Sharing is Caring: The New Version

from here

Over the years I’ve had this blog, I’ve had one giant document into which to paste pictures, articles, quotes, ideas and notes to use in or inspire potential future posts. (That was a terrible sentence, but I’ve rearranged it numerous times and decided it’s the best I can do. Sorry about that.) Then last week I decided to split ‘blog’ (the name of said giant document) into five files (all pictures together, all quotes together, etc.) so that it’s easier to find what I’ve been working on, and oh my goodness, I have quite a collection. I’d like to start posting some of these regularly in an effort to keep the files tidy, and to finally share what I always intended to share with you, and to be forced to process the articles I put aside a while ago for later processing, or laugh again at the posts/pictures/videos I wanted to keep for future laughs.

I know many bloggers who do a weekly link-fest, which I both love and hate – I love them because each link is so interesting or funny, and I’m glad to have someone else do the work of reading and culling before pointing me to the best of what the internet’s offering each week; I hate them because each link is so interesting or funny, and it’s hard not to click on every one and use up a precious hour or more reading the articles and watching the videos and stuffing more words into my head rather than spitting words out of my head by writing, which is often what I originally plan to do when I sit down at my computer.

So. I’m thinking I’ll post a couple of things each week, or maybe more if they’re all on the same topic, and try not to overwhelm you. Maybe a quote plus a link to an article plus something funny. Or something. We’ll work it out as time goes on. It’ll be a less exciting version of a link-fest, with the added bonus of the articles and posts being completely out of date! YOU’RE WELCOME!

For this week:

This talk by Lauren Winner on the book of Esther is full of nuggets of wisdom. The last time I read it, this particular nugget made me stop and think:

We live in a society I think that has very little capacity for joy. We have a lot of capacity for entertainment. The more time I think we spend alone with our iPods being entertained for a few minutes, the less we have a capacity for real joy. And it's worth noting that iPod entertainment is not a fruit of the spirit.  Joy is a fruit of the spirit. 

But rereading it, it was this one:

And if I were to be really honest with these reporters, I would tell them that the question they're asking is the wrong question. They think they want to know why I became a Christian when I was 20, but what they really want to know is why I'm a Christian this week... So what people really want to know is why I'm a Christian today and why I'm a Christian today, this week, this morning is not exactly the same reason I became a Christian when I was 20. This week I am a Christian because of the power of the Church in my life. And this week I am a Christian because this relationship with Jesus Christ has been a long, narrow road, both narrow and long. It has been monasticism to me and it has held me more firmly in its grip than anything has ever held me. And this week, I am a Christian because the book of Esther tells me that sometimes God is hidden.

And here’s a video to make you fall in love with Michael Franti and, if you’re anything like me, shed a tear or two (that part with his MUM! *sniff*). And maybe also foster a child. It goes for around 9 minutes: