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March 31, 2006
Teach us your ways...
This morning these lines kept coming through my head...all i could do was sing...and call out with them..
Make us your people,
Make us you people,
Make us your people who know how follow.
Make us your people,
Make us your people,
Make us your people who know how to love you.
Teach us to love all,
Teach us to love you,
Teach us to love all and love you with passion.
Teach me to love all,
Teach me to love you,
Teach me to love all and love you with passion.
Teach us to follow and love all and seek you.
You are creator,
You are creator,
You are creator so teach us to follow.
Teach us to love and to follow your ways.
Teach us to love all and follow your ways.
Make us your people who follow your love.
may your heart give you messages of hope, formation and passion...jc
Posted by joshuacase at 09:02 AM | Comments (8)
March 24, 2006
Finding that authentic swing
Anyone who knows me knows that golf is one of my things. I love the sport. The focus, the fresh air, the humiliation, the challenge.
As the new season creeps in upon us here in Switzerland, I am beginning to plan in my practices and games. I have to admit, golf is a lot of work. Yesterday though, was a very good day! Crisp contact, good distance (for a range) and good extension. (if this is boring you, it doesn't get any better) It was almost like i had to hold my breath and enjoy that this was a good day. The bad days will come and i'll forget this good one.
Life it seems is not really any different. We have good days where the sun shines brightly upon us and everything seems to be going right. Then, along comes a tough one where nothing can go right, where everything feels out of sync. The discipline in life and golf is not to let the bad days rob us of the opportunities for finding our authentic swing. We have to press on through them. We have to keep doing life. We have to keep trying to remember in our innermost being that rhythm we had before, which is not lost to us...really, but is waiting again to be discovered. Press on friend, the swing is not gone, its there and it will return!
jc@se
Posted by joshuacase at 08:30 AM
Stress Management
My wife and I have ventured off onto a new diet. Not that we are really the dieting kind of people, its just that she is on a stress management course and is trying to reduce the stress levels in our lives. So what does it look like? How about this: meat once per day, stay away from red meats, as many colors in vegetables as you can find (fresh not processed), no processed food, stay away from wheat products, reduce intake of alcohol, eat fruits, drink lots of water (no less than 2 liters per day), and absolutely no, no simple sugars. If you are a sweet fan like my wife is, this may be the real tester!
Try it out for a few days and see what happens. We felt better, more lively, with more energy and got better sleep within days. Quite an amazing story of how your body responds to certain things i think! Let me know how it goes for you!
Posted by joshuacase at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)
Prayer for the Edge
U2 recently canceled the last 10 shows on its tour due to the illness of the Edge's daughter. If you are a fan, like me, please keep our friends and their families in your prayers! You can see the official press release from U2 here.
Posted by joshuacase at 08:16 AM
March 20, 2006
Important Books
I was just thinking the other day how have yet to really take an inventory of the books that have been critical to the last season of my life. I truly feel like this has been a unique season for me in my understanding not merely of myself, but of the world around me, and of God.
The following is a list of some books that have been pretty critical to my shaping. Some of them i have agreed with in part, others have articulate who I know I am to be in ways i never dreamt could be articulated! If you read them, keep in mind that we are all in different places, learning different things, attempting to be sources of Good for the world!
In no particular order:
The Story We Find Ourselves In- Brian Mc Laren
The Next Reformation- Karl Rasche
If Grace is True- Gulley & Mulholland
Generous Orthodoxy- Brian McLaren
Reading the Bible Again- Marcus Borg
The Coming of the Son of Man- Andrew Perriman
The Heart of Christianity- Marcus Borg
What Saint Paul Really Said- NT Wright
Make no mistake, there are others; however, I can honestly say that this group, is quite an important group for anyone to read! Agree or disagree, they are good value! I hope you'll pick them up if you haven't already! I hope you'll enjoy a reshaping of sorts as I have.
