins) and Neon Ballroom (Silverchair). I've been wanting to get Neon Ballroom for ages, and finally found it for $10! Yeah!
I started a Facebook page - not sure why, yet... seems like the thing to do at the moment.

Obviously more than that has happened, but they're some highlights. Once Ignite (our evening service series) is over, I intend to make it a priority to blog at least once a week - you can hold me to it!

been a while...

I confess I've been pretty slack on the blogging front of late. I'm not quite sure why - I think that it's probably because blogging is a discipline, and like lots of disciplines, I'm not great at keeping them. No, it doesn't take a lot of time to log on, write a few words, and post, but actually having something useful to say (I think there's more than enough trash on the internet without me adding any) is a different matter.

It's not because I'm too busy, either. I made a vow a number of years ago to never use that as an excuse for anything. I feel there are far too many people who wear busyness as a badge of honour - trying to say "I'm the busiest person ever". To me, if you say you're too busy to do something, it's because of one of two reasons - either your time management needs work, or you can't make whatever is being discussed a priority. (I don't have an issue with people prioritising, either - it's healthy - but don't use busyness as an excuse to get out of something you don't want to do!)

The fact of the matter is, I just need to bite the bullet and take some time out more regularly to reflect more. I'm meeting with my good friend Andrew Turner this afternoon, and I'm sure this will be one of our topics of discussion...

learning from a learner driver

On the way to church this arvo, we went past a learner driver, and on the back of the car was a big sign saying "Be Patient".

It's so easy to get frustrated with people who are learning, and easy to forget that we all had to learn at some point, too. What a great reminder that if we are sitting behind a learner driver, we should be patient with them (something I excel at... ahem...), because the last thing they need is pressure, and they're not going to learn and develop if they can't be "on the road".

For all parts of life, I think the same applies - it's easy to get frustrated with those who are learning skills, and easy to forget our own path. What's more impacting for me, though, is that I need (humbling as it is) a big "Be Patient" sign stuck on my head, to remind myself to be patient as I'm learning, to remember that others had to develop over time, and weren't instantly great at the things they do.

Be Patient...

delayed gratification

I've been thinking a bit lately about how much we are shaped by the instant gratification that our culture has sold us on. A lot of the decisions we make seem to be dictated by how I feel right now - whether I can be bothered making that phone call/sending that encouragement/going to the gym/reading that book/doing that cleaning.

Once again, the gym made me thing about it, because I was sitting at home on Tuesday, deciding whether I'd go or not. To be honest, I really didn't want to - I was happy at home, warm, had other things I thought about doing. But, I did go, and 1/2 way through my workout, I thought "why would I have wanted to miss how I feel now?"

I wish there was a way of experiencing how we are going to feel ahead of time. In other words, I wish my body/mind would allow me to know how I was going to feel after I'd been to the gym/finished the assignment I needed to do/ticked some things off my to do list/etc... but allow me to feel that as part of the motivation of actually doing it.

I wonder if that's where habits and rituals help. If we do something often enough, our body/mind is much better able to know how we are going to feel, and so give us extra motivation to get on and do it.

everybody needs good neighbours?

Driving around yesterday, I was surprised to see 2 churches (a Baptist and a Uniting church) right next to each other - and I mean literally next door to each other. We were on our way to a family lunch, driving past as their services were finishing, and I found myself wondering why on earth 2 faith communities would want to set themselves up that close to each other.

The more I thought about it, the more amazed I became - think about it... at the same time yesterday, these 2 God-families were probably singing similar songs, listening to a preacher each, having tea and coffee, talking about the events coming up this week. It seems very odd to me. I guess it's no different to what happens all the time on a Sunday morning, it's just that this time, they were right next to each other.

We have issues at our church at times, with our neighbours complaining about the noise we make - I wonder if either of these churches ever find themselves frustrated at the "noise" of the other - one church singing songs while the other is trying to pray, for example...

