Pam Hogeweide
Ok, I like to write. I’m good at it. This much is established.
When I was 17 years old, a senior in high school, I enjoyed some special affirmation from several teachers about my way with the written word. I also took one of those career aptitude tests that help high school seniors sort out what kind of work they might get into. My test results indicated journalist.
At that time, journalists were people who wrote for newspapers and magazines. I wasn’t interested in either. I wasn’t interested in writing. Just because I had a knack for it didn’t mean I wanted to be a writer.
It would take several decades before I finally took a real interest in writing and began to write on purpose. Like a journalist.
Pam Hogeweide
Jim Henderson off Off the Map infamy just announced that he will be this evening's guest on the nationally acclaimed NPR program, This American Life with Ira Glass.
Click
HERE for Jim's story of how he got the gig and for details of where to hear the broadcast LIVE or to download it. This American Life is downloaded 400,000 times every week.
And if you've been on the fence about going to Off the Map, maybe this will tip it for you.
Pam Hogeweide
A good friend of mine who lives in southwest China recently sent me this story he wrote. As a Christ follower (and someone who holds a theology degree!), he found wisdom and advice in coping with the crazy roads in his city from an unexpected source: an international spiritual teacher embraced by Oprah and millions around the world.
Please welcome my friend, Chuck Eddy.
Driving with Eckhart Tolle in China
by Chuck Eddy
Recently when I complained to a friend about my struggle with anger while driving in our Asian metropolis of 7 million people, she told me about an audiobook by Oprah guru Eckhart Tolle titled “The Power of Now”. Up to that point, I had not really heard much about Tolle other than that he was considered by some to be a dangerous “New Age” teacher. While a little skeptical of anything that smacked of New Age, at the urging of my friend I decided to listen to “The Power of Now” which she passed on to me.
Pam Hogeweide
A few years ago I became acquainted with an organization called Off the Map. They seemed to have a different take on the modern expression of Christianity in America that I found refreshing. So ever since 2005 I have attended their annual conference in the the Emerald City of Seattle. And I've never paid for a ticket until this year.
Pam Hogeweide
After thinking about it for more than a year it took a bout with the dreaded H1N1 virus to get me to update my stale blog.
And here it is! (I'll post later about H1N1...it's an epic tale of good versus evil that you won't want to miss.)
I'm kinda clumsy in the techno language department. My Cantonese is much better than my HTML. But having nothing to do for days afforded me the window of time to simultaneously rest my body, and work my mind. Lots of surfing around a kazillion how-to sites trying to learn what I needed to know. I nearly ditched Blogger in favor of Wordpress, but then I found a theme designer who had the Blogger code for the Wordpress custom theme I was drooling over. Now right there I know I lost some of you. But that's ok. I lost myself, too.
Pam Hogeweide
Several months ago I somehow came into contact with a writer from my region of the world, the gorgeous Pacific Northwest of America. She had written a book, calling it He Calls Me Beloved. The title alone caught my attention since I'm a sucker for anything that says beloved on it. (In case you didn't know it, I have a rose tattoo on my forearm with Beloved inked on a banner blazed across it!)
Pam Hogeweide
Ok, I've had these digs with Blogger for about four years. I've changed the template a couple of times over the course of this blog's run, but frankly, I think it's time to move on.
I'm going to be on the prowl for a new blog platform and, are you ready for this, I think it's time to buy a domain. Not sure yet if the blog and domain will be the same place - likely not, but perhaps - I just think it's time to upgrade my web presence.
Pam Hogeweide
The 500 Year Shift
I was having coffee with a pastor a few days ago and before I could sit down he said;
“Jim, something big is happening in the church right now – it’s like everything is up for grabs”
While I tend to hang out on the margins my pastor friend is typically more centrist so his comment caught me off guard.
He continued “It seems that the institutional church is really in danger.”
I responded that I agreed but since I’m not a pastor its’ easy for me to come to these kinds of conclusions. But when pastors start talking like this – something really is happening.
Pam Hogeweide
Ok, somewhere between evangelicalism and post-modernity angst, I misplaced my religion. I thought it was securely fastened to my faith, but apparently not.
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Pam Hogeweide
I have a new post up over at Communitas Collective. Here's an excerpt to tease your appetite.
My prayer life soon became cold. Barren as a ghost town in the middle of nowhere. My elaborate prayer closet, decorated with wallpapered bible verses became dilapidated like a forgotten shack.
Where was I to find God now since my prayer machine had been unplugged?
That began an arduous journey of learning to discover God in new places. Sometimes a helpful guide would come along to help me sort it out. Like pastor Ken Loyd.
click
HERE to read the entire thing. And be sure to check out Communitas Collective if you are a disaffected, disillusioned, cynical, dechurched spiritual person who wonders if anyone else could possibly understand the crisis of faith you find yourself in. Yep. That's what I said.
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