I meant to talk about this yesterday, but I got off track, sorry. On Tuesday night we went and saw Hillsong United (http://www2.hillsong.com/united/). A great worship concert, they did a really good job.
Two things I got out of it though. One, it was NewSong on crack. They were also in a gym on a stage inset like ours, just everything was slightly bigger, bigger gym, bigger stage, bigger sound, lots more people (obviously, there was a concert). But it gives me hope for the future.
But the second thing is what I've been thinking about the past few days. And I think about it every time I go to something like this. Just how much more different it is when people want to worship.
Now don't get me wrong, I know there are people who want to worship Sunday morning. But there are also those who are there because it is their duty, and I think the ones who want to be there hold back so they don't stand out. At concerts like the Hillsong one, you can't stand out. If anyone wants to worship God so much they go on a Tuesday night (some driving from other states) and pay extra money for a ticket on top of it, they really want to worship! People were really excited to be there!
I just wish I knew how to move more people from the state of apathy on Sunday mornings to that excitement...
T
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
How Smart Is Our Bunny...?
It's said in some circles you can tell the intelligence of an animal by how long it takes it to escape its habitat. To give an example, some zookeepers say this and say monkeys are very intelligent because they will use tools like screwdrivers to open air vents (pretty smart).
So today we were reading about our bunny and realized he needed more room, so we bought him a pen and put it up to his cage. Now thankfully my wife is smarter than I am and thought we should put him in it long before we go to bed just to see what happens (we let him run around it for a long time with the door open to get used to it). Needless to say, he was trying to squeeze through the bars to see us.
Anyway, I go to work on the computer and hear "He's out". Our bunny had discovered he could jump on top of his cage and make an easy exit around the bars. So we put a cardboard blocker on his cage. Done. We waited about half an hour, nothing, so we went to bed. While lying in bed I said to Lorie "Wouldn't it be funny if the bunny hopped by right now?" What's even stupider, while laughing, the bunny hopped by. No word of a lie, I had just finished saying it. The crazy little rabbit had figure out how to jump over the pen by using the side of the couch (we put him back in to watch and find out his trick). To see if it was a fluke we watched him do it three times, all in about 2 minutes.
Clover is now back in his normal home five feet in the air (it's on a stand, don't worry) and he's completely caged in. Too smart for his own good, he lost some freedom tonight...
Hey, aren't we like that. We're so smart we can make our own choices, do what we think is right, but in the long run we ruin our own freedom in the order God established...?
T
So today we were reading about our bunny and realized he needed more room, so we bought him a pen and put it up to his cage. Now thankfully my wife is smarter than I am and thought we should put him in it long before we go to bed just to see what happens (we let him run around it for a long time with the door open to get used to it). Needless to say, he was trying to squeeze through the bars to see us.
Anyway, I go to work on the computer and hear "He's out". Our bunny had discovered he could jump on top of his cage and make an easy exit around the bars. So we put a cardboard blocker on his cage. Done. We waited about half an hour, nothing, so we went to bed. While lying in bed I said to Lorie "Wouldn't it be funny if the bunny hopped by right now?" What's even stupider, while laughing, the bunny hopped by. No word of a lie, I had just finished saying it. The crazy little rabbit had figure out how to jump over the pen by using the side of the couch (we put him back in to watch and find out his trick). To see if it was a fluke we watched him do it three times, all in about 2 minutes.
Clover is now back in his normal home five feet in the air (it's on a stand, don't worry) and he's completely caged in. Too smart for his own good, he lost some freedom tonight...
Hey, aren't we like that. We're so smart we can make our own choices, do what we think is right, but in the long run we ruin our own freedom in the order God established...?
T
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Vantage Point
Yeah, I saw this movie tonight after Drink Deep. I don't know, it's my kind of movie and I really liked it although it was a little different (but then again, so am I). I was thinking about a couple of things while watching it, but I'll focus on two for tonight.
One was a suicide bomber. Unfortunately, this is all too real in our world, people who are willing to kill themselves just to kill others for an ideal. But it got me thinking (and I talked with Lorie a bit about it). How on earth do people manage to get such devotion out of a person? I mean, I am completely devoted to God, I don't know if I would strap a bomb to my chest for Him, but I also know that He would never ask me to do that so we're good. But those people, they are so devoted to their cause that they are willing to kill themselves for it. We aren't even devoted enough to come to church more than twice a month (not to mention on time), or serve more than one hour Sunday morning, or give a full tithe, etc., etc.
But the other point was how this idea of finding the truth through many different vantage points is like our quest for God. In the movie, all these people are involved in seeing and being a part of one event, but because of who they are, their roles, their personalities, etc. they all see this event differently. It's only by all these perspectives together do we as a viewer see the whole truth. And I wonder how much of that is like how we see God. I have a view of God, but it is limited to my focus and corrupted my who I am. But, in getting many views maybe we can work together to see a more complete picture of who He is.
It's late, I'm rambling, but it was a good movie and got me thinking, not to mention about perceived reality and the ability of a heart to be persuaded, but we won't go into that.
