Today a friend from church who is in Belfast Kayak Club had arranged a session with the guys from Mobile Team Adventure (I’ve nabbed the photo from their website) for anyone from my church who wanted to have a go at kayaking down at Shaw’s Bridge. There was about 20 of us, half set out in open boats and the other half in kayaks. The craic was really good, we played a bit of polo and tag and all that and then had a little run down the rapids. Having had a look at the rapids last week it was good to get a run down them. To be honest there’s more excitement to be had on the Bann or Blackwater as Shaw's Bridge only has about 4 rapids, but I was surprised by the power of the flow at the bottom rapid and there’s definitely a bit of fun & learning to be had. One of the instructors was trying to help me to do tail squirts (paddling into the flow, reverse stroke with edge and your tail should disappear into the water and your bow should shoot up) and although I didn't really succeed I had good fun trying! Then we kind of ran out of time otherwise I would have liked to played about a bit more but all in all it was a good day’s craic!
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 November 2008
This weekend I managed to get paddling twice! Yesterday I was on the Bann from Laurencetown to Gilford with the guys from the club. The water was pretty low, definitely a lot lower than the time I’d been last there at the start of September. A couple of the guys had paddled it on Friday and they said it must have dropped off maybe 7-8 inches overnight. So at the start I was thinking we’d be having a real scraping session, but actually some of the features were at a great level to play on and ideal for someone like me trying to get to grips with surfing etc. There was one standing wave in particular which usually is too big that I can’t get onto it, but yesterday I managed it and actually began to feel at ease with what I was supposed to be doing on the wave, so I absolutely was loving that. We spent about 3 hours making our way down the river yesterday, the weather was spot on, some blue sky, not too cold, just a great day to be out enjoying the world.
Today a friend from church who is in Belfast Kayak Club had arranged a session with the guys from Mobile Team Adventure (I’ve nabbed the photo from their website) for anyone from my church who wanted to have a go at kayaking down at Shaw’s Bridge. There was about 20 of us, half set out in open boats and the other half in kayaks. The craic was really good, we played a bit of polo and tag and all that and then had a little run down the rapids. Having had a look at the rapids last week it was good to get a run down them. To be honest there’s more excitement to be had on the Bann or Blackwater as Shaw's Bridge only has about 4 rapids, but I was surprised by the power of the flow at the bottom rapid and there’s definitely a bit of fun & learning to be had. One of the instructors was trying to help me to do tail squirts (paddling into the flow, reverse stroke with edge and your tail should disappear into the water and your bow should shoot up) and although I didn't really succeed I had good fun trying! Then we kind of ran out of time otherwise I would have liked to played about a bit more but all in all it was a good day’s craic!
Today a friend from church who is in Belfast Kayak Club had arranged a session with the guys from Mobile Team Adventure (I’ve nabbed the photo from their website) for anyone from my church who wanted to have a go at kayaking down at Shaw’s Bridge. There was about 20 of us, half set out in open boats and the other half in kayaks. The craic was really good, we played a bit of polo and tag and all that and then had a little run down the rapids. Having had a look at the rapids last week it was good to get a run down them. To be honest there’s more excitement to be had on the Bann or Blackwater as Shaw's Bridge only has about 4 rapids, but I was surprised by the power of the flow at the bottom rapid and there’s definitely a bit of fun & learning to be had. One of the instructors was trying to help me to do tail squirts (paddling into the flow, reverse stroke with edge and your tail should disappear into the water and your bow should shoot up) and although I didn't really succeed I had good fun trying! Then we kind of ran out of time otherwise I would have liked to played about a bit more but all in all it was a good day’s craic!
Sunday, 31 December 2006
Intentional resolve
31st December makes a good time to reflect. 2006 has overall been a good year, particularly the last 6 months. The year got off to a bit of a rocky start what with family bereavements, unemployment, moving, a lot of uncertainty and all that, and I was feeling rather wobbly at times, but I’m here now and d’you know, I’m in a really good place. Here’s what I’ve loved about 2006:
- Regaining confidence in the workplace with the new job at PCI
- Kayaking! (now there’s a surprise!)
- Getting settled in Belfast
- Going to church at Wells
- Getting into a decent fitness routine
Life is so good for me right now and I’m so thankful, I don’t want to take any of it for granted. It’s kind of cool looking back over the past few years and thinking of the hard times and then thinking of where I am now.
