I Came To Lose

Guatemala

2008-11-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

Picture descriptions (top to bottom):

* this was a volcano on a beautiful lake we "vacationed" to.
* a guy in the town at the base of that volcano.
* 2 of the kids we built a house for, playing in the grass.
* another one of the kids we built a house for.
* ...all of the kids.
* a family at the feeding program (take by Jose Bautista - one of the workers from the house we stayed at).
* a beautiful girl at a church up in the hills.
* our first house, going up.
* a girl carrying her not-so-little brother at the medical clinic.

2008-11-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

2008-11-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

2008-11-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Fight Terrorism - Buy Green Sahara Furniture!

2007-12-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

Here is another way (remember TOMS shoes?) to subvert the meaningless, mindless consumerism that our culture feeds on...AND to fight terrorism; They're called "Green Sahara Furniture". All their products are hand-made with wood that is sustainably harvested & made by (Arab) workers in Morocco who are given fair wages and benefits.
This is high-quality craftsmanship - believe me, I got to see & feel each one of their pieces first hand at mars hill today (and, I worked alongside the founder at a habitat build. He and his family are now moving to Morocco to live, fully invested in these people & this work).

The combined Arab countries have a lower GNP (gross nat'l product) than the much smaller Spain, which lies very near by. There's no debating, they are poor in the eyes of the world (and most especially, relative to us Americans), which some venture as far as to say, leaves hundreds of thousands just waiting to be radicalized.

This is one way to fight terrorism. (If you need more clarification, just ask)

Here is a video on their website about Green Sahara:

http://greensaharafurniture.com/video.html

Walking Wounded

2007-11-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

"Here's to all the walking wounded...to those still carrying a little heartbroken boy or girl inside; to those who feel rejected and lonely; to those who woke up with a dull ache inside; to those who are wondering where God is in the midst of their deep pain; to those whose past wounds have been pulled open yet again; to those weary and worn out and longing for some place called home; to those in the darkness who can't seem to find the light; to those who wonder if they will ever find love; to those who feel misunderstood; to the abandoned and discarded; to those who feel they are running out of reasons to get out of bed each morning; to those in the clutches of depression; to those who are smiling on the outside but dying on the inside; to those suffering in silence. Here's to the walking wounded."

"So what do you do when you're in deep emotional pain, and you're burned out on religion?"

"There was a time when I sought after God b/c I wanted certain benefits of knowing Him. But I had to ask, 'How's that working for you?' Well, it wasn't!"

"One evening, God got my attention. He said, Jim, you're searching for it (relief/rest) through life circumstances, human relationships, success, even through a set of Christian beliefs, practices and principles about me. You seek me b/c you want me to give it to you. Jim, I am IT. I am love. I am life. I am peace. I am joy. I am satisfaction. I am freedom. It's not something I give; it's who I am."

- Jim Palmer, Relevant Magazine

My Mentee!

2007-10-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have been mentoring a 2nd grade boy named Angel at an inner city elementary school in G.R. Tomorrow will be the third visit, and i get more excited each week. I probly shouldnt share too many family details on here, but wanted to share a picture so that you have a face w/ the name/stories. We are gonna start writing a book together tomorrow - we're gonna make up a story and illustrate each page (thanks mom for the inspiration!). If he ever crosses your mind, say a quick prayer for him, will ya? he wants to be a college football player some day...

*he's the one holding his little baby sister*
(sorry for the "picture of a picture", but its all i could do!)

Bomb the world into peace

2007-09-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

I realize there is much to be said on either side of the war we are in; some convincing arguments on both sides. But I heard this song today and think that it raises some good questions....questions worth considering, at the very least.

Please tell me the reason
Behind the colors that you fly
Love just one nation
And the whole world we divide
You say you're "sorry"
Say, "there is no other choice"
But God bless the people, them
Who cannot raise their voice

(chorus)
We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace
Whoa we may even find a solution
To hunger and disease
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace

Violence brings one thing
More more of the same
Military madness
The smell of flesh and burning pain
So i sing out to the masses
Stand up if you're still sane!
To all of us gone crazy
I sing this one refrain

You tellin' me it's unpatriotic
But i call it what i see it
When i see it's idiotic
The tears of one mother
Are the same as any other
Drop food on the kids
While you're murderin' their fathers

It's not a war against evil
It's really just revenge
Engaged on the poorest by the same rich men
Fight terrorists wherever they be found
But why you not bombing tim mcveigh's hometown
You can say what you want propaganda television
But all bombing is terrorism

