On May 13, The Oasis Network celebrated its five year anniversary. Let’s take a look at what we’ve accomplished together in five years, and what’s next.
The 2020 pandemic need not preclude Community Group meetings. We can, of course, use Zoom.us, as we do for our regular meetings. The advantage is that Zoom is not limited by distance; the disadvantage is that it is a bit impersonal...
As the Fall 2019 community groups start wrapping up, I wanted to reflect upon the whole experience. I’ve been coming to Oasis for a long time, long enough to remember when we fit into a much, much smaller room.
Every Sunday morning, familiar faces walk through the doors of our meeting space at Galveston Bay Oasis. These weekly regulars greet each other and enter into jovial conversation as they work together to set up the coffee, sound equipment, and welcome table...
Life, as we know, is complicated. At the center of life is competition. All of life is a competitive process – for success and sometimes for survival itself. This is why competitions are so popular.
Last Summer, Houston Oasis and the greater Oasis Network experienced an unprecedented change in our leadership structure. Because of the drastic change and the many questions that came with it, Oasis hosted our first ever “Town Hall” event...
The doggie daycare looked like heaven compared to my lawn which was full of brambles and weeds. Through the fence I could see a perfectly manicured yard, a little obstacle course for the hounds to run through, a doggie pool where a golden retriever shook his coat freely, with almost a wry smile only a happy puppy could give...
What do you do when suddenly your life changes at age 70? I found myself and my old dog driving 2,400 miles from Oregon to Houston. And believe me, I love Oregon. I miss my friends, the mountains, the rugged Northern Pacific Ocean 40 miles from my house and my friends of 12 years.
The strength of any community is dependent on shared vision, trust and support. With that in mind, we have formed a Care Response Team. The Oasis Care Response Team is dedicated to overseeing secular celebrations of life as well as being actively present in times of need.
Like a great many people, Oasis folks included, I was brought up religious. I went to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. I participated in church children’s choirs, attended Sunday school and participated in other church-related activities...
Faith is a funny thing. You don't know it's there until you see it-- and it's not necessarily religious. It's that twenty minutes you wait for a date to show up, hoping they won't ghost you. Or the space between the time your check engine light goes off, and your next paycheck.
More often than we would like to admit, we lead curiously monotonous lives. Work, home and the occasional insufficient vacation. We could hardly be blamed for not placing a priority on how those around us are going about their own lives. But this is not about them. It is about us and how their plight affects us.
What I love about this blog is the stories. I’m a bookworm, but serious reader or not, I believe the best introduction is always: “Let me tell you a story.”
I was a committed Christian for five decades. I held on until life events pushed me onto the diving board of disbelief. Once I gave up on church, my self-imposed thought cage began to crumble, and the disintegration of my faith began.
"Human hands solve human problems" is my favorite Oasis Core Value. I believe the only way to help the world is by actually putting in the hours and getting hands on. This value is one that I want my children to grow up incorporating into their lifestyle.
Every four years, the world slows to a standstill to watch 22 grown men chase after a ball. The World Cup provides drama and pageantry, but is there something truly special about sweaty individuals with muscular thighs trying to kick a ball through a rectangle?
Since coming to Oasis, I’ve been asked by some long-time friends, “What’s the deal with this Oasis thing of yours?” often accompanied by a slight rolling of the eyes. I’m never offended since I’ve even asked the same question of myself.