Like I said, seems a bit odd to me...

change of address

I decided to change my blog to a more logical (though some would doubt that I have achieved this) name, so my apologies if you've been wondering what happened to my old blog and have just stumbled over here. From now on, please update your favourites and links to http://randomcogitationist.blogspot.com

prayer

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about prayer. Subconsciously, we seem to have this idea that prayer is about changing God's mind, or maybe about convincing God to do things the way we'd like to. We know that part of prayer is about what God wants, but there seems to be a bit of a mentality that I've seen (especially around church prayer meetings - not as much at our church, thankfully!) that if we do things right (get enough people coming, pray for long enough, hard enough, etc), then God will act.

I'm sure you've never heard (or prayed) things like "God, we just (why do we use "just" so much when we pray?) pray that you'll turn up tonight", "God, we pray you'll do this or that".

I'm actually starting to think that prayer is a lot more about me, than God. Sound ego-centric? Maybe. But what if I approach prayer from the perspective that I'm not trying to convince God, but trying to get his heart. In praying for someone I know who's sick, I'm trying to understand that God cares even more about that person than I do, I'm asking God to help me bring healing and restoration to them when I see them next. In praying for a situation, I'm trying to find out what God is thinking about/doing in that situation. In confession, I'm not telling God anything he doesn't know, but being honest with myself about my sin, and understanding how amazing it is that God forgives me.

It might seem obvious, but I don't hear many people talking about it, and I hear even less people praying like it. I guess it comes back to the core reason why I pray - do I pray to change God's mind, or to get God's heart?

good vs great

I was thinking the other day about what makes the difference between those who achieve some good things in their lives, and those who achieve greatness, and it seems to me that the difference is not in the major decisions, but in the little ones. Part of the thought started because I'm struggling on a regular basis (especially at the moment, because it's cold, dark and raining) to be motivated to go to the gym - I'd really rather stay at home in the warmth (especially this week when I'm crook).

What strikes me is that the genesis of greatness is in the small decisions such as when you are lying in bed thinking "do I stay here for an extra 1/2 hour, where it's warm, dry, sleepy or do I get up and spend the extra time doing (insert something here)".

For athletes, it's the difference between choosing to stay at training a little bit longer when your body is already aching, and taking extra shots before or after practice, doing extra runs, or deciding to go in when everyone else does.

For musicians, it's the difference between choosing to go over the song that extra time, making sure that every note is covered, or deciding to go through the songs once or twice until you've got them under control.

For parents, it's the difference between choosing to spend that extra bit of time watching something you don't want to, reading that extra story, lying on their bed that little bit longer, playing for that extra 5 minutes, or deciding to do what you want (need?) to do.

For Jesus-followers, it's the difference between choosing to stop and listen, reflecting on the Words you've just read, making a conscious effort to make someone else feel loved, or deciding that you've done your devotion, you've served all day, and you want to put your feet up.

Note that in all of those things, the 2nd choice is not at all a cop-out - those people are putting in, most definitely. But greatness seems to come from making the small decisions to go that little bit further, do that little bit extra, give up that little bit more.

slow down...

Yesterday, we had a men's golf day for our church. It was great - perfect weather, and our team (we played by the Ambrose scoring method) came second.

On the way to golf in the morning, I went past a sign that said "Slow Down". Given that I was driving through beautiful countryside, on a crisp morning, with the sun beaming in my windows, on my way to a morning of golf, this was a great reminder of what I was about to do - slow down.

But it got me thinking - I wish there were more "Slow Down" signs in my life - especially when there was danger around the corner. It would be so great if God could prop a Slow Down sign in front of me when I was about to enter a time of increased caution - a narrow bridge, a slick on the road, maybe part of the road where no lines were marked.

I think all of us need to be reminded from time to time that we can't keep going at the same pace all of the time - sometimes, if we want to keep going on the journey we're on, we need to take our foot off the accelerator, and be more aware of what is going on around us.

Slow down...

where's the time go...?

I can't believe it's been nearly 3 weeks since I last wrote something on here... oops! It's funny how easy it is to just get bogged down in life, rushing from one thing to another, and not really taking any time to stop and think (and therefore have something to blog about...)

