This week at our Community Life Gathering we are talking about money, so I’ve been thinking about it more. Jesus uses a bunch of different analogies to describe money in Matt. 6. He says that the way we spend money is like a window into the soul. How we spend our money reflects the well being of our spiritual state. At New City Covenant we are trying to be a community of truth and grace. We want to be honest…
In Don Miller’s book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, which I reviewed here, he begins with the story of a movie. He wonders how the reader would feel about going to a movie in which the protagonist’s goal throughout the movie was to buy a Volvo. The movie follows this character’s hard work and then ends with him driving out of the Volvo dealership having achieved his goal of purchasing this nice new car. He asks what we…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shalawesome/ / CC BY-NC 2.0 We all want to be happy. The other night I pursued happiness in my third helping of french toast (yeah, I said night; we were having brinner ;)). The sticky, sweet goodness of french toast covered with syrup was delightful…in that moment. But not long after dinner, I felt awful. I had way over done it, and my blood sugar must have been through the roof. I even had a hard time sleeping that night…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysavage/ / CC BY 2.0 I sat inside his meager thatch hut, listening to his story, told through the tears of an orphan whose parents had died of AIDS. At thirteen, Richard was trying to raise his two younger brothers by himself in this small shack with no running water, electricity, or even beds to sleep in. There were no adults in their lives — no one to care for them, feed them, love the, or teach them how to…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Mary and I have decided to buy a house. Neither of us have ever bought a house before, and it’s a big decision. I’ve been struck by how little the church talks about what principles should guide our thinking when we are buying a house. Where should you live? How much should you spend? What type of mortgage should you choose? What sort of features should we be focusing on? These are questions facing us…