General update on life

Just thought I would do a bit of a general update on life ... particularly since some people who read this blog are friends who aren't based in Melbourne, and even those of you who do, I haven't necessarily seen for a while.
This last weekend I was down at Anglesea (Great Ocean Road) speaking on a church camp - for Thornbury Church of Christ. Good weekend, and I think I encouraged them in some of their thinking. I got them to think about Jesus (always a good thing!), the kingdom of God, the church (got them reading Ephesians 1 ... using a thing called Lectio Divina, which a way of reading/praying the Bible), talked about centred set (for more on what this is have a look at this site - a great summary of what one of the people from Warrnambool SUFM did at their core weekend just this last weekend too), talked about incarnation and what it means to be follows of Jesus in entering into neighbourhoods ... I think God used what I said to encourage them as a group of his people to be his hands and feet in the world - I hope so.
It was a fun time too ... and I came back really quite relaxed for someone who had been working :)
I spent Saturday arvo at one of my favourite cafes across from the surf beach in Anglesea, reading a little book I picked up at the Ridley library last week about All-Age church rather than All-age worship ... and reading the Saturday paper. Very relaxing.
On Saturday night we watched a movie called Molokai, which is well worth a watch.

Last week I was at staff retreat at Belgrave Heights. Two quite relaxing days of spending time with the staff team. We did a few sessions together thinking about what the last year has been for us as individuals, for SU Victoria and for the world ... and some time thinking about our dreams too. It was a really fun and relaxing time and I came back mro relaxed than I have been in a long time. (yep that's work too!)

This coming week we have 3 days back up at Belgrave Heights with the SU Tasmania guys as well as the SU Vic guys - at an inservice training - should be a good time but certainly will be harder work than the last time we were there!

I've also been doing various Solace things - planning some times over the next few weeks, Sunday gatherings, various individual nights for various things etc etc.

On a personal front, I'm moving house. We take possession of our new house tomorrow but won't move in until probably the weekend after next. I'm still going to be living in Northcote but in a house with a friend. We are very much looking forward to it. I'm sure you will hear more over time.

Phew - and that's just a bit of what I've been doing ... packing is big on the agenda of the next few weeks, as well as getting settled, catching up with mission directors, and various other Solace and SU things.

Choosing Life

The question of "What does it mean to choose life?" has been one that I've been thinking a fair bit about over the last few weeks, particularly prompted by choosing to not drink caffeinated coffee during lent - that's definately a choice of life for me.

What does it mean for you to choose life?

Lent

Well it's almost a week into lent now. I'm sad that I missed out doing something for Shove Tuesday with anyone (other than attending a work meeting, I could have made that a pancake night - now that would have been good!). But I helped lead an Ash Wednesday gathering - which I think was good. But especially good was the time we spent the previous Sunday preparing it.

So often we have just seen lent as a time of giving up things ... but giving up for what?
It is also a time of focusing ... and for some a time of taking up or renewing commitment to some form of disciplines.

For me, I'm already implementing a number of disciplines in my life, things that I decided to do on a retreat last month ... but I have given up caffienated coffee for lent. Feeling the effects? Yep ... then thing I'm thinking about the most though is how good making " a choice for life" is. Mmm ... that could do with more thought.

While we are on the lent topic, you might want to have a look at these blogs for some different perspectives on the lent journey:
Lentus Whaticus
Grace Lent Blog
Lentblog

Crazy weeks!

The last few weeks have been crazy - partly because they have been, partly because I have somehow chosen for that. But today has been somewhat different - quit productive really in all sorts of ways, but a different pace and not dictated too by my diary - there was just one thing in there for today.

I am trying to have Friday as a day off, Sabbath type day. I have had days like these before but I'm trying to learn anew a bit of what is helpful for me on such days - and I know it will be a journey. One of the things that I struggle with is what does this look like when (as a friend of mine says about herself) "you don't so much have a job as a lifestyle". Some of the words that she has said to her community are "think twice before you ask anything of me on such days". Some other things I'm thinking are important for me is very little diaried stuff - so I can do what I want/need on that day. I've also been thinking that I need other set time in the week to do personal/house stuff so that it doesn't get relegated to this day.

Life has been very good in so many ways - just very full.

Story forming Community

For a long time (even though I have to confess I have never read it!) Watership Down has been a model book for so much of what I think about in terms of story forming what we are on about. Here's a piece written a number of years ago about it.

Children in the Emerging Church

This is an excellent article about children in the emerging church. I love it for a number of reasons and has some excellent stories in it, as well as some excellent underlying understandings about the place of children in the church.

Welcome

I've added Olivia and Erika to my blog roll - welcome guys! People interested in Solace stuff and some of the thinking that goes on in my head might like to have a look at Olivia's blog in particular.
Erika is a friend who I have known for many many years ... mmm ... more than half my life I do believe! Welcome to the blog world Erika.