What’s in my NOW? — Liam Byrnes
issue #159
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Liam Byrnes lives in Cape Town writes a Substack newsletter on theology and christian discipleship called the “The Lectio Letter” and works alongside his Scottish wife in a predominantly Xhosa Township with children and young people. They also teach Spiritual Formation and Theology in the Centre for Christian Formation. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @byrnesyliam.
PHYSICAL
James Mudge Hanging BookShelves | I just can’t transition away from the aesthetic of physical books and I now have over 600 and counting. Despite the fact that I continue to accrue piles on my desk and floor (much to the consternation of my wife!), these shelves create storage that beautifies our lounge. (I’m saving for a fourth one!)
&Tradition Lucca Portable Lamp | South Africa is experiencing power black outs lasting up to 12 hours a day. While this has spurned plenty of cheap back up lamps for sale, they give off a soul crushing bluish post-apocalyptic light. In contrast, the &Tradition lamp is (step) dimmable and gives off a perfect diffused glow, which makes the power cuts feel more bearable.
Muji Rice Cooker | Rice cookers are the kind of thing you didn’t know you needed so badly until you have one. To be able to have perfect rice every time with almost no effort is a dream. The problem though is that while there are many to choose from, they have one thing in common. They all look ugly! Into the fray, Muji’s thoughtfully designed rice cooker, which happily sits on our counter, is simple to programme and cooks great rice each time.
DIGITAL
Lectio 365 App | There a many wake up apps, many bible apps, many prayer and meditation apps; but Lectio 365 creates a morning and evening prayer recording everyday which covers the six core practise; prayer, mission, justice, creativity, hospitality and learning has quickly become the most used daily app on my phone. The voices who lead the reflections are diverse, humble and yet carry deep conviction.
Check-ins by Planning Center | We help run a beautifully chaotic kids club in a township community south of Cape Town. While originally we opened the doors and let all the kids who were alone from the end of school time until their care givers came home, we realised we needed to know their names and equally importantly have emergency contact info. We implemented Check-ins by Planning Center paired with a bluetooth label printer. Now they love lining up, getting a sticker with their name and we know exactly who we’ve got with us. Paired with Planning Center it helps us track attendance (which is normally around 50-80 kids) and to our surprise we discovered that we’ve registered over 600 children in the last 12 months!
INVISIBLE
Becoming aware of Union with Christ | While Christians believe that all humans participate in God’s life just by being alive, Prayer is the waking up to the reality that we are not only known, but are deeply loved, forgiven and can draw strength from Jesus who was fully human and fully divine by the Spirit; however much we are battered by the forces of daily life. Not sure how I’d hold hope in this world without entering into this reality through prayer.
07/5/23
