Heath's blog

Blogging Lately

2011-07-11T22:59:00.001-07:00

I guess the title assumes that I have actually been blogging regularly, which is not really the case. But recently I have felt like I have been writing solely to myself, in a secluded place on a all-but-secluded internet. I have actually really enjoyed it. Perhaps there is still someone reading out there and that would be ok too, it must be with this type of medium. It's just so nice to write without expectations, to write without filters, to write without worrying about judgment.

On one hand I have always wanted to be "all things to all people" probably because of my people pleasing nature. On the other hand, I know I have an identity that is counter cultural in a lot of ways and probably demands that I stand up for those values and beliefs. It's so much more difficult in a post-modern world, which means it's most likely all the more important to keep an identity.

The idea is certainly alive in Portland where you can be whatever you want to be and let me do the same type of thing. In many ways I like it because it lumps us all into one boat, just weird people with out quirks. Yet, the Christian identity pulls me away to be all things, to be accepting and open, but at the same time be an alien in the world.

And what good news I have about the risen Lord of the world. Yet, I'm not suppose to impose my ideas and my truth on others, but keep it to myself. The way I try to get around all this is to simply live like Jesus and let that be my testimony of values. I wonder if that is enough though, is my life a loud enough proclamation. Obviously it is not simple to live like Jesus all the time and perhaps other times I try and hide my light under a bowl.

I think I, like many, am just tired to words and respect constant courageous actions. However, words can be rousing and a story can connect us in powerful ways.

At the end of the day, I have just enjoyed wrestling with so many ideas ... trying to find the balance and wondering if balance is always the best thing. I always enjoy wrestling in thought with others, but it is also nice to be able to have a little corner to myself.

Latest Adventure

2011-07-05T09:37:00.001-07:00

"Latest Adventure" implies more to come and boy to a look forward to that.

This past weekend I had Mr. CJ Pierson and Mr. Kevin Palm here in Portland (and really all of Oregon) with me!

Simply put, it was a grand adventure including climbing famous landmarks from childhood games (Beacon Rock), trekking through the wilderness, RIDING A WATERFALL, encountering the majestic bald eagle, viewing the limitless horizon of the Pacific, showing under waterfalls, soaking in hot springs and rocking out every time we were on the road.

As good as it all was, it would have been meaningless without our wonderful relationships. Mind you, one can experience God's beautiful world with God alone (a relationship no doubt!). It was so great to adventure with my brothers!

Hair

2011-06-08T23:52:00.000-07:00

Why are we so obsessed with our hair?

It can be a stepping stone to become older when you learn to shave.

It can show that you are well minded enough to groom yourself and take care of yourself.

It may determine what socioeconomic class you are in.

Sometimes it defines our self-esteem.

It keeps us warm? ... nah.

It describes our mood.

Or our personality ... and Portland has some personality!

So many things, status symbols, privilege ... ways to differ ourselves from others, to make us individuals (at least in our culture).

As much as I like to tease someone about being bald, I'm actually pretty excited about it so I don't have to worry about such things. Granted I could just buzz my head all the time, but I just can't quite do it yet.

Tonight I'm kinda missing my beard.

Graduate School

2011-06-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

I have really enjoyed grad school thus far. Yet, the longing to be out doing good lingers.

Then of course, I must constantly ask myself, what is good? How can we know that our actions are going to lead to good, they may have a terrible effect. Pondering what will happen seems interesting, but ultimately simply an acknowledgment that we are not the controllers of all things and that there are always possible consequences to the best of actions.

The way I rest my head at night is by believing a couple of ideas. One that I personally do not have the power to change the entire system to being perfect. This allows me to approach every situation and more importantly every person as the most important "system" and hope to have a "good" impact on an individual. I also rest my hat on trying to be aware of my motivations and intentions and hope that they are moved mostly by good intentions regardless of the outcome.

For example, upon deciding to mentor four high-schoolers this year I wondered if my 15 meetings with them would yield positive/good results. The possible consequence being that these (possibly at-risk kids) would yet again have a figure (and male figure at that) come into their lives and then leave after a certain amount of time. I eventually decided that while not perfect the time frame was sufficient to create a meaningful relationship and explain how to model this relationship with others and look for other mentors that will help them grow along their journey. So, now at the end I'm left wondering what the total effect will be and hope that good intentions are enough to allow a healing and good relationship that occurs for a time to outnumber the possible negative consequences.

Hmm. Well I guess there it is for today ... I was definitely planning on writing about grad school.

Spring Break

2011-03-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's spring break and spring just doesn't seem to quite be here. It's still a little chilly here in the Northwest, and I'm missing my spring break wing-man and our yearly trip. We are hoping to make it happen later this year, but I just had to pause and appreciate, miss and remember some of our great trips of the past.

Friends Friends

2011-01-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

We have friends coming tonight, I'm so pumped!

All friends you are welcome to come and explore Oregon with us, so send 'em!

A wonderful gift I received for my birthday is a gigantic canvas map of the world. I find myself simply staring at it for large quantities of time. I put magnetic board behind the canvas so that we can put up where we want to go, and where others are and little trinkets up there as well (a stolen idea wish I could claim it was original).

I was curious if anyone else is transfixed by the world, just the representation of the world. The history, the chaos, the size, the beauty. So many unique cultures and people each with their own story. I would love to hear all the stories, obviously all would not be captivating in a Hollywood movie sense, but they would all certainly be captivating in their own unique ways!

Ha Ha

2010-12-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

So naturally, I totally forgot about the blog world and that I wanted to write each day. More than that ... I actually read blogs every day, but somehow forgot to write my own. Sad, sad, sad.

Well tonight me and my wonderful wife Katie ... had a dancing lesson.

We are not good at dancing, frankly do not know how, and we are not necessarily the most coordinated. Yet, we thought it would be fun to try something new together (and we got a great deal a while back). It was a bunch of fun, I'm convinced anyone can dance with a good teacher and practice ... but it will be a while before I will be able to call myself a dancer. We then headed over to Pudding and Rice and got some! Such a weird, but good combination.

The end of my first semester of grad school is approaching. Pretty weird. I just don't feel like I am this old, sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and wonder who that person is. Not in a crisis sort of way who am I, what are my values ... but in a, physical like there's a full size adult with a boy inside. I wonder how long that will last.

Today was valuable.

Look at that Guy

2010-11-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

Here I am again. Writing in my little corner of the world. I'm not exactly sure where I'll be headed or it I can keep this up, but my goal is to write a little post everyday, even if it is just a paragraph or sentence, maybe every other-day (already faltering yikes).

My main goal is to use this as a creative outlet, to help express myself. I have felt a lack of creativity lately, so I'm back.

My wonderful little wife has been keeping a blog at katieshandmades.blogspot.com that is wonderful now, but I am excited to have it in the future even moreso I think. I learned that after young adulthood, memories tend to be forgotten more easily so hopefully I'm still holding on to these, but it's nice to have a little back up written down!

Innovation

2009-12-10T18:01:00.001-08:00

People are so incredibly innovative! It makes me feel all the more that I am not. But why am I focusing on myself anyways ...

So I have said from time to time that the US has no culture because it is a conglomeration of many, more precisely no food culture. Then yesterday I thought about FAST FOOD, and more specifically and earlier than that the good ole diners. Yeah the diner, where you go to eat in a shiny train looking thing.

P.S. I graduate tomorrow.

Remember, Remember

2009-12-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

Relationships are everything.

Impending

2009-12-04T08:02:00.001-08:00

Graduation! What does this mean? For me,

I guess more school. But everyone keeps telling me congratulations and it feels weird.

Busy, Busy

2009-12-01T18:21:00.001-08:00

Life is just too crazy. I hope I can slow down enough to live it well.

Youth

2009-10-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

It seems as if everyone always puts youth on a pedestal as something to desire.

But if you could go back to high school would you?

Ok, perhaps a more difficult question what about into your twenties (feels funny asking that now), would you really want that? Perhaps or maybe it just seems like that would be nice with words.

Pulse

2009-10-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hello world,

I am here, and I think I want to creep back into the blogosphere.

So let's go!

I have nothing extra to offer except that the world of disc golf in Abilene is kickin' right now and it's getting me excited.

Wrapping Up

2008-08-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

I know, I know . . . what in the world has been going on the Bronx! Sorry for the lack of posts! It has gotten to the point where there is so much to talk about that the task seems too daunting to begin, but here is a little bit to chew on.

I have a friend that I met in the Edgar Allen Poe Park (right next to his old house in the Bronx) named Yasser. He is about my age and started skating in that park about 6 or 7 years ago. Back then he was the only one who skated there. Since then an entire array of people have begun to skate there most of them from slightly to extremely younger than Yasser. I could tell right off the bat that Yasser was a vital part of this community. All of the other skaters would always say, "Yasser, watch this trick!" They would also ask him about tons of different questions for advice and these questions were not simply surface level questions. I started calling him the "Godfather" and enjoyed watching that community function together and love each other (sometimes by making fun of each other). I wondered to myself if this community could easily become a church.

Another day, I was walking to Popeye's and on the street corner I heard hootin' and hollarin' and naturally I had to check it out. It seemed as if there was some sort of street preacher doing his thing and doing it loud and proud. Much to my dismay is it seemed to be working! However, when I begin to listen more closely to the vast crowd around him it sounded like these people knew each other and they were agreeing with everything he said. I finally decided that this much be a church, a congregation who's service takes place on the corner of 174th street by the 2/5 train. I thought this was an interesting and noble concept. What if all of the churches in the world met outside on street corners, or inside business establishments, or in malls or other populated areas. Everyone around that street corner was listening, what are these crazy people saying and doing and listening to! We definitely thought they were crazy, but we listened to what was being said. Of course, we stayed a safe distance so we could stray from the saliva of the screaming preacher, but we were still listening.

I had an experience at New Life (my home church back in Abilene) where we took tons of chairs outside to an adjacent lot and had our service outside. A good amount of people drove or walked by and their curiosity was raised as they listened to what was going on. We then, as always, ate with each other (also outside) and if I remember correctly invited a random person walking by for some free food.

. . . we talked about two sorts of ministry the other day with the missionaries. One sort is called the push model where we are pushing people to get involved (which I think can be positive when leaders need to be pushed into stepping up to the plate and given responsibility), but our focus was on the fact that there usually is not much of a pull factor of ministry. While this idea isn't completely associated with the previous experiences, they kind of connect and like I said there is many thoughts going through my head and those are some of them.

...........................

This is our last week here so we will be bringing closure to relationships (or at least in terms of getting ready to leave and use electronic communication) and reflecting on what we have done here and what has been done to us.

..........................

Who is excited about the Olympics!!!!! I sure am, especially hearing all the news about our basketball team . . . I love it all!

Also I have become a huge fan of podcasts this summer so if anyone has a must subscribe to podcast they know of, send it my way! I'm sure I can write at some point at what in the world this word "podcast" means in a later post for those of y'all who are wondering if it a fishing trick or an artsy portrayal of peas.

I have also discovered the joys of public transportation again, and this time I have taken advantage of the time by reading A LOT!

I have read:

Christianity Rediscovered by Vincent Donovan
Salvation by Joel Green
The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission by Lesslie Newbigin
Simply Christian by N.T. Wright (who Reid Humble has met and if I remember correctly enjoyed tea and crumpets with! Ok slight exaggeration)
Prophetic Imagination by Walter Bruggemann (thank you Spence and Ben!!)
Way of the Heart (I think that's the title) by Henri Nowen (a book on silence, solitude and prayer)
The Shack by William Young (I recommend this to everyone and everyone was simultaneously reading this it seemed)
Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community by Wendell Berry (here is the shout out to Mr. Brad East (you knew it was coming))!
Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth by Walter Bruggemann (still working slowly through the poetry/prayer)
Sex God by Rob Bell (on audiobook another great discovery this summer - books you listen to . . . astounding!)
Tepper Isn't Going Out by Calvin Trillin (thank you Tommy Johnson!)
Secret Message by Brian McLaren (audiobook)
A Timbered Choir by Wendell Berry (also still working through it, it is also poetry)
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (also audiobook)
And along with Katie I'm currently reading Passionate Marriage by David Snarchschech (It's a crazy last name that I can't remember how to spell)
And I am about to begin the graphic novel WATCHMEN! by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

It is appropriate to envy public transportation at this time!

Pep-in-the-step

2008-07-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

So I don't have much time to write or much to report, but we had a small moral booster today that made me excited so I thought I would quickly share it.

We go and do the prayer station at least twice a week every week, but it has been extremely hot for the past two weeks. However, today it was a cool 76 degrees outside with continual pending rain that never came!