Part of my distraction has been that I finish up as the Director of Worship at our church this weekend. My role is returning to being solely focussed on ministry with youth and young adult's, which I can't wait for. For the last few years, I've been doing both roles, and it's been a lot of fun - there's been some challenges, but I believe (hope?) things are in a much better place now than they were when I started.

Now I get to focus in on my main passion, which I'm really blessed to be able to do. Hopefully I'll also get more time to read and reflect and post amazing, intelligent, deeply theologically, insightful comments on here (or at least what I've been thinking about, anyway).

This process has helped me sharpen what my primary calling and passion is, and challenged me to give up other things which I love and am passionate about, but which, ultimately are taking me away from the role I can play the best. What role do you play best and what's distracting you from it?

the star of the show

My friends Simon and Luke and I have been reading through "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller when we meet each fortnight - taking it a chapter at a time. Last week, we looked at the chapter on community (which I think is the one that challenges me the most). In it, Miller talks about how he (and I think most of us) function as though we are the star of the show - the central character in life - with other people coming onto our "stage" as we interact with them, saying their lines, then leaving.

I think this is deeply profound, because I know that's how I function most of the time - focussed on my lines, and whether people are adding or detracting to my story. Rarely do I consider what is happening in other people's stories.

It seems to me that if we each aimed to make other people feel like the stars (therefore being made to feel like a star by other people, instead of ourselves), true community would occur. It adds to the importance of listening, too, because in true listening we try to put ourselves in the other person's position - again, making them the star, rather than ourselves. It also to me embodies servanthood, because we aim to take the lowest position (the extra), rather than being the star.

tour guides?

Last week, I had a conversation with my friend Andrew Turner, during which we were discussing spiritual direction. I was saying how I've been more and more taken by the importance of leaders (youth and young adult's leaders in particular) being spiritual leaders - people who assist those they are walking with to listen to the rhythm of God in their life.

Andrew made a profound comment which I intend to think more about. He talked about the difference between a tour guide, who goes with you on your journey, and points out important landmarks/icons that you might miss, as opposed to someone at an information desk, who gives you a brochure, and leaves you to find your own way.

I like the analogy of spiritual direction being along the lines of a tour guide - I am there as someone who has walked the route a bit more than the person I'm "guiding", to make sure nothing important is missed, but not to be one of those irritating tour guides, who never lets you explore anything on your own, or who talks so much that you never get to really experience it for yourself. Clearly, I'm going to have to go on some guided trips to some exotic locations so I can learn more about being a tour guide...

finding rest

I was reading through Hebrews with my friends Luke and Simon a couple of weeks ago, and was taken by 4:9-11a...

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who enter into God's rest will find rest from their labours, just as God rested after creating the world. Let us do our best to enter that place of rest.

Part of the reason it stood out to me was because of the tiredness I feel at the moment, but since then, I've read or heard people talking about Sabbath or rest 4 or 5 times (obviously something I need to think about, right...?) As I've reflected on it, I've realised that most of the time I think about Sabbath or rest in terms of what I should not do - I shouldn't work, I shouldn't think about ministry, I shouldn't do certain things, etc. I've been trying to work out what re-creates me (don't have any real answers yet), so that I can do whatever that is as part of my rest, but I've also stumbled across something I've never heard anyone talk about before.

Andy Stanley spoke at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit last year, and he talked about the trust involved in making his decision to work 45 hours a week, so that he could make family the priority it deserved (feel uncomfortable about that idea? Maybe you need to think about it a bit more!) In doing that, he's had to throw himself back on God and say "God, I've given all I can, you need to do the rest" - something I think a lot of us don't do often enough.

But here's the bit that stands out to me. Sabbath is actually about trust. Sabbath is less about what we do (or don't do) and more about getting perspective. When I choose to have a Sabbath rest, I stop doing long enough to realise God can accomplish anything he wants without me, and that's very freeing. That's why it's a spiritual discipline, because it's (as I am starting to think most spiritual disciplines are) more about recognising who God is and what God's doing than it is about me.

