Chasing Daylight

So I just finished the book Chasing Daylight by Erwin Raphael McManus. This is a must read for everyone wanting to live! The book is a quick read but with loads of deep stuff. The book takes the story of Saul and Jonathan going to fight the Philistines in a battle. Saul takes his outpost and decides to camp under a pomegranate tree which means he is not going to be doing any fighting soon. So while they are Jonathan takes his armour barrier and goes over the Philistine side, not really sure what will happen once they arrive (risk & uncertainty). He tells the armour barrier that if the Philistines call them up, they will live but if the Philistines come down to them, they will die. Well Jonathan and his armour bearer get called up and in a matter of moments, they have slayed loads of men in a small acre. While that is happening, lots of other events are taking place. Saul soon realizes what has happened and that his son is gone. Traitors from the Hebrew army that had joined the enemy remember who they are and rejoined the Israelites in battle. In addition, the Israelites hiding out in the hills also joined the Jonathan in the fight. And of course, God showed up in a major way like He does.

All this was made possible by Jonathan who refused to give up a divine moment. His action of taking initiative to engage in battle and seize a divine moment caused a chain reaction. The faithful were unleashed to join in , the paralyzed were mobilized, the prodigals returned and the fearful, broken people were able to conquer fears, join the battle full heartily. All the groups were able to truly enjoy the victory. By one person choosing to make a difference in the kingdom of God by not allowing a divine moment to pass by, their environment was impacted and lives were changed. Jonathans choose to live and seize the power of divine moments.

McManus sums up the book like this. "You know where to begin: take initiative. You know who God is, so embrace life's uncertainty. Remember that the person you are becoming in Jesus Christ is your greatest gift to others, so use your influence. Every great adventure is filled with peril and danger, but the risk is worth it. You have already been authorized to move forward, so advance. Impact your world by fighting the battles that are on God's heart. Move with urgency that creates a movement. Engage in an adventure so compelling that it causes the awakening of the dead in spirit. In this moment, each of us will have to choose. Will you seize the power of every moment or let them slip away?" (p257).

All of us are called to live and to do it without fear. Real living comes with risk and uncertainty. And that is okay. God has given us things we are passionate about and when we are passionate about God, we can trust those passions. When we choose to seize a divine moment, we may or may not see the full outcome like Jonathan. But that is okay. Failing to venture out is traumatic and a life wasted. So the question remains, are we going to seize moments because we are chasing daylight? Jesus challenges us, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I'm in the world, I am the light of the world." What Christ is saying, is to stop wasting your time and start chasing daylight.

a reminder

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

-Nelson Mandela

*~free~* that is what we are

Free to love.
Free to live love.

Free to do it freely.

Operation Christmas Child

The Beginning.... the big, empty warehouse with electricity

The Middle..... work and play

The End....7511 boxes to be given to kids this year!

Happy Thanksgivng!

Oh I love this holiday! Food and friends! It certainly doesn't get much better than this!! We had about 22 or so people over Friday night to celebrate this American tradition. I love that the number of Irish present overruled the Americans present at this feast. Brenda spent about 3 full days baking and cooking in order to share with the neighbors and friends. 3 days to prepare and 3 minutes to tear into it! We pushed back the furniture in the living room to make way for us all. The laughter coming from both rooms was priceless. After the meal came out the deserts and coffee or tea with loads more conversation. It was such a great evening talking about our lives and enjoying the company that sitting around a table can bring. Gosh it is so good to share life with people!

one question...

.....with no direct answer. How do you know when to hold onto something or when to let go of something? gjosumetpnwi9hsvijd0gorp!! And then I laugh at myself.

under my skin

Have you ever felt like you were drowning inside yourself? So many thoughts, emotions and desires are crashing over my mind and soul. Fears creep up into my mind. Struggles of who I am becoming seem to keep me from seeing straight. The joy of life is swallowing me alive. I am falling feet first into the depths of my spirit. Not sure anymore of what I want or who I want, I keep hearing my own heart beat and trying to muffle the rhythmic sound. It's an internal struggle that needs to be dealt with or I will continue finding the bitterness comforting. I will become my own new prison.
I suppose the hardest thing for me right now is feeling lost. I know who I want to become. I know who I miss. I know (most days) who I am. God there are so many thoughts and insecurities right now. It sucks. However, I have learned before that dealing with the crap of life-outside and inside-are all part of growing up. It's all apart of the journey that we are on. If we try to suppress everything all the time, we will miss out on growth and an adventure. If we try to escape reality, we become delusional. If we fight it, we lose ourselves. If we pretend that we are okay, the play will end tragically.
With that said, I give up. I surrender.

oh yeah...

good jazz....

