Quite a few of my readers are new to the world of blogging, as am I. As more people are checking it out, and perhaps seeing a blog for the first time, I’ll explain what some of the features are.
Each post can be rated which tells me and other readers what you think is good reading. Simply choose how many stars you think the post deserves. Try to be kind.Read More »
We tackle some heavy issues here at Utterance but this is serious stuff tonight.
Yesterday I found a large take away coffee on Norton St for just $3. That’s right, $3 – at least $1.10 below the usual premium rate you pay for coffee in Little Italy.
This cheap brew is hiding away in the baby cakes outlet in Norton Plaza. I guess the plan is that you buy a cheap but tasty coffee and a small but expensive cup cake.
Well, I just stuck to the coffee and it’s not too bad. What’s more, it’s organic Fair Trade!!
Feel free to share your own totally indulgent coffee story… PH
“The marvel of the Redemptive Reality of God is that the worst and the vilest can never get to the bottom of His love. Paul [the Apostle] did not say that God separated him to show what a wonderful man He could make of him, but “to reveal His Son in me.”
Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest
February 3
This quote would seem to flow counter to the river of Christian books that promote the idea of becoming all we can be. Is it the same thing? Or have we moved the mark some how? PH
O.N.C.I.T.M 1: 10 well-intentioned American Baptists have been arrested in Haiti for allegedly attempting to abduct at least 33 or up to 100 children by taking them by bus to the Dominican Republic.
One of the Baptists said they realised they didn’t have all the right paperwork, for what they thought were abandoned children, but were “just trying to do the right thing.”
Doing the right thing starts with having great respect for the nations and peoples you are among, even if their lifestyle or processes are different to yours. It can be too easy for us in the west to wrongly view these as sub-standard or insignificant, because we fail to penetrate the cultural differences.
Perhaps the chaos of devastated Haiti is a mitigating factor, and there may be other motivations for those who are holding the Christians without charge, but there is definitely a lesson for us all as weconsider our place in the world.
O.N.C.I.T.M 2: An American missionary couple featured on morning television because of their comments that Darwin is a godless, sinful city. The clean middle-class-looking couple lost all credibility with no one believing they knew the first thing about the city they claim to want to reach with the gospel.
The mistake here, again, is the presumption of describing a foreign city without knowing it or earning the right to be heard. The other mistake is thinking that one city is some how more sinful than another just because its sins may be more obvious, such as alcohol abuse.
Gotta love these Christians, they are so passionate and committed and probably deeply spiritual. But a few brains wouldn’t go astray.
“Forgive me Lord for when I have acted out of the same pride and disrespect which is not love.” PH
I’m putting together a devotional book based on a daily email I did in 2006 covering every verse of the book of James. This was a pivotal time for our community as we rediscovered God’s love for the lost and the least. Hopefully early copies of the book will be available by early March when we at Eternity run a conference called ChangeMakers.
James in the New Testament is often regarded as a tough book as it gives little in the way of ‘nice’ promises and plenty in the way of straight down the line challenge.
Beneath the surface though is a simple call to reject the cult of celebrity and greed that can ensnare our thinking and live a life of gentle respect for the poor, the rich and one another.
If you are interested in 55 Days of Faith and Action leave a comment or email me.
Here’s a snippet I came across while editing today:Read More »
“The death of cheesy Christian movies” writes Greg Stier of Christianpost.com about new teen movie To Save A Life which has just opened in the US.
That’s got to be good news… Check out the official website and watch for release dates in Australia.
Contemporary Christian communicators, by and large, often try so hard to get their message articulated in triplicate that they lose all sense of storytelling. This applies equally to movies and novels, with some exceptions.
Apparently To Save A Life bucks this trend which can only be a good thing. Remember how good a storyteller Jesus was, and often he didn’t even bother to explain a parable because he knows we are wired to ponder and explore narrative. A truth we find for ourselves is doubly found. PH
God-spotting:
“I was dreaming about God. He was playing tennis,” says the boy Jim Graham (Christian Bale) to his mother in Empire of the Sun (Spielberg, 1987). “Perhaps God is our dream, and we are God’s dream,” he continues.
