Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we diet!

A few weeks ago, the minister at one of our local churches (one of the few I have visited in an attempt to find a spiritual home here) spoke out of Ecclesiastes. Tonight, I experienced what he meant.

He taught that we should "eat, drink and be merry", because life is short and unpredictable. Tonight I ate, drank and was merry and remembered what he said. It's true! We can never solve all the world's problems, or even all our own problems. Life will always have an element of surprise and absurdity. The question is: Do you stop living and freak out about everything that's wrong with the world, or do you savour and enjoy that which is good?

I don't think he meant that we should stop trying to make a difference, but that we should not be swallowed up by the big black hole that is everything that is wrong with the world.

Amidst all the muck and blood, sweat and tears that our lives sometimes become, we have to take the time to sit with friends and loved ones and just enjoy! Laugh, joke, philosophise, eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow will bring its share of problems, whether we agonise over it or not. But, tomorrow cannot rob of us the joy we created and memories we made today.

I thank God for friends and family who love me and who have given me years of joy and wonderful memories and continue to do so every day just by being who they are and sharing of themselves with me.

After big things

So, the wedding has come and gone and life has returned to "normal". "Normal", in the sense that things go on and also "normal" in the sense that the wedding of one friend, coupled with the new relationship in another's, has brought to the forefront all my old thoughts and fears about still being single. I like being single - doing my own thing, spending my money the way I want to, having the bathroom to myself - all great things, but...

One does wonder.

What would it be like? What would I do differently? What would I enjoy? What would bug me? In short: what am I missing? Question to the void: Any thoughts?

Big things

One of my best friends it getting married this week. What an awesome, scary, huge, strange thing marriage is!

Realising the significance of her decision has been surprisingly difficult for me. Knowing that she wants to share her life with someone has evoked some fear in me. Fear that she won't be happy, fear that he will change and hurt her, fear that the marriage will change her and fear that their marriage will affect our friendship.

But love drives out fear and, in this case, the love that I know God has for them. He is walking this path with them and guiding their footsteps. Nobody knows what life will throw at them, but those of us who know God know that He walks with us and that we can bring our fears and burdens to Him and "God's peace, which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount over our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

I still worry, because I care, but the job of looking after them and their marriage is not mine. My job is to be her friend, to faff over her hair and nails on Saturday morning and to pray that God will bless them.

Mmmmm... Promising

Just started reading "Zealous Love: A Practical Guide to Social Justice". It promises to be an eye-opener, so watch this space. Love without action is not love.

Who dares?

Ok, so a respected pastor and author dares to remind us that we do not know, nor are we allowed to judge, who goes to heaven and he is called a heretic?! http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/19/rob-bell-punches-back-against-claims-of-heresy/

The fact that I happen to like and agree with what I have read from Rob Bell in no way colours my surprise at this craziness! Who are we to say we know? Last time I checked, God is in charge of deciding what happens to us after we die and, as a Christian, I believe that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son", so that we all may know His great love and mercy and grace!

Jesus judged no one. He visited with and made friends with people from every possible sphere of society - from generals to prostitutes - and shared His love with all of them. His last prayer for His own executors was a prayer of love; that they be forgiven - brought into God's grace.

Can anyone honestly say that they know what goes on in somebody's spirit based on failures they see on the outside? If that were true, we are all condemned to Hell, because we all fail all the time. That's the point, isn't it? We cannot reconnect with God on our own, because we fail, so He gave us a way - Grace.

How and when each individual comes, or doesn't come, to know God's grace is not for me to judge. How God deals with each individual's response to his grace is most definitely not for me to dictate!

A night under the stars.

Tonight we celebrated the opening of the new school where I teach, under the African stars. Children danced, mommies clapped and cheered, the principal made a speech and the founders of the school lit a torch. The choir sang and we sang. It was wonderful to be a part of it. Not many people have the privilege of being a part of the birth of something that represents the fulfilment of a vision like this - of making a place where the community will grow and learn and create new opportunities for the future. The sights and sounds, lights and colours reminded me of one of my (and many others') old favourite paintings - alive with colour and energy. An oldie, but a goodie!

