After I got done being sad about not having kids go to the weekend I ended up going to see club tonight. I mean I didn't really have anything better to do and I thought it might be fun. I ended up being really encouraged by going. Apparently there were close to 650 kids that showed up. The biggest I can ever remember this weekend being before this is like 400. The moral for me was that despite the success I am not seeing in Mt. Healthy God is still working through the ministry of YL to change lives all over the city.
I talked to a guy named Tony for a few minutes in the lobby, and this is what he told me. "I came on this weekend because I brought my friend. I have been praying for him with my leader since Christmas Break, and I really want him to meet Jesus this weekend." It was exciting for me to see how it's supposed to work. Kids loving other kids for Christ is what this ministry is at its best.
Altogether it was encouraging for me to sit in a room with 600+ high school kids who were excited to worship God together. I know the kids in that room are all over the place in the depth of their relationships with Christ, but because of their response to God's mercy, because God in His great mercy, they can change their schools. We are talking about a Revelation Generation at church these days, and I think the key to that working isn't mobilizing a huge group of adults to reach out to kids. I think that is an important step, but the really important part is getting adults to latch on to kids for life, to raise them up in their faith, to disciple them. I look forward to seeing over the next few years what happens in the area because of the number of kids who know Christ in the schools currently.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Campaigner Weekend
A couple weeks ago I thought I was taking 3 kids 2 campaigner weekend for sure, and possibly 5. Up until last Friday I was still pretty confidant that 3 were going to go. Through a series of things none of the kids I thought were going to go are actually going. This is frustrating for me, and very discouraging. I really believe that I don't need to take kids on a camp trip or a weekend trip or anywhere else for them to experience Christ. I believe in my heart that God can work in their lives without the program of Young Life at all. However, I am still trying to hold onto hope that we may not be ending things in Mt. Healthy. This certainly doesn't help that case.
I want Young Life to work in Mt. Healthy because when YL works kids know Christ. Every time I am in the school I see kids who are dieing inside for a savior. I know kids that have fathered aborted babies, kids who cut themselves, kids who do drugs, who sell drugs, kids who want to drop out of school, kids from broken homes, I know tons of kids living in messed up lives just like mine is messed up, and I want them to know the God I know. I want my friends in that school to know the God of love. John 6:65 is a verse I have been praying about for a while now. I pray all the time that God would allow kids to know Him. Paul once said that he would trade his life for the life of his friends, I at least am willing to trade my ministry for them. If leaving is God's direction for that school then I want to leave in the hope that God has something better planned for them than the ministry of YL has to offer.
"For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
I want Young Life to work in Mt. Healthy because when YL works kids know Christ. Every time I am in the school I see kids who are dieing inside for a savior. I know kids that have fathered aborted babies, kids who cut themselves, kids who do drugs, who sell drugs, kids who want to drop out of school, kids from broken homes, I know tons of kids living in messed up lives just like mine is messed up, and I want them to know the God I know. I want my friends in that school to know the God of love. John 6:65 is a verse I have been praying about for a while now. I pray all the time that God would allow kids to know Him. Paul once said that he would trade his life for the life of his friends, I at least am willing to trade my ministry for them. If leaving is God's direction for that school then I want to leave in the hope that God has something better planned for them than the ministry of YL has to offer.
"For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
Monday, February 19, 2007
Chambers
Every once in a while I'll read a devotional from "My Utmost for His Highest." I keep a copy of it in my backpack so its there when I have some time and don't want to study. The other day I read the page for February 14 and have since gone back to read it again several times. I think it is particularly insightful and convicting, especially in my present situation. The verse at the top of the page is Matthew 10:27
"What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops."
"At times God puts us through the disciple in darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. "What I tell you in darkness"- watch where God puts you into darkness and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk int he wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are int he dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.
After every time of darkness there comes a mixture of delight and humiliation (if there is delight only, I question whether we have heard God at all), delight in hearing God speak, but chiefly humiliation- What a long time I was in hearing that! How slow I have been in understanding that! And yet we God has been saying it all these days and weeks. Now He gives you the gift of humiliation which brings the softness of heart that will always listen to God now."
- Oswald Chambers "My utmost for His Highest" Feb 14th
I believe there is so much wisdom in what is said in that short passage. I know the first thing I always want to do when I am confronted with a big decision or problem is talk to people about it. I want to process it out loud. Then, if I still can't figure it out, the next thing I do is read books about it. The idea of just sitting and waiting and listening for God to come and clue me in to the solution is way down the list of things I will try. I don't like to listen for what God is saying because it takes discipline and patience, neither of which are virtues I am great at. I like to have answers quickly, not after days, weeks, or even months of waiting...and listening.
The down side to that is that I often miss what God is doing because I am in to much of a hurry to see it. Running ahead of God is like leaving the airport for California in a car because I didn't want to wait 2 more hours for my pilot to show up. I am sure that I often spend my time working harder than I have too trying to keep up, when I could have waited for God to move and carry me with Him. I know there are things I have not just seen partially, but missed altogether because God just wasn't ready to do His thing yet. I can't enter the promise land until God says its time to go.
The other thing, and this seems more subtle to me, I miss out on a chance to grow in my faith and understanding of God's character. Waiting on God to answer, being faithful in the silence, is a unique kind of growth opportunity. It also gives us a chance to show a little faith in our Big God. I want to be more faithful in the darkness.
