I’m blessed to have such an amazing circle of friends, and I wanted to share with you something that a few of those mates have been involved in recently…
Rick, Ruth, and Stewart (among others) have been involved in recording a Christmas worship CD called ‘while earth slept’ which is releasing this week. It’s a collection of songs and thoughts taking us through the Christmas story in a fresh and inspiring way. The CD’s are being sold for £10 each with all proceeds going to two charities – ‘Out of Africa Missions‘ and ‘MacMillan Cancer Care’.
They’re hosting 2 nights of Christmas worship to launch this album, one in Enniskillen (Dec 19) and the other in Ballymena (Dec 22). With music from Stewart McIlrath, Ruth Williams and the Spark worship team, a message from Rick Hill, alongside multimedia, thoughts, interviews and a few Christmas nibbles, it promises to be a heart stirring time at this special time of the year.
Entry is free into both these nights, with CD’s being on sale.
I came across this video on Anne Jacksons blog today, and it fits with so much of what I’ve been thinking about over the last week or so…
So what does it all mean? That’s the question posed at the end of the video.
I’ve been thinking a lot about influence, about who has influence, about how we use our influence. The clip above gives us a sense of how fast the world is changing, how much our ability to impact a large group of people has mushroomed in recent years. Over the last week or so I’ve been given glimpses into the influence I have, whether through conversations with authors and musicians, or blogging friends, or neighbors…
I discovered a new coffee shop near my flat, and lots of my friends have started frequenting it.
I was talking about a band I love recently and realising how many people in Glasgow I’ve introduced to their music.
I had a conversation with an author who told me someone introduced themselves to him as knowing me.
A friend shared how our collaborative project doubled the hits on her blog.
One way to define influence is ‘to determine; to shape; to give direction to’. What am I shaping? Which direction am I pointing you in?
If influence is currency, what am I spending it on?
I talk on this blog a lot about injustice, about forgiveness, about hope, about love, about community. Are those the things you see when you read my blog? Are they the things you see when you look at my life?
And what do I see when I look at your life? You are having an influence on me, too. Maybe you don’t even realise it, maybe you don’t see the myriad of ways you impact and change me. Those words you wrote that prompted me to go and read that Bible passage. The youtube video you blogged that made me go and find out about TOMS. The question you twittered that made me reevaluate something. Meeting me for coffee and taking me somewhere thats entirely Fairtrade.
Every decision you make causes ripples.
Every decision I make causes ripples.
What kind of ripples are we leaving in our wake?
I wanted to leave you with a glimpse of what one of my favourite organisations is up to again…
Saturday morning entailed a little bit of festive cheer: gingerbread men, baked goodness, musical (Sufjan-inspired) joy, laughter and coffee, all hosted by the delightful Breakeys.
If you’re like me and haven’t managed to get a chocolate-filled advent calendar yet, how about trying out Paperless Christmas? It’s a visual advent calendar, with movie clips & sounds every day until Dec 24. It’s a lot of fun!
I’m tracking along with Mars Hill Advent Bible Readings this year… and I’m so excited about them. I need a little structure to help me along the way, and this seems like a good thing for me. It all comes back to faith, hope and love…
These daily readings were chosen to help capture four main Advent themes: hope, peace, joy, and love. Be encouraged as you read, knowing many others in our community are reading and reflecting on these themes with you.
WEEK 1 – HOPE
Nov 30 – Isaiah 40v1-5
Dec 1 – Psalm 42
Dec 2 – Romans 8v18-27
Dec 3 – Isaiah 11v1-10
Dec 4 – Hebrews 6v13-20
Dec 5 – Psalm 33
Dec 6 – Isaiah 35
WEEK 2 – PEACE
Dec 7 – Isaiah 40v9-11
Dec 8 – Philippians 4v4-7
Dec 9 – Jeremiah 33v7-16
Dec 10 – Isaiah 42v1-9
Dec 11 – Zechariah 9v9-17
Dec 12 – 2 Corinthians 1v2-5
Dec 13 – Isaiah 52v7-10
WEEK 3 – JOY
Dec 14 – Habakkuk 3
Dec 15 – John 16v5-28
Dec 16 – Isaiah 55v9-13
Dec 17 – Psalm 66
Dec 18 – 1 Peter 1v3-9
Dec 19 – Psalm 96
Dec 20 – Isaiah 12
WEEK 4 – LOVE
Dec 21 – Zephaniah 3v14-20
Dec 22 – Psalm 89v1-4
Dec 23 – Ephesians 2v1-10
Dec 24 – Isaiah 9v6-7
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