Side note it has not rained a single event we have done out but it has been especially rainy/overcast the entire summer, so someone must be looking out for us. And other side note every time we are praying at the prayer station and it is crazy hot outside a cloud ALWAYS comes while we are praying! Pretty cool.

Anyways, today with the cool weather we easily had over 30 people stop and pray with us, share their lives with us, and talk with us! It was great to see at least 5 former faces like Lizabeth, Compton, and others! It's nice to be known around the neighborhood and it was nice to have a large number of people share in life together!

Tonight we are having a group Bible study . . . and that's where I'm headed!

Katie Claire Morrison

2008-07-17T09:38:00.000-07:00

On Monday July 14th I woke up, much to my dismay, to a 70% chance of rain with clouds filling the sky, rain already drizzling down, and a forecast of thunderstorms by 4pm.

At about 3:15pm I received a text message from Jordan (the other guy intern and special helper of the day) that said, "Jesus must love you man! Would you look at that sun!" The clouds had parted and deceased and the set up was perfect and so it began.

Katie Claire and I had a lovely afternoon of walking through the best New York has to offer in Central Park! We eventually ended up at the boathouse where we rented a row-boat for the afternoon. Properly disguised as a celebration of being together for 20 months we had a great time exploring the lake in Central Park! After making our rounds in the lake we found ourselves in a little secluded cove and decided to dock and pull the boat up on land while we looked around at the beautiful greenery surrounding us. In the small dirt path that sat next to the water's edge laid a sideways tree that hid a treasure behind it. After stepping over the trunk Katie quickly figured out what was up with the rose petal path! We walked around the corner to a little gazebo where our friend had laid out my gifts to Katie.

The next hour was a great time together and we walked up the stairs of Wagner's Cove as a newly engaged couple!!

We found ourselves at Cherry Hill and a horse and carriage promptly picked us up and we rode throughout Central Park behind Romeo, the beautiful white steed.

What perfected the night was meeting our parents in Little Italy for dinner and sharing stories and celebration together!

The Parents are coming! The Parents are coming!

2008-07-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

The Morrison clan and Newton clan arrive in the city tomorrow at various times!!!

Katie and I are pretty ecstatic since these opportunities only come around once in a blue moon!

We're also excited because they get to experience some of the things we are getting to see and learn and hear . . . which will hopefully open up new worlds of thought and questions for all of us.

It's late and as I'm sure I could ramble I think I will leave it at that. We are excited!

Brokenness

2008-07-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

No matter where you go there will be common and unique brokenness and pain.

In Uganda, there was sickness, death, and poverty.

In Russia, there was excessive alcohol and a lack of beliefs and values.

In the Bronx you can imagine that there are all kinds of brokenness, but the one that seems the greatest has had its effects in the other areas of the world I have been to as well.

We were talking to a group of women who had just came to the Bronx to teach at one of the local schools. They were asking people lots of questions like what they did during the day, why they were here and specific questions to us like why are you here, has this worked at all and other lines of questioning. They said that a police officer had mentioned something profound to them earlier that day and shared it with us . . . he said "the biggest problem of the Bronx is not in its crime, drugs, or anything you might first think of . . . its the lack of fathers."

Growing up without a male figure (or female figure for that matter) creates brokenness (at least in the sense that it lacks wholeness).

This creates tons of secondary problems as well. There is a lack of leadership because no one has seen a mentor or father figure lead in their lives. Males and females alike do not know how to step up and shepherd others, but only know how to get by themselves.

This naturally creates problems within a church that relies on mentoring and lay leadership.

In conjunction with this, I am reading a book called The Shack, which eventually personifies the Trinity. God, "the father," is portrayed as a large black woman, which is interesting in itself and most definitely throws the character in the book off a little bit. God responds to the question of why do we call you father/mother/or whatever we call you. In the book God answers by saying "we knew that fathers would be lacking in people's lives more than a nurturing mother so we chose to be primarily represented in that way." (This is all my paraphrasing by the way). Of course God is not male or female, and he has qualities that reside in both and all, but I thought it was interesting how the author saw fatherlessness as a huge problem in which perhaps God understands the best (of course) and hopes that we will be able to live a whole life by taking him as our mentor and father if we have a good one or not here on earth.

It would be great to pray for this hurting section of New York and for New York as a whole in this area. That God would raise up men willing to stay with their families and be responsible in their lives, which will hopefully in turn produce leaders that are more able because they have learned from the leadership of males and females alike!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There are a few other "problems" and struggles/frustrations we have been going through as well lately and I believe I am better understanding why and how and what etc, but prayers for patience and an abundance of love would be great as well! Perhaps I can elaborate more at some point or another . . . I hope your summer is going well and that you are constantly learning about the community around you, about yourself, and about the King of the world!

Hot Dogs

2008-07-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you mix the biggest tummies in the world with a stop watch, a crowd of 50,000, and a bunch of hot dogs. . . .

The fourth of July at Coney Island at the World Famous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Did we witness Joey Chesnutt eat 10 (10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) hot dogs in his first minute? YES!

Did we witness both of the contenders eat 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes? YES!!

Did we witness each of the finalists eat five hot dogs in less that 4.2 seconds? Not quite, but it was close!

And yes Joey Chesnutt won the match to keep the hot dog eating title, the SUPERBOWL of eating, in the U.S. of A.

(P.S. one of the contenders ate 1.5 gallons of Chili in 5 minutes and 25 seconds.) I feel like I could go into all sorts of theological discussion from here, but I will not go there right now!

Goodness gracious!

Flushing New York

2008-07-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

No I am not talking about the verb, but the recent visit to the far corner of Queens called Flushing. About a week ago me and the other interns visited the area to understand what our world may be looking like in the near future, if not now.

As we began to walk (about a 6 block walk) we found ourselves running into a couple of Hindu temples, a Seke (spelling?) worship place, an Asian denomination church, a Jewish synagogue, a Buddhist temple, an Islamic mosque, a Catholic church and a few other lesser known religious gathering places.

In 6 blocks!

We then began to ask ourselves two questions.

First, a broad question for all of humanity - why do we believe in God? This created subquestions like how do all these religions come to be in the first place? How did each religion start?

The second question was how is Christianity different than the world religions of the past and present?

New York is a hub for pluralism and a global context. You can find every tribe and every way of doing things by walking down a few blocks. There are countless numbers of food styles, tons of different languages being spoken, and tons of communication breakdowns between people.

I think it is very important to wrestle with those questions as well as understanding the world we live in. Obviously to reach out to the culture of New York, one must be familiar with the people he/she is reaching out to. With the internet and the flurry of information flowing into rural areas as well as the cities people are connected with all types of realities, knowledge, and choices.

So why is our faith tradition unique? What do we have to offer the world?

And how do we reach a world that has the information of the world at its fingertips? that is post-modern? that is post-Christian (as some are calling it in America now - or at least in Europe) that is moving and living in cities more than ever before? that is more of a melting pot than ever before?

. . . . . . . . .

I wish I could give you our entire conversation, because it deeply explored what we believe and what the world is going to look like in the coming years.

In other news, our house church Friday night was a great experience . . . it is so great to be in an atmosphere that the common goal is to seek and discern truth. It is something we experienced a lot especially in Russia, and it's just really great to be able to agree/disagree and everything in between with a community and figure out what God is trying to tell us through his words! Our communion time was also phenomenal as we invited God to be with us and then in a pop-corn like way we gave up to God our prayers, sang songs we felt led to sing, read scripture that we were thinking about, and shared the body and blood of our Lord and Savior. It was a great expression of a community of faith coming together and worshiping.

. . . . . . . . .

Also - I love central park! We were able to listen to a free concert by the Philharmonic orchestra last Tuesday night and there were approximately 8 billion people there with us. It was great!

I also spent yesterday there watching the diversity of God creation interact and exist among his beautiful creation. It was quite an experience, I highly suggest doing it sometime!

. . . . . . . . .

My parents and Katie's parents are coming up in a little less than two weeks and we are extremely excited to get to show them the Bronx! It's easy to talk for hours about my summer experiences, but it's so difficult to be able to actually describe faces, people, culture, events, and experiences to the detail they deserve, so I'm excited they will be able to get a taste of life here!

Busy Busy!

2008-06-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while, so I just wanted to check in and say I'm still here!

This summer I am taking two and a half classes in conjunction with my internship. The first class I took this past spring and I will take a follow-up class in the fall for the Bible internship that follows your Junior year. This is the half class, because there are not many requirements for me to be actually working on . . . however

I am in another internship class based on my communication degree and I have been reading and writing papers for it as well . . . It should hopefully be over by July 5th so I am looking forward to finishing all of the final projects for that class.

The final class was my Maymester course, teaching the good news. I talked some about it before, but it is in conjunction with the World Wide Witness program at ACU. So I am writing papers for it as well and it will hopefully conclude its last assignments July 29!

I also remembered we have a blackboard system here that we also read and make posts online for discussion among interns and leadership here in the Bronx . . . so am I giving lots of excuses for my lack of writing . . . YES! I'm sorry and I will hopefully get on more of a regular system again, there are so many things I want to talk about and am experiencing here in the mega-city!

We had a discussion last week about pluralism and it opened my world yet again the crazy diversity of this place! Hopefully I will be able to discuss it more in full at a later date . . . for now I am about to head to the park, play some basketball and dominoes . . . and finish up with a Bible study over there at the local McDonalds! I hope all is well in your world!

Basketball

2008-06-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I played some ball before a Bible study I had in the area. So what was my first experience playing ball in the Bronx? Well you better believe a 12 year old challenged me to one-on-one! I was slightly amused and then slightly terrified that he might beat me and all my credibility would be gone forever.

But, I prevailed! Ha, he was most definitely a good little player, but I had about a foot on him, so the challenge was too great! The older guys saw me and saw that I was pretty tall and I guess that got them interested enough to ask me to play with them. They were all legit, but I was just happy they invited me into their game! Their skills though mostly consist of the ability to jump higher, make moves quicker, and play stronger than me . . . but you better believe I have old man bball skills that are taken for granted. Practically no one knows how to shoot a ball there, which means my high arching jump shot proves that I am from another planet, which is cool . . . I think.

All this to say, once they invited me on the court I never left because I was either picked up for every game or won. That was pretty exciting to be accepted to that community so quickly. I still have not figured out the system because not everyone gets to play. Someone calls next game, but then they pick the best players available not the ones who have been waiting the longest. Anyways, basketball is fun, I'm glad it exists.

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On Wednesdays and Fridays the interns do a prayer station on the busy intersection in the Bronx. The commute over there takes 40 minutes so I usually take that time to prepare myself and focus. Today, it seemed like God took off with a head start that I was not ready for, but proved once again that God is on a completely different time table than I am, which is wonderful and definitely makes things more exciting and dramatic. As I was sitting on the bus (probably looking tired and uninteresting) a guy asked if I had a free Bibles in the box I was carrying. I mistook him for a prophet, before I saw that "Street Ministry" was written along the side of the box, although it was still a pretty good educated guess. Alfonso has been reading the Bible intently for the past couple of weeks and he has been having trouble because he has the King James version, but sometimes cannot understand it completely, because . . . well it is the King James version. He was excited that I had the NIV and that the words were bigger so he could read more easily. He then proceeded to teach ME about Bible stories he had been reading about.

This discussion sparked another one from the lady sitting next to me named Margie. Margie wanted to know about the church we were working with because she felt like it was time to make a change so she could grow more in her spiritual life. She described needing a Bible based presence in the church and close relationships where she did not just show up Sunday morning and then leave without talking to anyone. It sounds like Margie will pretty much soak up what the Bronx Fellowship is about and we both were really excited about what may be a God orchestrated connection. She lives like half a block from the house church Katie goes to, which was another cool natural connection.

This began another conversation with a man who had been working with a prison ministry who was interested in what we had been doing and he shared his vision of street ministry that he felt God was calling him to.

. . . . . . . . .

My night ended on an encouraging note, I had a Bible study with a man named Solomon. He's a great guy and loves learning. Hopefully I will get the chance to tell you more about him as the summer goes on, but his is another name you can be praying for!

Monday's and Tuesday's

2008-06-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a second and talk about our typical Mondays and Tuesdays.

