we're all in this together

It's a catchy song..well both of them are. One is the song used for the ad campaign for the Salvation Army, the other is off high school musical....I get them mixed up sometimes.

Today I don't feel that we are living up to it. Today it feels like I have been banging my head against a brick wall. I'm trying to get things done and feeling like I'm being made to jump through hoops....frustrating to say the least. Today it feels like I'm one on side and someone else is on the other and its a challenge to see 'who's going to win'.

It got me thinking about my role in other people's circumstances. Do I frustrate their plans? Do I push my own agenda on their stuff? How much control do I try and exert on situations instead of helping?

The whole idea of serving at times gets lost I think amongst our own ego's and agendas. It is a constant challenge I think.

That line of the christmas song "Gentle Jesus MEEK and mild" Do we really understand what being meek is about? Meekness is not a way to describe a pushover, a weakling, a wet blanket.

Meekness is "Mild of temper; not easily provoked or orritated; patient under injuries; not vain, or haughty, or resentful; forbearing;" Now that's a challenge!

REACTOR

So at the corps we are attempting to "seek first the kingdom of God" in all we do. A defintion of the kingdom that has been really helpful is "The re-establishment of God's rule in the lives of individuals and society" (Dennis Peacock via Ivan Bezzant) We've attempted to name all our groups using words beginning with RE so that we are always reminded of what the kingdom is about.

Women's group - relate (aren't women famous for their ability to relate to one another?)
Men's group - reload (it conjurs up images of hunting and manly stuff like that....so I'm told)

Youth group has been a challenge...what to call it? While there are over 2000 words beginning with RE, not all of them are suitable.

An idea floated by one person was "rejects" but we weren't too sure how a friend would feel being invited to come along to "REJECTS".

Its finally been decided to use the name "REACTOR" - its an anagram for Creator - and after all we are made in the image of our creator.

We are also in the world to bring change and provoke a response to the Kingdom....so REACTOR it is.

Feels good to have the name sorted...now we just have to live up to it!

....still I will say "blessed be the name of the Lord"

This week has been a week of absolute tragedy for many in our nation. With the death of a man struck by lightening and then the drowning of 6 students and their teacher while on a school trip. It has been a week where the Kingdom of God has been demonstrated in a most powerful way. The faith of Christians has been on display for all to see and observe as they sought to grapple with the worst thing they could have imagined, the loss of their children, their siblings, their friends.
I have been so impressed with the way they have allowed the media in on their grief, portraying a very real response to the circumstances and a very real faith being exercised in the midst of it all.

Some quotes that have gripped me...

This from an article speaking to the father of Natasha Bray "Someone asked Mr Bray if his belief was being tested. His reply was forthright, even startling in a secular world. 'It absolutely tests my faith in God. This is another chink in the armour and tests my belief. We are saying to God, 'why has this happened? Where does this fit into your plan? I don't have an answer to that, sorry, but I do have a place in my heart to go.. I am just so glad that I know how to handle these things and know where I can take my grief."

Danie Vermeulen (board of trustees chairperson) "what you are experiencing here, its real. It's not a religion, it's a real practical thing and it's touching people and pulling them together"

Simply because we follow Jesus does not make us exempt or immune from challenging times, from pain and grief. But what these people have shown us is that through those circumstances we can have a hope beyond the grave. We have someone that we can run to....we can go to that place where despite not understanding it, or feeling it, we can still say "blessed be the name of the Lord". We can still say God is good. It may be that everything around us sucks right now, that darkness has closed in on us....but God is still Father God, he is sovereign and he grieves along with us.

When the pressure is on, what is inside us will come out...the question I have to keep asking is "what am I inputting into my life? What kind of life am I building? Am I building in such a way that when the storms of life come (and they will come) that I can remain standing?

I want to live my life in such a way that when the pain is so excruciating I can say "I don't have the answers to why....but I do have a place in my heart where I can go"...that place where God is still on the throne.

2 L8 4 V8?

The V8 car racing has arrived in Hamilton at long last. It's been months of preparation for this weekend. It's good that its finally arrived. As I was driving through town yesterday afternoon watching all the bars get their outdoor seating areas set up for the influx of people, seeing the various businesses promoting themselves in various car themes and seeing the masses of people who are suddenly in our city, I had this sinking feeling....

