Love Fiercely

I love ASBOJESUS - these guys crack me up

2009-11-16T22:58:00.002-06:00

Filed under: Uncategorized — jonbirch @ 11:21 pm

Let's Talk Post-Modernism and the Emergent Church...

2009-11-13T19:21:00.001-06:00

OK, i'll say it..... I AM A DECONSTRUCTIONIST ........ i want to deconstruct all the hoopla around churcheeeeanity.... and introduce people to JESUS...... ..... and just start there... and let Holy Spirit do the job of conviction in hearts. Is this too simplistic.... ?
Perhaps......... but i think we've made the Gospel way to complicated . I'm glad these guys are at least looking at it..... when the guy asks "were they bored with God? What brought this about?" It's a fair question.... but i guess for me, i've gotten bored with church with all it's propaganda .... i do think that within context of at least Western Culture, it's gotten too easy to just "go to church" and think "this is what it's all about to be a christian."- i like edge walking and the saltiness of the dialogue. just my thoughts here.

Neil McSweeney: Long Way Round @ Plug, Sheffield.

2009-11-08T08:23:00.001-06:00

I do love this mans music... rich, deep, thought provoking and a gut punch! NICELY DONE NEIL!!!!!!!!! Tipping my hat across the pond to ya!

Doctor Who: Dreamland First Clip! - Dreamland Online Blog

2009-11-03T20:15:00.001-06:00

Ok, admittedly, i've been a Dr. Who fan since i was a kid... i would have loved the cartoon version of it..... but hey "your never to late to have a happy childhood" (tom robins for those that don't know that quote)
Gotta say, i'm chuckling on the american accents and the Area 51 reference ... seems to be a lot of that in reference lately.
I'm home today with a cold or flu, not sure what, just feel like general crap- so i'm distracting my cough with my computer. Seems if i take a vow of silence, my throat doesn't scream, my lungs aren't burning and i'm not coughing my head off. - yes, my husband KNOWS i'm sick if i don't say a bloody word! Some of my friends that are reading this - will be laughing at that thought. (so i sneeze in your general direction for doing so!)

2009-10-28T22:43:00.001-05:00

Thought this was worth the ponder, since i did a piece on Traveling Sukkah as Kingdom bringers - kinda cool.. The magazine is called Tablet

In advance of Sukkot, we reached out to architects and designers and asked for contemporary reimaginings of the sukkah. Susan Shender first came to our attention as the creator of the SukkahSoul sukkah, a delicate yet sturdy construction inspired, in part, by the sefirot of kabbalah. In this sketch, she offers a sukkah held together by its inhabitants. She explains:

After receiving your request, I found myself thinking about it constantly. What I came up with surprised me. It’s sort of a lofty idea. But how do I show that graphically? While driving to synagogue, I heard an NPR piece about graphic novels and thought that that was a good method to use. My response involves the intersection of a quote from Deuteronomy, the layout of a page of Talmud, and the spirit of a graphic novel. Now, when dealing with conceptual ideas, reality is not always aligned with the vision. In this case, for instance, it might be tricky to eat in a sukkah when one is the sukkah.

U2 360 - Houston - Your Blue Room

2009-10-18T13:55:00.001-05:00

So here is some more.... yes, we were in outer space for a few hours ....... Houston- "we Don't have a problem!"

U2 - ULTRAVIOLET -Houston Reliant Stadium 14.10.2009

2009-10-18T13:53:00.001-05:00

So this is what i was doing last Wednesday Night... in Houston with Derek and Amy- Yes, it rocked, Yes, we had a blast, - great music, great food, great talks late into the night, -- pondering the universe .. clowns in space, some evangelical ideas with some naked truth... ummm yeah. A lil late night excursion - well 4am counts as last night right. (thanks D!)
Oh, yeah, U2.... back to that again, - loved that microphone. ... old school and it became a swing! - and how did he do that with the lights on the jacket. Actually, there was one point with this black and white light show part, that was such the sound of a battlefield, that if anyone dealt with PTSD issues, they would have been ducking under the seats.- yes, it was the biggest production at a Rock Concert in History, yes, we made sure we were there..... yes, we do Rock.
(there really were a few that i sooooooo wished were there with us.... - Yes Brian and Whitney that means you guys!) - you were sorely missed! But ok - next time we all go see them in Ireland!
xo