On Mondays we begin the day at different locations all over New York City in a time of group reflection. We reflect on theological ideas such as the Kingdom of God, which was Jesus' primary message and we think about cultural issues as well as the thinking behind what/how/why/etc the Bronx Fellowship. After this we spread out within the city and take a good chunk of time for individual reflection in solitude. Last week I went to a large church on 42nd street, which was great! This is an obvious and natural time to connect with God and to rethink over the past week and begin to think about the week ahead of us. However, as we reflect on those two items - both past and future - I try and focus on the present moment and connect with God. I am reading a book by Henry Nowen right now and he says that it is in the solitude moments that we intensely discover our need for God and turn to him. (PS there is a lot of time to read or listen to music on public transportation, which has been incredible for me!).

Then Tuesdays are our play days! Last week, like I said we went to the Metropolitan Museum which was absolutely ridiculous because of its size and spectacularness! This week, Katie and I will be heading to Coney Island!

This week has once again brought many adventures and taught me much about myself, the culture, and the church! Sometime soon I will also post about my African experience! Yes I have now successfully encountered every culture I have ever been a part of in the Bronx! (I actually take that back because Nathan and his family are from Liberia and not from Uganda, but we/I often classify Africa as a single place when that is of course absurd! Nathan and I talked about that yesterday and I'll work on that). Until next time.

Power Hour!!

2008-06-13T08:59:00.001-07:00

Friday the 13^th!

So cool. It’s Friday the 13^th, I just realized this.

It’s about this time the past three years that I begin getting the Champs Camp itch. This may actually be the last day of Champs Camp in Round Rock and I hope it all went well. I heard there is a crazy man by the name of Luke Marrs that is taking the duty of song leader and I am most definitely jealous of his job!

Here in the Bronx, however, I have been able to have a great time with a little thing we call Power Hour! Every Friday at 5 pm we go to a park in one of the local projects and put on a little get together for the kids.

We generally begin with a game of some sort, hangman was our first game, but we may have to throw in some Simon Says and other various starter games . . . we’ll see. Then I get to lead songs with some great kids! It is an interesting group because they are obviously from all parts of the world, ethnically, and they are a good range of ages. I was very curious the first time to see whether or not the older kids would participate, and much to my surprise they began to get into as we sang songs. (I may have heard later from one of the older girls that there is a crush thing going on, but I guess I must deal with the consequences, smile). It has been so great to be a part of an event like Power Hour though and does make me miss Champs Camp even more, but makes me appreciate how I have learned to interact with kids through Champs Camp and the Round Rock church in general.

After this we teach a lesson and then play an organized game and finish everything off with giving them a snack and drink. The parents were really involved and even volunteered to bring the snack this week. Of course, we would love for them to take ownership of Power Hour in this way and so we’ll see if they bring something this afternoon. We were also given a broad number of how many we could expect to come the first time. They said their number last year was as small as 5 kids sometimes but we may expect up to 20. Of course, God decided to prepare some kid’s and parent’s hearts before hand and blow us away when we got there and there was definitely over 30 kids hanging out with us! It was so great!

Last week I was amazed at the answers the kids gave to my questions and they all seemed really excited about what we were doing! I love the energy kids bring and it is one of the most encouraging things I do during the entire week. This afternoon will only be our second Power Hour, but we plan on doing it all summer and going to the park randomly to hang out with the kids when we have a little extra time. Please pray for Power Hour, that God can use us to show his kids how much he loves them and pray that the parents will desire to be actively involved in some way with their kids and their spirituality whether it be taking their kids to a church somewhere, joining one of our house churches, or even bringing snacks to Power Hour so that the kids will enjoy the fellowship even more!

Tents, Stars, and Paint

2008-06-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

June 10^th

Should playing at the best paintball field in America be a required job description of a missionary? I think so!

This weekend we took a van load of Bronx kids out to a state park in Pennsylvania. This in itself was a wonderful event to witness. First, because these kids are obviously from the city, they do not do so well in the vast, dark, quiet void. It was funny that they almost did not know what it meant to be dark because the city lights are constantly on and you can forget about the word quiet, but of course they were trying as hard as they could to jinx that one. At one point we went out to look at the stars and I pointed the big dipper out to a guy . . . and he exclaimed, “I see it! I see it! I’ve never seen the big dipper!” I was flabbergasted. We also had a great Bible study in four small groups and two guys, Gavin and Josh, both had TONS of questions about anything and everything, which reminded me of me at that age . . . asking Spence and Jason anything and everything about Bible/God questions. It was really great.

Then we dominated in paintball.

For 8 straight hours. Nuff said.

We got home exhausted and ready to crash Sunday night and thankfully had a semi-restful Monday and Tuesday. Mondays are our official reflection day. We begin our day with a group reflection where we talk about theology, house church, new ideas, old ideas, questions about the Bronx, etc and then we do some individual reflection and prayer time. It was great, this week I was able to go to a church on 42^nd street. Tuesdays are our official day off! This week four of us went to the Metropolitan museum and enjoyed some of the best art of all time from the entire world.

Finally, New York public schools have been out the past two days from excessive heat. Yeah I know, I go to New York for a summer to get away from the Texas heat and it follows me . . . today the heat index was 104 to 107 and some of the schools do not have air conditioning so they have to let them go home . . . its so bizarre and it has been like this the past 3 days! It’s nuts, but one of the interns just informed me that there is a TORNADO watch right now and the wind is going crazy so hopefully cooler weather is in the near future. We definitely do not have air conditioning so it is difficult to sleep at night and for the first time in a long while I look forward to really cold showers at night right before bed!

Well I think that’s all for now, I am going to hopefully enjoy game 3 of the NBA finals here in a sec. if I can steal the TV away from Maximo and Yolanda (our gracious hosts) and their precious Yankee’s ball game. I hope everyone is well and enjoying their summers!

Net - Casting

2008-06-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

June 5^th

If our efforts this summer could be summed up in a single word it would be net-casting. Let me tell you, net-casting can be extremely uncomfortable! It can also be surprisingly rewarding! What I may like about it most is that it is completely dependent and reliant on the power of God.

Today we set up a prayer station at a busy intersection of town (Fordham and Grand Concourse). We had no clue as to what we were doing and how we should best do it, but we were available, willing, and dependent on God. As weird as it sounds, this is a good formula for God showing up. So anyways, we set up our little prayer station that had a few flyers on it talking about a youth group type thing called CTA (call to arms led by George one of the gametime church members), free Bibles, Friendspeak/LST type material that we will be doing with people, and Camp Shiloh info (for low income kids). With these things we had a triangle white board that we set atop our little vendor table. On it simply read – “can we pray for you?” and “write your prayers”. As this was going on 3 of the 5 of us began to walk around the area praying, which is becoming a much beloved and frequent activity connected with everything we do that we simply refer to as prayer walking.

We found that using the slightly more creative means of accepting prayers on the white board a lot less threatening to people and over the course of an hour a good handful of people responded. This allowed us to lead in to ask follow-up questions like well what does that mean, or how are you related to that person you want us to pray for? In one case a woman asked for a free Bible and gave us her contact information. She even inquired about a Bible study and asked if it would be possible if we could come to her house! She also called the church number a few hours later. It seems as if God has been actively working in her life from the obvious receptiveness and hospitality we were shown today! It was extremely uplifting and energizing and we hope to continue to be a presence every so often on that piece of the street and using new and creative ideas to help people connect with God. (One way we thought of is to get a threefold board thing and put a map on it and have people take a push pin and place in the country/state/city they would like us to pray for – whether it be where some of their family lives, or their country of origin, or whatever the case may be). So if you have ideas of cool things you have seen or anything like that send them our way and you can be praying for this specific ministry!

We hope to creatively connect people lives and stories with God’s story and show them that he has been a part of their story all along (that may have been a little too many stories there). We hope to actively embrace all the culture and history and people around us and take what they know and make God relevant to those things. We hope to net-cast to an entire sea of hurting people, which can be frustrating, awkward, boring, exciting, and rewarding.

I will end by giving an undeveloped thought I just talked with Jordan Bunch (the other male intern) about. We were talking about how people who stepped aside to our booth already displayed great faith to step into the power of God and yield some dependence to him. Just like the lepers and blind and sick and hungry went to Jesus so too were those who came today saying I have faith that God can do something in my life and by taking a few steps in a direction they were not planning to go, they display a mountain of faith.

This was coupled with the discussion that posed the question – did Jesus approach people or did they always approach him? It seemed to us the answer was both. People always seemed to be approaching Jesus and so at first glance we thought that was the answer. However, that was only the case because he was constantly out among the people. So both Jesus and the people took steps towards each other and the power of God entered into the picture!

Fear

2008-06-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

June 3^rd

Fear. It can drive us, it can grip us, it can motivate us, it can control us. It may have been used to convert us, to mold us, and to form us.

I do not think of myself as a racist or a prejudice (and I hope that no one sees me as one), but I have struggled to break down barriers and deep seeded discrimination in myself.

Perhaps when you hear the word Bronx you immediately think of the 80’s. This was a time when the entire borough was burning down. For that time and others an immediate emotion that comes to mind is fear.

Yet tonight (as I rode home on a subway by myself for the first time) in the dark I looked around and for once love broke in instead of fear. Instead of fearing the man next to me, behind me, around me, I saw a brother. I did not take the moment to think to myself what I would do if the guy across from me tried to steal my backpack, but thought how I could help my brother across from me if someone tried to steal his backpack (and furthermore how could I help my brother who has been put in the terrible place of stealing backpacks).

Granted I am not inconceivably naïve going around after 11 looking for people to talk to, but at the same time my prejudices (that I hate) are beginning to break down (after 3 days!) and I am being transformed.

As I sat on a bench waiting for the train to come (probably looking like the shady 21 year old) an older Asian lady began approaching the seat next to me. I proceeded to look up and she gave me this Mona Lisa-like smile. She then placed her purse right by me and backed away to put a sweater on because it was cold. There was no atmosphere of fear in her and I think that triggered a love for the Bronx in me (and by that I mean of course the people here). (It also helped that in that moment another man down the way was talking in an African language very energetically).

The stereotype of New Yorkers being cold and unfriendly has been completely shattered. Maybe I should say that stereotype has been broken by people in the Bronx at least (since they are the ones I have been interacting with). I love the sporadic community in the parks everywhere and in the subway trains. I get to see every day (wow I really sound like I have been here a lot longer than I have) young men hold bus doors open for older babushkas (grandmothers). People jump at the chance to help you with directions. The guy sitting next to us in Starbucks randomly overhears our conversation and says we have encouraged him (a newly baptized brother in Christ).

Granted this place is not heaven and has plenty of problems. Yet, I have found myself thinking if people would just act like people here, the world should be able to get along with each other with a spirit of respect and love rather than of fear and hate.

. . . . . . . . .

I am still waiting to hear some Lasoga spoken, but I have most definitely heard a good share of Russian being spoken. There is a huge Russian population where we are and it is really exciting to hear in the streets and read in store shop windows. I have yet to speak with someone, but you better believe I am sharpening up my little wimpy tool bag of Russian words!

June 1st

2008-06-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

You have to love first night blog posts! So let me tell you what I am thinking this very moment. I am not sure how often I will be updating because I do not have the internet available as close as I thought I would, therefore, this post is being written in word and will be copy and pasted later (sorry for the delay). Secondly, I can literally see the 2 train out of my window and yes it rattles me a little bit every time it goes by our room. Finally, you should all consider yourselves lucky because on our way to the house tonight I saw a gas station boasting an unleaded fuel price at $4.39!

I love and hate the feeling of stepping outside of the airport on a mission trip. From that first step on I found myself once again utterly helpless and dependent on the people who were immediately around me. This feeling does not come up to often and so I love to take hold of it any time it does, so today I embraced the idea that I am entirely dependent on God, first and foremost, and also very importantly dependent on my fellow man and woman.

My second thought was how lucky am I to have the opportunity to experience the Bronx for an entire 10 weeks! The buildings are awesome. The diversity is awesome. The atmosphere is awesome.

The next thing that popped into my head happened on the subway riding uptown to the Bronx. I do not mean this in a good or bad way, but simply as an observation . . . I often do not find myself being a minority in many places, but after two stops in the Bronx (the second being for Yankee Stadium) I immediately noticed that I was in the minority. That of course is a different feeling since I am not used to it and it is of course a very exciting and new feeling. For the past two summers I have been able to be with people groups that were largely from one distinct culture and being in New York that is obviously as far from my situation this summer than anything. Our first meal here in New York was at a mom and pop Albanian shop where we ate some sort of pizza contraption that was extremely delicious! Our choices consisted of veggie, cheese, or meat. I chose meat.

We then proceeded to eat in a park and begin to dive into what we would be doing and some of the thought processes behind the Bronx Fellowship Church. We talked about tons of ideas and hopefully I will be able to express them more clearly once I understand them as we go!

