Born again?

I just finished sleeping for three days. I was THAT sick.
I wish I were exaggerating, and most of you who know me will probably think, "ha! that man ALWAYS exaggerates!"
Three days. No joke here...
I know i spent most of my waking hours doing one of two things:
1. Trying to eat
2. Talking to my newest friend on the phone

So i'm just putting it all together...three days of rest, new relationships, and our steady and constant push toward Easter. How does it preach?

This week at the Cathedral, we'll be talking about being born again, about how it is a steady process, about how it is NOT a once in a lifetime thing. And we'll be talking about how to redesign ourselves each and every day.

It is simply amazing what you'll see about yourself once you get some perspective and take a step back. I found out how i'm hiding and running away from myself in order to maintain a defensive reality here in the islands. Maybe you'll find a way to be reborn...to take three days of rest or retreat to gain some perspective, and figure out how best to come back into the mix and renew your walk towards Easter's empty cross.

I REALLY miss New Zealand...

EDVI meeting series

I don't spend as much time in meetings here as i did in southern ohio...i'm usually on the street or running the meeting, so for those of you who are used to the regular update of doodles from my time "in session," here's something to satisfy the old standards.

See this? THIS is my smile!

there are times in your life when you know without a doubt that that the magnificence and might of God himself has just manifested in front of you, smacked you a couple times across the cheek, blew a raspberry, and left you panting for breath and reaching deeper within yourself to attain new heights. At diocesan convention, those moments were:
1. watching the clergy of this diocese truly become a team
2. seeing one man kneel before another to seek closure and reconciliation
3. being present while bishop gumbs took this diocese to a new height and a new way of living together
4. running my first "international" youth event!
5. forming the youth of DYE 2009 into a group that counted each other as friends
6. morning worship that challenged the status quo and let young men and women move to a solid beat in church.
7. getting through it all...and only being tired. not burnt, frustrated, or negative!

Now we get to start rebuilding. more on that later, but for now, it's rest, regrouping, organizing, and taking a deep breath to be ready for the next steps...

WOW squared...

Just rediscovered this...my theme for this week

John 16:33:
"These thing i have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage! ...I have overcome the world."

nice...

WOW

it's been soo very long since i posted here, and need to get back into the habit.
THIS WEEK at All Saints School, we talked about what happens when there is a need going on around you, but you just aren't ready to meet it. What do you need to change about yourself, your community, your future?

When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

we also split up by sexes, since there is an obvious undertone here between Jesus and his mom. So when you look around you, where in your life is someone saying, "HEY, if you don't help with a miracle, this 'party' is gonna die!"

even jesus wasn't ready...so it's ok for us to be a little creeped out by the call to ministry, but if we hide our heads in the sand, sit and spin, and watch the world go by, our lives will have meant nothing but a testament to our own selfishness and kingdon building.

"Do whatever he tells you"