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We have friends that are doing ministry work in New Orleans and were able to spend a few days with them.  They had showed us around the city and we were so touched by what we saw.  There has been a lot of great efforts done by the recovery teams but yet still heaps of houses not rebuilt.  New Orleans has a character of its own you cannot put it into a box of a typical “southern style town”.  Andrew will be working with our friends Mike and Susanne to recruit help and ministers for this area.  That’s the beauty of CRM and what they do!

Below is a picture of Mike and Susanne’s kids with Victoria and Joel.

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This was a scenic stop in Arizona at a small canyon, you should have seen the size of the boulders!

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Here are some pictures of a close beach from our new home, at Crystal Cove…approximately 30 minutes from our house and next door to Newport Beach. 

This is a funny video - you have heard of Pimp my Ride, now it is Mom my Ride. Every parent of small children will get this immediately!

Plus it’s clever marketing to mom’s - a notoriously difficult demographic to market to - American Airlines have just been heavily criticized for initially creating a lavender colored website for women that came across as demeaning.

As we establish a new life here in Orange County - one of the global temples of materialism - we ponder what we need. It is very easy to fall into the prevailing culture - e.g., big screen TV, cruise vacation, 2 new cars, constant restaurant bills. We are amazed by our neighbors - they don’t park their cars in the garage - rather the garage is filled with stuff - stuff they don’t use often. Is that right in light of the postures of the Kingdom of God? Now is a good time for us to wrestle this stuff out before the bills start accumulating, often without thinking.!

This GREAT video really illustrates this well - see this link. Thanks to Alan Hirsch’s blog for the link.

Poem to make you ponder from the late A.R. Ammons (above)
Don’t establish the
boundaries
first
the squares, triangles,
boxes of preconceived possibility
and then
pour
life into them, trimming
off left-over edges;
ending potential:
let centers
proliferate
from
self-justifying motions!

This remarkable story from the Washington Post recounts the story of Joshua Bell- world famous violinist - being ignored as he played in a Washington DC metro station. The video of the event is amazing for the lack of response from commuters. Are our lives so busy and on program that we don’t have time to find beauty in a virtuoso performance or more commonly the smile of our children. Worth contemplating!

During a break in New Orleans, I had the opportunity to visit a few old cemeteries. Strange? Maybe. Yet I find it useful in helping me to get to know something of the DNA of a place, particular somewhere so unique as New Orleans. To there came people from all over Europe. Some of the above ground tombs are meticulously maintained, others turning into dirt - unnamed and unknown.

As I start officially with CRM tomorrow here in Southern California, I am reminded by the New Orleans tombs of my true priority. That is - the name and renown of the Lord God among the nations. All else, including my own name, is due to pass away - maybe remembered, maybe not. Yet if we seize this opportunity to truly serve the glory of God and His Kingdom, we will have made a difference that will forever echo in eternity. That is reward enough and a fitting final epitaph when that day comes.

Good post on Tom Peters blog regarding the need for a purpose beyond mere profits. It can be encapsulated in this quote - “I believe that we as humans search for a meaningful purpose in everything we do. We are at our very best when we find it.” Regardless of context there is a cry in the heart of every person for purpose beyond themselves. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He [God] has set eternity in the hearts of men”. Whether it be in relationships, business, the arts , or religion, men and women are searching for the purpose to fit that eternity shaped hole in their soul. As we remember Christ’s death and resurrection this Easter, I know deep within we have found in Christ our purpose, our great hope.

See Tom Peter’s blog for the whole post.