Seems the time of the year has come again where I am required to attend school. I have actually applied more than two days before classes start this year (I'm doing good). Taking algebra and 'college success'.
I always feel bad for not taking a full load, but at the same time I don't think I would be able to (for one I don't have the money and for two [kinda still part of one] I need to work for extra expenses during the year) I'm pretty sure college is designed to make you owe money. You're somehow forced into a college experience so that you'll be able to get a good job, but you are left with a huge debt that you'll get a job to pay off so that you'll be like the rest of the system. Seriously, I understand that you need money (in this modern world) to survive.
I just have this chill in my spine when I think of things like that.. Theres so much confusion when thinking about how Jesus lived in His time and how things happened in His life to shape those around Him. Obviously we aren't there, instead we are here and thus given our own chance at making things right on our time. (I recall a part of the Bible that mentions not owing anyone anything)
In short, I don't agree. Or at least don't think it should have to be that way.
If the whole purpose to living is to pay to keep living, then why don't we all just die and save everyone the effort? I mean, we have people that have debts that were received in order to pay off other debts that would later be established in order to make it possible to 'live'. I suppose the only dynamic in the equation is 'what level of luxury are you willing to extend your debts for?'
Why is it so strange to consider living in a home with more than just your immediate family? I've been talking with Sarah about how much money we'd save if we all joined together.. Look at the price for rent when it's split between three or four people. There are some other things that combine to make things easier. Work around the house is split. You'd also never get lonely. The money saved on rent can pay off other stuff faster. Now look at that same scenario split among eight or more people/families.
If you are already thinking of ways you are going to get ripped off by the other tenants, then you need a mental refreshing. If you are a Christian, then all of your stuff shouldn't mean that much to you in the first place.
I've also been taking life a little less.. fearfully? single-routed? I'm not sure really how to describe it. The idea that if something bad happens then it's part of a plan for life thats bigger than myself. I think thats kinda the point.. it's not about 'me'.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Family (We All Need Love)
So I find it important these days to work on family relationships. I find it amazing how in just the little town of Surry we have a group of teens and their siblings that range from 20's to months-old, and every one of them gets along. At any one given time we can pull together an impromptu party or sports night. The element of family can not be stressed enough these days.
My family is up from Florida this week. We've been going over all the things they have in Florida that aren't here and they miss (mostly just a city vs country battle, but also some things literally confined to southern states - that does not include sweet tea) as well as what things are in Virginia that we just shrug off as "yeah, duh, they're here" and my cousins all find it amazing. Things like ground hogs, deer, possum, raccoon, and fire flies. Wow.
The important thing is that for the past few days, I've been interacting with people that are like me by blood, and we all naturally care for each other. No plans, just spending time together. Why is it that time with others is so amazing?
The bonds you make with people are worth more than anything.
I've learned to take more risks as well. Talking here about risks with relationships and expressions of love. Someone said that loving isn't risk free and in order to enjoy it to its fullest one must make himself vulnerable. That is something I highly encourage.
I'll end with a quote I like from C. S. Lewis,
My family is up from Florida this week. We've been going over all the things they have in Florida that aren't here and they miss (mostly just a city vs country battle, but also some things literally confined to southern states - that does not include sweet tea) as well as what things are in Virginia that we just shrug off as "yeah, duh, they're here" and my cousins all find it amazing. Things like ground hogs, deer, possum, raccoon, and fire flies. Wow.
The important thing is that for the past few days, I've been interacting with people that are like me by blood, and we all naturally care for each other. No plans, just spending time together. Why is it that time with others is so amazing?
The bonds you make with people are worth more than anything.
I've learned to take more risks as well. Talking here about risks with relationships and expressions of love. Someone said that loving isn't risk free and in order to enjoy it to its fullest one must make himself vulnerable. That is something I highly encourage.
I'll end with a quote I like from C. S. Lewis,
"...[F]ree will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having... The happiness that God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily untied to Him and to each other in an ecstacy of love and delight.."
_small-post_The world preceeded with an "i"
We were playing speed scrabble last night. If you've never played speed scrabble, then you need to. So I used my tiles and my next piece was an I. I could not find anywhere to put it, so I tried attaching it to the front of all my other words; that failed miserably but was crazy funny (I would remember the words it made but it was approaching 1am and I can't remember much after that point..)
I made a statement a LONG time ago about how there would soon be a world proceeded with a lower-case I. I like predicting the future.
