Man, has it been busy.
Friday: We welcomed a couple from the States who are part of a group who help provide funding for us to be here in Ireland. They are a lovely couple, in their early seventies. They came over for dinner and we had a lovely chat and our hearts connected. (Unfortunately they have fallen sick and at the moment are not feeling well enough to spend too much time away from the hotel. We feel very badly for them. We just took over some novels for them to read and hopefully enjoy.)
Saturday: From morning to early afternoon I helped a friend from the Grace church move to Clontarf. He grew up in Clontarf and now he and his wife are moving back. During the afternoon reviewed and studied my talk for Sunday for the Balbriggan church. Saturday evening we enjoyed family night with our two friends from the States.
Sunday: Loaded up the car with our family and one of our guests (his wife had fallen sick at this point) and headed north 25 minutes to Balbriggan where I spoke and we spent the morning. Returned to Clontarf, dropped the family off, then myself and my friend headed to the pharmacy to see what we could find that might provide some relief for his dear wife. Had a relaxing afternoon for the most part.
Monday: Got up early (5:15 am) & took our friends to the train station for a day tour to the west of Ireland (yes, they were still not feeling the best but didn't want to miss the tour). Returned, got the boys to school. Andrea took off with Aislinn to to the shop to gather some food for the family while I minded Kate. I then had a coffee meeting at our local Jesuit Centre of Spirituality to just enquire about who they are what they do. The afternoon was spent price checking various floor hockey equipment as I'm looking to introduce that to our Clontarf Youth Club when it starts back up in the Autumn.
Also in the afternoon, one of the neighborhood boys broke a bone in his wrist while who jumping on the trampoline with our boys and some of the other neighborhood kids. Ugh. It was quite the incident as he was crying, and while he was crying Aislinn was being given a piggyback from one of the neighbor kids and fell off and hit her mouth on the floor producing blood, all while Kate was also making herself known through the stretching of her vocal chords. O mercy. It was crazy! :)
I also visited the Irish Wheelchair Association which has is HQ in Clontarf. It's quite the facility. Met a few people as I enquired. They have a lot on and it seems to be a fantastic organisation.
In the evening our driving instructor friend "B" came over for an amazing chat and coffee. There was great spiritual discussion. In August the three of us, Andrea, myself, and "B" are going to organise a Park Clean-Up and Picnic inviting personal friends to come along as journey with God together, building community, and serving people. This is very exciting on so many fronts. Time and space doesn't allow me to go into detail.
Today: Got up and used our newly remodeled shower (thanks to our landlords after a leak was discovered), but as I was showering Andrea was in the downstairs sitting room and noticing running water coming down the front wall! Yikes! So, the builders are back and into week three. They're almost family now. :)
Andrea had lunch with "V", while I minded the girls. "V" is a friend who had been coming to the Discussion Group. They had a lovely chat and good spiritual discussion. In the afternoon Andrea took the kids to the young boy's house who had broken his wrist. They took a couple self-made cards and some chocolate in hopes of cheering him up. Our neighbor friend, whom earlier in the week had asked Andrea for a Bible, went along as well. This friend shared with Andrea that she has been reading it. She shared she decided to start at the beginning and can't put it down. While they were out I took our two friends (still not feeling the best but wanted to get out) into Dublin city centre for a few hours.
Now, here I sit, outside in our back garden. There's a coolness in the air and I'm enjoying the amazing clear blue skies. I refuse to read over what I have just written for fear of complete exhaustion remembering the busyness, but also the amazing front row seats to God, we've experienced these past several days.
Today while studying for this Sunday's talk with the Balbriggan church Andrea and a friend were out walking. When they returned I quickly realised they were deep in spiritual conversation. Andrea was sharing in detail the factual reasons for the hope God has given her. It was brilliant. Our friend was listening with great intensity and asking insightful questions. As the conversation ended she asked to have a Bible for she wanted to read it for herself. She said she's heard some of the Bible stories but never read it herself. Andrea encouraged her to begin in the gospel of John. Knowing this friend, who is an avid reader, we're confident she will read it. She also asked if we could purchase a couple Bibles for her two boys who are great pals with our Grant and Luke. We're really excited for our friend as she seems to understand and want the hope God offers.
