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The Aussie Celebration

This is a group of friends from down here watching the Australia vs. Japan FIFA match last week. Too funny.

Consumed

First thing. I did some chin-ups for the first time in a long time last week. Lesson learned? Either warm up way more than I did, or use the machine that gives you a bit of a hand next time. For the next 5 days anything that I had to reach for above shoulder level lost it’s reason for being. Even as I type this today, when I lift my arm straight up I can feel the stiffness in my back. Awesome eh? Just thought I’d winge a bit before getting to the other stuff.

Hung out with Jon from UNOH this weekend past, and Jo and I have been consumed by what we talked about. The poor and disadvantaged. Things are in infantile stages at this point. We are talking things out. Listening. Feeling. There isn’t too much more to tell you, but I’ll share the 2 ideas that we are toying with.

One idea we had is to get a 5-6 bedroom house with some friends and open it to house refugees for short/long term. Part of it would be just providing a space as large families have problems finding accomodation once they are here. The other is to live along side, and to be a pratical help with basic functional needs (filling out paperwork, keeping appointments, english, public transport, etc.) We don’t want to do something like this by ourselves, so we are sharing the idea and looking for interested parties.

The other idea is to join with UNOH and live in intentional poverty, and serve the poor from within the UNOH community. This is not a small task, and there is a process of discernment to see if we are even capable of doing this. So many questions come up and we are sorting through them. Common sense and excuses sometimes are bed mates. And sometimes common sense is the problem, because the things we need to do to change our world are not among the actions that most would define as “common”.

I think we are in the middle of dealing with our own insecurities and fears with what we feel God is leading us to do. We’ll keep you posted.

Confessions Part 2: Church 2

Over the past, probably 6 or so years, my “church” has been growing. It includes people from various parts of the world who join with me in seeking truth. Via podcasts, books, blogs, IMing, Skype, groups, dinners, trips, and a casual chat. To try and use a single doctrine, statement of faith, denomination, or description to qualify this group would be impossible. Many different views. Many different paths. Many different beliefs. I have learned. I have been challeneged. Admittedly there are things that I believe now that are more solid in my heart than ever… just as there are things that have never been so “up for debate”.

I think the biggest thing about the journey over the last little while, is that now I find myself in a place where I am ok with the place I find myself. Unanswered questions, compelling arguements on multiple sides, and the unexplainable will probably be a big part of my faith from now on. So it’s a good thing I can live with it.

I still can’t sit through a “regular” church service. I am ruined in that sense. I miss the fellowship at the dinner table. I miss the hearing from those who might not have a chance to share otherwise. I miss the disagreements. I miss the laughing. Your experience may be different. Of course I am speaking in generalities. But “regular” church services feel like they’re missing something. Like we are only allowed to see half a movie. And that half starts after the first 27 minutes.

I guess I could sum up this whole thing by saying that my life is getting simpler. At the same time it gets more complicated. But a good comlpicated. A better complicated. Complicated in the right sense… if that makes sense.

Confessions Part 2: Church

Over the last 6 months we’ve been a part of a group that meets in our home. There are those that come who go to other church services. There are those who don’t. We begin each night with a potluck meal together, and general overview of everyone’s day/week/month. This is usually not an organized thing, but happens quite naturally. Of everything, it is probably what we look forward to the most. Good food. Good people. Good times.

I introduced the group to the Meeting House in Oakville, Ontario, and we have been following the series The Scene Of The Crime which are available to download from their site. We attempt to take turns leading the discussion, and, at least for now, we have almost 100% participation in that discussion. I don’t know if I have ever been a part of a group like that… but it’s great.

Social action. Poverty relief. Community involvement. Community service.

These have been spurs in my side for the last little while. We talk about them every once-in-a-while with our group. We have found it hard to plan “group” stuff around these things, as we live in slightly different areas and our life stages are quite varied (some married, some single, some dating, some in uni, some wit full time jobs, some young, some old etc.) Instead we are trying to encourage each other to address these issues in our own contexts… in our own lives. I guess we are all at different stages in these areas. Sadly we are probably far behind where our faith says we should be. It is this reality that fuels that desire to change that. We moved to the city we did to be close to a large refugee population. A small step. Jo helps out with an after school homework/english help program. A small step. We each need to take repsonsibility for our beliefs and actions. Slowly we are learning.

This weekend we are going to an International Teams training session on working with people from other cultures. Next weekend we are meeting with a guy from Urban Neighbours Of Hope who is looking to start something in the Syndey area.

So it is within all these things we are working at being the church. Being salt and light. For whatever reasons I always found it hard to season or light much of anything outside of the church community when I was a “church-goer”. Too busy with “church going stuff”. I know it has it’s place for some, but for me it turned out to be a restraint.

A New Favorite Thing

For the last month and a half, I have been experiencing something I haven’t experienced in a long time.� It is a sad reality really.� I can’t believe that I have gone this long.�

What is this revoltuionary-to-Caleb’s-life event?� Inner peace?� Seaweed wrap?� Colonic Irrigation?� Nope.

New underwear.

I am telling you these things have changed my life.� I am not sure how I got by before.� However, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that gitch that have been “in the family” for 5-8 years just aren’t up to the task anymore.� But seriously, I didn’t know!� I thought all gitch was made equal.

I was sorely mistaken.

So today, if you need a “pick me up” of sorts.� If you need to feel “more secure”.� Or perhaps you want to be “held” in a way you haven’t been in a while.� Go treat yourself to some new underwear.� You shant regret it!