What am I doing? Where will the Salvation Army be this weekend? I know The Nest are selling sausages to raise money for the community ministries in the city...but what about at night, when the racing is done for the day, and the thousands of people are wandering the streets, getting boozed up, possibly getting themselves into all kinds of mischief or trouble. Where are we then? Tucked up in our beds? Watching tv in our homes, oblivious to what's happening around us?

I had this sinking feeling that we as a city had missed an amazing opportunity to bring Jesus into the midst of it all.

So now I'm sitting here thinking...what can I do? It's not necessarily the wisest thing to head into the city on my own late at night. What can I even offer people? I even went so far as to think what could I wear? I have no coat that would say "here's the salvation army" and the weather is such that I wouldn't last 3 minutes wearing my uniform as such.

I'm disappointed in myself for not thinking about it sooner, to be able to rally some troops so we could head into the city and do something.....

So I'm thinking about it over the day and who knows what might happen tonight...I'm hoping for a God inspired and directed idea that I can run with at such late notice and without a lot of troops.

Gutted.....but hopeful

Jesus plays rugby

So I've just come home from a rugby game...crusaders vs chiefs. I won't get into the sad details of the game. At one point though a player was sin binned and the funniest conversation took place behind me.

Guy who wasn't watching: "who just got sent off"

Girl with him: "oh it was that Jesus guy"

Let me offer an interpretation for you "that Jesus guy" is the guy with the long shaggy hair and beard. It got me thinking about how do people connect me with Jesus. I would be in serious trouble if the way people would connect me with him is if I grow my hair shaggy and attempt to grow a beard!!!!

The evidence of Jesus in my life must surely come from me spending time with him and he rubbing off on me in such a way that when people interact with me, Jesus is visible. So I don't think its enough to simply dress like him or have a Jesus haircut or saviour stubble.

Although I do really like the idea that Jesus plays rugby.

Freegans

So one of the things I learnt about while I was in Dunedin at Just Action and Freedom Congress was DUMPSTER DIVING. I don't recall ever hearing about it as an activity done in connection to our "wasteful" society. I knew that homeless people have searched through dumpsters in order to survive on the street....but never others doing it. Hat tip to Hania Aitken for educating me on the whole phenomenon.

So today I was looking at http://www.news.com/ and saw an article about dumper diving. Those who regularly rely on the goods from dumpsters are known as "Freegans"

www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,25479,23554795-14327,00.html

One guy Ashwyn Falkingham, has been dumpster diving for 5 years and has had not had grocery bills for those 5 years except for the odd condiments. "It’s entirely possible for someone with a fridge and freezer to dumpster-dive once a week and do the equivalent of a weekly shop," The mind begins to boggle thinking of the wastage that must occur in supermarkets if that is possible.

Here are the tips for safe dumpster diving according to http://www.news.com/

*Avoid bins behind locked gates or which are clearly marked with no trespass signs.

*Wear tough clothing and shoes and carry a torch.

*If security asks you to leave, don’t argue

*Dive with a partner or in a group (especially for women).

*Avoid bins associated with medical practices, hospitals or any other bins that may contain hazardous waste and materials.

*Don’t take people’s paperwork or personal information.

*If it smells like bleach or rat poison, don’t touch it, it may have been put there deliberately to discourage people scavenging.

*Don’t leave a mess.

*Leave enough for someone else

It's definitely food for thought.

Home Invasion

Don't freak out...my home hasn't been invaded....well not my actual building. Let me explain.
Today I was in a discussion with some great people. We were talking about the kingdom of God and understanding what it is... what do we mean when we say "we want to see the kingdom of God coming down.." afterall isn't the kingdom of God within us?

For me an easy way to understand the Kingdom is that I want the reality of heaven to be the reality of earth. What goes in heaven, goes in earth. Whatever the atmosphere in heaven...is it the same here on earth? If not then I want heaven's reality to become my reality. I want my 'temporary' home to be invaded by my eternal home. I understand there to be no sickness in heaven...so I will continue to pursue that reality here on earth. I will continue to pursue the life of Christ at all cost.

