What Secret Would You Tell?

"When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold on to them. They are the lifeboats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely elusive.

So, the question becomes, or should have been all along, what would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live?
What lifeboat would you grab on to?
What secret would you tell?
What band would you see?
What person would you declare your love too?
What wish would you fulfill?
What exotic local would you fly to for coffee?
What book would you write?"

~ One Week, movie.

One of my top ten movies.

A Lifetimes Worth

After his cancer diagnoses, and against  his fiances advice or his family being informed of his diagnosis,  Ben takes a week long motorcycle trip across Canada before entering into a cancer treatment offering at best 10% chance of survival.

"I asked a man when I was on the road how ya know if you're in love. He told me, 'If you have to ask, you're not.'  You never had to ask anyone, did you Sam?" (Ben)
"No, of course not." (Samantha)
"Are you angry?" (Ben)
"Of course I am. But not just about that." (Samantha)

"I'm sorry I got us into this mess."(Ben)
"You should be." (Samantha)

"How are you feeling?" (Samantha)
"Ancient"
"Was your trip worth it?" (Samantha)
Ya!
"Did you take pictures? (Samantha)
"A lifetimes worth." (Ben)

~Movie - One Week

Pastor Sin Management

“I didn't become a pastor to be the church's moral policeman or sin manager. I became a pastor to help people fall madly and passionately in love with Jesus.”
~ Tom Zawacki . Charlottetown Vineyard.

CATASTROPHIC IGNORANCE

" The consequences of his ignorance have been catastrophic, and even his most benign efforts changed the world in ways that he could never have foreseen." 

(Moritz Thomsen. The Saddest Pleasure: A Journey On Two Rivers. He is speaking of Pizarro)

That Ain't My Story

I don’t need no crown
I don’t need no glory
You’ve had your life
But that ain’t my story

—	Watch Over Us. Lyrics by Lone Below

Mountains Are Church?

"In our best times everything turns into religion, all the world seems a church and the mountains altars."

(John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras)

Nature Knows No Waste

"One is constantly reminded of the infinite lavishness and fertility of Nature—inexhaustible abundance amid what seems enormous waste. And yet when we look into any of her operations that lie within reach of our minds, we learn that no particle of her material is wasted or worn out. It is eternally flowing from use to use, beauty to yet higher beauty.."

( John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras )

I'd Stay On This Mountain

"If I had a few sacks of flour, an axe, and some matches, I would build a cabin of pine logs, pile up plenty of firewood about it and stay all winter to see the grand fertile snow-storms, watch the birds and animals that winter thus high, how they live, how the forests look snow-laden or buried, and how the avalanches look and sound on their way down the mountains. But now I'll have to go.... "

(John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras )

Nature Learning

"How interesting everything is! Every rock, mountain, stream, plant, lake, lawn, forest, garden, bird, beast, insect seems to call and invite us to come and learn something of its history and relationship."

(John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras)

I Made Pissing Dolls, God My Father

".... how willingly people who considered it a privilege to eat had swarmed into the city's to overrun the slums and to seek out   Factory jobs. God's face now takes on the form of a Time clock, and a hundred million people will now dedicate themselves to the production of a mountain of products all skilfully designed to wear out in 3 years - cars, radios, TV sets, and tape decks, outboard motors and pocket  calculators, hoola-hoops and little plastic dolls that when you squeeze them make wee-wee in their plastic panties. How incredible that we have come so far that we can stamp out a pissing doll from a nickel's worth of plastic and never wonder if the girl at the machine who stamped them out for eight hours a day year after year is living a life that gives her satisfaction.
"And what did you do with your life, my child?" God asks at the gates of paradise. "I stamped out pissing dolls, Lord."
"And are you happy with the life you've had, my pet?"
"I ate, Lord.""

(The Saddest Pleasure: A Journey On Two Rivers. A Memoir by Moritz Thomsen)

Bad Faith Questions

"When I was a boy going to church, I was surrounded by the most lovely, honest, and well-meaning people. One of the things these well-meaning people taught me was that it was not okay to have difficult questions. They didn't do it intentionally or maliciously, but they did it all the same. I was always rewarded when I got an answer correct or responded as a 'good' Christian kid should. The few times I tempted to explore a critique or a possible doubt, it was met with a furrowed brow and a correction. I was taught that there was an agreed-upon script and we were not to wander from it. Those furrowed brows were destructive to an honest faith story. They wounded my soul."

