The World Cup thrills have begun!

Yesterday I could see the final draw of World Cup 2006 in Germany, for this time, the zone of Brazil is not as easy as it was in Korea, because of it, our team should be very prepared prior to First stage with groups, but a 5 time champion should not choose this adversaries. Croatia was a good team in 1998, but I don't know though they are now; Australia can surprise, but Japan has Zico as their coach, a former brazilian player that knows our team a lot, and this is my biggest concern.
Apart from it, it was fun to see Argentina with a though group again (sorry my Argentinean friends, but you know our rivalry).
Next 6 months will be full of expectations and preparations for this very big event.
US friends, I am not sure if USA will make it this time as you did in Japan, Italy and Czech Republic are big teams! And, if you make it, you will find Brazil ahead, remember 1994!

The blessing of being father

DSC00290
Originally uploaded by Lufe Batista.

As we have been atending a baptist church, I had to make our own baptism for Pedro Henrique, I could invite a friend who is a presbiterian pastor to baptize my child, not for a matter to make him baptized, but mostly for a witness of how important is our commitment of being fathers recognizing the Fathership of our God.
We made a very simple event, but it was also very touching.
We were very well reminded by Roberto, that prior to anything, Pedro is a being very loved by God, and God trusted to me and my wife the care for this little life. It is, we are caring first for being a God creature.
We could invite lots of friends, not all could came but at least lots of conversations started from this event, which were what I was willing for this kind of opportunity.
May God bless us, not only for our witness to others as a family but for the witness we will give to Pedro as his fathers.

Dreaming and planning

Latelly, I have been talked a lot with a pastor friend of mine about planting a new presbiterian comunity here in North side of Sao Paulo. These have been very exciting talks because I have been dreaming a lot with it and also he was dreaming of it too.
Beyond the excitement I know there is lot of important decisions to make about it, with whom will we count on it, where and how to start and I definitidely need wisdom from God to start well.
Frankly I have been thinking and praying about this moment for three years, I am so happy and my creativity is faster now. Surely I am starting to take a look on books I have owned last months but not read because it was not time, but now I count on your prayers for wisdom and opportunity.
Surely I will let you know about how it is going.

A photovisit to São Paulo

São paulo at night by Massao
By strength of circunstances I have been surfing at photo's sites, I liked very much the ones I found at Flickr, but I have got a pleasable surprise to find some communities of photos from my city: São Paulo, that is why I invite you to start knowing my city at Flickr at São Paulo community and also at Sampa Flick's, a nice way to start.

By faith

JR Woodward posted a message given last sunday about the second aniversary of Kairos Los Angeles, he told their story as Hebrews 11.
I love to see such cases and they are so insightfull and inspire so much as to think that the church is the hope of this world, and to wish to live such adventures here in Sao Paulo.

Hope

Photo by Mariusm
I would like to talk about what we are here for, what takes people to search for a church and what makes us wake up everyday: Hope.
In a midst of lots of discussions about rethinking church and theology, my inbox receive everyday remindings about lackness, about failure, about resposibility not fullfilled, about our need for a new reformation and the likes until going to the point of getting me a feeling of bitterness until to be tempted to think that the worse is happening in our church. I don't want to flee from all good discussions and questions about our faith, they have made us grow a lot. But I want to remember what we are here for.
When I think about what we have done I can think about trouble, but we are here not because of us, but because of God who had loved us first. When I was thinking about hope, it came a verse from Lamentations, when Jeremiah was also remembering about lots of bad thinks were happening to them, but could brilliantly talk about hope:

"I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness
the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed
I remember it all - oh, how well I remember -
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I rembember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope.

God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left..."

Lamentations 3:19-24 (The message)
Hope came ever when we remember who God is in spite of who we are. And I think that remember our hope is the best we can do when we are willing to please Him. He is a God that works for us and in spite of ourselves, makes all evil turn to our good, and this is His nature.
In the midst of all discussions I would like to remember the Hope we have, not for a scape nor for an excuse, but because we can, and if we live in all discussions for themselves away from the hope we got from Jesus ressurrection, we will become the saddest of all other people who also have lots to discuss but don't have this kind of hope.

Is this just a matter of service offered?

I found this very interesting picture from Rick's blog, if you track links you will find very interesting comments about this church add.
I am at very beggining of this emerging conversation and our emergent status in Brazil is also at its very beggining, but this picture brought me some questions: is emerging church just a different service to gather youths to church?
I myself fought a lot for a worship with drums and the like, and many leaders still think this is the matter.
When I read a very interesting article at Church Marketing Sucks: "Why People Leave Church", people themselves try to explain that quality of services are the matter, but as the same excellent article concluded, problems are more like a cummulative effect and has more to do with our inability to solve conflict. Which is: the problem goes around how we are community.
From what I have seen, this story is much deeper than offering services to please everyone. I think the way we do services reflect a lot the culture of a community and has a lot to do with how we express, but what we do and how we live community day by day means the large part of iceberg under the sea.

[RR] - SYDM - Chp 2 - Initiative

I would like to share a little of our discussion at Rambling Reading with the second chapter of Seizing your Divine Moment. The writer opens the book with Johnatan story at I Samuel 13:22 until 14:23 and discuss this situation in this chapter, when all the army was sleeping and Johnatan took his armer and went to Philistines camp to defeat them. Actually, he had everything to act as a victim of God of not being chosen to be the next king, instead of it, showed great courage and created a great opportunity.
An interesting quote of the chapter tells:

"We have defined holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to. I am convinced the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life we fail to live."

