These are the two books I am working through just now. Both are challenging in their own way and for reasons of change.

‘Vegetarian Cooking for Dummies’ is being read because on Wednesday I will be starting a meatless diet. For some people who know me that may be a hard one to swallow, but it is something I have been seriously considering for some time now. The main reasons are for health and well-being, but  there are also some ethical and environmental reasons for this choice. It was initially only going to be for the period of Lent, which commences on Wednesday, but I’m now moving towards the probability that it will be permanent. It’s a personal thing, so I’m not urging the rest of the family to join me on this particular journey. Also, if you do come and visit us in Elliot Lake, there will still be meat on the menu if you so choose.

‘Pagan Christianity?’ is challenging in the sense that it questions everything that the Christian church does and the origins of these practices. The present group of Christians that we lead/meet with only have five more Sundays in our present location – we close down the old on Sunday 29 March. We had hoped that the first Sunday in our new location would be 12 April (Easter), but that might not happen, due to some hold-ups with material/construction. Nevertheless we will still close down the old on 29 March. We are endeavouring to move towards a more Organic model of church and ‘Pagan Christianity?’ is helping to work out what some of that means.

It’s been a long journey so far, but exciting changes and challenges lie ahead. All prayers would be greatly appreciated!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about life in general, what things are important, what my priorities in life are, and so on. Sometimes it takes something drastic to bring a person to their senses. At other times it is just a persistent nagging over a long time pointing you in a different direction. Also things you read or watch or listen to can be the catalyst for moving on to other things. For me, I think it has been a combination of most of these things.

I really like to read and don’t always take the time to do this. I aim for at least a couple of books a month, which I sometimes achieve and beyond, but at other times I don’t get close. A couple of books that I have recently read have caused me to take inventory. These are ‘The Sacred Way’ by Tony Jones and ‘Serve God, Save the Planet’ by J. Matthew Sleet, MD. Both of these books took me no time to read, as once started I just couldn’t put them down. Check them out for yourselves and you may discover this, too. I also am now being challenged as I slowly read through ‘The Great Giveaway’ by David E. Fitch. It is one that you have to take your time with and is very challenging. I heard the author speak last Saturday at Cultivate Gathering at The Freeway in Hamilton.

I’m not going to go into great detail on any of these books, but I do highly recommend them to you. The Sacred Way has caused me to think about my prayer/devotional life and how it could be a lot better. It has a welath of resources and ideas and has helped me immensely. It has opened up my eyes and heart to many possibilities. Serve God Save the Planet should be a wake up call to Christians in the west, and really is a call to action. The Great Giveaway is also a wake up call to a church that is sick and needs to gt back to what it means to be the body of Christ.

So, the changes? Well, I’m being more deliberate in my Christian walk, setting aside daily time for prayer, meditation, Scripture, instead of cramming it in wherever. I’m back to reading more and enjoying it. I use the treadmil for 20 minutes a day as soon as I get up. I have cut out nearly all of my snacking. I am only drinking Fair Trade coffee and tea (as much as possible anyway). The TV has been banished to the basement and we have cancelled a large percentage of our channels. We are slowly replacing all of the lightbulbs in the house with compact fluoresecents and are all getting into the habit of turning off lights when we leave a room. Since September I have lost about 25lbs and intend to lose as much again in the next 3-4 months.

There are also changes afoot in our church as well. Our church building should be put up for sale in the new year. We have heard of people already interested in buying it. A conditional offer has been drawn up on a building downtown in Elliot Lake all on one level, where we could house all our ministries under one roof. Even if this offer does not go through, we will still step out in faith and sell the old one. We have been here for over six years and what is taking place is having very little effect on the community, so it is time to kill off that and to move forward. Our DC is recommending us to stay on and that is what we would really like to do, in order to follow through on what God is calling us to do.

Another project we have been involved in for the past few months, with our friends Jeff and Ginny, is the setting up of a 24/7 prayer room for our community. This is ready to go and we are hoping for an official launch on December 1. We have set up a website for this here, but it is still a work in progress.

So, things here are pretty exciting just now and we get busier as we approach Christmas. God is good!