Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Superbowl Party

Okay, today I was really busy making all the postcards for the Superbowl Party this Sunday at 5:30 in the youth room (with food, games and football in the gym, game on the big screen, there's the plug).

Here's what I realized. We sent out information on the game to over 180 people. Now think, if only half of those people showed up, plus our adult help, we'd have over 100 people at the party this Sunday. That'd be amazing (our current record is 76 students at a single event). So invite everyone you can, give them a ride, whatever you can and let's break 100 students! We can do it!

T

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Baptism

I've been trying to get on here, but it keeps saying maintenance. How much can there be to do?

The other night I'm watching "Lost", a show I like (I'm a serial person, shows like "24" and "Lost" that are one big story that takes more than a half-hour to tell) and they start talking about baptism. Someone is in danger and they need to baptize them.

Now I'm all for baptism, it's great, but they totally skewed what it really means, as I've found out is normal for our society. I had to do interviews on the street while in college and find out if people were Christians, if they were going to heaven and scary as it was, everyone gave us the same answer. "I'm a Christian because I'm baptized."

Okay, time to set the world straight. Baptism does not make you a Christian. It's the other way around. Baptism is the outward expression of your inner faith. You decide to follow Jesus and then you make a public showing of it by being baptized (kinda like a way of telling the world the decision you've made). That's how it works. Further reading would be Matthew 3 ("I baptize you with water to show that your hearts and lives have changed." - meaning the change has happened, then you are baptized) and the end of Matthew 28 ("Go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them..." - meaning you tell others about Jesus first and lead them to Him, then they are baptized).

So for everyone thinking that when you were baptized / dedicated as a baby that means you've got a "get out of hell free" card and automatically get whisked through the Pearly Gates, sorry, that's not the way I see it. God is looking for those who love Him, those who have a relationship with Him. I can be baptized then never talk to Jesus again, just like I can get my birth certificate with my family name on it, but if I right away move out and never talk to them or see them, would they still invite me to the family reunion...?

T

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Skiing With No Snow

Ok, so I sit down to do my blog, which I haven't done in a while (sorry), and I realize that I didn't fill everyone in on the ski trip. So here's what happened.

Saturday, after driving in a little bit of snow Friday night to get there, we worked for a whole 4 hours in Evansville on tornado relief. We don't work outside because of the mud, and everything inside we finished, so 4 whole hours. Then, to top it off, Sunday morning at 7:30 the ski hill calls me to tell me they're closed, that's after assuring me Saturday night they'd be open. So what to do?

The kindness of strangers really came through. The people of Evansville and Newburgh were so happy we did that whole 4 hours of work, for the weekend we had free lodging in the Fire Station, free ice skating, unlimited use of an arcade for a little money and unlimited use after hours of a inflatable balloon games place, with free pizza one night, free breakfast, and a discounted breakfast the next day. People were just so thankful we helped that it was almost easy to forget we didn't' go skiing.

If this is how kind needy people who lived through a disaster can be, imagine how kind well-off Christians can be...

T

Friday, January 13, 2006

Ski Workcamp

It's Friday at 10:30 and tonight we at Fire & Water (the water part) are going on our annual Ski Retreat, this time emphasis on serving, spending a day doing tornado relief. They've promised we'll have snow, but that's up to God and the guy working the snow machines. Sorry, I gotta go, but here's the link if you want to watch us ski Sunday. http://www.paolipeaks.com/snowcams.php

Pray for us :)

T

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Signs

So I get home from Bible Study tonight and Lorie hasn't been feeling well, so she's sound asleep in bed, leaving me to cook dinner (which isn't a bad thing, I like to cook) and then eat it by myself. Now, lately, I've found out that I really hate the sound of myself chewing. Don't ask me why, it's been annoying, so I go to watch TV so I'm not just sitting there listening to me eat, but of course, there's nothing on TV at 10 on Wednesday unless someone is being killed and the people trying to figure it out are being shot at (and you have to add lots of blood, gore, and bad dialogue), so I put in one of the best movies of all time. Signs.