It is so true! As I read in other book I am reading now, Streams of Living Water, from Richard Foster, he described the Holiness tradition as very related to practice of spiritual disciplines not for Santification itself, but to empower and free us to make the good works we usually are unable to do. When I read the "Spirit of disciplines" from Dallas Willard I could get it, but now I am more convinced about it. It is, Santification implies action.
McManus remembered also the parable told by Jesus about the treasure distributed as the lord went out; this story fits very well with this situation, the guy that received and buried what was trusted to him was pledged guilty and this show how inaction might be a serious matter!
It is the kind of the book I must avoid to read at night, McManus words are like a gas to the fire inside me to be more outrageus at the Kingdom! It is hard to get to the bed and calm down to sleep! I hope and pray to be as outrageous as Johnatan, to realize more for the kingdom and inspire others as I have been inspired.

Imagining the effects

I was able to post some findings at Light Giver. But, by this time, just there.

[RR] Seizing your Divine Moment - Choices - Chp 1

McManus is gifted to challenge us in what he writes. I expected that and I felt myself very challenged since this chapter. I think I needed these kind of inspiration and challenge more often.
I think my preferred quote is from page 18: "If a moment is the gate through which your divine journey begins, then choice is the key that unlocks the adventure".
Choices makes not only differences to our own lifes, but sometimes has the potential to impact more people until impact the whole world. Another quote explain my concern:
"That's the mystery of a moment. It is small enough to ignore and big enough to change your life forever. Life is the sum total of what you do with the moments given you."
The fact is that I have been seen moments ignored by lackness of courage to make some difference and disregarding the risks.
I have been absorved by dreams but I can only dream of what if everything were propely done and think of this actual moment, there is a lost link between these two moments that must be achieved by choices that I must make. But this is not an easy think to do. I would like to be more eager to recognize potential moments and size them.
I pray only to not loose these moments that come to me to seize.

Oh! This is my post to Rambling Reading for first chapter

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" Jesus Christ, Luke 9:24

Our home is now complete

After a tense week, we have received good news as days went by, and now we are all home and our family is now complete.
Thanks to God that everything is OK now!

Cow Parade

Today, while my wife were at hospital with my baby, I could walk with my doughter to Ibirapuera park, we found 2 cows from CowParade.

After 24 cities, we have this Cow Parade here in São Paulo, the cows might not look so wonderful but they surely are nice. I hope to bring more from this collection.

Reality Church

Great post from Dan Kimball (writer of Emerging Church).
Reality Church brings 10 stages that people can spent in churches.I could perfectly identify myself in some stages, luckly Dan also told that we should not necessarily spent through all stages nor ending like 10th stage stated there.
I discovered it at Reality Blogs.

FlashBack

We are back home, but our baby didn't, he spent some problems with hypoglycemia and jaundice and is being treated at hospital. Now, we are envolved in the work of following how are his health at hospital without lacking our attention with my daughter Maria Ester, who also spent her first month at hospital.
But by this time we expect to have him returning very sooner here, until there, we can prepare our home for him.

Here's the Boy

Thanks to the Grace of God everything were all right.
We were expecting to make the C section next Friday, but we had to do it at last Saturday due circunstances that I don't know how to explain in English right now.
I could be present at the section and his borning was awsome! A Great moment of my life.

MY BABY IS BORN!

Pedro Henrique was just born! at 05:50 AM with 2.265 kgs, here in São Paulo.
God is good!
Later more details

Baby is coming, emotions are high

We are very close to Pedro Henrique borning, Heloiza blood pressure is OK, but she is suffering a little because of hot weather. We expect to make the C section on September 6th, but tomorrow we will go to doctor and he may antecipate this day.
My daughter, Maria Ester is very stressed, she got so nervous yesterday because I sit over her princess crown and broked it, in the second night in a row she overreacted to it. I tried to hug her, affirm our love to her, the love of all our relatives and her friends to her and tried to make her overcome this loss.
This is a new situation, this was not the first time that she used to overreact and cry compulsively. I am trying to treat her showing love and all acceptance. We know that this would arise as the day of Pedro Henrique borning becames close.
We count on your prayers.

Light Giver

I was honored by JR Woodward, from Kairos Los Angeles, to contribute to Light Giver, one of his blogs, with articles about imersing and living in the sacred text.
I am comitted to write there weekly, though writing weekly seems a hard task, I am not writing here weekly, I am glad to participate in this challenge and the opportunity to bless and also learn.

Soccer

Back to the alien conclusions, one of the most clear faces in Brazil of comparision problems arise around soccer matches. I readed Donald Miller trying to describe what were basketball to an alien, but I think it would be as embarassing to describe soccer and soccer passion to him.
I support a team here: Corinthians, I even cried when Brazil won World Cup. But I think that the interest in soccer teams got beyond entertainment matters. I think the problem is not with passion as entertainment but how it is being envolved not only with money but in lives.
People want to choose the best team in order to be in a better position than his friends of office, he can laugh at them and show his pretended advantadge, from this point of view, people starts not only to support their teams but also support against other teams with a high grade of interest, which is clear when we can hear very well lots of people shouting at goals even in a small importance match.
From this we can go to the groups of people that make serious fights if they encounter each other at streets or broke everything at city to show their happiness when their teams win or their frustration then their teams loose.
I think this is a clear sign of an effort to pin what was missed with all sorts of odd methods which have not worked.
Ah! And I didn't told yet how people are getting rich with these things!
If team make it,happiness come for the follow day, but comes Tuesday and starts everything again, and it will not be enough.

Shame on you Rev. Robertson!

I don't know if our press are overeacting with this case as they do with evangelicals, "Estado de S. Paulo" published half of a page report titled: "Evangelical pastor asks death of Chavez".
But I liked the quick reaction of my favorite bloggers:

Thou shalt not say stupid things on the air - Caffeinated Adventures - Rick Stillwell

WWJA: Whom Would Jesus Assassinate? - Bloggedy Blog - Andrew Careaga

Pat "The Idgit" Robertson and More on Pat Robertson - Orange Jack - Rob Willams

After taking lots of time explaining about Fundamentalism, Cruzades and Christianism, there's more to do yet!