The question is…what does 2007 hold? Ultimately no-one can say for sure. The Masters will continue to be a big thing (just a module assignment and the dissertation to go!); there’s the possibility of going to the USA with work (I’ll say more when I know more); I’m looking forward to getting some new programmes up and running at work; and of course I’m looking forward to kayaking on Saturdays! At the end of the day I know that God holds all things together and sustains everything by the power of His Word.
I’m not one for making resolutions at New Year, but I’ve been thinking over the past few days that in 2007 I’d like to be more intentional with my life. That is…I’d like to be more intentional about my relationship with God and proactively seek to grow closer to Him. I’d like to be more intentional in my relationships with other people, seeking to invest in others and pray with purpose for others. I want to be more faithful and obedient to my Lord. I want to be more attuned to His ways, purposes and plans, and fit in with what He’s doing around me. I want to be faithful in waiting and watching for his Kingdom to come, and I want to be ready for His coming. In some ways I feel as if I’ve been kind of coasting along in the last few months. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that particularly, in fact I’ve been enjoying life and I think that’s what God wants for us too. I think it’s also been right for where I’m at in life, 2004 was a rough year and the recovery has been a long process. But I think maybe 2007 is the right time to look outward a bit more. Not sure what that will mean exactly…we’ll see.
Happy New Year folks! May the Lord bless and keep you.
Sunday, 24 December 2006
THE KING IS COMING!
Now that I’m going to a church fellowship with
- The weekend
- The next kayaking trip
- To get my masters complete
- My next big adventure overseas
- The holidays
- The bus
- 5 o’clock
- My own kayak
- Jesus to come again
- Marriage?
- To see John and Abbey in the States
- To go home – my heavenly home
- For the realisation of my dreams
- To visit a kid I sponsor through Compassion in
- Internal peace
- My bath/shower to get fixed
- My turn at the supermarket checkout
Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
Isaiah 64:4
Merry Christmas to one and all!
Sunday, 9 July 2006
Legacy
Today I was at my parent’s church for the first time my Aunt Lily died back in January. Two members of the congregation have taken over the responsibility for the music and are doing a great job. One of the girls, Gillian, was playing today and I was so impressed. Playing an organ is not easy, especially when you’re used to playing piano. I can’t remember the name of the first hymn we sang today, even though I was brought up singing it from I was a wee’un! But actually I got a bit choked up in the last verse because Gillian changed the tone (I’m sure there’s a proper term for it but it escapes me) she was using just the way Aunt Lily did in the last verse of a hymn and it just struck me how much of a legacy Lily has left. She was so good at encouraging young people in the church, especially those with musical ability. It’s humbling to think that she has passed so much on to the next generation.
Today I was at my parent’s church for the first time my Aunt Lily died back in January. Two members of the congregation have taken over the responsibility for the music and are doing a great job. One of the girls, Gillian, was playing today and I was so impressed. Playing an organ is not easy, especially when you’re used to playing piano. I can’t remember the name of the first hymn we sang today, even though I was brought up singing it from I was a wee’un! But actually I got a bit choked up in the last verse because Gillian changed the tone (I’m sure there’s a proper term for it but it escapes me) she was using just the way Aunt Lily did in the last verse of a hymn and it just struck me how much of a legacy Lily has left. She was so good at encouraging young people in the church, especially those with musical ability. It’s humbling to think that she has passed so much on to the next generation.
Sunday, 9 April 2006
Thoughts of a midnight owl
Well it’s 4.15am & I’m awake: my upstairs neighbour is having a bit of a hooley. It’s not overly loud but somebody seems to have a thing for stamping the floor every now and again which woke me up half an hour ago and I can’t get back over to sleep. It’s compounded by some indigestion – the consequence of munching on cookies too late – man I’m getting so like my Dad! So I feel inspired for some middle of the night reflections, which may or may not be totally rational, I’m not usually good at being rational at this hour!
Week One of Unemployment
… I’ve had a nice week actually. Mostly I’ve spent my time studying, filling in job applications, going to the gym and sorting out more stuff around the flat. I’m really loving the flat now, it’s a great wee home. I managed to put together an Argos desk – felt very proud of myself, hope it stays together! So I’ve been able to get my PC removed from my dining table and I’ve got some more of my clutter a bit better organised.
