Published April 1, 2014 by

Stepping out, not in

Today’s sacred space.

John 5:1-3,5-9

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Passivity, holding back. Alternative solutions. Other ways.

\random thoughts

Christianity

Published April 25, 2013 by

Hiding humanity

Soul Survivor this year kicked off for team with an activity about our ‘theme’ (Everything). We collectively (and consequently, individually) shared the ways/places/times we see God and we wrote these on several hundred light globes that were strung up across the main auditorium.

Last night we had a discussion around community and our community and building community with the Missio crew and Dave Andrews. We were reminded that God is good and merciful and just and these characteristics can be found in all kinds of places certainly not just in the typical Christian ideas’ where these things show up. God is all around us and in many things we maybe don’t’ want him to be.

I have recently read an exceptional book: ‘Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art’ by Madeline Le’Engle.

“If our lives are truly “hid with Christ in God,” the astounding thing is that this hiddenness is revealed in all that we do and say and write. What we are is going to be visible in our art, no matter how secular (on the surface) the subject may be.”
― Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

So here I am, in my rental in the North of Melbourne.
I have a kid, I work a bit – for myself and struggle with the tension of this and being a parent and giving my own life space. I am married to a teacher, he’s great, I’m super proud of him and we moved and changed a lot about our life so he could work in a disadvantaged school, doing the stuff he’s meant to be doing. And I often feel stuck at home not being terribly hmm… influential? Out doing ‘kingdom stuff’ (dumbest phrase if I ever heard one, but it’s late and my brain is a tad fried).
I want a house (eventually when we can afford one) and I want to travel even though sometimes I feel guilty about these ‘wants’ when clearly we already have so much.

And here is Jesus too.

Lets not aim for lights on hills, but to be leven in dough so mixed up you can’t tell the difference (pinched that one right from Mr. Andrews) There’s some Christianese for you to mull over when contemplating being in this world but not of it. eg. You are not a freaking alien with three eyes and your holiness cape come to rescue the world. You are human and are already here.

Christianity Church Life

Published March 12, 2013 by

Moments of life

A brief shout out to a few friends of mine who are blogging the moments of life.

See Sammy Blog

Measured Words

In terms my own moments… the terribly odd March heatwave has crushed my motivation to do very much at all. It is an effort to keep the house clean and my spawning of sorting (a month or so back before I got busy with work) has left a trail of destruction that is messing with my perceived comfort levels. The study is a bomb. The baby is also so terribly not into sleeping its not funny, with a record of waking four times between 10 and 1am (what!? how is this even possible!). Lent continues… without me playing along terribly well (did you just read the few sentences above… they are quite clearly complaint) however it is making me much more aware of when I do ‘waste words’. Lent, this year, if I have not said before is about not complaining simply for the sake of it. Terribly enlightening (and perhaps a little depressing) to recognise how much of my conversation is really rather negative.

I have this ‘old’ song on record – accordingly. It is beautiful truth.

O Holy God of Truth
O loving God of mercy
Compassionate God of life
Forgiveness to me give

In my wanton talk
In my lying oath
In my foolish deeds
My empty speech

As Thou wast before
At my life’s beginning
Be Thou so again
At my journey’s end

Soul Survivor for the year fast approaches. I have been shooting some more weddings which makes me super happy and getting more photography enquiries which is exciting and I am going to to discuss what work could look like back at Blick (design studio) for a day or two a week later today… or not at all (beyond freelancing for them) – which is a scary prospect for the bank account but could be liberating. Our ‘diet’ continues, it’s not too hard and seeing some results is nice – fitting back into old clothes is even nicer.

There are more moments to come.

Blogging Christianity Design Life Photography

Published December 21, 2012 by

Belief and Knowing

I have been reading Richard Rohr’s book on Advent: Preparing for Christmas. My commitment to reading it daily is atrocious. In it he references (after having done a bit more research) Carl Jung, where he talks about Knowing Jesus rather than Believing in Jesus.

Believing in Jesus is (holding this lightly) is somewhat conceptual. Knowing is more concrete and in essence requires so much more of us.

Not to get too hung up on semantics, but I do find this a helpful way of looking at things. It strips away some of the intangible ambiguity and draws you into a place of action over thought. Something terribly important for someone who spends a lot of time in their head where concepts can be thrashed to billions and the whole thing shattered. Knowing carries implications for solidifying how living this life is something we can join in with and not something out of reach.

Christianity Holidays

Published December 5, 2012 by

Simplicity Possibly

“Simplicity in its essence demands neither a vow of poverty nor a life of rural homesteading. As an ethic of self-conscious material moderation, it can be practiced in cities and suburbs, townhouses and condominiums. It requires neither a log cabin nor a hairshirt but a deliberate ordering of priorities so as to distinguish between the necessary and superfluous, useful and wasteful, beautiful and vulgar.” – David Shi

Christianity Experiments Life