by emma | Sep 1, 2006 | Everything Else
I went to see Mr Brian Houston in concert tonight in the metropolis that is Portglenone (yay Gig ‘n the Bann). Now I’ve heard some of his stuff before, and I liked it (think Jesus & Justice), but I’d never seen him live before tonight. He’s an incredibly energetic performer to say the least!! Bouncing all over the stage. A lot of fun to watch perform. I currently own none of his music, but after tonight I am going to have to go get some. Some of his lyrics are just incredible. I will leave you with some…
I’ve become a Good News junkie
Asking Jesus for a fix
Click here for his website, buy his new album!
by emma | Aug 30, 2006 | Everything Else
I’m on holiday this week (spending some time in Portstewart)… so I may post, or I may not… thats what being on holiday means!
In reality: I have no internet access in Portstewart (currently at home) so I can’t post!!
Til I return, may I suggest you all go out and buy a good book to read… curling up with a good book is one of the best things abour summer!
by emma | Aug 26, 2006 | Books, Faith, Words
I don’t want the “same old”, do you? We’ve got one shot at this deal, so I want to live with passion. I want to live with a sense of purpose… Wasn’t it Braveheart’s William Wallace who said, “All men die. Very few ever really live.”
What an encouraging book! I read this yesterday (it’s quite short, a lovely wee book if your looking for something to give away as a gift). Mike Breaux, who is now a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, basically just shares his story of faith, his journey in following Jesus. He talks about how he wandered as a teen, really just played at church without knowing Jesus. He shares openly about how he grew tired of his double-life, and wanted what he saw in some other people, a genuine real-ness.
When people reflect on their lives in their old age and are asked, “What would you change if you had to live all over again?” there are three common themes that come out:
- They would reflect more. Slow down, savour more sunsets, eat more ice cream, laugh more.
- They would risk more. Take more chances. Go on more adventures. Live life out on a limb.
- They would do something with their lives that would live on long after their dead and gone.
Here’s a short passage from near the end of the book, which I love:
I wonder how you get into a swimming pool. Any chance you might be a toe dipper? You stick your big toe in and you go, “Wooooo, that is cold!” And then your ankles, woooo, thats cold! Then your calves, wooo; your knees, wooo; your thighs, wooo! It’s miserable!
You know what’s really the best way to do it, don’t you? Cannonball!! You take a running start, tuck up your knees, hit the pool, and water goes flying everywhere! The ripples go out, hit the side, and come back in. They go back out and they come back in….
I think that’s what God had in mind for us. He’s saying, “Trust me – jump! Make a splash with your one and only life, and we can make ripples together. Live your life in such a way that you touch someone else’s life.
I love that passage. I think I identify with it because when I go to the beach, I play this little game I call chicken. We’ll just close our eyes and run straight into the water and keep going until the coldness stops us. None of this toe-dipping business! But what am I like when it comes to relationships? I’m 100% sure I don’t play chicken with my relationships… am I just a toe-dipper there? That’s the challenge for me.
And that’s the challenge for you, too.
by emma | Aug 25, 2006 | Everything Else
What words define your site? Try it out here.
Props to Scott.
by emma | Aug 23, 2006 | Books
Today I sat down and read this book right through. A very very pleasurable read indeed.
One of my favourite ideas from the book is this concept of ‘superficial reading’, where Leveen encourages you not to dive straight into a book, but to spend a little time exploring it gently, probing, reading around it, before getting into the ‘meat’ of the book. Things he suggests ‘researching’ or doing include:
- What is the authors background?
- Is there an index or bibliography?
- Look at the table of contents and the illustrations.
- Read the back & front: who is the intended audience?
- Scan the index for major topics
- Has the book been revised or reprinted? In what span of years?
- Read a few introductory and concluding paragraphs from each chapter (usually the major points are contained here)
- Maybe read a biography of the author
Why does Leveen suggest doing this? Along with our own experiences, cognitive psychologists tell us that memory is helped by building anticipation. This kind of previewing the book builds our expectation for what we actually encounter reading it.
I highly recommend reading this book!
by emma | Aug 21, 2006 | Africa, Everything Else
So today I took the first step in my journey to help fight AIDS and global poverty… I bought a new phone.
I really like this phone, but more than that, I love that every single time I use it, money is donated to the Global Fund to fight AIDS and poverty. Sure, it’s not very much, but it is something… and thats a good place to start in my books. Should be fun to work out what it can do…
by emma | Aug 19, 2006 | Exodus
We spent 3rd Aug with people from Willow Creek Community Church.
In the morning we spent some time hanging out with Dave, who works for WCA. We talked about the strategy of the church, and spent a long time talking about small group strategies. I love how he described the change in their perspective of discipleship: it used to be ‘mechanical’, a series of steps to go through, but it’s now viewed as ‘organic’, doing life together.
Next stop on the road was Willow Creek Community Care centre. This ministry provides food and other forms of care for those in need. Joe (ministry director) described how they discovered that were they thought they were serving families in the church who were going through a one-off crises time, they were actually serving the ‘working poor’ – people who worked 2 or 3 jobs and still couldn’t make ends meet. This discovery impacted how they did ministry. We got to see around their facilities (they are moving again in October!) and meet some of their volunteers… incredible people.
At the Commuity Care centre, we also met Jill, who joined us for the rest of the day. She is a minister in Scotland, not too far away from where I will be studying. One of the most genuine, lovely woman you could meet. We caught up with her a few times during the Leadership Summit, and she was on the same flight back to Dublin with us. I’m looking forward to catching up with her when I move to Scotland!
Our last stop of the day was at the CARS Ministry, where we met Pete. This ministry accepts donated cars, and then either fixes them up to give away to people who need them, scraps them, or sells them to make money to keep the ministry funded. They receive on average 125 cars every month! While that figure seems huge to me, Pete described to us how cars are much more disposable in America than in Ireland. The concept itself can work anywhere, it’s transferable to your own context.
by emma | Aug 18, 2006 | Africa, Books, Words
Hey, church, what’s it gonna take?
Does Jesus himself have to make a special guest appearance, point at Africa and shout, “Yo, a little help over here?!” before you realise it’s unquestionably your responsibility to do something significant to stem the tide of the AIDS pandemic there?
I read this from an article in a book I’m currently reading, The aWake Project. That cuts me to the bone. What’s it going to take before we act on this? How long before we understand that it’s us who have to stand up and shout, make a difference on behalf of those who have no voice?
“You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table”
by emma | Aug 17, 2006 | Exodus
I was going to post some of my notes and thoughts from Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit, but What If.. has posted great notes over on his site, so I will just link you over to him…
Session 1: Life Cycle of a Leader (Bill Hybels)
Session 2: Enemies of a Growing Church (James Meeks)
Session 3: Focused Leadership (Andy Stanley)
Session 4: Tribal Warfare (Peg Neuhauser) (Session 3 & 4 are from Tony Morgan’s blog, thanks!)
Session 5: The Risky Business of Hiring Stars (Ashish Nanda) & When Business Thinking Fails The Church (Jim Collins)
Session 6: Bono: An Excluive Personal Interview
Session 7: Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars (Patrick Lencioni)
Session 8: Dead Leader Running (Wayne Cordeiro)
Session 9: The Power of Clarity (Bill Hybels)
by emma | Aug 17, 2006 | Everything Else, School
A l e v e l results today… I got enough, I’m off to Glasgow Uni!
** Yikes, I have to move and live and be independant!!
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