To take a Sabbath is to hear God say remember who's the one who's actually at work here - you're a participant, sure, but it's my work. It is to hear God say this is about far more than just what you can do. It's to hear God say I'm at work in the hearts and lives of the people I love, so rest in the assurance that it's not all on your shoulders. It's to hear God say "I will give you rest", because "my yoke fits perfectly and the burden I give you is light" (Matt 11:29-30)

woody the philosopher

I was reading a "Toy Story" book to Josh today, and in it was this very profound quote (taken from the movie):

"Look, over in that house is a kid who thinks you are the greatest, and it's not because you're a space ranger, pal. It's because you're a toy. You are his toy!" - Woody to Buzz

It's such a challenge to not let our identities be shaped by what we do (or who we think we should be). I find it so hard to understand that I am worthwhile, and it is not because of any of the titles I have or any of the things that I do, but because I am God's. Not God's toy in a negative way, but loved, adored, included, as a child loves a particular toy. I guess it's appropriate that I read that today, on Good Friday, as a reminder for why Jesus went through what he went through - so that we could truly, finally, completely be God's.

what josh is teaching me about God #4

Today, we took the kids to a playground. I never ceased to be amazed at the way Josh's confidence changes at playgrounds. At first, he'll be all over it, climbing, sliding, jumping. Eventually, though, he gets to a point where he climbs something a little higher than he feels comfortable, and he starts to freak out a bit.

All it takes, though, is for me to walk over, let him know I'm there, that I've got him, that I won't let him fall, and he can keep going.

I know I react a lot like that on the playground that is life. I get all cocky, thinking I can handle whatever comes my way, until things get a bit out of control, then I look for God's hands to hold me, to remind me that actually He's got it all under control, and that he won't let me fall. While that's comforting, it grieves me to a degree, too. I shouldn't just reach out for God when things are tough, but need to realise He's actually enveloping me all the time, and that I need to involve him consciously in the pleasure of every part of daily life, not just when things get out of control.

trust issues

Trust is one of the the most interesting things to me. Trust is something that is very hard to define, and even harder to live out. It's passive, and yet active. It's stressful and yet gives peace. It's hidden and yet obvious.

I remember having the conversations we all do with my parents about trust - particularly about driving cars. "It's not you that we don't trust (to not have a crash late at night), it's other people". Did they fully trust me, then - to be alert enough to other people, to be cautious (not that I probably was)? Even if they fully did trust me (which I don't think they did deep down - I know they wanted to, though), I don't think they were able to trust my position in the whole situation. Thankfully, they still let me drive, and their trust grew.

I find trusting God hard on the same level. Do I trust God? I think so. I try to. I want to. But do I try to take control of situations? Yep. Do I try to move ahead of God's timing? Yep. Why? The only reason I can see is because I actually don't trust Him completely. That's where the passive/active side of it comes in - is trust sitting and waiting for God to reveal His plans, trusting God's position in the whole situation? Sometimes. Is trust me stepping out in faith first - being active in my trust, knowing that as I do, my trust will grow? Sometimes. That's where I think trust becomes what it really is - a daily discipline. Some days, my trust will mean I need to be patient (something I'm terribly good at...) and wait, and not try and control. Some days, my trust will mean I need to do something - take a step, take a risk, trusting God has led me to do so.

That stresses me out (a ridiculous amount at times) - letting go of control, waiting; or alternatively stepping out in faith, without a clear answer before me. Yet it brings peace, because I know it's up to God, not me; because deep down somewhere I know God will act in the situation, and it's all going to be OK.

But I'm not really even slightly qualified to speak on the subject, so I'll leave it to someone I think should be listened to a lot more than me - Brennan Manning. These words have been messing with me and challenging me for 6 months now:

"The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some pre-determined, clearly delineated plan for the future. The next step discloses itself only out of a discernment of God acting in the desert of the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signalled the movement and offered it his presence and his promise." - "Ruthless Trust" (p 12-13)

Wow.

listening

I keep being challenged about being a better listener. It's coming from everywhere, too - books, movies, although no-one's told me I'm a bad listener yet (maybe I'm not listening...) Even last night, I sat down to watch The Simpsons, and there's a repeat of episode 1305 "Jaws Wired Shut", where Homer has his jaw broken and can't talk, so he has to learn how to listen, and is amazed at the results. Sometimes I wonder if I should have my jaw wired shut so I can learn to listen to what others say, but that wouldn't help me listen to God better, I'm sure.

