My thanks to you for reading some of my musings along the way.
Peace,
Laura Hoy
Monday, January 4, 2010
blog school
This is now the start of the 2nd year I'm embarking on this blogging business at liveonmission.blogspot.com. I'm curious if those who regularly look on this site might be so inclined to help me learn some helpful tools and tips on my road to becoming a better blogger. If so, this is your post. Any feedback, suggestions, ideas, questions, constructive criticism are welcome and invited as we seek to live on mission with Christ.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
the year in review
Each time I get on the internet, my homepage shows msn.com, and there seems to be all sorts of end of the year articles these days reviewing "10 best films of 2009", "2009's worst scandals", "greatest sports moments of the year", etc., etc.. Before jumping into new year's resolutions for 2010, it's common for the media to help us look at the year in review.
A few years ago, a friend from church gave us a little self-assessment entitled, "10 Questions to ask to make sure you're still growing." I thought it would serve as a good self-awareness tool to help us do a year in review of our own lives. Here, at the end of 2009,
1. Are you more thirsty for God than ever before?
2. Are you more and more loving?
3. Are you more sensitive to and aware of God than ever before?
4. Are you governed more and more by God's Word?
5. Are you concerned more and more with the physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual needs of others?
6. Are you more and more concerned with the Church and the Kingdom of God?
7. Are the disciplines of the Christian life more and more important to you?
8. Are you more and more aware of your sin?
9. Are you more and more willing to forgive others?
10. Are you thinking more and more of heaven and of being with Jesus?
Am I more like Jesus than I was a year ago? How might I order my life in 2010 to give God access and permission for spiritual growth?
May God richly bless your life in 2010 with more of Himself in your life!
A few years ago, a friend from church gave us a little self-assessment entitled, "10 Questions to ask to make sure you're still growing." I thought it would serve as a good self-awareness tool to help us do a year in review of our own lives. Here, at the end of 2009,
1. Are you more thirsty for God than ever before?
2. Are you more and more loving?
3. Are you more sensitive to and aware of God than ever before?
4. Are you governed more and more by God's Word?
5. Are you concerned more and more with the physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual needs of others?
6. Are you more and more concerned with the Church and the Kingdom of God?
7. Are the disciplines of the Christian life more and more important to you?
8. Are you more and more aware of your sin?
9. Are you more and more willing to forgive others?
10. Are you thinking more and more of heaven and of being with Jesus?
Am I more like Jesus than I was a year ago? How might I order my life in 2010 to give God access and permission for spiritual growth?
May God richly bless your life in 2010 with more of Himself in your life!
Monday, December 28, 2009
how do you read the Bible?
I'm curious to know how you determine what you'll read in the Bible from day to day. How do you decide? Do you have a plan?
I've approached this in a variety of ways. A few years ago, I read through cover to cover. Other times, I have spent one month in an OT book and the next month in one or two NT books. One year, I worked through a big ol' commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Sometimes I'll be reading a book that has several Scripture references that I'll look up and spend time with. Now and then, I will hear a speaker give a talk on a particular passage of Scripture, and it will prompt me to read through that book of the Bible. Lately, I've had the desire to read through Acts, so that is what I'm currently doing.
What I do know is that I have to be intentional. I can go periods where I'm reading a lot of other books and not reading the Bible much. God has prompted me to fast from time to time from other books just so that I'll get my nose back in the Bible. When I look back at my life, the times I've experienced God's power and His Spirit the most are when I'm immersed in His Word...soaking my soul in it. I need a huge and straight-up diet of His powerful, life-changing Word in my life.
How about you? How do you go about reading the Bible?
I've approached this in a variety of ways. A few years ago, I read through cover to cover. Other times, I have spent one month in an OT book and the next month in one or two NT books. One year, I worked through a big ol' commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Sometimes I'll be reading a book that has several Scripture references that I'll look up and spend time with. Now and then, I will hear a speaker give a talk on a particular passage of Scripture, and it will prompt me to read through that book of the Bible. Lately, I've had the desire to read through Acts, so that is what I'm currently doing.