The reward for that faith is another awesome opportunity. When we are faithful in the darkness, having the patience to listen and hear what God is saying, then we have a new responsibility. When we have heard from God and know what He is doing, then we become like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. When we know God's heart we get to tell other people about it, and that is an incredible privilege. The closer we get to the light of God the brighter we shine to the people around us. A large part of our ability, if not all our ability, to lead other people to Christ comes from the vitality of our personal relationship with God.
Knowing God's heart and through that living the John 10:10 "abundant life" is what makes being a Christian irresistible to the people who see us doing it. In America becoming a Christian is not a sacrifice, at least not a hard one. There are still many countries around the world where becoming a Christian means risking your life. The people that choose Christ under those circumstances see Christ in people differently. Something about that kind of faith is attractive even in the face of death. I want to know God in a way that makes me a city on a hill; I want people to see my faith and because of it want to have a faith of their own. God help me to have mustard seed faith.
"What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops."
"At times God puts us through the disciple in darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God's hand until we learn to hear Him. "What I tell you in darkness"- watch where God puts you into darkness and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk int he wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don't talk to other people about it; don't read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are int he dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.
After every time of darkness there comes a mixture of delight and humiliation (if there is delight only, I question whether we have heard God at all), delight in hearing God speak, but chiefly humiliation- What a long time I was in hearing that! How slow I have been in understanding that! And yet we God has been saying it all these days and weeks. Now He gives you the gift of humiliation which brings the softness of heart that will always listen to God now."
- Oswald Chambers "My utmost for His Highest" Feb 14th
I believe there is so much wisdom in what is said in that short passage. I know the first thing I always want to do when I am confronted with a big decision or problem is talk to people about it. I want to process it out loud. Then, if I still can't figure it out, the next thing I do is read books about it. The idea of just sitting and waiting and listening for God to come and clue me in to the solution is way down the list of things I will try. I don't like to listen for what God is saying because it takes discipline and patience, neither of which are virtues I am great at. I like to have answers quickly, not after days, weeks, or even months of waiting...and listening.
The down side to that is that I often miss what God is doing because I am in to much of a hurry to see it. Running ahead of God is like leaving the airport for California in a car because I didn't want to wait 2 more hours for my pilot to show up. I am sure that I often spend my time working harder than I have too trying to keep up, when I could have waited for God to move and carry me with Him. I know there are things I have not just seen partially, but missed altogether because God just wasn't ready to do His thing yet. I can't enter the promise land until God says its time to go.
The other thing, and this seems more subtle to me, I miss out on a chance to grow in my faith and understanding of God's character. Waiting on God to answer, being faithful in the silence, is a unique kind of growth opportunity. It also gives us a chance to show a little faith in our Big God. I want to be more faithful in the darkness.
The reward for that faith is another awesome opportunity. When we are faithful in the darkness, having the patience to listen and hear what God is saying, then we have a new responsibility. When we have heard from God and know what He is doing, then we become like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. When we know God's heart we get to tell other people about it, and that is an incredible privilege. The closer we get to the light of God the brighter we shine to the people around us. A large part of our ability, if not all our ability, to lead other people to Christ comes from the vitality of our personal relationship with God.
Knowing God's heart and through that living the John 10:10 "abundant life" is what makes being a Christian irresistible to the people who see us doing it. In America becoming a Christian is not a sacrifice, at least not a hard one. There are still many countries around the world where becoming a Christian means risking your life. The people that choose Christ under those circumstances see Christ in people differently. Something about that kind of faith is attractive even in the face of death. I want to know God in a way that makes me a city on a hill; I want people to see my faith and because of it want to have a faith of their own. God help me to have mustard seed faith.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Mt Healthy Prayer Meeting
Yesterday was the prayer meeting in Mt Healthy. Five people came, and I felt like it was really good. I am not sure that I heard anything from God, but I am not sure that I didn't either. It was just good to get people together and be open about the fact that we don't know what to do. We need a BIG God to come and save us.
I have been saying for a while that we need to start praying the impossible prayer. I think prayers that are big and seem impossible under the currents circumstances are honoring to God. God likes to reveal His power through big things I think. The way I think God likes to do things is doing them in a way no group of people could have done it. He does things like feed 5000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves or destroy an army with 300 soldiers. God is the master of the impossible. So we (Leah and I and other people concerned with YL in Mt Healthy) have to keep praying and wait.
I really think it is a time when we need to be most focused on listening. God has perfect timing and when we are supposed to know what He is doing, we will KNOW. Until then we have to be faithful in the things we know are right, and that includes patience. For now I am trying to root out all of my pride in this and turn that over to God. Whatever happens I want it to be all about God and none about me. I realize now more than ever that none of this is about me and what I am doing anyway, but about God and what He is doing.
There is a popular song right now that says "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." I believe that to be true. As we wait for something to happen we are constantly being grown in our faith. For as little as I think I hear God I am sure of one thing, God wants us to find our comfort in knowing Him. His desire is for our lives to be focused on Him and nothing else.
I have been saying for a while that we need to start praying the impossible prayer. I think prayers that are big and seem impossible under the currents circumstances are honoring to God. God likes to reveal His power through big things I think. The way I think God likes to do things is doing them in a way no group of people could have done it. He does things like feed 5000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves or destroy an army with 300 soldiers. God is the master of the impossible. So we (Leah and I and other people concerned with YL in Mt Healthy) have to keep praying and wait.
