This is a message for the gentlemen on Ontario:

There is something SO special about men coming together to grow closer to Jesus together.

It’s the end of an old year. And the beginning of a New Year.  I’d like for each of you to make a resolution: KEEP YOUR NEXT FIVE MONDAYS FREE.

I’d like to share with you an event that’s being hosted by James Kelly…starting this Monday night…and it’s a Bible study like you’ve NEVER been to before. I am SO excited about it. It’s probably the most significant ministry event that I’ve had a chance to be a part of so far. Simple, short, and straight to-the-point… a 5-week guy’s ’small group’ called JOURNEY.

Kevin Makins will be calling us to worship and Eric Fusilier with be leading us in worship.  Gord Brock will be our Guide for the evening. His message is entitled “Resolve to be YOU, Leader.”  (it’s a note-free message on authenticity!)  Richard Saunders will be leading our response time.

The basic details:

• Dudes only…bring your dads, brothers, co-workers, friends. We have only one rule- if you come alone we’ll slash your tires.
• Free food…yes, Karen Brock and Tyler Greene will be cooking up a great Mexican feast!
• The fun starts this Monday night, Dec 28th, at 7:15pm at Lincoln Road Chapel, 145 Lincoln Road in Waterloo.
• All the details are attached, below, in a tiny little link to a VERY pretty post by the most honourable Cole McFarlane.

Click here! > journey < Click here!

Together we will join with other guys from Hamilton, Burlington, Kitchener, Guelph, Waterloo, and other cites to fellowship, worship, learn, pray, and journey together.  So pack a vanload. The location changes each week. Make as many as you can.

I hope you can come. I pray that God draws you, brothers.  This is our time.

Jay

For the ladies:

Hamilton Girls…

There is a TEA/COOKIES/PRAYER time for your brothers-in-Christ to be held in Hamilton at 7:00pm this Monday. If you’d like to come, and we hope you can, please contact Michelle through email/Facebook/Twitter.

Kitchener-Waterloo Girls…

Karen Kelly would love you to come over at 7:15 tonight.  If you know other ladies in the Waterloo area, tell them to email karen.kelly09@gmail.com or call her at 519-342-4738.

If you’re a girl and aren’t in KW/Hamilton… we’re looking for girls to host prayer-tea groups in each city where guys will be coming from. Sooo ladies, who’s up to the task?!  You can contact me or James to get started.  Or, if it suits you better, just call up some girls and have em over for tea tonight!

Love to you as well,

Jay

“So much as it rests with you, be at peace with all people”

As many of you regular readers know, this Bible verse is one that I’m constantly trying to practice. Not because I’m super godly, but because I’m known for stirring pots. I’m doing my best to reconcile every broken relationship I’ve ever created- doing my part to extend a true confession and apology to those I’ve wronged. It’s been an incredible journey.

Well on Sunday, I got to gratefully bear witness to God’s grace, forgiveness, and overwhelming love!

Two friends of Michelle’s haven’t talked in about 6 months. They were friends for years, then some relational breakdown occurred, and they parted ways. Well the first girl and her boyfriend drove 7 hours to come have dinner with Michelle and I, in celebration of my wife’s birthday (amazing friend eh?!). When the second girl found out, she texted and asked if she could come. How could I say no and pass up seeing what God might do?!

Well, it was awkward for about 8 seconds. Then both realized that the other cared more about the PERSON and less about the SITUATION…by the end of the night we pretty much had to pry them apart because they were all over each other!

When they left, Michelle and I prayed, so gratefully, that Jesus needs stops drawing people closer to Himself and each other. We got to see Him in action in our living room this weekend. There’s no better way to live.

Jay

My homeslice Aaron has a killer new post on money: Let’s Talk About Your Cash

Michelle puts up her last post before Christmas too: Snowflakes, Turkey, and a 40-year-old Man

In case you missed it yesterday, here’s a new post for parents from Karen: Row, Row, Row Your Boat…But Not in Circles Please.

Also, if you didn’t yet read my post from yesterday, please do…it’s my maddest in months! I’m Declaring War.

After note…

This will be my last post until Monday December 28th. Gonna take a much-needed break from blogging so that I can come back and crush it. But I won’t stop hustling, I promise!

God-willing, here’s what I’ll be up to:

23rd… It’s my best friend’s birthday! That’s right, my wonderful wife Michelle turns 24 years old! I’ve got a nice planned…and I’m personally really excited to a.) see Invictus, b.) watch her jump up and down when she opens her gift, and c.) eat at Tucker’s!