I think it's just like everything else in my crazy, Western, full-of-unimportance life - I'm in too much of a rush to listen properly. I can't sit and listen to someone take a long time to say what they need to say - I've got other things to do! My friend Michael Novelli posted a quote from Henri Nouwen about listening on his blog, and I love the part that says:

"Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings."

That's really at the core of me being a bad listener - I think my listening is about working out what I need to say to the person, not about trying to welcome another in - or even more aiming to grow in my empathy, to not only hear what the person is saying, but trying to listen to what's inside them causing them to say it.

So hard...

what Josh is teaching me about God #3

Josh has started to, at random intervals, turn to Ali or I and say "I love you, Mum", or "I love you, Dad". It's very cute. Last night at dinner, out of nowhere, he started stroking Ali's arm, and said "I love you, Mummy". It almost doesn't matter what else he's been doing, it melts our hearts.

I don't say "I love you" often enough to God. I wouldn't use it as a way of getting out of trouble (as I think Josh does sometimes...), but need to remember how much it melts God's heart to hear me tell Him how I feel.

defrosting

I spent about 2 hours defrosting our freezer last night - what a job. It struck me, though, as I waited for all that ice to melt so that we could actually put things in the freezer, and open the drawers (yes, it was that bad in places) that if I hadn't been so lazy, and had done something about it a couple of months ago when I first noticed the ice buildup, it wouldn't have taken me so long.

Then I started thinking... How often do I let "ice" build up in the freezer that is my own life and heart, and then it takes a massive operation, with hours of defrosting to get things right. Sure, God will happily chip away for hours at the ice that stops me operating properly (and is making me more inefficient), but it would be a lot easier for him if I subjected myself to his defrosting more often. Those big emotional moments we have are often because the door won't close anymore, or because the drawers won't open, or because we know we should be able to fit more in, but because of the buildup of ice, we can't. Even more reason to daily allow God to search me, and clean me out.

Of course, maybe I could become frost-free, somehow...

understanding comics

I read a book called "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. Fascinating book. If you hate reading, here's a book for you - it's all (and I mean all) in comic form! In it, McCloud takes us through the history and development of comics, how comics are put together, and why they have the potential to be so powerful.

Two things struck me, and both have to do with the way in which comics have the potential to powerfully shape us, because we fully enter into the stories and engage with them. The first reason for that is because (most) comics are simple drawings, and when we see a simple icon, we tend to see ourselves in it much easier than something that is photorealistic (if you don't believe me, read this book. If you can't be bothered finding the book, you'll just have to trust me). The second reason is because of the space between the panels, called the "gutter". In this blank space, we (the reader) must fill in the gaps between what happens in one panel and what we see in the next. Therefore, without even knowing it, our brains are entering into the story fully, because we have to. Out of this, what I interpret happens to move from panel to panel may be different to what you interpret might happen. (There are some lines about having your "mind in the gutter" here, but I'll leave them alone).

No wonder we all love comics so much - we engage with them almost more fully than any other source of media - books, tv, spoken word.

a comforting truth

We watched "An Inconvenient Truth" today. A very disturbing movie. How anyone can remain unmotivated about doing something about global warming after seeing that movie is beyond me. Go to the official website if you haven't heard about it. If you haven't seen it, you should.

One of the things that did stand out to me, though, was a continued reflection from this blog entry about Bobby. Coming away from that, I spent considerable time pondering what would have happened had Robert F. Kennedy not been assassinated and had become President. With Al Gore, it's a very different matter, because he didn't miss out on becoming President because he was killed (obviously), but rather defeated in somewhat controversial circumstances. I don't know the full history (I intend to look into it a bit further), but it looks as if Gore potentially should have become President of the United States in 2000. As I pondered with Kennedy, imagine if Gore had become President instead of Bush...