I really think it is a time when we need to be most focused on listening. God has perfect timing and when we are supposed to know what He is doing, we will KNOW. Until then we have to be faithful in the things we know are right, and that includes patience. For now I am trying to root out all of my pride in this and turn that over to God. Whatever happens I want it to be all about God and none about me. I realize now more than ever that none of this is about me and what I am doing anyway, but about God and what He is doing.
There is a popular song right now that says "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." I believe that to be true. As we wait for something to happen we are constantly being grown in our faith. For as little as I think I hear God I am sure of one thing, God wants us to find our comfort in knowing Him. His desire is for our lives to be focused on Him and nothing else.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Fasting
Today I started fasting. The pan is to fast until Saturday after the prayer meeting in Mt. Healthy. I am hoping to clear my head so that I can try to listen for what God is saying. I have never cone a fast of any length before, no longer than one day eve. I am a little nervous about how its going to go. I hope I don't get sick. the big thing I am worried about is how much weight I might lose, or that I'll get sick. Like I said though, I really have no idea what I am getting into.
I ate lunch today, and haven't had anything since. I wouldn't say I am necessarily really hungry, but I consistently have thought to myself tonight "hey why don't I go eat something...aw crap..." It has been good so far though. When I think about food it just reminds me to think about God, which I think is the idea. So now I am not eating and not watching TV, basically I have forgone all American activities except the internet. I am like the college student antithesis.
At this point I don't want to read anything really. I guess I'll read the Luke 4 devotional, then sleep. Confessions has thoroughly overwhelming my capacity for digesting ideas. I just don't know what to do with it. One thing I can't help but laugh about is how easy I thought that book was the first time I read it. I just breezed through it as a high school senior. Now I read like 2 pages and I just close my eyes and try to figure out what the heck is going on. That either means I am understanding more and the stuff I am understanding is tough, or I am getting dumber and I just can't decipher things anymore.
I have 5 slices of leftover pepperoni and bacon pizza from Larosa's in my fridge. I am going to bed.
I ate lunch today, and haven't had anything since. I wouldn't say I am necessarily really hungry, but I consistently have thought to myself tonight "hey why don't I go eat something...aw crap..." It has been good so far though. When I think about food it just reminds me to think about God, which I think is the idea. So now I am not eating and not watching TV, basically I have forgone all American activities except the internet. I am like the college student antithesis.
At this point I don't want to read anything really. I guess I'll read the Luke 4 devotional, then sleep. Confessions has thoroughly overwhelming my capacity for digesting ideas. I just don't know what to do with it. One thing I can't help but laugh about is how easy I thought that book was the first time I read it. I just breezed through it as a high school senior. Now I read like 2 pages and I just close my eyes and try to figure out what the heck is going on. That either means I am understanding more and the stuff I am understanding is tough, or I am getting dumber and I just can't decipher things anymore.
I have 5 slices of leftover pepperoni and bacon pizza from Larosa's in my fridge. I am going to bed.
Friday, February 09, 2007
New Phone
In two months (roughly) I am getting a new cell phone. For those who don't know, my phone is currently on its last legs. The screen is cracked on the outside, the screen on the inside is cracking up the left side, much of the paint is worn off the buttons, the antenna doesn't work great anymore, the flip up half is about to break off due to a large crack in one if its hinges, basically this thing is done. So i am really excited about getting a new phone. I am interested mostly in LG phone because I think they are the best. I am not interested very much in MP3 player, or PDA functioning phones, I just want a durable, reliable phone with a decent battery life (48 hours). So I am taking suggestions, persuade me! I am currently liking the VX8600. I like its thinness and lack of an antenna. It's "sleek."
Scripture
I was witness to a comment tonight about people not memorizing scripture. The gist of it was that far to many people are more concerned with watching Lost or Grey's than they are with learning scripture. I am not talking about people in society, but the Christian population. I didn't say anything and the moment passed quickly, but it has kind of erked me. I mean what's the deal with that statement. First of all I think there is a lot of truth to it. I read the bible on a daily basis and put a lot of effort into learning what is has to say, but I still probably know more show or movie lines than I do verses in Scripture. I don't know if that's bad, but it doesn't sound very good. So where does this lack of emphasis come from.
In Young Life we have a whole section of one of our diagrams (The Wheel) dedicated to God's Word. The verses there are 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Joshua 1:8, and if even one of those is taken to heart I would expect a very high priority put on learning scripture. Why then are there so few people, including myself, who know a lot of scripture?
One thing worth mentioning here is that at the Vineyard there is a non-existent emphasis put on memorizing Scripture. Maybe I am missing it, or its just not a priority of a seeker friendly church, but I just don't see an emphasis put on learning scripture. Yeah, there is the idea of quiet times, and daily reading, but that's not the image I see in scripture. I don't know if it's like that in all churches or even lots of churches, but I am sure that's not how it was in biblical times.
When a Monarchy was first established over Israel they where instructed by God to write out the Pentateuch, by hand, and read it every day, always keeping it with them so that they may be careful to keep God's commands. Back in the day know the Bible was a big deal. Check out Acts 7 and listen to Stephen when his life is on the line quote passages from most of the old testament. Or Paul when he is writing to a church or disciple quote from several of the prophets. The ultimate example is Christ and all the different times He knew scripture and the prophesies He was fulfilling. The point is that Jesus thought knowing Scripture essential to knowing God.
