Category: <span>Christianity</span>

Published May 24, 2009 by

Pain

Deep hearts hollow
and low
Cradling within an emptiness
a heaviness

a gravity,
a weight,
the bottom echo
hollow

Giant marbles on a wooden floor
banging together
not sensible
people holding hearts
a pendulous echo
God listening,
just listening.

Christina spoke this morning on Job 3 and about pain relating in particular to the apparent absence of God. And this is what I wrote. To be honest, not a lot of thought went into it, or feeling, it just kind of wrote itself. Mainly because I was feeling too blah – I’m coming down with something (always at the most inconvenient time of the year!)- to bother joining others for a discussion.

Christianity Church Words

Church God job pain Ranges

Published May 16, 2009 by

Measured words online

My friend Cat has just started blogging. I am still getting to know Cat: I can however already testify to the fact that she’s a marvelous cook, writer and has pretty much the cutest kids in the world (really – that is not an exaggeration) and she has rather good taste in art, accessories and other little things that some people don’t pay attention to.

I might make small note here of the fact that Geoff and I meet with Cat, her husband and a few others: Les (and Wepke) & Bob & Tim, some Wednesdays to eat good food, drink nice wine and talk about life inclusive of things of God (because it is all intertwined – as an extra or add-on it loses significance and that friends is a no-no and frankly just not how it works).

Blogging Christianity Life

Published May 1, 2009 by

Yes.

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.

Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favour that God has to ask his advice?

Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.

(Romans 11:33-36 MSG)

Christianity Words

Published April 20, 2009 by

Soul Survivor 2009

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Soul Survivor Melbourne 2009.

It was an exceptional week away where God did many things (visible and not so visible) in the lives of those attending. Geoff and I were on team and so spent a lot of the week running around. We had the added not-so-bonus of having to ‘tent it’ as Village Hosts. Which is great in principle but lousy for sleeping purposes.

I pulled out the camera on about day 3 after I decided that no one else was doing anything about recording the event in that way, but frankly wasn’t overly prepared and hadn’t thought much about photography where lighting is so horrendous. Next year – considering we are still involved, I think I will take it on a bit more and see what we can get. The variety of photos isn’t huge and I am a little disappointed I didn’t get more of general camping and seminars/workshops. Ah well, the recording of such things is important but not imperative and certainly not as important as what God was doing.

It was really great to see things pull together with the major shift of leadership that has happened since the 2008 festival. I’m really proud of the steering group and rest of us for our involvement and hard work. A huge clang, bang, hurrah must go out here about the individuals and teams running the food venues. As someone said, it’s such a massive but thankless task – even if you are thanked over and over. Priority here to Jess for her mind boggling coordination and Em, who didn’t stop running Le Den, also Nissa, Dave and Ruth who kept Revive up to scratch.

The Soul Survivor experience as far as scheduling goes consists of main sessions (music/worship, speaker), seminars (different speakers tailored topics), workshops (more hands on creative stuff), camping, fantastic food venues (of various themes and focus), gigs, music, prayer etc…

God spoke to me a little on dependancy, but not a great deal. I was perhaps more slowly – less vividly encouraged to do a few things differently. To realign some of how I am living. All good, no lights show for me, but then God kinda knows that light shows don’t press my buttons anyway.

photos here and here

Camping Christianity Holidays Ministry

Published April 12, 2009 by

Hungry

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“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Church up at Ranges today – it’s Easter Sunday. There were a stack of stations set up for reflection. The one that grabbed me most was, quite oddly the station about Hunger. The Bible mentions hunger quite a bit. It is wound very tightly into humanity, we need food to physically survive and food for contentment.

Each image showed was of lips – a conceptual variety of those covered in glitter holding dice, eating paper and words, half painted red, a child feeding from it’s mother.

It’s so easy to satisfy hunger with stuff, with life with busyness, with wants and percieved needs. It is not easy to satisfy hunger of the other kind with Jesus. But it is better. And things seem right when the hungry goes searching for the holy. And because the holy can relate to us in our hunger, it makes it possible.

Christianity Church Life