(chorus)
We can chase down all our enemies
Bring them to their knees
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace
Whoa we may even find a solution
To hunger and disease
We can bomb the world to pieces
But we can't bomb it into peace

We should all make a rememberence that
This is bigger than terrorism
Blood is blood is blood and um
Love is true vision
Who will listen?
How many songs it takes for you to see
You can bomb the world to pieces
You can't bomb it into peace

-Michael Franti
Bomb the world

MinnesOOOH-ta

2007-08-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

Our Boundary Waters Wilderness trip was amazing. There were nine of us, roughing it in the wilderness. We got lucky and scored a perfect campsite ("campsite" meaning there was a firepit and a large hole in the ground with a seat over it...) which overlooked Smoke Lake. We took in the wildlife, some fishing, lotta canoing, sunsets, stars, fresh air, mosquitoes, stories, and most enjoyably: the silence.

I added some picks to "flickr" (bottom right...look for the minnesota set) & a location for both the maine & minnesota pics

New Hampshire Mountain Range

2007-07-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

this last weekend, i drove over to new hampshire and camped it up. i took this first video when i was near the top where it turned into a bunch of rock. it was a beautiful saturday, and there were obviously a lotta people out...
the second was at the summit...

How To Use God To Get What You Want

2007-07-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

If you get a spare second, and are in need of a good laugh...read this poetic, cynical-yet-true article from one of the burnside writers (donald miller's group). good stuff.

http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/general/2007/06/how_to_use_god_to_get_what_you.php

p.s. Speaking of Don, did you guys know they are making a movie based on Blue Like Jazz? they are taking characters from his book and just running deeper into their stories...i have no idea how that's gonna turn out, but im interested anyhow.

TOMS Shoes

2007-07-06T19:59:00.001-07:00

Its hard to take the "path of descent" like Jesus did when we live in such a consumeristic society here in America. But that's where creative people, like Blake Mycoskie, come in. Check out this video to see his shoe business he started.
We live in America, we're going to consume...but why not be aware of what you're consuming? Why not invest, perhaps, instead of consume?

Sidenote: when asked how he would measure success, Mycoskie answered, "Success to me is having the ability to need less to be happy..."

Acadia Nat'l Park

2007-06-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Scott and I had an amazing time exploring the claw-shaped island of acadia. There's a link to a bunch more pictures from "flickr" on the right sidebar, at the bottom. If I get a chance, ill post a couple short panoramic videos I shot...

More of Maine

2007-06-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more pics from different mountain trails here in Maine...it's so rocky and muddy all the time. I put in a picture of my muddy feet & bike just to illustrate (you should see the rest of me!). Ahh, the biking up here is just amazing & difficult; getting outside really keeps me sane. I feel so connected to the outdoors. I can take a deep breath. And just be.

Its Not Just Murder, It's Suicide...

2007-05-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about what's going on in Sudan? Or should I say, what HAS been going on for years, now. Pure genocide. Just like Rwanda, just like the Holocaust. Half a million people dead, 2-3 million displaced into camps, without a place to call home. I just read this article of these displaced women giving a terrifying account about being gang raped by some of the offenders:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070528/ap_on_re_mi_ea/darfur_s_misery
And after the Holocaust, we (the allied nations) created this slogan: "never again". But do we, here in America even hear their cries? Or are we so occupied by attaining comfort for ourselves that we do not have time to worry about "those" people over there?

Check these song lyrics by Derek Webb ("this too shall be made right"):

I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door

I join the oppressors of those who i choose to ignore

I’m trading comfort for human life

and that’s not just murder it’s suicide

So what the heck are we to do? I think first is to realize that we are deeply connected with "those" people over there. That we are not alive simply to comfort & prolong our own existence; And second, that we cannot give up on the idea that we can make change.
Practically speaking, go to http://www.savedarfur.org/content

(the above picture was taken at a refugee camp in Sudan)

Hello, Scott, Britt, & Kaiden!

2007-05-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since i updated! i made it out here, finally, and got to see scott/brit/kaiden the first weekend. here's some pics of us touring scotty's vessel, the reliance.
also, some pics of a beautiful hiking trail i just went on after work today.

Hello, Maine!

2007-05-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

Where is God?

2007-04-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house.

God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives.

God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war.

God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and GOD IS WITH US IF WE ARE WITH THEM.

