Sunday Lunches

No Such Thing

The Prince

Hundreds of years before Jesus, the prophet Ezekiel reiterates the law for God's followers...

"The prince will be required to provide offerings that are given at the religious festivals, the new moon celebrations, the Sabbath days, and all other similar occasions. He will provide the sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, liquid offerings, and peace offerings to purify the people of Israel, making them right with the Lord."

- Ezekiel 45:17

The prince will provide everything that is needed to make people right with God. And when Jesus came, that's exactly what he did.

Thanksgiving Thoughts from Annie Leonard

"Let's opt out of the frenzy this year.
"Our out-of-control consumption has taken a toll on the planet, on our family budgets, and on workers from FoxConn in China to Walmart in New York. And it has taken a toll on the quality of our lives at home.
"We have more and cooler stuff than our parents and grandparents could have ever imagined, but we pay dearly. We spend more time working and shopping than they did and we spend much less time in leisure, on vacation and with friends. What is the use of a brand new Pottery Barn table if we don't have a gang of friends and neighbors to gather around it?
"If we're going to figure out how to build an economy and society that is healthy for people and the planet, this Friday is a good place to start.
"Let's opt out of Black Friday. Choose family over frenzy."


- Annie Leonard, Choose Family Over Frenzy

For the story to be great...

It isn't necessary to win for the story to be great, it is only necessary to sacrifice everything.

- from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller

Psalm 103:8

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

How to Make a Beautiful Garden

1. Clear out everything that's not beautiful, or that you just don't want there. Kill the things that might come back later.
2. Decide what beautiful things you want to put in your garden.
3. Plan them out in a nice way, making sure that they're in a place where they can get lots of sunlight (things don't grow well in the dark).
4. Dig holes for the new plants, and put them in.
5. Fertilise everything.
6. Mulch everything, to lock it all in, keep the weeds away, and improve the soil quality over time.
7. Water everything thoroughly.
8. Over time, make sure you keep taking out the bad things that come up, and watering everything. You'll need to trim the beautiful plants too from time to time, to keep them nice and to train them to grow in the right ways - otherwise they will get ugly. They might look a little ugly at first when you trim them, but they'll come good and look even better afterwards.

Be aware the initial set up is very quick (most gardens you can completely turn around in a day), but the care and love to help it grow into a beautiful place takes a very very long time - growth happens very slowly, but slow growth results in stronger and more lovely gardens.

What is A Good Story?

A character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.

- from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, a brilliant book by Donald Miller.

Here are some more of his perceptions, seemingly unrelated, but most probably not (like much of Donald Miller's writing!)....

"When you are born, you wake slowly to everything. Your brain doesn't stop growing until you turn twenty-six, so from birth to twenty-six, God is slowly turning the lights on, and you're groggy and pointing at things saying circle and blue and car and then sex and job and health care. The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe life isn't that big of a deal, that life isn't staggering. What I'm saying is I think life is staggering and we're just used to it. We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we're given - it's just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral."

David Crowder Band - SMS [Shine]

Here's a very cool song, and a very cool video, from the David Crowder Band. The song is called "Shine."

Lily's World

I love Lily's imagination, even if it does worry me a little. We were going on a bear hunt this morning, and this is how it ended up.

Lily: Oh no! We found one! And it's not a friendly one!
Me: Oh no! Quick, run away!
Lily: Quick quick quick quick quick! Run all the way home, up the stairs, under the covers into bed.... Oh no! We forgot to shut the door! Quick! Slam.... Whew.
Me: Whew.
Lily: I don't want to go on a bear hunt again.
Me: Me neither....

Lily: Oh no! It got in the door!
Me: Oh no! Oh, it's alright, I'll get it with the vaccuum cleaner. Bang.
Lily: Bang bang bang bang bang!
Me: Phew, it's all ok now. We got it.
Lily: Now it looks like a sultana.