Now I see people like Hudson Taylor or Betty McGee or Corrie Ten Boom, people who have done great things with there faith, and they all know scripture incredibly well. In spite of how well they know it, I would bet that they still desire to know it more. They have tapped into a power in scripture that I feel like I am missing. It is personal to them, all of it. I don't know how to get to that point, but I think I am beginning to realize the importance of knowing scripture.
As many of you know, stuff hasn't really been great for me lately in terms of what's happening in my life. Not that things are all bad, just there have been a lot of challenges that have staggered me in my routine of life. One of the things that has jumped out at me lately is a bunch of scripture I didn't even know I knew. Stuff I had memorized or spent a lot of time trying to figure out months or years ago that has just been popping up in my thoughts. It's worth noting that at many times lately, even often, Scripture has been the stuff in my life that allows me to walk around with my head held high. I will get stuck on something like "nothing new under the sun" from Ecclesiastes 6, or Romans 8:38-39, or Micah 7:8, there are a ton of examples. The point here is that Scripture has been of great usefulness and necessity to me lately, and I wish that I had spent more time learning it before now. The Word of God quenches our souls.
I have been trying (but not hard) for a long time to memorize the book of Ephesians. I want to be more consistent in the effort I put into memorizing Scripture. Someday it could be taken away from me, or God could call me to a place where I am not allowed to have it. I need to start preparing for that even if it never happens. Even without those extremes it would be incredibly useful to know much more than I do now. So that's feelings, Scripture is a big deal and we generally take it for granted and I want to stop doing that.
In Young Life we have a whole section of one of our diagrams (The Wheel) dedicated to God's Word. The verses there are 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Joshua 1:8, and if even one of those is taken to heart I would expect a very high priority put on learning scripture. Why then are there so few people, including myself, who know a lot of scripture?
One thing worth mentioning here is that at the Vineyard there is a non-existent emphasis put on memorizing Scripture. Maybe I am missing it, or its just not a priority of a seeker friendly church, but I just don't see an emphasis put on learning scripture. Yeah, there is the idea of quiet times, and daily reading, but that's not the image I see in scripture. I don't know if it's like that in all churches or even lots of churches, but I am sure that's not how it was in biblical times.
When a Monarchy was first established over Israel they where instructed by God to write out the Pentateuch, by hand, and read it every day, always keeping it with them so that they may be careful to keep God's commands. Back in the day know the Bible was a big deal. Check out Acts 7 and listen to Stephen when his life is on the line quote passages from most of the old testament. Or Paul when he is writing to a church or disciple quote from several of the prophets. The ultimate example is Christ and all the different times He knew scripture and the prophesies He was fulfilling. The point is that Jesus thought knowing Scripture essential to knowing God.
Now I see people like Hudson Taylor or Betty McGee or Corrie Ten Boom, people who have done great things with there faith, and they all know scripture incredibly well. In spite of how well they know it, I would bet that they still desire to know it more. They have tapped into a power in scripture that I feel like I am missing. It is personal to them, all of it. I don't know how to get to that point, but I think I am beginning to realize the importance of knowing scripture.
As many of you know, stuff hasn't really been great for me lately in terms of what's happening in my life. Not that things are all bad, just there have been a lot of challenges that have staggered me in my routine of life. One of the things that has jumped out at me lately is a bunch of scripture I didn't even know I knew. Stuff I had memorized or spent a lot of time trying to figure out months or years ago that has just been popping up in my thoughts. It's worth noting that at many times lately, even often, Scripture has been the stuff in my life that allows me to walk around with my head held high. I will get stuck on something like "nothing new under the sun" from Ecclesiastes 6, or Romans 8:38-39, or Micah 7:8, there are a ton of examples. The point here is that Scripture has been of great usefulness and necessity to me lately, and I wish that I had spent more time learning it before now. The Word of God quenches our souls.
I have been trying (but not hard) for a long time to memorize the book of Ephesians. I want to be more consistent in the effort I put into memorizing Scripture. Someday it could be taken away from me, or God could call me to a place where I am not allowed to have it. I need to start preparing for that even if it never happens. Even without those extremes it would be incredibly useful to know much more than I do now. So that's feelings, Scripture is a big deal and we generally take it for granted and I want to stop doing that.
Top 10 list of favorate things
10.) Roller Coasters
9.) Kids (when they aren't crying)
8.) Quiet
7.) Skipping Class
6.) Chipotle
5.) Sports
4.) Sunsets on vacation (they are always better when you are somewhere you usually aren't)
3.) Books
2.) Friends
1.) Grace
9.) Kids (when they aren't crying)
8.) Quiet
7.) Skipping Class
6.) Chipotle
5.) Sports
4.) Sunsets on vacation (they are always better when you are somewhere you usually aren't)
3.) Books
2.) Friends
1.) Grace
Thursday, February 08, 2007
My Continued Wrongness
Recently I have been reading about the cities of Sodom and Gommorah, which biblically actually reffers to 5 or 6 cities located in a particular region of the Nile Valley. Apparently these cities where incredibly wealthy, it is unclear why, but most likely because of the valuable salt trade.