The studying has been for the last seminar in the penultimate module of my Masters course which has been on Mental Health and work with young people (aimed at non-health professionals) – interesting stuff. Though one of the articles we had to read was on approaches to prevention and highlighted the potential mental health problems associated with unemployment – cheerful reading for me right now – NOT!...
… I’ve been doing a lot less panicking about the jobless thing, though the more time passes without something coming up I know I’ll get more stressed about it. The whole process is just so darned slow. The deadline for a job application is usually 2 weeks after the job has been advertised, then it’s usually another week or two before you hear if they deem you good enough to interview (and 6 months sick leave due to stress does not go in your favour), then the interview is about a week after that, and then it’s another week or so before you hear if you’ve got the job or not. I’ve got about 6 applications in the pipeline at the moment at varying stages. I should have heard by now about 2 applications so I’m thinking that’s me out of the running for them thoug I’ll ring on Monday to see what the craic is, I’ve got an interview on Tuesday for one job, I just got an application sent off on Thursday, I’ve got 2 applications sitting on my desk to fill in, I’m waiting on another job application to come in the post, and there were a couple of things I spotted in the paper on Friday night which I want to find out more about. I’m thinking that once I’ve got my studying cleared up this week I’ll register with a temping agency and just do some office work, though it makes getting to interviews a bit awkward.
One of the things I’ve been worrying about is getting my last Field Practice placement completed for my Masters course – it’s just a 120-hour placement focussing on individual and group work, but the deadline is early August and the tutors like you to spread it out over 2-3 months to increase the reflective learning process. But thankfully I’ve been able to confirm with the university that I can use the hours I do in my next place of work as it’s likely to contrast the work I did for my first Field Practice … as long as it meets the criteria. I decided this week that there’s no point panicking about it, my first priority is to get a job and then I can worry about placement stuff after that.
A place to belong?
I think I’ve found a church to be a part of. Don’t want to say too much yet as I’ve only been along to the place about 3 times, but what I’ve seen I’ve really liked. In fact it’s been a bit like fresh water being poured over me and I’ve sensed a sincerity and genuineness that I haven’t experienced in churchy/Christian circles for a while. I’m hoping to get involved in a cell group after Easter and get to know more people – I hate that feeling of being a bit of a wallflower when you don’t really know anyone!
Weekend Warrior comes out to play
Was kayaking today at Clare Glen, Tandragee with the club and it was a great day’s paddling! I managed to capsize only once hitting a hole coming off a slide at a weir, but other than that it was the best day’s padding I’ve done for a while. I think I am improving. Unfortunately there won’t be any river trips over the summer – less water – but hopefully we’ll be getting some pool sessions, I’d really like to get my roll mastered.
And wouldn’t it be cool to do this?
Oh man, I can actually hear some birds twittering, time to go back to bed methinks!
Well it’s 4.15am & I’m awake: my upstairs neighbour is having a bit of a hooley. It’s not overly loud but somebody seems to have a thing for stamping the floor every now and again which woke me up half an hour ago and I can’t get back over to sleep. It’s compounded by some indigestion – the consequence of munching on cookies too late – man I’m getting so like my Dad! So I feel inspired for some middle of the night reflections, which may or may not be totally rational, I’m not usually good at being rational at this hour!
Week One of Unemployment
… I’ve had a nice week actually. Mostly I’ve spent my time studying, filling in job applications, going to the gym and sorting out more stuff around the flat. I’m really loving the flat now, it’s a great wee home. I managed to put together an Argos desk – felt very proud of myself, hope it stays together! So I’ve been able to get my PC removed from my dining table and I’ve got some more of my clutter a bit better organised.
The studying has been for the last seminar in the penultimate module of my Masters course which has been on Mental Health and work with young people (aimed at non-health professionals) – interesting stuff. Though one of the articles we had to read was on approaches to prevention and highlighted the potential mental health problems associated with unemployment – cheerful reading for me right now – NOT!...