Why do I like signs? It makes me think. There are two main things going through my mind as I watch this movie (and I'll do my best not to give the movie away). The first is God's security in Himself or our lack thereof. The main character was a priest, but lost his faith when his wife died and at certain points in the movie he expresses this be it by yelling at God or telling his children he will not waste any more of his time on prayer. "Not one more minute." And all through it the thought is occurring to me about how I've been taught all my life that God wants to smite you down, how He is waiting for you to mess up and if you dare question Him, bam! But that's not it at all. He's a loving Father. And He is not so insecure that if something happens that makes you question Him or His existence He huffs and puffs in heaven, stomping His feet and feeling bad about Himself. No, He's patient enough to wait for us to come back around and figure out our relationship with Him for ourselves, but that's the key. We have to figure it out for ourselves and come back to Him.

The second is the idea that, as they describe, there are two types of people. The first type see God in everything. There are no coincidences. It is all orchestrated by God. Nothing happens that He does not allow and/or plan for. The second group sees it all as coincidences. There is no one looking out for us and things just happen. But it's the first group that has hope (I'm thinking about showing the clip one day in NewSong before God At Work).

It's a great movie. It makes you think. It brings me faith. The only disturbing part to me is that one of the greatest cinematic examples of a loving God always at work in our hearts was written and made by someone who does not believe in God. Why can't Christians create something like that? Where are the Christian artists, writers, screenwriters, actors, producers, directors, sculptors, painters, etc.? Why is it someone who does not believe in God does a better job of convincing people there is a God than those who believe?

Deep thoughts...

T

Monday, January 09, 2006

Why Bother?

Okay, I have to add another one today, but this is just beyond me in some way...

I'm in Kroger doing my grocery shopping. La di da. Then, I guess on my way out, I dropped a packet of brown gravy. Yeah, a whole 50 cents worth of Kroger brand tastiness. I didn't know I was missing it and to be honest, I probably wouldn't have cared too much when I got home.

But the Kroger lady cared. She saw it on the ground, knew it was mine from checking out, then took the time and effort to find me in the parking lot (I was already in my car driving away), flag me down and give it to me. And all I could think of was, "Why would she bother? It's not like her job makes her." Is that really how rare kindness is? When someone does something nice we wonder, "Why Bother?" Kind of gives me a hint as to how much kindness is in me.

T

Is It Bad luck Or What?

Computer. It has now become a curse word to me. They drive me nuts. Here's why...

In September, Lorie and I decided to get a new computer. We wanted something good, so as hard as it was, we dropped some cash and got one. It crashed within 24 hours.

We were given another one as a replacement. It crashed within 6 hours.

We were then given a downgrade as a replacement because the one we bought was being updated and the new model wasn't out yet and they had sold all the other ones. Scary as it was, that one worked great, but then a few months later we were called to let us know that the our new model was ready and here, so we traded in... again.

Got home, start it up, in the upgrade they took out some components that we used, and not little things, hardware. Had to take it back to get the new parts put in.

New parts not compatible with the new model. So, finally, we asked for our money back and went somewhere else and bought another computer.

It has a 30 day return if there's something wrong, and on Friday, at day 38, the motherboard crashed, a fluke that the store even said they've never seen before and they have to return it back to the manufacturer, so I'm here on my basic 3 year old HP, waiting to see what will happen for computer #6...

Is there a lesson here?

T

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Black Knight

Just over 81 000 gold pieces from the peasants. Time for bed.

T

New Year Already?

Wow, so it's 2006. Remember years ago when we thought the world was coming to an end and all computers would be the downfall of first world society as we know it (i.e. Y2K)? Ah, good times...

So here's what I learned. The body is a fragile thing. And we all behave differently. Thanks to the all-nighter with my wonderful friends in FIRE& WATER, I stayed up way too long. I mean way too long. Now, my wife came and decided half-way through to stay up too. Now, here's where the difference sets in.

She comes home at 1:00 after church. Goes to bed. And sleeps 19 hours! That must be nice. How do you do that? Me, not so lucky. Slept 8 hours, up 4, slept 3, up four, slept 5 up no close to 15 and at 2 in the morning cannot sleep. Where's my lovely wife? Sleeping soundly. Must be nice.

It's amazing how we are all so incredibly different, right down to how sleep or lack thereof affects us. God made us so diverse, but now, I will try one more round of the black knight (a wonderful game on miniclip.com) then try to sleep... again...

T