In Sodom the people were so rich and corrupted that they actually had laws to prevent poor people from enetering the town or living in their community. They had a common area in the center of the city where people traveling through could sleep for a night, but when it was dark there were laws so that any citizen of Sodom could come and do whatever they wanted with anyone staying in the Common Area. Basically they could rape them, enslave them, kill them, rob them, whatever. There were no laws against anything when it came to people that weren't in the community.
Now when Abraham and Lot break off Lot is well accepted in Sodom because of his great well and status. So he starts living there, later 2 angels come get pissed after the towns people try to rape them, and destroy everything with Fire and Brimstone. Anyways, now this is where I am wrong, a while ago I had said that I thought American Culture had become one of the most corrupt cultures of all time. As it turns out I was way wrong. Americans generally stand up for people who are weak or need help. In general I feel like the people of America have compassion and are willing to do something when confronted with injustice. Yes I still think we get a lot wrong and in some part of our culture virtually every imaginable sin is happening, but there are still a lot of people who are faithful. God would not destroy Sodom if only ten where found to be righteous in the city. As Andy Stanely would say, "a little bit of salt goes a long way towards perserving a society."
Matthew 5:13 is where Jesus calls us the salt of the earth. We are the preservative of the whole planet. We just have to make sure we don't lose our saltiness...
In Sodom the people were so rich and corrupted that they actually had laws to prevent poor people from enetering the town or living in their community. They had a common area in the center of the city where people traveling through could sleep for a night, but when it was dark there were laws so that any citizen of Sodom could come and do whatever they wanted with anyone staying in the Common Area. Basically they could rape them, enslave them, kill them, rob them, whatever. There were no laws against anything when it came to people that weren't in the community.
Now when Abraham and Lot break off Lot is well accepted in Sodom because of his great well and status. So he starts living there, later 2 angels come get pissed after the towns people try to rape them, and destroy everything with Fire and Brimstone. Anyways, now this is where I am wrong, a while ago I had said that I thought American Culture had become one of the most corrupt cultures of all time. As it turns out I was way wrong. Americans generally stand up for people who are weak or need help. In general I feel like the people of America have compassion and are willing to do something when confronted with injustice. Yes I still think we get a lot wrong and in some part of our culture virtually every imaginable sin is happening, but there are still a lot of people who are faithful. God would not destroy Sodom if only ten where found to be righteous in the city. As Andy Stanely would say, "a little bit of salt goes a long way towards perserving a society."
Matthew 5:13 is where Jesus calls us the salt of the earth. We are the preservative of the whole planet. We just have to make sure we don't lose our saltiness...
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Lesson of the Day
Make sure that the school you lead YL at is open before you drive there to do contact work. Nothing quite like a 35 minutes car ride to end up where you started...except maybe a 36 minutes car ride for nothing. I tried to recover even by calling some kids to see if they wanted to get some food or go to the mall, but nothing worked out. Oh well maybe Friday.
On a more uplifting note, its is entirely possible or even likely at this point that at least 3 or possibly even 4 or 5 guys go to Campaigner Weekend. That's good news! Also this week I reconnected with two kids I haven't heard from or seen in months. Both of them had moved, one moved back to his original house, and the other to Winton Woods . The one who now lives in Winton Woods decided to call me out of the blue, and the one who lives in Mt. Healthy again I saw at school on Monday. Apparently they didn't like it in Anderson and decided to move back...to their original house. Both of there names are Chris, and they both want to hang out next week. That's pretty cool/hilarious if you ask me.
On a more uplifting note, its is entirely possible or even likely at this point that at least 3 or possibly even 4 or 5 guys go to Campaigner Weekend. That's good news! Also this week I reconnected with two kids I haven't heard from or seen in months. Both of them had moved, one moved back to his original house, and the other to Winton Woods . The one who now lives in Winton Woods decided to call me out of the blue, and the one who lives in Mt. Healthy again I saw at school on Monday. Apparently they didn't like it in Anderson and decided to move back...to their original house. Both of there names are Chris, and they both want to hang out next week. That's pretty cool/hilarious if you ask me.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
White Death
Today the White Death came! And it was White Death. No matter how much we seem to plan for the snow at work, it just never seems to work out. Today we were ready. We watched slowly as the blotches crept across the radar at lunch, and when it started snowing we where on it immediately. However, after starting the salt spreader and trying to run it briefly, we noticed that it just wasn't working. Apparently some water got in the salt and turned it into one big block of concrete. The conveyor belt at the bottom of the holding bin wouldn't budge. So to fix it Ed and I had to dig the whole bin out by hand. By the time we got it working both our shoulders were shot and we couldn't move our fingers.
For some reason, every time it snows, something goes horribly wrong. At this moment I bet Gene is still at the church plowing away. When people arrive for work tomorrow morning the lot will be cleared and everything will look great. Only a few people will every know about the colossal problem that we were faced with at 2:30. I mean eventually we got it working and the snow stopped and we were actually able to make some progress toward seeing ground again, but man was it rough for a few hours.
Basically if it never snows again while I am responsible for doing something about cleaning it up, I will be just fine with that. For as long as I work on the facilities team at VCC I hope it never snows again, not one flake. its not that I mind horribly working hard or responding to problems, its just so predictable that something goes wrong. Maybe what I actually wish is for one time everything would just work.