Alien

I have finished yesterday "Searching for God knows what", from Donald Miller and I though it a terrific book. I liked when he though about how an alien would think about humanity after observing people and TV shows:

"Humans, as a species, are constantly, and in every way, comparing themselves to one another, which, given the brief nature of their existence, seems an oddity and, for that matter, a waste. Nevertheless, this is the driving influence behind every human's social development, their emotional health and sense of joy, and, sadly, their greatest tragedies. It is as though something that helped them function and live well has gone missing, and they are pining for that missing thing in all sorts of odd methods, none of which are working. The greater tragedy is that very few people understand they have the diease. This seems strange as well because it is obvious. To be sure, it is killing them, and yet sustaining their social and economic systems. They are an entirely beautiful people with a terrible problem."

To feel well, people need to be in a kind of advantage against other, but this will be never enough.
I can see that think in some ways... to be covered in next posts.

Not so inspired

I am not as inspired to post today, there such days like these I am now that I got so tired of my dreams that I start to feel a strong cinicism, I think "who cares?". Last sunday we went to morning service and as my wife chosed to rest at afternoon she would not go to night service, so did I. Normally I would use to go to both services, but I choosed not to go, I felt so alone there in the morning that I would not like to feel more loneny at night.
Today I could not sleep all night and I could wake up early to pray and meditate at Word, I could read some psalms and though I am so tempted to feel far from spiritual, I could feel with God anyway.
I could just ask Him not to let my vision be lost and not to focus at my career as my daily hope.
Not so inspiring days but these days are with God.

We have not known thee

I first listened to this music at Mars Hill Church Seattle site, but last time I have listen a beautifull playing from Team Strike Force, I could even dream with this music last week. When I came here, I could search for lyrics and find a very rich music which was written in 1875 but tells a lot for us today. The music is at the main page yet. It is awesome:

We have not known thee as we ought,
nor learned thy wisdom, grace and power;
the things of earth have filled our thought,
and trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light thy truth to see,
and make us wise in knowing thee.

We have not feared thee as we ought,
nor bowed beneath thine awful eye,
nor guarded deed and word and thought,
remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know thee near,
and grant the grace of holy fear.

We have not loved thee as we ought,
nor cared that we are loved by thee;
thy presence we have coldly sought,
and feebly longed thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
to feel and know the love thou art.

We have not served thee as we ought,
alas, the duties left undone,
the work with little fervor wrought,
the battles lost or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
for thee to toil, for thee to fight.

When shall we know thee as we ought,
and fear and love and serve aright?
when shall we, out of trial brought,
be perfect in the land of light?
Lord, may we day by day prepare
to see thy face and serve thee there.

Back again!

I have returned last Friday from Serra Negra, this is the third time I go to Vale do Sol, there has been not a travel to know new places and take many photos, but it has been rather a time for retreat. I was longing for it a lot, every hollidays I was dreaming of going there, but this week was the time.
It was a retreat with early devotionals from John Piper with the book "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" and with main lectures from Donald Miller with "Blue like Jazz". Actually I read it all from Sunday to Thursday.
I have got really impressed with Donald's simplicity, humility and authenticity telling his stories. The chapters about Belief, Loneny and Worship told a lot to me. His stories inspired me a lot to use my stories to reflect God and His kingdom, I hope to be as simple as him to share my stories.
As I have shipped two books of him, I will follow with "Searching for God knows what".
As previously told, my house was painted while we was in Serra Negra, so when we got back and got satisfied with final results, we had the task of unpacking our luggage and also unpack everything boxed. Was my opportunity to re order my books in shelves.
I got also my throat inflamed so there came fever, pain through body and I slowed down my work. But everything is getting fine and I hope to be better until tomorrow.
Thursday I will be back to office.

A little rest

Finally I am on my vacation, tomorrow I will go to the mountains to feel some cold weather (just cold weather at about 5 C) at Serra Negra and retire from rush here.
I was waiting a lot for these days, I hope to rest a lot and to be sure what to do when I come back regarding ministry and kingdom.
I hope the termical swimming pools might help me a lot!
I am taking on my luggage "Blue like Jazz", I have seen the blogosphere talking a lot about Donald Miller, so my last shipment I asked for two books of him.
Also, I will seize the trip to have my house painted, today was a day to box everything and Friday will be a day like Home makeover surprise!
The hotel is very simple and I will not have full access to internet, so, I will not be able to post. I hope to escape to the city when I can read some mails and comments.
I count on your prayers for this travel.

What others say about Luis Fernando

I found this meme in Rick's blog - take your name and search on "Name is" (use quotes to keep the phrase together), and see what you find. So, here's "Luis Frnando is" to the rest of the world:

- Luis Fernando is his name and he took us to many
places we would not normally have gone due to ignorance,language,and fear! ... - Come and see the light!

- Luis Fernando is handsome, rich and accustomed to
getting his own way. When his best friend Ernesto steals one of his lovers, ... It was you Ernesto! I will kill you!

- Luis Fernando Is Credited On The Following CDs. Guitarristas "Guitarristas" Our Price: $14.50 (Price Includes US shipping) - I think this work was very fine, intimist but very sincere. May worth to check.

- Luis Fernando is an Associate. Professor of the Foreign Languages Department since 1995. He studied Philosophy and Literature at the Universidad Pontificia ... - Many people were impressioned to see me as professor at 25s, very young, but I made it!

- Our new brother Luis Fernando is 38 years old, is a baker man and now a son
of God by His mercy and thanks to our work through the radio. ... - Yes! Listening to "how to bake" lessons in radio I am now a new man!

