Day 119 - and I've got flu.
Some call it stomach flu, of course its not really stomach flu its really gastroenteritis.
So it hit.
4am in the morning and growing.
Thought it was the broccoli I ate last night. I think its right to blame the broccoli ...it deserves it.
Hey hopefully 48 hours.
Huge weekend.
Was meant to run my first half-marathon since my forced lay off ....but tendonitis hit me two weeks ago.
Was meant to eat out tonight with two good friends ....sorry friends.
Was meant to fix sprinklers tomorrow - yep, something good is coming out of this!
But the size of this weekend was bigger than any of these things.
Penultimate weekend of the Premier League.
36 games played in the league and there is a 1 point difference!
Chelsea lead Manchester Utd.
Chelsea play at Liverpool; Man U play Sunderland at home.
Need Chelsea to slip up and Man U to win.
Huge weekend.
Is my gastroenteritis symptomatic of what this weekend is going to be like?
But hey, hopefully 48 hours will see the world sorted!
At least my world.
I know there's a bigger world. But sometimes we live in shrunken worlds - our own.
I know that gastroenteritis isn't that major.
I know Premier League results isn't world peace.
But sometimes we allow our world to shrink to the things that only bother us.
Doing this series Consumed:What's Sucking the Life Out of You?
Really a series about the idols we bow down to.
Was just thinking today that one of those idols is bowing down to our own little worlds.
Weird.
Here I am thinking about preaching on the very things I'm doing as of Friday evening!
Is my sickness really my gastroenteritis or is my sickness deeper.
But its 9:10pm and I need to sleep.
Ponderings, musings, thoughts......blame my sickness.
I guess the question is what sickness?
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Day 118 Living by mending.
Day 118.
I read today these words "Man was born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue."
It's from Mark DeYmaz's blog and he attributes it to Eugene O'Neil.
Interesting line.
I guess theologically its espousing the theology of original sin.
Interesting theology - maybe more Greek in origin than Hebrew - but that's a debate for another day.
The grace of God is glue - so true. Excellent truth.
But its the line "he lives by mending."
That's an intriguing line.
Everyday is a mending day. Something of my brokenness can get fixed. Day in day out.
So maybe my intentional follow today was undergoing some mending.
But do we always know the mending?
Maybe it happened during lunch as I talked with a friend and learned more about another culture.
Maybe it happened as I sat and listened to a pastor speak about why we should love the church?
Maybe it happened as I had physio and with ice wrapped around my ankles I reflected and meditated.
Maybe it happened as I read Scripture.
Maybe it happened as I wrote.
Maybe it happened tonight as I sit with my family.
Maybe it happened ........
Spiritual soul mending isn't logical or rational.
The mending is a work of grace - and grace is bigger, broader, un-relentless, unorthodox. You maybe don't know where or when it seeps into a broken part of your soul. But it does. Wonderful.
The thing I can be sure of is that the mending wasn't maybe.
Maybe I don't always know when it happens.
but there's no maybe that it does.
God's grace.
A surrendered life is a mending life - even on the days you don't act very surrendered.
I read today these words "Man was born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue."
It's from Mark DeYmaz's blog and he attributes it to Eugene O'Neil.
Interesting line.
I guess theologically its espousing the theology of original sin.
Interesting theology - maybe more Greek in origin than Hebrew - but that's a debate for another day.
The grace of God is glue - so true. Excellent truth.
But its the line "he lives by mending."
That's an intriguing line.
Everyday is a mending day. Something of my brokenness can get fixed. Day in day out.
So maybe my intentional follow today was undergoing some mending.
But do we always know the mending?
Maybe it happened during lunch as I talked with a friend and learned more about another culture.
Maybe it happened as I sat and listened to a pastor speak about why we should love the church?
Maybe it happened as I had physio and with ice wrapped around my ankles I reflected and meditated.
Maybe it happened as I read Scripture.
Maybe it happened as I wrote.
Maybe it happened tonight as I sit with my family.
Maybe it happened ........
Spiritual soul mending isn't logical or rational.
The mending is a work of grace - and grace is bigger, broader, un-relentless, unorthodox. You maybe don't know where or when it seeps into a broken part of your soul. But it does. Wonderful.
The thing I can be sure of is that the mending wasn't maybe.
Maybe I don't always know when it happens.
but there's no maybe that it does.
God's grace.
A surrendered life is a mending life - even on the days you don't act very surrendered.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Day 117 Em.........