… I’ve been doing a lot less panicking about the jobless thing, though the more time passes without something coming up I know I’ll get more stressed about it. The whole process is just so darned slow. The deadline for a job application is usually 2 weeks after the job has been advertised, then it’s usually another week or two before you hear if they deem you good enough to interview (and 6 months sick leave due to stress does not go in your favour), then the interview is about a week after that, and then it’s another week or so before you hear if you’ve got the job or not. I’ve got about 6 applications in the pipeline at the moment at varying stages. I should have heard by now about 2 applications so I’m thinking that’s me out of the running for them thoug I’ll ring on Monday to see what the craic is, I’ve got an interview on Tuesday for one job, I just got an application sent off on Thursday, I’ve got 2 applications sitting on my desk to fill in, I’m waiting on another job application to come in the post, and there were a couple of things I spotted in the paper on Friday night which I want to find out more about. I’m thinking that once I’ve got my studying cleared up this week I’ll register with a temping agency and just do some office work, though it makes getting to interviews a bit awkward.
One of the things I’ve been worrying about is getting my last Field Practice placement completed for my Masters course – it’s just a 120-hour placement focussing on individual and group work, but the deadline is early August and the tutors like you to spread it out over 2-3 months to increase the reflective learning process. But thankfully I’ve been able to confirm with the university that I can use the hours I do in my next place of work as it’s likely to contrast the work I did for my first Field Practice … as long as it meets the criteria. I decided this week that there’s no point panicking about it, my first priority is to get a job and then I can worry about placement stuff after that.
A place to belong?
I think I’ve found a church to be a part of. Don’t want to say too much yet as I’ve only been along to the place about 3 times, but what I’ve seen I’ve really liked. In fact it’s been a bit like fresh water being poured over me and I’ve sensed a sincerity and genuineness that I haven’t experienced in churchy/Christian circles for a while. I’m hoping to get involved in a cell group after Easter and get to know more people – I hate that feeling of being a bit of a wallflower when you don’t really know anyone!
Weekend Warrior comes out to play
Was kayaking today at Clare Glen, Tandragee with the club and it was a great day’s paddling! I managed to capsize only once hitting a hole coming off a slide at a weir, but other than that it was the best day’s padding I’ve done for a while. I think I am improving. Unfortunately there won’t be any river trips over the summer – less water – but hopefully we’ll be getting some pool sessions, I’d really like to get my roll mastered.
And wouldn’t it be cool to do this?
Oh man, I can actually hear some birds twittering, time to go back to bed methinks!
Sunday, 5 February 2006
Born Again
BBC1 screened a documentary called ‘Born Again’ the other week which I found pretty interesting but also a bit cringe-worthy. Northern Irish novelist, Glenn Patterson, (who I’m told writes some great novels) explores the concept of being ‘Born Again’ and it’s importance to evangelical Protestants in Northern Ireland. It was kind of depressing that in the end Glenn was still turned off by what evangelical Protestantism in this country is offering because he felt it spoke more about death rather than life.
What I wish I could have said to Glenn was that if he was to grasp more of what all the ‘born again’ stuff is about, then he’d have to encounter God himself and the amazing person of Jesus Christ, and be open to the Spirit of God. Like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia, God is not tame and can’t be limited to the boxes our church put him into. Jesus draws us to himself because he is a person as well as God.
It’s kind of weird but in the last year or so I’ve become really uncomfortable in Christian/church settings. It just all seems a bit twee and out of touch somehow. When I say out of touch I’m not necessarily focussing on the whole ‘let’s get church into the 21st century’ kind of thing or let’s make sure we’re ‘modern’ and have Powerpoint and all that. It’s more that I wish churches & Christians (myself included) could be more real and effective about communicating what our faith means to us in a real way minus the secret ‘you-have-to-be-in-the-know’ jargon. And I’m uncomfortable with the whole trend of cultivating ‘Christian celebrity’. There seems to be this idea that in Christian circles – especially in Northern Ireland – it’s all about who you know or you have to be ‘someone’ before people embrace you. You have to have a certain passion or calling for something before you are accepted and then you can be put onto a pedestal and lauded as being a man or woman of God. Aren’t we all children of God? Aren’t we all equal?
I’m not very good at expressing these thoughts so maybe this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I’ve got to work through this stuff & try & figure out what I’m thinking. I don’t mean this to be a major attack on the church, or even a rant, I just want to try and understand better where I’m at, and where this train of thought is taking me. Maybe part of it is that I’ve become a bit bitter because I’m in a place where I’m kind of isolated with being in the middle of moving and I’m not completely settled anywhere in particular. Maybe things will change once I move to Belfast (which incidentally is happening DV next month if everything goes smoothly, watch this space). I guess the bottom line is that I’m just uncomfortable with being surrounded by Christians and I have no desire to go to the latest gathering or Christian event these days.
