I seem to have a lot on my mind these days so I thought I would start to share them here on a more regular basis. This morning I was reading some bathroom material, which in our house is Popular Mechanics and found the following quote from an article about building your own blimp (I'm telling you, you never know what we are up to at our acreage). Here's the quote:
"Perceiving the world from above is a quieting sensation. Normally, quiet has to do with hearing. The other kind of quieting comes from a change of perspective." Brian Boland, hot-air-blimp inventor
I wonder if Brian Boland will ever "google" himself and come across our blog? Hi Brian. I find this quote interesting on so many levels. Sometimes I find myself so caught up in what is going on around me, that I need the quieting that comes from a change of perspective. There is peace in that... perceiving the world from above.
Another point of interest from the article is that Boland uses beer as weight for his blimp because he says they are just the right weight and "you never know when you'll need a beer."
Showing posts with label Jackie's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jackie's. Show all posts
Monday, September 8, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Church Is....
In preparing to speak at camp this week, I just typed these words and wanted to share them with you here. I am wondering what you think...
"We live in a time of great change, and that poses serious challenges to the church. Our culture is not undergoing some sort of superficial or trendy transition, but changing at a very foundational uprooting sort of level. We worry about structure and language and programs and outreach, but I believe that is just adopting one troubled system for another. That is still outside in. I believe we have to rediscover what it means to pursue the heart of God for the sake of the Kingdom. We need to re-learn how to lay our lives down as a community for the sake of our neighbors. We have to long for the love of God in our lives until it spills out uncontrollably onto everyone around us, not with words, but with action, good deeds, sacrificial kindness, radical inclusion, and courage to go where others won’t go. When we start here, the structure of the church will take care of itself."
I don't know what it means when something I wrote has got me thinking (can anyone say schizophrenia?) but it has.
"We live in a time of great change, and that poses serious challenges to the church. Our culture is not undergoing some sort of superficial or trendy transition, but changing at a very foundational uprooting sort of level. We worry about structure and language and programs and outreach, but I believe that is just adopting one troubled system for another. That is still outside in. I believe we have to rediscover what it means to pursue the heart of God for the sake of the Kingdom. We need to re-learn how to lay our lives down as a community for the sake of our neighbors. We have to long for the love of God in our lives until it spills out uncontrollably onto everyone around us, not with words, but with action, good deeds, sacrificial kindness, radical inclusion, and courage to go where others won’t go. When we start here, the structure of the church will take care of itself."
I don't know what it means when something I wrote has got me thinking (can anyone say schizophrenia?) but it has.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Solitude - The Furnace of Transformation
This week at ROC we talked about hearing the voice of God (John 10:1-10). I wanted to share some excerpts from Henri Nouwen's book The Way of the Heart that have really challenged me in this area.
"Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self... Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter - the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self."
"In order to understand the meaning of solitude, we must first unmask the ways in which the idea of solitude has been distorted by our world. We say to each other that we need some solitude in our lives. What we really are thinking of, however, is a time and a place for ourselves in which we are not bothered by other people, can think our own thoughts, express our own complaints, and do our own thing, whatever it may be. For us, solitude most often means privacy. We have come to the dubious conviction that we all have a right to privacy. Solitude thus becomes like a spiritual property for which we can compete on the free market of spiritual goods. But there is more. We also think of solitude as a station where we can recharge our batteries, or as the corner of the boxing ring where our wounds are oiled, our muscles massaged, and our courage restored by fitting slogans. In short, we think of solitude as a place where we gather new strength to continue the ongoing competition in life."
"In solitude [the place of conversion] I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me - naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken - nothing. It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something."
"We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone. Our primary task in solitude, therefore, is not to pay undue attention to the many faces which assail us, but to keep the eyes of our mind and heart on him who is our divine savior. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a single-minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature. As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, we can slowly let our compulsions melt away and begin to experience the freedom of the children of God. And then we can look back with a smile and realize that we aren't even angry or greedy and more." [Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, 1981]
I used to think of "quiet time" as a very busy time, doing lots of bible reading and then praying through an extensive list of prayer requests. I would leave quiet time relieved that I had done something I had been thinking of doing for quite awhile, but not rested and definitely not transformed.
I love these words from Henri Nouwen though. By the time I had read this book, I was already experiencing a transformation in the way I came to time with God. I was listening more, I was meditating slowly, thoughtfully and prayerfully on scripture, and I was resting. Henri challenged me to go further into understanding this time as a time to lay at his feet with no props or accolades, and simply to cry out to be made more like Him. There is something about going to that place where we are stripped and honest and ugly, and discovering love in the truest sense from the source Himself. It's only in this place of broken humility that true transformation happens. I have seen it in my life over and over and over. When I offer to Him exactly who I am, all my flaws and fears and vices, He is faithful to breathe life, bring freedom and change me in such a way that clearly He gets all the glory because it is so beyond me.
Do we trust the furnace of transformation, or do we think we need to hold onto all the things that keep us entering the place of the great struggle and the great encounter? Do we hear the voice of Jesus and follow? By trusting his voice, and entering the furnace of transformation, we encounter our salvation.
"Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self... Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter - the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the loving God who offers himself as the substance of the new self."
"In order to understand the meaning of solitude, we must first unmask the ways in which the idea of solitude has been distorted by our world. We say to each other that we need some solitude in our lives. What we really are thinking of, however, is a time and a place for ourselves in which we are not bothered by other people, can think our own thoughts, express our own complaints, and do our own thing, whatever it may be. For us, solitude most often means privacy. We have come to the dubious conviction that we all have a right to privacy. Solitude thus becomes like a spiritual property for which we can compete on the free market of spiritual goods. But there is more. We also think of solitude as a station where we can recharge our batteries, or as the corner of the boxing ring where our wounds are oiled, our muscles massaged, and our courage restored by fitting slogans. In short, we think of solitude as a place where we gather new strength to continue the ongoing competition in life."
"In solitude [the place of conversion] I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me - naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken - nothing. It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something."
"We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone. Our primary task in solitude, therefore, is not to pay undue attention to the many faces which assail us, but to keep the eyes of our mind and heart on him who is our divine savior. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a single-minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature. As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, we can slowly let our compulsions melt away and begin to experience the freedom of the children of God. And then we can look back with a smile and realize that we aren't even angry or greedy and more." [Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, 1981]
I used to think of "quiet time" as a very busy time, doing lots of bible reading and then praying through an extensive list of prayer requests. I would leave quiet time relieved that I had done something I had been thinking of doing for quite awhile, but not rested and definitely not transformed.
I love these words from Henri Nouwen though. By the time I had read this book, I was already experiencing a transformation in the way I came to time with God. I was listening more, I was meditating slowly, thoughtfully and prayerfully on scripture, and I was resting. Henri challenged me to go further into understanding this time as a time to lay at his feet with no props or accolades, and simply to cry out to be made more like Him. There is something about going to that place where we are stripped and honest and ugly, and discovering love in the truest sense from the source Himself. It's only in this place of broken humility that true transformation happens. I have seen it in my life over and over and over. When I offer to Him exactly who I am, all my flaws and fears and vices, He is faithful to breathe life, bring freedom and change me in such a way that clearly He gets all the glory because it is so beyond me.
Do we trust the furnace of transformation, or do we think we need to hold onto all the things that keep us entering the place of the great struggle and the great encounter? Do we hear the voice of Jesus and follow? By trusting his voice, and entering the furnace of transformation, we encounter our salvation.
Dialogues in Spirituality April 24th!!
Hey everyone... I just wanted to give you a heads up so you can plan ahead. Dialogues in Spirituality on April 24th will be at the Ludke acreage as a farewell to the college students as they part ways for the summer months. We will cook up some hamburgers and have some snacks and have our discussion time so be here around 7 p.m. If you need directions to our place, email me (Jackie) at ludke@sasktel.net. Hope to see you then!!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Dialogues in Spirituality
It is a dialogues in spirituality week so we will be meeting at Bobby's Place this Thursday, January 31st at 7:00 p.m. See you then!!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
See Me
by jackie ludke
I’m here, do you see me?
a friend of the curb
sleeping in vomit and piss
all choices are gone and
being is digested by despair.
disgusting and wretched
believe me that’s me.
the mother of three
at the end of her rope
who yells and screams
and pushes and slaps
and despises her own reflection.
look again, that’s me too.
alone at the bar
perched deliberately and just right
with cleavage and legs
that cry out for tonight.
longing to spread her legs
and fill her needs.
meet me.
the man devoured by work and greed
with an 8 o’clock drink in his hand
and a family cowering in the corner
looking at me.
innocence alone, hungry and hurt
desperate for a morsel of hope.
those eyes are mine.
the womb of guilt
shrouded by fear and self doubt
birthless breath
shameful birth
morality aside
reality abides
i’m more than the choices I’ve made
do you see me or the history I hide?
here weakness is death
and numbers are names
what’s the worth of a soul
in a merciless pit?
do you see scars of vengeance
or marks of deliverance
or the one who once was
and might have been?
you’re not allowed in here,
but do you see me?
the anger and hate that wells up unrestrained
the one who hurts first to avoid the pain
the weapons of choice are many to choose
the blood that spills is mine too.
I’m here do you see me?
loving these means loving me.
I’m here, do you see me?
a friend of the curb
sleeping in vomit and piss
all choices are gone and
being is digested by despair.
disgusting and wretched
believe me that’s me.
the mother of three
at the end of her rope
who yells and screams
and pushes and slaps
and despises her own reflection.
look again, that’s me too.
alone at the bar
perched deliberately and just right
with cleavage and legs
that cry out for tonight.
longing to spread her legs
and fill her needs.
meet me.
the man devoured by work and greed
with an 8 o’clock drink in his hand
and a family cowering in the corner
looking at me.
innocence alone, hungry and hurt
desperate for a morsel of hope.
those eyes are mine.
the womb of guilt
shrouded by fear and self doubt
birthless breath
shameful birth
morality aside
reality abides
i’m more than the choices I’ve made
do you see me or the history I hide?
here weakness is death
and numbers are names
what’s the worth of a soul
in a merciless pit?
do you see scars of vengeance
or marks of deliverance
or the one who once was
and might have been?
you’re not allowed in here,
but do you see me?
the anger and hate that wells up unrestrained
the one who hurts first to avoid the pain
the weapons of choice are many to choose
the blood that spills is mine too.