(Tony Kriz. Aloof: Figuring Out Life With A God Who Hides)

Museum of Memories

"I have built a museum of memories in my soul."

(Tony Kriz. Aloof : Figuring Out Life With A God Who Hides)

God Hides?

Storytelling is an important spiritual practice. It may even be essential to the way we humans have been designed. You see, our stories are precious things. They are the foundation of our beliefs. They are the fuel of our hope. My soul has forgotten most of my stories. They have long ago drifted away into the fog. However, there are a precious few that my soul vigorously holds on to."

(Tony Kriz. Aloof: Figuring Out Life With A God Who Hides.)

Perceiving God Fitfully

"Televangelists and preachers make out that God is ever-present and easily accessible? But the stark reality is, at best, we perceive God fitfully, partially, and mysteriously."

(Michael Frost. In Review of "Aloof" by author Tony Kriz)

Not God Beggars

"My prayer is not the whimpering of a beggar.....

Our love for each other is rough and ready, we sit at the same table, we drink the same wine in this low tavern of Life."

- Nicos Kazantzakis

10 Lies Church Systems Tell You.

"10 Implied Messages of Institutional Church Because The Medium Is The Message:

1. Church is a place, a location, a building.
2. Christianity happens in services, classes, meetings, events, and programs.
3. What people need most is good information about God.
4. “God’s work” needs organizational or corporate infrastructure.
5. The more control the better; no telling what people will do if left to themselves.
6. It’s best you let us decide how to use and distribute your money.
7. Depend on us for the spiritual formation of your children; we are trained.
8. The bigger the church, the better.
9. People are more valuable and spiritual depending on how often they attend and how much they tithe.
10. Relationships happen in group meetings."

- Jim Palmer

The Single Fruit Church

In the desert, fruit was scarce. God called one of his prophets and said: - Each person may only eat one fruit a day. The custom was obeyed for many generations, and the ecology of the place was preserved. Since the remaining fruit supplied seeds, other trees appeared. Soon, the entire region was turned into fertile soil, which was the envy of other towns. But the people continued to eat one fruit a day - they remained faithful to what the ancient prophet of their forefathers had told them. However they never allowed the inhabitants of other villages to take advantage of the abundant harvest with which they were rewarded each year. The result was that fruit rotted on the ground. God called a new prophet and said: - Let them eat as much fruit as they like.
And ask them to share the abundance with their neighbors. The prophet came to the town with the new message. But he was stoned - for by now the custom was ingrained in the hearts and minds of each of the inhabitants. With time, the younger villagers began to question the barbaric old custom. But, since the tradition of the elders was unbending, they decided to abandon the religion. Thus, they could eat as much fruit as they wished, and give the rest to those in need of food. The only people who remained faithful to the local church, were those who considered themselves saints. But in truth they were unable to see how the world changes, and recognize how one must change with it.

(Paulo Coelho : Warrior Of The Light - Vol 2 )

Best Travel Advice Ever

"Traveling in a different way When I was very young I discovered that, for me, a journey is the best way to learn. I still have this pilgrim’s soul to this day, and have decided to relate some of the lessons I have learned, in the hopes that they will be useful to other like-minded pilgrims.

1] Avoid museums. This advice may seem absurd, but let us reflect a little together: if you are in a foreign city, isn’t it far more interesting to seek out the present, than the past? Usually, people feel obliged to go to museums, because ever since they were small they have been told that traveling is a search for this type of culture. Of course museums are important, but they require time and objectivity - you need to know what it is you want to see there, otherwise you will come away with the impression that you saw several things which are fundamental to your life, but cannot remember what they were.

2] Frequent bars. Unlike museums, this is where the life of the city can be found. Bars are not discotheques, but places where the people gather to have a drink, pass the time, and are always willing to chat. Buy a newspaper and observe the bustle of people coming and going. If someone speaks to you, strike up a conversation, however banal: one cannot judge the beauty of a path merely by looking at its entrance.

3] Be open and forward. The best tourist guide is someone who lives there, knows everything, but doesn’t work at a travel agency. Go out into the street, choose someone you wish to speak to, and ask him or her for directions (where is such-and-such a cathedral? Where is the post office?) If this bears no fruit, try someone else - I guarantee that in the end you will find excellent company.

4] Try and travel alone, or - if you are married - with your spouse. It will be harder work, no one will be looking after you, but this is the only way of truly leaving your country. Group travel is just a disguised way of pretending to go abroad, where you speak your own language, obey the leader of the pack, and concern yourself more with the internal gossip of the group than with the place you are visiting.

