How do you judge good character? As i have been thinking about the idea of 'Character' and 'A person of good character' it seems to be a bit subjective or elusive in terms of definition. One of the dictionary definitions Uncle Google came up with was 'the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.' But the problem with that definition is that it uses the word moral [which in itself, these days, seems to be [...]
As we head into the weekend i have combined today and tomorrow into one post. Please use accordingly. They say 'Familiarity breeds contempt' although i would say sometimes that 'Familiarity breeds familiarity' which means that sometimes things that are completely profound, can lose some of their depth and meaning [for us] simply because we see them so many times that we get used to them and possibly skim over them and in one way take [...]
DAY 16ish On day 1 of this Lent observance the task was to pray for your enemies and i imagine some people would have been all, 'But i don't have any enemies' and others might have been tempted to send out a generic, 'God please bless all my enemies' prayer to cover them all. Well, if you really don't have anyone who you don't like or who doesn't like you [whether you would specifically call them [...]
DAY 15ish received this in an email from someone i don't really know so well on the book of faces and figured it was a good reflection to have on this day: Task: Join with me in praying this Lent Prayer “Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.” JOHN 11 Jesus then said, "I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even [...]
DAY 14ish Task: Today is a simple but profound one. Intentionally show gratitude to someone for something you tend to take for granted. I know we have looked at Gratitude already in this series, but i really want to take it a step deeper and for us to really look for someone in our day who does something for us and probably does not get thanked or appreciated or maybe even noticed. Imagine if we [...]
There have still been people joining us in this Lent Observance and so a quick shout out to you. Glad to have you with us... My apologies for the break in Lent Observance transmissions, but we were away this weekend at Yosemite. Tough break huh? Anyways, will be on track again from today and have revised the series name to 40ish Days of Lent - let's see just how far we get. DAY 13 So [...]
DAY 10-12 It is the weekend, and tbV and Aaron and Sarah and myself are having to Yosemite for the weekend to stay in a Yurt [look it up!], and it might be partially enforced for us, but I want to encourage you to try this for a couple of hours, or a day, or if you’re really feeling brave, the whole weekend. Task: unplug yourself from the screens... Turn off the television, step away [...]
Married 15 years this year... "It's important to remember that there is a difference between being an awesome team and an awesome couple. Teams can work well even if the teammates don't connect on a deeper level." As time goes on, the roles and job descriptions for everyone in your family unit sets in. Who sorts out the kids lunch, who buys the milk, who pays what bills, who handles the social calendar…after a while it [...]
i don't think we talk about Friendship enough. in fact, i think too often, too many of us might take it for granted. i don't think i do. i am just so constantly made aware of how many incredible friends i have in and around my life - the term 'best friend' relates to at least 7 people i can think of straight away who are all 'best friends' in differing but equivalent ways. and [...]
Finishing off my video blogs of the Gospel of Mark as i work through the last four chapters with thoughts and insights from each passage as I go: All men will hate me? Mark 13.1-13 Be ready, be very ready Mark 13.14-37 Jesus, perfume and space for the interruption Mark 14.1-11 Having your enemies round for some pizza Mark 14.12-26 why DID Jesus keep them around? Mark 14.27-42 Jesus heads to the garden and gets arrested [...]