I’m here do you see me?
loving these means loving me.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
St. Aidan says "Thanks"
Sue Bornowsky sent an email this week saying a big "Thanks" to all those who came out to help with their renovation last weekend. She said it was a great encouragement to the congregation that another church would come and help with their renovation. Warden Arlene made an announcement about it the next morning at their worship service, and they have a number of volunteers who would like to provide lunch for us when we come again. I'll let you know once we have a date set for that, and I look forward to more dungeon work and getting to know our Anglican neighbors a little more.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Missional Community
Lately I have been surfing the web researching the idea of missional community for our talk times at House of ROC and I came across a really good article that I thought I would share here. It is a good summary of what we are talking about in light of House of ROC's future. Here is some of what it says:
"With this view, “mission” shifts from naming a function of the church to describing its essential nature.[1] In a missional church, the church IS mission rather than does mission as a program or activity of the larger life of the church. The church’s nature is to show the world what it looks like when a community of people live under the reign of God in every aspect of daily life."
And, in light of the talk last Saturday about needing a new framing story:
"Rather than embodying, demonstrating and announcing a new way of being human under God’s reign, the modern church, in general, has been domesticated by American culture. The task of the missional community is to explore and rediscover God’s countercultural call to represent the reign of God in our emerging post-modern society."
Read the entire article here.
It seems to me that much of what is discussed in the article, House of ROC endorses either in word and deed, or at least in word. What do you think? What are the things discussed here that excite you, and what do you struggle with?
"With this view, “mission” shifts from naming a function of the church to describing its essential nature.[1] In a missional church, the church IS mission rather than does mission as a program or activity of the larger life of the church. The church’s nature is to show the world what it looks like when a community of people live under the reign of God in every aspect of daily life."
And, in light of the talk last Saturday about needing a new framing story:
"Rather than embodying, demonstrating and announcing a new way of being human under God’s reign, the modern church, in general, has been domesticated by American culture. The task of the missional community is to explore and rediscover God’s countercultural call to represent the reign of God in our emerging post-modern society."
Read the entire article here.
It seems to me that much of what is discussed in the article, House of ROC endorses either in word and deed, or at least in word. What do you think? What are the things discussed here that excite you, and what do you struggle with?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Consumerism
I have been reading a book called The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch and there is a section on consumerism that has got me thinking. Just after I read this section, I saw a t-shirt in Montreal that said "Consumerism is the new religion". It was $35 so I didn't buy it and I didn't have my camera so I didn't take a picture... but it was a cool shirt. So here is a quote to get you thinking. There is a House of Roc talk about this coming soon to a House of Roc near you. Here's a start:
"I have come to the conclusion that for we who live in the Western world, the major challenge to the viability of Christianity is not Buddhism, with all its philosophical appeal to the Western mind, nor is it Islam, with all the challenge that it poses to Western culture. It is not the New Age that poses such a threat; in fact, because there is a genuine search going on in new religious movements, it can actually be an asset to we who are willing to share the faith amidst the search. All these are challenges to us, no doubt, but I have come to believe that the major threat to the viability of our faith is that of consumerism. This is a far more heinous and insidious challenge to the gospel, because in so many ways it infects each and every one of us."
I have been challenged over the last few years to look at the ways that I have consumed religion, ways that I have looked for it to serve me and meet my needs, catering to my own likes and dislikes, but the real conviction comes in the every deepening realization of how pervasive this mentality is not only in our culture, but in our churches. It is maybe the greatest source of discouragement for me. I don't know how we even begin to challenge change in this area, but I know it has to start with me.
"I have come to the conclusion that for we who live in the Western world, the major challenge to the viability of Christianity is not Buddhism, with all its philosophical appeal to the Western mind, nor is it Islam, with all the challenge that it poses to Western culture. It is not the New Age that poses such a threat; in fact, because there is a genuine search going on in new religious movements, it can actually be an asset to we who are willing to share the faith amidst the search. All these are challenges to us, no doubt, but I have come to believe that the major threat to the viability of our faith is that of consumerism. This is a far more heinous and insidious challenge to the gospel, because in so many ways it infects each and every one of us."
I have been challenged over the last few years to look at the ways that I have consumed religion, ways that I have looked for it to serve me and meet my needs, catering to my own likes and dislikes, but the real conviction comes in the every deepening realization of how pervasive this mentality is not only in our culture, but in our churches. It is maybe the greatest source of discouragement for me. I don't know how we even begin to challenge change in this area, but I know it has to start with me.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Welcome to House of Roc blog
Hi everyone. It is my desire with this blog to create a community blog where people from our community of faith can share thoughts and ideas. Not sure yet how it will work, but I'm working on it.
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