T
One was a suicide bomber. Unfortunately, this is all too real in our world, people who are willing to kill themselves just to kill others for an ideal. But it got me thinking (and I talked with Lorie a bit about it). How on earth do people manage to get such devotion out of a person? I mean, I am completely devoted to God, I don't know if I would strap a bomb to my chest for Him, but I also know that He would never ask me to do that so we're good. But those people, they are so devoted to their cause that they are willing to kill themselves for it. We aren't even devoted enough to come to church more than twice a month (not to mention on time), or serve more than one hour Sunday morning, or give a full tithe, etc., etc.
But the other point was how this idea of finding the truth through many different vantage points is like our quest for God. In the movie, all these people are involved in seeing and being a part of one event, but because of who they are, their roles, their personalities, etc. they all see this event differently. It's only by all these perspectives together do we as a viewer see the whole truth. And I wonder how much of that is like how we see God. I have a view of God, but it is limited to my focus and corrupted my who I am. But, in getting many views maybe we can work together to see a more complete picture of who He is.
It's late, I'm rambling, but it was a good movie and got me thinking, not to mention about perceived reality and the ability of a heart to be persuaded, but we won't go into that.
T
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Power Of God
I know we hear all sorts of Old Testament stories about God and His power, but here's a newer one. You know me and astronomy...
So there's a researcher named James Jean, he's an astronomer in England. He figured out a way to find out how powerful the core of our sun is and how to explain it so people understand. Here's what he said. If you were to take a piece of the sun's core the size of the head of a pin (really tiny) and place it here on earth, it would generate so much heat that a person would die from that heat 84 miles away. To give some perspective, if we were to put that tiny, itty-bitty piece of sun in my house, someone on the south side of Fort Wayne would die from the heat...
That's incredibly powerful, and God made that so He is way more powerful than that! And to think, instead of using that power on us, His love is even stronger...
Gen. 1:16 ~ So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars.
Eph. 3:18-19 ~ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
T
So there's a researcher named James Jean, he's an astronomer in England. He figured out a way to find out how powerful the core of our sun is and how to explain it so people understand. Here's what he said. If you were to take a piece of the sun's core the size of the head of a pin (really tiny) and place it here on earth, it would generate so much heat that a person would die from that heat 84 miles away. To give some perspective, if we were to put that tiny, itty-bitty piece of sun in my house, someone on the south side of Fort Wayne would die from the heat...
That's incredibly powerful, and God made that so He is way more powerful than that! And to think, instead of using that power on us, His love is even stronger...
Gen. 1:16 ~ So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars.
Eph. 3:18-19 ~ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
T
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Idiot Job
Okay, I have to change the blog, and when I put more pics up, I need to have more text first, otherwise the Fire & Water page goes nuts.
But today, learned an interesting fact. The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas has 12 gardeners on staff. Okay, that seems normal. But here's the catch. Their job is to take care of the artificial plants.
Now is that really a "gardener"?
T
But today, learned an interesting fact. The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas has 12 gardeners on staff. Okay, that seems normal. But here's the catch. Their job is to take care of the artificial plants.
Now is that really a "gardener"?
T
Monday, August 18, 2008
Camping Vacation
Okay, sorry I haven't written in a while, it's because I was cut off from civilization. Last Sunday we had Fire & Water Sunday (the students were in charge of all morning services) and we had our Back To School Bash. So after, Lorie and I left town.
We decided to go camping. Here's a picture of our little campsite in Tippecanoe River Campgrounds. It was our first time with this tent (Lorie didn't like my mini so we got a new one). Okay, this one was a little large, but we were compromising. We camped a little less my way (hike until you find water, poop in the forest) and a little more like she does (we had a mattress, which I will be honest, was really comfy).
Since it is a state park, we did a bit of hiking (we're nature people). Here's a picture of the waterfowl preserve we went by. The fun part about it is it's an otter release point, unfortunately, we saw no otters (that would have made Lorie's year!). But we did see all sorts of other woodland creatures. Our list was deer, wild turkey, blue and black herons, woodpeckers (and other birds), squirrels, chipmunks, turtles, frogs, and of course, Clover's favorite, bunnies.
Here's one of the bunnies who was lying out waiting for us. We saw a few, but this guy was all stretched out and posed. Anyway...
One more of the pretty areas we saw. I have to go, but I'll put more pics up later, amybe even of my textbook cooking fires...
We decided to go camping. Here's a picture of our little campsite in Tippecanoe River Campgrounds. It was our first time with this tent (Lorie didn't like my mini so we got a new one). Okay, this one was a little large, but we were compromising. We camped a little less my way (hike until you find water, poop in the forest) and a little more like she does (we had a mattress, which I will be honest, was really comfy).
Since it is a state park, we did a bit of hiking (we're nature people). Here's a picture of the waterfowl preserve we went by. The fun part about it is it's an otter release point, unfortunately, we saw no otters (that would have made Lorie's year!). But we did see all sorts of other woodland creatures. Our list was deer, wild turkey, blue and black herons, woodpeckers (and other birds), squirrels, chipmunks, turtles, frogs, and of course, Clover's favorite, bunnies.