My excitement level is out of the roof and I am going to attempt to go to sleep running on adrenaline and with the train clunking by every three minutes. Jared Looney (one of the missionaries), who has been here for over 7 years reminded us that we will be experiencing so much in the next week and our senses will be on overdrive taking in so many things trying to download and process the things we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. I cannot wait to experience these new things and I love this heightened sense of awareness, but of course it comes with a quick fatigue!

As a final side note, I have placed links to Katie’s blog and to the Bronx Fellowship website, if you would like to take a gander from time to time to see what’s going on there! Prayers for energy, awareness, learning, and for God’s Spirit to be present in the lives of those we will come in contact with are very welcome and we thank you for them!

Atlanta!

2008-05-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Katie and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Mr. Brad and Mrs. Katelin East in Atlanta, Georgia. Some might say that they live amidst a forest and that their new apartment is 12 times bigger than there apartment in Abilene and that someone would be close to correct.

And this is the point of the blog that I would love to post a glorious picture of Emory in all its beauty, but alas I cannot because I do not own a camera and because I do not know how to post pictures still. Emory was no doubt beautiful and humongous and Bradley East claims he will be using the massive recreation center so if you do not recognize him during your next encounter it may be because Brad East is hiding behind a gigantic physique.

Katelin was enthralled new kitchen and her "second bedroom" a mystery left until you go and visit their home!

They were both doing well and we had a great time being showed around Atlanta!

Katie and I fly out of the airport here in Nashville Sunday morning at 8 am and will arrive at LGA in New York and start right away with getting used to the public transportation system! Thank you for your continual prayers for the interns, the people and the church in the Bronx!

Nashville

2008-05-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

I am currently in the gorgeous state of Tennessee where a pretty little gal named Katie Morrison is from! We drove in from Abilene on Saturday and have been hanging out with friends and family here since then. We are heading out for the Bronx Sunday morning and will meet up with all the interns for the first time in the airport and proceed to experience New York public transportation for the first time!

Last week, Katie and I took a missions class at ACU called Teaching Good News. Our professor was Brady Bryce and he did a great job getting us to think about big topics like what the gospel is, salvation, evangelism, contextualization, and the Kingdom of God. I really enjoyed reflecting on past experiences, sharing in others experiences, and learning new and old perspectives on how God's people are to tell the good news!

The class was proceeded by a short seminar led by Tom W (I cannot come up with his last name, maybe Wymore) and he taught us about coaching. Coaching finds itself in a category with mentoring and counseling, but it is different because it seeks to empower the other person by believing that generally answers can be found within the other person so the coach must focus on "redemptive listening" and asking good questions. Of course that was a small nutshell, but it was also another helpful tool to have and to think about.

I believe that when I get to the place I am staying in the Bronx there will not be internet access, but if it takes any more than five minutes to walk to the nearest coffee shop with wireless internet I would be amazed. So I should be updating soon and regularly! I hope you all enjoy your Memorial Day!

Finals and Home James

2008-05-07T07:46:00.001-07:00

So I am about to finish my junior year of college.

Crazy.

There are only three more finals that stand in my way, all of which very doable, one including my last piece of work on the Greek language that I will ever be required to do (it wasn't that bad).

But in the midst of this is preparing for other things like the summer internship and the class/seminar I will be at a few days after school ends, but also getting all of my stuff together and hopefully moving to a new apartment before school is over.

It is true, after three years of a freshman dorm I have decided that is enough for 10 people's lifetime and am calling the R.A. job finished. I have not reflected about my hall that often this year, at least on the blog, since I am generally absent from it during the school year, but I have had an incredible year with the guys on my hall and many times I find them ministering to me instead of the other way around. Of course, I think that's what it has to be like to be a true community and it has been a great experience.

I will be in Round Rock from the 10th until the 14th so I am excited to see many of you and be back home!

Spring Break

2008-03-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

CJ Pierson and I just experienced yet again another wonderful spring break on the road. We originally were heading east to experience nature, but by the time we made it to Dallas we knew something was wrong and passionately turned to the west, to southern California.

It was a good choice.

Instead of fighting thunder storms all week we had to deal with 75 degree temperatures at Joshua Tree National Park. Naturally, there were many adventures, but on the whole it was just nice to get away and get back into the beautiful world of nature. I have a new found appreciation and love for the desert and I think it is wonderful.

. . . . . . . . .

Also, volleyball starts tonight, and Mr. Jordan Glaeser asked me to be on his team. I am terrified because I haven't played since last year, and I love it because I've got butterflies. Basketball didn't turn out so well, but it was nice to have a good final individual performance (especially so I don't have to grieve for an entire year over it all) hopefully I will be able to get back in action in the Bronx!

. . . . . . . . .

Perhaps to start another conversation in the future I'll say - how about that election!?

. . . . . . . . .

Finally, how about those HORNS! Of course I am loving march madness and through my bias I feel like we have a great chance to make the final four and a run after that! I will be making a trip down to Austin this weekend, mostly to watch the game(s hopefully) with my parents (including one who was born a few years ago on this day! Happy Birthday Big John, smile). Hopefully I will get a chance to bump into some of y'all and tell a story or two! I hope your day is as beautiful as it is here!

The Week

2008-03-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

It has already been a week since the last post! It's always a struggle to get back in the rhythm of blogging, but I wanted to update you on a few key items to the world!

Tonight starts the playoffs for the Green Monkeys, my intermural basketball team!

Two days ago it hit 70 degrees outside, yesterday it snowed, and again today it has almost hit 70 degrees again. This is madness.

I bought my tickets to the Bronx this week!

And finally, the second finance report came in and God is good!

Back in Full Swing

2008-02-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

Howdy! (smile) I am excited to begin/continue the conversation of life, longhorns, and little experiences from God!

As you may know, I will be going to New York City this summer, more specifically to the Bronx! I am so incredibly pumped to be back in God's world in a new way in a new place!

I hope that many of you have received letters, telling you a little about the trip and I hope that I can explain more as we go. This post is really just to say hi and that updates should be coming soon and semi often . . . I will leave you with this semi-random question . . .

How does technology effect our spiritual lives? Is it possible to turn all the noise down and hear God anymore? Is it possible to sit in silence and solitude and just be?

A professor proposed that it is almost possible to be omnipresent now and omni-everything else . . . as he can ask his students ANY trivia question and with the internet they can figure out essentially EVERY question. We live in an age of infinite (at least as it seems) and endless knowledge, all at our fingertips. We can also be face to face and in constant contact with someone who lives across the world in China or anywhere else! We can know about the past of 5 minutes ago or 5000 years ago all with the push of a button on our iphones or know about what is going to happen in the next 5 minutes or the next year in sports, the arts etc.

Will we ever be able to live in the present again?

11

2007-08-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

Jason Anderson, I love you! Your comments make me happy everytime . . . and that's really all I have to say.

However, smile, I thought I would give the line up of classes I have this semester. For my communication major I am taking small group communication and debate. Yes debate. I am not sure how this one is going to go and I am slightly petrified because in my class of 11, yes 11, there are 3 ACU debaters and a few of the others have debated in high school. My experience equals the number of times I have jumped out of airplane, which is indeed zero (until CJ Pierson turns 21 in September and we fulfill our vows to one another!) ((double side note Chris Pierson is going to join us meaning Mr. Big John Newton is automatically required to come along!! consider this your official invitation))

My Bible classes consist of exegesis, which could quite possible eat me alive, historical books of the Old Testament which are Joshua - Esther and finally my third semester of Greek.

I am also helping out as a peer leader as I have said before in a U-100 class, which I will be periodically leading discussions and things of the sort in.

And if Mr. Jason Anderson could tell Mrs. Lindsey Anderson that I mentioned to someone that everytime there are enjoyable puffy clouds in the sky I think of her, I would greatly appreciate it!

Welcome Week!

2007-08-26T08:43:00.001-07:00

Writing seems like a daunting task right now. So let me start with a random fact . . .

Brad East has in fact mastered every word of the english language. If you assemble random letters together and attempt to say them, even with a weird accent, he will tell you the meaning of what you just made up.

Ok, I can handle starting like that . . . so I'm back at school. I have been in Abilene for the last two weeks. The first week was RA training. I'm excited about meeting, learning about and bonding with new brothers in McKinzie Hall! Our staff is yet again amazing and I can't wait to work with the guys I am working with who include Andy Zimmerman still as the RD and Luke Cochran as a rookie RA, so half the staff is in fact from Round Rock. It was an intersting experience going through all the training with a year under my belt completely different and I feel like I'm standing on a mountain of confidence compared to last year in being an RA . . . I wonder who will knock me off, smile. It has been great to have a full hall again!

I am also a peer leader of a U-100 class. This means I am like a co-teacher of a class all freshman take as a transition course from high school to college that goes through welcome week together also. I have an honors group and it has been incredibly interesting to learn about the diverse backgrounds and experiences that everyone has. It is definitely safe to say that I am exausted and ready for school to start so that I can have a break, ha.

I am not sure why it has been so difficult to write in the last few months, but I will hopefully attempt to on a regular basis. I feel like I have been internalizing every thought and I'm sure it would help me think through things if I would write it down too.

Last thought - ACU is such a wonderful community of people. I have come back to a slew (take that Brad) of people who care deeply about how I have grown and what I have experienced this summer. I once again realize how spoiled those of us in the Church are because we have a wonderful community who walk with each other through this journey of life.

I hope all is going well in your world and that you continuously see new perspective on truth and are challenged by the incredible teachings of Jesus. Love y'all!

Home Sweet Home

2007-07-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

So we're back!

It has been a foggy hazy blur, but I'm beginning to get my bearings. Technically I am officially suppose to be reacclimated as of sometime around now. They say that for every hour you change zones it takes a day to get back on schedule and we were 12 times zones away and I have been here for about 11 days.

On top of all this two days after arriving home I had four wisdom teeth taken out and have been drugged up nicely to help the situation further. In fact, the first night after the surgery in the morning (granted I took a nice nap that afternoon) I went to sleep early at about 10 PM and the found my body absolutely hating me and utterly confused as I woke up at 2 AM and could not go back to sleep. The woes still slightly continue as after driving across the country for 13 hours I woke up this morning at 6, however, fell back asleep until 8:30.

And yes, right now I am in Nashville, Tennessee visiting a wonderful little gal named Katie! I will be here until Tuesday and then leave to meet my family in Branson, Missouri for a family vacation, yeehaw.

Anyways, it has been an interesting last week with the mixture of being drugged, culture shock and jet lag! The immediate wealth of our country meets us in many ways upon arriving and seeing the melting pot of people again was truely a wonderful sight! The diversity of America is amazing! Understanding the side conversations of people also takes a while to get used to.

The three of us were able to give a presentation to the Round Rock Church of Christ and I believe may eventually be online to listen to . . . Brad, please give us a link, smile . . . and it went well. It's so wonderful to come home to a family of 350 people and tell them what you've been up to for the past two months! We were able to first visit the 5th and 6th grade class who we had been corresponding with in Russia. They would ask us questions and we would report back to them, it was really great! I also ran into some champs campers who recognized me and that was a lot of fun!

As far as the actual reporting went, I was surprised at the quick pace we went at our initial report only took 35 minutes and as we know (especially taking into account that Brad had the floor at one point) is a miracle. It was funny though, because I felt like it was the shortest service ever . . . having experienced 2 consecutive house churches for two months that lastest a straight 9 hours . . . it felt weird to be finished at 12! Everything went great and it was wonderful to see everyone and share a little bit of our experience and of course we want to share more and hope we will have the opportunity to share with everyone!

Finally, I want to say thank you for your prayers and continual support! We ask that you will continue to be in prayer for our brother and sisters in Tomsk and that God will continue to lavish his Spirit, bounding in joy, on our family there!

Time to Live

2007-07-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about how I spend my time.

During this trip, I have tried to squeeze all I can out of every moment. I have two months, I must make the most of every scrap of time, whether that means keeping up the house or investing into relationships. I have gone in depth and made some lifelong friends as well as meeting for the first time my brothers and sisters that I will meet again whether here or there.

All this to say, I have an entire 8 months in Abilene each year. Why don't I live like I have no time to waste? I don't think this idea means that we should be constantly busy, that would be not smart, even in Tomsk we have taken Monday as our day of rest. However, what if I approached every situation and every person with the intensity I have had here? I know that I have the capacity to do and even if I thought I could not, I could pray and it would be taken care of.

We were meant to live for so much more . . . (switchfoot) . . . I think we are capable of being better people, learning to be like Jesus, and I think that includes how we use our time and how much of ourselves we put into what we do.