- Bono

"If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places" Isaiah 58:9-11

...one more sample

2007-04-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

here's a good ol hymn they shook up....sorry, no visual. use your imagination

Mars Hill Easter Tribal Gathering

2007-04-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

As a way to signify the tribal-like community shared at Mars, they did an all-percussion worship. Now, of course my little camera taking video does not give justice to the power and chest-thumping rumble of the experience of being there, but here's a quick sample.
There were about 8 guys up there pounding on everything from trash cans to waste baskets to large cardboard boxes to toilet tops to dust pans; there were no "real" drums or percussion instruments.
Check it out....

The end of the world as we know it

2007-04-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

An interesting article in the latest "relevant" issue:

We can be so excellent in relating the details of one scene in the Jesus drama, that no one knows the whole script. The good news becomes the "good sound bite" as the story is reduced from a cosmic epic to "The idiot's guide to the things Jesus said and did".

Tractor beaming the Jesus event down to the level of my culture turns the story into a convenient parody, like depicting an anglo republican Jesus or a revolutionary, AK 47-toting Jesus or a big-therapist-in-the-sky Jesus or Venture Capitalist Jesus, all of whom look like us.
Most of the time, this captured Jesus seems on a mission that amounts to helping us live the american dream (suv's, lattes and botox) with heaven as the big exclamation point at the end. So is that the kingdom of God?

The kingdom of God is the only real world, Jesus came to announce the demise of everything else. He did not go to the cross and raise from the dead so we could live more successfully in a world that is temporary. Rather, his purpose was to make it possible for us to live right now in another eternal world that is breaking in all around us if we have the eyes to see it.

The kingdom of Me + God? or The kingdom of God + Me?

- earl creps

New Home

2007-03-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

hey ya'all. just a quick shot of my new basement home in Belmont, MI (a couple miles north of GR). That's a projector screen in the background...yeah, he's got a loaded house...pool table, ping-pong table, all the works.

i also took the new mountain bike out to the trails saturday...it was so amazing cruzing through the woods, around the lake. i almost died several times (still gettin used to the 20mph downhills on roots and 3ft drop-offs...i might be exagerrating a little bit)...but it was so awesome out.

2007-02-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

matt and steve and girls at the "winter cabin"...aka...strefling house. we are kidnapping matt, in the hopes the rest of the family will come out to save him. then we can kidnap them. then the boys can use their surfboards to go down snow hills. thats the plan, anyway.

kaider-bug...soon to be "brother kaider-bug"

2007-02-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

kaiden, playin around w/ mom & dad...

Christmas Party!

2006-12-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

We, at st. joe med center peds, put together a christmas party for all the kids and their parents as a way of connecting. We had a blast: food, cookie decorating, games... here's a few pictures from that night.

...more...

2006-12-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

Love Wins.

2006-10-27T15:22:00.001-07:00

in the 1st century middle east, there was this roman law that said that if you were a jew and a roman soldier came up to you and told you to carry his gear, you were obligated to carry it for him for 1 mile. if you refused, he would arrest you and have you put to death by crusifiction. so, as a jew, you were to stop whatever you were doing, pick up this roman soldiers gear - these romans, remember, are the one's oppressing you and the one's who dont believe in your god and who would rather have you dead and who dont vote republican like you - and carry it for 1 mile.

one jewish rabbi came along, and said, "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles."

i think this is what the ever-glorious and celebrated mars hill sticker means by, 'Love Wins'.

Leaving Home...for Home.

2006-10-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Its time. time to leave grand rapids. this place has been a good home for the last 8 weeks, and i feel even as if im leaving home for home. but i guess its good that im leaving with one clinical experience - passed. thank you to all (well, since i think you dave and matt/steph and mom are the only ones who read this blog); thank you guys for praying me through. no matter what happens from here on out, no one can take away this experience & the memories.

game 1 tonight: cards in an upset, 7-2. sorry d-town. or "the d" i guess. whatever.

(reading a generous orthodoxy...have you read this one by brian mclarin matt? what do you think?)

Representing the whole world...

2006-10-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

This photographer from NY is attempting to photograph one child from every country on the earth...and every child must be a current resident of NY.

Sounds crazy, right?

He's got 128 countries so far...

...including a little place called Gambia.

NYchildren.org

The guy who "sold his soul on ebay".