Here's one of the bunnies who was lying out waiting for us. We saw a few, but this guy was all stretched out and posed. Anyway...
One more of the pretty areas we saw. I have to go, but I'll put more pics up later, amybe even of my textbook cooking fires...T
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Improv Christianity
This morning I was awoken by thunder at way too early of an hour and was lying there with many things going through my head, this being one of them. I don't know why, and I don't know if it was in a dream or something, but it made pretty good sense at 6am with only 4 1/2 hours sleep.
Anyway, here was the thought. That we have Acting Christians and Improv Christians. And I don't mean improv by making up your own faith. Here's what I mean.
Think of your favorite comedic actor. How funny they are. How they make you laugh. Now there's only one problem. They do not actually say anything of their own. Every line they give, everything they say, it is all written by someone else. They are fed lines. Now, they may deliver them well, but the idea, the essence of what makes you laugh is not theirs. Now improv is the opposite. The actor, they make up everything, every single word that comes out of their mouth is completely and 100% theirs.
So this was my thinking this morning. How many Acting Christians do we have? People that say they believe in Jesus, but they really don't own their faith at all. They can't say anything they believe themselves, all they can do is recite what's been told to them. Like comedic actors, they can do it well, but it's still not their faith, their simply giving out someone else's interpretation of God and saying it the best they can. I think we need more Improv Christians. Improv is messier, it's not as scripted, it's harder to follow sometimes, but it is all theirs. The Christian doing "improv", it's what they believe, it's what they adhere to, it's them doing the best they can to figure out who God is and explain it to others.
I think we need more Improv Christians, not just actors who can recite lines well...
T
Anyway, here was the thought. That we have Acting Christians and Improv Christians. And I don't mean improv by making up your own faith. Here's what I mean.
Think of your favorite comedic actor. How funny they are. How they make you laugh. Now there's only one problem. They do not actually say anything of their own. Every line they give, everything they say, it is all written by someone else. They are fed lines. Now, they may deliver them well, but the idea, the essence of what makes you laugh is not theirs. Now improv is the opposite. The actor, they make up everything, every single word that comes out of their mouth is completely and 100% theirs.
So this was my thinking this morning. How many Acting Christians do we have? People that say they believe in Jesus, but they really don't own their faith at all. They can't say anything they believe themselves, all they can do is recite what's been told to them. Like comedic actors, they can do it well, but it's still not their faith, their simply giving out someone else's interpretation of God and saying it the best they can. I think we need more Improv Christians. Improv is messier, it's not as scripted, it's harder to follow sometimes, but it is all theirs. The Christian doing "improv", it's what they believe, it's what they adhere to, it's them doing the best they can to figure out who God is and explain it to others.
I think we need more Improv Christians, not just actors who can recite lines well...
T
Monday, July 28, 2008
Too Much Freedom?
It's a question I've heard before. When I was growing up my English teacher had two foreign exchange students from a semi-Communist country stay with her and she told us about how they saw us in Canada as having too much freedom. How since we don't have as many rules we end up hurting ourselves more, since there is no strong opposing force like in their homeland we end up not really respecting authority and it comes to our own detriment because we end up hurting ourselves.
Tonight I was reading about the Temptation of Jesus (you can find it in Matthew 4 or Luke 4 if you're interested). The author was talking about how Jesus could have used that moment of temptation to "fix" our world, but instead left us with the freedom to do what we want, even ultimately reject Him. We are left with so much freedom spiritually that we can even allow our spirits to die...
But that's the beauty of God. He gives us the freedom to decide whether or not to serve Him, and He doesn't even try to make it easy by giving us some miraculous sign in the sky or by revealing Himself as we see fit. Instead, He gives us almost more freedom than we can handle to make a choice to serve Him. Why? It's quite simple. Because devotion caused by an outside force is called oppression. Devotion by choice out of freedom is called love.
Last night at Drink Deep we talked about how I cannot (or can anyone else) force God on someone. It is a choice and if you want to get to know God better it is up to you to spend time with Him, up to you to read your Bible, up to you to serve, up to you to love, up to you to ______. No one else can do that for you, part of being free is it is up to you, for better or for worse. (If you want to talk about that more, we have a discussion on Sunday nights at http://www.fumcfireandwater.net/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=79&page=1#Item_0).
Just something to think about. As William Wallace said in Braveheart, "And what will you do with that freedom?" As the Apostle Paul said, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1a).
T
Tonight I was reading about the Temptation of Jesus (you can find it in Matthew 4 or Luke 4 if you're interested). The author was talking about how Jesus could have used that moment of temptation to "fix" our world, but instead left us with the freedom to do what we want, even ultimately reject Him. We are left with so much freedom spiritually that we can even allow our spirits to die...
But that's the beauty of God. He gives us the freedom to decide whether or not to serve Him, and He doesn't even try to make it easy by giving us some miraculous sign in the sky or by revealing Himself as we see fit. Instead, He gives us almost more freedom than we can handle to make a choice to serve Him. Why? It's quite simple. Because devotion caused by an outside force is called oppression. Devotion by choice out of freedom is called love.