Seen God in any other unexpected places lately? Feel free to share them via a comment. PH
This is my 21st blog post for 2010 having boldly resolved to post every day of the year. So I’ve already broken my New Year’s resolution eight times and January is not even over! I may attempt multiple posts to catch up. Do you think that counts?
It’s an interesting phrase when you think about it:
How are you going with your New Year resolutions? PH
Clint Eastwood’s film Invictus features Nelson Mandela passing on the poem of the same name that steeled him against 27 years of incarceration to Francois Pienaar, captain of the World Cup winning South African rugby team.
The final two lines: ‘I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul’ echo through the movie emphasising that regardless of our circumstances we are still in control of how we respond, how we behave, how we think.
Invictus – William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
It is unclear if this is strictly historical as other sources claim Mandela actually gave Pienaar a copy of Theodore Roosevelt’s speech, The Man in the Arena. The speech is notable for the extended passage:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Eastwood lays a lengthy historical foundation for the film’s climax being South Africa’s unlikely World Cup win in 1995, a powerful moment of unity for a country seeking to move past decades of apartheid. For just a few moments, Eastwood descends into the schmaltz of Hollywood style sporting movies as he tries to build tension and excitement on the rugby field.
But such is the grandeur of Mandela’s life and vision that anoints the film that most patrons will easily overlook these moments and soak in the beauty of belief.
English poet Henley was unsure what God he thanked for his ‘unconquerable soul’, and perhaps Mandela shares this uncertainty. The only black footballer in the winning rugby team, Chester Williams, claimed not to think too much as it spoiled his rugby but seemed much more certain about his faith in God when called on to pray after the South African team’s great victory.
Thoughts?
PH
I first met Harry (not his real name) in Bali when he was jut a few years old. His mother, overwhelmed by the need to work very long hours for a pittance, had been unusually cruel to him, locking him in a cage and even attempting to kill him.
Someone knew of Tania’s (not her real name) children home and convinced the mother to allow Harry to be cared for there. As supporters of the home, we were privileged to meet the little fellow who was fast recovering from his ordeal.
The spark of intelligence in him was unmissable and his need or attention irrepressible. But the steadfast love of God expressed through the beautiful staff of this home, has met the need for attention in the most healthy way – balanced, unconditional, accountable love; and at the same time helped him excel in all kinds of way – cooking and surfing being just two.
This is one of many great stories coming from this home which is a partnership between a local woman and other staff and western people who want to reach out beyond their own comfort zone.
There are many huge organisations that do wonderful things for communities and nations at the aid and development level but we must never lose the ‘amateur lovers’ of this world who are moved of heart enough to change a child’s life through hugs, smiles, a room and one good day after another. PH
Why do we travel to other countries to share our lives? Is it because we think our way is better than theirs? Or because we are driven by guilt or obligation?
In fact relationship is the key. God works through relationship and in today’s world, relationships can take us anywhere on the planet.
The beauty of a relationship with people and communities in other countries, particular where there is a crossover from developed to developing, is that we learn that our way of life is not the only one, that material benefits are over-rated but yet a privilege, and that putting ourselves in another person’s world is often a pre-requisite for sincere love.
While waiting for a friend on a Bali street, a driver came and chatted with me, hoping I needed his services. When I explained I didn’t, he accepted this politely and we continued to talk.
He pointed out his little blue van, slightly battered, that was his source of livelihood. As a taxi stopped and picked up some Europeans (“Dutch”, my Balinese acquaintance informed me), he pointed to the car which was part of a very large taxi company.
“If you spend money with a big business like that it’s like pouring water into the ocean. If you spend money with a family business like mine, it means we can cook tomorrow.”
We shook hands and parted company. Who assisted who?