2006-10-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

I dont know how widespread this news story is, but i've heard its all over. the guy who sold his soul on ebay: this guy who is an atheist invited any christian to "buy" him; he would attend any church the buyer wanted him to ($10/hour of church). He was bought by this guy who did not want to save him, but wanted a critical review of american church's (way cool, church-guy).

anyway, a publicist got wind of the whole story and told the atheist guy that he would publish a book of an account of these visits. the book will be called "i sold my soul on ebay", due out april '07.

well, one of those church's happened to be mars hill. rob bell was able to sit down 1-on-1 with this guy before a gathering and just talk. he said that this atheist guy had heard it all; you're going to hell, turn or burn, jesus is the only way...ect. rob didnt try to convert the guy. rob simply shared some stories about people he pointed out as they walked in for the gathering. (i sure would of loved to be in that little room).

rob told us last week that the publisher emailed rob. he told rob that they weren't able to categorize mars hill church within any of the other church categories (catholic, protestant, evangelical, baptist, ect). how cool is that? and one more thing: the atheist guy wants rob to write the forward to his new book.

more on the story:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060319/LIFESTYLE04/603190327&SearchID=73239141341969

2006-09-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

from: "Worship in Every Direction", the newest mars hill music release

2006-09-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

- the thing i mean can be seen, for instance, in children. when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy, a child kicks his legs thru excess, not absence of life, because children have abounding vitality because they are in spirit fierce and free. therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. they always say 'do it again!'...and the grownup person does it again until he is nearly dead. for grownup people are not strong enough to exalt in monotany.
but perhaps God is strong enough to exalt in monotany. it is possible that God says every morning 'do it again!' to the sun, and every evening, 'do it again!' to the moon. it may not be automatic neccessity that makes all daisy's alike - it may be that God makes every daisy seperately, but has never got tired of making them. it may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy - for we have sinned and grown old, and our father is younger than we.

-- "Orthodoxy" by G.K. Chesterton

Dirt

2006-09-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

"how can i stand on the ground every day and not feel its power?
how can i live my life stepping on this stuff and not wonder at it...
we spend our lives hurrying away from the real, as though it were deadly to us.
'it must be somewhere up there on the horizon,' we think.
and all the time it is in the soil right beneath our feet."
--william b. logan

2006-08-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

my new abode for 8 weeks...

2006-08-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

some quotes, from "the emotionally healthy church"

2006-08-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

--we have learned that you can lead hundreds of people in a christian ministry while driven by a deep personal need to compensate for a nagging sense of failure.

--in the minds of many today, the repression of feelings and emotions has been elevated to the status of spirit or virtue. denying anger, ignoring pain, skipping over depression, running from lonliness, avoiding confusing doubts, and turning off our sexuality has become a way of spiritual life.

--the longest journey of any person is the journey inward. most of us feel much more equipped to manipulate objects, control situations, and "do" things than to take that very long jouney inward.

--we often are unaware of the harm that comes from appearing to me more than we really are. in some ways, its being an imposter. we easily compartmentalize our faith and spirituality from the totality of our humanity.

--remember, we aren't supposed to be complete, yet! so how come our expectations are to be so?

...and the news...

2006-08-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

here is a future anchor-man...

beach day!

2006-08-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

hey, i finally got the pic to work! yea! the kids at the beach on a HOT HOT day - whew.

Labels

2006-07-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

When asked about his thoughts on "contemporary christian music" and parents who only let kids listen to "christian" music, lead singer of Thrice responds:

...This may come as a shock to some people, but there is a ton of good in the world that is not christian. This labeling is so destructive to our God-given creative impulses: it neuters our art. Not to mention the fact that having a little world separate from everything else in life is what is wrong with a lot of the church today in general. When there is a christian band, it automatically is an exclusive thing, and the invitation to Christ is anything but exclusive.
I feel that people who happen to be both artists and christians need to make art from the center of their beings, art that is honest and real and glorifying to God all at the same time. Art that can vibrate to the chords of anyone's hearts, despite what they profess to believe. Are we not all human, and is not art a bridge that crosses over otherwise unbridgeable chasms?

- dustin kensrue of 'Thrice'

Smokey Stories...

2006-07-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, fine stephanie...i guess i will actually do what i said and share some stories. Perhaps i was hoping no one would ask because they may not be funny to you all, but they were to me.