I must apologize for not being clear we are about to head out the door and disconnect the computer . . .

I just hope that I do not find myself at the end of my life finding that I did not take the time to live, and instead I traded in my time for selfish endeavors that never filled me up and found I was never truely living.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! We will be home on the 16th of July and I will have my wisdom teeth taken out on the 17th! Hopefully, I will get to see many of you soon after!

Writers Block

2007-07-06T03:42:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not posting in a while . . . I really do feel like I have writers block between not knowing which experiences to write about, being busy with studies, trying to process thoughts and experiences, and relating that back to everyone back home. Along with that, as my two teammates will tell you, I have had immense trouble with the English language lately, not knowing how to say anything in my native toungue because of all the Russian that is floating around in my noggin.

All of those excuses to say that I decided to write a short post to get going again and will hopefully have a final thoughts post before we head on to Moscow. We are most definitely still looking forward to our final days in Tomsk as tonight we are hanging out with Sergei and Alosha two of the people we have been able to deeply connect with while being here. We are also highly anticipating the event of the season as Max and Oksana get married tomorrow on the glorious 7-7-07, the day that I believe Max said in Tomsk alone 140 people are getting married! Sunday will be our final full day and it will be well spent with those in our house churches followed by sleeping at Jim's house before we wake up bright and early (although I'm sure the sun will already be out) to go to the airport!

It's amazing what can be done in 7 weeks. We were praying for those we have studied with and become close too during out time here and its amazing how much people have opened up to three foreigners for a short stay. We are thankful that those we have come to know have been completely willing to share their entire lives with us and open up completely to new relationships.

And if your craving more hop over to Garrett's blog as always! And if your brave enough to attempt to read more and more (and more) Brad should be giving some final thoughts soon as well!

Summer Days

2007-06-22T10:19:00.001-07:00

This week has been incredibly wonderful. It has been nice to sit back and watch how God works in people's hearts. It seems as if every person this week has said something along the lines of "I'm really searching for . . . God." Now it doesn't always come out that black and white, although sometimes it does, but our last few studies have been people searching out who Jesus is, what is this life all about and what does the Christian life offer/what is it about.

When I begin or continue to teach people about the Bible and God I always realize how much it makes you own your faith. To profess Jesus brings up a lot of questions from people and naturally we want to have the answers, where that is possible, to the questions they have. Today, I was remembering back to co-teaching the singles class at Round Rock. I was an 18 year old kid, who was more than excited about teaching and more than terrified! It made me really look into what I would be talking about and even then I'm sure it took patience from everyone in the class to deal with a mumbling nervous kid . . . but thank you to all of you who did, it was an amazing growing experience for me and hopefully God can speak a few words through an Indian on edge (that's me) who may or may not be a step above a donkey (Baalaam's of course). Thank you also to Ted Neil for asking me!

And I tell you what . . . it's marvelously fun to tell someone about the gospel, especially when there is any sign of understanding or acceptance in their eye. Katelin appropriately asked us if we cry after every meeting as we get to profess our faith and all of the sweet reasons we believe what we believe and the amazing power of Jesus . . . of course this response would be absolutely acceptable, but the three of us (in Brad's words) do more of a high-fiving-chest-bumping dance afterwards!

. . .

Just a random quote from the day that was incredibly uplifting to me comes from our conversation with Zhenya today. He said, "when I am around Christians, including you, there is a certain calmness around them that I can feel."

. . .

WE HAVE HOT WATER. And they all said, "AMEN!"

. . .

It is officially HOT, by that I mean 80 degrees (sorry Texans) but we broke out the shorts today, and quickly followed that by putting our pants back on so the flesh eating gnats and mosquitos would not devour our bodies.

. . .

I never got to gloat about the spurs winning . . . therefore . . . GO SPURS GO SPURS GO SPURS GO!

. . .

Please continue to pray for us and thank you so much for doing so! Until next time.

He Would

2007-06-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

So let me backtrack in time a little bit and tell you about our friday. It was quite possibly the most depressing day ever. The woes of not having many Bible studies after having so many promising first converstaions with people continued. However, we were more than excited about the prospect of meeting people at the English club, where most of the interns before us met non-Christians to begin studying. This would be followed by going to the small group at Oksana's home.

First, we were called by Alosha that Oksana's group had been cancelled, which I can't completely complain because this allowed us to go to the interconfessional group, which was a blessing. However, next we received a phone call that the English club was cancelled probably due to the students being too busy from exams.

Our hearts sank.

Any effort we could have made friday to grab some studies seemed lost, we had lost.

And then of course, He would.

By that I mean answered prayer a couple of days after we had given up on our own ability to do anything about the situation. Over the last 24 hours or so God has answered prayers (might I add in the way we preferred) and we have added 4 Bible studies with the potential of another. We find ourselves not quite on our high horses with excitement again, but rather on our knees thanking the One who will let us participate in His work. Thanks for praying! Continue to do so for hearts, for Ira, Masha, Oleg, Zhenya, Tanya, Dennis and Lena.

Trains, Taxis and Autobuses

2007-06-16T03:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah my title really doesnt have anything to do with my post.

Last night, the three Americans (that's us) were able to participate in an interconfessional group, which means that people from all sorts of faiths and relgions gather together. This group has been meeting for about three years, and Timur attends so we checked it out for the first time. I could write an entire blog about how cool the idea of the group itself is! A group of all sorts of believers gathering, eating and communing together . . . it makes me do a little squirmy excitement dance.

We talked about a subject I surpass all in knowledge about - children. So obviously, we were pretty clueless, but there was amazing insight and really interesting questions, obviously once again from a perspective I would have never thought about.

The most rewarding part of the night though was meeting Olga and Dennis' children who are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1 I believe the youngest being their only daughter. The boys were crazy and anything but shy . . . it was AWESOME! Being around children is one of the ultimate life boosts and you don't even have to do anything. You sit there and watch them and be happy . . . that is until you have to be responsible for them I'm sure . . . but it made my night. Having 5 children in a Russian family is unheard of, and it was such a blessing to be around them. The least of these including children are taken for granted so much (espeically by me) and they truely are a source of new life and joy!

.........................................

Today we were able to go out with Alyssa and two of her friends who are both attending a local university. Anna just finished her first year and Dennis made all A's and was finished with his studies today so he was beyond excited today.

They are both not Christians and I could go on about how great today was, but here was an interesting point that Dennis made. One last thing, I believe that most of the world thinks that everyone in the U.S. is a Christian and that everyone lives by that as well. Dennis said,

"All Americans believe in God and all Russians do not believe in God. However, whenever something goes wrong the first thing Americans do is try and fix the situation somehow and Russians respond by going straight to God."

He was focusing his attention on the fact that the only time Russians believe is when they need help, which in many ways makes a lot of sense. I took a lot from that fact alone, but the other interesting thing that he said possibly without knowing it is that Americans try to control everything. I think that one of the main reasons we are on this earth is to realize that we MUST depend on God. This is part of the reason why I think Jesus says it is so hard for a rich man to enter heaven, because he leans only on himself, he can fix anything, he is his own god.

My eyes have been blessed once again to be in a different culture, where I can appreciate things I take for granted and see other things in a whole new way. I want to say thank you again for all of those who made our trip possible and who continue to pray for us!

Hush, Hush

2007-06-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

We discussed a taboo topic in the leaders meeting yesterday.

Timur was having a discussion with members of the Church and a great problem rose to the surface. Sex. And sexual temptation. Timur shared how he had no idea that this problem existed because no one had mentioned it as a problem, perhaps because they did not feel comfortable talking about it. That sounded familiar to me.

It seems as if the word pornography has just crept into the words to say sometimes at church, however in a world where I'm pretty sure that every young person, and probably older ones as well deal with sexual temptation, perhaps we should begin saying more things. Timur made a good point that for older people who may not be directly involved with that type of sin may still have it tight in their memory and it may be weighing them down for further growth as a Christian as Satan uses it as a stronghold of guilt. Obviously it will be a challenge and uncomfortable to mention oral sex, masturbation (a subject that I am pretty much horrified to talk about with my brother, but as a brother must, so we will see if I practice what I preach on this one) ect. but think of the times you have talked about with people and the relief it was to know that you identify with others who struggle with the same thing and also to be able to talk about it and begin to think how to approach it.

One of the first steps to provide an atmosphere will be for leaders to step up. For leaders to tell about their struggles present and past. I am sure that most people have it in their head that the leaders of the Church are perfect and stainless and obviously that is untrue. We should not follow in the footsteps of a culture that says to put perfect shell around a not perfect person and to not accept any help or ask from help in any case. In leaders defense, I hope that Jesus has touched that area of their lives, which may lead them to forget the great battle thats going on with sexual temptation in almost everyone's lives, so here is a little reminder.

We should try hard on this one, because no matter what culture - American, African or Russian - sexual temptation has been prevalent, which is a scary thing, but also comforting to know that many deal with this struggle. So let's talk about it.

Lost in Translation

2007-06-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

Ha, so I was talking to Brad last night as I was posting the Vasya story and after talking to Garrett this morning we all heard three way different versions. So at this point we are unclear what in the world was, but here are the thoughts.

Obviously I heard him say that there are dangers being a Christian because of possible persecution. I connected that statement to another he said that, "because they are a protestant church they will most likely be driven out of Tomsk." Either way we are not sure how serious he was about both comments.

Brad perceived him saying that because he is a Christian he will actually live longer, we are not sure how this is possible, perhaps a daily dose of God is good for your bones or something.

Garrett heard, which is probably the most probable, that Vasya was saying because he is a Christian now he no longer fears death. So even though Coke may in fact bring a quicker physical death on earth, he is secure in his faith that God has more for him than this short life.

Perhaps there is a lesson in all of these things, which I find facinating, and I am once again amazed by the diffuculty of language and the perceptions and lenses we heard things from!

Vasya

2007-06-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

My first thought of defining spiritual gifts in my own life was looking what fruits of the Spirit have become present in my life. However, the general way I framed spiritual gifts was gifts not given naturally simply by birth, but gifts given after becoming a part of God's family. I could say more on this, but alas I am not Brad and I'm too eager to get on to my Title Story.

However, I will hesitate for one more comment, we have had SO much FUN making the video's for Champs Camp! We're hoping to get the green light on a slightly more serious video for the entire Round Rock congregation! We were really happy to be able to be a part of the Champs Camp experience!

And drum roll for the main point . . .

We were driving out to work at the soon to be home for the homeless, and Vasya a Russian minister was drinking a Coke. He saw that the three of us had only brought water and made the comment that 10 years ago all Americans ever had in their hands was Coke and now 10 years later we only have water. Why is this? We told him about the health crazes in America and how everything must be health conscious on the market these days. He then made a remark that caught me completely off-guard and hit me with a little bit more of different perspective. He said, "Yeah, I know it's probably not the best to drink, but when I decided to be a Christian I thought to myself that I probably wouldn't live long enough for that to matter anyway."

I'm not sure who spoke next, but who wants to follow that? The man actually thought that becoming a Christian would take years off his life on earth. The reality of being persecuted because one is a Christian still seems foreign to me, even though I know it is very real. I wondered how it would have affected my life decision to follow Christ if I had to make the assumption that it may have this kind of effect. I've been sitting here for a while and I'm really speechless, perspective continues to amaze me!

(by the way I just used the words affect and effect and still to this day have no idea how both are suppose to be used, so please forgive me and my unwillingness to ever figure it out)

Gifts and Disciplines

2007-06-05T07:05:00.001-07:00

We had a Bible study today and two of the elements included gifts and disciplines. I thought it was a relavent quesiton for everyone including myself.

What natural abilities has God gifted you with to build up other and the Church?

What spiritual gifts has God given you and formed in you since becoming a Christian?

What spiritual disciplines might you need to try to open yourself to God?

Last thing - we have made two video's for champs camp and it is extremely fun, I feel like I feel the energy all the way in Siberia and I'm sure my ridiculous faces on the video show it. Kids are such an amazing source of energy, fun and excitement aren't they?

One Hundred Eleven

2007-06-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

So I have not fully thought about what I am about to say, but at this point I'm pretty sure I agree. And I know there will be after thoughts of well when you have a family everything changes or what if you put yourself into a spot of temptation . . . I probably agree, but here's the thought.

Brad, Garrett and I were having a conversation about how cool it is when people ask, "Why are you here?" Obviously it is unusual for an American to be in Tomsk, so they ask the question, which really nicely opens the door for the gospel or at least the chance to invite someone over for a study. So we thought to ourselves, it's so nice to be in a place where it is natural for people to ask this question, evangelism is so easy in a foreign country. This brought another question into my mind.