- My Brothers and Sister. Luis Fernando is the oldest. He is very intelligent, and he always make a very good job. - Thanks

- His wife, Maria del Socorro, also kidnapped by the ELN and released on June 15, said that "Luis Fernando is in great spiritual shape thanks to his faith Thanks again! Tuff times kidnapped.

Icons

My dougher seized the variety of post-its she got to draw our family and post them close to the computer: Pedro Henrique (pragnancy is going very well!), Dad (me), Maria Ester (her) and Mammy (my wife)

...

This week I could finish my reading of the book of Judges, and it is finished with one of the most bizarres histories of the Bible, a levite travel with his concubine and in the middle of his travel stops for a rest. Some neighbors call the man that received them and asks for the visitors for an orgy, they give the concubine wich is violented by them until death. The levite send pieces of her body in order to all country reflect, but this reflection makes Israel go to Benjamin and almost destroy this tribe... Yes, it is disaster after disaster. This happened in a time when "there was no king in Israel and anybody acted like was good to themselves"
Israel could make it and live well without a King if they should follow God with all their hearts, God should be their King. But it seems it didn't work and each one followed their own heart and made what seemed right to them, by this way, even their reflections was disasterous
When I saw bombs from Al Qaeda again I thought in it, if Jesus is not present we will see bizarreous things, also the most people will reflect the most we will see other bizarreous things for this lack of wisdom.
Here in Brazil some are glad to know are not on Al Qaeda list but we are in the middle of scandals from people of government and these things have generated consequences as bizarres than those things: corruption and misery.
As what happened with the levite, who asked for a reflection after such disaster, what else we need to start to think?
Jesus Christ is the answer.

One year posting in English

There was so many things to do this month, that I skipped the blogversary of this blog. I started to post here translating some posts from my Brazilian Blog "Checklist para viver o Cristianismo Hoje", at that time, some people tried to read that blog with Alta Vista translating facilities. Though, sometimes I know that to be understood you need more than a word by word translation, you need also an explanation of what means some things I am telling there, that is why I started to post here specially in English.
It has been a nice year, I have got more friends and the conversation has been very fine. As long as I have received some comments and also links to this site, those things have making my days. It has making me feel inserted to a great blogging community, and I have been learning a lot with those, specially with the emerging churching bloggers. Though Emerging Church is far to emerge here in São Paulo, I can feel this taste with all of you, emerging church bloggers. From you I get so inspired to make this way here in my city.
I has been a hard work also, as many posts from my other blog are inspired of what I have found in my blogosphere, sometimes I think that those are not as relevant as to translate them here. So I have tried to post something really relevant to my international readers. Sorry if sometimes I am posting here fewer than I could!
Anyway I hope you are enjoying this as much as I.

Reading review

I found this meme at Rick's new blog and found it interesting to post here too:

Total books owned: Near 300.

Last books I bought: Seeing and savoring Jesus Christ, John Piper; Contemporary Christian Music, Sandro Baggio and NIV Bible at Chronological Order.

Last book I read: The Craft of Research, Booth, Colomb and Williams.

Five Books that mean a lot to me:
Community 101 - Gilbert Bilezichean
Jesus for a New Generation - Kevin G. Ford
Uprising - Erwin McManus
Divine Conspiration - Dallas Willard
Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster

Feel free to share your revision at comments

Yes, something in the air

"If He was willing to turn Judaism upside down, don't think for amoment our institutions are safe from a divine revolt. I am convinced that even now there are multitudes of followers of Jesus Christ who are sick and tired of the church playing games and playing down the call of God. My travels only confirm that the murmurings of revolution are everywhere. I am convinced taht there is an uprising in the works and that no one less than God is behind it."

Erwin McManus, The Barbarian Way
I have read this quote some months ago, and with all are have been seeing, like the post of yesterday, I have been convinced and invited to this holy revolution.

Something in the air

I have been talked very much about our need for a renewal here in our brazilian church. This kind of conspiration has been more common as the time goes by. But I have found a poll that make this kind of conspiration more explicit.

Are you satisfied where you are and with what you have at your church?
739 Votes - 28.5%

Are you not standing go to church?
456 Votes - 17.6%

Did you stop going to church?
415 Votes - 16.0%

Do you think everything is wrong, but stay for guilt and fear?
167 Votes - 6.4%

Do you expect for something new inside evangelical church?
400 Votes - 15.4%

Do you expect for something new outside evangelical chuch?
170 Votes - 6.6%

Are you meeting informaly with other disciples?
246 Votes - 9.5%

Though the ministry of Pr. Caio Fábio calls for these kind of thoguhts (I can explain it later) and peolple that visit his site are more likely to search for something new at church, I feel surprised to see this kind of idea so explicit. And for this kind of renewal I am working and praying for.

Considerations after a great party

I am so happy yesterday we could celebrate the fifith birthday of my doughter, it was a great party! We spent some weeks waiting for these moments and it worthed to wait.
It is ironic that this is my first party we did which the majority was unchurched, we had just a couple from my former church, why it is so hard to maintain friendships even if you are not at the same church? Of course we had other people of faith with us, but our present community is spreaded among several churches.
Even with this consideration I am glad! We could share our happiness and our gratitude to God with everybody and all unchurched people felt touched. I told my wife that I feel we are more likely to impact people now, when we are among them.

A Boy!

As told in previous posts, Saturday we went to our second ultrasound exam, finally we found that the baby is a boy. I was expecting for it as long as the doctor hinted in the first exam.
We are happy, as happy as if the baby was a girl, but we will surely have a different adventure. A good thing for being a boy is that his name is already chosen: Pedro Henrique (it might be very hard for an english speaker to tell it), if the baby was a girl we would debate about a lot!