Ok, first, there were the Whiper-wills. the whiper-wills are nocturnal birds that make a calling that sounds just like saying "whIp-er-wIll" (go ahead, try it. and put the accents on the "i"'s). yeah, cute at first. but after 4 days of "whIp-er-wIll, whIp-er-wIll" all night long, and i was ready to shoot them. And one even swooped down and tried to eat my head off! i learned later that they are very territorial birds and that they do that to keep other birds away. And in case no one believes me, i recorded the sound on my camera-

We also met some interesting people down there. we went to this place called Pizza on the River...it was owned by this super cool, old hippie guy named cameron (or something like that...he was hard to understand because his sentences were pretty much all one word). anwho, ive never seen a person so excited to make a pizza. he told us how he was gonna make the whole thing in detail...we're like, whatever, we just want pizza. so after we order, he closes the window door, cranks up this old time gospel music from the 1900's, and goes to town. and some time in the middle of all this, he gets out some spatula's and starts playing the empty cans to the music. dont worry - if you dont believe me, once again we got it on tape! (we went around back where there was another window and held the camera up there while he was playin the cans).

so anyway, that's all i got for now. mynamesjonpeaceout!

De Smoky Mountains, eh

2006-05-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Laythen and I hiked up our skirts and saddled the horses & traveled down to north carolina to camp at the great smoky's. (i've been trying to put some pics up, but the stupid site wont let me...yet). anyway, we had a blast. camping, mountain biking, white water rafting, hiking, running over wild animals so that we could eat...it was great!

my favorite thing was probly the rafting. on saturday, we each got in a "ducky" (like an inflatable canoe) and, with our guide JJ, headed down the Natahala river. it was so beautiful, because the river mostly runs through the valley between mountains...so you're just looking up and around a lot of the time. we also hit some pretty wicked rapids...and a grade 3 rapid at the very end (that is, 3/5, 5 being like the colorado river) so we were pretty proud of ourselves for not dying!

the mountain biking was probly even more dangerous...we went on a "short" 4 mile ride through the forest friday, but then monday, we took the 11mile "loop" around the lake...this is where it got nasty...the paths were clay, but infested with roots and rocks and the like...and sometimes, the path got down to only 1ft wide, where the outter edge drops nearly straight down 50 to 100 feet into the lake with nothing to slow you down but a bunch of happy rocks. but, lo and behold, and 4 hours later, we made it.

so there's a couple highlights...ill put some funny stories up maybe, later...

Bloody Jesus

2006-04-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Andrews put on a walking play...and outdoor, walking play. i took some pictures; a guy in our class played Jesus for one of them...

Play is a feeling to be learned

2006-04-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

A few quotes by Jurgen Moltmann in The 'Theology of Play':
"have the old pharisees and the new zealots, with their conservative and revolutionary legalism, scared us away from freedom, from joy and spontaneity? it is unlikely that anything good or just will come about unless it flows from an abundance of joy and the passion of love."
... Is life something to be celebrated or endured?
... william james said that faith is either a dull habit or an acute fever
... we have become so compulsively utilitarian that we can scarcely hear, see, or feel the world about us without having to attach a purpose to it.

... a young jewish girl, surrounded by the horrors of a nazi concentration camp, had the grace and composure to write the following poem - 'from tomorrow on/ i shall be sad/ from tomorrow on-/ not today. / today i will be glad,/ and every day/ no matter how bitter it may be/ i shall say/ from tomorrow on i shall be sad/ not today.' although we live in the wealthiest nation in the world, during a time of relative peace, in an age of overwhelming opportunity, we have written a less grateful adaption of the above poem, which goes like this: from tomorrow on i shall be happy, from tomorrow on. not today. and every day, no matter how good things may be, i shall say from tomorrow on ill be happy not today.

...i wish i was like...

2006-04-08T11:33:00.001-07:00

i want to become the most whole, complete person i can...i want to go inwards and understand why i struggle with this and why i am like that...i am sick of wishing i was like so & so, wishing i was funny like those guys, wishing i woulda came up with that one, wishing i could be confident or speak well in front of others like that guy or have deep friends like they are or be as self motivated as she is. i want to be done with these feelings. i want to move past this, because i know if i stay here, stay in this whirlwind of "i wish i was more like...", it will drown me and ill never really be able to live.

it is possible to be a christian and be saved and be involved in a church or lead a group, sing all the right songs and smile at all the right times and can have saved a lot of people...and still be miserable. this is because salvation is not just about a ticket; its not to keep in the back pocket until 'that day' comes...salvation is wholeistic. salvation is for today, here and now, just as much as it is for later. and its not about covering things up and storing these things in the basement...its about dusting them off and bringing a light into these areas and getting dirty, digging into these things.
where is my ego getting in the way? where is fear getting in the way?