I made a statement a LONG time ago about how there would soon be a world proceeded with a lower-case I. I like predicting the future.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Suffer
Went to the Richmond Outreach Center last Saturday night. I'll say it was different from my expectations.
Let's understand the physical structure before we get too far. It's more of a complex than a church, and actually more of a bunch of sports centers. Lots of parking, lots of buses, lots of people. Baseball field and skate park out front. College to the side (small college) as well as a cafeteria with free meals. Someone also said they house homeless pregnant women. So on the side of the main meeting building (which is a huge gym) is a mural - we're talking the whole side of the building - of Jesus with his arms out. Amazing quality. Going in the front door, I felt like a movie star or the president: EVERY man in the Biker Gang was there, lining the walkway, shaking my hand. EVERY man. Walk in, a small foyer with a bathroom and snack bar. Into the main room was a ton of chairs and bleachers, with a cut out at the far end for the musicians. We had to call ahead and make sure we had a place to sit cause they fill up so much they have to turn people away. We sat on the right side on the bleachers.
Right away, the band starts playing a familiar song (can't remember what it was). There were 3 songs, all of which you would know even if you've never been to a church before (like a rendition of 'Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey) Most of the songs had a old country theme, so everyone was dancing and clapping. One thing that's cool is the quality of everything. Even though it wasn't a bunch of professional musicians, they were all WAY good.
So the rest of the service was also interesting. There was a part where the pastor read a list of all the people that had become Christians in the past 7 days (which took about 5 minutes to list them by which ministry team had how many cards [they have every 'convert' fill out a slip so they can keep track]) The total was almost 550. There was a dance group that did a rap song and danced to it. Very cool. Also had two men share a story about their life and how they became a Christian/came to be at the ROC that night. The pastor told about Jesus (a common theme among these people) and how he lived a life of suffering on purpose. It boiled down to the conclusion that Jesus lived that way so that he could understand us, completely provide salvation, and so that we could copy him in being a suffering people.
Let's understand the physical structure before we get too far. It's more of a complex than a church, and actually more of a bunch of sports centers. Lots of parking, lots of buses, lots of people. Baseball field and skate park out front. College to the side (small college) as well as a cafeteria with free meals. Someone also said they house homeless pregnant women. So on the side of the main meeting building (which is a huge gym) is a mural - we're talking the whole side of the building - of Jesus with his arms out. Amazing quality. Going in the front door, I felt like a movie star or the president: EVERY man in the Biker Gang was there, lining the walkway, shaking my hand. EVERY man. Walk in, a small foyer with a bathroom and snack bar. Into the main room was a ton of chairs and bleachers, with a cut out at the far end for the musicians. We had to call ahead and make sure we had a place to sit cause they fill up so much they have to turn people away. We sat on the right side on the bleachers.
Right away, the band starts playing a familiar song (can't remember what it was). There were 3 songs, all of which you would know even if you've never been to a church before (like a rendition of 'Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey) Most of the songs had a old country theme, so everyone was dancing and clapping. One thing that's cool is the quality of everything. Even though it wasn't a bunch of professional musicians, they were all WAY good.
So the rest of the service was also interesting. There was a part where the pastor read a list of all the people that had become Christians in the past 7 days (which took about 5 minutes to list them by which ministry team had how many cards [they have every 'convert' fill out a slip so they can keep track]) The total was almost 550. There was a dance group that did a rap song and danced to it. Very cool. Also had two men share a story about their life and how they became a Christian/came to be at the ROC that night. The pastor told about Jesus (a common theme among these people) and how he lived a life of suffering on purpose. It boiled down to the conclusion that Jesus lived that way so that he could understand us, completely provide salvation, and so that we could copy him in being a suffering people.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Hope_part 2
Not exactly the sequel you'd expect, more like the prequel. These are just some notes/thoughts I had of David H.
I like this little phrase he had. He would get so used to hearing people say, "You're not going to believe this.." so now he answers with, "Oh, yes I am."
He talked of this intense training camp somewhere up north. This group of people steal little kids and put them deep in the woods for a week, with nothing but the clothes on their back. Naw but, they just lead them in (no kidnapping). It's some kind of camp that teaches reliance on God. They tell every applicant (and their parents) "We will return your child, and when we do, they will be ready for anything." I think I want to go try that.