Day 117 and I'm just home from teaching the first part in a two part Alpha Course teaching on the Holy Spirit.
Remember last nights blog on a normal day and why would you want a normal day when you can have an inspired, God present day. Well, tonight's teaching more or less told us that the inspired, God present day can be the normal when you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.
Em .......does that mean that my previous blog reveals than I'm not always indwelt with the Holy Spirit?
You could say yes.
You could say 'I leak!'
But after tonight's talk wow ...I wish I didn't leak as much.
Here is the life of God - His presence, His salvation waiting to saturate, soak us ...wow.
Jesus said people who drink of him would never thirst again, but would have God's life bursting up within them.
So after another night of teaching on salvation, water, baptism .....I'm back wondering about being baptised again in June?!
Em.........
Remember last nights blog on a normal day and why would you want a normal day when you can have an inspired, God present day. Well, tonight's teaching more or less told us that the inspired, God present day can be the normal when you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.
Em .......does that mean that my previous blog reveals than I'm not always indwelt with the Holy Spirit?
You could say yes.
You could say 'I leak!'
But after tonight's talk wow ...I wish I didn't leak as much.
Here is the life of God - His presence, His salvation waiting to saturate, soak us ...wow.
Jesus said people who drink of him would never thirst again, but would have God's life bursting up within them.
So after another night of teaching on salvation, water, baptism .....I'm back wondering about being baptised again in June?!
Em.........
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Day 116 - a wake up call.
Day 116
Tired.
Monday was an 18 hour day.
Tuesday yuck.
Found myself awake at 3am on Monday.
At 3.45am still awake and felt a stirring in my soul. Began writing at 4am what I was feeling. 5.30am thought about a couple of hours of sleep, but ended up out running and the day just kept going.
Monday evening had the chance to share with church leadership what I had written.
Slept deep on Monday night.
So what was Tuesday about?
Tired or something else?
Mick McCarthy the manager of Premier League Wolves football team celebrated on Saturday his team staying up in the Premier league for another season - amazing achievement. But today at a news conference he talked about how the rest of the week he's been depressed.
Could relate to that.
Monday was huge.
Inspiration, a sense of God, His nearness, vision, things clicked.
Tuesday ........normal returned.
But who wants normal when you can have inspired, hearing God, holy stirrings.
Normal is dull. Normal is tiring. Normal is depressing.
But most days we live in normal.
Here's the point:
Easy to be intentional in following when you have a 3am Divine wake up call, much harder to be intentional on a normal day.
That's the point.
Tired.
Monday was an 18 hour day.
Tuesday yuck.
Found myself awake at 3am on Monday.
At 3.45am still awake and felt a stirring in my soul. Began writing at 4am what I was feeling. 5.30am thought about a couple of hours of sleep, but ended up out running and the day just kept going.
Monday evening had the chance to share with church leadership what I had written.
Slept deep on Monday night.
So what was Tuesday about?
Tired or something else?
Mick McCarthy the manager of Premier League Wolves football team celebrated on Saturday his team staying up in the Premier league for another season - amazing achievement. But today at a news conference he talked about how the rest of the week he's been depressed.
Could relate to that.
Monday was huge.
Inspiration, a sense of God, His nearness, vision, things clicked.
Tuesday ........normal returned.
But who wants normal when you can have inspired, hearing God, holy stirrings.
Normal is dull. Normal is tiring. Normal is depressing.
But most days we live in normal.
Here's the point:
Easy to be intentional in following when you have a 3am Divine wake up call, much harder to be intentional on a normal day.
That's the point.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Day 114 - what really happened?
Day 114 and today's preach spoke loudly that the Christian faith believes in a Redeemer. His redemption can change your circumstances or change you in the midst of your circumstances.
Maybe I was challenging Bart's comments from last week (although I agree with loads of Bart's thinking) - but core to the Christian faith is solid hope and a solid Redeemer who does change destiny's.
My intentional follow was to represent Christ well. Yes, our choices can thwart his redemptive changes, but Christ is a Redeemer.
Preachers sit and ponder what people will do with your message after they hear it:
Will they walk out, go for lunch and forget it?
Will they leave feeling good but untransformed?
Will they leave and talk about what they heard over lunch and on into the next week (certainly Bart achieved that)?
Will they take action?
To represent Christ well is not to simply teach truth, but teach inspired truth. To have heard the Holy Spirit correctly during the week, crafted your insights correctly and been a vessel that God uses to flow through to bring change not just information.
We applaud many preachers, but truly only eternity will reveal good preaching.