5] Don’t compare. Don’t compare anything - not prices, nor cleanliness, nor quality of life, nor means of transport, nothing! You are not traveling in order to prove you live better than others - your search, in fact, is to find out how others live, what they have to teach, how they view reality and the extraordinary things in life.

6] Understand that everyone understands you. Even if you don’t speak the language, don’t be afraid: I have been in many places in which there was no way of communicating with words, and I always found support, guidance, important suggestions, even girlfriends. Some people think that if you travel alone, you will go out into the street and be lost forever. All you need is the hotel card in your pocket, and - should you find yourself in extreme circumstances - take a taxi and show it to the driver.

7] Don’t buy much. Spend your money on things which you won’t have to carry: good theater, restaurants, walks. Nowadays, with the global market and the Internet, you can have everything you want without having to pay for excess baggage.

8] Don’t try and see the world in a month. It is better to stay in one city for four or five days, that visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious woman, who needs time to be seduced and reveal herself completely.

9] A journey is an adventure. Henry Miller said that it is far more important to discover a church no one has heard of, than go to Rome and feel obliged to visit the Sistine Chapel, with two hundred thousand tourists shouting all around you. Go to the Sistine Chapel, but also get lost in the streets, wander down alleyways, feel free to look for something, without knowing what it is. I swear you will find it and that it will change your life.

- You have learned far more than was taught you - he said. - You concentrated yourself enough to win, were capable of fighting for that which you desire. Then, you had compassion, and were willing to make a sacrifice in the name of a noble cause. Welcome to the monastery, because you know how to balance discipline with compassion."

(Paulo Coelho: Warrior Of The Light - Vol 2)

Don't Compare.

"Don’t compare. Don’t compare anything - not prices, nor cleanliness, nor quality of life, nor means of transport, nothing! You are not traveling in order to prove you live better than others - your search, in fact, is to find out how others live, what they have to teach, how they view reality and the extraordinary things in life."

(Paulo Coelho : Warrior Of The Light - Vol 2)

Take the Fire.

Once, I went to interview Jean Cocteau. His house was piled high with bibelots, paintings, drawings by famous artists, books, Cocteau kept everything, and felt a deep love for all those things. So anyway, during the interview, I decided to ask him: «if the house caught fire right now, and you could only take one thing with you, what would you choose?»

- And what did Cocteau say? - asked Alvaro Teixeira, who was in charge of the castle, and a great follower of the life of the French artist.
- Cocteau said: «I’d take the fire».

And we sat there in silence, applauding deep down in the most intimate corners of our hearts, the brilliant reply.

(Paulo Coelho : Warrior Of The Light - Vol 2. Story Told  by Brazilian Journalist To Paulo)

Moving Rocks Or Building A Cathedral?

"There is an old story about a man who, following the bombing of Dresden, walked past a piece of land filled with rubble and saw three laborers at work. - What are you doing? - he asked. The first laborer turned: - Can’t you see? I’m removing these rocks! Unsatisfied with the answer, he turned to the second laborer. - Can’t you see? I’m earning my wage! - was the reply. The passer-by still didn’t know what was going on there, and decided to insist one more time. He turned to the third man, and once again repeated his question. - Can’t you see? - said the third laborer. - I’m rebuilding a cathedral! Although these three people were doing the same thing, only one perceived the true dimensions of his life and his work."

( Paulo Coelho : Warrior Of The Light - Vol 2 )

Tamed

"Madness does not come by breaking out,
but by giving in; by settling down in some
dirty, little, self-repeating circle of ideas; by being tamed."

— GK. Chesterton, Man Alive

Leaders, Please Abandon The Quest For Significance.

This would be my note to new Theology Students, MCC Students, or future ministry people. But I would not be asked to speak this message.

Quest for Significance

Some of this stuff is a mixed bag..... it taught me to achieve and work hard, It wasn't all negative.

But in the fathers kingdom I think it has been a negative. I think that whole quest for significance, if you have that quest for significance you spend most of your life in frustration and disappointment. Because no matter how many numbers you drive it's never enough, because someone has more.

I remember hearing this back in the day when the Yonggi Cho's church in South Korea was a big big deal. It was the largest church in the world with a half million believers. And I heard some thing he did, in some place interview he did he talked about, he never says, always afraid it would go down the next day. So driven to keep that thing going. There is something in there that touched me. But, if you serve that desire it's never satisfied. You've got the largest church in the world, but, you could loose it tomorrow. Do something to disaffect people and they go away.

