meaning it...

Just been on the 2nd 'annual hOME weekend away' - it was a good time I think, I managed to avoid the usual demons that haunt these things for many of us (e.g. insecurity because lil' old me was hanging out with the "beautiful people", guilt because I wasn't doing any work) and I really had fun (I enjoyed '40-40' and 'Ultimate Frisbee' - unheard of!!) I was slightly weirded out by not really having any 1-2-1 time with anybody for 48 hours - I'm not used spending all my time with at least 3 other people or more!

Anyhow at one point we were talking about God's mission in the world and that we are called to join in with what He's up to i.e. bringing in to the world justice, peace, reconciliation, celebration (etc) with Himself and with others ... and up came the old chesnut about doing actions that show the good news of Jesus 'versus' speaking words which explain and challenge people with it (the 'dreaded' evangelism word). And whilst I am no great one for actually talking about what I believe, it struck me that very often nervous Christians are so worried about being inappropriate/ embarrassing that we forget that knowing Jesus, finding healing and wholeness with God and other people that that brings is actually really really good news - so that we devalue it, we don't celebrate it all, we don't love our friends enough to share it ever - pretty much saying to ourselves and perhaps to God that we don't really believe it...

Something that kind of connects with this, is that I've recently been challenged to connect up my core 'intellectual' beliefs in a much more real way with how I'm feeling, with the crap/good stuff I go through - it's made me realise that a lot of the time I use what have become cliches for me, other people's words (from the Bible, prayer books or songs) to relate to God, and that this means I'm not really real with Him about how I'm feeling, what I'm worried about - that actually I need to develop my own vocabulary to relate to Him, so I own what I'm saying, so that I really know that I fully mean it!

there's hope yet...

for a world dominated by corporations, it's good to know that some still have a sense of humour/ humanity. From a recent email:

Greetings from Amazon.co.uk.We're writing to correct a recent e-mail notification that we sent about "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)."
In our e-mail, we stated that this title would not be immediately available from our suppliers, and that you may want to search for it elsewhere.
We would like confirm that this book will be available from our suppliers and will be delivered to UK customers on the day of release (July 16th 2005).
We assure you that Howlers have been sent to the Muggles responsible for this action and we are investigating the possibility that 'You-Know-Who' may have been involved.

... Otherwise am generally busy (beginning to get stressed), very behind with work, so obviously am going away for the weekend with hOME... ah well, should be good all the same!

Also 30 next week... I've recently discovered that the Medievals discovered that they thought that everyone will be 30 in heaven as that is the age of perfection (and maturity in Jewish society apparently). So I'm looking foward to being perfectly mature;)

that sinking feeling...

My friend Jon has started blogging again, and in his most recent post he was talking about conversations he had in at a dance night he goes to regularly, and one thing he said really leapt out at me:

from the 'blood sample' of my generation i took tonite, it is not faith in God that is dying but faith in ourselves...

that rings so true with me - and i guess being a Christian gives me a reason for the state we're in (our sin, our rebellion against the wonderful way God had planned for us) - but sometimes it also entirely demotivates me to invest in anything for the future - sometimes i even wonder if 'making poverty history' is worth it - after all, what impact will saving all those children, who die every second i type, have on the planet? of course each and every one matters... but we seem to have an increasing ability to screw things up... oh i dunno really, i suspect i've lost some perspective somewhere along the line!

the frightening power of consumerism

so I just had to blog about this, especially since at hOME yesterday we were thinking about God stripping away all the things we try to use to falsely define ourselves (popularity, humour, sexual attractiveness, consumerism, education etc) instead allowing our identity as a completely loved child of God to define ourselves... this article (and the story that provoked it) just shows the terrifying power of a brand... especially this comment made by a reader of the BBC website (i'm really hoping it was made tongue-in-cheek...):

Ikea is not just a furniture store, it is a religion. A true follower has to make regular pilgrimages to its temples and know it's catalogue back to front. All the queueing and hassle is worth it as ultimately you will find peace and contentment amongst your purchases and life will be better. Sue Beverley, uk

scary whatever way it was made, cos to have power it has to have some kernel of (perverse)truth!