Last night at Drink Deep we talked about how I cannot (or can anyone else) force God on someone. It is a choice and if you want to get to know God better it is up to you to spend time with Him, up to you to read your Bible, up to you to serve, up to you to love, up to you to ______. No one else can do that for you, part of being free is it is up to you, for better or for worse. (If you want to talk about that more, we have a discussion on Sunday nights at http://www.fumcfireandwater.net/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=79&page=1#Item_0).
Just something to think about. As William Wallace said in Braveheart, "And what will you do with that freedom?" As the Apostle Paul said, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1a).
T
Friday, July 25, 2008
Coahoma, Day 6 (Friday)
This is it, our last day. One van got up nice and early and were on the road by 5:35 (lunatics). All I know is they made it home safely and they were flying (very few potty breaks I hear).
As for the rest of us, we were up at 6:30 and cleaning. The boy's bathroom never smelled so good. Cleaned everything and anything all before 8:30, where we went out to our meeting place and said our last good-bye's. Except for one little difference, all of us being from the same church, and some of us missing. So we didn't really have a long tearful good-bye with lots of pictures. But, we did give lots of hugs to the Youthworks staff and had a final prayer with the mayor.
The drive home, long and uneventful. I don't like coming home from the south (I've done this drive before) because you have a section where you switch states almost every hour, but then you hit southern Illinois. And it keeps going, and going, and going.
Bu, we finally made it home, almost right on time as predicted. The only fun part about being home, Steve Williams dented the van in the parking lot. That's right, we drove 2000 miles, nothing, but in our own parking lot, while home, that's when we dent the van. It could be worse, no one was hurt and the damage was very minor, but oh the fun that added.
So that's it in a nutshell, our trip to MS. Hopefully others that went will comment or you can read the discussion boards at our website to find out more, and there are some pics up there too (www.fumcfireandwater.com). Until next year, mindless drivel from me to come!
T
As for the rest of us, we were up at 6:30 and cleaning. The boy's bathroom never smelled so good. Cleaned everything and anything all before 8:30, where we went out to our meeting place and said our last good-bye's. Except for one little difference, all of us being from the same church, and some of us missing. So we didn't really have a long tearful good-bye with lots of pictures. But, we did give lots of hugs to the Youthworks staff and had a final prayer with the mayor.
The drive home, long and uneventful. I don't like coming home from the south (I've done this drive before) because you have a section where you switch states almost every hour, but then you hit southern Illinois. And it keeps going, and going, and going.
Bu, we finally made it home, almost right on time as predicted. The only fun part about being home, Steve Williams dented the van in the parking lot. That's right, we drove 2000 miles, nothing, but in our own parking lot, while home, that's when we dent the van. It could be worse, no one was hurt and the damage was very minor, but oh the fun that added.
So that's it in a nutshell, our trip to MS. Hopefully others that went will comment or you can read the discussion boards at our website to find out more, and there are some pics up there too (www.fumcfireandwater.com). Until next year, mindless drivel from me to come!
T
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Coahoma, Day 5 (Thursday)
Okay, so this was the hardest day of the trip by far. There's a couple of reasons, like these...
First, my group ended up going to a retirement home for the morning. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I was told that every person we talked to had some form of Alzheimer's. That makes things tough right away. But, we get there, first walk in, and there a woman who says nothing other than "Help Me! Please!" It was soooo hard. She didn't understand the nurses were helping her, and they were completely loving to her, thank goodness. I ended up talking with a guy who grew up in Mississippi, then moved to Chicago for a while and is now back home. Having Lorie's family in Chicago it was easy to talk to him, and having Adam with me (the biggest Bears fan around) we had a good talk. He also like to color, he worked really hard at coloring a picture of an apple. It was also weird that people there were allowed to have snuff. It was a little odd.
After that we went to the last day of sports camp, even hotter than before. Hottest day yet, the guys were even harder to work with, and our students were now a little more tired. it just was a great combination, but we got through it, we managed to talk to the kids about Jesus and obedience. That's the most important thing :)
What made it worse was on the hottest day after we played football. How did we do? I threw the game winning interception. But that was followed by a shower, and yet again clean socks have never felt so good.
For dinner we had a community dinner. The mayor made his home-made fried chicken, the rumor is he actually injected spice and hot sauce into the chicken. It was awesome. Honestly, it was great to have southern home cooking again. I didn't realize how much I missed it. So dinner was great!
Then came the footwashing ceremony. Always great, but with one minor problem. Right before dinner the air conditioner broke in our meeting room. It had to have been 100 degrees in there with 90% humidity. Don't believe me? When I walked in I could suck the moisture out of the air. Then the Youthworkers asked me to play a worship song to buy them a few minutes. I was sweating after the second chord. It was incredibly hot. But, prayer is always more important. We (our wonderful adult ministers!) prayed with every single student, some more than once. People were praying and caring for each other for hours. We didn't stop until after 11:45, and honestly, the only reason we stopped that early was the stinging in our eyes from the combination of sweat and tears and 90% humidity. The students were so great together, we actually ended up staying up a little and letting them shower at night, it was only fair.