In America, are we simply in the wrong places? Perhaps, this question should be a natural one no matter where we are. Perhaps we are suppose to be living a Christian life in bars and other places downtown, shining Christ by not participating in the things of the world such as drinking and "partying" but living the life Christ has called us too in those places. I guarentee you that the question would eventually come up, "Why are you here?" Your not drinking, your not smoking, your not caught up in all the things we think as of fun . . . yet you talk with people, make relationships, laugh and have fun with us.

Why are you here?

What do y'all think? (By the way today we went to the English club and I definitely taught everyone the word y'all, be proud of me, smile)

Summer is Here!

2007-05-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today, as of one minute ago, is Summer! What does that mean for Tomsk you ask? (by the way if you have forgotten we are definitely in SIBERIA, smile) That means Sunday has a high of 47*F and a low of 30 something degrees, yeah we're still in the 30's. However, its not actually all that bad, when the sun comes out during the day it feels about 60 or close to it, but we are all antipating the 90 degree weather we were promised by the past interns, but at the same time counting the coolness as a blessing because our house is a wonderful temperature and not a smelly muggy house that I am sure we will find ourselves in.

Bible studies are going great! I mean honestly, what is there better to do than teach non-Christians about Jesus. Be jealous. (once again i allow you too to do the same because we left some people at home for you, smile)

Last thought - I just got an email that Champs Camp is doing their theme this year on missions and it was suggested that we send in a video about what we are doing here! Naturally, we would have to find some way to fit in a little "Who Rocks the House" as well, but hopefully we will get to do that because one of the hardest parts of leaving early this year was missing champs camp. Continue to pray for the hearts and lives of those here in Tomsk! Spaceba!

Perceptions

2007-05-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

In the past I have felt on the verge of embarrassed or perhaps boring when telling my story of becoming a Christian. Not because there is any horrible stains or that I have to argue with family about my choices and lifestyle. In fact, there are little of those things, instead I have a story that may be familiar to many of you. I grew up in a Christian home, in the Church, knowing God for as long as I can remember. Now the one part of my story that sadly seems to be coming less and less common is that my parents are still together and my crazy Indian family is still together. Boring right?

I have been amazed at the responses of the Russians to this simple story. They are wide eyed and respond saying WOW somewhat in disbelief. I have recognized once again what a blessing it is to have this story. First I would like to say thank you who made that story what it is, but secondly I would like to give you a picture of the stories of some of our friends here.

Any type of religious affiliation other than the Russian Orthodox Church has seemed to be cultisized (yeah I just made that word up) where parents feel like their child is going to a cult. For this reason, many students were not allowed to go to the Church we are working with until they turned 18. At this point, when they decided to join the Church, their parents pushed them away and they lost all of their friends from school and other places. This is the price for falling in love with Jesus and his Church, at least initially. In many cases, no family support and weird looks from those you once called friends. Of course, like in any place divorce also hurts many families in Russia, and many of the people we know come from divorced homes. One of the qualities they see in the Church here though happens to be strong families. One of the most attractive qualities of the Church is that somehow the families that do exist in the Church make it.

I have heard that divorce rates are just about as high in the Church in America as the common statistic. Upon telling this to a close friend here, she could not believe it. I have not accepted the divorce rate by any means, but it has become a sad reality as I have witnessed family’s break apart.

All of this to say, perspective is an amazing thing. The Christians here have opened my eyes that maybe we should do something about the divorce rate and become stronger families (however, with this I could write an entire blog about making sure not to make the family a higher entity than God, but we’ll save that for another day). Along with this the idea of my “weak” personal story should be upheld perhaps as a miracle as I feel like the Russians see it.

Good news from us here though, I feel like I can confidently say that Jesus is penetrating the hearts of the Christians here. Many of the Christians here are also very young, I would say from about 20-30 and hopefully they will keep God’s commandments and multiply (smile) meaning a new Russian generation of Christians growing up in the Church.
I do want to specify before I go that all of the things we say are in light of a small remnant here in Tomsk. The Spirit that is thriving in the Church here is still a small community and I feel like I have been exposed to it so much that sometimes I forget that this is the minority. Of course, we still rejoice with our brothers and sisters (and even more so) for each one that finds their way into the community here. We have two personal Bible studies tomorrow, pray for that – for Sasha and Aleg that God would open their hearts.

Couch Pulpit

2007-05-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here is what Sunday morning worship looks like in Tomsk, Russia (yeah that’s Siberia, smile). First, we had to wake up and we were there, tough life I know. We have two house churches that meet in our apartment; we decided to “go” to those. The first includes only 5 other people so they were excited about making it 8. We greeted everyone and learned everyone’s names: Ira, Sergei, Sasha, Sergei (there are about 5 Sergei’s so far we have met) and Gene.

It has been fun trying to keep up with the Russian singing, which by the way is beautiful, I don’t know if it has been those we are around or if everyone sings amazingly well. We are slowly beginning to learn what we are saying as bog is God, eesus is Jesus and so on.

Then one of the members brought a message, by the way our preacher for the morning, Sergei, has been a Christian for just over a year and has an amazing life turnaround story. Every small group/Christian we have encountered as glowed with the infectious spirit of joy and love. The Christians stand out like a light in darkness (image that).

We then had communion (after earlier having some great cake that made Brad’s stomach feel badly). We sat in a circle while eating on our bread and drinking our cup of grape juice, spending solitude together, which seems like an odd pair, but I did feel like it was together. We then passed an empty tissue box around to collect the offering that supports the Church and the local minister (which frankly does not happen in other churches in Russia, to be self-supporting is an anomaly).

In both churches non-Christians were invited, which liven the Spirit. It makes people be even more involved in discussion, sharing their life story and sharing the good news and the good life. I wonder if I would have been more involved in Bible studies if I brought a friend I desperately wanted to experience God.

(5 hours gone by)

I just began thinking about the first experience I had leading someone to know who Jesus is. What a feeling! Really nothing to describe it, and that’s what we get to do . . . I’m reflecting on this because we just set up our first individual Bible study with a non-Christian. By the way we decided to leave some people behind in the states so that y’all could do the same with them (about 300 million actually).

As always sorry if our posts are scatterbrained (or just mine) I had forgotten how amazingly difficult it is to put experiences like these into words and how impossible it is too share such great feelings and thoughts.
This place is wonderful, as are all God created. The people are open to and in need of Christ, as all are who have been created that way. The Christians are all in a state of jubilee it seems, as all Christians seem to be who let God invade their hearts and fill them with His Spirit. Please continue to pray for us and for the hearts of those we will come in contact with. Love y’all!

We're Alive!

2007-05-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

We finally have the internet! Naturally it has already been amazing and we should begin posting the milions of thoughts and feelings we have. It's late (you know cause we're 12 time zones away) so I must go to sleep, but know that the Church here is a tiny seed about to explode into a giant mustard tree. The Christians are amazing and the atmosphere at Church meetings (meaning in apartments) is one of the most joyful things I have ever experienced!

Katonda Mulungi (smile), it's too bad Russian has different characters so I won't be able to write it on the blog, perhaps I will transliterate. Goodnight . . . whoops good afternoon, smile.

Heading Out

2007-05-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm about to leave in about 30 minutes. We are beyond excited! Round Rock gave us an amazing send off and of course lavished it in prayer! We thank you for all your prayers again, and me especially because of who I am going with (smile).

Thank you.

(transliterated to english) Do svidaniya!

Ready?

2007-05-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

I'm getting fired up. I do feel lazy though, with finals and Russia stuff happening all at once I have not posted in such a long time!

I finished my thank you notes the other day and just want to say thank you again to all of you who have given financially and with prayer! I honestly did not think we would make it to our initial goal (thinking we could scrap our way there somehow) yet y'all blew me away again. I feel like y'all continue to disciple me by giving me opprotunities to spread the hope and love that you have given to me.

Brad, Garrett and I met today. Ok I need some sort of quick thing for Brad, me and Garrett so maybe I'll use BIG. The BIG's met up today (yeah definitely can't use that . . . it will go to their head, smile) and talked about what it means to be a follower and believer of the one we call God. It was pretty intense actually as we went over many intense thoughts, ideas and beliefs we hold as Christians. Naturally the other two made outlines that are about 5 typed pages. It's nice to have right brains around for organization. We took a trip to the store to get a couple of things like journals, lemonade and peanut butter (which for whatever reason Russians do not have but love!) and are checking our bags to make sure we keep under the limit of 33 pounds! (plus an 11 pound carry on)

I really am excited about living with the East boys, as I am sure we will learn even more about what we believe and the best ways to present the Jesus we know and love in an honest and good way. We know, of course, that he is in control of all the things beyond that and of ourselves as well and I am convinced that anyone who is in the slightest way looking to fall into a relationship with the radical rabbi will not be let down.

Thank you all again!

Highland

2007-05-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

I just got a call tonight from the Highland Church of Christ, where Garrett, Brad and I attend during the school year. They have agreed to help us financially on top of praying for us! It's neat to be connected to so many faith communities like the Highland and Round Rock Churches along with the ACU community along with World Wide Witness. Then within the community here we have people focusing on European missions and people like DP from Russia to meet and learn from. Dennis is also going to be making a trip, further west of us, this summer to Russia. He is a grad student and plans to go back to Russia to be a minister after school.

Finals are coming along fine also. I had my Greek final today and it was pretty tough living up to its reputation. I would use this sentence to make a comment like, "but at least I will be able to talk to Jesus in the original language," but I know y'all would come back with, "oh, you know Aramaic?" . . . . it really is neat, though, to be able to see the progress of a year of torture/Greek and open up the original text and know the general meaning of the paragraph.

OK I must get onto cleaning a room. . . . the joys of being an RA the last week of school!

Africa Presentation

2007-05-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

I just did a presentation on my communication between multinational organizations class, a bit of a mouthful. I presented business in the African culture. It's so fun to tells stories about Africa. It's amazing how people listen intently to my experiences. I think it's also interesting how much more enthusiastic my voice gets when talking about those experiences. Anyways, it went well, and it was yet another opportunity to tell about my friends and their communities stories.

The semester is winding down, I have one more speech to give and then five finals to take and I will be off to get a little rest before the trip! If you could throw up a prayer for the three of us it would be much appreciated.

Just pondering . . . I wonder what God is doing in the lives of those we will interact with this summer . . . I wonder if God takes a Russian accent when speaking, but seriously I wonder if there is accent for those who have verbally heard words now and in the past? hmm interesting . . . Also if Jesus was in your class growing up what would he have written in your yearbook? (great question I know)

I heard that green is the most peaceful color, that would make sense.

100+ Posts, Yikes

2007-05-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

So I just noticed that this will be my 102 post. That's exciting. Thank you to all who have read even a little bit. I have enjoyed the conversations and stories thoroughly.

I really don't have anything to say today, besides Go Spurs Go. And while I'm at it let me throw in a . . .

Katonda Mulungi!

Well-Aware of Awareness

2007-04-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Being in college, I have been hyper-exposed to issues from world hunger, to global warming, to a children's war in northern Uganda.

And I think being aware is great . . . my question is will this ever go away? Is college a hub of current news of its own, where we hoard all of these things to ourselves or are things like fair trade coffee, osfam and the ONE campaign known by all?

Just wondering.

Tornadoes and Such

2007-04-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in the hall of McKinzie dorm. We are under a tornado warning. I wonder what the homeless do in a tornado warning.

I have been thinking quite a bit of how to engage in the world of poverty. Living in the Christian bubble sometimes causes me to forget that the poor exist and are in fact all around me. In the neighborhood right across from the school, under the bridge a few blocks away and at the stops signs by wal-mart.

Saturday I went out to a community park that is located in "the ghetto" or one of the ghettos in Abilene. A friend and I took the hall's grill out there to cook burgers and play basketball with whoever was out there. We found ourselves with predominately two types of people. The first were children who said that they come out there everyday. Although there parents care very much for them in many cases, they must work and have no way of providing any kind of care. They were more than happy to see some new faces. I had a wonderful time playing with Malaysia, Diamond, Anthony, Owen, Trey and all of the others, but it was interesting how cool they commented on the other crowd that was at the park. They really like the cars and loud speaker systems of those who sat in the parking lot with cars in a circle and most likely all a part of a gang. I offered them burgers as well and they too were very appreciative of the offer however left before we finished lunch.

I never engaged in lower income people's lives in high school, which is something I regret. The experiences I did have with guys on my basketball team were wonderful and I gained a lot from those experiences.