Another interesting point he brought out was how Christians tend to settle down in a comfy spot. That is not a good thing to do. The words 'Christian' and 'Transition' are synonymous: cause somewhere someone said, "God is always moving". "There is grace for preparation; There is no grace for 'What If?'" said David H. Mostly this covers the part about how some would rather wait and do nothing until they are 100% sure of the God ordained direction. Thinking about this, the God who would have Christians act on His behalf would probably not let Christians, bent on doing the works of God on earth, get too far out of line. As Mr. Mr. Wiedel (yeah, that's J-bird's daddy pops) said, "In order to turn a boat around, you have to engage the engines first. The rudder does no good while sitting still." Since we are still on the RFA (ready for anything) line of chatter, he mentioned always being ready for God's plans of change. Someone once said, "If a person is in constant connection with the Holy Spirit, they won't have to worry about making errors." Guessing nobody these days happens to be in that constant contact..
Ah. "Christians are not a perfect people. We are a people being perfected." David H.
So heres a list of the crucial ways one can be RFA
1) Fix on Jesus - To fix actually means to remove one's gaze on a certain object and affix it on something else. Comes from Hebrews 12:2
2) Be a friend of Jesus - comes from John 15:14-15. He spoke a while on the difference between a servant and a friend. The basics are like this: A servant serves because he is told to serve. A friend is a servant with the addition of understanding the 'why'.
3) Keep active in God-focused / kingdom relationships
Stay clear of negative speaking against the changes in the Kingdom.
I don't think I was paying attention at this point, but I got the whole title of that section so maybe it got lost in my mind..
4) Keep relationship accounts up-to-date - making a point to make wrongs between friends right. "Don't stuff them inside somewhere; go fix them"
5) Don't hide concerns, but talk to the right people - this is in reference to issues or misunderstandings to the direction of the 'church'; not to complain among yourselves but rather to a position of authority.
6) Meet often to keep things up-to-date - that's talking about Christians meeting to discuss past victories and failures.
Oh, how I long for those days. Think of every time you hear a story of someone's triumph. Doesn't it inspire you?
One last little note:
When the body has physical problems, the output is hindered. As such, we find our bodies in a similar condition as our spiritual 'body of Christ'. The body can't function when ill / injured.
Fix the sickness / brokenness.
Like veins and arteries, relationships in our 'body' must be mended.
Can't you see how everything increases with more happy people? :)
I like this little phrase he had. He would get so used to hearing people say, "You're not going to believe this.." so now he answers with, "Oh, yes I am."
He talked of this intense training camp somewhere up north. This group of people steal little kids and put them deep in the woods for a week, with nothing but the clothes on their back. Naw but, they just lead them in (no kidnapping). It's some kind of camp that teaches reliance on God. They tell every applicant (and their parents) "We will return your child, and when we do, they will be ready for anything." I think I want to go try that.
Another interesting point he brought out was how Christians tend to settle down in a comfy spot. That is not a good thing to do. The words 'Christian' and 'Transition' are synonymous: cause somewhere someone said, "God is always moving". "There is grace for preparation; There is no grace for 'What If?'" said David H. Mostly this covers the part about how some would rather wait and do nothing until they are 100% sure of the God ordained direction. Thinking about this, the God who would have Christians act on His behalf would probably not let Christians, bent on doing the works of God on earth, get too far out of line. As Mr. Mr. Wiedel (yeah, that's J-bird's daddy pops) said, "In order to turn a boat around, you have to engage the engines first. The rudder does no good while sitting still." Since we are still on the RFA (ready for anything) line of chatter, he mentioned always being ready for God's plans of change. Someone once said, "If a person is in constant connection with the Holy Spirit, they won't have to worry about making errors." Guessing nobody these days happens to be in that constant contact..
Ah. "Christians are not a perfect people. We are a people being perfected." David H.
So heres a list of the crucial ways one can be RFA
1) Fix on Jesus - To fix actually means to remove one's gaze on a certain object and affix it on something else. Comes from Hebrews 12:2
2) Be a friend of Jesus - comes from John 15:14-15. He spoke a while on the difference between a servant and a friend. The basics are like this: A servant serves because he is told to serve. A friend is a servant with the addition of understanding the 'why'.
3) Keep active in God-focused / kingdom relationships
Stay clear of negative speaking against the changes in the Kingdom.
I don't think I was paying attention at this point, but I got the whole title of that section so maybe it got lost in my mind..
4) Keep relationship accounts up-to-date - making a point to make wrongs between friends right. "Don't stuff them inside somewhere; go fix them"
5) Don't hide concerns, but talk to the right people - this is in reference to issues or misunderstandings to the direction of the 'church'; not to complain among yourselves but rather to a position of authority.
