i have not met Tim Hughes personally, but i was once in a room with him [and quite a large room at that] it was on a trip to visit my sister Sue and her family in a town called Rancho Cucamonga near LA which must have been 2006 or 2008 and i organised my ticket so i could stop over in London long enough to take the bus to visit some friends in Holland [...]
i was asking that question as i walked [by myself!] to the office today as tbV had a meeting at Darin's house... and the obvious answer would be 50th street [i'm convinced it's 51st in my head so have to type it down now or i may not find my way back home] Oakland, California, Americaland... but i'm looking a little deeper, after 19 months in the 'hood of Kensington, Philly [where in the city [...]
one of the first things i want to do once i am settled in Americaland is buy a copy of this song 'You won't relent' by Jesus Culture - i find the lyrics and the singing of it so powerfully haunting and it just resonates s completely with my soul in terms of catching a glimpse of how God sees me. i am reminded of this passage from 2 Corinthians 2.14-15 which says, 'For Christ's [...]
i don't cry a lot. not because i don't want to, i just don't. i have spent many prayers through the years asking God to make me cry more and for the most part He doesn't. there was a moment on a bench outside of a Simple Way retreat last year where the tears came and my wife was around to witness it and it was short and very much linked to God and worship [...]
Wow! 19 months flew by, just like... well 570 days, really. June last year, after about four months of weekly Skype calls with our present and to be future bossman Darin Petersen, the beautiful Val [tbV] and i arrived in Kensington, Philadelphia, Americaland to live and work at the Simple Way non-profit as part of the first batch of an internship program [which was later upgraded to a residency program when they saw our skills, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
so as tbV and i are nearing the end of our time here at the Simple Way in Philadelphia, Americaland, we have had to focus a lot on looking forwards at the exciting times and opportunities that lie ahead, but i also want to be mindful of taking some time to look back - there is a lot to be grateful for... there is a saying that 'God owns the cattle on a thousand hills' [...]
so for friends back home there have been hints and allegations [a loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires and baby] and subtle innuendos as to what might be pertaining to the future for the andersons after this year... for those of you who have been following semi-closely, the beautiful Valerie [tbV] and i have been living, working and ministering with the Simple Way Christian non-profit organisation in Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Americaland since about June of [...]
so with election day happening in Americaland this week it was almost inevitable that Brad Fish, host of the hilarious 'Dangerous Things You Can Least Expect' series on You Tube would lend some words of warning as to why voting for the elections [with an 'L'] can be a Dangerous Thing for reasons you might Least Expect... check it out and if it makes you smile, laugh, giggle or snort some kind of liquid through [...]