Last night I attended a meeting with the volunteers of the Clontarf Youth Club. There are seven in total, but only six were able to attend. It was simply to get some planning into motion for the coming year of the club due to begin in September. Afterward five us went to a local restaurant for a bite to eat and a chat. It was a good experience hearing sharing stories and learning more of Irish culture. We didn't leave til around 11:30 p.m. We were there for nearly two hours just chatting, laughing, sharing life.
Volunteering in one's local community is well-respected here as well as noticed. It has quickly gained us respect and trust and allowed us to gain many new friends. There is truly a spiritual purpose to this volunteering as well. God said once, "And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” God placed His people in a city that was not their home, and as He did He told them to get into the life of the city for the purpose of sharing His hope knowing that it is His hope that truly changes cities from the inside out. Pretty obvious to see the connection between God's words and us. We long to see our city changed from the inside out one person at a time and volunteering is a great connecting point for sharing that inside-out hope.
There are some other ideas I'm toying with as well in relation to volunteering in our community. One idea in particular I belive could put us further into the heart of our community, tangibly helping people while spreading the message of hope people so desperately need and long for. More on that later as things develop.
Tomorrow later afternoon I'm heading over to a friends house, a fellow school dad, to deliver some soup Andrea made for their family. His wife is recovering in hospital after having surgery yesterday. He's a good friend and hope this tangible act of kindness of being the tangible church will encourage them in some way.
Completely shift gears now, a big shift. As I continue to engage in conversation with various people there is a question that I truly feel needs great clarification for there is great confusion around it. The question is this, "WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?" How would you define it? What would be your reason for your answer? Just something to think about with me on this pilgrim road.
This morning I had coffee with an Irish man who lives here in Clontarf who has been involved in the start up of a couple churches over the past twenty years or so. He shared his personal experiences and gave me some things to think about as well as a few resources to consider.
Later in the day I visited a place less than a mile from our home called Manresa (pictured below) which is a Jesuit Centre of Spirituality. A friend of mine has taken a course there, gave me the name of a friend of his who works there I should contact, and mentioned I should check into it. So, I did. I met the friend who works there and we are meeting up for coffee and a chat later this week or next week.
This afternoon our back garden was full of neighbourhood kids playing a game they thought up entitled "Survival Island". It was fantastic to see eight to ten kids playing together and our boys and Aislinn in the middle of it all. We thank God for bringing us to this road. While the kids played out back Andrea and our neighbour sat out front in their lawn chairs enjoying some Irish sunshine, coffee, and a chat together.
We thank God for the friendships in our community He is bringing our way.
Several days ago I received an email from a friend and in his email he asked what I have read recently. That got me thinking to maybe post a list of the books that I have read/completed since the start of the year.
You'll quickly see that I'm not one to read fiction, but lean hard toward the theology, churchy, personal faith journey kind of reads. I believe reading to be a priority, so for me I include it in my weekly "To Do" List. In no particular order, here's the books I've dug into over the past 6 months:
The Bible, by God.
The Pursuit of God, by AW Tozer.
I Call It Heresy, by AW Tozer.
The Memoir & Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne, by Andrew Bonar.
Biblical Eldership, by Alexander Strauch.
Creating Community, by Andy Stanley.
Wild Goose Chase, by Mark Batterson.
Awareness, by Anthony Di Mello. (non-Christian)
Battling Unbelief, by John Piper.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lenconi. (non-Christian)
The Tangible Kingdom, by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay.
Simple Church, by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger.
Re:Jesus, by Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch.
Identity: Who You are in Christ, by Eric Geiger.
"In the Batter's Box" (currently reading): Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, by Michael Horton.
"On Deck": The Reason for God, by Tim Keller.
I close tonight's pilgrimage insight with the following quote from one of my favorite authors to read, A.W. Tozer, who said, "The function of a good book is to stand like a signpost guiding the reader to the Truth and the Life."
After a couple guesses, the answers to the previous 'pop quiz' are below. All the answers deal with musical notation. My friend Larry was on the right track. Well done, Larry!
ANSWERS:
1. Crotchet - An eighth note.
2. Semibreve - A whole note.
3. Minim - A half note.
4. Quaver - A quarter note.
5. Stave - Musical Staff of 5 Lines & 4 Spaces.
These new 'Irish' words came to me while teaching a young man guitar lessons for the first time here in Ireland. A couple weeks ago on a Wednesday I began teaching the son of some friends of ours who also attend the Sunday Bible Discussion. During our second lesson while going through the book I could tell that my American words for musical notation were not 'resonating' (pun intended). So, I enquired. It was then that he told me he had a bit of musical lessons previously and introduced me to the 'Irish' terms for said musical notation. Come to find out that many other countries along with Ireland use these same words when dealing with music. It was in that moment of musical 'discovery' that I realised just how much of 'American' culture I have wrongly assumed is 'world' culture. Oh, I have much, much to learn.
