The Sunday Night Experiment

So what is this thing?

It's really about the Space thing. Making space for us all to feel welcome and relaxed. Making space for God to move and change the world and us.

It's at this club thing around the corner from my house. It's the kind of place you would have gone to youth club in circa 1996. There will be snacks, if you'd like some. There will be music and singing; join in if you like. There will be an opportunity to hear from God too, if that's something you'd be up for. Low key, but with a point. A laugh and a think.

You're welcome - very welcome.

Sept 27th 7pm - 9pm
North Merchiston Club
43 Watson Avenue
EH11 1EP

So the map below is all zoomed in on the place. Youcan zoom out to get your bearings and find out where your house is in relation to it...



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This is a picture drawn by Josh, which kind of sums up Sarah's worship that she led us in. Sarah can you write more and Josh can you explain the picture...I don't want to put words in either of your mouths.

Awesome.

Army of me

I was wondering if Jesus could have written this song.

A couple of weeks ago Reuben led us on a quest. Without too much introduction we ventured out from our tiny little shoebox of serenity on Temple Park Crescent to Blackford Hill. From Blackford you can see all the city, the sea and Fife beyond. You can see our land.

As we sat on the grass Reuben read to us from the Newspaper about a girl who was a heroin addict and her struggle with normal life. She said that she saw other people doing things, which were just so hard to her. Then he read from the Bible. I can't remember which bit, but it took the story of this girl and somehow made it...not positive...but hopeful maybe.

A spirit seemed to rise in us. Suddenly it felt like God was real and we could make a massive difference in this city. And Max said he felt like we were an army...

... We are an Army of Him on this Earth.

Progress

Just like to say i loved house group last week, i left feeling on fire! Not literally as that would have been scary! But just with more of a passion to do what i believe.

We are all gifts to the world as Philip said, it is up to us how much of a gift we are and what we give.

Lets keep exploring our gifts and talents! Whoop whoop!

Bethxx

It was all quite handy....

Last night house group was a bit thin on the ground. Being so close to Easter peeps were off visiting family and stuff, we missed all of you.
We did though have an amazing evening started off by some lovely pasta and vey tasty garlic bread and salad and then we moved into chatting about what we had in our hands.....
Basic theme was the gifts, skills and passions God had given us. It was a highly encouraging discussion where we learnt about what God has given us from Corinthians and then told eachother what we thought eachothers gifts were. It was all concluded with a time of chatting to God who then gave us loads of pictures of what everyone had in their hands! It was really exciting and has left me wanting to learn more about God which i think is a good place to be.

This is my first wall post so i hope its ok....
Beth xx

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Down Under The Stairs

Last Thursday we took a trip to my favourite bar in Edinburgh - Under The Stairs, just off Grassmarket. It is probably the best bar in Edinburgh mostly because of the stone walls and the fact that it looks like they bought all their furniture from the Salvage Yard and generally it has the same atmosphere as a (mystical) friend's living room - what could be better?

So a bunch of us went there and hung out, and it was really fun! Much like going to the pub with friends and meeting new people...

The highlight for me was probably Max's comment about beef jerky, or was it biltong(?) being made out of pregnant cows (its 150% beef you know) - the image is going to stay with me forever, and I may never eat beef jerky or biltong again, not that I eat it often anyway but thanks Maximillion Bruno Edgar, we love you.

Just to prove it have a look at Emily's blipfoto thingy - its got me in the picture and everything.
http://www.blipfoto.com/view.php?id=262373&month=3&year=2009

Yeah!

Shine

Last night we thanked God for some stuff, then I read a ‘poem’ that I wrote a while ago. We chatted about it after and ended up talking and praying about what sort if things stop us from ‘shining’. Max said something cool, maybe Connor can describe it better (!?). Here’s the poem that I read (I wrote it one morning after waking up, I saw a picture of a pearl kind of inside me and then ‘spewd’ this onto a page. The cool thing is, I honestly don’t feel like it was me who wrote it…does that make sense? I hope it’s encouraging anyway):

Shine

This little light of mine
I’m trying to let it shine
This little light of mine
I’m fighting to let it shine

This little light, a pearl sometimes lost in the depths of my stomach
Sometimes I loose it, just for a time
Other times it rises up into my heart
Somehow multiplying, rising, and further still
It pulsates through my skin
Rebounding, ricocheting off my internal surfaces
Until it finds a way, an outlet, an expression

This little light of mine
I love it when it shines
Shining through my fingers, my eyes and my cheeks
A radiance unbeaten
When it rises up it changes me, transforms me, renews me
This great explosion of beauty, of compassion, of grace,
of creativity and freedom

This little light of mine
Oh I love it when it shines

But sometimes my light, it grows faint, it flickers,
seems distant, retreats to my depths
My soul searches and fights, frustration sets in,
in rekindling my light.
I reach down to retrieve it, anger abounds,
fear of this darkness, loneliness restrains.
This little light, somewhere inside, rolling away
A mere thought in my mind.
In the pits of my stomach I know it rests,
a tiny pearl, not taken, not lost

It’s then that I realise, my light must be nurtured
It must be fed and refreshed to rise up again
I come to the source, refreshing my light
My flame is ignited
My heart wins the fight

This little light of mine
I’m trying to let it shine
This little light of mine
I’m fighting to let it shine


I then wrote the following as a bit of an explanation (!):

This little light of mine brings radiance, beauty, creativity, freedom, love, hope, joy, strength, purity, confidence, peace, expression, grace and clarity.
When my light is not ignited and is left to flicker, ignored and abandoned, it brings anger, frustration, insecurity, loneliness, anxiety, shame, guilt, regret, fear, tiredness, weariness, unrest, shyness and confusion.
I must let my little light shine, I must come to the source, and reignite my flame, let it rise up within me, into my heart, my all, let it spread out its power throughout my being, be strengthened and renewed, let its beauty and radiance shine from my face. I must let my light shine. I must come to the source of that light. God’s spirit is that source. His spirit is within me.

Apologies for the long post!

Value the Person

Achan and Jesus

In Joshua there's an intense story about a guy called Achan who messes up and is dealt with pretty harshly for it. It's a good story and really reminds you that because Jesus came we don't need to be stoned to death for stuffing up.

My highlight of the night was probably when Reuben said: "It's actually really freeing, knowing that no matter how hard you try you're always going to stuff up."

I like it because it really makes it clear that in the face of the perfection of God we need Jesus. I used to think of it like this: Imagine you have lots of little bits of metal inside you. If a big magnet comes along your flesh will be ripped to pieces. Jesus removes the sin from us so that when we meet a holy God we're not ripped to pieces.

Does that make sense? Have i miss quoted you Reuben?

Welcome

First post - pressure.

I'm starting this Blog, for us to keep in touch and to document what happens in our community. It'll give people that want to be our new friends an idea of what it's like being in the gang. It might work. It might not.

We're meeting this week at our flat at 8pm. Lucia is going to dish out a rota in the near future so that we all get a chance to our tuppence into the mix.