One of the challenges Brad and I gave to the youth group over the retreat was to engage in people's lives that are normally overlooked or made outcasts by society. I wonder if they will be able to see, as I did not, the dozens of God's kids across the street from the church in Round Rock.

May we ever seek ways in helping those who are in need - emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Patch of Blue

2007-04-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

The semester is winding down and by that I mean it is super crazy. Today God provided me with an extra bit of peace though so for that I am thankful.

Brad and I are still excited about the retreat coming up this weekend and I would like to ask for your prayers.

The following weekend on Friday I am going to a Nickel Creek concert with friends CJ and Tommy and galfriend Katie. It should be a doozy.

And Jason, it's always a joy to drive by the ole Taylor house and remember some odd boy stories!

Stressed

2007-04-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Do I have the right to be stressed? Either way I have been level 10 this week, but when I start to think of my situation in comparison to others namely, the rest of the world, I feel like I should in no way be complaining or stressed because of some college assignment.

I'm excited about Easter, I get to go home and be with family. This doesn't happen as often because of my summer's being spent away and being an RA you do not get many days off including holidays (I had to spend thanksgiving in the dorm).

We also received our invitations from Russia, which we are super pumped up about . . . and we are planning to carefully fill them out and send them in really soon. We took our pictures for our 2x2 photos the other day at walgreens, and naturally all three of us went together (because that's what we do?) and I am proud to say Brad and I made Garrett smile or more smirk in his picture.

Final four was pretty fun, going into it I didn't like either team, but as the game went on I really appreciated the intensity of Florida and their incredible defense. I think it will be interesting what the coach decides to do in terms of staying or going to Kentucky (I don't see how he can turn it down).

CJ finished up the spring break video and its just under an hour long with the adventure and weirdness of the combination of Matt Z, CJ and I. It was really well put together, even if you don't enjoy odd boy humor.

If you have read Brad's blog I am also in the class writing a paper. The topic I decided to tackle was presenting God in a different way than father or friend, but as a lover. It's been interesting and I have been in the Song of Songs chapter 2 looking at specifics of that text.

Today in my mentor group, I was able to think about what I want to work on/ask God for (obviously much more asking God) in the next year/right now. It's nice to step back and think about that every once in while. I would love to focus on making prayer more than prayer time, but a way of life, almost like breathing where God would walk hand and hand with me all day long, in the midst of studying, hanging out with Katie or ministering in the dorm. I also really want to be able to listen to God and hear him speak . . . that would be amazing.

I was also able to meet with the professor, Dr. Shilcutt, I will be peer-leading with next semester. We are super pumped about the incoming freshman and were able to go through ideas for next year over lunch. It's really cool to be a part of the freshman experience as an older (supposively wise) person.

My brain is fryed, but I hope the Easter weekend is a blessing for rest and mediation on the sacrifice of our father and savior.

Rain

2007-03-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Thought of the day - without rain, we will all perish. Therefore, rain is good.

Also Garrett, Brad and I met today for Russia and it was great.

Also Brad and I met today about planning the retreat. We're super pumped.

Enjoy the rain.

The Big D

2007-03-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

I was in Dallas this weekend with Katie and CJ to do Switchfoot part two. Switchfoot was amazing even after seeing them only a week ago in Buffalo.

However, I wanted to comment on going to church with Jessica and Ryan Looney Sunday morning. The pastor made a comment that if you are dating you should be in a relationship with people who are young and married. If you are young and married you should be in a relationship with a family with young children. If you have young children you should be in relationship with a family including teens. This makes sense. Of course this can relate to other aspects of life needing mentorship not soley family . . . it was yet again another reminder of how important it is to seek wisdom and knowledge from those a few steps ahead of you.

It just makes sense.

(and of course since the whole process involves being in relationships I give it two thumbs up)

The Spirit

2007-03-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

I am continually confused of the functions, place, relation and position of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity. This may be in part because of the lack of studying the Spirit on my own and growing up in church. I came across an interesting quote that was a new thought to me. The chapter was on gentleness, which much of the time translates into humiliy, meekness and the opposite of power. The quote is from Life on the Vine by Philip Kenneson . . .

"Finally, though Scripture is largely silent on this point, Christians throughout history have often suggested that we see evidence of a kind of humility, a kind of deference, within the Godhead itself. We see this most clearly with reference to the Spirit: the Spirit neither testifies to itself nor draws attention to itself; rather, the Spirit is self-effacing, bearing witnesss to the Son. Though Christian tradition has resoundingly affirmed that the Spirit is fully God, the Spirit does not exist to assert its proper rights to be worshiped and adored, but to serve as the Godhead's most determinative manifestation of other-directed love."

It's really interesting being on a Christian college campus because students are searching and trying new things out all the time and the Spirit realm is experienced in many ways, which has been interesting to hear about. So for now I'll just wait for y'all to post THE BOOK that will lay down the mystery of the Spirit in simple terms that even I could understand.

Monday

2007-03-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

One might think that because it is the monday after spring break, it is one of the most miserable days of the year. One may think "wow, I could be in Canada right now, or touring the United States."

However, it is a sunny day and I'm excited about life and productivity.

The horns lost, pretty bummed about that, but goodness march madness is so much fun!

I have had the discussion lately of would you rather . . . and the topic on my mind has been would I rather be working a job, getting real life experience instead of my head in yet another book (no I'm not restless) or would I rather have the nice relaxed schedule of a college student. Obviously, there are pros and cons with each and I am working on my contentment, which today seems to be high, but something I need to work on nonetheless.

For whatever reason this last thought comes to me . . . whatever you are doing, do it to your best and full ability so that God will be glorified as you fulfill your function of living as God's creation.

On the Lookout

2007-03-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

I have been subpar about sharing emotions with people lately . . . but my question is have you had your eyes open to pain and suffering around you?

and have you participated in it? not necessarily offering answers or fixing problems, but just participating in hurting.

Spring Break Coming Soon

2007-03-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

The spring always seems to move about a million miles an hour. I'm trying to catch up with preparing things for this summer as well as preparing for the fall. Between school, preparing and a pinch of social life, smile, I am ready to go on a week long road trip to CANADA! It makes sense right . . . a trip of male bonding between myself, CJ Pierson and Matt Zimmerman to the country of the maple leaf.

I really am excited about getting away and going on an adventure . . . but before then I have an R.A. interview again, trying to get into a soph. dorm here at ACU. I am still torn if this is where I am suppose to be next year, but I still feel like doing ministry in your place of living is the most natural way of living out the ways of Christ.

I am also going to be a freshman peer-leader like Brad East did this past fall with the same professor. I am really excited about the opportunities that will bring and the relationships that will be created . . . and its purely fun to see the deer in the headlight looks from the freshman during their first semester.

I am also pretty sure that everyone on our campus has been sick in the last couple of weeks, so any prayers lifted on behalf of health would be greatly appreciated by all. Oh Abilene.

By the way, Kevin Durant and the longhorns are coming for EVERYONE for the tourney and are in full gear (minus a tweaked ankle) and ready to dominate a class of 64 teams. I hope you enjoy watching. (It's been a while since I have had overconfidence for my horns, it feels nice)

I hope the weather outside is as good there as it is here, God's creations is good!

Sunny Day

2007-02-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

It is such an amazing day here! Does God's creation ever get old? I know there will be times that I don't necessarily appreciate the beauty of the day, but doesn't it have to get to you every once in a while? Where it makes you step back and just say, wow, this is intense and glorious. Or does that end at some point?

Another really random thought that just scampered into my mind . . . we live in a place where there is SO MUCH opportunity. Not even necessarily with jobs or money or whatever, we can just decide to do so many things with life and are not confined as much of the world is confined. However, I usually squander many of those opporutunities or get so busy that I miss the ones that are more important and right in front of my face, especially as I think about the 1000's of people I see each day! I suppose everyone get's beautiful days in some ways (I mean if I can appreciate Abilene COME ON, there is some kind of beauty EVERYWHERE) and everyone get 24 hours to live with. I guess we can be equal in that fact at least no matter where you are.

Ok, one last question . . . where does one find mentors after becoming "an adult"? I still feel like I am surrounded by people who seek out being that as there are many professors and ministers around ACU, but after college where does mentorship come from . . . is that a vital part of life? I hope I'm never too old for a mentor, I hope I don't squander the opportunity of those older and wiser around me.

Have great days!

Breath

2007-02-20T12:49:00.000-08:00

This weekend was sing song (we were the OLDSCHOOL toy soldiers like nutcracker) and I also met Katie's (my girlfriend) parents for the first time. It was all great, and now I am beyond exausted!

But! We have started to get emails about money coming in for Russia and it has been an incredible encouragement, especially in the craziness of school and life right now! Thanks!

I'm off to class!

Dreamin' Bout Dreamin'

2007-02-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

I believe that God can speak to us through dreams, but how do you distinguished where a dream comes from?

I have had lots of dreams lately.

Sing Song is crazy! It's fun, but it's just weird too! I'm a toy soldier by the way, because I know you were all wondering. Oh my!

You Would Think . . .

2007-02-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

I would get with my generation and learn how to use websites but alas I have failed . . . hopefully I can put more pictures on here in general, but that profile picture will just have to work for now . . . I need to learn from the master dad Jason about the picturage I do suppose!

Needed a Picture

2007-02-11T21:42:00.000-08:00

Question

2007-02-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

Has anyone figured prayer out yet?

And They're Off!

2007-02-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

The letters have been sent, I finished my 4 hour ministry test, and I turned in my application to be an R.A. again.

SIGH.

Now I get to wait and see what God is going to do with all three and I am most definitely excited!

Brad and Garrett made fun of my comment on my last blog that said we had been meeting regularly when we had only met once. At this point we have met twice so I suppose it's legit now (Are you satisfied East boys?)

In my hall of McKinzie dorm we have started an accountability/mentor group and it has been amazing. I am extremely excited to see what God is going to do through the group . . . I am getting on a deeper level with many brothers and that alone has most definitely been wonderful and worth the time!

I also have the sing song thing going on . . . I just made my tin soldier costume and have officially decided that I am participating in a cultish activity. Ha, it's so goofy and so wonderful at the same time to get together with peers and make relationships while singing with cool hand motions (my idea of a great time!)

The ministry test involved me answering close to 1000 questions dealing with emotion/spiritual/physical questions about myself such as "do you feel like someone is out to get you" and many others that are amusing. They do this test to primarily help us if we are dealing with anything that may not have been addressed in our lives before, but also to judge if we are able and ready for ministry to some degree . . . I suppose as much as a soph. in college should be. It will be interesting. I mean, you must remember I come from John and Theresa Newton so who knows what's going in my head.

Classes are going well also! Brad and I are in Dr. Pemberton's Wisdom and Devotional Literature, which consists of Psalms, Song of Solomon, Eccl. and Proverbs and it has been so cool to learn about the depth of the psalms so far and taking different perspectives than usual. I am also in my second semester of Greek, which is been a pretty big challenge lately.

I will end by telling you about the increasing excitement from CJ Pierson, Edris Yousefi and myself for the coming of spring break which will hopefully take us on a road trip to Canada. More to come on that I am sure. Have a wonderful weekend!

Start Your Engines

2007-02-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

So much to talk about . . . but alas I must keep it short.

I am hoping to get my letters out (naturally just a bit after those East boys) tomorrow or the next day. A prayer would be greatly appreciated for that! Brad, Garrett, and I have begun to meet and pray about the trip consistantly and I am excited about that time we will have together.

I feel slightly foreign to the blog experience so bare with me as I shake the dust off. I am doing well, school is in full gear and I am in the sophomore act for Sing Song (joy!). RA responsiblities are going well and it is that time of the year to apply again for the position next year so I am praying and thinking about that.

Finally, if y'all are passing through this neck of the woods give me a call and let's see if we can meet for lunch or something. I was able to see Big Wig last week and it was a blessing.

Ah, finally number two . . . Brad and I are planning on doing a retreat with the Round Rock Church of Christ youth group in April and we are super pumped and will be thinking and praying about what God has for our friends their!

Until next time, which hopefully won't be too long from now!

Back in the 'blene

2007-01-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

Let's pretend that I didn't say 'blene. Ha, it's nice to back on campus. I arrived last Thursday to about 75 degree weather, which was very nice. By Saturday it was in the 20's and with windchill I just didn't want to go outside. Lots of ice. Lots of no one here for a while. School starts tomorrow. I'm pretty excited.