Traveling Sukkah

2009-10-10T14:20:00.002-05:00

This might be a picture pun of Selah Sukkot - My dog's name is Selah which means "ponder" and i'm in a "Sukkah"/TENT, that John and Caroline got as a wedding gift. Actually, it's a tent for their dog and we were "testing" it out........ brings being in the "dog house" to camping posh levels.

However it does bring me to some pondering thoughts:

Deuteronomy 16: 13-15

13 “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. 15 Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

It’s been a quiet Sukkot this year. I would have loved to have gone to the “Harvest Festival” @ Morning Star, but with school and work, i guess it was more wishful thinking that practical relevance.

Our dear friend Paul (yes you are sooo dear to us dude), is in Israel, and it’s had my heart longing to stroll along those landscapes. However, G-d’s been having me look at the inner landscapes this week, in an internal Sukkot.

I love the Jewish Feast Days and their meanings as they are vast and layered in texture. Sukkot or AKA “The Feast of Ingathering”/ "Feast of Booths" or "Tents"- is much along the lines of our American Thanksgiving, where people come together and celebrate the Harvest and the transition to the New World.

The reaping of our labor from our “threshing floor” and “wine press” is part of what drew my spirit gaze today.

From an internal landscape perspective, both signify to me, the hard aspects of tilling the ground of our hearts and sifting our “wheat”, what is good, holy and will bring forth more growth in sustenance and the “tares”, that which are worthless, or the products of soulish self. I could “tare” into a soliloquy regarding that aspect, but suffice to say that the tossing part of allowing the winds of grace to blow that away, is more His Heart on the matter than dwelling in that tent of regret. I’d rather focus on the wine and not “whine” on all that.

The wine press of all our grapes of experience, both sour and juicy plump luscious bits, ferment in the spirit and produce a glass or vat that is worth sharing. I’ve never seen G-d waste anything, He’s much more frugal with the aspects of our lives, that we instinctively wish to throw away.

All these things that are either “by His Hand or through His Hand” make up this Harvest of Spirit. Sukkot is considered a Sacred/ solemn celebration, which bares the contrast of what is to be taken serious and the joy of the promise that He will “Bless” the work of our hands in this Kingdom co-laboring.

The solemn aspect that this journey and year has been difficult and the labor strenuous is not something to be simply overlooked, but acknowledged; both sweat and tears reflect the saltiness of our lives, in which, salt brings out the flavor.

We celebrate in that acknowledgement, making the joy more defined and in ways a more sustainable fruit.

I find G-d’s inclusive perspective of whom we share this “Feast” and our “Tent” (family, extended family, “Levite”/ “Worship Artisans”, strangers, the fatherless and the widows) such the extension of His heart.

We tend to so compartmentalize our lives, and in many ways i understand that it’s necessary to function and not go crazy in the day to day. But to look at it from a Kingdom view for a moment, we really are a traveling Sukkah.

The people we are called to share the tent and table of our lives, may or may not have been there for all the labor parts (so grateful to the ones that WERE and ARE there for the perpetual Becoming of who we are in G-d, we couldn’t have walked through some of those Wadi like, experiences without those hearth like hearts), but i guess that’s G-d’s point.

We are daily called to come out of our homes of the day to day, and create a Tent for the ongoing ingathering. I think He uses the Feasts and all that, so we can pause/reflect/ SELAH on the deeper, often relentless, meditation of His Heart.