However (and this is where the title of the post comes from), I find 2 things comforting about that the fact it didn't happen. The first is that if Gore had become President, his fight to focus on global warming (which is decades old for him) would have no doubt been distracted. How could he have continued to focus on global warming while dealing with the 9/11 attacks, for example (regardless of how differently he would have surely handled the last 6 years since then...)

The second encouragement is that Gore didn't just give up, but instead has (possibly) become even more "powerful" in some ways because of the course he's taken. Maybe not from a military or economic (although possibly) point of view, but politically...? I also seem to recall Gore being the butt of a lot of jokes around 2000 about his personality, etc. Look at him now - Leonardo DiCaprio salutes him at the Oscars! There's a fantastic lesson in there about sticking to what it is you are made to do, and not being knocked off course if things don't seem to go right, but seeing the opportunities that are presented to you and taking them.

what josh is teaching me about God (#2)

Patience.

I probably don't need to add much to that, except that one of the things I'm learning is how patient I need to be with Josh - when I think he's got things sorted, all of a sudden, he'll lapse back into old behaviours, doing things we've talked about before.

In those moments, I hear the still, small voice inside gently remind me... "sometimes I have to be like that with you, you know..." I remember the number of times I lapse back into old behaviours, the number of times I do things God has talked to me about before, the number of times I lose focus and drift. Good thing He's a better Dad than I am...

expectations >> results

Last night we visited another church as part of my holidays. As I was on the way there, I realised that the expectations we have of "church" (whatever that looks like) will drastically impact on our critique of the service(s) we attend. If you believe that church should be a rock concert, and the music or the sound or the style of songs is below par, you'll be let down. If you believe that church should be a place where someone will preach an incredible message and give you a word from God, and that doesn't happen, you'll be let down. If you believe that church should be a place where you can meet with your family in Christ, belonging, caring and being cared for, and that doesn't happen, you'll be let down.

I'm having an extended conversations with my friends Simon and Luke about what church is, or what they think church should be, because I think we have a "default" belief of what church should be (based on our history, experiences (positive and negative), perpetuated myths, culture, etc) and this understanding is not always Bible-based, and not necessarily what we would believe if we spent some time really reflecting. I have no issue with people critiquing church, as long as they've really thought through what church should be, and are willing to be part of the solution to making church even more like it should.

bobby

Ali and I went to see the film "Bobby" yesterday. It's the story of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, and the story of the lives of the other people who were shot that day. They did a great job of telling the stories of 22 people without making it confusing, and brought those characters together really well at the climax of the film. I personally found myself drawn to the characters played by Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Fishburne - both wise, sagely, reflective men.

Something that stood out to me was the power that words can have, and a musing on whether people are aware, in the moment, that the things they're saying will end up defining not only them, but their times. The Kennedy speech at the end of the film moved me to the core.

I was also struck by the reality that the issues Kennedy seemed to be fighting against seem to be the same issues we're still fighting today - wars where people are senselessly killed, questions over why those battles are even being fought, racism, bigotry, the need for unity, peace. Consider if these words (with a couple of obvious substitutions) are as valid now as they were nearly 40 years ago...

"I think we can end the divisions within the United States. What I think is quite clear is that we can work together in the last analysis. And that what has been going on with the United States over the period of that last three years, the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society, the divisions - whether it's between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups, or in the war in Vietnam - that we can work together. We are a great country, an unselfish country and a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running." Robert F. Kennedy, hours before his assassination.

a whole new mind

I just (finally) finished reading "A Whole New Mind", by Daniel Pink (Riverhead, 2005) which my good friend Chris gave me while I was in the US last year. It's a very insightful book, which talks about the need for us to develop "R-Directed Thinking ... [thinking] directed by right-brain attribute, toward right-brain results, focussing on developing six new "senses" - Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning.

I found it very helpful as someone who calls himself a "floater" - floating between what I would crudely (and probably terribly inaccurately) define as modern and post-modern thinking. I found myself realising that many of the frustrations I feel are because I want to function out of these senses, and yet know I need to spend time deliberately cultivating these senses, as they are not part of my "default" way of thinking. His "portfolios" at the end of each chapter, with practical ways to develop these abilities are a great way to explore which of these are natural and which need more work.

