I have bee mooching on a great site called Book Mooch.
It is cool enough as it is but then I found out about a very interesting idea...
Come join the BookMooch Journal Project, a traveling art journals project!
This is a brand new undertaking, complete with its own blog and a hosting system to track the journals! First, join http://www.bookmooch.com which is a book trading site. There is no cost to join. The concept behind bookmooch is to trade books you no longer want with others. For every ten books you add to the system, you get one point. with that point, you can get a free book of your choice. We’ve utilized this system for it’s sheer simplicity. Rather than mooching just books, you may use your points to mooch traveling art journals!
Search for journals using this keyword: BMJournal
If no journals are presently available, you can search for ‘unavailable’ titles, and then add the ones that interest you to your wishlist. Every time one of the journals becomes available again, you can mooch it!
Click to see images of some of the journals.
People who have obtained a journal or released a journal can leave a note in the comments associated with that specific journal.
Come join us for the journey! After all, getting a journal from 1000 Journals is harder than winning the lottery! Bookmooch journals are much easier to obtain, because it is strictly limited to BookMooch members.
Thanks for participating, from the folks at The BookMooch Journal Project
I of course added a jounal called BMJournal: Inspired by India
So get mooching!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
The leaning tower
Today we went to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower. It was very beautiful and leant surprisingly more that i had expected. Face on the angle of lean is astonishing. The weather today was sunny and hot and the crowds were large. This being so we decided not to but tickets to enter the Baptistery or to climb the tower.
It was a memorable day and much more spectacular that i imagined.
It was a memorable day and much more spectacular that i imagined.
Friday, August 08, 2008
An old article that will begin my book...
It has always been my intention to live a great life. I have read the biographies of our treasured saints, great men like John Wesley, Charles Finney, Smith Wigglesworth and I have desired to leave my own mark on Christian history in such a way as these. I have longed to build something that is of worth with my life, something that others will look in at and see greatness. For such a long time I have desired to live a memorable life, one that is full and abundant, one that is exciting and adventurous, one that is full of spiritual encounters and experience. And to this end I have looked to create this life for myself. I have put myself in the way of things, deliberately seeking the opportunity to be great.
But now I see that my Christian life has been my Christian career. Opportunities to be great become opportunities to look great. A life of memories becomes a showcase for the gullible. A life of adventure and encounter becomes forgotten and redundant unless shared with those who will listen. I am a chaser of celebrity.
This revelation comes as the gentle breeze of the Spirit dispels the mists of my mind. He blew a true apostle of Jesus into my life and I can think clearly now the reins have gone, my thoughts having formerly been captivated by career and focussed on achievement.
Janaki Mennai met Jesus in a vision as she lay dying. Her prayers to other Gods had fallen on deaf ears and Jesus called her to come and know His love and to work for Him. She was miraculously healed and 10 years later stands great amongst men. She is the founder and director of Faith In Action Ministries (FIAM) in Andrah Pradesh, India. This great christian woman has planted over 60 churches in rural villages, founded 2 schools, supplied many villages with bore hole wells, developed ministry to local prisoners, planted a church in the middle of a leper colony, developed and run vocational training courses for young women, founded an orphanage, fed the widows and children of her village, trained pastors and church leaders over the whole region, seen thousands come to Christ in gospel crusades and street evangelism, run medical provision camps for the poor, fed and clothed the needy, among other things.
Janaki is a great woman but she is not great for doing all this worthy work. She is great for just one reason, the same reason that Jesus was great. Janaki only does what she sees the Father doing.
Martin Scott says that if Jesus had written a book it would have contained those 8 words. “Only do what you see the Father do.”
Jesus’ true greatness lies not merely in His divinity or perfect humanity but His willingness to do only that which he saw Father do. This was revealed in the garden as he sweated blood to say “Not my will but yours.”
I have done so many things to get further in my Christian career. I have got busy for God, led home groups, prayed very long and very loud (only when people were watching), preached sermons, gave seminars, done missions and led worship; all really because I thought that to be great was to appear great. How many of those things did I do because I first saw Father do them? My quest for greatness seen in the light of this paradigm is a quest for the praise of men rather than submission to the Lord.
