4Ü #202
Politically incorrect
22 September 2005
- WASSUP - Politically incorrect
- INSIGHT OUT - From the beginning
- OUTSIGHT IN - Hard work never killed anyone. Yeah right!
- SEE YA SUNDAY - Right form the start
- LAST WORD - As you drive to work
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WASSUP - Politically incorrect
Now that the election is over, it is my pleasure to be politically incorrect
God is green - care for creation is a very old idea
God is red - the lord giveth and the tax man taketh away
God is blue - did you see God talking to that rich religious man?
God is yellow - back form the dead he came
God is purple - if the cloak fits wear it
God is black and white - the king maker
Who has the divine right to govern?
That's MMP for ya.
Cheers
INSIGHT OUT - From the beginning
There is a falling into life that longs for a new beginning
a cry that shouts, "this is not the way it was meant to be"
a discord that yearns for harmony
a beauty known but not yet seen
a standard by which all standards are set in place.
I see this
in the eye of the storm and in a rainbow of hope
in the horror of war and in the announcement of peace
in injustice and mercy
in poverty and riches.
I feel this
in the grief of death and in the hope of the empty tomb
in the pain of loss and in the joy of being found
in anger and embrace
in fear and faith.
It's a calling
to return to the beginning
to make sense of life that has lost its point;
a reference point from which to navigate the unknown,
that which was from the beginning.
1 John 1:1
OUTSIGHT IN - Hard work never killed any one. Yeah right!
Each year in Japan 10,000 people die from kashori - overwork. To qualify for kashori you must have worked seven straight 16-hour working days or 24 continuous working hours. In New Zealand it is estimated that 40% of senior managers suffer from chronic fatigue.
Believe it or not, God's idea of the Sabbath was not to get people to go to church but to rest! Rest is inbuilt into creation. It is a law of nature, like gravity. If you break it, it will eventually break you.
Yes, I know that there are times for hard work and that's good. But how long can you sustain that? The body, mind and soul requires rest.
How are you at the moment?
When was your last break (2 days) - when is your next one planned?
How would you describe your life's balance?
How many hours sleep are you getting?
How is your exercise?
How many extra kilos are you carrying?
Are you so wound up that you are afraid to unwind?
Do you have the ability to say no?
Do the people closest to you like being around you?
Do you live comfortably in your own skin?
And one final question, who fills in your diary?
The Addictive Organization: Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss, and Perpetuate Sick Organizations.
Anne Wilson Schaef, Diane Fassel
This book is an all time must read. I must however give you a warning. You and the organization in which you work, may possibly be sick.
SEE YA SUNDAY - Right from the start
This Sunday morning - 8.30am & 10.30am: Right from the start
Part one in a series on 1 John - Real life / Real faith
Can I ask you a straight question?
Thanks, I will anyway.
Is your life and faith really working for you?
Over the next few weeks we will be exploring that question in a series of messages based on the book of 1 John.
You'll learn ...
- How to spot a phoney
- How to walk the talk
- How to win in the midst of a battle
- How to really love
Bread & Wine - 9.45am: Weekly Communion
The Ride - 5.30pm: It's a post-modern world - Finding your style of community - Tina Tuaiti
Thanks for this time to chat.
Andrew
St Columba
Where Life and Faith Meet
andrew.norton@stcolumba.org.nz
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LAST WORD - As you drive to work
"You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements"
Norman Douglas 1868 -1952