The world is NOT small

Movember

2011-11-11T11:23:00.001+11:00

Before

Anyone who knows me well would agree that changes to the amount and style of hair on my head are few and far between. Once I get into a habit, it tends not to change for some time. And then, suddenly, I'll decide it's time for something different and without warning, spring it on the world.

I may have just done that again.

I've had a small Van Dyck-style beard for a few years, but I decided that I wanted to try something different. And what better time to do it than Movember?

Angry face - Day 0!

Movember aims to raise support and awareness for mens' health issues, particularly depression and prostate cancer. Both of these issues aren't seen as "manly" things to talk about, so I think the association with facial hair (seriously, how hard do you have to work to make a beard/moustache unmanly) is a good way of breaking the ice.

I haven't yet decided what style I'll end up with by November 30 - any suggestions? And if you'd like to get on board and support me, you can do so over at my "MoSpace" page :D

Digital distractions: The Murderer

2011-09-27T17:45:00.000+10:00

A while back I posted about my growing frustration with the constant distractions I allowed myself to deflected by. I'm still mulling over about what my response should be; I've taken some small steps, and I hope to share those another time.

In the meantime, have a listen to this short story by sci-fi author Ray Bradbury, called The Murderer.

In it, a psychologist examines a man who's had enough, and decided to take matters into his own hands…

The Murderer [MP3] (9MB, ~15 minutes) - (opens in a new window/tab)

Isaiah

2011-09-09T23:53:00.000+10:00

I'll never forget the angel
flying down with cleansing fire
fire too hot to touch.

My lips may be clean
but still there are times
when the scars smoulder with the memory.

And so on I go
your searing stamp of approval
the agony and the ecstasy
a reminder that YHWH is Salvation…

Others on digital distractions…

2011-09-08T08:57:00.000+10:00

Since posting about feeling endlessly distracted by machines, technology and up-to-the-nanosecond information, it seems I'm not alone. Mark Colvin (one of my favourite Australian journalists) broadcast a great interview with William Powers, author of the book Hamlet's Blackberry.

It's a fascinating interview, and sounds like a really good read.

Preaching to the choir of selves

2011-08-16T10:51:00.000+10:00

I talk a lotta talk but I don't
walk a lotta walk,
I try to live to please You but I
just can't shake the awk..ward..

voice that nags and says "You know what?
maybe take your eyes off you;
fix 'em firmly back on Jesus and
remember…He loves you."

"He loves you when the going's good, when
all things come up Milhouse,
and just as much when things are grey,
and all you feel is s—house!"

"He knows you want to please Him
so remember that you do!
Now get out of your self-right funk
and go love others too…"

Sorry, I was miles away…

2011-08-11T00:54:00.003+10:00

"Blinded by distractions,
lost in matter-less affairs…"
— dc Talk, "Day By Day"

Recently while sitting on a train, a largely unremarkable thing happened – so unremarkable it gave me pause for thought. What was this non-event?

I got a new PB in Bejeweled Blitz. Not just any Personal Best: I cracked the half-million mark (and beat my previous best by over 150,000)! I enjoyed the quick squirt of adrenaline as it shot through my body, and then I thought: "Huh."

For a while now I've become increasingly frustrated and annoyed at the way the Internet and smart phones have trained my attention patterns — the classic Gen-Y dance I call "The Context-Switch One-Step". Take your electronic distraction generator in one hand, drop your head slightly, place earphones in ears, and away we go, with a one-two-three, one-two-three, facebook-check, twitter-feeds, email-check, one-more-game, when's-that-tram, one-two-three…

…sorry.

Such constant "engagement" (from pellet-popping to drinking from the firehose) has made it very hard for my brain to either 1) switch off or 2) give undivided attention to just one thing. Sometimes this is a benefit, but mostly, it just leaves me distracted and not at rest.

This spills out into all sorts of areas; why bother taking the time to cook a healthy meal when "fast food" slips into the cycle more easily? Or learning a new skill? Or making any time investment at all?

But the place where rubber hits road for me the hardest is spending time with God — how can I be still when everything in my mind screams "hurry, hurry, faster, more!" How can I spend time meditating on a chunk of connected verses, when they seem to meld into a stream of 140-character morsels right before my eyes?