Corporative gifts

Talking yet about my birthday it was funny that the first call I received at my office was from my banking officer, in the morning yet, my insurance office secretary called me twice to congratulate me, off course at second time I have remembered her about it.
I received lots of e-mails from the sites I had registered, but there was a better mail from Blockbuster offering me a free DVD rental.
There was two gifts I was waiting for I used to receive every year, a 40% discount at a Christian bookseller and a meal at one expensive restaurant in Sao Paulo, this time I received just the first. We got disappointed to know that any of us will not receive a meal in our birthday, even after filling all forms in all times we went there to guarantee that.

My template for a 35 years blogger

Time to change my template, how do you think about it?

Yes, yesterday was my birthday

I should shame myself, yesterday was my birthday and I was not able to post any hello here! I drafted a special message for birthday and thought of changing blogg template, but my birthday was not as calm as I expected. I spent all night with my doughter at hospital due a reaction to a medicine gaved to her. At night, my mother went my home but we all were to tired to party, I was just able to see "The Amazing Race 5" beggining.
Even with those trouble my day was fine, I have received many best wishes from friends. I programmed a party next Saturday, tuesday is a terrible day for party (and got worse), as my doughter got better and we expect to know the sex of our baby we hope to better celebrate.

Radical Faith

We have a special service yesterday, I could see a group of 20 youths ready to go to Africa for 6 months learning France language and supporting local missionaries, the project was called Radical Africa.
I couldn't avoid to shed tears seeing such disposition to serve. There were youths from various places of our country and when I see youths ready to go and churches supporting them, it is a good signal of effectiveness of church.
I am impacted yet by the message of Erwin McManus through "The Barbarian Way", there was a very good example of a untaimed and undomesticated faith: a faith that does not fear risks but moves to action and bless.

Fotolog updated!

Reading in Horto ~The Story We Find Ourselves In~ 
Today we could wake up early enough to take a walk to a park very near our house called "Horto Florestal", there so long we have not gone before. I gave my WebCam to Maria Ester and she did a really good job, she is getting well with camera.
We saw a great party of the monkeys of park, it is really a great priviliege to live near to nature and to a park so beautifull

Too much information!

I am back from lunch and in last hour I have heard of two marriages ended! I am chocked!
There was man and woman that used to smoke together here in the office, now I know that they are also living together, his doughter is a little older than mine.
I have found a neighbor where I use to have coffee, he let me know that he moved from his apartment six months ago but his wife (now ex) stayed there.
Too much to know in a single lunch.
I am very sorry for their kids and for their missed opportunity to keep family together. I know that sometimes it might be needed to keep life going, but I also know that life will never go the same way. A great pity!

Back from Colapse

I am glad, really glad!
I am back from a camp retreat after long time ago I was not able to go to one, retreats are really awsome! Retreats open uncommon moments of change, reflecting and also resting and fun. I backed home really refreshed.
We could perform Colapse Calypse, it was very, very funny, the people from the church help me a lot and turned this hard work so easy! It is amazing to work with a team! Create and see your creation is also awsome! I could felt like God in Genesis 1, "and saw that it was good". I have to create more, it makes me feel so good! I think that it helped me to come home even more refreshed. Though the game made me exausted, I waked up the day after with lots of aches in my body, they all was gone with some hours at swimming pool with my doughter.
After all I could see my contribution to teens edification, I felt so honored and blessing to perform this role in their lives. I need to be back to game soon!
It was good to see my doughter very free. I own her a game for her age, I hope to have moments like those with my family.
I started to read the new book from Erwin McManus "The Barbarian Way", he talks about how our faith became civilized and claims for a barbarian faith, I am deeply challenged.
We returned home on Saturday night in order to have a better preparation for the week, when you get home you have to get all dirty clothes, organize bags, clean the car etc. But I could see some videos from series from Mosaic, Kairos and Willow Creek, it was enough to inspire me again for our need for a relevant and functional community in São Paulo.

Colapse Calypse

A pastor friend of mine asked me to perform a game in a retreat to the teens of his church. This is because once I was ministring to teens in my former church I had created a game called "Hunt for the Red October" (it was in a retreat in October, of course). I felt really honored to live this thrill again, I know that I ever regret of this feeling at 3:00 A.M. when teens are yelling and shouting outside and I am trying to sleep, but I am feel very honored to praise to my God with such a work like this. As it we are not in October and as I am performing this game first time outside my former church I created a new name: Colapse Calypse, I think ministers in US are very used to this kind of work, it is an one day game (from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm) very funny.
People here liked this game because have lots of plays and is very organized, but you need lots of folks to help you and lots of time to prepare it, as it is difficult to have professional youth ministers here, lay people uses to do this work, and time is little to create such work.
Here I am, copying and pasting, printing lot of rules and maps, exciting for the camp of April 21st (it is holliday here, Tiradentes)

Busy and quick days

Latelly I have been in a great rush, I have been giver greater responsibility at my work and I have started to get out later that I used to. It's good from one side because I can do things closer to what I can do, and I ever thought that when I get more responsibility the days of going out early would be rare. By other side this rushing has taken me more of my disposition.
I have been waked up at the limit of what I can stay at bed, though, I have lost lots of morning devotionals I could do, I can't relate these times exclusively to my rush times at work, because there's sometimes at the year I get to this situation, I repeat the snooze options at my radio-clock and my post-sleep time and pre-going-out gets very short, and too short for praying and meditation.
I miss these times a lot, I think I have already shared this, but this situation prolongs until I get courage to get up at the first clock advise and realize that I need this time with God.
Also, sometimes it seems that this rushing day by day makes me lacks some of the vision, but I know that I am still spiritual, because my spirituality does not depend on what I feel, but with the choices I do in my day by day. Ironically I remember being very well used by God in times like these.

Quitet? Not for lack of inspiration.

