Just been talking about one of my long standing dreams with a good friend of mine ... thought I'd write it on here too:
A second hand bookshop/op shop/cafe ... in a groovy part of town like Northcote where I now live ... with a lived discipleship community connected to it (and involved in running it), connecting with the communiy around in many ways but with that as a base ... and with a worshipping community around it ...

I was accused of just wanting an op shop so I can get all the good stuff first ... well maybe ... but no really it's got way other reasons ... truly!

The last few weeks I've been watching God grow excitement in a range of things within one of the communities that I'm part of in Melbourne - it's exciting watching people get passionate about ways of drawing people into the community, ways of sharing our faith in Jesus and contexts to help people keep exploring spirituality.
I've also had a number of moments where I have really known God's spirit's presence in conversations and where things have come together in ways that are way outside our bringing things together.
All spins me out!

Been thinking quite a bit about "individual mission" opposed to "corporate mission" - should we together as communities of faith do the hard work of working out what God is calling us to together or should we encourage each other to go off and do what they feel called too "on their own" - and with others who might feel called to the same thing ... or both. I think that I think both - but I don't know or understand the balence or how's of that. I also wonder if there are no "rights" or "wrongs" - just that different communities will go on the emphasis differently.
I do think though that we need to work hard to make sure that we are not just going off on our own thing but rather making sure that we are in step with the spirit and each other.

It's a couple of days after Christmas - a good quiet time for me this year.

One of the things I have planned for the coming year is to celebrate both Christian and Jewish festivals more as a way of entering into and remembering the story of my faith and my ancestors in the faith. I'm excited by it - and have just been enjoying looking at the different festivals and what they represent and all of that - it will be an interesting time of remembering and celebrating - and hopefully embracing more of the story ...

Long day doing Christmas prep today ...
but lots going through my mind as/through doing that.

Firstly, just did my round of blogs and spun out at something Colin who is guest blogging for Steve Taylor said on the grid blog topic for the week: source ... here it is:
[grid blog :: source]
The source of life {Trinity}
Out::sourced life {Incarnation}
So that we might re::source Kingdom life {Ecclesiology}

Which means that mission, life for others, is at the heart of Trinity. Which means that church, wagons circled, defensive, enjoying itself, enjoying its worship,
is a disjuntive, disordering, misrepresenting of the Source of Life.

How good is that!

Quite separately, been thinking about Simeon's response to Jesus (Luke 2): especially these words he speaks to Mary about him "the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are" ... Jesus brings light to what we want him too - and what we don't!

And separately again- been thinking about faith stages prompted by some thinking someone else in my community has been doing - but I will write about that another time.

As I said in my last post, Christmas is being a very special time this year.

Two thoughts of my day with regard to Christmas:
If you put a picture of a baby on your fridge (all year) and the words "This is your God" with it - how would it change the way you followed Jesus ... mmm ... interesting - not sure really but it helped me reflect on the place of this part of the story in my relationship with God and in my life.

The other thing I've been thinking about is the aloneness that Jesus must have felt - and actually chose in coming to earth. As The Message says: he became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood" - that was a choice! He chose to move into a neighbourhood that didn't receive Him and certainly didn't welcome Him throughout his life ... a neighbourhood where he was shoved into the stable! Whatever he knew at various points of his deity/humanity he certainly must have felt different and must have been profoundly aware of the ways in which he was alone - even when surrounded by people and even when people loved him dearly. Aloneness was something he would have known well - and still does I reckon.

So much to write at the moment - hopefully this will be the start of regular blogging!

Just been to a communion meal with some friends to think about Christmas etc. Having also been on a retreat earlier this week with some other friends I'm really conscious of just how unique a lead up to Christmas I'm having. It occured to me the other day that it doesn't in any way feel like Christmas - but it does very much feel like I'm remembering Jesus' birth and things around that. So I'm extremely conscious of the real celebration but have hardly been around all the other sutff!
I kind of feel like that has been a real privelege and I'm heaps thankful for it.
It is feeling like the most real, special Christmas time I have ever had!

Today I spent some time studying - reading a couple of commentaries on 1 & 2 Samuel to be exact.

I loved a comment by Eugene Peterson:
For the biblical way is not so much to present us with a moral code and tell us "Live up to this"; nor is it to set out a system of doctrine and say, "Think like this and you will live well". The biblical way is to tell a story and invite us, "Live into this. This is what it looks like to be human; this is what is involved in entering and maturing as human beings.

He goes onto talk about how as we submit our lives to what we read in 1 & 2 Samuel: "we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but to see our stories in God's."

Had an Anglican "Year of Discernment" meeting tonight. Mostly about being a chaplain in schools, hospitals and universities - not a riverting meeting!!!! However, we met at an Anglocatholic church and as is the custom one of the priests from there told us a bit about the parish. Interesting ... but most interesting was the art in the room we met in.
They have a group that meet on Wednesdays to do art together and explore spirituality through art ... and they have done some great stuff ... and then occasionally they have an exhibition and after church on the Sunday the person whose art is mostly displayed talks about their art.
Interesting - I loved it ... some amazing art and ace space for spiritual exploration.

I had an exciting day yesterday ... one of those days where I just know that God's around and that he's much bigger than me ... it makes me excited about life! I was having a conversation about faith stuff with someone and another firend was praying for the onversation and then later we realised that the exact things she prayed for happened in the conversation that I had ... and as well ( on the same day) I had sent an email about a bbq for people in my community that some others and I had decided to initiate and one of the people who I sent it to rang and said "we were walking through that park the other day and said to each other - we should have a bbq here" ... small in some ways but a reminder to me of God being so in the picture and beng caught up in an adventure beyond ourselves!

Trying to work out how to put links in:
Living Room

I'm just trying to get the hang of how this all works - I'm looking forward to working it all out so I can get some other stuff up here!

This is exicting! Finally after several weeks/months of talking about it - I am getting around to starting my blog! It will take me some time to work out how it all works ... but then I'm sure that there will plenty on here ... so stay tuned!