Sacramental Living » Family http://www.brianniece.com : worship/read/think/pray/listen/serve/live Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:07:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Season’s Greetings http://www.brianniece.com/2009/12/22/seasons-greetings/ http://www.brianniece.com/2009/12/22/seasons-greetings/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:02:55 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/?p=566 Christmas-Card-2009

]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2009/12/22/seasons-greetings/feed/ 0 Changes http://www.brianniece.com/2008/10/09/changes/ http://www.brianniece.com/2008/10/09/changes/#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:37:29 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/?p=317 The following is adapted from an email I recently sent to extended friends and family:

I recently resigned as Pastor of Grace Community Church of the Nazarene in Brunswick, GA. My wife, Heather, and I have been seeking God’s will for some time as we have sensed that we have accomplished our call in Brunswick. God has certainly been preparing us for something very different.

After many months of prayer, listening, and conversation with some peers, we will soon be moving to the Atlanta area. Our home in Brunswick is on the market (you can point interested parties here. Heather is working as a PA three days a week. I’m currently unemployed, but seeking a job in Brunswick until our home sells.  Then, it’s off to Atlanta!

Why Atlanta you ask? We, along with another family are moving into the Atlanta area to serve as Resident Missionaries to Atlanta. We have had much support from a local church outside the 285  perimeter. They see what we are doing as an extension of their local church and the Church universal.

So what are we doing? Is it a church plant? No. Is it a compassionate ministry center? No. Well, what is it?

We are calling it the Synergy Project. We intend to move inside the 285 perimeter of Atlanta, get “regular” jobs, live like Jesus with our neighbors and community, serve our neighborhood compassionately, practice hospitality and fellowship in our home, make disciples through everyday relationships, and see what God does.

Essentially, we are going to pin our entire existence on being the church.

In this centennial year of the Church of the Nazarene, we are very inspired by Phineas Bresee and his companions, who moved into an urban center and lived life with the poor and poor in spirit. We’re doing essentially the same thing.

More details to come soon. You can keep up with everything at www.SynergyProject.cc.

We would ask your prayer. Both families need to sell our homes. We need to find jobs with benefits in Atlanta. We need our kids to enjoy, rather than fear, the transition. We need wisdom and discernment to see where Christ is already at work, and the courage to join him.

This is a very organic, unstructured, missional project we have begun. Jesus is our leader. We are living on faith and prayer.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
Want to be involved in the Synergy Project?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2008/10/09/changes/feed/ 1 10 Ways to Make Yourself Not Want to Sell Your House http://www.brianniece.com/2008/09/21/10-ways-to-make-yourself-not-want-to-sell-your-house/ http://www.brianniece.com/2008/09/21/10-ways-to-make-yourself-not-want-to-sell-your-house/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:00:34 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/?p=270 Really, it’s the culmination of all 10 of these that will do the trick.  So, here you go:

  1. Cut down those two dead trees in the backyard;
  2. Reveal the gleaming white eaves of your house after you clean off all the mold;
  3. Bleach the moss from the bottom of the exterior;
  4. Apply touch-up paint to all trim and all scuffs on walls;
  5. Re-paint entire hallway with fresh paint, once you realize the touch-up paint doesn’t match what was there;
  6. Clean your showers and tubs … like “so-spotless-you’d-eat-off-the-floor” clean;
  7. Organize and clean your garage to the point that you think you could put a desk and lamp out there and it would make a comfortable office;
  8. Look under all the furniture that you think won’t be hiding dirt … recover from the shock of finding said dirt (and dust, and coins, and toys your 3-year old has been trying to find for months, and that ankle sock you swore got lost somewhere in the washing machine) … sweep and vacuum it all out of there.
  9. Repair the patch of hardwood floor that has lost it’s luster and finish;
  10. Put away every single thing that sits on a counter, a table, and every flat surface (unless it’s a lamp) … dust all those flat surfaces … polish all those flat surfaces.

There you have it.  Complete all 10 tasks in 2 days and I guarantee you’ll go to bed thinking “I kind of hope nobody buys our house … I mean … it’s just so awesome!”

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
What’s been your experiences with selling a house?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2008/09/21/10-ways-to-make-yourself-not-want-to-sell-your-house/feed/ 2 Being the Church Around a Meal http://www.brianniece.com/2008/09/14/being-the-church-around-a-meal/ http://www.brianniece.com/2008/09/14/being-the-church-around-a-meal/#comments Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:29:54 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/?p=229 “Because we have food,” said Eliot, my three-year old.

Just prior he had said, “We are the church.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because we have food.”

My wife and I just stared at each other and smiled.  After a moment pregnant with meaning, awe, wonder, I said to Heather, “Something profound was just going on there.”

She nodded in agreement.

Somehow, Eliot is getting it … even at 3 years old.

We are always stressing to him the difference between the church building and the church.  He knows when we gather for worship it is at the church building.  And he is recognizing that the church is people.  More than that, the church is people with relationships who gather around a meal to talk and listen, share stories, and share nourishing resources.

I know he’s not talking about a “potluck” because he just hasn’t experienced many of those.  And when he does, it’s usually outside the church building, in a picnic pavilion.

Wisdom from a child … it’s pretty cool.  Of course, Jesus did say that we must become like them … like Eliot … to experience the kingdom of God.