I have been quiet for a long time but I really wanted to post something about this Easter, this is a really big moment to be remembered and to be really praised, I have been surfed in my blogosphere and I have found some things very insightfull:

From Rick: Morning Discovery - brief but powerfull
From Being Real - He's not here, He has risen! - very nice picture

Sometimes we don't have to tell so much about it, but this moment worth reflections. Reflections about Jesus victory and reflections about how do we let Jesus be victorious in our lifes. I think it is a pitty Jesus ressurrection being remembered just once in the Easter in many churches I know.
This moment worths a lot!

iWorld?

As I went out home very early today, I could count just with a computer section of the newspaper of yesterday. Though, I could read an excelent article from Andrew Sullivan, The Times (O Estado de S. Paulo posted a summary of his article): Society is dead, we have retreated into the iWorld, I got really impressed with his sensitiveness and a new angle for seeing the advance of a user oriented technology:

"You get your news from your favourite blogs, the ones that won’t challenge your view of the world. You tune into a satellite radio service that also aims directly at a small market — for new age fanatics, liberal talk or Christian rock. Television is all cable. Culture is all subculture. Your cell phones can receive e-mail feeds of your favourite blogger’s latest thoughts — seconds after he has posted them — get sports scores for your team or stock quotes of your portfolio.
Technology has given us a universe entirely for ourselves — where the serendipity of meeting a new stranger, hearing a piece of music we would never choose for ourselves or an opinion that might force us to change our mind about something are all effectively banished. "

This is ironic, once you have a very user oriented world, you lack the sense or what is reality, mainly when you have lots of realities walking beside you. I believe we started to listen to appeals like those when first Walkman was launched, but this kind of user oriented technology were not as strong, with this power of maitaining everybody inside their own worlds and not discovering the newness of each other!
Relationship still matters! Even more!

Gratitude and Responsability

Last Monday I took the night to go Supermarket to buy our provisions for the month, every day I return home with all provisions I get very gratefull to God because of His mercy to make me able to get everything my family need.
That time my gratitude went deeper, I could saw a mother buying something to her doughter (as old as mine), she looked needy but she could buy some crackers and soft drink to her. When you live among poverty like here in Brazil, this kind of scene is not uncommon.
I could imagining how hard many parents here can supply what their kids demand. This scene breaked my heart. Latelly I have been with a great will to do something about it, but this could be done mainly by community, that is one of the main tasks community are rised for, to reach people like her with the love of Christ. Delivering food is not enough, these people need closeness.
This is a embarrassing situation, even more when I see my market car. I could remember a phrase from Spiderman "Where is power there is responsibility".

If you are here for U2...

I am a fan of U2, not the greatest one, and I am far from an A class fan. I have ever liked U2 but not enough to buy their CD. Last year though I bought "All you can't leave behind", I liked it a lot, so I posted their CD picture as I try to do with the CDs I like.

The funny think is that this picture was somewhat linked to my blog, latelly I have my page views multiplied because of this picture. If you are here looking for more information about "All you can't leave behind", sorry I'm not the best one to provide it. But I know a very good blog about U2 and close to what I have been discussing: U2 Sermons
Talking about that, I have found in Kairos, a text about their last and very good CD "How to dismantle the atomic bomb",(and I have listen a lot to it):"Bring on the Love: U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb".
Hope I could helped you! Thanks for comming!

Into the point out of the person

I suddenly finish "Out of the question...into the mystery", from Leonard Sweet.
The book started with a very intriguing reflexion about Abrahan faith test, the author declares a great result in obedience test, but a great failure in relationship test. Sweet brings lot of evidences about Abraham and Isaac that I had never noted, shame on me when I readed just to remember history and not detaily. Shame on me when I discover on many times on my life that I was very obedient to my mission but by detriment of my wife and doughter, this is a great lesson from this book.
While is common to find churches with concerns about jurisdition, excellence, and tasks oriented, I have see them made nice events but lacked on relationships.
Though many of the chapters I was reading like as I have hard a lot before, when I have finished I realize the importance of this matter. Christianity is relationship based, not only with God, not only with brothers, not only to other people, but also to their expression: our world (creation as expression of God) and our arts (our expression). It is good when you see some churches awaking to this reality:

"Being a Christian is more about relationship with God than beliefs about God; more about the presence of God than ther proofs of God; more about intimacy with truth than the tenets of truth; more about knowing God's activities than knowing God's attributes. It is time to move from a religion that seeks to comprehend God to a relationship that seeks to encouter and be a home for God - to move from points and propositions and moralisms to mystery and paradox and participation in the divine life."

Wellcome Kairos' people!

After see some links from Kairos' site to my blog, I have discovered a link from the church to my blog, I feel deeply honored of that!
Wellcome Kairos' people!

Interview

Here's a new game I found in Rick's blog, he answered a questionare from another friend and I asked to join according to the rules below.
Here the question Rick chose for me (Thank you Rick!):
1) What's one of the major things you think about living in Brazil that's different than me living in the United States?
Here in Brazil things are much more unpredictable, I can tell I could get an hour to reach a point in the city, but we must have a broad tolerance (it is from 15 to 45 minutes). When I were in Chicago I was asking for a bus driver where would the bus go, so when her time to go camed she interrupted me to go (here, I could spent more minutes with the driver), also it was difficult to get used to have all the changes prior to get the bus
2) What is the top-rated TV show right now in Brazil? Do you watch it? What's your favorite TV show on right now? What's it about?
Our top TV show is always our soap operas, the one is at TV is called "Owneress of a destiny", it is a story about a woman that lost her baby at 70ies and find her now, but her step mother try to separate them. I don't like it, there is a lot of sex and violence, it usually has 200 chapters and is at TV from Monday to Saturday. After I got cabo, I stopped to watch this kind of program. Our Big Brother is also very watched. But my favorite TV shows are at cabo, some reality shows: Amazing Race, Americal Idol, Queer eye for a straight guy (just after church) and Apprentice and some series from US: Desperate Hosewifes, Joan of Arcadia and Frasier.
3) How many people have you talked to today? Can you name them all?
My boss, Martin(from Argentina), Adriana (from Colombia) - callconference, Roberta, Clarice and Andrea, my place partners; Andre, Juliana and Fernanda, my job partners; Nelson, from accounting. Elaine, by MSN. My wife, doughter and the doctor, today was our first talking about our baby.
4) What is your favorite style of music, and your favorite CD right now?
I usually like Rock and pop, but I am very open to other styles. My favorite CD now is that new one from U2 "How to dismantle atomic bomb"
5) You're flying to the US for a conference and I'm picking you up at the airport. Where would you like to go first - local siteseeing, your hotel, or the restroom? Why?