24th… My wife is getting interviewed at Lincoln Road Chapel at both their Christmas Eve services. She’s gonna be talking about this powerful blog post about Serving over 50 prostituted women. Then we’ll be heading back to my parents house to open stockings and watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Because it is!

25th Christmas Day… sleep in, open presents, talk alot.

26th… We’re going to a wedding! Never been to a Greek Orthodox one before, but I’m excited for the culture shock!

27th… I will be hustling hard to help put together an all-dudes event called Journey, hosted by the right awesome James Kelly. About 20 of us have been dreaming and praying and planning and are SO excited for this event to unfold and watch God completely surprise us!

28th… Journey begins. If you’re a DUDE (male-species only), message me asap and I’ll send you the details that I have so far!

I’m also hoping to find time in this ‘break’ to…

-Finish the first draft of an ebook I’m working on…my 1-Year Anniversary Gift to all you wonderful and amazingly committed readers!

-Preparing a strong finish for the SexRev’s first year. And planning a huge re-development and some MAJOR changes for February/Year Two. I think you’re REALLY gonna like what’s about to happen up in these parts!

-Work on budgeting and time planning for the next few steps on the path to pursuing my dream of being part of planting a radical community and writing books of significance.

-Finish reading The Hobbit for the (literal) 8th time. Then watching the old-school cartoon and getting freakin-out excited for the movie coming out…in 2 years. I’m such a loser.

-Inbox Zero: Catch up on 25 Facebook messages, 46 Gmails, and 83 Hotmails. Good thing I canceled voicemail already!

If you could pray about all this stuff for me, that would be soooo appreciated!

Start thinking about a New Year’s resolution. We’re so lazy and pathetic that we’ve write off New Year’s as cliche and somehow think it’s valiant and applause-worthy to resolve to do nothing. Not this year. I’d love you to make one, and share it with your friends, then make it happen.

Drive safe this holiday season. I want all of you back in the New Year!

Merry Christmas everyone. Thanks for reading, truly. You have all my love.

Jay

I am declaring war on passivity…both personal, and of that which surrounds me.

Take a guess at which I detest most.  Is it…
a.) People who talk about the weather.
b.) People who complain about not having enough money.
c.) People who are tired and sick all the time because they work so much for no apparent reason.
d.) All of the above.

I am SOOOO sick of people who are living unconsciously.  Who don’t take the time to actually THINK about what God created us to do.  We’re letting the world dictate what OUR life is supposed to look like.  And it’s making us forget that “our” life, is indeed, not our own. (any Bible verses come to mind?

We as a society have created some absolutely MENTAL diversions to keep us so busy that we never get anything done!

Think about it…
-you have to work for 25-30 years just to pay for the box of bricks that you live in.

-people slave for 40-50 prime years at a job they hate, in hopes that they’ll be rewarded with 5-10 years of healthy retirement before the slow and painful decline towards death.

-the ‘holiday’ seasons are now a huge constant shopping barrage…we go straight from Thanksgiving to Halloween to Christmas to Easter to whatever…no one stopping to think, “hey, this is bull$#!t.” (someone had to say it)

-the major sports seasons run pretty much year-round, with thousands of possible game options, highlights, re-runs, endless commentary about the most trivial of matters.

-news stations, tv, papers, etc…spout the same boring crap on repeat 24 hours a day, just in case you forget that this world is still falling apart. (and let’s be honest, it’s all day-old Twitter news anyway

I’m ready to EXPLODE!  Or rather, declare war.

So here’s my official warning:

If you want to live a passive, mediocre, boring, safe, guarded, mask-wearing, run-of-the-mill, just-like-the-rest-of-the-world life…stay the heck away from me.  I don’t want to have to hurt you, and I certainly don’t want your disease.  Seriously, stay way from me.

***I want to be surrounded by people of adventure, people who care more about Jesus and people than anything else, people who dream big, work hard, and inspire me to do the same.  People who care more about being than working, people who desire experience over stuff, people who see Jesus in the common, ordinary things of life. People who take the gloves and masks off, people who are honest, real, passionate, loving, and violently gentle.  People who are so on fire that they light up the world and advance His kingdom without thought for personal harm OR glory.  If you’re that kind of person, move into my neighbourhood homie!***

(I’m so amped up that I’m sweating right now.)

A good friend took me to the Raptors game on Sunday. We had a great time- laughing, talking, cheering, and planning a very exciting ministry project for the New Year.  As for basketball, we’ve been known to play a bit.  We’re minor fans. We have no stake in the Raptors.  A win or loss doesn’t make us furious or ruin our weeks.  But I looked around us- we were surrounded by many whose very lives seemed to hang in the balance…of how many times a piece of leather dropped through a metal-and-mesh net.