I began writing addresses and writing letters, which I am excited about yet once again the daunting (sp?) task of putting what's in my head to something readable on paper stands before me as I am ever reminded that my science/math skills want no part of this writing business (am I complaining on a blog about writing, I apologize). It really is exciting though to see all the names and all the community that I have a lot of love in. Just coming across names can be a powerful thing, it's nice.

I think I may get back into the routine of writing a little something-something on here hopefully. The resident life had a mandatory devotional last night, which makes me chuckle, but of course it blew me away. I think I take the daily meetings and things of that nature around ACU for granted so much and each time have my eyes opened yet again to how powerful time spent around God, with God and to God can be. Being an RA promises once again to be an interesting and growing experience this semester. CJ Pierson is also back from studying abroad and it's nice to have my partner in crime back on campus.

I think that's all for now. Please throw up a prayer for Brad, Garrett and me if you would. I can't begin to tell you how promising Russia sounds just hearing how God is stirring the hearts of the people there. Have a energetic day!

Feeling Good

2006-12-29T22:42:00.000-08:00

I just found out a couple days ago that one of my favorite directors Robert Altman died in November. So in rememberance of his many good films I watched his most recent called, A Prairie Home Companion. This coupled with a few words from an ole Indian remineded me that relationsihps are all that matter. It's nice to be able to work and enjoy and be in relationship with so much family and friends over the break.

It's crazy how mixed up in world and time I can get and somewhere relationships get pushed slightly to the rear . . . but yet again I thought I would remind myself that . . .

relationships are all that matter.

How Did This Happen?

2006-12-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

I am 20 years old. Yeah, I'm freaking out too. Have a good day.

C'est Vrai!

2006-12-16T06:23:00.000-08:00

I'm goin' home.

Yes, This is a Heading

2006-12-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

So here's the question swirling in my mind.

Where is the line between boldly speaking truth, that I myself believe proclaiming the truth and knowledge of Jesus and God's kingdom vs. living in a post-modern world where people do not take a liking to anything being pressed on them?

When and where do I say here is the message rather than living the message? Obviously, living out the life is a necessity, but where does speaking in confidence and faith come into play in our society.

I think in Russia, they are soaking up the message so easily this question may not need to be asked. It is as simple as presenting the good news and sitting back. Our society can always decide whether or not they will accept what Christians say, but by taking a more vocal approach are people turned off? Ok, I don't think I need to repeat myself anymore, y'all get the idea.

I am excited about Russia, talking about Russia, preparing about Russia, praying about Russia and everything in between.

2006-12-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

I lied. I thought AJ was younger than me, but he is not. We have played on opposite sides of the basketball since 7th grade and now he is the star player for the university of texas, that's crazy.

For some reason it seems like a big deal to me to be turning 20 in . . . 11 days (naturally). As a freshman, I felt no need to rush into anything and to love life with no responsibility minus the whole school thing. This year I have added the RA life, which has been slightly crazy along with some other duties at school. I am assuming responsiblity will only continue to build and build. It seems like if I was told this a few years ago it wouldn't seem appealing to me, and it still has a somewhat negative flavor to it to me still . . . but it seems like a good thing. I wonder why? It's not all that bad is it? And is there some sort of secret goodness that responsiblity bring to one's life?

I want to take a moment to brag on our Andy Zimmerman. I don't know why I feel like I can say "our" but I will. He is an amazing man who cares a lot for people especially the ones that are usually overlooked. He was the one i looked up to in the youth group when I was younger and now I have had the opportunity to work under him although he would very much say with him (and i would too) and it's been another great experience. I hear glass bottles breaking in my hallway I must go. Smile, have a wonderful day y'all.

2006-12-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so I suppose I haven't acknowledged the pain and suffering that has been inflicted on me from the crumbling Texas season. I have taken a LOT of heat for it all around these parts, however, continue to wear my longhorn spirit everywhere and lose with my team.

I also just realized something last class. Everyone on UT's starting basketball squad is YOUNGER THAN I AM. I don't know if it has fully sunk in, but my day is over, haha . . . all of those hopes and dreams long ago have been squashed. It was a weird feeling. Have I found something more important than college sports in life? . . . no brainer - GREEK 111. (let me go throw up) . . . ha

So Brad and I were telling a Ben Langford story today to a room of folks who do not know Ben Langford (minus Josh Love) and Ben Ries shows us to confirm the story. It was glorious.

Oh and Brad, Garrett and I have begun to learn the language of the Russians. Until next time comrades!

2006-12-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

Reid, your comment is terrifying. HAHA.

We had a snow day last tuesday in Abilene, Texas and yes I did go play in it with the rest of my crazy resident hall and it was good.

2006-11-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

Everybody's havin' babies.

2006-11-27T07:47:00.000-08:00

We're in the home stretch. Two weeks of school followed by finals. Question that randomly passed through my mind . . .

why has the church lost sight of the end times, the early church lived as if it was always right around the corner . . . thats a pretty important mindset to have isnt it? It makes me think about a year of Heaven talks at youthwave and big Burritos. Good times.

2006-11-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

Do questions recirculate? Will there be another time in my life down the road where I come back to God and war?

It's pretty neat to always be encountering new questions and ideas . . . and one thing i have learned is that there will always be more questions . . . but that seems crazy, how deep can we figure God out with our minds?

Holt used to like to dress up in dresses. . . i cant wait to pull those pictures out on him with the most embarrassing timing. Yup, that will be great.

2006-11-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

If God audibly spoke to someone, do you think that would mean that they would most likely have a lot of responsibility in life?

I haven't looked much at it, but is there like requirements or any simliarities of who God choose to talk to?

I understand that there are other forms of communication too (that i believe in) like visions or dreams, I suppose I need to look into that as well.

Thanksgiving is kinda coming up. That's pretty neat, we can say cool things and do cool things for people that we would like to say all the time, but for whatever reason don't. I dont know if that made any sense . . . I love all of y'all!

And Jason we are most certainly praying, keep us updated!

2006-11-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm in a terribly amazing mood today (that's somewhat of an oxymoron spencer) however i read something today that was absolutely crazy.

In 2 Kings when God is thinking about Judah and the sins of the Israelites especially under King Manassah . . . God says I do not want to forgive them (paraphrase). Isn't that scary . . . yeah I thought so too.

God has been given me a lot lately as far as people bringing me hurts and concerns and has worked, speaked and loved through me. I'm not sure why I am saying this other than the fact that I'm really excited that God has chosen to work through me lately and it has given me great joy.

I'm really starting to connect with guys on my dorm hall. I am an RA in McKenzie, which would be considered the "most ghetto" dorm at ACU, because it houses lots of atheletes and not "ACU type" people. Anyways, I have guys flooding to my room at night and we have an amazing trust thing going. I suppose thats just another comment about what's going on in my life.

And for all you Round Rockers at home, I am in a mentor group with a professor of mine, Randy Harris, and he will be speaking at Round Rock Church of Christ not this Sunday night but the following one and I highly recommend everyone and their pets to be there. Espeically if the pet is a pug or hippo (both Randy jokes).

Hope everyone is seeing and hearing God today.

2006-11-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

Jabalino is actually not a word, but we do it for fun. It would translate - Way to live very much!

Talapia might be misspelled, but its fish that I fell in love with in Uganda (I like to eat it too, it's a weird relationship).

Here's the question I am so very glad to be struggling with at the moment but have yet to spend enough time on. . .

Will we ever fully know God?

2006-11-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wow. I don't even know how to respond to that, ha. JABALINO!!!!

I'm going to ACU's fall film festival tonight, I'm really excited. A thought I am beginning to have and I am excited about is that "Christian" art is going to become a lot more legit by worldly standards by what I see around me. People are doing some amazing things with film, music and art in the Christian community, it's getting me excited.

Saturday night I am going to cook talapia and eat it.

2006-11-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am beyond extremely happy today, so what word should I use I dont know. Yes, I do . . .

I am God's.

2006-10-31T12:04:00.000-08:00

The should ministers be paid question was a legit question because I just dont know. I feel like money makes the situation very sticky, but in order to do what ministers do in America they need to be paid.

However, it also gets sticky when you say how much they should get paid. If ministers were paid well to extremely well there would be all kinds of problems I think with that. It just sounds extremely dangerous.

Another question that comes from this is how does a church determine how much each minister makes? That's sticky too.

On the second question I feel that I have a passionate answer, but wanted to see what others had to say first.

I would harshly say that the biggest problem with the American church is the extreme not Christ like way we live in light of our money. The fact that Americans have SO SO SO much and have the knowledge that our brothers and sisters in Africa have nothing and in some cases no food is horrifying. We could be a source of blessing to the world in that way, yet we are not even willing to take care of our own, including those down the street living in poverty.

Some may say to the poor here in America that many would scwander (sp?) the money, but how does that have anything to do with our duty to provide? We should be giving to people regardless of what they will be doing with it. . . I suppose that's a whole other conversation in itself. I am very scared how we treat our money, and treat our suffering brothers and sisters, and I am frightened at myself and how I have stuff in my room right now. And as I don't think this verse was necessarily implying what I am using it for, but it is so hard for a rich person to enter Heaven. It is also difficult to be responsible and trustworthy with what we have been given, which has been a lot, I hope I am up to the task to do good with it all.

2006-10-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

What will those in the future critique about the American Church today? What is our greatest problem?

2006-10-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Should ministers be paid?

2006-10-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

So yet again my mind has been flipped inside out with thought. Here it is . . .

Do ethics even matter? Do I place them above or in the place of God? I got to this point by looking at the story of Abraham. I think all would agree that killing innocent children is slightly frowned upon, yet God calls for it. Putting war and killing aside in the Old Testament aside, it seems like we KNOW that killing a child is unethical. Yet in this instance God requires faith (which carries no reason or ethics) above ethics and reason.

Abraham is called to break his relationship with humanity by committing a sin against his son to keep the relationship between himself and God still standing.

That blows my mind.

I think that the inherient idea of morality was given to us for a reason. I think the Spirit was given to us for a reason. Yet, this story has just stopped me in my boots and made me ponder does our relationship with God mean more than doing what it right?

Intense.

2006-10-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Spence - the world mission workshop was this past weekend.

The speakers really stuck it to us and there were many challenges, but unrelated (or seemingly) was self reflection and getting knocked down and wrestling with God.

I'm off to class.

2006-10-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

What does it mean that Jesus brought the Kingdom of God (now)?

I'm going to the World Mission Workshop at Lubbock Christian University and I am amazingly excited. If you could throw down a prayer for a learning heart and mind that would be great!

2006-10-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

For some reason when God would strike someone down for whatever reason it seems ok. I mean he knows whats up. An interesting factor however that perturbs me about God and War/Genocide is that it involves his people.

Him taking out Sodom seems less controversial than using Israel to wipe out the Canaanites (which they didnt follow through on). But doesnt that have to effect people in weird ways.

Another opinion. I don't feel like (feel like a bad way to start an opinion I know but I dont care) any war started by man cannot be just because it requires judgement and who is one human to judge another and condemn another to die?

However, if God grants us the authority and/or commands us to, that seems more legit.

History gets sticky of rulers claiming God called them, but I obviously cant judge the heart and say he didnt but I can know the man by his fruit.

I was really scared of God today, and his wrath because it is coming. Wow, so scary!

2006-10-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

I just don't have the time, but I hope this can be somehow included in our discussion and not too off topic. Does God cause tornadoes and genocide and hurricanes and evil people? If no, how then can we attribute anything good that happens to him? God always wins. How do you decide what to attribute to God and what not too?

Sorry I don't have time to put my thoughts up yet, and this may stray from our topic, but it was something I was pondering on last night.

2006-10-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

I still need to process y'alls thoughts, thanks! And also, I think I will write on here so there arent a million comments on a single page . . . yet know that I (as I'm sure everyone else) is going back a few days and making sure if there are new comments on an ("old") post.

Here's some random thoughts and they are human interpretation so maybe that's something we should keep in mind.

jus‧tice /ˈdʒʌstɪs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[juhs-tis] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.
2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.
3. the moral principle determining just conduct.
4. conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.
5. the administering of deserved punishment or reward.
6. the maintenance or administration of what is just by law, as by judicial or other proceedings: a court of justice.

Genesis 18:25
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge [a] of all the earth do right?"

Exodus 25:5
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

34:7
7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Numbers 16:9
22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"

I actually have not even read it, cause I'm off to see THE DEPARTED . . . have a wonderful weekend!

WOW and I ALMOST forgot since it seems like its just not a big deal anymore (hahahaha) if OU decides to get up from the temper tantrum from the Oregon game we will gladly knock you down with pleasure. GO HORNS!