Next to a rice field, with Kekrobokan prison in one direction and Jeff and Virginia’s brilliant home a short walk in the other, our Bali team shared their first meal together. Next, to pick up the kids from the children’s home and off to the beach!
After re-stashing breakfast cereal in our hand luggage (we are taking a fascinating array of Aussie goodies to our workers in Bali) our check in luggage avoided a fee and we headed for immigration. Josiah nominated himself the hand luggage king and moved off with seven pieces…
Anyway, Eternity’s Bali team is looking forward to an amazing time… that is if we can get these immigration cards completed. ‘Pass me another one, Bek!’
[tag laugh, Bali, ]
Tomorrow I join a bunch of young people from our church community, and later from other churches, on a short trip to Bali where we partner with local people to run a very special children’s home.
We go with great humility to encourage, support, learn from and, hopefully, contribute to an awesome team of people – Indonesian and Australian – who make Eternity Blessed Children’s Home a reality.
We’ll take the kids to the beach; visit disadvantaged rural families; paint a wall; share in church; listen, laugh and cry with the workers and hopefully get a few moments to soak in the beauty of Bali.
We are taking a guitar because music is a universal language and some of our team are gifted in this area. For years we’ve just tossed our acoustic in the back seat, no case, and never thought twice. Suddenly we realised this would not be good on a plane!Read More »
Hawkshead is said to have a ‘timeless atmosphere’ but it would seem time has a fair grip in this beautiful part of England, as it does everywhere. Guarded by a squeaky gate, and touched by a tipping tombstone, the clock face reminds us that time, and perhaps death, waits for no one. No wonder we are invited by the Maker of time to ‘number our days aright’ in the sense of being aware of our frailty and brevity. At the same time… sorry… on the other hand… sorry, can’t avoid the time puns… In another sense, it is the very scarcity of our days that makes them so rich with meaning as we seek to ‘reedem the time’ and live fully and purposely. It is when we fool ourselves that time is not moving, that we are not changing and that we have all the time in the world, that we waste this most precious of commodities. Likewise, if we try and save time, as in cutting corners, rushing or skimping, we tend to waste time just as profoundly. Anyway, the best news is, that our times are in His hands. Our time to live, to die, to love, to let go. Give him your time and He’ll give you yours. Now that’s truly timeless.Read More »
“I’ve had a bit of a tough life,” the old fellow said as he tried to straighten his back before shuffling on towards his government flat.
Skin and bone with a fluro short and greasy cap, I walked behind him, hand on his soft arm or bent back to steady him.
“How many times have you been hit by a car?” I ask, recalling previous stories.
We have a bit of a theme going in our community this month, Rest and Readiness. I for one am trying to get to March with something to spare for the rest of the year!
As part of that endeavour, I’m reading My Utmost for His Highest – it’s only taken me 40 odd years to take the plunge. On January 6, Oswald Chambers writes: ‘The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.’
But he debunks the idea that we have to separate worship, waiting and work. We are often told to put aside time forGod, as if putting aside time is an easy thing in our face paced world. Chambers recommends pitching the tents of our life ‘where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be’. We follow the example of Christ who was ‘unhasting and unresting. It is a discipline, we cannot get into it all at once.’
Mmm, sounds like our idea of rest and readiness… takes a bit of learning but worth the try.
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese proverb.
What have you stopped doing because of a voice, internally or externally, saying it can’t be done, you can’t do it or you can’t do it well? Avoid these interruptions.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry on as if nothing had happened. Winston Churchill
As opposed to the interruption of doubters, truth is worth taking note of. What truth have you stumbled over, even and embarrassing or inconvenient one, that you have done your best to ignore but keeps tapping on your shoulder. Stumble back to truth, it always set you free.
Incidentally, I came across these quotes while reading Organic Church by Frank Viola. Still trying to decide if this book is interruption or stumbling truth. Probably a bit of both… PH
utterance 