Aldous Huxley would be horrified…

A curious beast

2011-08-01T10:38:00.001+10:00

Here a Rum-tum-tugg-o-war
A NY state of mind,
A yin & yang of fear defined
by pride and self-obsess galore…

Saturday morning

2011-07-02T11:12:00.000+10:00

Sunlight streaming through my window/
urging me to go and do/
all I want is/
for the world to/
shove off
for a-
while and
let me
be…

Voice, Part 3

2011-06-22T21:10:00.000+10:00

"Trust Me with all your heart," You said.
"Why?" I thought, repulsed.

"Don't rely on your own perspective," You said —
but that made no sense at all.

"Wherever you go, realize I'm there, working," You said.
"What have you ever done for me?" I retorted.

"I'll tell you where to go," You said.
And I thought "I'm sure you will!"

There was silence for a few seconds, as You quizzically raised an eyebrow to say "Really? Not even you believe that!"

*sigh*You were right, as usual.

And then You leaned over, gave me a hug, and said "Come on, let's go this way…"

(Proverbs 3:5,6; Malachi1:2a)

Prodigal brothers in arms

2011-06-06T23:26:00.000+10:00

"Are we so different?"
younger brother calls to elder.
"We both know the old dodderer
means well, but you've got to
admit He's a bit misguided.
We've got brains, we've got time -
let's go, see what we can do!"

"Are you kidding?!"
rejoined the elder.
"We have a real base here! It's true
the Old Man is a bit tiresome, but
this farm's a solid investment!
Soon He'll die, and we can run things
the way they should be done! Or at least
not pretend so much…"

So the younger ran out one way
and threw away his lot, while
the other toiled and strained and
worked long years on
his share of the plot.

And all the while the Father grieved
for the day His two lost sons would
come back to His heart, and Home.

like a child…

2011-05-17T23:06:00.000+10:00

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm a big kid now!" exclaimed the lad, straining under the weight of a big box of this-and-that. His Father smiled knowingly to Himself. The more he changed, the more he seemed to stay the same. "But he is growing," He said to himself. "And becoming more like his Brother every day."
And then there was a crash and a cry from down the hall, and the Father rushed to clean up the newly-created mess of boy and bric-à-brac.

Keep turning the pages…

2011-05-01T16:29:00.000+10:00

When she had got to the third page [of another story] and come to the end, she said, "That is the loveliest story I've ever read or ever shall read in my whole life. Oh, I wish I could have gone on reading it for ten years. At least I'll read it over again."
But here part of the magic of the Book came into play. You couldn't turn back. The right-hand pages, the ones ahead, could be turned; the left-hand pages could not.
... "It was about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill, I know that much. But I can't remember, and what shall I do?"'

--C.S. Lewis, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader"

Voice, Part 2

2011-04-25T00:48:00.002+10:00

"Be still", the Voice said.
What did I have to lose?
So I tried it and…

On the cooling of the weather…

2011-04-20T23:13:00.000+10:00

Winter time draws near / Seasonal Affective Dis-/ Orders me about

From Twitter, as I sat on a tram...

Voice, Part 1

2011-04-14T22:18:00.002+10:00

"Be still," the Voice said.
"Be still? Are you kidding?" I thought.

I've got to get my
my views opined
doctrines aligned
vices maligned
sins disinclined

My style designed
life plan outlined
hobbies defined
a wife to find
that You've assigned somewhere, presumably

and bear in mind
I've got the daily grind
sucks out the zest, the lemon rind
of life that comes and perks the mind

and all of these combined
just serve to take my bind
and wind it up
so this is why like most mankind
I'm disinclined
to lie inclined
and listen to
Your still, small Voice.

Sin & its aftermath

2011-04-07T10:00:00.000+10:00

I love it when one stumbles across a gem. I found the Tenth Leper blog through a friend because of the recent Rob Bell unpleasantness, but I've kept him in my feeds now that his reviews are done because I really like the stuff he has to say. Take this from today's post:

I think some of Satan’s biggest victories against us are not in his getting us to commit a particular sin, but in increasing our guilt over it. It’s like that old proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Similarly, get a man to sin and you’ll separate him from God for a moment. But get a man to feel guilty, and you’ll separate him from God forever. Guilt causes us to believe that God doesn’t want us, that his arms aren’t open to us, that his attention can’t be grabbed except by maybe extreme effort. It causes us to believe that we’re damaged goods and that God couldn’t possibly still want us.

