the encounter

encounter peep post :: Shari Alfaro

Thought about giving your mom a goat for Christmas this year? I have.

I opened up the mailbox the other day and was instantly intrigued by the World Vision Gift Catalog.

Since Jonathan has been encouraging our community group to re-think Christmas from a season that can be filled with stress, debt, and shopping lists to a time where we turn our focus back to the birth of Christ the catalog made perfect sense.

Instead of the usual pictures of fashion and expensive electronics as gift ideas World Vision suggests their most popular gift, a goat ($75) that will provide milk, cheese, and yogurt for impoverished growing children in places like Zimbabwe. The family who receives the goat can even sell their surplus milk, cheese, and yogurt at the market to earn money for medicines and other necessities they couldn’t afford otherwise. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!

A goat doesn’t interest you? How about five ducks ($30) for fresh eggs and extra income, a share of a deep well ($100) for safe life-sustaining water every day for up to 300 people, two soccer balls ($16) that will make children’s eyes light up with joy, or brand-new clothing, diapers, and blankets ($25) for kids right here in America?

What a fantastic way to impact people’s lives instead of buying one more thing to add to our pile of “stuff” that we really don’t need anyhow.

Intrigued like I am? Check it out at www.worldvisiongifts.org and get ready to say, “Merry Christmas, Mom! I got you a goat!”

related ::
rethinking christmas

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11 couples are heading off today to Sky Ranch for a weekend marriage retreat! Heather and I are very excited about it! Planned for the weekend are group times for all the couples, individual couple talk times, relationship activities, games, zip line and ropes course, and some free time too!

In this generation, it is almost an imparative that couples take time to intentionally build their relationship. Without it, the stresses and strains of life can be almost too much.

The theme for the weekend is “Getting Back to More Than Eden”. There is no way to get back to the original pattern of life in the Garden of Eden. That does not mean that there is no hope for marriages. In fact, there is a way of life that is even greater than what was even enjoyed in Eden. It is life on the other side of disappointment, failure, and selfishness. It is new life with something that was never experienced in the Garden – mercy, grace, forgiveness, and self-less sacrifice.

So, off we go to look to Christ, learn from Him, build our marriages, have some fun, and make some memories!

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I’m always up for a good book about new ideas for the existance of church. Reimagining Church follows Frank Viola’s book, Pagan Christianity. In that book he deconstructs many of the current traditions that many churches hold to. He shows the origin of these traditions and their often unBiblical foundation. He deals with pastor’s salaries, choirs, minister of music, the order of service, etc.

In Reimagining Church he turns the page on the de-construction and begins the work of rebuilding what he sees as a model for future church. I found the book incredibly challenging, but at the same time very limiting. It seems that the only answer is a home-related fellowship with little room for other expressions of the Body of Christ today.

The book has been very helpful in our own church’s journey of understanding who we are and want to become. I’m not sure we’ll end up with a Viola looking model, but his thoughts will definitely have pulled us closer to a model that is intentionally relational, highly relevant, and grace-centered.

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(embedded video)

(HT Evan Courtney)

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Anytime I pick up a book, I expect to find a great story, nuggets of wisdom, or some practical help for my life. My expectation with this book was no different. Opening it though, I found something quite different. It is intended to be a book about me and God. The only stories are the ones I provide. The God-moments are the ones I provide.

It is really is the story ofme and God – a great mini book for taking a snap-shot ofmy life and God’s interaction in it. Each page is filled with “myspace questionnaire” type space about the very real areas of my life at this point.

• My perfect day would look like this…
• The family I grew up in talked about God in this way…
• Three things I used to do that I am not proud of…
• The musician or artist who influenced my beliefs today and why…

I can see the value of the book in seeing a big-picture view of my life, but also in passing on a heritage to family and friends who might pick up the book some day.

I’m not a big fill-out-the-questionnaire-person, so I really don’t anticipate using it for that purpose. What I have already done and will continue to do is use the questions to open conversation with my family and with our youth group. They are already used to the “questionnaire” concept, so answering these in small groupings allows them to the chance to “myspace” with others face to face.

Check it out here!

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