Or, as you approach retirement, or mortality death, then you are going,

"Is that enough? Did I do enough? Should I have done more?

"I Love David's question, I love what's processing.

Because here is a church planter, he's got his degree in Theology, and he did it for a number of years, and his experience doing it by his own language here is that, "I almost Killed Myself".

I almost killed myself doing 50-60 hours a week, ruined my health, neglected my family, and so we go back and say, now has that desire for significance served you well.

And I would say that I don't think it did. If it almost ruined your health, caused you to neglect your family, and if it took you down that that road which I think the quest for significance, when it becomes institutionalized, especially, there is no end for which the institution wont eat you alive. Because if you can do that well, you can do more well. And the constant opportunity and inability to say no to anything that might be the next crack in the door that makes you big, significant, moves you to the next level...

I mean I am saying all this because I lived it. I didn't neglect my family, I had enough core of the whole family thing that I valued it, I never risked my health. But I risked my mental health in being constantly frustrated and angry with God that my best efforts for him in doing something I thought he would deem significant was never enough ... that the fruit it yielded was never enough as I wanted....

All of that driving whether psychologically, physically, or you neglect your family.... Man it just eats it up.....

See I always look for whats not only true in my life I for “What’s going on around me?” ....

The big Mega Pastors that I had access to back in those days, this is what they joked about how about every eight or nine months they would just emotionally melt down and someone would have to give them the family cabin up in Alaska and they would go up there for four to six weeks on sabbatical. But just trying to get their emotions back under them again. Because they feel like this was what they needed to do, and they were actually the human sacrifices of the machine they were serving and they didn't realize it.

(Wayne Jacobsne. The God Journey Podcast. #521 "Am I doing enough for God)

Tragedy Is Not Punishment

"However good we are, however correctly we seek to lead our lives, tragedies do occur. We can blame others, look for justification, imagine how our lives would have been different without them. But none of that matters: they have happened, and that is that. From this point on, it is necessary that we review our own lives, overcome fear, and begin the process of reconstruction.

The first thing we must do, when faced with suffering and insecurity, is accept them as such. We cannot treat them as things which do not concern us, nor see them as punishment which satisfies our eternal sense of guilt."

(Paulo Coelho : Warrior Of The Light - Vol 2)

All Creation Just Beginning

"One would be at an endless Godful play, and what speeches and music and acting and scenery and lights!—sun, moon, stars, auroras. Creation just beginning, the morning stars "still singing together and all the sons of God shouting for joy"'.

(John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras)

Full of Everything Good

"I should like to live here always. It is so calm and withdrawn while open to the universe in full communion with everything good."

(John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras)

Hearing Stone Sermons

"From the top of the divide, and also from the big Tuolumne Meadows, the wonderful mountain called Cathedral Peak is in sight. From every point of view it shows marked individuality. It is a majestic temple of one stone, hewn from the living rock, and adorned with spires and pinnacles in regular cathedral style. The dwarf pines on the roof look like mosses. I hope some time to climb to it to say my prayers and hear the stone sermons."
( John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras)

You Are Not The Initiator With God

"Most of the discussion of prayer I ever heard centered on whether God answers prayer and how we can know that he does. But during the past decade I have come to believe that prayer is not a matter of my calling in an to get God's attention, but of my finally listening to the call of God, which has has been constant, patient, and insistent in my inner being. In a relationship to God, I am not the seeker, the initiator, the one who loves more greatly."

(Virginia Ramey Mollenknott. Speech, Silence, Action) 

People Who Can't See!

"It seems strange that visitors to Yosemite should be so little influenced by its novel grandeur, as if their eyes were bandaged and their ears stopped.
Most of those I saw yesterday were looking down as if wholly unconscious of anything going on about them...."

(John Muir. My First Summer In The Sierras)

Maps And Sea

"Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without going to sea. Nor will you be very safe if you go to sea without a map."

C.S. Lewis

God Really, Really, Really is Everywhere.

"We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always heard to penetrate. The real labour is to remember, to attend."

(Letters to Malcolm chiefly on prayer by sea. C.S. Lewis

Less Bad Is Not The goal.

This was stated in my soil management  session  this morning. It applies more than to the soil and environment..

“The design systems that are “less bad” is to accept things as they are, to believe that this the best that humans can do.
The ultimate failure of the “less bad system” is the failure of the imagination to grasp an entirely different model.”

Cradle to Cradle. William McDonough.