Jesus said "seek first the kingdom of God". That is a massive challenge for me because sometimes I want to pursue my own interests, my own desires or agenda. But if that agenda doesnt line up with the agenda of the kingdom, one of them has to give way. My prayer is that I will always lay my agenda down in favour of the kingdom.

I love what God is doing around the world. I love the stories emerging of God doing miraculous things and bringing healing and wholeness to people's lives. Yes I can tell people about Jesus and the Kingdom of God but I also need to demonstrate the kingdom, otherwise I'm just like a door to door salesman, trying to sell something I dont believe in, or have no personal experience of.

So I'm praying for God to continue to invade my "home", my life, my church and my community.

Bob the Builder

My Friend Major Bob Millar was promoted to glory (Salvation Army term for when a solider dies) yesterday. I'm still trying to believe it myself. I just saw him in Dunedin a couple of weeks ago and since he signed up to facebook, we've been keeping tabs on each other!

I dont remember the circumstances under which I first met Bob but I know I was still quite young and newish to the army. Bob always made me feel significant. He would always hunt me out in a room full of people to talk to me, and see how I was going and to check I was still a Cantaburian at heart.

Seeing Bob a couple of weeks ago was great....even more so now. I wish I had bucket loads of savings so I could just hop on a plane and head down for the funeral on Saturday. Having already checked out the flights, this is impossible. So my tribute to Bob will have to be the next best thing. I am going to the Crusaders vs Chiefs game on Saturday here in Hamilton and I will be yelling extra loud for Bob!

What I love about Bob is that he loves people. Check out his blog www.millarbug.blogspot.com and you'll see that God was still teaching him how to love people more. Bob was a builder - a builder of the Kingdom of God and of people's dignity and sense of worth. I know that there will be many many people who will come out of the woodworks for his funeral on saturday. There will be many who this will be the first time they enter through the doors of a church.....I pray it wont be the last. My prayer is that Bob's passing will be the catalyst for many to enter into the kingdom and in the family of God.....so that even in death, Bob remains a builder of people and the Kingdom.

So Bob I salute you today, as a man of God who loved Jesus and people.....& the crusaders.

xxx

Timber.....

Many years ago, the Employment Plus scheme that is situated right next door to my corps came up with a brillant scheme of planting christmas trees to be harvested and sold to raise some money. A great idea! Somewhere along the way, perhaps due to changing staff members, these trees were forgotten about. There was no harvest, there was no selling, there was no money. Instead these trees were left to simply grow....and grow they did. They kept growing until they became a forrest of very tall trees.

So last year I arrived to the corps and one of the things we did early on was have a working bee to try and clean up the "forrest". It had become a great place to drink and discard the empty bottles it would seem. A neighbourhood watch meeting had been called by the residents whose properties backed onto ours.

Later in the year we had a really strong wind storm. One young woman actually lost her life when she was struck by a falling tree near the university. It was really windy!!! One of the beloved Christmas trees decided it wanted to "lie down" and proceeded to crash through the fence at employment plus. This was a blessing. You see had it fallen sideways it would have gone crashing right through one of our 40 retirement units, doing serious damage to the property and perhaps the person living there. So something had to be done. The trees were far too unstable to stay....even though they looked great.

Much discussion and debate took place. I love trees and while I didnt really like the idea that we would have to chop them down, I liked the idea of losing residents even less.

So on Thursday the sound of chainsaws and bulldozers could be heard as the Christmas trees finally came down.

It got me thinking about how a great idea left undone became a problem and how a tree left unpruned became a danger to others.

As much as I don't like being pruned, it is necessary for proper growth. The problem with those christmas trees is that their roots system was not stable enough to hold the height they had grown to. I need to make sure I have strong roots in Christ in order to support and nurture my growth, otherwise when the storms of life come.....I'll crash into a fence or worse yet.....hurt someone along the way.

So today I choose to embrace the pruning of God, to enable me to grow tall AND strong in him

they protesteth too much

So I've been thinking about protests over the last few days. You only have to watch the news or check it on the internet to see the on going protests that are associated with the Olympic torch relay to know that protesting is alive and well in the world. It has been a well used method of action in countries all over the world for all kinds of causes. Some protests are non-violent, others cause bloodshed and mayhem.