Posted by joshuacase at 08:41 AM | Comments (2)
March 15, 2006
Meese
Meese is an up and coming group out of Denver. I really appreciate their sounds, thier lyrical processing, and the fact that they seem to about more than just making simple music! The guys know thier music without a doubt!! Enjoy listening and wait for this group to break out!
Posted by joshuacase at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)
On being and expert
I have seen where several people have posted on this site recently! I have been scrolling through it. If you are allergic to psycho-babble of any sort, DO NOT GO TO THIS SITE! However, a most recent post entitled, How to be an Expert was quite interesting.
One quote particularly stood out as a potential reason why i love to practive golf. It read as such: "For the superior performer the goal isn't just repeating the same thing again and again but achieving higher levels of control over every aspect of their performance. That's why they don't find practice boring. Each practice session they are working on doing something better than they did the last time."
Maybe, maybe not! It's worth a look though! jc
Posted by joshuacase at 07:18 AM | Comments (0)
Sickness and Lent
It just seems wrong. Things in life are going well and then BAM!, a sickness comes along and knocks you out for a few days...maybe even a week or longer! This has been my lenten experience. To make matters worse, i have traditionally when sick, laid on teh couch with mindless TV noise going in the background. Not so this time, as I have given up TV for lent!
All in all though, its been ok. Laura and I have been able to remember life before TV together, and we are able to spend more time in conversation and reading together. It has been actually quite refreshing! Well done Lent! I am well down the recentered path and today and feeling much better!
Posted by joshuacase at 07:11 AM | Comments (3)
March 05, 2006
Very moving story..
Last night when i came home i was looking for news to read. I have a few sites that i go to. When i went to the ESPN site, this story was there. It is the story ofJason McElwain. If you can watch the video, do watch the video! It will not only give you a bit of heart check, but will make you want to take a few shots, even after you badly miss the first one!
Posted by joshuacase at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2006
Emergent Conversation Geneva 2006
We are well on our way with preparations for the upcoming conversation in May. As we move towards more preparations, we will be posting things on this site. Make sure to stay in touch.
A few things that will be added include: profiles of the panelists, a dictionary of terms so as to allow participants to be on the same page, and a small reading list!
Watch this space for more info!
Posted by joshuacase at 07:36 AM | Comments (0)
First day of Lent
My first day went well. I did not think that giving up something as silly as tv (just one of the things), was actually going to be something of a challenge. In Hind sight, my wife and I had truly let the thing creep into our routine! Living in quite a small apartment, it seems as though we had just created a routine whereby we sat down to eat, and watched a tv series...or...threw in a movie. It seemed sensible. Like a good way to relax together and to just be.
Last night, as we were preparing dinner, it occured to both of us the real lack of time together around the house that did not include noise. It was refreshing to talk. To listen. To be.
Thank goodness for lent. Thank goodness for my wife! She really is lots of fun and a very beautiful person! It may sound trite, but it is refreshingly true!
Posted by joshuacase at 07:29 AM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2006
Others places where I am blogging
While one of the disciplines (yes, i feel it is a discipline) i am going to be practicing more of during this lenten season is that of writing. I have hundreds of article titles that I have been listing for years and am hoping to actually begin the process of writing through some of them during this 40-day season. I also hope to be cultivating the discipline of blogging a bit more. A couple of other sites where I will be blogging during lent are: Shema and a Lenten Blog hosted by Jason Clark that is for people who are reading Miroslav Volf's Free of Charge during Lent. Its never to late to join the conversation, so if you get a copy of the book from your local book store or off Amazon, and want to join in, please do!
Posted by joshuacase at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)
White start to Lent
As I rose this morning to start the Lenten season off, there was this glow from the windows. As i looked outside, the ground was completely covered with snow. Even now as I type, it continues to snow, snow, snow!
It is quite an interesting start to a season that for most people appears to be one of taking things away- of giving up. To be met with such a cleanly covered world is to truly experience lent anew. For that is the hope most often experienced at the end of lent, not the hope of the beginning. Ah, but nevermind that, we all need hope at our beginnings in order help us make through to the ends!
Posted by joshuacase at 07:28 AM | Comments (0)