21C Pilgrim

Recently we’ve experienced some difficulty with the blog engine we were using. This caused an extended period of downtime for the blog. For this we are greatly apologetic. We were finding that the blog engine was a little bit bloated, it had too much of what we didn’t need, making updates, and upgrades somewhat difficult. As such there is a time when every pilgrim needs to determine how to keep moving forward. In our circumstances we decided to try something new, something a little lighter, more nimble and more widely supported.

Often we can find ourselves, burdened down by the former decisions we have made. It is only when we finally decide to take action and do something different, that we can move forward again and progress further on our pilgrimage.

Lets make some change and keep moving forward.

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Today I completed my first digital layout for the "Gotta Have Faith" challenge on a website I found recently. I love to do digital scrapbooking but this is the first time I have scrapped something with direct relevance to my faith journey. Most of my scrapbooking has been of family, family history and my overseas travel adventures.

When I saw this challenge, I knew I just had to participate. The challenge is to create a layout using a Bible verse that you consider to be a ‘life verse’ – one that is always with you. There are a few verses that stand out for me, but for this I chose Lamentations 3: 22,23 because it is a constant reminder to me of God’s unfailing goodness and grace.

You can find my layout here: http://www.elementalscraps.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=641

What is your ‘life verse’? How about sharing it along with the reason you consider it your ‘life verse’?

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Ever had a spiritual experience on the treadmill? You should.

Our reductionist thinking tries to create artificial boundaries between body, mind and spirit like they are three unrelated things. I’ve seen this illustrated before as three compartments, but I think that the relationship between them is more like a venn diagram with a large common area in the middle.

This is probably why scripture describes the body as being the temple of the Holy Spirit. The astounding effect that our mind has on our body is well accepted – but what about the effect that our body has on our spirit? I’ve certainly never considered it before now.

In the spirit of the ancient Rabbis who would invoke the adage "an hour of study is as an hour of prayer in the eyes of God", I propose a new adage for the 21st century pilgrim: an hour on the treadmill is as an hour of prayer in the eyes of God.

Mind, body and spirit are linked in such a way that if one is in bad shape – all suffer. What does this mean for a society in which obesity tripled in children and adolescents and doubled for adults between 1980 – 2002?!?

Check out About.com’s exercise for beginners section.

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They say that when it rains it pours. It’s funny that during days like that all we want to do is curl up under the duvet and never come out. But thank goodness not all days have us reaching for the aspirin…And that some days can actually make us feel on top of the world! It seems as though all we need to do is to click our fingers and have what we have been working so hard for. Those are the days! What a shame that for the most part most days lie somewhere in the middle – pretty mediocre really. Same shows on TV, same politics at work, bumper to bumper traffic and a family that still drives us up the wall.

And the funny thing is that when you look into the eyes of the people you know – many seem fundamentally unhappy. I can’t help thinking that they are under the illusion that life means each day being amazing, fun and fulfilling. But is it realistic for us all to be happy and fulfilled all of the time? I very much doubt it!! If the bell curve is anything to go by, only between 1 and 5% of us can only be blissfully happy at the one time. So why does it seem like we’re all striving to do something else or be someone else.

When it comes down to it – all we’ve really got is today (even if it is a dull and boring one that looks like many others). The people we know and love and our attitudes towards them are the most important thing. A friend of mine lost her mother today. Her grief was very real and poignant and brought tears to my eyes. How my day was going seemed unimportant all of a sudden. It didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of life.

Relationships we have invested in are the thing that can make the everyday – even the mediocre ones – worthwhile and extraordinary. Relationships are fundamental to human experience and if we invest some more time into them instead of the day-to-day rat race, we may indeed find true contentment and fulfillment. Jesus came that we may have life to the full. Maybe if we took time to get to know the people in our world a little better, we’ll find our happy days.

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I have been reading a few things lately about getting distracted. Have you ever noticed how when you most need to get something done, all these other things start to divert you attention from the really important things? While we are all familiar with this on a small every-day-at-work scale, it also applies to our life as a whole. The great goals we have in life can quite often fall by the way as we do smaller, less significant things. Things that ‘need’ to be done, but distract us from the greater purposes in life. It’s important to reflect and regain our focus on the important things, put down the distractions and focus on our core purpose (that’s a whole other entry or 5). Kathy Sierra has a great article on how our brains work when we try to multitask. Have a look here. There is a scripture in Proverbs (4v25) that says: "Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. DOn’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil." I plan to start to shed the distractions and focus on the real purpose. What about you?

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In my favourite Seinfeld episode, George decides that seeing as his life so far has been such a failure, he should try doing the exact opposite of his initial instincts. Using this strategy he lands a new girl, gets his dream job and finally moves out of his parents house.

Strangely enough, this isn’t actually that far from the truth – and its known as counterintuition. Think about going around a hairpin corner at speed in a car, what does your intuition tell you? Brake hard and turn into the corner. What should you actually do? The exact opposite, accelerate and turn out of the corner. Think about surfing when you catch a steep wave, what does your intuition tell you? Move the weight to your back foot and pull back from the drop. What should you actually do? The exact opposite, transfer the weight to your front foot, lean forward into the drop and slide down the face.

