President Obama certainly has a sense of Occasion!!

Inspired eulogy!!

Brad Paisley Classic

Still love this song...

"Set Fire to the Rain" Adele live at Albert Hall

Just the ideal Thursday morning soundtrack!!
New album this year...

"This time of Year"!!

   It's fair to say I can't stand this time of year!! It's cold this year. I spend weeks just on the edge of an tiredness induced sore throat [just the normal tiredness of life]. I don't get the exercise I need as it feels like that will just crash me over the edge of a throat bug or general illness. Work is too busy and although it's within my grip to simply organise and take a week off it's not quite that simple with the schedule of events that are beyond my control but within my brief. I do try to change the one thing under my control... getting to bed earlier... but that doesn't mean getting to sleep earlier.
   Hey that aside I'm generally doing OK... I just need the leg stretching swims or rides on the bike to feel the deprivation of counting kilojoules is worth it!! These are the times I miss the 4 or 5pm "knock off time" bell which never chimes in a ministry vocation. I haven't had that experience since 1986. Instead you need your own self disciplined structures for time out, while it's hard to switch your brain off... hence looking forward to a fun night of combined youth tonight and a brief time at Wanderers tomorrow before heading to watch QLD try to spoil NSW party in the Super 15 rung union in Sydney!!
   Lastly, it must sometimes be pure bliss to go through life not giving a toss what people think of what you say or how they respond, to not really listen to what's been said but just go with face value. Actually giving a damn is exhausting... so today I sit in a cafe, having a small breakfast, two coffees and writing emails, notes, doing work on the Mac and occasionally stopping to read the papers in 'introvert' heaven. This cafe [name undisclosed] is not over popular in the daytime and is quite spacious and the staff just check in and leave you be. It's just like a less popular swimming pool that you want to have lanes free but might have to close if more people don't patronise it!! Keep turning up for lunch people!!! It has water view and a cosy corner to do 2-3 hours work in the warmth. Ah, the serenity!! Next I just need to make requests on the "musak" and all will be right with the world!!

OK, rant over... happy now... just needed to remind myself of the bits of that I make choices about and that this job is brilliant considering I can choose to work in this way!! I will get to a movie next week, something ridiculous, then Origin at the Pub, three days of exercise and a 'Tall Tales' night at rugby... all good!!

   In the middle of this I'm trying to discern my future work beyond 2015 and need to carve out time today to do some 'intuiting'... not even a word I know!! It's all about the questions!!

   On the other hand I played a very small role [genuinely] in the design and early work on daughter number two's school project these last 2 weeks!! Taken in today for presentation with documents and balsa wood model!! She was very excited and took a one page outline, a drawing on 4 pages, internet research and a two sided collage of work photos of the project in progress!! Thank God for hot glue guns!!

"LIFEgig" a brilliantly simple thing done well!!

I hope this soundcloud link is still working if you're reading here...
thanks for the upload Jill Emberson!!

   I so often find myself listening to 'old man radio' 1233ABC in Newcastle and stories of community, life, characters and spaces that we seem incapable of dreaming into being in too many of our church communities. To be fair the world shifted the goal posts in a 1 in 500 years way and we are just taking our own damn time to work it all out. Before people charge off and organise these in the back courtyard at church, listen to the learnings, the ethos and the kairos of this story... Listen to how this is 'not' church and see if you can't learn what's here to learn without pirating the idea to a different cause!!

It reminds me:
- people in neighbourhoods will respond to genuine community
- the inherent values here are crucial to how it works organically [right down to cloth serviettes]
- it isn't church but is it surprising it involves 'the work of the people' and intentional story
- it both inspires and terrifies me
- to resist the temptation to run a pale version but to stay tuned into how the values could be lived out in another community or communities
- share the story so people are similarly inspired/challenged

   For those wondering, the backyard gig is in Tighes Hill. Tighes Hill, Maryville and Islington in Newcastle are very much BHP suburbs. A background as working class areas on the edges of the imposing Steelworks Plant at the bottom of the hill. They are nestled between the industry and the inner city. The area is seeing renovation, change and many people moving into affordably rebuilt or renovated property. Through art, endeavour, community, schools, refugee welcome movements and a sense that the area can be a hub of creativity, there are a few different sign of life lived differently in an otherwise still struggling area.
   Welcome BBQs, revitalised parks, waterway, cycleway, community gatherings at Pinkerton Furniture, craft beer pubs, music, art etc are all breaking out in different ways in the area... that's part of the LIFEgig context for sure.

Shake It Off/Shake It Out Mash