The “how’s” in all of this seems like a juggling act, with the plates needing to land on the table. Some of us are more theatrical, with our Tent Fabric, creating ongoing focal point installations, where as others are to create the movable kibbutz of family like hubs.

However G-d chooses to create His Tapestry of Tents, the ongoing adventures are still signaled by the Cloud by Day and the Fire by Night. Dwelling with G-d and having Him dwell with us in Emmanuel’s light of Jesus is always the open invitation.

Selah.

How To Set Up A Rain Barrel

2009-10-09T10:42:00.001-05:00

can you tell what i'm thinking about!

John Callahan sings LOST IN THE CITY

2009-10-07T21:14:00.001-05:00

Here is another one i found, a bit of a documentary - but it gives a lil more insight into his life. Gotta love the ART in it all..... very very real. Yeah perhaps that's what i love about him....

John Callahan sings TOUCH ME SOMEPLACE I CAN FEEL

2009-10-07T20:58:00.001-05:00

Ok, so when i first started working in Rehab i learned about John Callahan......... His autobiography is "Don't worry, he won't get far on foot". He's a C5-6 quadriplegic (injury at 21) He's a pretty amazing cartoonist - writers and now has a CD. Brutally honest and funny as hell. He's got a MYSPACE MUSIC page as well. Go Google.

Stimulus and the Moment of Choice

2009-10-07T10:02:00.001-05:00

I love John Paul's stuff - he's one of the best teachers - and his eyes actually sparkle. Got to meet him a few years back hanging with the BBI team. I might be posting some more since he's really got some serious wisdom on things. Enjoy!

Contrasting Sky

2009-10-03T15:22:00.002-05:00

One of my indicators that i've not kept things up - is how many photo's that were still in my camera and not uploaded. So this is one of downtown Austin, that i captured from the 3rd floor Gym window. ( I work at a Rehabilitation Hospital that has some cool views).

It was about 10am- and as you can see, a storm was brewing .... From the North West sky, it was still sunny , yet from the South East, the dark brooding of the storm was cresting. It's shadow caused the reflection of the road against the sky. It looks like a dividing wall in the Spirit of sorts and that's what it feels like atmospherically here.

It's been about a year and a half since we've moved here (May of 08) and this pic would be a good way of describing what it's felt like.

We've pretty much been hosting since we landed, some short stays and some a bit longer. As ever, that is awesome and challenging all at the same time. Sharing our home and our hearts has bottom line, always been a blessing. The Challenging part of it, comes down to the fact that we were (and i guess still are on some levels), in transition.

Part of the reason i haven't done my typical blog posts is that everything has been in a state of Flux per say. Things have come in waves - some busy and some quiet - with a bunch of loose ends.

The house we bought is gradually becoming our own, as we do projects along the way. It would have been nice to have had lots of stuff done in the beginning, but due to finances and time constraints, it's been a slow go. (What i do for a living pays less here and the cost of living is higher) So it's felt more than half done on what we'd like to see happen. I still want to paint the living room area, bedroom and guest room, but haven't had the energy.

It's been the hottest summer in recorded history here and that was pretty harsh. Last summer was the 4th hottest on record and since we moved twice, (once into the rental while we were looking, then again in July when we moved here) i think that affected/effected our energy levels.

It's been a low season energetically in general, almost hibernating like, which i'm not really good at. I know God's working behind the scenes on some matters. Just because things aren't all "bells and whistles", doesn't mean that things aren't happening. It's just seems like it's been a long slow walk up a very dry hill. God's still speaking in it, though more quietly than He has in the past with me.

This Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur i felt a shift in the Spirit. Rosh Hashanah was the first cooler weekend than we have had, the morning was in the 70's and i could feel the breeze on my face. I felt His presence hovering around me in a way i haven't felt in a long while. Four months ago, my Dad died, and grief has been pretty strong. (actually, i think i've been grieving over a lot of things these last 17 months, but that was the proverbial "straw that broke the camels back".) So when i felt His presence i felt my spirit rise up and sigh in relief.