One of the books that we have been going through as a group is Repenting of Religion by Gregory Boyd. This book is really good and there is so much good stuff packed into a book that to explain it all would take hours. I am finding some of this stuff really challenging to me and my thinking. I am finding it hard to get my head wrapped around all the deep, yet simple truths. It is really incredible. It is so good! So good like warm cornbread and chicken! So without further a-do: here is an excerpt from Chapter 5 Love and Religion (p. 96). The beginning quote is from another person Jacques Ellul and the rest that follows is from Gregory Boyd.

‘The revelation of God in Jesus Christ is against morality. Not only is it honestly impossible to derive a moral system from the Gospels and the Epistles, but further, the main keys in the gospel- the proclamation of grace, the declaration of pardon, and the opening up of life to freedom-are the direct opposite of morality. For they imply that all conduct, including that of the devout, or the most moral, is wholly engulfed in sin….As Genesis shows us, the origin of sin in the world is not knowledge…it is the knowledge of good and evil..
‘In the Gospels Jesus…gives us his own commandment “Follow me,” not a list of things to do or not to do. He shows us fully what it means to be a free person with no morality, but simply obeying the ever-new word of God as it flashes forth…We are as free as the Holy Spirit, who comes and goes as he wills. This is freedom…is the freedom of love. Love, which cannot be regulated, categorized, or analyzed in principles or commands, takes the place of law. The relationship with others is not one of duty but of love.’

‘The New Testament is not about ethical behavior, it’s about a radical new way of living. It is about life lived in surrendered union to God though faith in Jesus Christ. It is about experiencing the transforming power of God’s love flowing into and through a person. It demands a form of holiness that is far more exacting than any ethical or religious system. This kind of holiness can never be achieved through behavior. It has to be received by grace. Jesus’ ministry and the whole New Testament undermine our ethics and religion in order to position us to humbly receive this empowering and life-transforming grace.’

Tribute 2 Uncle Russ--Molly Malone

In Dublin's fair city

Where the girls are so pretty

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,

As she wheeled her wheel barrow

Through streets broad and narrow

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, oh!

Chorus: Alive, Alive Oh! Alive Alive Oh!

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, oh!

She was a fishmonger

But sure 'twas no wonder

For so where her mother and father before;

And they both wheeled their barrow

Through streets broad and narrow

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, oh!

Alive, Alive, Oh! Alive, alive, Oh!

Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh!

She died of a fever

And no one could save her,

And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone,

but her ghost wheels her barrow

Through streets broad and narrow

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive, oh!

sense...

We all make freakin' sense. Every single person makes sense not matter who they are or where they come from with whatever bags attached. Things happen, good things, when you take time to just stop and listen. Don't judge. Don't fix them. Just love them. They make sense. It all makes sense. When can start letting each other make sense?

Day Trip to Dublin

Yesterday Paschal and I set off for Dublin for a day of exploring the city. Honestly our original reason for going to Dublin was to drink Starbucks. (We are both coffee nutters!) As the day got closer we decided to do something more than just see Starbucks. Even though I have been to Dublin before, I still wanted and needed to see a few things. Paschal played tour guide and we spent the day exploring Trinity College which houses the Book of the Kells, Temple Bar, Grafton Street with Molly Malone, Christ Church and of course Starbucks. (It's the same here as in the states for all you curious people.) I am not sure what I was most excited to see but I can tell you that the Book of the Kells in Trinity College was simply amazing! The Book of Kells are the Four Gospels written in Latin around 800AD. What adds to the incredible manuscripts are the elaborate decoration on the pages with colorful Celtic Artwork. This is extraordinary work for that time period. There is a museum that explains all of the history of this book and others like it as well as what or who each picture represents. I stood there in awe as I read about the monks who translated the Gospels into Latin and decorated each page so artistically. The awe continued as I looked up close at 2 of the Gospels from the Book of Kells. I love when you stand in moment and realize that the past and present have just come together.

Halloween Fun

Halloween is over but here are some pics of our Halloween fun. We carved pumpkins and welcomed trick-or-treaters. We live in the country but we had about 10 kids come through all wearing scary masks and costumes.

Picture 1. Martin's being a face model with Cara's pumpkin.

Picture 2. Erika's time face pumpkin, my traditional Jack-O' Lantern and Michelle's fall carving. Picture 3. A humorously shocking pumpkin! A true work of art!

Picture 4. In the distance is the Cave of the Cats were Halloween is said to have originated from. The cave is not far from Roscommon but seeing as it is on private property, I had to take a pic from afar.

PS Martin says the only reason Halloween is over here in Ireland is because of the Americans!