There were some lively discussions around protests at JustAction08 and Freedom Congress and I guess this is what got me thinking a little harder about protests. Now I'm no expert,I havent been to that many protests over the years. I did start one when I was 10 because the school would not allow girls to play rugby at lunchtime with the boys. So my friend and I gathered together all the girls we could find (including the 5 year olds who didnt even know what rugby was and made a stand!) but my thoughts lead me at the moment towards the idea that sometimes a protest is the best thing and sometimes its not. Sometimes a protest will actually highlight an issue that otherwise would have been swept under the carpet.

However I also think that there are sometimes where a protest would actually damage the cause of change. Instead of opening the way for positive change to occur, it might actually close the door and bolt it shut. I wonder if its possible to love the idea of a protest more than the idea of change?

Thinking about the dialogues taking place last week...I was leaning towards a definate need to address the valid concerns being raised....but a live protest at congress would have bolted that door shut tight and it would have far reaching consequences that I'm not sure many had thought too much about.

So next week I am involved in the planning of an upcoming event and I will be bringing to the table the concerns raised last week, in order that we might be able to make positive changes to begin to turn the tide around. Its not a cop-out.....its the best step forward for this issue at this time in this setting.

There will be another day for another protest, but today is not that day.

Love vs Lust

I have been reminded again by God of my natural tendancy to live a life motivated by lust instead of love. Now for some the very mention of the word lust would suggest a 'sexual context' - so for the purposes of clarity let me offer a definition of both words.

Love - is for the benefit of others
- desires to give
- even at the expense of self

Lust - is for the benefit of self
- desires to get
- even at the expense of others

So often when I reflect at the end of the day on my thoughts, actions, words and reactions, they are sadly leaning towards a lustful motivation. When I reflect on the thoughts, actions, words and reactions of Christ, his was a love orientated lifestyle.

So I repent of my lust and seek to pursue a life of love....love for God, for others and for myself.

As I'm trying to intentionally think each day about issues of justice I am struck by how the various issues of justice that are impacting our world are motivated out of 'lust' rather than love....

(just to name a few)

human trafficking
chocolate slaves
marginalisation of the poor
domestic violence
HIV/Aids

All of those contributing to the injustice are desiring to get at the expense of others. But I wonder how many of us respond to injustice from a lustful motivation? How long has it taken me to think differently about these matters because it was about me, me, me and what was in it for me, or what impact it would have on my life, and my circumstances

eek! How wrong was I!!

So today I choose to live a live of love......kicking lust to the curb and saying hasta la vista baby!

signed

a recovering pharisee

chocolate coated just action

I've returned from Sunny Dunedin and the JustAction08 and Freedom Congress08 gatherings. Both were full of highlights, lowlights and challenges. At Just Action we heard about many things, only one being the idea of fair trade and chocolate slaves. Forever in my head will be the description Danielle Strickland gave of Zion pointing at chocolate in a supermarket and yelling "slave, slave" My friend and I pondered chocolate later as we had planned to visit the Cadbury tour. Having been myself on a few occasions I was intent on going more for her benefit than my own. As we went on the tour wearing our protective headgear (as seen in pic) we came across a group of workers busy putting mini crunchie bars into bags. Our tour guide informed us that each person works a particular station for only 30 mins at a time and then they rotate. This helps stop them getting bored or OOUS (occupational overuse syndrome). They also rotate from one line to another. So they might work easter eggs and then roses chocolates.

As I reflected later on cadbury's policy to look after their staff, my thoughts drifted back to a video clip I had seen just 4 days earlier where a young man talked about what life was like as a cocoa slave. He showed the welts, scars and wounds that covered his body, he demonstrated how he and others like him were tied up and beaten, and he told the reporter that he had worked for 5 years for his "employer" and had never ever been paid one cent for all his labour.

The contrast between the two was as far apart as they could be in terms of their working enviornment, job satisfaction, employer etc.....yet they were both working because of a common occurance....my love and volumous consumption of chocolate.

I must confess that I have finally begun to view chocolate differently. I've dabbled with fair trade chocolate in the past, but that caramello has kept calling me back. However now I have a face and a story that speak into my heart about the origins of my delicious treat. Now when I look at chocolate in the supermarket I'm pointing my finger and yelling "slave slave" (well on the inside anyway).