What I do know is that I have to be intentional. I can go periods where I'm reading a lot of other books and not reading the Bible much. God has prompted me to fast from time to time from other books just so that I'll get my nose back in the Bible. When I look back at my life, the times I've experienced God's power and His Spirit the most are when I'm immersed in His Word...soaking my soul in it. I need a huge and straight-up diet of His powerful, life-changing Word in my life.
How about you? How do you go about reading the Bible?
Saturday, December 26, 2009
beauty will rise
Steven Curtis Chapman's newest cd, "Beauty will Rise". Oh, wow. The entire cd is a litany of Chapman's personal psalms as he and his family grieved the tragic accident and death of their preschool-aged daughter, Maria, in May 2008. If you want an example of someone's faith journey through the dark night of the soul, this is an incredible testimony of one who is holding on to the goodness and faithfulness of God despite the circumstances. A beautiful testimony of someone grieving with hope. I listened to the whole cd four times straight through and read the cd jacket cover to cover. Chapman shares his experience in moving song and lyrics, and I believe it will be a source of comfort, hope, and strength for those who are lost in grief and seeking answers in the spiritual realm.
www.stevencurtischapman.com
www.stevencurtischapman.com
Monday, December 21, 2009
Christmas at your house
I'm banking on the odds that my family does not read this blog much, so I can share that I plan to write little affirmation notes to stuff in each of their stockings this Christmas next to the Dilbert calendar we get for Mike each year and the annual Christmas ornaments that go in the kids' stockings. As I consider ways to celebrate Christmas in meaningful ways, I'm curious about you...
What is something you do to help keep Christ the center of Christmas and to help make the holiday more meaningful?
What is something you do to help keep Christ the center of Christmas and to help make the holiday more meaningful?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Bonhoeffer
I was alone in my home last evening which is a rarity. So, what did I do? I addressed Christmas card envelopes and watched a movie on Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I found at the library. I was so amazed at how many times he could have chosen to save himself and self-protect, but every time he chose the sacrificial route for the greater good. And in every new environment he found himself, he was a presence of peace and wisdom, an aroma of Christ to everyone around him.
Toward the end of the movie, when the war is almost over, he finds himself able to go into a decimated church with 3 fellow prisoners, and he briefly gets to share his thoughts with them, saying,
"I've been thinking what Christ will mean in the future. We'll need a new form of Christianity in a time when the world has come of age. I think there's only one purpose of religion in a modern world where people must come and share each other's suffering and share the suffering of God in a Godless world. We'll need more than just religion in the former sense. We need faith and Jesus Christ at its center."
And then he was off to Flossenburg where he was hanged with less than a month until WW II was officially over. A doctor who witnessed his execution said that in all his years, he'd never seen someone walk so composed and bravely to his death, completely submissive to the will of God. A few other quotes from Bonhoeffer:
"To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ."
"To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us."
Toward the end of the movie, when the war is almost over, he finds himself able to go into a decimated church with 3 fellow prisoners, and he briefly gets to share his thoughts with them, saying,
"I've been thinking what Christ will mean in the future. We'll need a new form of Christianity in a time when the world has come of age. I think there's only one purpose of religion in a modern world where people must come and share each other's suffering and share the suffering of God in a Godless world. We'll need more than just religion in the former sense. We need faith and Jesus Christ at its center."
And then he was off to Flossenburg where he was hanged with less than a month until WW II was officially over. A doctor who witnessed his execution said that in all his years, he'd never seen someone walk so composed and bravely to his death, completely submissive to the will of God. A few other quotes from Bonhoeffer:
"To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ."
"To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us."
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Christian Community Development in Action
I like to see concrete, tangible examples of Christian Community Development happening around urban centers. One such model can be found at Neighborhood Ministries in Phoenix, AZ. Check out NM at their website at http://www.neighborhoodministries.org
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