Today around our family lunch table, we experienced the reality of God’s kingdom, presence, and reality breaking into the ordinary.  The pedestrian meal became a sublime feast.  We experienced communion.  We are the church.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
How are children around you showing you Jesus?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2008/09/14/being-the-church-around-a-meal/feed/ 0 Not Living By Bread Alone http://www.brianniece.com/2008/08/06/not-living-by-bread-alone/ http://www.brianniece.com/2008/08/06/not-living-by-bread-alone/#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:02:04 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/2008/08/06/not-living-by-bread-alone/ God has been working in me.  My relationship with Jesus has been reaching new levels of trust and discernment.  I’m still trying to process and live it out.  I’ll share with you some of what I’ve been discovering …

Through the transitions in life as of late, God has provided for us by Heather working a couple more days a week while I play Mr. Mom.  It means I get work done at odd hours.  But the chance to experience life with my kids has been incredible.

trinitybeads.jpgYesterday, our 3-year old, Eliot, ate like a human garbage disposal.  His hunger was bottomless.  He had two bowls of cereal and applesauce for breakfast.  Crackers, yogurt, and grapes for “second breakfast.”  More grapes and cheese crackers for a snack.  A turkey sandwich, pretzels, and yogurt for lunch.  Even more grapes, cornbread, sesame sticks, and apricots for afternoon snack.  Chicken nuggets (his and some of mine), mixed fruit, fries for dinner.  Then more cereal and grapes at separate times before bed!

I was amazed how much he could put away!  I was even more amazed that he was eating just about every hour or so.  He’s growing, changing.  And he needs to be nourished constantly.

Then, while struggling to sleep in the middle of the night, these words came to my mind: “Humans don’t live by bread alone, but by every word that issues from God’s mouth.”

Jesus was so close in relationship with his Father, that he carried on conversation with him throughout the day.  He wanted the nourishment from God to be just as regular, satisfying, and growth-inducing as regular food for his body … if not more so.

I’ve been learning to trust Jesus more.  To lean into God’s unfailing love and acceptance of me.  To be in conversation with the Father at all times.

Just like Eliot eating constantly for his body to develop in a healthy way, we need to be in constant, aware, open, trusting relationship with God so that we may grow more into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

It’s not just a Sunday morning thing (or whatever time and day we may gather for community worship).  It’s not just a private prayer time once or a few times a week.  It’s not just in fellowship with other believers every so often.  It’s not just in relationship with not-yet believers.  It’s not just in our family time with children and parents.  It’s not just in the compassionate lifestyle actions that we may engage in.

Life and relationship with God is all of this, and more, at all times, with all that we are, trusting all that our God is!

The ways and times to “do church” are becoming completely insignificant to me.  The life enjoyed by “being church” is the path I’m on.  It’s not popular.  It’s confusing on all sides.  It means I can’t plan my future so much as trust God’s working in my present until he accomplishes his purpose in me.

What is God’s purpose?  The same for all of us really:  to be drawn into relationship with God, to be caught up in the community of our holy Parent, and the befriending Son, and the loving Spirit; to be shaped into the likeness of our oldest brother — Jesus Christ.

God, work out your purpose in me and my family however you choose.  AMEN.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
How is God nourishing you these days?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2008/08/06/not-living-by-bread-alone/feed/ 1 The Joy of Parenthood … Again! http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/18/the-joy-of-parenthood-again/ http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/18/the-joy-of-parenthood-again/#comments Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:54:35 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/18/the-joy-of-parenthood-again/ Warning: Birth Announcement straight ahead …

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]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/18/the-joy-of-parenthood-again/feed/ 0 Tobi Eila Is Here! http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/13/tobi-eila-is-here/ http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/13/tobi-eila-is-here/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:45:56 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/13/tobi-eila-is-here/ Our daughter, Tobi Eila, was born at 1:37pm, September 13. Weighing in at 8 pounds 10 ounces, and 21 inches long. See the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/TheNieceFamily/TobiSBirthDay. A video can be seen on my Facebook profile at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=647522078.

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]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/13/tobi-eila-is-here/feed/ 1 T minus 8 Hours and Counting … http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/12/10-minus-8-hours-and-counting/ http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/12/10-minus-8-hours-and-counting/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2007 01:44:36 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/12/10-minus-8-hours-and-counting/ Heather is scheduled to be induced tomorrow morning at 6:30am. Looks like we’ll be meeting our baby girl, Tobi Eila, tomorrow!

Pics and videos to come soon thereafter …Related Posts:

]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/12/10-minus-8-hours-and-counting/feed/ 0 And Still Waiting … http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/07/and-still-waiting/ http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/07/and-still-waiting/#comments Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:36:20 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/07/and-still-waiting/ So after a day of being told Heather was going to be induced in the morning, to being told this whole thing would happen next Thursday, and everything in between … here’s where we stand.

Supposedly a room will be open tomorrow and we’ll be heading to the hospital then.

At this point, I’ll believe it’s the real deal once Heather’s in a hospital room and a doctor is saying, “Push!”

Until then …

Just a couple of months from Advent, the whole theme is taking on a new perspective for me.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
Have you ever had to hurry up and wait?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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]]> http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/07/and-still-waiting/feed/ 0 All Dressed Up with No Place to Go http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/07/all-dressed-up-with-no-place-to-go/ http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/07/all-dressed-up-with-no-place-to-go/#comments Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:24:50 +0000 Brian Niece http://www.brianniece.com/2007/09/07/all-dressed-up-with-no-place-to-go/ As if we needed yet another reminder that we are no longer in big city …

Heather was scheduled to be induced this morning at 6:30am. Last night we received a call from the hospital informing us that there were no beds available and we should call this morning about 8am to see what the plan will be.

We just called …

Still no beds. They are waiting on three more to be delivered as I type this. Who knows if we’ll even be meeting Tobi today.

I just have to laugh.

I think I’m going to quit talking with God about patience for a while. Every time I bring the subject up in prayer, it seems that God provides me with yet another opportunity to practice patience!

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
How does patience work for you?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com

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