Ok now I am over my rant and I can move on with life. I sort of wonder how sore I will be tomorrow, but I can deal with that then. On to much more important things, soccer starts again tomorrow. This is going to be the funnest team I have ever played on. For starters I think most of the people playing are pretty good. I might be the worst person on the team. Secondly, I know everyone playing already so I wont have to go through the sometimes tough part of learning everyones name. Thirdly I am just excited to play again. I just really like soccer! So tomorrow the season starts at 10:30! I can't wait. I hope I am not very sore...
For some reason, every time it snows, something goes horribly wrong. At this moment I bet Gene is still at the church plowing away. When people arrive for work tomorrow morning the lot will be cleared and everything will look great. Only a few people will every know about the colossal problem that we were faced with at 2:30. I mean eventually we got it working and the snow stopped and we were actually able to make some progress toward seeing ground again, but man was it rough for a few hours.
Basically if it never snows again while I am responsible for doing something about cleaning it up, I will be just fine with that. For as long as I work on the facilities team at VCC I hope it never snows again, not one flake. its not that I mind horribly working hard or responding to problems, its just so predictable that something goes wrong. Maybe what I actually wish is for one time everything would just work.
Ok now I am over my rant and I can move on with life. I sort of wonder how sore I will be tomorrow, but I can deal with that then. On to much more important things, soccer starts again tomorrow. This is going to be the funnest team I have ever played on. For starters I think most of the people playing are pretty good. I might be the worst person on the team. Secondly, I know everyone playing already so I wont have to go through the sometimes tough part of learning everyones name. Thirdly I am just excited to play again. I just really like soccer! So tomorrow the season starts at 10:30! I can't wait. I hope I am not very sore...
Monday, February 05, 2007
NO TV!!!
I was at work one day a couple weeks ago when the gauntlet was thrown down. Someone said that I couldn't give up TV for 3 months. It sort of turned into a bet, only if I win I don't get anything. I don't know exactly when the last day of the thing is, but I think it's sometime in the middle of April. There are 2 major exceptions; I get to watch the Super Bowl which I did and enjoyed. It was a good game that the Bears should have won if Rex Grossman wasn't a leading candidate for the worst QB to start a Super Bowl. Second I get to watch March Madness.
I hadn't realized how many things in my life involved TV. When I eat at home with my dad, the TV is almost always on in the background. When I eat lunch at work, I watch The Price is Right. When I lay in bed at night falling asleep I usually have on Sports Center. Just today I was eating lunch by myself in my house and I had to make the decision not to turn on the TV several times. It's been maybe 2 or 3 weeks now, and it has really been a battle for integrity. Really the only person that can hold me accountable to this is myself. I could watch TV and no one would know. So far so good though...
One thing that has been really good is the amount of time I have spent reading. Now when I am getting ready for bed I am almost certain to have a QT instead of just watching TV. I mean I am pretty consistent about have QTs anyways, but now its like an automatic. I am also going back through some books that I have already read, and just looking for things that I have underlined in the past. So far it has been a really cool experience. I don't know if I was stay satisfied with my books for the whole time, but for now it is a nice retreat from the pervasiveness of the media.
Another thing that has been affected by this is my prayer life. I have noticed in the past when I have given things up that I am more likely to pray. Especially when I am desiring those things. I think God must find it so entertaining to watch me fumble through life thinking of Him when I want something or need help with something. I was thinking yesterday how funny it is for God to be all around us all the time. If God fills the space of this universe, which I believe He does, how funny is it that God is in the shower with us, int he air around our bed at night, sitting at the table with us while we eat. He must take an immeasurable joy from watching His creation in all our little habits and routines. How much more when we think of Him in it with us?
So no TV for a while. I think I will be able to make it. Most of the time it isn't even that tempting. Wish me luck.
I hadn't realized how many things in my life involved TV. When I eat at home with my dad, the TV is almost always on in the background. When I eat lunch at work, I watch The Price is Right. When I lay in bed at night falling asleep I usually have on Sports Center. Just today I was eating lunch by myself in my house and I had to make the decision not to turn on the TV several times. It's been maybe 2 or 3 weeks now, and it has really been a battle for integrity. Really the only person that can hold me accountable to this is myself. I could watch TV and no one would know. So far so good though...
One thing that has been really good is the amount of time I have spent reading. Now when I am getting ready for bed I am almost certain to have a QT instead of just watching TV. I mean I am pretty consistent about have QTs anyways, but now its like an automatic. I am also going back through some books that I have already read, and just looking for things that I have underlined in the past. So far it has been a really cool experience. I don't know if I was stay satisfied with my books for the whole time, but for now it is a nice retreat from the pervasiveness of the media.
Another thing that has been affected by this is my prayer life. I have noticed in the past when I have given things up that I am more likely to pray. Especially when I am desiring those things. I think God must find it so entertaining to watch me fumble through life thinking of Him when I want something or need help with something. I was thinking yesterday how funny it is for God to be all around us all the time. If God fills the space of this universe, which I believe He does, how funny is it that God is in the shower with us, int he air around our bed at night, sitting at the table with us while we eat. He must take an immeasurable joy from watching His creation in all our little habits and routines. How much more when we think of Him in it with us?
So no TV for a while. I think I will be able to make it. Most of the time it isn't even that tempting. Wish me luck.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
John 10:10
"Narrow is the mansion of my soul.
