Live Differently
()
About this ebook
Live Differently is a compilation of stories, vignettes, and observations about the journey of faith that one can engage in, with Jesus Christ as their guide. The book outlines a postmodern process of discipleship that focuses on Belonging (Community), Becoming (Community spiritual practices), and Believing (the How of faith) that leads to soul transformation (re-Living). Live Differently is a first-person narrative that can be used as an individual devotional tool, a small group discussion guide or a beginning point for conversation for those who are exploring what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Mark and Kathleen Rambo
Mark Rambo is a follower of Jesus and Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church, Olympia WA. He has served on that staff almost 15 years. He is also the lead facilitator of Emmaus House, a community of believers interested in building bridges for those timid about entering the walls of the established church. He is married to Kathleen and together they strive to live out the teachings of Jesus in tangible ways in their local community.
Related to Live Differently
Related ebooks
Losing Your Religion: Moving from Superficial Routine to Authentic Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Subject of Death and Dying: Can We Survive the Death of a Loved One with Grace? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComing Home: Discovering, Cultivating, and Enjoying the Best Community of Your Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiberated to Engage: A New Way Forward from the Christian-Lgbtq+ Debate Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond the Crossroads: Traveling Like Christians on Streets of Faith Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnlike Jesus: Let's Stop Unfriending the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFace to Face, Volume One: Missing Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConnecting Like Jesus: Practices for Healing, Teaching, and Preaching Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Peace and Unity in Our Lives: Volume One Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5God of My Understanding: Becoming a Spiritual Force Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoly Habits: 10 Small Decisions That Lead to a Big Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Empty No More: Experience the Fulfilling Love of Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Am Who I Am: Unraveling the Mystery of God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPeculiar People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConversation with One Another and with God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Heaven Touches Earth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmbracing Your Future: Enhance the Second Half of Your Life with a Faith-Based Journey of Self-Discovery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRelationality: Consciously Aligning to Our Divine Relational Worth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Does Friendship Matter? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Matter of Death and Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDare 2 Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Go Golden: Applying a Universal Religious Teaching and the Ethics of Permaculture to Create a Sustainable, Just, Happier Society Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUndivided: Coming Out, Becoming Whole, and Living Free from Shame Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gone: The Disappearance of Community in the Modern American Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeed Falling on Good Soil: Rooting Our Lives in the Parables of Jesus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInundated: Redeeming the Untruths of Dating and Purity Culture in a Broken World Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Jesus Take All of Me: Learning to See God as Beautiful in Every Part of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaking Sense of the Sacred: The Meaning of World Religions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGathering Faith Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reflections on the Psalms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind... Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God's Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind Workbook: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Live Differently
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Live Differently - Mark and Kathleen Rambo
Live Differently
Life as a Remix
Mark and Kathleen Rambo
Copyright © 2012 by Mark and Kathleen Rambo
Smashwords Edition
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Original Art by Jesse Ferguson
for Kardia Press
Table of Contents
Disclaimer (Prologue)
Section One- Belonging:
Chapter 1: On the Edge
Chapter 2: Broken Lives; Wounded People
Chapter 3: The Original Nic at Night
Section Two- Becoming:
Chapter 4: Pack a Bag; It’s a Bumpy Ride
Chapter 5: Batteries Required
Chapter 6: A Right Side Up Life
Section Three- Believing:
Chapter 7: Table Scraps
Chapter 8: Fear Factor
Chapter 9: The Way I see It
Section Four- (re)Living:
Chapter 10: A Gentle Life
Chapter 11: Extreme Makeover
Chapter 12: Fruit Salad
Epilogue:
The End or the Beginning?
About the Authors
Notes
Disclaimer
(Prologue)
In our age of technology anyone can write and publish a book. No credentials, no big hype or hoopla--just ordinary, everyday people with something to say and a little technology to back their play.
Seems a strange and almost funny part of our culture, our very own little pocket of counterculture to our world of investment bubbles, The Next BIG Thing
and experts. We are indeed a culture of paradoxes or perhaps split personalities. On the one hand we are always looking for that next big band wagon to jump on; yet on the other, we still hang on to the tried and true, the old faithfuls
of our life that make us feel comfortable and grounded. It seems we have one eye on the horizon with a pocketful of well-seasoned experts to cover our back. Maybe that’s the way of humans, one foot in each, the old and new worlds.
Sadly, we think the church reflects this same paradox, although we shouldn’t be surprised at all. On the one hand, we have hip and cool super pastors, jammin’ music, technology geared worship so perfectly orchestrated that it rivals a Las Vegas show. You can pay your tithe online in many churches (so you get those coveted air miles) and hear most any sermon on a church’s website no matter where on planet earth you may be. Even though information is everywhere, we still flood to mega-conferences to hear the latest Cool Guy
with his highly polished look tell us how to be Jesus to our world. All of this energy is focused on educating us on how to simplify our lives, focus on relationships and engage the culture around us while being the coolest, hippest Christians in town. Yet on the other hand we struggle to build and maintain honest, deep relationships where we can truly relax, be safe and be ourselves.
We desperately need relationships that will sustain through the chaos of life, yet distance ourselves from people through technology.
Somehow I suspect the Jesus of the Bible would be less than impressed with all our self-proclaimed knowledge and perfectly timed worship services. It occurs to me He saw value in the mundane and everydayness of life. He could have been with anyone, yet He celebrated life with ordinary, simple people, who often were societal outcasts. He wasn’t impressed by the cool factor and found joy in the people society didn’t hold much regard for. You see, life happens to ordinary people. And the Bible tells us they become extraordinary people as their lives intersect with God’s.
It is in that spirit, the spirit of the everyday, that this book celebrates the ordinary. What follows are stories, vignettes, and ponderings of life with God by two very average people who have experienced and tasted the love of God in both subtle and overwhelming ways. We hope that in sharing our life with God, we can help others make connections between the ordinary run-of-the-mill world and the presence of God in those moments and experiences.
All of us, we believe, want something more than we are presently experiencing. So as we talk about belonging, becoming, believing and re-beginnings, our prayer is that what you read will entice you into deeper thought, deeper conversations and a deeper desire to explore the things of God in the midst of life.
Grace