True equality?

Another thought-provoking idea from Fr Richard Rohr: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=isz87kdab&v=001u8SjZbUCyfMyVIu8TWCzkY8KfEL6fM5MPFUhTp75vr0UiMm9Rtp8lppnudMsAVhXBMcdgiwUEwm5qpPLYuAP0MqMHRr6DQzWhKxs84OAbelmjtiNL1AR7efjVPNrn1CKg_TnP3VjvP3Ft8fHToFoqb9sjwmHmo85tcWoWu5iOhfbb5zB4pTVLVeIHrsIdH1XeU_fo4dOR0UiTE7dWR56XYMiGerR9_pGaIG1SeAuSXZkFgbC35SQHizhcGJp03xtQZ9i9fid0gxzTuu7e_D9VkVb36DInHwDLkb6bHFbqs5pvPnOt8s5eqdEZmxPOCUO-6RUpzdYiD-GF7DUC2tPe7-MEPX9TF66DVUyNb9vjVc%3D

I hate having a cheapy, crappy, grade 1 cellphone!

The reason why I hate my phone is simply this: I have a brand spanking new, gorgeously, deliciously over the top, pink chair and I can't post a pic, because the most advanced feature my phone offers is a flashlight! I mean, really!
And why do I have a cheapy, crappy, grade 1 cellphone, you ask?! Because my fancy, funky, photograph-taking phone decided to peg six months into its young life and my upgrade is only in January of next year! Gah!

So. Use your imagination. Sorry. It's a gorgeous chair!

I wish for a Babel fish!

How many arguments have you been in where you looked back and realised that you and the other person had been saying the same thing, but not coming to an agreement?

So many conversations turn into arguments, that turn into fights that end relationships, not because of differences of opinion, but because of an inability or unwillingness to listen past the manner of speech, expression and tone of voice to the issue being raised.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were a Relationship Babel Fish,almost like the one in "Hitch-hikers' Guide to the Galaxy" that - instead of translating foreign languages for you - will translate other people's hurt or angry words into that which they had been trying to say in the first place.

New discovery!

I love beautiful images and seeing what inspires others. These are worth a look!
http://theanimalarium.blogspot.com/
http://www.albertocerriteno.com/portfolio/sora.html

Re: "Lost" Daily Meditation: Counter Cultural -- First Sunday of Lent -- Mar. 13, 2011

Check out this link: It helped me to understand more about what church is supposed to be and why I do not feel at home in some churches:
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=isz87kdab&v=001QkDMjGI5V9YvdXP6SpHb40ShSXuckrvSqfRel5XiIV_TVDsBtb0Mb48zZcNkFvQiynsuClHZ752yObRWu66cm27G9pKWAVaJo8DN8enWW5JxfiSIaCTnbvhk0IKu1ak4bWLa-zVyj_86Ce-PwglYkX_fzzzbFT9N5DW5MkkhHp-HDoTLGRmU7npUYlhwHr4kc_XTq4yXrQpDQMM-vsLBstd2dsKyGFydTFjTJDdqOxCKpV145XmIAhhhG-xk79p5qwfgZGnUngdDf0DT0w5DRJDaSleMSlnx6R0tk827KZH4o5Sj85NhOxx189Yb1YlLrtAyDem7iHfONvMzXmSxbTiy0NIx3fy3kHD_n_WFhJk%3D

Lost

When you take Geography at school, you learn about how populations migrate and grow and shrink and change. One of the concepts they teach you is "push and pull factors". What are the things that 'push' you away from where you are and what are the things that 'pull' you in a new direction?

I went to a church last week, hoping to find a possible new spiritual home in the area I have recently moved to. The message I got was that their church is the right place to be, because somebody else's is not right??? Huh??? 'Come to us, because the place where you were is bad.' So they're leaning heavily on the 'push' factors, hoping that where I had been would have been bad enough to push me away towards them.What I failed to get was, what was so great about them? Why would somebody from my old church "go to Hell" (their words)?