Jesus talked about this kind of stuff all the time: The first will be last and the last will be first. You want to be great – become a servant. You want to be rich – give it all away. You want to have more – give less to others right? Wrong. Do the exact opposite. The book of Proverbs explains that "The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller".

I’ve finally worked out that most of my ‘gut-instinct’ is just indigestion and that what I should be doing is living according to spiritual principles that – no matter how counterintuitive they may feel – release amazing growth and potential in my life.

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If there is one key thing that I have learnt and continue to learn in new and amazing ways, it’s the power and importance of relationships. It never ceases to amaze me where I hear the words uttered “It’s all about the people”. In fact the last place I heard this was from the Managing Director of the company where I work. We were discussing different ways to manage people in our jobs. At the end of the day it all boiled down to having a relationship with the person and understanding how they best work. Relationships aren’t just the occasional greeting in the hallway as you pass someone; it is taking the time to get to know the person. Learning about their life, the things that excite them, the things that motivate them, and the things that make their skin crawl. Only when we truly take the time to build relationships with people and understand will we earn the authority to speak into their lives. Now, relationships are not at all, one way streets. Relationships require our own element of vulnerability. They require us to share things about us; things that might leave us open to attack or ridicule from others. If the relationship is a good one, the person will not abuse this privilege, but treasure it. I look forward to sharing the pilgrimage with you and allowing myself to become a little more vulnerable as we build a relationship along the way.

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While recuperating from an injured back, I decided to read a book I had bought for my daughter as a Christmas present.”Left to Tell” is an amazing story. On one hand it tells of the hell of unimaginable horror and on the other, the triumph of an unwavering faith in God.

Immaculee Ilibagiza recounts her own personal experiences of the 1994 Rwandan haulocast. It is the story of how she lived through the terror of one of the bloodiest ethinic conflicts in recent years. For ninety-one days, she stayed hidden in the cramped confines of a tiny bathroom with seven other starving women while the bloodbath raged outside – where her mother, father and two brothers were slaughtered. Immaculee was just twenty-two years old at the time, a university student come home to spend Easter with her devout Catholic family.

Yes, I had heard about the ‘trouble’ in Rwanda at the time, but I felt far removed from it, both by distance and I guess, by lack of understanding.

I doubt anyone could read this book and not be irrevocable changed. This story not only moved me dramatically as I read it – I can’t get it out of my head – it has deeply challenged me.

Jesus said, “With man it is impossible but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” (Mark chapter 10, verse 27) When God and her faith in him were all Immaculee had to hold onto during her horrific ordeal, she proved this is true.

How would my faith hold up in circumstances even a fraction of the immensity of hers? I don’t really know. I just hope I’d have the same kind of courage and faith as Immaculee.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where all you had was your faith in God? Why not post a comment and share it?

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It always amazes me how things happen in a perfect sequence.

When I told a good friend of mine about what had been happening in my life lately, she said, “It’s got to be the Big Guy upstairs. It is way too much to be coincidental.”

Since I retired from full-time work, I’d been working in a casual part-time job. I really enjoyed this job because it was low stress, enough of a challenge to be interesting, and just a pure change from what I’d been doing for years. A few weeks ago I was told that because of changes within the organisation, I would have to finish up, even though they were reluctant to let me go. In the weeks leading up to my finish date I received notification that my application for exam supervision at the local university had been successful. I had applied almost a year ago! They were short of supervisors for the upcoming end of semester examinations, so I had two week’s work straight up after I finished in my part-time job.

A great believer in prayer, I prayed that God would take care of the situation and provide me with work as I need a small income to supplement the retirement funds.

I had started applying for other jobs. One entailed taking some tests to determine my computer skills at an employment agency. The results were better than I ever thought possible which boosted my confidence in my ability incredibly. I was short-listed for a three day a week position. (I was so hoping I would get this job. If I couldn’t have my part-time job, then this was the next best thing, it seemed to me.)

While I was waiting to hear back about the position, the agency put me forward for a couple of short term positions. I was the unsuccessful candidate for them, but still I waited to hear about the one I was keen on. Then the agency phoned. As I was out, I called them back after I received their message. At that time it was inconvenient to speak to the person concerned, so they were to call me back. Just after that, my boss from the part-time job I’d had called and said that they wanted me to consider coming back. They could now see their way clear to offer me the position again. They said not to give an answer immediately but to think it over and wait until I heard back from the agency.

After four days I heard back from the agency. They advised that the government department which had offered the three day a week position had decided not to procede with it. I had only just finished that call when the phone rang. It was my previous boss asking if I had heard anything from the agency. I was able to advise that I was available to start back in my old job and they said I could start that same day!

Yes, the timing was perfect. God’s timing always is.

I believe God when he says that he knows what he’s doing. “I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for” (see “The Message” – Jeremiah chapter 29).

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