I highly recommend this book if you are spending time contemplating why you don't fit in with many of the structures and modes of thinking around you...

what josh is teaching me about God (#1)

I regularly am amazed at the things my son Josh teaches me about God. It shows me so clearly how God is our perfect Father, and I'm so not perfect... but in the midst of my inadequacy, I hear God whispering to me - "that's how I feel about you". This happens regularly enough that I thought I'd start a list. Here's the first.

What is quickly becoming one of my favourite parts of life is at the end of each day, when Josh goes to bed. Each night, he asks me to stay with him, after we've read stories, thanked God for the cool stuff that's happened during the day. Ali leaves, and it's just the two of us, lying on his bed. I really want this to become a time when he knows he can share anything with me - his fears, his worries, asking him what the best part of his day has been, using a contemplative practice I mentioned here... contemplative youth ministry). Josh is only 3, so most of that goes over his head, and he talks to me about Buzz's incredible jumping ability (he's right into "Toy Story 2" at the moment), or about who's got a store in "Cars". However, and this is the bit God is teaching me, what I value is the time when we just lie there, being together, and what I yearn for is to know what's going on in his mind and soul. I know that's what God wants from me, too, not my idle chatter about things that aren't important (although he tolerates that), but to really talk, and get to the heart of what I'm thinking, hoping, worrying, wishing for and about.

contemplative youth ministry

I've just finished reading "Contemplative Youth Ministry" by Mark Yaconelli (2006: Youth Specialties). It's a brilliant book for those who are struggling with what it means to be involved in youth ministry, or just starting out in youth ministry. While some of the comments in it are more geared towards the North American market, there are some pearls in this book that should make it recommended reading (even if you don't agree with it all, it's worth being challenged by some of Yaconelli's thoughts). Some key points that stood out for me:

"Contemplation means "being" with God within the reality of the present moment. Contemplation is about presence [Yaconelli discusses being "present" with students later]. It's about attentiveness - opening our eyes to God, ourselves, and others." [p 23]

"If love is a gift, then the first step in living into that love is to surrender. We need to stop trying to make kids love God (or make God love our kids) ... Once we admit that we are powerless to turn kids into Christians, we can recognize that ministry is a series of small acts of trust. It's more about yielding to what is already present and available than it is about creating or building." [p 72]

The table on pages 79-80 talking about the difference between anxiety and love displays in a very helpful way the two mentalities we can have about youth ministry (I know which one I'd rather be involved with!)

"The love of God is often more powerful and transformative in these small acts of love [talking about Jesus' acts of kindness] than in the lights, energy, and charisma of large outreach events. What if we became more aware of the small ways in which we engage young people? What if our ministry was about giving rides home, sharing snacks, opening doors, helping carry book bags, and giving compliments when a young person has taken great care in his appearance? ... We become aware, as Jesus suggests, that in these acts of love we're not just carrying a book bag for a young person, we're also making contact with Jesus. We begin to feel more and more that we're participating in God's mission of love, rather than serving some moral ideal." [p 115-116]

"Youth ministry is about holding a young person's deepest identity until he or she is able to see it too" [p 121]

The awareness examen [discovered by Ignaitus of Loyola] is a tool I intend to use with my leaders, my students, but also myself. It "asks you to review a particular encounter ... and prayerfully ask two questions: For what moment am I most grateful? For what moment am I least grateful?" [p 132]

"Our first task as youth ministers is to be with young people just as Jesus was with people" [p 180]

"One of the first ways we can help youth become more aware of their life in God is to point to the moments when Jesus seems near" [p 183]

"The purpose of integrating contemplative presence in youth ministry is not to turn kids into monks, nor is it to make us experts in contemplative prayer; it is to deepen our awareness of God, others, and self so that we might become fully alive ... Engaging kids solely in contemplative exercises is unnatural, because contemplative prayer does not lead to more contemplative prayer - it leads to authentic action" [pp 230-231]

Lots to ponder...