Very soon I'm off with Grant for his final match of the season. It's a friendly as the league ended a few weeks back. They ended up fifth out of eight teams. This was a very good result (yes, I'm a proud dad) seeing that their team was brand new made up of boys who had never played competitive football (soccer) before this year. It's been incredible to see how much they've improved.
Luke's season ended on Tuesday. He had a double-header and scored in one of the matches. His first match goal! Both boys are really enjoying the football and its been a great vehicle to get to know other parents who live in Clontarf. Some amazing spiritual conversations have taken place while standing on the sideline watching the boys train.
Aislinn is learning to potty train, and is doing so very well. All on her own she has pursued this to which we are very thankful! :) She is talking up a storm and now when I come through the front door at times will say, "Welcome to my home my 'service' (her word for 'servants'). Somewhere the line of authority and who's in charge has been lost. O yes, she also refers to herself as Queen Aislinn and me as, King Daddy. :) Hmmm....
Kate is about a month away now from her first birthday! Can you believe it? I can't! The year has gone by so quickly. She is so content and just goes with the flow, which has become a necessity with this family. She's a wonderful addition and brings so many smiles and joy.
Alright, well off to the match. Thanks for stopping by for a chat. You're a great listener! :)
How about a little quiz to keep the blog adventurous and to help you learn along with us? Today I learned some new words here in Ireland that have very different names in the States. See if you can guess the American equivalent for the Irish word below. No GOOGLING!!! I mean it. :)
Just put your guesses under the "Comments" section, and after a few days of guessing I'll post the answers.
1. What is a 'crotchet'?
2. What is a 'semibreve'?
3. What is a 'minim'?
4. What is a 'quaver'?
5. What is a 'stave'?
Wow, I can't believe its been a week and a half since my last post. My apologies. No excuses, but I'm guessing its because this past week nearly every evening (which is time I usually blog) was full.
Tuesday evening Luke and I were at his football training. Once we returned Andrea and Grant immediately left for Grant's school program. Wednesday evening was Grant's football training. Thursday evening Andrea and I had a meeting with the church leaders at Grace Church. Friday evening and all day today myself and a friend who attend the Bible Discussion Group were at a Men's Marriage Conference aboard the Operation Mobilisation Logos Cruise Ship which is in Dublin port for the next two weeks. The speaker for the conference was Fred Stoeker who authored the popular book Every Man's Battle. As I write this Andrea and Grant are aboard the same ship attending a special evening for Kids and Teens.
Even though it was a crazy week both Andrea and myself each had wonderful spiritual conversations with a couple of our friends in which we were able to share pieces of the Gospel. All this happened on the same day where that morning we had just prayed specifically for these friends. God is truly growing us and moving. This was definitely the highlight of the week, and it always is when we have opportunities to share the hope that is within us.
Tomorrow we'll head in to Grace church in the morning, Bible Discussion Group in the afternoon, then possibly tomorrow evening I'm teaching the Teen Bible Study at the local Church of Ireland. This church has never had a Bible Study for the teens and a friend of ours who attends there asked if I'd be willing to teach the first one since the leaders have never done that before. So, we'll see.
Well, Andrea and Grant just returned home so its time to check in with them and see how their evening went. Talk again soon.