The first thing I would do is going local siteseeing. I rather use the opportunity to be at different place to know what's different there. I can rest later.
Though when I went to Chicago, I spent all night awake at plane, when I landed we went to hotel, to Willow Creek at a morning service but at afternoon I had to sleep, I was sleeping standed.

The Official rules of the Interview-Game
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions
6. I will answer reasonable follow up questions if you leave a comment.

What happens when you are hard to forgive.

Last Monday we have a great event of pseudo-marriage (they could not really marriage because they are not divorced) of Ronaldo, our best soccer player. It was a very great opportunity to spread all kinds of gossips. Ronaldo chose the Chantily (France) castle to marriage and spent millions of dollars to guarantee it would be a dream come true.
It was sad to see all his friends with very serious faces going to the celebration, they seemed too worry because of the press and lots of photos. Ronaldo builded a very solid scheme to block all press to his marriage, later we will have the fortunate guy that could take some photos of it. It was discussed a lot, celebreties need the press to climb but move them out later.
The sadiest think was when Daniela (the bride) expelled a girl that entered the pary together with a gest (her friend). She had problem with this girl earlier when she used to date another guy in Brazil. The thing is that people are talking more about the expelling than the marriage itself. The girl is a model and her payment lifted 900% after what happended.
It happens when you are hard to forgive, when you are intentional to show that people must be punished, they got to be rewarded by your anger.

The beginning of another great adventure

Here he/she is!
We have begun our year with a great surprise, our family will be greater and we received a big gift from God, one to love and to care for our Dad.

Jesus didn't like to eat alone

"Jesus often did things alone, but it seems he didn't like to eat alone. He invited strangers and friends to eat with him without preconditions and accepted meal invitations from almos anyone"

Leonard Sweet, Out of the question into the mystery
Add to checklist - To lunch alone is a boring thing indeed, try to lunch not at a time convenient to me but at a time convenient to join with others to meal.
I knew a mall where the common place to meal were somewhat restricted, therefore they encouraged people to lunch at empty chairs even when the table (for 4 people) where occupied by one or two people. It is ironic to see how embarassing it got to be!

License to sin

It's Carnaval, this is our biggest holliday, as it usually stays at the beggining of the year, most people (and even business) uses to take the year seriously after Carnaval, in January people set up their vacations and Carnaval is a sign that after that, most people are back to work. Even churches have slow attendance in January and waits this holliday to start their seasons.
This a huge holliday, it's ever on Tuesday, and people back to work after Wednesday ashes. As it is a big holliday, we have many churches seting retires to youths, I used to go every Carnaval to a retire, I had good moments on that. As I lost contact with youth ministry, now I'm at home.
Carnaval was a ancient party tolerated by church where people used to have a more free behavour before ashes, this is the spirit of the party here (except for the observation of lent), people go to party very ready for casual sex. We have parties at TV with a very liberal behaviour.
It is ironic the origin of this party, it implies a very religious concern but in a legalistic context, where the sin is a need to be avoided instead of a bad thing that brings bad consequences to ourselves and to our relationship with God.

The Emerging Church

Last week I was able to finish "Emerging Church", from Dan Kimball, I have also good personal referencies from him. This book is very nice referenced and I liked the comments made through all book from Rick Warren (Saddleback), Brian McLaren, Howard Hendricks, Chip Ingram, Sally Morgenthaler and Mark Oestreicher (I know the first two, but started to like others).
The books adress very well a big problem church is facing today, mainly to gather youth. I believe we have a kind of abuse of the solutions purposed last years so that many churches rather trust in the solution than in core Christinism itself. All of this problems helped us to lost much of our authenticism, I believe the problems is the faith in solutions and solutions abuse, I went to Willow Creek tree years ago, and I think they provided me nice solutions also, I think those are tools to be used and would be very worth here yet.
The book made me understand very well the elements of many of the emerging churches I have became a fan (many of them are listed at left). There are a lot of insights that broaden my alternatives to think about church. I don't know if I would apply them all, as even Dan told, this is a matter of sensivity of how we are today, here in Brazil we have a certain kind of post-modern mind spreaded throughout youths, but I couldn't notice yet if they are as spiritual as to be close to lots of elements showed at the book. This is not to say I am not going to shopping and trying the insensus and candles at different smells.