Enlarge it, so that You can enter.
It lies in ruins.
Repair it.
I know and confess that You will find corruption there that is offensive to Your eyes. But who else shall clean it? To whom can I cry except You? Lord, scrub away my secret faults. Save Your servant from the power of the enemy. Since I believe You, I call to You, Lord, for You alone know.
Haven't I given testimony of my sins to You? Haven't You forgiven the wickedness of my heart? I don't argue with Your judgment, for You are Truth. I fear my own self-deception, for my corrupt heart lies even to itself. I offer no defense against Your judgment, for if You, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?"
I re-read a part of "The Confession's of St. Augustine" and this particular passage really stuck out to me. This guy lived 1600 years ago, and the stuff he thought about God was so profound that it's still getting published. In this passage he is dealing with his sin. He is trying to come to terms with his insufficiencies in the face of a perfect creator and savior. It seems to me like if I walk with Christ long enough at different times the perfection of God in all His aspects from the viewpoint of my sinfulness if overwhelming. In light of that, a relationship between me and God is completely irrational. God is so much bigger, greater, absolute, complete, perfect, loving... than I give Him credit for. There is so much more to God than the cross. There is more offered than a ticket to Heaven when I die. I am so preoccupied with the forgiveness part of God's love that I forget about the abundant life part that comes too.
Yes I am a sinful person and need God's grace to cover my transgressions, but God offers me much more than forgiveness. I think there is more to being a Christian than just being forgiven and living a life full of jobs from God as a response to His forgiveness. If that where all there was to it, I would still gladly live that life, but think there is more to it. I think there is a practical side to God's love that is more prolific than granting us admission to heaven, more personal than empowering us to go do His ministry, more relational than me asking for things (forgiveness, grace, help, a new car...) and Him giving, there is more to it than that.
God has chosen us to be the method he reaches people through, but that's not what I think "abundant life" is about. Doing ministry is possibly a prerequisite for abundant life. It may be that by involving myself in God's Master Plan I unknowingly set myself up to experience God in a unique way. "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." - Philemon 1:6 Being involved in what God is doing is definitely essential to having a close relationship with God. The Christian faith is not meant for remote monasteries, but for the world. I am called to look at Christ, but live in the world. Mark 16:15. And I can do so without fear of failure or rejection because Christ has overcome the world. John 16:33 It seems to me that if I can cast my trials on Christ, with faith, He can overcome them easily.
I look at the heroes of the faith (Hebrews 11), and I see a lot of them as having abundant life. One thing that they all had in common was a close relationship with God. In spite of their personal failures they are able to enter into an intimate relationship with God. They are able to share in His heart. As they become closer to God, He replaces their heart with His own. This is revealed throughout the old and New Testament in prophets and disciples. I want to be about praying for God to transform my heart, to build in me the desires that He has for my life. I want to see the world through His eyes and not my own.
One of the essential qualities of "abundant life" has to be a close relationship with God. But how does that work? I am the kind of person where I have accepted Christ into my life, and I pray, and do stuff I feel like God is telling me to do, and try to live life inside of Christian parameters, but somewhere I have missed something. I have not developed a close friendship with God. Yeah I do a lot of stuff and Christ has grown in me a ton in the last 5 years, but really am I a "friend" of God? Some parts of my life say I am close to God, and at times (especially lately) it has felt like God is near to me, but in general I feel separated from Him. I don't have the kind of relationship with God where I walk around seeing everything with God. I see lots of things with a self-centered mindset. I want to be in tune with what God is doing every day, not just in times of crisis.
I am not even sure I understand how being a friend of God should work. I feel like prayer or communication with God has to be a big part of it, but there also has to be an element of tuning yourself to hear what God is saying back. Friday at leadership we listened to a sermon by Corrie Ten Boom and hearing her talk about her faith made me want something like that. Like any relationship I think it takes a lot of effort to build and maintain. Perhaps even more-so because I am so prone to turn from God to other things. However, in spite of my shortcomings, I have to believe that God wants to know me intimately, to share life with me. I am convinced that there is a passionate interest in God's being that wants us to know who He is. All of recorded history points to His Son's death on the cross, there has to be more to that than just a stamp admitting us to heaven.
In Corrie Ten Boom's case she is absolutely reliant on the provision of God. Her reliance upon God for all her practical needs as well as her spiritual needs has built a relationship where she understand God's character better than most. She KNOWS God because of her extensive experience and reliance on exclusively who He is to sustain her. Because of her relationship with God she has experienced a great freedom from the burdens of this life. She has effectively cast the yoke of this life onto the Lord and learned to live in the freedom Christ bought for us both here and eternally. She experienced life to the fullest, her cup overflowed, she lived abundantly.
I think the first step to experiencing closeness with God, and through that, "abundant life", is coming to terms with my brokenness and need of a savior. I think embracing my weaknesses is the first thing I can do in learning to become reliant upon God. Casting the burden of my sin on Christ is key to experiencing the full life He bought for me. I have heard a lot about surrendering to God, but I may be finally experiencing what that is supposed to look like. At the very least I want to try to offer my everything. In my limited experience, if you try your best, God tends to meet you where you are. So I pray that I try my best, and God meets me in that.
Narrow is the mansion of my soul.
Enlarge it, so that You can enter.
It lies in ruins.