It's odd, we've been a Youthworks trip before and we knew the footwashing was coming, but it was really great. Adults who had never been on the trip before were asking to pray with students, people were running all over and talking with other students, praying for them, hugging, caring, just actually living the love of Christ and praying for their friends.
So that was the last night, trip home tomorrow.
T
First, my group ended up going to a retirement home for the morning. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I was told that every person we talked to had some form of Alzheimer's. That makes things tough right away. But, we get there, first walk in, and there a woman who says nothing other than "Help Me! Please!" It was soooo hard. She didn't understand the nurses were helping her, and they were completely loving to her, thank goodness. I ended up talking with a guy who grew up in Mississippi, then moved to Chicago for a while and is now back home. Having Lorie's family in Chicago it was easy to talk to him, and having Adam with me (the biggest Bears fan around) we had a good talk. He also like to color, he worked really hard at coloring a picture of an apple. It was also weird that people there were allowed to have snuff. It was a little odd.
After that we went to the last day of sports camp, even hotter than before. Hottest day yet, the guys were even harder to work with, and our students were now a little more tired. it just was a great combination, but we got through it, we managed to talk to the kids about Jesus and obedience. That's the most important thing :)
What made it worse was on the hottest day after we played football. How did we do? I threw the game winning interception. But that was followed by a shower, and yet again clean socks have never felt so good.
For dinner we had a community dinner. The mayor made his home-made fried chicken, the rumor is he actually injected spice and hot sauce into the chicken. It was awesome. Honestly, it was great to have southern home cooking again. I didn't realize how much I missed it. So dinner was great!
Then came the footwashing ceremony. Always great, but with one minor problem. Right before dinner the air conditioner broke in our meeting room. It had to have been 100 degrees in there with 90% humidity. Don't believe me? When I walked in I could suck the moisture out of the air. Then the Youthworkers asked me to play a worship song to buy them a few minutes. I was sweating after the second chord. It was incredibly hot. But, prayer is always more important. We (our wonderful adult ministers!) prayed with every single student, some more than once. People were praying and caring for each other for hours. We didn't stop until after 11:45, and honestly, the only reason we stopped that early was the stinging in our eyes from the combination of sweat and tears and 90% humidity. The students were so great together, we actually ended up staying up a little and letting them shower at night, it was only fair.
It's odd, we've been a Youthworks trip before and we knew the footwashing was coming, but it was really great. Adults who had never been on the trip before were asking to pray with students, people were running all over and talking with other students, praying for them, hugging, caring, just actually living the love of Christ and praying for their friends.
So that was the last night, trip home tomorrow.
T
Coahoma, Day 4 (Wednesday)
Sorry this post is late, I was busy last night...
Either way, Wednesday was a fun day for some people. Most the people on workcamps now change to kids club and some on kids club go to do workcamps. So the first part of the morning was a little orientation again. But, it was great for those switching, a new role and a new view of Coahoma. For my group, we ended up getting a few things done for the next two days of Outrageous Sports Camp and then finished with more of the boarding up windows we started yesterday.
The afternoon was spent outside playing basketball again, but today was even hotter. Because of that a few kids didn't show up, which is a down side, but it was also burning up on the asphalt, which made it a little harder. But it must have been okay because after our sports camp a few of the students went out and played a game of Ultimate Frisbee, i was busy taking a nice, long shower. Apparently it was a good game though, 20-19.
The evening was a quick dinner of pizza (always good) followed by a church service in Jonestown. It was a very excited, spirited service with a great choir. The speaker did a great job, she talked about her ordeal with cancer and how she kept waiting for God to heal her, but instead He was more concerned that she praise Him despite her situation instead of taking her our of the situation. It was also good for the students, they all got really into it, now they just need to understand that we can be that excited at our church, just someone needs to start it...
It was another late night and because we got out of club late, we got brownies in our small group time followed by bed (and again, people were out almost right away, the problem was right before bed we had a small serenade... from Aladdin...).
T
Either way, Wednesday was a fun day for some people. Most the people on workcamps now change to kids club and some on kids club go to do workcamps. So the first part of the morning was a little orientation again. But, it was great for those switching, a new role and a new view of Coahoma. For my group, we ended up getting a few things done for the next two days of Outrageous Sports Camp and then finished with more of the boarding up windows we started yesterday.
The afternoon was spent outside playing basketball again, but today was even hotter. Because of that a few kids didn't show up, which is a down side, but it was also burning up on the asphalt, which made it a little harder. But it must have been okay because after our sports camp a few of the students went out and played a game of Ultimate Frisbee, i was busy taking a nice, long shower. Apparently it was a good game though, 20-19.
The evening was a quick dinner of pizza (always good) followed by a church service in Jonestown. It was a very excited, spirited service with a great choir. The speaker did a great job, she talked about her ordeal with cancer and how she kept waiting for God to heal her, but instead He was more concerned that she praise Him despite her situation instead of taking her our of the situation. It was also good for the students, they all got really into it, now they just need to understand that we can be that excited at our church, just someone needs to start it...