Things of course could change over the next few months. The move to Belfast will definitely be an interesting time as I seek to find some kind of spiritual home. In many ways I’m looking forward to it – I want to get to know people and make friends, I want to get involved in a community and the life of a church. Over the last year or so I’ve just been a pew-warmer – it was just a season when after my burnout I needed to take a back seat and receive – but I think I’m ready for something new and fresh, so watch this space!
BBC1 screened a documentary called ‘Born Again’ the other week which I found pretty interesting but also a bit cringe-worthy. Northern Irish novelist, Glenn Patterson, (who I’m told writes some great novels) explores the concept of being ‘Born Again’ and it’s importance to evangelical Protestants in Northern Ireland. It was kind of depressing that in the end Glenn was still turned off by what evangelical Protestantism in this country is offering because he felt it spoke more about death rather than life.
What I wish I could have said to Glenn was that if he was to grasp more of what all the ‘born again’ stuff is about, then he’d have to encounter God himself and the amazing person of Jesus Christ, and be open to the Spirit of God. Like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia, God is not tame and can’t be limited to the boxes our church put him into. Jesus draws us to himself because he is a person as well as God.
It’s kind of weird but in the last year or so I’ve become really uncomfortable in Christian/church settings. It just all seems a bit twee and out of touch somehow. When I say out of touch I’m not necessarily focussing on the whole ‘let’s get church into the 21st century’ kind of thing or let’s make sure we’re ‘modern’ and have Powerpoint and all that. It’s more that I wish churches & Christians (myself included) could be more real and effective about communicating what our faith means to us in a real way minus the secret ‘you-have-to-be-in-the-know’ jargon. And I’m uncomfortable with the whole trend of cultivating ‘Christian celebrity’. There seems to be this idea that in Christian circles – especially in Northern Ireland – it’s all about who you know or you have to be ‘someone’ before people embrace you. You have to have a certain passion or calling for something before you are accepted and then you can be put onto a pedestal and lauded as being a man or woman of God. Aren’t we all children of God? Aren’t we all equal?
I’m not very good at expressing these thoughts so maybe this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I’ve got to work through this stuff & try & figure out what I’m thinking. I don’t mean this to be a major attack on the church, or even a rant, I just want to try and understand better where I’m at, and where this train of thought is taking me. Maybe part of it is that I’ve become a bit bitter because I’m in a place where I’m kind of isolated with being in the middle of moving and I’m not completely settled anywhere in particular. Maybe things will change once I move to Belfast (which incidentally is happening DV next month if everything goes smoothly, watch this space). I guess the bottom line is that I’m just uncomfortable with being surrounded by Christians and I have no desire to go to the latest gathering or Christian event these days.
Things of course could change over the next few months. The move to Belfast will definitely be an interesting time as I seek to find some kind of spiritual home. In many ways I’m looking forward to it – I want to get to know people and make friends, I want to get involved in a community and the life of a church. Over the last year or so I’ve just been a pew-warmer – it was just a season when after my burnout I needed to take a back seat and receive – but I think I’m ready for something new and fresh, so watch this space!
Monday, 17 January 2005
Traveller's notes continued...
Still having a great time out here. America is a place that I find fascinating, mainly I think because its culture impacts the rest of the world so much, especially in the media. It's kind of cool to see that lots of people do actually drive big gas-guzzling pick-ups, steam does rise from the ground in cities, the Stars & Stripes do fly from lots of front porches etc...
John & I went for a 3-mile walk on Friday afternoon...man it was flippin' freezin'!!! Couldn't feel my fingertips after 10 minutes and it became extremely difficult to pronounce 'm'-words, 'p'-words, 'b'-words etc! When we came back it took me a full hour to thaw out. There was quite a bit of ice on the pavements (sorry, sidewalks!) too so John disappeared from my peripheral vision at one stage landing flat on his back, and I almost did the splits.
