QUOTE

Poetic truth seems more true sometimes.

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bushfire afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

g-ram

QUOTE

Walking a Spirit-filled life takes faith, but we are much more comfortable with a complete, advanced itinerary.

Faith never knows where it is being led, But it knows and loves the One who is leading.
--Oswald Chambers

g-ram

QUOTE

There are days that you would like to disagree, but truth is truth even when you don't feel it.

Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.
--Author Unknown

g-ram

QUOTE

Here is an Alliance icon, a Canadian Alliance icon. That would be the Christian and Missionary Alliance, C&MA. He used to live in and work in Toronto.

An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.
--A.W. Tozer

g-ram

ANNOUNCEMENT: New Series: HE WILL BE CALLED

There are many names for Jesus, but what do they really mean? Join us as we discover why He is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. You'll gain a new and relevant perspective on the Saviour who was born in a manger over 2000 years ago.

Join us as we continue to countdown to Christmas.

g-ram

THOUGHT: God Provides

Hudson Taylor established his China Inland Mission in 1865 on the premise that it would never solicit funds but simply trust God to supply its needs. While this policy may not be appropriate for every ministry, it provided Taylor with thousands of examples of God's faithfulness, like this one described in a letter on NOVEMBER 18, 1857:

Many seem to think I am very poor. This is true enough in one sense, but I thank God it is "as poor, yet making many rich." My God shall supply all my needs; to him be the glory. I would not, if I could, be otherwise than I am--entirely dependent myself upon the Lord, and used as a channel of help to others.
On Saturday we supplied, as usual, breakfast to the destitute poor, who came to the number of 70. Sometimes they do not reach 40, at other times exceeding 80. They come to us every day, Lord's Day excepted, for then we cannot manage to attend to them and get through all our other duties, too. Well, on that Saturday morning we paid all expenses, and provided ourselves for the morrow, after which we had not a single dollar left between us. How the Lord was going to provide for Monday we knew not; but over our mantelpiece hung two scrolls in the Chinese character--Ebenezer, "Hitherto hath he Lord helped us"; and Jehovah-Jireh, "The Lord will provide"--and he kept us from doubting for a moment. That very day the mail came in, a week sooner than was expected, and Mr. Jones received $214. we thanked God and took courage. On Monday the poor had their breakfast as usual, for we had not told them not to come, being assured that it was the Lord's work, and that the Lord would provide. We could not help our eyes filling with tears of gratitude when we saw not only our own needs supplied, but the widow and the orphan, the blind and the lame, the friendless and the destitute, together provided for by the bounty of him who feeds the ravens.

Don't worry and ask yourselves, "Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?" Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these. But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what we hants. Then the other things will be yours as well.

Matthew 6:31-33

How does this relate to how you are living and preparing for Christmas?

g-ram

QUOTE

This is good news when you feel lonely and helps to explain some of our deep feeling as well, I think.

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.
--Frederick Buechner

g-ram

QUOTE

Sad but true.

Falsehood has an infinity of combinations, but truth has only one mode of being.
--Jean Jacques Rousseau

g-ram

Full Disclosure Soulhouse November 16

Soulhouse came together to worship through music, prayer and community. We also were introduced to a great bible study/discipleship guide called the FIRE study. This study works best in journal format so that you can go back and look at it and remind yourself of where you have walked and what you have learned.

"F" is for FACT. Read your selected passage and look for something that stands out to and for you.

"I" is for INSIGHT. Look at your fact, it must have stood out to you for some reason. What was that reason? What does it make you think of? What does it relate to? What other thoughts come to mind.

"R" is RESPONSE. We get into the habit of just sucking information in and discussing around with each other. The old joke about that is that Christians get together for Bible studies simply to pool their ignorance. We don't want to be about that. If your fact brings you insight, then that insight must lead to a changed life, so how will you apply your insight to your life this week. Pick an action that is tangible, quantifiable, measurable so that at the end of the week it is easy to say "Yes! I did it," or part of it or "No. I didn't do it." The goal is not guilt but to aid in taking one more step forward. One step closer to Jesus, to Christ-like character.

"E" is for EVALUATION. We were not called to live life in isolation, but in community; someone has to get your back. Hopefully those relationships will grow in your Life Support Groups or somewhere else, but they don't just grow accidentally you are going to have to work at them. Evaluation is so that you know someone will be asking you about how your week went. "Did you do it?" It is nice to know that it matters. It is good to know that the little things that we do or don't do are still significant. This way you can say to yourself "I don't feel like doing that right now, but I know they are going to ask me...maybe I can just suck it up and do what I said I would do."