I don’t think it’s too bold to say that the moments after sin can be more dangerous than the moments before it. How you respond to sin is so important. Will you move further away from your only source of life and help as a result of it? Or will you move closer to him? We need to preach the Gospel to ourselves every day because we sin every day, and the more we sin, the more we’re reminded that on our own we have absolutely no right to speak with God. But we need to let that drive us to Jesus as our only right to be in the presence of God. Jesus killed sin’s guilt. And because there’s no longer any guilt or condemnation for God’s children, then sin’s power begins to diminish in their lives, because they’re confidently running to their Father for strength.

Where do you run?

Slice of Heaven

2011-04-03T15:38:00.001+10:00

No, not the song!

I went for a bike ride on Friday night; no reason, I just felt like upping and heading onto the road. I turned off Wellington Parade into Yarra Park, cruising past the MCG when a bridge caught my eye. The bridge takes its pedestrian passengers over the Jolimont railway lines and across into Birrarung Marr. I imagine that it's a well-known route, but I'd never been over it, so I rode towards it and decided to stop at the top to enjoy the view.

While I was sitting there on a bench, I was treated to an amazing aural experience. There are speakers embedded in the walls of the bridge, and they were playing an intoxicating mix of folk music from all different cultures. I sat entranced at the sensory spectacle; the beautiful city lights of Melbourne in front of me, the glow of the 'G behind me, the yellow lights on the bridge giving an other-worldly light to my surroundings, and the music of different cultures blending in sweet cacophony over the rumble of the trains passing underneath.

It occurred to me that this was a little taste of what Heaven will be like - the music, rhythm, language and expression of every tribe, nation, culture, all gathered together in joyous expression of praise to God. And while I can't wait for that day to come (and come quick, Lord Jesus!) I'm really grateful for little sneak peaks like this :)

The flip-side of community

2011-02-22T09:00:00.000+11:00

Over at my new friend Kim's blog Just Add Tea, she recently shared some things she'd been learning about community:

[Citing an article] [I]t's what followed that struck me most: "Somewhere along the lines we have lost the concept of true community and our lives are now focused purely on ourselves, our needs and those in our circle of close friends and family. We rarely give any time to those outside the circle unless it's convenient for us. (Oh the pain and shame, as I just saw me in this reality.) We don't like to be inconvenienced. But how can we help people if we are never prepared to be inconvenienced? How can we help people if we are never prepared to be uncomfortable?"

Since I've got back from overseas, I've been forced to think about the flip-side of that coin. Pride is a funny sin; it seems to be able to take over both sides. I love helping people; I'm a people person, and I get great personal joy & satisfaction from getting alongside others and pulling with them to get something done. But I'm a terrible people-pleaser too; the idea of letting somebody down terrifies me (although more on that in a second).

This came to a head for me when I tried to do everything I had been doing after a draining month of travel. I survived a week and a half, then crunched into a wall when I realised I simply couldn't keep doing all the things I'd been doing.

What to do? Who to say "Sorry, but I can't" to? I HATE saying no to people! What will they think of me? Ah, ahhh. There's the rub. There's pride, poking its face around the corner. Pride, telling me that what people think of me is actually the most important reason to serve. How twisted *bah*

I'm learning to rest; hopefully there'll be another post about that soon. But how does this relate to Kim's reflections above?

Well, I'm realising the corollary to Kim's point. Just as truly being part of a community means letting yourself be inconvenienced in order to love others, you must also let others inconvenience themselves (or be inconvenienced) in order to love you. To fail to do so is just another way that pride creeps in and taints our lives.

