I Smell Like Sheep Poop

Posted on August 23, 2011 by admin
Image taken from http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/ (Image Number K4166-5).

I got a call from a friend a couple of days ago.  He has a small sheep herd of about 100 head and he was needing help sorting them.  Some had to go to market. Some had to be tagged and tattoo’d. And some needed to be culled off for shearing.

I love a day at the farm, it gets me out of the office and away from the computer for several hours and lets me utilize some old cowboy skills from so long ago it seems like another life.  The sun was warm and there was a gentle breeze coming out of the west as our ragtag crew began to gather the sheep into a small pasture. Then in batches of 10’s we’d herd the sheep into a small corral to sort and whatever else was necessary.   The sheep were… well sheep and they did what sheep did.  Some were complacent and others – well lets say were a bit of a wooly rodeo. Continue reading →

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In The Light Of Common Grace

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Mac

Tea LightAs a couple who try our best to live and make everyday decisions according to a personal life rule to live simply and tread lightly upon the earth, my wife and I don’t often do a lot of shopping for things that aren’t necessities. When we do shop however, we prefer to avoid the hustle and bustle of big box stores and shopping malls, in favour of small mom and pop shops where we have the opportunity to linger a while, and get to know and chat with the proprietor and staff if possible. Once and a while though, there’s just nothing for it, and for the sake of frugality (also part of our personal life rule), a trip to a larger store is necessary.

So while I was out this morning doing some shopping at a busy, popular furniture store (which shall remain unnamed), I needed to arrange for a few things to be delivered as they just wouldn’t fit in our little Echo compact. As is often my habit when I am out and about or forced to wait in line ups that seem to take forever, I simply began to look around at the beehive of activity and take notice of the kaleidoscope of people around me; their activities, the expressions on their faces, their countenance and their body language. I started to relax, follow my breathing, and allow a little smile to come to my face; using the wait as an opportunity to be mindful and to invite God to both calm my mind and my body (I tend to get nervous, impatient and edgy when in the midst of crowds and line-ups) and to perhaps in some small way, allow me to be an instrument of peace in the chaotic madness of a “Wacky Wednesday” shopping sale.

Continue reading →

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Encounters of the God kind

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Doug

On many Sunday’s we go to ‘regular’ church which for the most part I really enjoy. On occasion, which was the case this last Sunday, my nine year old asks me, “Dad, can we do church at home today?”

Now being able to vaguely remember what it is like to be a nine year old I begin to try and figure out the motive behind the request. A shorter time frame, closer to available snacks, sitting in a variety of positions on the couch and bugging his brother begin to enter my mind as possible motivations. I mean really, it never crossed my mind that he may have legitimate intentions of a God encounter or at least that God may be speaking through my son, because he is nine! I gave this some passing interest and basically resigned myself to the fact that he was trying to get out of something. Amidst these bites of conversation, I received an email from a friend on a recent experience of how they stayed home from ‘regular church’ and related some powerful times they had together. Now I may be thick, but even I got that one, “ok God I’m listening now”

Continue reading →

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Urban Sanctuary

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Mac

Urban Sanctuary

Hey friends! We are truly pleased to be able to invite you to our very first Mosaic-facilitated fall retreat, Urban Sanctuary: learning to create sacred space in the everyday bustle of life, going September 10-11, 2011!

So often we live life at breakneck speed. Life in the big smoke can take it’s toll on our resources; our mind, emotions and body and in turn that affects our spiritual health as well. Careers, ministry, studies, parenting, meetings, deadlines, expectations and responsibilities, and the rush of city life can easily throw off our equilibrium and leave us feeling like a circus clown spinning plates; putting more and more up in the air, just waiting for it to all come crashing down. The fallout is often a sense of weariness, emptiness and distance from God.

But, God never created us to live life this way. Jesus said, “If you are tired of trying to keep the plates spinning in life’s three ring circus, then come to me – all of you – everyone – anyone who is feeling worn out, burned out, tired, sick, burdened, bruised, battered and crushed, and I will give you rest. Come.”

Do you or does someone you know need rest? Do you just simply want to discover God again? If so, why not consider joining us and a few like-minded travelers, as we together learn to go against the grain and slow down long enough to find God in the ordinary, mundane things of urban life.

You can find out more by clicking the Event link in the main menu bar and selecting Urban Sanctuary.

Will you join us?

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When I Let The Bucket Down

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Mac

When I let the bucket downWhen I Let The Bucket Down
Far into my heart
To draw words of life
That could anoint your skin
An adorn your hair
With the sweet, exotic fragrance
And sun-kissed rivulets
Of love and praise
Befitting one so pure
In wonder and moral beauty

I wept

For I found
That my bucket had a hole
And the Gift
That I  had worked so hard
To draw
Had trickled out
On it’s journey back
To the top Continue reading →

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What Is the Best Operating System For Church or Computers?

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Tim

A few weeks ago I was in a learning cluster with a few friends of mine discussing our journey with church and the different models or operating systems of church. In the midst of our conversation, one of my friends used a computer analogy to paint a picture of what is going on in our experience. In trying to choose the right operating system for church or our computer, most of us find ourselves in one of the following conundrums.

We may be overwhelmed and paralyzed with all the info coming our way about which operating system is the best, so we default to the system that we are used to or feel most comfortable with. Some of us are stuck in our current operating system because the price tag of changing is too high, i.e. to convert and sync everything over to Apple is too pricey or to switch to Linux and create our own system is too time consuming. Many of us are living with a hybrid of two operating systems, i.e. having an Iphone4 with an Apple operating system, while our PC at home runs on a Windows operating system. These same scenarios are being played out every day in people’s journey of church. Continue reading →

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Living Awake!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by admin

The idea that God can be found in all things has been a rich and welcomed renovation in my life. I am coming to understand that the mystery that is God cannot be contained by my thoughts and the structures I use to think about God, nor do my experiences of God adequately encapsulate the vastness of our God. While healthy thoughts and experiences are integral to healthy faith, and as we realize God is so much bigger than our thoughts and experience, we soon discover a new kind of grace – a grace to rest in the character of the mysterious God instead of faith in our ability to understand God. Continue reading →

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Is It Possible to Win by Losing?

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Tim

This Easter season I’ve been haunted by this question, “Is it possible to Win by Losing?” Jesus said in Luke 9:24 “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” This central message of Jesus and His upside down Kingdom wrapped up in the story of Easter is in such direct contradiction to all the other voices inside and outside of us telling us that the way to win is by stepping on anyone who gets in the way, taking more than we need, and never revealing our weakness.

Does winning by losing really work in real life? Continue reading →

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