As iron sharpens iron may you be sharpened by your sisterhood or your brotherhood. Don't linger where you are...long to be what and who you can be. Long for the image to be clearer in you.

g-ram

Full Disclosure So You Think You Can Dance-180 Remix

We had a good time. Oh yes, we had a good time. TK, Mike, Promise and of course, our very own MC Matt Rose helped us to kick it up for a night of fun and serious moves. TK and Mike displayed some serious skill in popping and b-boy styles and then did a great job of teaching us to be amazing. Promise did a phenomenal job bringing some live rap into the Board/Room. It was a fun time to laugh with and at each other as some unexpected people let their mean moves slip out. Glad I was there.

g-ram

QUOTE

We have seen this happen in our world.

Once abolish the God and the government becomes God.
--G.K. Chesterton

g-ram

QUOTE

Oh, this one is chilling. God save us from this fate.

Men never do evil so completley and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.
--Blaise Pascal

g-ram

QUOTE

To live is to learn and to learn is to ask questions. Do not shy away.

Oh my soul...be prepared for him who knows how to ask questions.

--T.S. Eliot

g-ram

QUOTE

We need humility to stand honestly in this life.

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
--Albert Einstein

g-ram

QUOTE

No wonder we don't like to grow.

Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.
--Author Unknown

g-ram

QUOTE

hmmm C.S. Lewis. What would it have been like to talk with this guy? Would you just be quoting everything he said?

Let's pray that the human race neer escapes Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.
--C.S. Lewis

g-ram

QUOTE

Sometimes these make my brain hurt from growing.

No matter what God's power may be, the first aspect of God is never that of the absolute Master, the Almighty. It is that of the God who puts himself on our human level and limits himself.
--Jacques Ellul

g-ram

QUOTE

Maybe someday I will come up with something brilliant like this and someone will quote me.

We routinely disqualify testimony that would plead for extenuation. That is, we are so pesuaded of the rightness of our judgement as to invalidate evidence that does not confirm us in it. Nothing that deserves to be called truth could ever be arrived at by such means.
--Marilynn Robinson

g-ram

QUOTE

I never thought of it like that. Hmmmm

Sadness is a wall between to gardens.
--Kahlil Gibran

g-ram

QUOTE: Keep thinking

Thoughts to keep you thinking:

The soul is healed by being with children.
Fyodor Dostoevsky

g-ram

EXPERIENCE: Seeing the Spiritual World

I don't like messing up or dropping the ball. But today that is what it felt like I did. I was talking with someone that does not attend any church, but has asked a number of times about it and what I do. We were talking about stuff that was happening in his life. Hard things. In the last number of days I have heard so many stories of things going wrong financially and maritally for a number of my friends that I have really started to notice it. Well the conversation ended and I meant to invite him to Soulhouse. But I didn't.
A wasted opportunity.
I told Sheryl. I felt bad about not keeping my head straight. I thought "if only I had one of those little cards that I try and hand out to other people." Excuse.
I don't think that Soulhouse will have some magical God-moment that will just happen to him, but I do know that it would be an encouraging time because the atmosphere is positively thick with the Spirit of God. But I didn't tell him.
I was thinking to myself a number of days ago that things are going really well, at least for us at Soulhouse, but I was starting to feel like we didn't have a growing edge. An edge that would be reaching our community. I wondered how we could spark invitations to non-believers.
I got a spanking after that night. Emails started coming in from a bunch of different people who were telling me the stories that I knew nothing about. (I love your stories! Please share them with me. What are you doing? What are you trying? What are you risking? Who are you talking to?)
There is a movement underway. At least 12 people were first timers this last week and a there were a number more that have been invited that have not come YET. I have been schooled. The Holy Spirit is at work. He is moving our faithful friends to speak to their faith-seeking friends. Whether I know about it or not. The time is coming for a loosening.
So I am seeing anew and understanding more clearly. We talk, I talk, a bunch, but I just don't always see or understand.
I'm learning. I pray I will keep learning and risking. May the same be true of you.
I was outside again, later in the day and there he was outside also. We spoke briefly again. I invited him. He said he would love to come. We clarified details and I thanked God for a second chance to do what I meant to do. Hopefully I will get better at doing what I am supposed to do.
Why is it so hard? Why the distractions and arguments inside?
Oh yeah. That's Spiritual Warfare.
Maybe I should listen to the podcast and see if I can catch up to where some of the other folks from Soulhouse already are.
No more excuses.
Will you join me?

g-ram

QUOTE: What did someone else say?

A thought to help you think:

Nothing makes us lonelier than our secrets.

Paul Tournier

g-ram

Full Disclosure: Soulhouse Nov 2 08

Ok it was awesome. Done.
If you weren't there you totally missed out. Go listen to the podcast and then try to imagine it being like 10 times better.
We learned some truth and exposed some lies. We worshipped and prayed and God moved among us. Words don't feel like they can express it well, so go listen.

g-ram