So here's to repentance. Here's to being humble enough to say no. To being humble enough to let someone else help carry your burdens when things are heavy. To bearing each other's burdens, and so fulfilling the love of Christ. To the community of God's family :)

Photo: A helping hand by Forest Runner on flickr. Used under Creative Commons :)

Of the notching of pointless milestones there is no end…

2011-02-19T16:02:00.002+11:00

Just noticed that over at last.fm I'd notched up 33,333 song listens. Who cares. Here is the 33,333rd song I scrobbled. It's kind of fitting, as I've really enjoyed this song again of late :)

Bourj Al-Barajneh: A lament

2011-02-10T00:34:00.000+11:00

New year, new poem! Wrote this after coming back from a trip to the Middle East. Spent some time with people I barely knew (but now consider good friends) tooling around sightseeing and attempting to be make the world a better place. We did do some openly Christian stuff, but some of the images that stuck the most closely to me are from time we spent in a Palestinian refugee camp in Bourj Al-Barajneh, Beirut. There's a great NGO called the Inma Foundation we were able to volunteer with; painting, cleaning, and decorating their centre within the camp. Check them out. I could try and spend words and words and words explaining the plight of these refugees – but maybe you need to go educate yourself as well :). Too many words, not enough poetry!

I saw a truck driving through Bourj Al-Barajneh Camp
It carried a load of rubble
And a set of keys to a dream
that will never be realised.

I saw a man walking through Bourj Al-Barajneh Camp
His body wasn't staying still
But his soul was firmly stuck
in that box of concrete, wires and despair.

I saw children playing in Bourj Al-Barajneh Camp
They weren't running, excited,
Full of joy and light because
They didn't know they were allowed.

I saw a Son of Man in Bourj Al-Barajneh Camp
He said He had plans for His children,
For a hope and for a future.
I'm glad Somebody does at least.

Customary apology for lack of posts

2011-02-10T00:26:00.000+11:00

I've not really posted for a while; I guess this isn't exactly the most exciting thing I try and do. Life is too full of interacting with people so I keep forgetting to come here and gush whatever's on my mind. But whatever. Maybe more this year. Maybe.

Forgiveness

2010-07-31T20:51:00.000+10:00

Recently I had a friend apologise for a comment they'd made in a social setting – they were worried that they had offended and/or hurt me with what they'd said. I couldn't actually remember the offending remark, but was thankful that they wanted to make things right. I told them that I was sure they didn't mean anything by whatever they had said (which was true), and the conversation ended amicably.

That should have been the end of it, right? Genuine apology, accepted with genuine thanks and genuine assurances that everything was fine – all good!

And yet it was all I could do to stop myself trying to remember what it was they might have said! In the end I gave myself a stern talking-to about the self-indulgence of such an activity.

It's hard to repent from such emotional hypochondria. Perhaps we like sinfully wallowing in self-pity ("they hurt me! they hurt me!"). Or maybe we just want to inflate our ego via forgiveness ("wow, I was so gracious when I forgave that person"). Either way, Lord, thank You for forgiving us our sins, even as we learn to forgive those who sin against us…

What should a pastor hope for in their new church?

2010-07-04T23:36:00.001+10:00

The church I attend has just had its vicar leave to go take up a role at a church in Canada, and today was the second Sunday since he left. We've been appointed a locum (stand-in), Graeme Sells, to help keep the church running while we look for a replacement.

Today was his first Sunday with us, and I think his sermon spoke right to the heart of where our minds and hearts need to be as a congregation. He took the question that will inevitably be in our minds (and especially those tasked with the responsibility of finding a suitable replacement) and turned them around: rather than "What do we expect from a vicar?" (pastor, minister, priest, whatever), what should they hope to find when they get here?

Graeme chose to look at Acts 2:42-47, looking at the early church and deriving positives from this picture. He came up with 9 things churches should aim to be:

