He's pretty arrogant

I was reading this morning in "Solo: An Uncommon Devotional" about the way that God sometimes uses difficult experiences to help us see more of our weaknesses and faults. Not a particularly fun reading, but it did make me think.

Back in high school I played a lot of music. A lot. Many people called me a music geek (my wife still does). I played trumpet (the reason for the loosely connected pic below) before, after and very frequently during school . With all that experience and a little bit of talent added in, I became pretty good, which ended up getting me a ticket to a special camp for "musically outstanding students." It was a big thing for us students, and we got to play music with the best music students and teachers in the state (my wife just giggles and calls it "band camp"). I know it sounds like a Hilary Duff movie, but it was an awesome experience for us, and it's a shame it's been cut from the government budget now.

The week ended in a big show at the QLD Performing Arts Centre, which was brilliant. But strangely enough that's not what I remember from the night. As we were walking back to the green room after the show I overheard the tiniest snippet of a conversation between two of my friends. I'm not even sure if this is what they said, but what I heard was something like,

"Ben did alright didn't he."
"Yeah I guess. He's pretty up himself though."

Looking back I know that hardly makes sense logically - both of these guys were friends of mine all week - but it was such a shock that I didn't question it, and it was too awkward that I'd overheard it. I was a nice guy who didn't rock the boat, tried to please everyone and didn't make any enemies, and I couldn't bear the thought that someone might think me arrogant. This one comment, which possibly never happened in the first place, has stuck in my memory ever since.

It's been 12 years since that comment and I can see in hindsight how it has made me much more aware of pride in my life. It certainly hasn't stopped it altogether (as my wife can assure you) - not by a long way - but that difficult experience has helped to make humility a very desirable thing in my life, and to make me aware of pride as a weakness. I never want anyone to think me arrogant again. That night sucked for me.

I hope that God hasn't had to use many difficult experiences to show you your own weaknesses, but if he has, maybe you should take some time to thank him today. It can feel like harsh treatment, but it has certainly made a big difference to me.

Teachers

Isla, my 4yr-old, was telling me about one of her teachers at kindy, Mr Keith. I remember Lily found him entertaining when she was in kindy.
"Do you think he's funny?" I asked Isla.
"No. He's a teacher. Teachers aren't funny."

New York

Central Park, New York, was mowed by a flock of 200 sheep until 1934.

Proof that before the Americans were ruling the US, New Zealand was.

On a side note, the flock of sheep had to be moved to safety during the Great Depression when park officials worried they might turn into lamb roasts for hungry picnickers.

Which probably indicates there were some Aussies there as well.

Dirty God

I'm reading a great book at the moment. Check out these little passages from the chapter "The God with Dirty Hands"....

“The Bible teaches us that God “demonstrates his own love for us” (Rom. 5:8) in how he came to us in Jesus. He didn’t expect us to climb up to him. He climbed down to us. He got his hands dirty so that we could have our hearts cleaned.”

“Jesus didn’t keep his distance from the messy world that he descended into when he left heaven’s golden streets for earth’s dusty Middle Eastern villages, filled to capacity with the poor and frustrated, the disenfranchised and the rejected. Jesus didn’t revel in his priceless glory—rather, he gave himself completely to the opportunity to make the inglorious feel that they mattered to God.”

Excerpt from Johnnie Moore's “Dirty God.” Thomas Nelson, 2012-11-19. iBooks.

Very nicely put!

God's Creation Project

From "Simply Jesus," by Tom Wright.

Footsteps in the sand

A Grain of Wheat

John 12:24-25

Unless a grain of wheat dies, buried in the ground, it will stay just a grain of wheat. Useful, but in a very minor way. Ready to be eaten or crushed.

If we hold on to our life, wanting to stay in control, calling the shots, doing what we want, we will never be anything more than what we are now. Useful in a minor way.

But if that grain of wheat dies, buried in the ground, it will sprout and reproduce itself many times over. Completely transformed, no longer anything like a grain. It turned into a plant!

If we can manage to let go of our life, hand over the reins, stifle our selfish desire to be in control, living generously for others and for God, "reckless in your love," imagine what might happen! The grain was totally and irreversibly changed. What might a transformed human look like, with our much more complex bodies, personalities, imaginations, desires, compassion, spirit?

But how do we do it?

I find it tricky to contemplate how to go about dying to my self. I find proclamations of "I will die to myself and live for God today" largely unhelpful. It's a bit vague. However if I translate it to "I will live for others today; I will put others first," it becomes a lot more doable, at least for me.

Isla's World: Robbers

I asked my 4year old daughter if she could look after the car while I paid for petrol.
"To keep it safe from robbers?" she asked.
"Yep," I said. "If a robber comes, get him with your imaginary sword."
"I'll get him with my shoe," she said. "Then he'll be poisonous."
"Ok good thinking," I said.
"Robbers have green faces don't they?"
"Umm... sure."

Review: I Am a Follower

I recently read a copy of Leonard Sweet's book "I Am a Follower," thanks to the BookSneeze program. They give you books for free, so long as you write a review on your blog. It's quite a good system. At the beginning I wondered that they were giving books out for free (you only have to have a working blog). But I published a book last year and so far it's sold about 5 copies - at a rate slightly less than one a month. At this point I'd be happy for anyone to be reading it, whether they pay for it or not. And a review is certainly not something to be sneezed at (see what I did there?).

Right, on to the review. From memory I think this is the first of Leonard Sweet's books that I've actually finished, and as I was reading I started to realise why. It's not the content. The content is great. Sweet has been an out-of-the-box thinker for years, and I love hearing his ideas. I love hearing his take on church and Christianity. I'd love to go to a conference with him as the main speaker.

The beauty of a conference is that the speaker condenses everything into a handful of sessions, and then you can discuss it together afterwards. I imagine Leonard Sweet would make a great speaker, and it'd be stimulating discussion. But in a book? I feel like he got the main points across in the first few chapters of the book, and they were brilliant. But the book has over 50 chapters. Thankfully short chapters, but still. 50 different thoughts is a lot, and there was a lot of repetition. It's like Sweet did a conference and then included transcripts of all the discussion groups afterwards, looking at the topic from every possible angle. It was too much.

I do think it's a good book, and I think he has some great stuff to say about leadership, church and following Jesus. There are a lot of great quotes in here. I wholeheartedly recommend you put aside some time to read this book. A lot of time.

Like maybe a year.

Kids' Stories

Gotta love kids' TV shows. I just saw one that ended with,

"And from that day on they had cheese and tomato sandwiches every day, and the ship's cook was always able to join in the dancing."

Brilliant.