Logos Ship
Here's a few of the top headlines that were in the Ireland papers today:
- Ireland's economic pain will intensify, warns EU. BY PAT BOYLE AND SENAN MOLONY. IRELAND will suffer the biggest economic decline in the EU and have the highest budget shortfalls and jobless levels, the European Commission said yesterday. (Irish Independent paper)
- State still has single swine flu case. BY STEVEN CARROLL. Ireland is still dealing with just one confirmed case of the so-called swine flu virus and no other probable cases have emerged, the State's chief medical officer said tonight. (Irish Times)
- Garda injured after riot squad called to Traveller pub battle. Bizarre night in Balbriggan as travellers barricade themselves into a pub and wreak the place. No reason was given for what started it but there’s talk of a family feud. 10 appeared in court today. (Irish Times)
- Fergie: believe the hype. Alex Ferguson has taken the unusual step of adding hype to an eagerly awaited fixture by describing this evening's Champions League semi-final, second leg as the biggest match between Manchester United and Arsenal. (Evening Herald. Sport)
- Tesco drops drink, grocery prices in its border clashes. TESCO today slashed prices at 11 stores by a whopping 22pc as the battle of the border supermarkets heats up. The chain threw down the gauntlet to competitors by unveiling a radical price shift that could stem the flow of shoppers crossing to the North. A total of 11 border stores were shut over the weekend as staff carried out a major revamp that included reducing prices on 12,500 products.According to Tesco: "The initiative represents the single biggest ever change by an Irish retailer on prices and extending choice in one day." Figures from the Central Statistics Office estimate that up to €500m has been lost in tax revenue as a result of cross-Border shopping, but as a result of today's changes, the price gap with the North is now at its lowest since the break with sterling in 1979. (Evening Herald)
As I ponder this entry I am finding it hard to know what to say. What's funny is that it's not that there's nothing to say, it's more trying to figure out what not to say. This week has been full, and I know I'm a bit tardy in posting entries lately, so please accept my apologies for the tardiness. Sometimes it's just hard to know which direction to go with an entry. I find that much of what I share is about things we are doing or events that took place or will be taking place, but truthfully that's just a portion of the journey. There's so much more that runs through our hearts and minds that many times fail to make it into an entry simply because it's just too complex to even try to put into writing.
The 'life' part of this journey is what gets shared mostly, but the other part, the 'faith' part, is just as active. The faith pilgrimage is more difficult to put into words, I think it's because that part of the pilgrimage is being constantly stretched, pulled, challenged. But tonight I think I'll try to give a glimpse of some of this stretching by just sharing some of the constant personal questions, feelings, internal struggles we are finding ourselves experiencing as it relates to the 'faith' portion of this journey.
*Battling the feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, feelings of ineffectiveness.
*Learning to find our contentment in our obedience and not in our 'productivity'.
*Having confidence that God is doing a work even when you can't see it.
*The struggle of feeling alone even though surrounded with people.
*Learning to be patient with God's plan.
*Wondering if anyone we invest in will see Jesus for who He really is.
The 'faith' portion of this pilgrimage, is just as busy, if not more so, than the 'life' portion. I often feel like the man who came to Jesus and said, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."
We pulled into our Clontarf home around noon today after a fantastic week of being together on needed vacation. We had loads of fun playing games, swimming in the pool (indoor of course), playing on the playground, tennis with the boys, visiting/touring Kilkenny Castle (pictured above), attending Carlow Bible Church on Easter Sunday, and just being together as a family. Our time away was truly a sabbath rest for us, and for our kids.
Minutes after being home the boys were out with their neighborhood friends who they missed while away, and those neighbor kids were in and out of our home this afternoon just like before. Life is back in session, and we are so thankful for neighborhood kids that our boys get along with so well and for such wonderful neighbors. One of them came and welcomed us back home. He also mentioned how we were 'missed'. It felt nice to hear that. It's satisfying knowing that you were missed, isn't it?
Tomorrow morning we'll head to Insomnia Cafe for our family community connect. In the afternoon I'm hoping to visit a young man in the hospital who just had his appendix removed. He and his parents are good friends, come to the Discussion group, and are a family we have been doing life with. In the evening we'll resume the Home Bible Discussion Group (it's been off for the past couple weeks for Easter Break) discussing together the implications of the opening verses of Genesis 3. I'm looking forward to being back together with everyone.
You know, while we were leaving to come back home today I mentioned to Andrea how life is so different for us now. So many times coming back from a vacation means going 'back to work', but 'work' is so different now. Life is so very different. It's truly hard to explain, mainly because I'm still learning and adjusting to a different life and different 'work'. So, am I coming back to work? Yes, of course. But honestly, it's not so much that I'm coming back to 'work' or ever left 'work', but rather that I'm coming back to people. Honestly, it's just hard to explain.
The holiday is over, but the pilgrimage continues...
FOR PHOTOS OF OUR FAMILY HOLIDAY (vacation) COPY & PASTE THIS LINK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=246253&id=877410050&l=21aeb41eec