It was another late night and because we got out of club late, we got brownies in our small group time followed by bed (and again, people were out almost right away, the problem was right before bed we had a small serenade... from Aladdin...).
T
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Coahoma, Day 3 (Tuesday)
Another hot and sunny day. At least I got to sleep in... until 7:15... Knock-off name cereal tastes great at 7:23...
Today our focus was on poverty. The devotions were really good focusing on what poverty means, what real poverty is, etc. We started out the day working, painting boards to be put on the broken windows of the school house. Everyone worked hard, well, except me. I painted a bit then got talking to the mayor, a great guy. We talked about some of the things we could do for Coahoma, and after a little discussion and looking at what projects we can do, Derrick (Youthworker staff) went to town and got some supplies. That's one reason I like Youthworks. Although there is no way we could get everything done, split the work over a month and 4 different work groups, it can happen. I like being a part of a bigger plan. The downside, town is far away and we got lots of supplies, so I didn't get lunch for a while, we had to go to sports camp right away.
Yeah, another nightmare there. The school decided to paint the stage in the gym, meaning we were not able to run our basketball camp in there (I wonder if they did it on purpose). So we moved to the outdoor court at the park in the middle of town. Oh so hot. But, it worked out. Day two is always a little better, we know a the kids better. Can't complain too much when you're playing basketball all day. And talking about Jesus. A great combination.
Getting back, we found out the other groups had been working really, really hard. They got most of their projects done, not just a little bit done, but done well and completed so the groups tomorrow need new jobs. Great day! Followed by tacos, the day just keeps getting better...
For our evening activity we went to Alabama to a lookout over the Mississippi river. It's crazy to think that a hundred years ago before the levee's the Mississippi would divert 25 miles in any direction, giving Coahoma a luscious topsoil great for farming. Now, it stays still so we can see it and cross it easily. For the activity, still focusing on poverty, the groups were given the actual finances of some people in Coahoma and told to budget. It's not easy to make $540 a month feed and clothe 4 kids. It was a great exercise for the students, especially when some of them realized their summer job makes more than an entire family. On the way home, Rich's van got lost, so all of us waiting sang worship. Everyone was super loud, it was great. We then talked more about poverty. You could hear the collective gasp when they learned that 80% of the world lived in sub-standard housing. they kind of expected only a small portion would have Internet, but a roof, you kind of hope that's universal.
That should have been the end of the night, but people were really hyper (thanks in part to Rich Clark buying them Mountain Dew). The guys were loud and joking, even Steve Williams was laughing hard. The girls, just as hyper, with an end result of Alex Clark breaking her toe jumping from one bunk bed to another. She's fine, but it was the excitement of the night. After turning out the hall lights, everyone was in asleep pretty quick.
For some groups it was the last day on their work camps/kids club. Most of the groups switch tomorrow. We'll have to see what happens with that...
T
Today our focus was on poverty. The devotions were really good focusing on what poverty means, what real poverty is, etc. We started out the day working, painting boards to be put on the broken windows of the school house. Everyone worked hard, well, except me. I painted a bit then got talking to the mayor, a great guy. We talked about some of the things we could do for Coahoma, and after a little discussion and looking at what projects we can do, Derrick (Youthworker staff) went to town and got some supplies. That's one reason I like Youthworks. Although there is no way we could get everything done, split the work over a month and 4 different work groups, it can happen. I like being a part of a bigger plan. The downside, town is far away and we got lots of supplies, so I didn't get lunch for a while, we had to go to sports camp right away.
Yeah, another nightmare there. The school decided to paint the stage in the gym, meaning we were not able to run our basketball camp in there (I wonder if they did it on purpose). So we moved to the outdoor court at the park in the middle of town. Oh so hot. But, it worked out. Day two is always a little better, we know a the kids better. Can't complain too much when you're playing basketball all day. And talking about Jesus. A great combination.
Getting back, we found out the other groups had been working really, really hard. They got most of their projects done, not just a little bit done, but done well and completed so the groups tomorrow need new jobs. Great day! Followed by tacos, the day just keeps getting better...
For our evening activity we went to Alabama to a lookout over the Mississippi river. It's crazy to think that a hundred years ago before the levee's the Mississippi would divert 25 miles in any direction, giving Coahoma a luscious topsoil great for farming. Now, it stays still so we can see it and cross it easily. For the activity, still focusing on poverty, the groups were given the actual finances of some people in Coahoma and told to budget. It's not easy to make $540 a month feed and clothe 4 kids. It was a great exercise for the students, especially when some of them realized their summer job makes more than an entire family. On the way home, Rich's van got lost, so all of us waiting sang worship. Everyone was super loud, it was great. We then talked more about poverty. You could hear the collective gasp when they learned that 80% of the world lived in sub-standard housing. they kind of expected only a small portion would have Internet, but a roof, you kind of hope that's universal.