Repair it.
Enlarge it, so that You can enter.
It lies in ruins.
Repair it.
I know and confess that You will find corruption there that is offensive to Your eyes. But who else shall clean it? To whom can I cry except You? Lord, scrub away my secret faults. Save Your servant from the power of the enemy. Since I believe You, I call to You, Lord, for You alone know.
Haven't I given testimony of my sins to You? Haven't You forgiven the wickedness of my heart? I don't argue with Your judgment, for You are Truth. I fear my own self-deception, for my corrupt heart lies even to itself. I offer no defense against Your judgment, for if You, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?"
I re-read a part of "The Confession's of St. Augustine" and this particular passage really stuck out to me. This guy lived 1600 years ago, and the stuff he thought about God was so profound that it's still getting published. In this passage he is dealing with his sin. He is trying to come to terms with his insufficiencies in the face of a perfect creator and savior. It seems to me like if I walk with Christ long enough at different times the perfection of God in all His aspects from the viewpoint of my sinfulness if overwhelming. In light of that, a relationship between me and God is completely irrational. God is so much bigger, greater, absolute, complete, perfect, loving... than I give Him credit for. There is so much more to God than the cross. There is more offered than a ticket to Heaven when I die. I am so preoccupied with the forgiveness part of God's love that I forget about the abundant life part that comes too.
Yes I am a sinful person and need God's grace to cover my transgressions, but God offers me much more than forgiveness. I think there is more to being a Christian than just being forgiven and living a life full of jobs from God as a response to His forgiveness. If that where all there was to it, I would still gladly live that life, but think there is more to it. I think there is a practical side to God's love that is more prolific than granting us admission to heaven, more personal than empowering us to go do His ministry, more relational than me asking for things (forgiveness, grace, help, a new car...) and Him giving, there is more to it than that.
God has chosen us to be the method he reaches people through, but that's not what I think "abundant life" is about. Doing ministry is possibly a prerequisite for abundant life. It may be that by involving myself in God's Master Plan I unknowingly set myself up to experience God in a unique way. "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." - Philemon 1:6 Being involved in what God is doing is definitely essential to having a close relationship with God. The Christian faith is not meant for remote monasteries, but for the world. I am called to look at Christ, but live in the world. Mark 16:15. And I can do so without fear of failure or rejection because Christ has overcome the world. John 16:33 It seems to me that if I can cast my trials on Christ, with faith, He can overcome them easily.
I look at the heroes of the faith (Hebrews 11), and I see a lot of them as having abundant life. One thing that they all had in common was a close relationship with God. In spite of their personal failures they are able to enter into an intimate relationship with God. They are able to share in His heart. As they become closer to God, He replaces their heart with His own. This is revealed throughout the old and New Testament in prophets and disciples. I want to be about praying for God to transform my heart, to build in me the desires that He has for my life. I want to see the world through His eyes and not my own.
One of the essential qualities of "abundant life" has to be a close relationship with God. But how does that work? I am the kind of person where I have accepted Christ into my life, and I pray, and do stuff I feel like God is telling me to do, and try to live life inside of Christian parameters, but somewhere I have missed something. I have not developed a close friendship with God. Yeah I do a lot of stuff and Christ has grown in me a ton in the last 5 years, but really am I a "friend" of God? Some parts of my life say I am close to God, and at times (especially lately) it has felt like God is near to me, but in general I feel separated from Him. I don't have the kind of relationship with God where I walk around seeing everything with God. I see lots of things with a self-centered mindset. I want to be in tune with what God is doing every day, not just in times of crisis.
I am not even sure I understand how being a friend of God should work. I feel like prayer or communication with God has to be a big part of it, but there also has to be an element of tuning yourself to hear what God is saying back. Friday at leadership we listened to a sermon by Corrie Ten Boom and hearing her talk about her faith made me want something like that. Like any relationship I think it takes a lot of effort to build and maintain. Perhaps even more-so because I am so prone to turn from God to other things. However, in spite of my shortcomings, I have to believe that God wants to know me intimately, to share life with me. I am convinced that there is a passionate interest in God's being that wants us to know who He is. All of recorded history points to His Son's death on the cross, there has to be more to that than just a stamp admitting us to heaven.
In Corrie Ten Boom's case she is absolutely reliant on the provision of God. Her reliance upon God for all her practical needs as well as her spiritual needs has built a relationship where she understand God's character better than most. She KNOWS God because of her extensive experience and reliance on exclusively who He is to sustain her. Because of her relationship with God she has experienced a great freedom from the burdens of this life. She has effectively cast the yoke of this life onto the Lord and learned to live in the freedom Christ bought for us both here and eternally. She experienced life to the fullest, her cup overflowed, she lived abundantly.
I think the first step to experiencing closeness with God, and through that, "abundant life", is coming to terms with my brokenness and need of a savior. I think embracing my weaknesses is the first thing I can do in learning to become reliant upon God. Casting the burden of my sin on Christ is key to experiencing the full life He bought for me. I have heard a lot about surrendering to God, but I may be finally experiencing what that is supposed to look like. At the very least I want to try to offer my everything. In my limited experience, if you try your best, God tends to meet you where you are. So I pray that I try my best, and God meets me in that.
Narrow is the mansion of my soul.
Enlarge it, so that You can enter.
It lies in ruins.
Repair it.
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