The 3 of us headed out on Friday evening to a Christian event held in Holland’s Hope College chapel which was part of a Veritas Forum. The speaker was Mary Poplyn (just made me think of Mary Poppins!) and she was really good. She lectures in education and is obviously highly intelligent, but it was really funny because every now and then she would go into a fit of tittering and tee-heeing. Not annoying in the slightest, just quite endearing really, especially from a high-brow academic! She had a lot to say, maybe too much and kept referring to whatever point-number she was on. But by the stage she mentioned ‘point number 19’ the 3 of us were desperately hoping she would conclude with ‘point number 20’!
On Saturday afternoon I took a little wander round the town of Zeeland - the main street is pretty much the size of the one in Broughshane. Cute enough little place. Came across an antiques shop which was totally fascinating - it had everything and anything in there from old 1960's kitchen utensils to old children's toys and hardware implements.
Saturday night we went to see "The Aviator" - a great film though a touch on the long side. Made us all want to find out more about Howard Hughes and feel ashamed of our previous ignorance! Was very impressed with Leo's performance. He's not my favourite actor but he seems to have acquired a lot of maturity and has moved on from those babyfaced days of Titanic!
Yesterday morning I went to church with John & Abbey. Haven't been to church much since I went off on sick leave so I find worship a bit hard to handle. But it was a nice place. It was Pro Life Sunday which I found a little strange - just shows how much more 'full-on' Americans are in dealing with big issues. The pastor dealt with the issue really well demonstrating a lot of compassion and bringing a lot of hope.
Then last night we spent the evening with Abbey's parents watching football (American of course!) and eating pizza - v relaxing. Though I really couldn't understand why the game seemed to keep starting and stopping all the time - a lot of faffing if you ask me!
Today is John & Abbey's first wedding anniversary - congrats! So they've taken off for the day and I decided to do a little exploring. However I was rather nervous setting out in their car because loads of snow fell during the night (I woke up at 5.30am hearing snowploughs on the street outside) plus I'm not exactly known for being able to find my way when driving in the States! But by 12 noon I got my act together and set off to Saugatuck, a town right on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Cute little place, but not too many places open because of the Martin Luther King holiday today. Fascinating to see so much of the harbour area frozen over and snow blowing along the surface. Spent a lot of time over lunch, trying to avoid the cold and blizzard-like conditions, and simply reading with a hot chocolate - it's a hard life eh?!
Still having a great time out here. America is a place that I find fascinating, mainly I think because its culture impacts the rest of the world so much, especially in the media. It's kind of cool to see that lots of people do actually drive big gas-guzzling pick-ups, steam does rise from the ground in cities, the Stars & Stripes do fly from lots of front porches etc...
John & I went for a 3-mile walk on Friday afternoon...man it was flippin' freezin'!!! Couldn't feel my fingertips after 10 minutes and it became extremely difficult to pronounce 'm'-words, 'p'-words, 'b'-words etc! When we came back it took me a full hour to thaw out. There was quite a bit of ice on the pavements (sorry, sidewalks!) too so John disappeared from my peripheral vision at one stage landing flat on his back, and I almost did the splits.
The 3 of us headed out on Friday evening to a Christian event held in Holland’s Hope College chapel which was part of a Veritas Forum. The speaker was Mary Poplyn (just made me think of Mary Poppins!) and she was really good. She lectures in education and is obviously highly intelligent, but it was really funny because every now and then she would go into a fit of tittering and tee-heeing. Not annoying in the slightest, just quite endearing really, especially from a high-brow academic! She had a lot to say, maybe too much and kept referring to whatever point-number she was on. But by the stage she mentioned ‘point number 19’ the 3 of us were desperately hoping she would conclude with ‘point number 20’!
On Saturday afternoon I took a little wander round the town of Zeeland - the main street is pretty much the size of the one in Broughshane. Cute enough little place. Came across an antiques shop which was totally fascinating - it had everything and anything in there from old 1960's kitchen utensils to old children's toys and hardware implements.
Saturday night we went to see "The Aviator" - a great film though a touch on the long side. Made us all want to find out more about Howard Hughes and feel ashamed of our previous ignorance! Was very impressed with Leo's performance. He's not my favourite actor but he seems to have acquired a lot of maturity and has moved on from those babyfaced days of Titanic!
