Where Life and Faith Meet
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4Ü #297

The is-ness of was

11 October 2007

WASSUP - How to get over it

So our nation goes into a state of grief as we mourn the loss of a Rugby game.

The best team in the world.

The best plan and millions of dollars to see it through!

How to get over it ...

Try the following steps. Take one at a time. If it does not work try the next step.

  1. Deny that it ever happened. This is just a bad dream that we will some day wake up from (maybe in four years time).
  2. Find an excuse. Blame the ref or the French.
  3. Get angry. Throw a pity party.
  4. Revenge. Someone has to pay. Blood sacrifice - someone needs to get fired!
  5. Get real. It's only a game!
  6. Get perspective. Go and visit someone who has just received news that they have six weeks to live.

If none of these work you may need professional help.

Andrew

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INSIGHT OUT - The Is-ness of was

There is a meeting place of past and present. The past never remains in the past. It is - present.

Take a memory from your past. As soon as you connect with that memory it no longer "was" , it is. When you experience the "is-ness of was" time is suspended and "was" becomes the present.

This concept is very helpful for an understanding and experiencing faith. The historical Jesus "was and is".

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Heb 13:8

This idea should keep you chewing for a day or two!

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OUTSIGHT IN - A new diet

Sometimes it takes an outside view to see inside. That's the value in spending some time in another culture. In my recent travels in Malaysia and Myanmar I spent a lot of time eating; a very different experience. It wasn't so much that the food was different but the way the food was eaten made me question some of our cultural values. In New Zealand we primarily eat in our own homes with our nuclear family (if we can manage to all coordinate our eating times). As I travelled, I experienced eating in community, never alone always with others.

Try a new diet.

It's not what you eat but how you eat that really matters.

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SEE YA SUNDAY - Taming the tongue

This week we continue in our series on the Book of James 3:1-12 "An Integrated life"

If you've ever suffered from the human form of "foot in mouth" disease, then this Sunday is for you.

"Taming the tongue" offers an understanding of just how powerful your words are and practical down to earth advice on how to get your foot out of your mouth.

8.30 & 10.30 - Taming the tongue with Matt Chapman

CANVAS this week in the foyer at 6.30pm.

Can't wait ... see ya Sunday

Thanks for this time to chat.

Andrew
St Columba
Where Life and Faith Meet
andrew.norton@stcolumba.org.nz

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It's free but don't steal

If this is of help to others, you are welcome to forward it. This e-mail letter is 97% original - 3% cut and paste & 100% fat free. 4U is copyright to Andrew Norton. That means you can't cut and paste it and call it your own (that's stealing). I'm happy for it to be used but please refer to the author.

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LAST WORD - Silent about things that matter

Our lives begin to end that day we become silent about the things that matter.

Martin Luther King Jr


© 2008, St Columba Presbyterian Church, Auckland