That should have been the end of the night, but people were really hyper (thanks in part to Rich Clark buying them Mountain Dew). The guys were loud and joking, even Steve Williams was laughing hard. The girls, just as hyper, with an end result of Alex Clark breaking her toe jumping from one bunk bed to another. She's fine, but it was the excitement of the night. After turning out the hall lights, everyone was in asleep pretty quick.
For some groups it was the last day on their work camps/kids club. Most of the groups switch tomorrow. We'll have to see what happens with that...
T
Monday, July 21, 2008
Coahoma, Day 2 (Monday)
So as if sleeping on that tiny bunk bed (plus being in a strange place) didn't take away my zzz's, being on breakfast crew and having to start breakfast at 6:45 sure helped. On the plus side, we got it out of the way right off the bat, and it was sunny so that helped us get up, but it was still waaaay too early. Luckily all we had to do was put out cereal and the lunch stuff (I used a knife at 7:00am, not wise).
Our morning was orientation, all the groups learning about what they would be doing for the next few days. I ended up being in Outrageous Sports Camp, or in layman's terms, playing basketball for the week. We played a little game to get to know all of us on the crew, which was really for the benefit of Annie (our leader, a.k.a. Sporty Spice) since we all knew each other. We found out we were going to be talking about obedience for the week, by far a favorite with teenagers. We spent the morning figuring out the drills we would be doing (and testing them, of course) and getting together our questions for the small group discussion. After that was lunch and off to camp.
Now here's what I mean about "off to camp". In previous weeks it had just been the teens from Coahoma. This week we were taking them in vans to Jonestown a few minutes away and doing a combined camp at the elementary school there. We were told to expect about 8-10 from Coahoma, then when we get to Jonestown another 7-10, so 15-20 total. Yeah, not even close. More like 60 with all of us together. And all 60 on summer vacation, extremely hyper, and oh so willing to learn about obedience. It was mass chaos. On the plus side, our students did awesome! We had to make more small groups meaning people who weren't expecting to talk were suddenly leading, and they did a great job.
So after running around with 10-14 year olds for 2+ hours, I finally got my first shower in Coahoma. It wasn't the Ritz, but I will say this, there is no better feeling than clean socks. Oh how wondrous.
We also got to see a little bit more of Coahoma as we drove to and from Jonestown. It's always weird to see a small house, perfectly white, red trim, bars on the windows, it's own propane tank, satellite, little lights down the driveway and side of the house, then next to is a two room shack that's barely together. But one memory of Louisiana came flooding back to me. Everyone has a satellite dish. Everyone. It seems like people do not worry about their houses, but we all need TV. They also seem to like their cars too. Washed and shined, sitting in the driveway of a house that hasn't been painted since Nixon was in office.
A few hours later was my highlight of the night. We went to the Blues Museum in Clarksdale (http://www.deltabluesmuseum.org/). Being a musician and my father's son, it was great. A whole section dedicated to Muddy Waters and a guitar built from his old house, Robert Johnson stuff (none of the students knew who he was, I was so disappointed), I think my favorite has to be one of the locals named "Supa Chiken" with his guitar the "Chikentar". Anyway, I loved it. I ended up being the slowest, reading everything, looking at all the stuff, it was a great time. Then we headed to the small stage outside and got a real blues concert from Bill "Howl-N Madd" Perry (http://howl-n-madd.com/). He was great. I wasn't too happy that most of his songs for the students talked about whiskey, but he was a great guy and talked to everyone who wanted to after a few minutes. And one more note on that, since he'd kill me if I didn't say it, next year he will be in the movie "The Way Of War" with Cuba Gooding Jr. He only mentioned it about 60 times.
After we came back and had club together followed by what is normally "Church Small Group Time". Since we were all one big church we tried splitting everyone into smaller groups, and it seemed to work really well. Almost every single person added to the conversation (a little different from the night before where we all stayed together since it was the first night). But the people I had were great and talkative. Right up until a little bit before bed, at which everyone fell asleep just as quick as the night before (ah, quiet bliss...)
More tomorrow.
T
Our morning was orientation, all the groups learning about what they would be doing for the next few days. I ended up being in Outrageous Sports Camp, or in layman's terms, playing basketball for the week. We played a little game to get to know all of us on the crew, which was really for the benefit of Annie (our leader, a.k.a. Sporty Spice) since we all knew each other. We found out we were going to be talking about obedience for the week, by far a favorite with teenagers. We spent the morning figuring out the drills we would be doing (and testing them, of course) and getting together our questions for the small group discussion. After that was lunch and off to camp.
Now here's what I mean about "off to camp". In previous weeks it had just been the teens from Coahoma. This week we were taking them in vans to Jonestown a few minutes away and doing a combined camp at the elementary school there. We were told to expect about 8-10 from Coahoma, then when we get to Jonestown another 7-10, so 15-20 total. Yeah, not even close. More like 60 with all of us together. And all 60 on summer vacation, extremely hyper, and oh so willing to learn about obedience. It was mass chaos. On the plus side, our students did awesome! We had to make more small groups meaning people who weren't expecting to talk were suddenly leading, and they did a great job.
So after running around with 10-14 year olds for 2+ hours, I finally got my first shower in Coahoma. It wasn't the Ritz, but I will say this, there is no better feeling than clean socks. Oh how wondrous.