Yesterday morning I went to church with John & Abbey. Haven't been to church much since I went off on sick leave so I find worship a bit hard to handle. But it was a nice place. It was Pro Life Sunday which I found a little strange - just shows how much more 'full-on' Americans are in dealing with big issues. The pastor dealt with the issue really well demonstrating a lot of compassion and bringing a lot of hope.
Then last night we spent the evening with Abbey's parents watching football (American of course!) and eating pizza - v relaxing. Though I really couldn't understand why the game seemed to keep starting and stopping all the time - a lot of faffing if you ask me!
Today is John & Abbey's first wedding anniversary - congrats! So they've taken off for the day and I decided to do a little exploring. However I was rather nervous setting out in their car because loads of snow fell during the night (I woke up at 5.30am hearing snowploughs on the street outside) plus I'm not exactly known for being able to find my way when driving in the States! But by 12 noon I got my act together and set off to Saugatuck, a town right on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Cute little place, but not too many places open because of the Martin Luther King holiday today. Fascinating to see so much of the harbour area frozen over and snow blowing along the surface. Spent a lot of time over lunch, trying to avoid the cold and blizzard-like conditions, and simply reading with a hot chocolate - it's a hard life eh?!
Sunday, 21 September 2003
Giving your heart
Last Sunday I heard a great sermon on tithing – challenging stuff! Apparently the Biblical model is that our tithe should be given to the church and what we give to aid organisations, people in need etc should be over & above that. (Uh-oh I need to re-budget!) It’s not a law but a principle. In the Old Testament the Israelites tithed to the Levites, then in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about how when we give to the needy to do it so that your left hand doesn’t know what your right hand is doing (Matt 6:3). The main implication of that passage is that your giving shouldn’t be for show. But the sermon last week emphasized how giving should be almost carefree in nature. I guess that’s grace and worship when you give from the heart.
Giving with the right motives can be so hard but it is definitely more blessed to give than to receive and I think that principle can apply to a lot of things, not just money. In giving we also have to be prepared to receive which can be difficult if we give to ease our conscience, although giving just so that you receive or are blessed can’t be right. I guess at the end of the day what’s important is that we seek to honour God and we appreciate all that we have in him, all that he has sacrificed for us – then we learn what it is to share. If Jesus was a wee kid in primary school, he would be the best ever at sharing the sweets in his lunchbox! He shared all of life with his disciples whether they were living like kings when staying with wealthy friends or whether they were wondering where the next meal would come from.
The main thing that struck me was the impact giving our whole tithe to the church would have – how much more resources the church would have! How much more the church would be able to do – staff, resources to serve the community, to meet the needs of the needy and therefore there would be more opportunities for faithful witness leading to the growth of God’s Kingdom and a changed community!
A good friend of mine believes that it would be great if members of the church with specific skills (e.g. health professionals, solicitors, accountants, educators etc) could offer their advice/skills to the local community – say open the church once a month and offer these services to local people. Wouldn’t that be more about what the church is called to be? A light in dark places, bringing hope, meeting practical needs, being there for others.
Surely then if we tithed properly to the church that would release the church to be active in this kind of service to the local community. Then perhaps there wouldn’t be the same need for parachurch organisations because the church would be meeting the needs of the community. Or because the church would have more resources it would be able to tithe to parachurch organisations etc. I guess with it comes greater responsibility – the more resources you have the more temptation there is to spend it unwisely. It’s challenging stuff and my view of giving has changed.
Last Sunday I heard a great sermon on tithing – challenging stuff! Apparently the Biblical model is that our tithe should be given to the church and what we give to aid organisations, people in need etc should be over & above that. (Uh-oh I need to re-budget!) It’s not a law but a principle. In the Old Testament the Israelites tithed to the Levites, then in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about how when we give to the needy to do it so that your left hand doesn’t know what your right hand is doing (Matt 6:3). The main implication of that passage is that your giving shouldn’t be for show. But the sermon last week emphasized how giving should be almost carefree in nature. I guess that’s grace and worship when you give from the heart.
Giving with the right motives can be so hard but it is definitely more blessed to give than to receive and I think that principle can apply to a lot of things, not just money. In giving we also have to be prepared to receive which can be difficult if we give to ease our conscience, although giving just so that you receive or are blessed can’t be right. I guess at the end of the day what’s important is that we seek to honour God and we appreciate all that we have in him, all that he has sacrificed for us – then we learn what it is to share. If Jesus was a wee kid in primary school, he would be the best ever at sharing the sweets in his lunchbox! He shared all of life with his disciples whether they were living like kings when staying with wealthy friends or whether they were wondering where the next meal would come from.