I'm not really sure what this next year holds, but i know His Hand is guiding as ever.

Shalom Ya All-

Swine Flu Paranoia

2009-09-29T07:46:00.002-05:00

Ok, so i've got to say, when my girlfriend sent me this i rolled! Please understand, i know it's serious and all that, but lets get real and pro-active, - Wash Hands a lot, stay 6 feet away from people who are coughing and such, use your lysol spray on door knobs, kitchen and bathroom faucets and Fridge, Air out your house and stay away from places where chances of getting it are higher. (as long as you have that option) I work in a hospital, so i'm using a mask if things are questionable and washing my hands incessantly. More than that, i'm praying over my household to break off any and all sickness and speaking healing and life to all that walk through our door!

Blessings ya all!

Blowing the shofar

2009-09-19T11:54:00.001-05:00

Hey folks........ Happy New Year.... !!!!!!!!!! yeah, i don't tend to go by the Gregorian calendar - Jesus didn't - So ran across this... thought it was a good teaching. Can't wait to see and hear the Lion of Judah blowing it! Blessings and Shalom ya all!!
xoxo cat

John Mark McMillan - Skeleton Bones

2009-09-17T09:59:00.001-05:00

John Mark's got a new video out..... from the new CD... ...
"Peel back our ribs again and Stand Inside of our Chest... we just want to love YOU".........................
Nice one dude...... loved the lighting in the studio - Swaeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
Now get your tukus down to Austin dude and share it! xo cat

Preaching the Gospel in Nicaragua

2009-09-16T21:54:00.001-05:00

Ok here's another taste of what was going on in Nicaragua last 2 weeks ago.... Love it.........
Perhaps i'll post a bit more about Lee at some point... but... this is amazing on so many levels - not just for the preaching... but also how God heals and restores ...... Proud of you Lee.... xo

Entering the Kingdom

2009-09-16T21:50:00.001-05:00

Here is one of my dearest brothers in this crazy Kingdom-
LEE O'HARE......... He went on a missions trip to Nicaragua... Healing and revival .... so glad to see him "back in action"....
Long story there....... but suffice to say.... God is amazing and so is His healing work!

The Jesusita Fire

2009-09-08T22:06:00.002-05:00

Ok so here's the scoop....
The Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara , CA last week caused these two to take shelter together. The fawn is 3 days old and the bobcat about 3 weeks. The fawn came from somewhere in the fire and the bobcat from Carpentaria. They immediately bonded and snuggled together under a desk in the Santa Barbara County Dispatch Office for several hours. Animal Planet is reporting the bobcat kitten was rescued near Arnold Schwarzeneggers ranch, where it was dehydrated and near death.

They rescued the fawn during last weeks wildfire. Although wild animals, especially of separate species, are never placed together due to regulations, in this emergency situation, they had no choice. During the mayhem of the fire, they were forced to put animals anywhere they could, since they had run out of crates large enough for the fawn. The kitten ran to the fawn, and it was instant bonding.

Note the name of the Fire.... Jesusita Fire..... hmmmmmm portents of the Lion laying with the lamb? thought it was worth posting... Amazing what crisis bonds- the most unlikely of sorts. Perhaps we should take notes? Go beyond colour, race, or creed........ just my thoughts on the matter.
Shalom ya all.!!

New year is coming up quickly (hebrew calendar - not gregorian) wonder what it holds.....

A Horse called Shofar.......