Dear God, allow us to see ourselves through your eyes.

Another good friend of mine is a nanny.  She takes care of two kids from a ridiculously financially wealthy family.  And last week, she taught the kids how to make cookies.  They didn’t know that people actually made cookies (they assumed only the store did), because they’d never made cookies with their parents before. They don’t even own a cookie sheet.  Add to this the fact that my friend is now away with this family for their Christmas vacation…because the parents are too busy partying to even spend the holiday with their ‘loved ones.’  Sorry- what is the point of amassing wealth and working for a family who’ve you’ve clearly rejected with your actions??

This world is driving me nuts.
Women who obsess over food and clothes and decor and ‘fashion’.
Guys who gush over sports and booze and video games and television.
Couples who spend so much time working towards the delusion of ‘getting ahead’ that they forget to LIVE.
Families with so much on their agendas that they’ve lost their souls and forgotten their dreams and passions.

And it’s the worst when it’s a Christ-follower.  Because Jesus was oh-so-very clear: be in this world, not of it.

If this pains you to hear- talk to Him, don’t complain to me.

And so, my dear friends, I beg of you to do something radical today:

Declare war on passivity…both personal, and of that which surrounds you.

I was talking to my friend Reg this week about an earlier post, and he sent me an incredibly interesting prayer…

“Oh God, our Heavenly Guide, as finite creatures of time and as dependent creatures of Thine, we acknowledge Thee as our sovereign Lord. Permit freedom and the joys thereof to forever reign throughout our land. May we as klansmen forever have the courage of our convictions that we may always stand for Thee and our great nation. May the sweet cup of brotherly fraternity ever be ours to enjoy and build within us that kindred spirit which will keep us unified and strong. Engender within us that wisdom kindred to honorable decisions and the Godly work. By the power of Thy infinite spirit and the energizing virtue therein, ever keep before us our oaths of secrecy and pledges of righteousness. Bless us now in this assembly that we may honor The in all things, we pray in the name of Christ, our blessed Savior. Amen”

Despite sounding much like something any of us would pray at church, this is certainly not your typical Sunday-go-to-meetin’ prayer!

It was prayed by Sam Bowers, former Imperial Wizard and leader of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.  He served just 6 years for his part in killing 2 young Jewish men and a black young.  Later, after going through five juries and 22 years of court, he was sentenced to serve life for the firebombing death of civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer, who was simply working hard to register Blacks to vote.

Bowers justified the murders quite easily, at least in his mind:
“As Christians we are disposed to kindness, generosity, affection, and humility in our dealings with others. As militants we are disposed to use physical force against our enemies. How can we reconcile these two apparently contradictory philosophies? The answer of course, is to purge malice, bitterness, and vengeance from our hearts.” Whew, glad we sorted that one out!

Seriously, stop talking.

Because words mean nothing if you don’t live for Jesus.

Have you ever been waiting to turn left at a set of lights for what seems like forever, then when you finally thread the gap in the traffic, you almost hit a pedestrian or biker who is using the crosswalk?

You get so wrapped up in ‘making this light‘ that you forget that there’s TWO types of oncoming traffic you need to avoid.

Well, that happened to me this week. I was supposed to pick up my wife at five, and I was running a few minutes behind. I waited impatiently for the cars to pass, then saw a very small window of opportunity, so I took a hard left as fast as I could.

Suddenly, I saw someone sprinting across the crosswalk to catch a bus. I hammered the gas and they just missed getting smoked by my trunk. I checked the rear-view mirror just to make sure I didn’t clip them accidentally. Fortunately, I didn’t. Unfortunately, they missed their bus.

It took an entire 2 seconds before my conscience kicked in, I pulled a U-turn, and went back to offer them a ride for a.) almost killing them, and b.) being part of them now having to stand in the cold for 22 minutes.

There was no one there. In fact, there was no one anywhere in the area. Whomever I almost hit, whomever missed their bus; was gone.

Strange eh?

The point is, I did the right thing. And I learned a valuable lesson- slow down, you idiot…and keep your eyes open.

I also learned several spiritual lessons because of this experience. But today I’m going to do something a bit different:
Now it’s your turn to go back, re-read this post, and find the spiritual lessons that apply to you.

Best of luck, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Drive carefully!

Jay

New post by Michelle on her evening spend serving 50 prostituted women