Host a Christmas Party…About Christmas!

Host a Christmas Party…About Christmas!

  • Posted on November 12, 2015
  • /Under On Q
I hosted a Christmas Party that was actually about Christmas with my neighbor, Barbara, last year in mid December. But I’ll confess right here: I wasn’t thrilled at all about the idea at first! For 2¢ I would have scrapped the whole thing! Several other neighbors were hosting holiday parties up and down the block — the kind of which I felt most people were more accustomed to. Ours was “risky” and quite frankly, it felt monumental to do. The “chicken factor” in me was intensifying! But despite the fact that we told everyone we invited beforehand that this was a Christmas Party about Christmas, and that we...Read more …
Brennan Manning on God’s Love

Brennan Manning on God’s Love

  • Posted on November 11, 2015
  • /Under Loving
Richard Francis Xavier Manning  (April 27, 1934 – April 12, 2013) was known to his faithful readers (including me) as an author, speaker, and contemplative who vulnerably proclaimed the good news of the irresistible grace and unconditional love of God. Much of his public life—his teaching and speaking and writing—began in earnest after he suffered a collapse into alcoholism. Six months of treatment restored his health, placing him on the road to recovery. Book after book followed (including The Ragamuffin Gospel, Abba’s Child, The Signature of Jesus, The Wisdom of Tenderness, Ruthless Trust, and All Is Grace) as invitations to speak and lead spiritual retreats grew significantly...Read more …
Too Much to Swallow?

Too Much to Swallow?

  • Posted on November 9, 2015
  • /Under Loving
Souvenirs of Solitude, Finding Rest in Abba’s Embrace, by Brennan Manning, has been my companion most of this fall. For me, it has lived up to its name as I’ve attempted to carve out moments of solitude and quiet for myself. Through Manning’s own “souvenirs” of reflections I have felt Abba’s embrace and dared to believe and revel in His lavish and “kooky, embarrassing kind of love.” For me. One of His kids. One of His prodigals. One of His “least of these.” These particular reflections of Manning, the street-wise mystic, are reminders that though we are all “ragamuffins” (see...Read more …
On the Radio – Walk the Way

On the Radio – Walk the Way

This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. When Benjamin was home from college for his fall break, he wanted to see, The Martian, starring Matt Damon. Now, I had just seen it when I was in Honduras – Spanish translation, subtitles and all – when I was visiting the kids we’ve been sponsoring as a family for years through an orphanage foundation. I knew it was good and why it was on Ben’s list. I was happy to go again. But here’s the temptation when you’ve already seen a...Read more …
Liver & Onions

Liver & Onions

One of my fondest memories from my teenage years is eating liver and onions at my grandma’s house. Yes, liver and onions! My grandma lived by herself near our house, and every now and then she would get a hankering for the dish but didn’t want to eat another meal alone. So, she’d call and invite us over for dinner. Initially my sister and I didn’t like liver and onions, and grandma knew that. So, she would serve homemade macaroni and cheese with buttered toasted bread crumbs on top as a side dish to the liver and onions. We could have...Read more …
Sukkot

Sukkot

  • Posted on November 3, 2015
  • /Under On Q
I find it fascinating to consider the Jewish fall festival celebration of Sukkot and its implications for us as we plan for Thanksgiving and think ahead to Christmas. Sukkot, the seventh and final in a series of yearly feasts given to Israel as a way of remembering God’s faithfulness, is more commonly known to many of us as the Feast of Tabernacles or Tents. During Sukkot—then and now—Jewish families construct a small, hastily built hut or tent—a sukkah—to eat their meals in throughout the festival. This structure is an actual, physical remembrance of the temporary, transient, portable dwellings Israel lived in during...Read more …
A Matter of Character

A Matter of Character

In learning to ask good questions we must consider the question a catalyst. By doing that we focus on how it produces an effect and learn how to ask questions appropriately. If I know a good question, but do not ask it in light of the needs of the person I am speaking with or the environment we are in, the question does not do what it should. The question itself is one of several factors that determine how a person responds when queried. These are some things that can influence whether a question evokes a good response: the current attitude...Read more …
Reflections on VITAL: SF East Bay

Reflections on VITAL: SF East Bay

  • Posted on November 1, 2015
  • /Under On Q
I was surprised by how much more I was impacted by this second VITAL event in the Bay Area; I had attended the one in March, but because my life is so full, I admit I was tempted to skip this one. Yet it turned out that I was greatly inspired and renewed in the midst of seeking God’s guidance in how I can reach out more to seekers to bring them into our current groups, and in how to start other groups and find leaders. As I visited with those who were having first experiences with Q Place I heard comments...Read more …

VITAL Work, Initiator Forum

  • Posted on October 31, 2015
  • /Under On Q
In the evening of Wednesday, October 21, at Fremont Community Church in Fremont, CA, Q Place presented VITAL Work: Bridging the Mission-Marketplace Gap. VITAL Work is a panel discussion that explores how to work in a way that points people to Jesus. One of the most compelling presenters for me was Victor Ho. Victor, CEO and Co-Founder of FiveStars, shared about his own struggle to battle the voices of the world. When Victor left his previous job to begin a new company, he found himself with very little income and was living off his savings. The voice of the world told him...Read more …

On the Radio – Walk the Way

  • Posted on October 30, 2015
  • /Under Listening
This is Walk the Way, brought to you by Q Place, I’m Jeff Klein. And I’m Pam Klein. I had just finished my morning run when I saw George coming toward me. I headed his direction, but thought: I don’t have time to talk. When George does end up at my kitchen counter chatting over coffee – it’s great! He’s a super neighbor! But I was already behind. “What’s up, friend?” I asked. George was beaming! This must be good! That’s when he shared that his step-daughter Maggie’s year studying at Cambridge in England was going to be entirely paid...Read more …
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