2009-09-04T16:39:00.004-05:00

So today i have a guest Blogger- not my usual.. but this is a cool word that my friend got from Jesus- she will be known as Ms. Smith. I'll just post and let ya all get the download.......----------

Sunday I was trying to catch my horse and he kept running away. I could see that he’d been kicked and there was dried blood all the way from his shoulder down to his hoof. All I wanted to do was to catch him, tend to his wound and feed him, but he refused. I’d been pursuing him for at least an hour when he pressed one mare one time too many and she lashed out and kicked him where he’d already been injured. His entire body went rigid and for a moment he looked like he was going to fall over. I could see he was in excruciating pain but there was nothing I could do. I watched helplessly. It still took 10 minutes to catch him after that. He was shaky by the time I got to him. I took him to the creek and bathed his wound and as I washed it God began to speak to me. I want to tend the wounds of my children and feed them, but they disobey and are wounded again and again. All I can do is watch and call to you. My heart is torn every time you are wounded. I weep for you and call you. Come to me and let me tend your wounds and feed you good food.

Today while I was chasing my horse around the pasture God started to speak to me. I was so frustrated and felt helpless. The pasture is huge….there are 16 horses and just when I’d get close to him he’s slip away from me. God began to point out how what Shofar was doing was what we often do. He would watch me…always turning to see where I was, but whenever I got close, he’d turn away. He would hide behind other horses. Very soon they began to get irritated with him and would kick at him and try to bite him. This is what God told me – I pursue you every day and more often than not you turn away from me. You don’t want to give up your ‘freedom’ to come close to me. The closer I try to get to you the more you turn to other Christians to speak to you instead of listening to my voice. After a while those Christians begin to become irritated because they sense your disobedience and don’t want to be a go-between. So you feel rejected and begin to seek like-minded people. You begin to ‘follow the crowd’ whichever way they go, you go, avoiding me. I call after you and you look. You turn and watch for me, but when I get close, you turn away. I look like a fool and people watch you and wonder what kind of God you serve that you can turn away from me so easily. You flirt with me. You make eyes at me, but you don’t want to be intimate. You watch me and want to see what I’m doing and even want to be a part of it, but you don’t want to be touched by me. Until you are ready to submit to me whole-heartedly you will continue to live in confusion and doubt. I am always here waiting for you to turn to me and give yourself to me completely. I will pursue you until you give yourself completely to me or until you die. You are mine and are not risking hell, but you are missing the very best that I have for you. There is so much more revelation, more joy, healing, redemption, miracles to be seen and experienced. The wealth of heaven is yours to have if you will give yourself completely to me. Kiss me with the kisses of your mouth.

After God had spoken to me the man who owns the pasture drove up on his gator and we ran Shofar’s legs off. Again God spoke to me – you feel you get no rest? I will give you no rest as long as you flirt with me. I am a tireless lover. Yes, I have servants who will assist me, who will drive you until you turn to me and submit. They too love you and desire to see you walk in fullness. Don’t run away! There is peace and rest in my arms.

Twitter in Plain English

2009-09-02T10:04:00.001-05:00

Love it.. this is the video version of "the idiots guide to Twitter"

Podcasting in Plain English

2009-09-02T10:01:00.001-05:00

hmmmmmm nicely done.

John Gorka with Kathy Mattea - The Gypsy Life

2009-08-15T19:08:00.001-05:00

Ok, found this one..... so perhaps it's a double portion of some much needed Grace. ....... Paul....... i will be praying........ and love you ........ in it and thru it. xo cat

Gypsy Life- John Gorka

2009-08-15T18:56:00.001-05:00

This is for my brother Paul..... (well dear i've sorta walked this.. .... so while praying for you i heard this song in my spirit..... it's dear to my heart.... and in some ways it's a prayer for you.. and a understanding space.) xo

Guerrilla Worship - Crosby Beach Labyrinth

2009-07-23T07:33:00.001-05:00

My friend Dot posted this on Facebook. (THANKS DOT- you are amazing!) i do love the concept of the Labyrinth. I used to take these walks with my Dad... endless if i put them all together, but they were a WORD Labyrinth of sorts, where he would ask if i knew what a word meant or a verse / WORD meant....
Also this is GUERILLA WORSHIP...... cool concept. check 'em out! Blessings