I watched a DVD from another church. Same faith, same message (supposedly). All I could hear was, "Come and feel the welcome and the love that our family has to offer. We don't have all the answers, but we have love and comfort and we take care of people, even when they don't agree with us. Here you will find friends."

Sadly, the church in the DVD is in another country, soo... I can't go there today...

The question I want to ask, though, is, "Where to from here?"

Fish

Check out my fishies! Please feed them by clicking on the water.

Declaration

My God is greater than any power in the universe and the power He exerted to resurrect Jesus Christ from the dead is the power He makes available to us who believe (Eph 1:15-23).

Knowing the Living God changes us. Living inside His love gives us peace beyond comprehension and a quiet confidence that we will always be ok.

Please do not read "prosperity and everlasting happiness" when I say "ok".

"Ok" means knowing that my Heavenly Father is in control and that I can turn to Him and find His arms open for me. It means that I do not have to fear the things I do not understand. It means I do not have the need to try and predict the outcome of events. It means that I have a Place to come home to even when I did try to control my own destiny and got lost. It means I have an Ear Who will listen to all my ramblings and rantings with empathy and patience. It means that, even when I feel lost and alone, I will never be lost and alone. It means that I do not have to "fit in" here, because I have a place prepared for me elsewhere.

"Ok" means being loved, cherished and protected by the Almighty and knowing it.

Who?

Living here means being without identity. My language is being phased out. Even I don't often read it. Obviously, I blog in my second language. My nation is the historical monster, bent under guilt. My country is so multi-everything that it is nothing. My leaders are either well-intentioned but clueless or corrupt. My gender? We are abused and neglected. The men in my world? Some are confused by our power. Others find it beautiful, but they are few. The list goes on.

So who am I? Do I identify with any of this? Yes. This is who I am. No. I am more.

Many are raging, singing, writing, politicking, talk showing, conferencing, dialogueing, chatting, blogging, arting, playing, rhetoricking about this. New text about all things mentioned is being generated to promote, criticise, advertise, analyse, celebrate and denegrate. I am no closer to knowing who I am.

I do know this: I like who I am. Your problem if you don't.

Some thoughts on crazy people and why I am almost crazy

People are described as crazy for all kinds of reasons. Mental illness is the obvious one. An insane temper is another. Being willing to take wierd risks makes you look doolally. Choosing clothing, body art and hairstyles that don't fit the norm is an easy way of getting labelled crazy, however unfairly.
In this jaundiced, sceptical world, those of us who believe in pure things like love and the sanctity of relationships of all kinds have been described as crazy.


These are all interesting, often entertaining ideas, but off the mark.

Crazy people are people who do not want relationships to work. I watched "Into the Wild" last week. It's a brilliant movie. Beautiful scenery, great cast, etc. The story, based on true events, is powerful and touching. Ultimately, though, the story of Alexander Supertramp is the darkest, most unsettling I have encountered in a long time. In the film, he is depicted as wanting reconciliation with his family. In reality, I don't think we will ever know. What we do know is that he made a deliberate effort to get away from his family and, ultimately, all human contact. He may have had his reasons, but it remains heartwrenching to contemplate.


So this is why I am almost crazy. I almost chose being right and having my opinion proven right over being part of something wonderful. Almost.

Wow!

What a ride! Since the last post - too long to mention, but not so long considering - I have changed jobs twice, moved house four times, had a cat, lost the cat,planted something and watched it die, started new friendships, nearly lost some old ones.

And in the end? I have come full circle. The lapping waters of the dark lake are working hard on swallowing me (please forgive the mixed devices) and I am standing on the edge of beginning a new journey into the intentional silence of surrendering prayer and fasting.

It's Ash Wednesday today.

Prayer and contemplation await and so too do new revelations and fresh thinking.

I can't wait!