The main thing that struck me was the impact giving our whole tithe to the church would have – how much more resources the church would have! How much more the church would be able to do – staff, resources to serve the community, to meet the needs of the needy and therefore there would be more opportunities for faithful witness leading to the growth of God’s Kingdom and a changed community!
A good friend of mine believes that it would be great if members of the church with specific skills (e.g. health professionals, solicitors, accountants, educators etc) could offer their advice/skills to the local community – say open the church once a month and offer these services to local people. Wouldn’t that be more about what the church is called to be? A light in dark places, bringing hope, meeting practical needs, being there for others.
Surely then if we tithed properly to the church that would release the church to be active in this kind of service to the local community. Then perhaps there wouldn’t be the same need for parachurch organisations because the church would be meeting the needs of the community. Or because the church would have more resources it would be able to tithe to parachurch organisations etc. I guess with it comes greater responsibility – the more resources you have the more temptation there is to spend it unwisely. It’s challenging stuff and my view of giving has changed.
Thursday, 15 May 2003
Don’t judge, just love
A friend was telling me about a mission trip she did with a group to South Africa and this became their motto with 3 applications:
1) Don’t judge yourself over what you think you can/ can’t do, just love…
2) Don’t judge each other, there are going to be times when you rub each other the wrong way, but you’re called to love one another…
3) Don’t judge the church you’re called to serve & bless, but rather show love...
- Simple yet profound, with the potential for maximum impact. I realise I’ve been falling far short of this as I’ve been going through a real “I hate Dungannon” phase accompanied by lots of ranting & raving. (Apologies to anyone from Dungannon reading this.) But who am I to judge? And who knows what could happen if I turned my curses into blessings?! If I want to be used by God to bring the fulfilment of his purposes, then surely there can be no room for hatred in my heart. Ponder, ponder…
Emptiness
Going through a phase of trying to understand why life can be so full of emptiness even when you’ve got Jesus in your life. I can fully stand with Bono and say “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Now maybe that’s a good thing – it can make us hunger for God more and make us realise how dissatisfying the world is. Also I was reading (actually it was an article on fasting, click here to read more) the other day about some random theologian, Norman Mailer, who said that satan hates emptiness, and when Jesus was tempted in the desert, he was completely empty, so satan tried to fill that emptiness by offering the whole world to Jesus. But Jesus countered that by filling his emptiness another way: “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Now there’s the challenge – to let God fill our emptiness with Him, nothing and no-one else.
Let’s have the Word have the last word…
Yet I am always with you,
You hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
And afterwards you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my hear may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Ps 73:23-26
A friend was telling me about a mission trip she did with a group to South Africa and this became their motto with 3 applications:
1) Don’t judge yourself over what you think you can/ can’t do, just love…
2) Don’t judge each other, there are going to be times when you rub each other the wrong way, but you’re called to love one another…
3) Don’t judge the church you’re called to serve & bless, but rather show love...
- Simple yet profound, with the potential for maximum impact. I realise I’ve been falling far short of this as I’ve been going through a real “I hate Dungannon” phase accompanied by lots of ranting & raving. (Apologies to anyone from Dungannon reading this.) But who am I to judge? And who knows what could happen if I turned my curses into blessings?! If I want to be used by God to bring the fulfilment of his purposes, then surely there can be no room for hatred in my heart. Ponder, ponder…
Emptiness
Going through a phase of trying to understand why life can be so full of emptiness even when you’ve got Jesus in your life. I can fully stand with Bono and say “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Now maybe that’s a good thing – it can make us hunger for God more and make us realise how dissatisfying the world is. Also I was reading (actually it was an article on fasting, click here to read more) the other day about some random theologian, Norman Mailer, who said that satan hates emptiness, and when Jesus was tempted in the desert, he was completely empty, so satan tried to fill that emptiness by offering the whole world to Jesus. But Jesus countered that by filling his emptiness another way: “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Now there’s the challenge – to let God fill our emptiness with Him, nothing and no-one else.
Let’s have the Word have the last word…
Yet I am always with you,
You hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
And afterwards you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my hear may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Ps 73:23-26
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