So my intentional follow - maybe I won't know if it truly did until eternity.
Maybe I was challenging Bart's comments from last week (although I agree with loads of Bart's thinking) - but core to the Christian faith is solid hope and a solid Redeemer who does change destiny's.
My intentional follow was to represent Christ well. Yes, our choices can thwart his redemptive changes, but Christ is a Redeemer.
Preachers sit and ponder what people will do with your message after they hear it:
Will they walk out, go for lunch and forget it?
Will they leave feeling good but untransformed?
Will they leave and talk about what they heard over lunch and on into the next week (certainly Bart achieved that)?
Will they take action?
To represent Christ well is not to simply teach truth, but teach inspired truth. To have heard the Holy Spirit correctly during the week, crafted your insights correctly and been a vessel that God uses to flow through to bring change not just information.
We applaud many preachers, but truly only eternity will reveal good preaching.
So my intentional follow - maybe I won't know if it truly did until eternity.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Day 113 - reality.
Day 113 - yard work again...aaargh.
But tonight I'm sitting watching the movie The Informant.
Interesting.
What's interesting is the central character Mark Whittaker who can be in the most important discussion involving major issues but his mind has wandered to the biggest load of trivia you could think of ....like how do Polar Bears know their noses are black which they hide when they hunt for penguins!
The best parts of the movie are the comments he's thinking inside his mind that distract him from reality. Fascinating.
Or, is the trivia reality.
Where does reality sit?
Who determines what's reality?
It's real to Mark Whittaker.
Here's my intentional follow ........ try to match my reality to God's, He is ultimate reality.
Today I've tried to live in the truest reality there is - I've tried to focus my thoughts through prayer on what God is doing.
Today, more than many days, I've tried to line my reality up to His.
Yard work was easier, being Mark Whittaker is easier.D
But tonight I'm sitting watching the movie The Informant.
Interesting.
What's interesting is the central character Mark Whittaker who can be in the most important discussion involving major issues but his mind has wandered to the biggest load of trivia you could think of ....like how do Polar Bears know their noses are black which they hide when they hunt for penguins!
The best parts of the movie are the comments he's thinking inside his mind that distract him from reality. Fascinating.
Or, is the trivia reality.
Where does reality sit?
Who determines what's reality?
It's real to Mark Whittaker.
Here's my intentional follow ........ try to match my reality to God's, He is ultimate reality.
Today I've tried to live in the truest reality there is - I've tried to focus my thoughts through prayer on what God is doing.
Today, more than many days, I've tried to line my reality up to His.
Yard work was easier, being Mark Whittaker is easier.D
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Day 111 - should I get baptized again?
Day 111.
Drove with two staff up to Pine Flat Dam .....it's that time of the year again to film a video about baptism.
It's a bit like Christmas and Easter - every year you've got to find a new fresh way to talk about something that you've preached or taught every year.
Fortunately the incarnation, the resurrection and baptism are loaded with layer upon layer of truth and theology.
Is baptism simply declaration or is it a sign and a seal?
Is baptism just telling others you are a follower of Christ or is something sacramental happening in the mystery of how God comes to us?
Is it demonstrating salvation or is it forming the union with Christ that expresses salvation
It is all of these.
Baptism is a layered truth .....the deeper you peel the more there is.
Today was unpeeling another layer to help people .....but it was also an act of worship for me.
as i taught on film another layer of baptism, my heart at more and more for the wonder and the amazing grace of our amazing God.
You'll need to wait and see the film in May - but even although it is over 30 years since I was baptized ...I'm thinking about doing it again!
Drove with two staff up to Pine Flat Dam .....it's that time of the year again to film a video about baptism.
It's a bit like Christmas and Easter - every year you've got to find a new fresh way to talk about something that you've preached or taught every year.
Fortunately the incarnation, the resurrection and baptism are loaded with layer upon layer of truth and theology.
Is baptism simply declaration or is it a sign and a seal?
Is baptism just telling others you are a follower of Christ or is something sacramental happening in the mystery of how God comes to us?
Is it demonstrating salvation or is it forming the union with Christ that expresses salvation
It is all of these.
Baptism is a layered truth .....the deeper you peel the more there is.
Today was unpeeling another layer to help people .....but it was also an act of worship for me.
as i taught on film another layer of baptism, my heart at more and more for the wonder and the amazing grace of our amazing God.
You'll need to wait and see the film in May - but even although it is over 30 years since I was baptized ...I'm thinking about doing it again!
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