By James Lamkin

God and the iPod 

     I'm so excited, I'm almost giddy; but more than that, I believe something new and grand and spiritual is afoot. It's is something I am doing...but it emerges out of the life I've learned to live with you.

     Starting this month, I will be a regular contributor to a monthly podcast that will have thousands of listeners from all over the world via the internet. For me, that feels like a long way from the piney hills of Arcadia, Louisiana.

     Here's the back-story.

     After trying every latest "personal organizer" from Stephen Covey to One Minute Manager, I finally found that Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen, works for me. It is a process, not a product.

     Not long after that discovery, I discovered a podcast (and if you don't know what a podcast is, ask someone younger) called The GTD Virtual Study Group hosted by Tara Rodden Robinson of Corvallis, Oregon.

     Turns out that Tara grew-up in Louisiana only 50 miles from my hometown...and that she had been a Southern Baptist...and that I had known her pastor four decades ago!

     Small world, huh?

     After seven years of hosting the Virtual Study Group, Tara left it for something more soulful (although getting one's In-Box to zero, daily, is not a bad thing). The result was a new monthly podcast that focuses on the intersection of spirituality and productivity, kind of a home grown version of NPR's On Being with Krista Tippet.

     Tara assembled a handful of stray cats to be on the podcasts for panel discussions, topics de jour, interviews, and individual bits.

     To my surprise, I am one of them. My contributor colleagues are:

  ---Avrum Nadigel, a family system therapist from Toronto, Canada, who authored the book, The Best Time to Work on Your Marriage is When You're Single;

  ---Rabbi Evan Moffic of the Solel Synagogue in Chicago who blogs for the Huffington Post and Beliefnet;

  ---Heather King, a Los Angeles based writer and Catholic convert with three memoirs: Parched, Redeemed and Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux; and

  ---Otis Henderson, the Athletic Director and basketball coach of a large inner-city African-American church in Queens, New York.

     I will be offering 3 to10 minute stories, much like those I write for The Pinnacle. The show that's "live" now on iTunes has me doing a bit called Speed Trap about my Camino pilgrimage. Plus, at the end of each of my pieces will be a plug for Northside Drive Baptist Church.

     The podcast is simply, The Tara Show. The first episode is called The Sound of the Genuine. Subscribe to it on iTunes or go to: https://soundcloud.com/#thetarashow.

     No, I don't get paid for it. Yes, it is a lot of fun. And wow, I can't believe it!

Energy, Intimacy, and Hymnody

2013 Interfaith Partnership for Habitat for Humanity Build

Northside Drive Baptist Church Work Days

Sign-up will begin on Sunday, July 28,  

following the worship service.

Day 1 - August 24 (7 Volunteers)

build exterior and interior walls in warehouse; clear crawlspace;  

set floor joists and lay floor decking; sheath wall panels and install exterior walls; install interior walls; tie walls together, straighten and brace; install front porch deck, columns, and beams

Day 2 - September 7 - NDBC Lead Day (16 Volunteers)

prep and install roof trusses; Install windows and trim packages; install interior framing---wind bracing, deadwood, and attic stairs; deck and felt roof; install sub-fascia, barge rafters and drip edge; build side porch and ramp; install exterior trim;  

set-up for siding and begin siding

Day 3 - September 14 (4 Volunteers)

shingle roof; insulate walls and ceiling;  

continue siding and begin chalking

Days 4 & 5 are not workdays for NDBC

Day 6 - October 5 (4 Volunteers)

touch up exterior painting; finish soffit and fascia;  

finish interior painting; install doorknobs and bathroom hardware;  

install porch and ramp railings

Day 7 - October 12 (6 Volunteers)

Dedication Day

 clean house interior; touch up interior painting;  

rake and clear lot; landscape

"Sabbath Rest Silent Retreat, Four Hours of Rest with God"

Thursday, August 8, 2013, from Noon till 4 PM

"I saw water coming out from under the threshold  

of the temple toward the east."

~ Ezekiel 47:1

Register: Register at www.sabbath-rest.com  

or rshoaf@sabbath-rest.com.

The registration fee is $22.00. Scholarships are available  

for those who cannot afford the registration fee. 

Questions? Call Becky Shoaf at 404-358-7760.

Location: Ignatius House 

6700 Riverside Drive * Atlanta, GA 30328

(Twenty acres on the beautiful Chattahoochee River)

Experience: Table fellowship together (meal included in registration), a brief gathering, silence on your own with provided materials, time for rest and listening for God, and closing with group prayer.

Come away for time alone with God.

It will make all the difference in your life!

Atlanta Community Ministries

Seven Piedmont Center

Suite 7-420 Atlanta, GA 30305

www.atlantacommunityministries.org 

     "The youth and staff of Morningstar would like to thank Northside Drive Baptist Church of Atlanta for their generous donation. The donation contributed to a well needed replacement of a HVAC unit on a cottage and the purchase of a used vehicle that will go towards the transportation of residents to important appointments. We greatly appreciate the blessing you provided to the lives here."

     For more information on Morningstar, check out their web page at www.morningstarcfs.org.

Needed:  Team members for Monday Flower Ministry

     You may not know that Sunday's large altar flower arrangements are re-purposed into beautiful bouquets for our own Northside Drivers who are unable to attend services, or who are celebrating special events such as a new baby or a milestone birthday. This is an important person-to-person ministry of care for which we need your help.

     Can you devote a Monday morning periodically (once a week, once a month, once in a while, once a year - your choice!) to come break down the altar arrangements into small arrangements (no talent required; vases provided) or deliver them? Men, women, families are all welcome---this is a wonderful way to show your love for each other.

     The calendar of available dates is wide open and we're waiting for your call to claim a Monday for your own.

     Call Nancy Davis at 404-252-9154 for more information or to sign up today.

A Pastoral Prayer for Northside Drive  

  Vacationers & Travelers

O God of voyages and voyagers,

Thrill us with not yet discovered possibility.

Protect us with the 23rd Psalm's certainty.

Strengthen us when the destination still is distant.

Empty us of stress's poison.

Open us...vacate us...through Sabbath's vacation.

Rest us beside still waters and restore our souls.

Teach us through the strangely familiar.

Comfort us through the familiarly strange.

Befriend us through a stranger's kindness.

Connect us with the Holy Spirit's presence.

Keep us as we say daily The Lord's Prayer.

Heal us when tender feet weary.

Bless us when it is time to return...

For only by leaving, can we ever come home.

Amen

~ James E. Lamkin