Another great prayer by Leunig:
"We give thanks for domestic animals. Those creatures who can trust us enough to come close. Those creatures who can trust us enough to be true to themselves.
They approach us from the wild. They approach us from the inner world. They bring beauty and joy, comfort and peace.
For this miracle and for the lesson of this miracle, we give thanks. Amen."
It's Day 37 of the Gratitude Challenge for Lent, what are you grateful for today?
In the first season of Battlestar Galactica (all you fans out there, forgive the simplified description here!), Starbuck is separated from the rest of the ship. If she is not rescued, she will die, but trying to save her will require a massive use of precious resources.
A debate ensues. Is one person worth all that effort? Should time, equipment, and human resources be deployed to go after one missing person when those resources could be used more effectively to continue to care for those already on the ship?
In another version of the same story, a Shepherd leads 99 of his sheep back to safety, only to discover that one is missing.
Is he content with the 99 or does he go after the 1 that is missing?
What is one missing sheep worth?
To Jesus, one missing sheep is worth everything. It is worth coming to earth, living among us, suffering and ultimately dying to save one person.
House Blend is a ministry that seeks to find the 1 that is missing. Our success is not in numbers. We seek to be good stewards of our resources but we not believe that our success should be measured by large crowds or high numbers.
Because we believe that every person deserves to know that they are the beloved child of a loving God we are inspired to do the impractical - while we love the 99, we will seek to consistently go after the one... no matter where that takes us, no matter how long it takes, and no matter what it costs.
One person is worth it.
It's day 36 of the Gratitude Challenge for Lent, what are you grateful for today?
Today I am grateful for two things:
1) The chance to sing "Amazing Grace" with several hundred neighbours at the site where a young man was killed on the weekend.
2) Drums. There is a wisdom that my aboriginal brothers and sisters understand all too well. Sometimes when things are too painful for words, the heartbeat of the drum can carry you along.
It's day 35 of the Gratitude Challenge for Lent, what are you grateful for today?
For today's gratitude challenge post I'd like to suggest you all go check out the pictures of our basement renovation project on our Facebook page and just click through and see the transformation. The past week has been a massive push towards completing the project with the team from Soar Heartland working hard all week long followed by the spectacular efforts of the guys from Lakeview Church in Killarney. We also need to acknowledge our amazing contractors at Renos by James who are willing to work with and right alongside volunteers! Thank you so much everyone!
You don't need to be on Facebook to check out the photos, just click here. While you're there, you can also see the work being done on our 3rd floor here!
It's day 34 of the Gratitude Challenge for Lent, what are you grateful for today?
When you offer to give someone a ride and don’t ask where they are going, interesting things can happen.
I heard downtown, I should have heard, “A karaoke bar in the north end of the city.”
Now I’m more of a coffee bar than a karaoke bar kind of a person, but I have to say that I’m glad I stayed to watch (not sing!).
One of the my most firmly held theological beliefs is that we are not accidents. Each one of us was created by a good and loving God who has a plan and a purpose for our life. Some of us choose to live into that plan, and some of us walk away from it. Based on Jesus’ words in John 10:10b, “I have come that they might have life and life to the full,” I often tell people that they should pay attention to the moments in their lives where they feel most fully alive because it is in those moments that they are also living into God’s plan for their life.
Last night I watched a member of our House Blend community – let’s call himBon Jovi – lean into the person God created him to be. Striding into the bar it was clear that this was a place where “everybody knew his name.” Flipping through the song selections to make his choices and walking confidently to the mic I saw a person who was created to be courageous, confident, and comfortable in front of a crowd of strangers. And when he grabbed the mic and sang those songs like he owned both them and the entire room it was a beautiful thing to see.
“It’s my life, it’s now or never, I’m not gonna live forever. So I just wanna live like I’m alive…” In that moment,Bon Jovi seemed fully alive indeed.
And it was beautiful to see.
It’s day 33 of the Gratitude Challenge for Lent, I’m grateful for karaoke. What are you grateful for?
Follow House Blend on Facebook