Hungry People

Right now I’m pretty hungry. But I guess that’s not really anything compared with the way millions of people living in poverty feel. People in my city, people in the world. Right now there’s serious famine starving Africa in a destructive way.

 

It’s difficult to imagine what we could do to change that, but the truth is we can. People have already jumped onboard to make a difference to the needy. These great and inspiring people work for organisations that see and (try to) fill the needs of the world. No one joins an NGO or not-for-profit for their own gains, these people are paying a great cost so others may live/eat/marry/grow. Spare a thought and a prayer for those people. Maybe you’re one of them, maybe you could be.

So what do we lack? Well that’s where everyone comes in: people are acting to help those in trouble, but their financial resources are not up to the task. You could change the world for real people, make a difference in the lives of our human brothers and sisters. You could be a hero, and all you have to do is click your mouse a few times. Or you could think about how your lifestyle affects those on the other side of the world, think about how you could live your life to give others a better chance. You could be one of those people, living a call to help others.

Change is possible, but it always costs us. Then again, not changing costs us to. You don’t have to take a vow of poverty, but you can think before you buy “Do I need this? Or could I be a hero instead?”

If you want to make a difference right now, do it! I recommend TEAR Australia as a personal favourite. But there’s obviously World Vision, UNICEF and Oxfam and countless others. I thought I’d do a little for sharing what I thought with you, may be you can share it with others. The world is full of problems that you have the ability to solve, be empowered!

Support/Bullying

I’m not quite sure what this cartoon is about, I think it’s about how good it feels to have someone back you up in a situation. But then I got thinking about the little guy, I bet he doesn’t feel real great. Maybe the others went to far, and didn’t take care of him. I guess it’s tricky to balance backing our mates and going overboard.

How to Crucify a Rabbit

Symbols get really messed up and thrown around by the pseudo-religious/secular holidays we keep having. I think the confusion will continue to grow as each invested party (ie, the market and the church) get more forceful and more extreme. I can't help but wonder if we're all just getting more confused.

Who is this Easter Bunny? What's his motives? Why would he give us candy for free? Can we take chocolate from strange bunnies? Is he in cahoots with this Santa figure who lures us in with the promise of free gifts? There's aksi a dead body in this story, did they kill Jesus to keep it a secret? Being God's son they must have figured He knew too much and hired the Judas to silence him. The Tooth fairy probably funded the thirty pieces of silver, he's pretty cashed up. And where are all those teeth going I wonder...

It's hard enough to pass on accurate information let alone all the hype. And now that I've got a daughter the prospect of telling her their's a bunny that lays chocolate eggs seems creepy. In a non-Christian sense even the new-life and fertility symbols of Easter have been forgotten for chocolate and excess. What does a hunt for chocolate eggs really symbolize? Do we really need an excuse to eat chocolate or give each other gifts? I'mlooking forward to focusing on the symbols that matter to me, and stripping away the rest. Easter is about freedom and victory, sacrifice and gain, Hope and rescue. For me, Jesus shows the world a way to find the freedom they've been looking for. I think symbols are important, they inform who we are and what we do. Think about whether your symbols are the ones you want guiding you, and if not, look for the ones that will inspire you.

Some cool links I found: Matt Stone Blog: Easter Fail Godspace: Resurrection Life - Christ or the Easter Bunny

Passover Delight!

As I'm not a Jew, you may think it strange that I'm celebrating 'passover' this year. It came to my attention recently (through this article) that Passover was not just a ceremony with relevance to Jews, but to all of God's people. God said that his people should celebrate it for...well for ever, remembering his mighty acts to bring about freedom, justice and hope for his people.

It appealed to me for a number of reasons - 

1. Easter had always seemed a bit hollow to me. The whole holiday seemed distracted by the fertility symbols that it had inherited from it's historical 'pagan' counterpart. New life is meant to be the theme, but with no real ritual or structure, it sort of felt like we were just trying really hard to think of what had happened on the Cross and what Jesus had done. Don't get me wrong, those images, mesages and themes are strong, but i guess they lost their meaning for me in the consumer hype and repetition without structure.

2. Passover is so interactive, why wouldn't it be awesome to interact with our faith.

3. community is intrinsic to the process and is built by sharing and learning together.

4. There's stacks of food to eat. We eat because we're free!

So I loved it, and tried to interpret the ceremony and the symbols in the light of our new understanding of being God's people as Christians. There was plenty to work with, but I found it a bit difficult to find info on Christian Passover. I'm sad that so many people of God are missing out on this great and wonderful message, with an outstretched arm, God has save his people from bondage!

Don't miss out! Get involved!

Same Old Story

Why is it that I never seem to see the signs before it’s too late? And then I climb back out and brush myself off. It’s not that I want to avoid all the holes, it’s just how can I be falling into them again and again, same as last time.

I guess I’ll have to keep my eye closer on the path, these distractions are annoying. Also, I’ll build a barrier at the edge of the whole. maybe I’ll tell some friends where I ‘m going, and they can watch out for me. Or I could get busy doing something useful, a goal could keep me from wondering. I don’t want to see this hole again.

Listening

In case you don’t know, people only think they care if they’re right, they really only care if they’re heard. What most people need is a damn good listening to.

The Plan

I wrote a list of all the things that I couldn’t control. It was a long and frightening list. I wrote it down and let go of it. While i trust that there’s a more solid plan going on, I also know that sometimes there’s nothing wrong with not having a plan at all.

Rescued

This is a really rough drawing (obviously) that I’d like to re do some time. I like this original though, as it feels true and raw.Its based on 2 Samuel 22:17 “He reached down from heaven and rescued me.He drew me out of deep waters”, and is about rescue. The caller isn’t inert, he’s not just waiting for me, he’s there when I need him most, else I’d never reach him in my own strength.