Archive for April 25th, 2009
I noticed Elysia and Gareth’s favorite part as we’ve been doing FAITH 5 for quite a while (maybe 2 years?) is the part where we bless each other as we hook our little fingers, and give each other a great hug.
Okay, I must admit. It’s one of my favorite parts too.
The practice of sharing of Highs and Lows also has been a wonderful way of introducing a more reflective way of reviewing the day. After sharing a particular episode of high or low, at times I can’t help but probe further to find out why one event was high or low.
I’m glad our kids can learn this simple practice of Examen adapted for today. It also connects with the emphasis on wisdom from our own cultural heritage too in the light of an information overload society.
We’re still working on the God’s Word piece. Sometimes we sing a song. I recall Elysia and Gareth singing “He is Lord” inclusive of actions (which was part of their Easter presentation) last week. Tonight, since I was using a candle it was a little dark, so I told them my own parable of 2 people defeating a monster by planting some flowers and vegetables which the monster would fall asleep after eating. You can guess the moral of that parable yourself. 
Prayer time was short tonight. More like a quick thank you to God.
And then the big hug.
I think the day I dropped the idea of seeing church merely as a building and and starting from the point of view that’s church is the people, then it’s not hard to see the home as an expression of the church reality in some way. The church is also an “event” in a small way as people and in our case the family comes together with God at the center – reordering our thoughts, feelings and the totality of our lives.
FAITH 5 is a simple combo of 5 practices (which all have ancient roots) which serves as my favorite to make that connection – (1) Between people and event around God with us and one another, (2) Between church as the community of Christ-followers gathered like tomorrow morning on Sunday, and church as individuals and families scattered at homes which is the rest of the week.
Give it a try . . .
As a bonus, check out this discussion with Rev. Victor Belton and teacher Rachel Vrudny with Rich Melheim following the FAITH 5 conference in Decatur, GA.
THE CLASSIC DEFINITION of humility offered by Teresa of Ávila is to walk in the truth of who we are. This means accepting our weaknesses and our limitations as gifts of God as well as our strengths and talents. Given that definition, what does walking in the truth mean for you? How can you regard yourself as God regards you? How can you become more grateful for the way God has created you — in light of both your strengths and weaknesses? Meditate on these words and let them give you the courage to fulfill your calling as a minister of the new covenant. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
- Meeting God in Scripture: Entering the New Testament (via Walking in the Truth)
A lot of the our inner tensions and frustrations stems from the fact that we find it hard to accept ourselves. In our cultural context, especially in one that’s less affirming, sometimes we feel guilty for even appreciating our strengths.
Teresa of Avila’s definition of humility is good stuff.
to walk in the truth of who we are.
Nothing more. Nothing less. The more we are able to do that for ourselves, the more we are able to offer that kind of space to others. So often, we’re focused on other people’s issues, and get uptight on why they are or are not truthful, the fact is this will always be the case whether we are stressed out or disappointed. It won’t change the fact that it’s more preferable to hide behind the safety of a mask.
But when we start even in small ways an honest assessment of ourselves, and if possible through the eyes of God – whether at our best, or worst, as well as that which we are growing , and other aspects which are stagnant, it’s a better place to start.
Good for meeting ourselves, definitely the place to meet God, and surely others would find it safe to meet us too.
My dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah.
- 1 John 3:7, THE MESSAGE
Analyze a Top Blog in Your Niche [Day 4: 31DBBB]
watching, listening and observing . . . so often, we’re in a hurry to make changes. Pause is good, a pause with fresh perspective is better. Excellent warnings below:
1. Don’t become Obsessed with what other Bloggers are Doing
A trap some bloggers fall into is spending so much time watching their ‘competitors’ that they spend less time actually building something of value of their own. This analysis is useful to do every now and again – but don’t let it become something that you do at the expense of other core activities on your own blog.2. Don’t Copy – Be Unique
Another trap I see some bloggers doing is virtually replicating every aspect of another blog. While there’s a lot we can learn from others and lessons we can take from what others are doing – if you simply copy everything another blog does you don’t differentiate yourself and give potential readers no real reason to read you instead of others.
21 Ways to Write Posts that Are Guaranteed to Grow Your Blog
I haven’t really done no.6. much. should I? Two links already from Problogger today (The rest is via him anyway. Thanks!)
21 Tips to Earn Links and Tweets to Your Blog Post
Interesting to note my Chinese name Ming (?) can mean Tweet! I’m working on #5. The highlight on Ernest Hemingway once famously told F. Scott Fitzgerald got my attention:
I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.
10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments
Very helpful. I didn’t leave a comment but I think there will be a trackback. So, that’s like commenting right?
43 Web Design Mistakes You Should Avoid
Agree with the following or the points made me think.
2. Make the content scannable: this is the Internet, not a book, so forget large blocks of text. Probably I will be visiting your site while I work on other stuff so make sure that I can scan through the entire content. Bullet points, headers, subheaders, lists. Anything that will help the reader filter what he is looking for.
9. Do not overuse Flash: apart from increasing the load time of your website, excessive usage of Flash might also annoy the visitors. Use it only if you must offer features that are not supported by static pages.
10. Do not play music: on the early years of the Internet web developers always tried to successfully integrate music into websites. Guess what, they failed miserably. Do not use music, period.
24. Do not blend advertising inside the content: blending advertising like Adsense units inside your content might increase your click-through rate on the short term. Over the long run, however, this will reduce your readership base. An annoyed visitor is a lost visitor.
34. Do not use animated GIFs: unless you have advertising banners that require animation, avoid animated GIFs. They make a site look unprofessional and detract the attention from the content.