6) Meet often to keep things up-to-date - that's talking about Christians meeting to discuss past victories and failures.
Oh, how I long for those days. Think of every time you hear a story of someone's triumph. Doesn't it inspire you?
One last little note:
When the body has physical problems, the output is hindered. As such, we find our bodies in a similar condition as our spiritual 'body of Christ'. The body can't function when ill / injured.
Fix the sickness / brokenness.
Like veins and arteries, relationships in our 'body' must be mended.
Can't you see how everything increases with more happy people? :)
"K - I - S - S I'm in distress! I need someone to spell it out"
Tonight's dinner might have been the most ridiculous meal I've ever worked.
Serve time was 5:30. Everything was perfectly fine at 4:15. No kidding. Then sometime around 4:20, we realize that there would be several complications: 15 more people would be eating than the previous count (total of 118), and somehow the pizza quantity was overlooked leaving us with only 54 'Tonys' and about 30 'Red Barrons' - thats only 84, if you can't add. Somewhere in this process, I notice that the deep fryer was never turned on, meaning the oil would not be hot enough to fry apple fritters.
And then this stupid thing called, "Hope" had to show up and make it so we couldn't curl up and die.
We cut the 'Red Barrons' in halves, and found some chicken that wasn't being used (Sarah and Marie cut up some potatoes and added a bunch of seasonings to them) And the deep fryer heated up in time for me to get 3 batches completed before the group came through the line.
So I would attribute the absolutely amazing recovery of meal-almost-not-doable-ness to my God.
Serve time was 5:30. Everything was perfectly fine at 4:15. No kidding. Then sometime around 4:20, we realize that there would be several complications: 15 more people would be eating than the previous count (total of 118), and somehow the pizza quantity was overlooked leaving us with only 54 'Tonys' and about 30 'Red Barrons' - thats only 84, if you can't add. Somewhere in this process, I notice that the deep fryer was never turned on, meaning the oil would not be hot enough to fry apple fritters.
And then this stupid thing called, "Hope" had to show up and make it so we couldn't curl up and die.
We cut the 'Red Barrons' in halves, and found some chicken that wasn't being used (Sarah and Marie cut up some potatoes and added a bunch of seasonings to them) And the deep fryer heated up in time for me to get 3 batches completed before the group came through the line.
So I would attribute the absolutely amazing recovery of meal-almost-not-doable-ness to my God.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Hope_sorta-maybe-kinda-part-1
So the good news is that I have hope these days. I really think David H. coming inspired me. He is such a great guy, and genuinely cares about people. Not to say he won't push and bend you where its hard, but he does it in love, and you can seriously see the difference between someone correcting you cause they are tired of you getting it wrong and someone correcting you because they want the best outcome. David wants the best outcome.
I'm still on my quest to relearning love.
[I don't think it should take very long to learn something like that, cause you either do or you don't (not like, "Oh, I'm lvl 42 now..") yet there is the aspect of 'what naturally comes out of you' when in a situation that requires love. So not only is the defining of true, real love important, but also the training to automatically respond with it.]
"Hey unfaithful, I will teach you to be stronger (to be stronger)
Hey ungraceful, I will teach you to forgive one another...
Hey unfaithful, I will teach you to be stronger (to be stronger)
Hey unloving, I will love you.. I will love you.. I will love you.."
_UnderOath: Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape_
I'm thinking it would be a good idea to find quotes dealing with love. If I recall, David H. spoke on "RFA" (being Ready For Anything) this morning, and one of the things was about staying away from negative thinking and speaking. So, one way would be to find the positives :)
I'm still on my quest to relearning love.
[I don't think it should take very long to learn something like that, cause you either do or you don't (not like, "Oh, I'm lvl 42 now..") yet there is the aspect of 'what naturally comes out of you' when in a situation that requires love. So not only is the defining of true, real love important, but also the training to automatically respond with it.]
"Hey unfaithful, I will teach you to be stronger (to be stronger)
Hey ungraceful, I will teach you to forgive one another...
Hey unfaithful, I will teach you to be stronger (to be stronger)
Hey unloving, I will love you.. I will love you.. I will love you.."
_UnderOath: Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape_
I'm thinking it would be a good idea to find quotes dealing with love. If I recall, David H. spoke on "RFA" (being Ready For Anything) this morning, and one of the things was about staying away from negative thinking and speaking. So, one way would be to find the positives :)
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