So yesterday i wrote a post sharing a deeper glimpse into the future life, work and ministry of the andersons over here - we will be joining a non-profit called Relational Tithe with a working platform called Common Change which, in a very big nutshell, gathers resources from a group of people and then uses them to meet advocated needs from people within the group. It is a very exciting project and both Valerie and [...]
for the last 19 months, myself and my beautiful wife Valerie have been living and working with the Simple Way Christian non-profit organisation in Philadelphia, Americaland and yesterday was our last official office day... we fly out back towards South Africa on the 30th of December... can't wait! but what next? well we hope to spend around a month and a half at home and then [providing we find the financial support we will need [...]
as depicted so well in my previous post by Stephan Pastis of Pearls Before Swine cartoon fame, R.E.M. had something when they came up with their hit song that 73% of people know the two words "Leonard Bernstein" [but is it pronounced Steen or Styn? another mystery] to - It's the end of the world as we know it. with Australia and Americaland being on different days for a huge portion of any 24 hour [...]
brett is sad. he has just read another facebook status of someone who has clearly had a dispute with a friend of theirs. instead of going directly to that person, face to face, one on one and with much hope, love and positive anticipation seeking restoration of the friendship, and a righting of the wrong, that person has decided to air their frustration and anger publically for everyone to see. another cringeworthy facebook status. brett [...]
a little while ago i put a general request out on facebook to see what fun and creative things people were doing or have done for Christmas in terms of using the season as a way to reach out to those who are less fortunate than us or considered by the world as 'the least of these' and this bunch of great opportunities emerged... [i don't normally allow smiley faces on my blog, but we [...]
so this is the last of the ten ways to Love and it might be good to mention again that i got these on a list and just expounded on them - this was originally number 4 but i bumped it to the end, not because it is any less important but because the others were more relevant to everyone whereas this one is specific to people of faith... Colossians 1.9 reads, 'For this reason, [...]
'you will be known by the Love you have for each other.' [Jesus Christ, john 13.35] that's almost very completely different from 'you will be known by the lack of love you show to each other' it blows my mind that this concept has been abused all over the world in many different ways by people quoting scripture '[or at the very least chanting 'the bible says' in response to any criticism] to justify things, [...]
Proverbs 13.12 says 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.' which is nice and everything so if you give someone your word then make sure you are true to it otherwise you will give someone a sick heart. is what i think the author of the Ten Ways to Love list [which remember is not me, i am just expounding on this list] was meaning with this [...]
Colossians 3 verse 13 reads, 'Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.' i am not convinced that 'forgive and forget' is a biblical concept altho many people quote it as if it is... for me the idea that God has forgiven my sin and then developed some kind of universal amnesia is a lot less exciting than the picture [...]
i mean this is a pretty easy one, right? i don't think there is anyone out there saying that Jesus didn't pray or that we don't need to pray... this feel like something we all know but few of us do... and so it is really just being reminded once again that if Jesus, the Son of God, felt a need to spend time in prayer [or at least modelled the importance of it] then [...]