really letting go

We had our youth camp over the weekend, and God did some amazing things in the lives of our students. On Saturday, we had lots of issues - things that distracted us from what God wanted to do, things that were fracturing relationships, causing friction - and yet despite this (or maybe because of this) on Saturday night, God broke through in a powerful way. We had the students write down things they needed to give up to God, and then have them come forward and burn them. There was a sense that our students had often given up lots of things to God, but kept taking them back, so as a symbol of this, we wanted to let them have a way of knowing they'd let go and these things were now gone - unable to be read, picked up, looked at. It was a powerful time of restoration, as the students (many of them amidst great pain) processed what it meant to let these things go, and then did. We offered them the opportunity at the end of that time to come forward and allow the image of the ashes and fire burning to be captured in their minds, to help them this week when they are tempted to take those things back. Many of them took this opportunity (and we took some video footage of the same image), and I think it's going to become a useful tool to keep reminding them of the deep work God did in their lives.

updated picture of acts 2

I had coffee this arvo with an old friend - Matt Hawke - and as we revisted old times, one of the things I reminded him of was the best definition I've ever heard of young adult's ministry... that he wrote. As we talked some more, I realised it's actually a perfect contemporary picture of the acts 2 community I'd love to be a part of...

"I dream of finding a group of young people who share my passion, to which I can belong and in which I can feel safe. I dream of laughing, playing, crying, coffee-ing, movie-ing and worshipping with the group. I dream of finding a smaller set of people, maybe just a few or a couple, with whom I can be totally and plainly honest, open and real. I dream of finding people who love me for me - yes I mean it."

being God's kid

As someone learning to be a Dad (and trying to be as good a Dad as I can), there are so many times when I reflect on my relationship with my kids, and am blown away that God thinks of me like that. That he loves it when I just sit in his arms and relax. That he loves to hear about my day. That he loves to hear me talk about the things I'm worried about. That he loves to make me feel loved and safe. As I once heard, God is not a reflection of our earthly fathers (ie "if you look at your father, God is a better Dad than that"), it's the other way around - we who have the privilege of being called fathers are a reflection of the perfect Dad, and all the best things about our fatherhood come from his relationship with us.

what's important

Today, I had the privilege of sitting down for a couple of hours with one of our youth leaders (what an awesome group they are - I'm so blessed) to talk about some things that he was going through. It reminded me that this is what I live for - everything else is just about creating an opportunity to enter into someone else's life, journey with them for a while, seek God together, and (hopefully) grow and move deeper in our understanding of and love for God. It's so easy to get distracted by all the other things that we who are involved in youth ministry can be distracted by - running programs, organising studies, making creative multimedia, shaping bands to lead worship. There's nothing wrong with any of those things, but if they become the master, we're on a slippery path. They all exist to allow us to spend those magic minutes (or hours) engaging the heart and soul of the people God gives us.

making God happy

My beautiful wife, Ali, got me thinking the other day. We were talking about what we like, and she said she wanted to get better at doing at least one thing every day to make me happy (I told you she was awesome!) That got me thinking about how deliberately I am (or am not, more to the point) trying to do at least one thing every day to make God happy, and what I could do if I did (a point my friend Simon Giles raised earlier this year). I sensed God saying the thing I could do more to make Him happy the most would be to spend more time with him each day. What about you?

restoration

I've been blessed to connect with my friends with Sonlife USA, Chris Folmsbee and Michael Novelli, who work with a very helpful framework centred around the whole story of God. In short, it's about understanding that God's plan has always been a plan of restoration - God is all about restoring the world to himself and to each other. We then have a wonderful role to play as "agents of restoration" within this plan - people who help others to see they are restored to God and helping restore people to each other (including in our own relationships). I've been developing some training material around this with Youth Ministries Australia, but it's been as I've unpacked this in my own thoughts that it's impacted me the most. I preached at our am and pm services yesterday, and I continue to be amazed (don't know why!) that the language of restoration flows through everything, no matter the topic.

initial thoughts

So, a blog, eh? I hope to use this blog to document some of my journey with God, as I seek to become who I was born to be.