A Learning Church: The early church didn't have any New Testament to start off with – they had the Old Testament, and the teaching of the apostles. They didn't have easy access to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, so they had to make sure they listened well when they were taught. (Acts also says that a lot of them spent time in the Temple courts learning every day!)
Committed to Fellowship: I think this one is the one that gets the most attention when people come to this passage: the community of believers, sharing lives, meeting each others' needs. As a church models this behaviour, its members grow and serve with each other, and become closer-knit. The sacrament of Communion also provides fellowship between the church (corporately and individually speaking) and Christ.^†
Committed to Prayer: And not just any prayer, but especially prayer for the well-being of the church, its health and its growth. Times between shepherds are often times of uncertainty, so the sheep must pay even more attention to the Chief Shepherd than they usually do. To that end, CCH will be having some prayer nights completely dedicated to praying for precisely these things.
A Reverant Church: It's all too easy for a church to take itself too seriously, and not take God seriously enough. The reverse should be the case. We should give God the respect He deserves, and be prepared to reflect and receive wisdom and criticism about areas we need to improve on.
A Church that God uses: Attitude does play a part. God wants the church to be engaged with his mission for the world, and if we ask God to use us, and we're seeking to honour Him, then He will answer that prayer. There are times when God seems less active than others, but prayers to be used of God from a right heart won't go unanswered.
A Generous Church: Barnabas, we read elsewhere in Acts, sold a block of land and gave all the proceeds to the church to use. A church where every member is actively looking for ways to give (time, talents, and treasures) is a rich church indeed, and one that is best resourced to serve and minister to its surrounding community.
Takes Worship Seriously: Worship for the early church would have been an interesting exercise – worshipping One who many of them would have known quite well would have been a very intimate thing. We in the 21^st century don't have that benefit, but the Holy Spirit allows us to worship intimately with both Father and Son.
A Happy Church: When a church is attuned to what God is doing, the natural response is one of praise to Him for His goodness and greatness. How hard are we looking for God's hand in our everyday lives (in the big things and the small things)? This doesn't mean that genuine sorrow and pain should be wallpapered over, not at all; but even in times of great suffering, we can still affirm the greatness and the goodness of God.
A Caring Church: A church always has those within it who are in greater need of care than others. Ultimately, every Christian is a fundamentally weak person whom God has strengthened and comforted in some way; so how can we fail to use what God has given us to strengthen and comfort others? Graeme shared some great practical insights on this one, showing examples of how churches were able to care for those with disabilities, or those whose lives had been shattered by natural disaster.

Finally, verse 47 shows what a church striving for these things can hope for: a healthy, growing community. It's churches like these that are the best advertisement for Christianity – no room for hypocrisy, vitally living faith in practice. The gospel will always be a stumbling-block and foolishness to unbelievers; but those whom God is saving will be attracted to this kind of community.

How does your church stack up? What are its strengths? Where can it improve?
And given that churches are comprised of individuals, how are you helping make this picture a reality in your church?

† Interestingly, the sermon I heard this morning touched on Jesus' ascension. One of the points the preacher made was that if Jesus hadn't ascended, He would not have sent the Holy Spirit, who ministers to every Christian individually in a way that Jesus could not as a full human. I hadn't thought of that, and it made a lot of sense.

8tracks Mix: En verdad, una musa

2010-04-14T23:24:00.000+10:00

Just created a new mix on 8tracks.com. It's a mixture of loungy/jazzy/quirky tunes, with a common thread of emotion woven through. Enjoy!

Soliloquy, Part 1

2010-04-10T21:50:00.000+10:00

I don't like silence. I don't know why. There's something unnerving about a lack of aural stimulation. As I sit writing this, I can hear the buzz of the fluoro tube above my head, the rumble of a distant tram passing, a lone dog's bark, and the sound of my fingers punching at the keys. Even in this stillest of scenes there is sound.

I've often wondered why I find silence so distasteful. What does the lack of sound signify that makes me want to fill it with something, anything?

Maybe reversing the question will make it easier to answer. Why do I like noise, sound, music? Many reasons: the Beauty of rhythm. The aural masterpieces painted by timbre, melody, harmony, and even just plain noise. I like seeing order in seeming chaos: extracting a rhythm from sound waves, fluid progress of chords, patterns of intervals. Even in the absence of music, there is wonder to be experienced. When I walk through the city, I love to detune my ears, and let the spacial aspect of sound thrill me; the uncomposed masterpiece of audio engineering that is my immediate surroundings. I find some affinity with the avant-garde composer John Cage, who finds sound fascinating:

Cage claims to love silence. It's not real silence, though; for him, traffic noise counts as silence.
Indeed, Cage's most well-known work, 4'33", is not completely silent. The audience is encouraged to discover music in the sounds of their environment, rather than in the ordered structure of a musical score. No two "performmances" are alike, as each carries the unique tones and murmurings of the moments it occupies.

The Tremeloes might have thought that silence was golden, but I find it stark. What's your reaction to silence? I think I have more to say, but it hasn't crystallized in my head yet – you'll just have to sit quietly and wait…

Photo: Bixentro on flickr