and that 'c' stands for 'creativity' - moving beyond spending a bunch of money you can't afford on a bunch of stuff no-one needs [and often doesn't even want] because of some kind of misplaced notion that it is 'showing love' when there are people you know, or live near, or try to ignore, who are likely to be having a very miserable holiday time and your act of creativity in the form of generosity [...]
two nights ago val got a call from a guy from a local church who told her that some homeless people [who had been evicted along with the 'Occupy Philly' people this week] had moved under a nearby bridge and would we the Simple Way be wanting to do anything about it – i chatted to him and got the details and told him i would try go that evening… something more prioritised came up [...]
i don't want abortions to happen, but i don't want to adopt a child or support a home that looks after abandoned kids i don't want drug dealers on my back door step, but i don't want to come up with an alternative for the guys whose only income comes through selling drugs i don't want racism, but i don't want to take the time to really engage with someone of a different race or [...]
the other day i saw this cartoon that someone had posted on facebook that was pretty funny but involved hitler in a way that i knew would be offensive to a lot of jewish people. so i immediately wrote the girl who had posted it an email [more a friend of a friend than a direct friend] and just before i hit the send key i stopped for a moment, reread what i had written [...]
yesterday tbV and now my friend as well, brian watson, dropped in for a visit... from South Africa, brian is in the middle of doing his PHD in Arizona in stuff you would have to hear to not really understand [altho solar power and keeping particles the right distance from each other and a billionth of a meter thin wire all enter into it] and it was great to get to see him. he is [...]
last nite at our simple way potluck we had some directors come show us a documentary they made about a family from columbia - the main thrust of the movie was about these fumigations that americaland funds to try and nail cocaine fields in columbia [planes flying over and dumping poison] altho in a nutshell the poison kills all food crops completely and the coca plant which is the intended victim grows back in three [...]
one of my favourite freaky stories in the bible [and there's lots of them - 2 kings 2.23 story of elisha and the baldyhead bear-mauling incident] is the story of elijah found in 1 kings 17. now a bunch of things happen here - there is elijah being fed miraculously by ravens, there is the miracle of the flour and oil of the widow not running out and then the widow's son mysteriously dies. it [...]
so i meant to post this short one this morning on the back of 'unaccounted for' which a lot of people have read and some of you have commented on. and it was this thort that i had the other day as i was walking down the street post rugby world cup 'tragedy' - that when we talk about the biblical concept of iron sharpening iron, it is not a pleasant, comfortable process although it [...]
so yesterday we lost a rugby match. like a game. i hear there'll be another one in a few weeks time. in four years time there will even be this kind of one. we won it before. a different team will win it this time. the world will continue to turn. within twenty minutes of us losing the game i was completely bummed. not because we lost the game, but because naturally facebook statusville became [...]
i was busy responding to a hospitality house [part of my job at the simple way] email when i saw this link to a shane claiborne uk tour happening later this year - if you watch the brief video clip you will get an idea of why val and i are hanging out in these parts with these people - it is an exciting dreama nd vision - what if Jesus actually meant the stuff? [...]