LISTENING TO "wholeness" by Rob Bell Jr.

Ghandi understands...

2006-04-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

ghandi story Mr. Soper (one of our teachers) shared with us...

a mother had a son, who had just recently been diagnosed with Diabetes. the problem was that she could not get him to stop eating sugar. no matter how hard she tried, no matter what she tried, it just didn't work. so, in desperation for her son's health, she took her son to ghandi to see if he could help. so he listened to the mom's concern and told them to come back in two weeks.

so two weeks later, they came back...and ghandi called the boy over and had a conversation with him. after that conversation, the boy stopped eating sugar - cold turkey. the mother later asked ghadi why he didn't just talk to the boy the first time they came. he replied, "i had to give up sugar to understand, first."

a story i was just listening to on tv...this guy (a family psychologist of some sort) had a troubled teen daughter, so all his training gave him the idea to sit her down in front of the whole family and have each person tell the girl how what she was doing was adversely affecting them.

she went out that night and did the same thing as always.

a while later, he heard a story about a remote village whose people had a way of approaching "delinquency". they would bring the offender in front of the whole village, have each person exasperate every positive thing they could about the offender. the process is not hurried or rushed and this could last for days.

this process did not have to happen very often.

by the way, the daughter of this guy now counsels troubled kids just like she used to be.

My First Thought...

2006-02-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

we were required to read this book from our required religion class, and my first thought was, 'gosh this is going to be stupid'. i was sure i would just roll my eyes through the whole thing...but i was quite wrong. it's not the best book ive ever read, but there were some great great thoughts in it. here's one of my favorites:

"Spirituality, in general, has more to do with process than with results. Perhaps this is why contemporary culture, fanatically oriented towards results, has such a difficult time with spirituality."

here's another thought...talking about uncertainty and faith...
"The quest for certainty undermines trust. Intolerance for uncertainty results from the absence of a certain basic trust, informed by a strong belief that the future could not possibly turn out OK for me unless i manipulate things and people in order to make it come out OK."

"...faith has more to do with trust than it does with belief."

I should point out that when he talks about 'certainty', he's talking about leaving no room for uncertainty. Sure we can be certain of certain things...but we sure get scared when there's things we cannot map out or put our heads around or mold into the way we want. Some things about God are meant to be mysteries...meant to remain unexplained. when moses (it was moses right?) asked God who he should tell is sending him, Gods response is "I AM". tell them "I AM" sent you. i mean, "CERTAINLY" this God is much bigger than we can fit into our little religious boxes....

Do me a favor...

2006-01-21T12:33:00.000-08:00

"If you've gottan anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care -- then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enought to lend a helping hand." - Paul (The Message)

Sufjan Stevens

2006-01-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

"I have an incredible awe for the natural world and the divinely inspired environment. I'm always trying to evoke that or portray that lyrically. But I think I also have a similar kind of awe for the day-to-day. For me, a ceiling fan or air conditioner or dictionary can hold incredible, supernatural meaning. It's very exciting to think about the workmanship of man, created in the image of God...in some ways, I think it's our way of mimicking the natural world, which is an imprint of this great creative force."

-Sufjan Stevens,
in Relevant Magazine.

Everything Belongs

2006-01-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

"my starting point is that we're already there. we cannot attain the presence of God because we're already totally in the presence of God. whats absent is awareness. little do we realize that God is maintaining us in existence with every breath we take. as we take another, it means God is choosing us NOW...and NOW......and NOW.........and NOW."

Everything Belongs

by Richard Roll

Unanswered Questions

2006-01-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

And so today, some of my most PROFOUND MOMENTS with God come not during church services or reading works of theology or even reading the Bible. They come in all sorts of surprising places - a song, a hug from a friend, a good laugh.

Or sometimes, these incredible moments with God come in SILENT, PAINFUL times - times of not knowing, times when you sit and wonder why life turned out the way it did, times spent wondering why your wife left, times spend wondering why you have to HURT so badly.

And slowly, you come to sense deep within your soul that it will be OK, that the tension between FAITH and DOUBT, knowing and NOT knowing, FACT and MYSTERY is a tension worth embracing.

-Cameron Conant (Relevant Magazine)