But I have met someone who is submitted to this way. I have met someone great. And she is someone who is humble and meek, she is gentle and kind, pure and loving. Janaki Mennai only does what she sees the Father doing, and what she sees is a Father who loves people, a Father who feeds people and clothes them, who visits them in prison and provides for them. Being with Janaki is like being with Jesus. I saw Jesus in her and I saw in her great life what my Father is doing.
But now I see that my Christian life has been my Christian career. Opportunities to be great become opportunities to look great. A life of memories becomes a showcase for the gullible. A life of adventure and encounter becomes forgotten and redundant unless shared with those who will listen. I am a chaser of celebrity.
This revelation comes as the gentle breeze of the Spirit dispels the mists of my mind. He blew a true apostle of Jesus into my life and I can think clearly now the reins have gone, my thoughts having formerly been captivated by career and focussed on achievement.
Janaki Mennai met Jesus in a vision as she lay dying. Her prayers to other Gods had fallen on deaf ears and Jesus called her to come and know His love and to work for Him. She was miraculously healed and 10 years later stands great amongst men. She is the founder and director of Faith In Action Ministries (FIAM) in Andrah Pradesh, India. This great christian woman has planted over 60 churches in rural villages, founded 2 schools, supplied many villages with bore hole wells, developed ministry to local prisoners, planted a church in the middle of a leper colony, developed and run vocational training courses for young women, founded an orphanage, fed the widows and children of her village, trained pastors and church leaders over the whole region, seen thousands come to Christ in gospel crusades and street evangelism, run medical provision camps for the poor, fed and clothed the needy, among other things.
Janaki is a great woman but she is not great for doing all this worthy work. She is great for just one reason, the same reason that Jesus was great. Janaki only does what she sees the Father doing.
Martin Scott says that if Jesus had written a book it would have contained those 8 words. “Only do what you see the Father do.”
Jesus’ true greatness lies not merely in His divinity or perfect humanity but His willingness to do only that which he saw Father do. This was revealed in the garden as he sweated blood to say “Not my will but yours.”
I have done so many things to get further in my Christian career. I have got busy for God, led home groups, prayed very long and very loud (only when people were watching), preached sermons, gave seminars, done missions and led worship; all really because I thought that to be great was to appear great. How many of those things did I do because I first saw Father do them? My quest for greatness seen in the light of this paradigm is a quest for the praise of men rather than submission to the Lord.
But I have met someone who is submitted to this way. I have met someone great. And she is someone who is humble and meek, she is gentle and kind, pure and loving. Janaki Mennai only does what she sees the Father doing, and what she sees is a Father who loves people, a Father who feeds people and clothes them, who visits them in prison and provides for them. Being with Janaki is like being with Jesus. I saw Jesus in her and I saw in her great life what my Father is doing.
India
I still think daily about India, that most fabulous of locations that the sun visits on his rounds.
Over a year ago I was asked to think about writing a book about Janaki's life and current ministry.
However I have been so immensely lazy this has never been got round to. I did manage to take notes and tape some interviews with Janaki during our last visit and i have decided to use the end of the summer holidays to get some of this book done.
I have decided to write in short chapters, each being 1500-2000 words each.
I will use the original article that got Andy's publisher interested as the intro...
Check out the new post to re-read this piece.
Over a year ago I was asked to think about writing a book about Janaki's life and current ministry.
However I have been so immensely lazy this has never been got round to. I did manage to take notes and tape some interviews with Janaki during our last visit and i have decided to use the end of the summer holidays to get some of this book done.
I have decided to write in short chapters, each being 1500-2000 words each.
I will use the original article that got Andy's publisher interested as the intro...
Check out the new post to re-read this piece.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Back to Basics
I am currently in Italy, on holiday with all the family. We are having a wonderful time.
However during the first few days while we have been hiding in the villa away from the heat during the hottest few hours I have once again been thinking about writing, my writing.
I have long dreamed of being a writer but seem to have a block to getting anything done of any substantial value. I have of course submitted regularly to the magazine i edit see here but i want to write more.
I have decided that this being the case i should resurrect the blog again and try to get something down daily on any subject.
So here goes...
However during the first few days while we have been hiding in the villa away from the heat during the hottest few hours I have once again been thinking about writing, my writing.
I have long dreamed of being a writer but seem to have a block to getting anything done of any substantial value. I have of course submitted regularly to the magazine i edit see here but i want to write more.
I have decided that this being the case i should resurrect the blog again and try to get something down daily on any subject.
So here goes...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)