random »

Last week, my 6 year old son asked a profound question:-

‘Daddy do children laugh more than adults?’

To which my 8 year old son replied:

‘But you don’t seem to laugh much daddy’.

…which is one of those comments that pulls you up short.

One of the many reasons why I started this blog (apart from rampant self-love that is) was that I thought that blogs in the Christian world (it is a seperate world, with an orbit just outside Mars) had a tendency to be a bit po-faced and over serious (‘frivolity?’ ”Yes of course, at the right time, and after sufficient careful thought and prayer and with trusted Christians, but only in moderation’).

I read this joke last week elsewhere and it works on so many levels (I counted at least 23, but I may have missed one or two). Read it, and laugh after appropriate prayer and proper exegesis of the text:-

A little girl walks into a pet shop and asks in the sweetest little lisp, “Excuthe me, mithter, do you have any wittle wabbits?”

And the shopkeeper bends way down and puts his hands on his knees so he’s on her level, and asks, “Do you want a wittle white wabby or a wittle bwack wabby? Or maybe that cute wittle bwown wabby over there?”
She in turn puts her hands on her knees, leans forward and says in a quiet little voice, “I don’t fink my pyfon weally cares.”

quotations, u2 »

I’m tired of my words, so I’m quoting. I’ve had this stored for a while and I’m not sure of the exact citation. I have a total regard for Eugene Petersen (even if the guy once turned down meeting U2 as he was ‘too busy’…guys if you want to phone—I am never too busy).

You have come back off a course/ a high worship experience/ God is telling you to ‘go’?

Chew on this:-

“I think the besetting sin of pastors, maybe especially evangelical pastors, is impatience. We have a goal. We have a mission. We’re going to save the world. We’re going to evangelize everybody, and we’re going to do all this good stuff and fill our churches. This is wonderful. All the goals are right. But this is slow, slow work, this soul work, this bringing people into a life of obedience and love and joy before God.”

Eugene Petersen

quotations »

I was going to stop at 5, but this week I read an interview with Rob Bell. I normally don’t have any time for the concept of a celebrity preacher, but I find Rob Bell so insighful and different.

I copied this about expectancy (and also rest- the two are tied together): it made me think:-

‘Go into any church office and ask the leaders, “Is this sustainable? Are you more passionate, more expectant, more rested and ready to go than you were a year ago, or is this thing gradually killing you?”

Just this week I asked a seminary student, “What day of the week do you not answer email? When do you take a Sabbath to remind yourself that you’re not a machine, you’re a human?” And he said, “I don’t know if I can do that right now.” I was like, “Well, if you can’t do it now in seminary, what happens when you have real responsibility?”‘

(Rob Bell- Leadership journal.net 1/2/10 ‘Tying the clouds together’)

quotations, random, thoughts »

Being British and repressed, I have a natural suspicion of any public display of emotion (my friend called me ’soft’ as a manly tear coursed down my cheek at the end of Elbow’s set pre U2 in Sheffield last year. I also shocked myself by pogo-ing during U2). When I talk of ‘expectation’ I become suspicious- ‘you are going to make me sing Hillsongs 17 times in a row, force me to shout ‘Lord, Lord’ whilst I raise my arms…please direct me to the bar. Now.’

But then I am reminded of one of my favourite quotes:-

‘It is easier to cool down a fire than warm up a graveyard’

…more often than not you can be too cool, dispassionate, sane and rational for your own good…Graham..

athlete, thoughts »

More random stuff on expectation.

Time for a song I think.

I always have time for singers who are Christian that try and cut it in the marketplace without going into the ‘Christian market’ (just don’t get me started on that one- I could rant for Britain on the ‘Christian music scene’).

This band- Athlete-are currently trying to find a new direction/niche. I hope they do- I saw them live supporting U2 in 2005 and whichever way you look at it ‘Wires’ was a good song IMHO. I even have one of their CDs : ‘Vehicles and Animals’, which displayed some of their earlier quirkiness.

The song I really like predates their first CD and I found it on a complilation: ‘One of those days’

‘John 3 16,

out the door and already late,

and God came down,

and swept me off my feet’

It is a fantastically quirky song and I love the way that faith intertwines with ordinary life (loving his house, late for the bus etc and then suddenly being aware of God).

Life is like that/could be like that- the presence of God is everywhere…any moment could be an epiphany. If God is restricted to those ’special moments of sacredness where his manifest presence is clearly felt’ (or whatever jargon you want to use to make you feel safe) then he is more ‘god’ than ‘God’.