Lot of rain and lot of DVDs

I have just returned all films to the movie renter and became satisfied with I have saw. This week began with our city vacations, but we have rain almost all day, nice days to see some movies at home:
Starsky & Hutch - These series were at TV when I was a child, but I had not notice it enough. I thing Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are very funny partners. I though the interviews at extra also very funny.
Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind - That is a great movie, I liked to see an unrecognizable Jim Carrey, I think this flexibility is a characteristic for a great actor. I think this movie tried to show that our experiences make the difference to make us change in our lives, if we take out our memories we would take the same choices we could make earlier, these kind of choices will reflect our intact nature. From each experience we have, how do we react is very important, if we react with bitterness, we will be tied to our past in order to not release otheres. But if we get Jesus solution, that is forgiveness, we will be free from the past to live present and creat good memories for the future. I think this is a very nice movie to discussion.
Butterfly effect - That was another nice surprise of a comediant playing a serious film. I think it is like a post-modern "Back to the Future", the character is able to back to his traumatic moments of his life, fix them, but cannot avoid other consequences of this. I have found in DVD a nice retrospective about travel through time, we can note how is wished to be back on time to gain some grasp about our lives. Though a life that can be easily fixed will take out the opportunities to learn from mistakes and to make good turnarounds in life. I think these opportunities of turnarounds and to learn from mistakes make the life so precious, and make Jesus Christ the best answer of all for all that find theirselves tied to their hopeless lifes, Jesus is the only that can give a solution to all hopelessness and the sense that nothing can be turned to good.
The Village - I liked the surprise of this film that, by this time, it was not a supernatural thing, but a great surprise of what fear can generate.
Harry Potter and the prisioner of Azkaban - Cool film, but I think I don't have enough patience for this kind of film anymore. I reserved this film for my wife if The Village were a lot disturbing, but this was not the case.

My First Bonhoeffer

I was told a lot about Dietrich Bonhoeffer so that in the first opportunity to read his books, when Life Together was chosen to be discussed in Rambling Reading, I got to buy other two other books from him.
Life Together tells about his community experience in a seminary he runned at Germany in Second War times. After his seminary was closed he was arrested and killed in a concentration camp in 1945.
I found very interesting his direct talk when telling his positions, there are many ideas that is being told today but surely without the deepness of Bonhoeffer.
One of the things I kept in my heart is how Communitty is essential and important, he tells how people that experience it today might be happy in detriment of many with a very small Christian witness, but though I live in a country with a lifting Evangelical witness, I also miss this kind of experience.
Bonhoeffer tells that the community in Christ is essential because through that, our brother tells to us in Christ, period. It is, through this kind of friendship, God uses our brothers and sisters to help us and to teach us. He is not telling about fellowship that is develop through barbecues and cafes post-services, but something deeper, he explained difference so that to experience community, we have to experience a kind of disapointment of community, so that we do not love people because of what they can bring to us, but love them because of Jesus Christ.
It is a hard journey, because it implies authenticity, integrity ang forgiveness but takes us to a very wished place that is the community Jesus purposed.
Surely all this things will be in my heart, and I hope to offer this kind of love from now on.

An early weak up for the vacation week

I have three more days of vacation, I will be back to office on Thursday. All my dreams of vacation begins with late weak ups, these were not the case for the days in Ubatuba because we wished to get ready soon to spent larger moments at beach. This was not the case for today, I wished to get a quick drop on the bathroom at 6:30 and when I got back I could not sleep again.
Since I read the life of Jeremiah in "Run with the horses" every time I wake up early in the morning (and when I can stay at bed more), I feel I am called by God to a moment with HIm, I have few excuses now.
But it's ever been good, I opened my windows to breath the fresh air and I recall lots of moments when I was breathing fresh air at retreats and travels that made well a lot to me. I thanked God for all those moments and to be called to think about it.
Even more when I could read the Uprising chapter about gratitude, when you are greatfull you see grace, when you are not you became a child thinking you deserve everything you want, but now you know everything is not good for you. The other good thing about gratitude is that when you are grateful, you are able to forgive, to stop bitterness and to be free from the past and live present and future.
I believe I will talk more about this book, I have been like it a lot.
Time to buy the school list for my kid, she's vacation is also getting to end! But the day started better than I thought.

Back Again!

After 6 terrific days at beach I'm back home, I have planned to return today because Tuesday will be our city holiday and many more people usually plan to go to the beach thanks to this 4 days free (remember, I live in the 5th largest city in the world), I rather stay here in Holidays than stay at beach where gets to have a population of a very large city but no structure to it.
I returned very amused and grateful to God for stayed there, though we had not Sun everyday, actually, we had just two sunny days, the weather was very hot, so everyday got to be beach day, even in the very cloudy days, we got rain just once, when we were getting out to our place, but the rain became a very delicious one. As I have planned to stay in a better place, our investment were well done.
I started to read Uprising, and this book gave me great reflections for my retiring days, I started to think about using its working book for a small group here, when I find friends to be with me.
I have more 6 days in my vacation and I could take advantadge of a Blockbuster promotion for São Paulo hollidays, until Wednesday I have rented: Harry Potter, Starsky & Hutch, The Village, Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind and Butterfly Effect.
I will be back to fullfill what I have promised in my last post, not today... later.

Beginning 2005!

What kind of blogger am I! There is January 14th and I haven't posted nothing!
Surely stop blogging is not one of my new year resolutions!
Actually I would like to talk about my agenda for this year, but in these last two weeks I spent busy a lot working to guarant my next 10 days vacations!
When we try to prepare everything at work for vacation we got really needy for vacations! I have worked a lot! But Thanks to God, I am going very easy to our personal retreat. We are going to the beach, Summer in Brazil Southeast have lots of rain, but is also very hot, I am looking forward for nice sunny days but also for afternoons seeing the rain at our window.
So, if I had posted nothing yet for last two weeks, I will also be silent next week, because Internet will not be as available as now, so it will be difficult to post.
I was planning to talk about "Life Together", from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which I have finished this week and also talk about "Emerging Church", from Dan Kimball which I am close to finish, but both comments will come together with my thoughts about my week in Ubatuba.
I love this city, I love its beaches and though I will probally face hard rains, listen to our calm sea will be wonderfull.
I am taking in my baggage Uprising, from Erwin McManus and also "Out of the question...into the mystery", from Leonard Sweet, just in case of more rain to come.
I count with your prayers!