We also got to see a little bit more of Coahoma as we drove to and from Jonestown. It's always weird to see a small house, perfectly white, red trim, bars on the windows, it's own propane tank, satellite, little lights down the driveway and side of the house, then next to is a two room shack that's barely together. But one memory of Louisiana came flooding back to me. Everyone has a satellite dish. Everyone. It seems like people do not worry about their houses, but we all need TV. They also seem to like their cars too. Washed and shined, sitting in the driveway of a house that hasn't been painted since Nixon was in office.
A few hours later was my highlight of the night. We went to the Blues Museum in Clarksdale (http://www.deltabluesmuseum.org/). Being a musician and my father's son, it was great. A whole section dedicated to Muddy Waters and a guitar built from his old house, Robert Johnson stuff (none of the students knew who he was, I was so disappointed), I think my favorite has to be one of the locals named "Supa Chiken" with his guitar the "Chikentar". Anyway, I loved it. I ended up being the slowest, reading everything, looking at all the stuff, it was a great time. Then we headed to the small stage outside and got a real blues concert from Bill "Howl-N Madd" Perry (http://howl-n-madd.com/). He was great. I wasn't too happy that most of his songs for the students talked about whiskey, but he was a great guy and talked to everyone who wanted to after a few minutes. And one more note on that, since he'd kill me if I didn't say it, next year he will be in the movie "The Way Of War" with Cuba Gooding Jr. He only mentioned it about 60 times.
After we came back and had club together followed by what is normally "Church Small Group Time". Since we were all one big church we tried splitting everyone into smaller groups, and it seemed to work really well. Almost every single person added to the conversation (a little different from the night before where we all stayed together since it was the first night). But the people I had were great and talkative. Right up until a little bit before bed, at which everyone fell asleep just as quick as the night before (ah, quiet bliss...)
More tomorrow.
T
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Coahoma, Day 1 (Sunday)
So I'm going to do like past years and relate what happened on the missions trip exactly a week behind what really happened (there was no Internet there). Feel free to add comments for those who went!
So we left almost on time, 15 min. late. Not up to par with me, but I'll live through it. The only problem with the drive was at the point I realized that I forgot my sunglasses and my water bottle (and it's a big one I got for free, ask Kim Brown, she had the same one!) Not much happened on the way down, except for moving Steve Williams' van, a bad idea since everyone inside got mad and asked for him back (they must really love that guy).
We pulled up and realized just how small this town is (325). There were run down factories/cotton gins around and lots of houses that were falling apart, not to mention a tornado had apparently been through a few months before, huge trees were up rooted everywhere. But the town did not lack anything when it came to hospitality. Everyone waved as we came in and once we were there we immediately were playing sports with the people, I ended up playing baseball (or some version thereof). The only thing some people had to get used to was the fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, was black. There is one white family in town, the official statistic is 98.5% African-American (thanks Tay).
We actually got in a little early which was nice, it gave us a chance to meet the staff. The Youthworks guys and gals were really friendly, and it was easy to bond with them since we were the only church. And, another first, I was able to sit down with Jody (head Youthwork guy there) and split our students into the work stations/sites before dinner! I don't think that has ever, ever happened before. It was a great feeling to know that I was done the most time consuming piece, and also the one I am usually the most hated for ("But I don't want to do that...). We also got to unload our stuff in our "Air conditioned" rooms. Let's just say the swamp coolers in Mexico gave off more cool air...
We got to look around a little. We're staying "downtown" which basically is a little gravel circle with buildings around it. Our sleeping quarters is the old school. Our club room is in the building next to us which is church/town hall/mayor's office. He lives across the road in one of the nicer houses (and one of the few with bars on the doors and windows). We'll get to him a little later.
The only thing left is bedtime. A miracle happened. Everyone went to be happy, and everyone was out in about five minutes. By far the best time we've ever had falling asleep. Except for the fact that I'm in a really short bunk-bed under Adam Sopoci. More tomorrow!
T
So we left almost on time, 15 min. late. Not up to par with me, but I'll live through it. The only problem with the drive was at the point I realized that I forgot my sunglasses and my water bottle (and it's a big one I got for free, ask Kim Brown, she had the same one!) Not much happened on the way down, except for moving Steve Williams' van, a bad idea since everyone inside got mad and asked for him back (they must really love that guy).
We pulled up and realized just how small this town is (325). There were run down factories/cotton gins around and lots of houses that were falling apart, not to mention a tornado had apparently been through a few months before, huge trees were up rooted everywhere. But the town did not lack anything when it came to hospitality. Everyone waved as we came in and once we were there we immediately were playing sports with the people, I ended up playing baseball (or some version thereof). The only thing some people had to get used to was the fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, was black. There is one white family in town, the official statistic is 98.5% African-American (thanks Tay).
We actually got in a little early which was nice, it gave us a chance to meet the staff. The Youthworks guys and gals were really friendly, and it was easy to bond with them since we were the only church. And, another first, I was able to sit down with Jody (head Youthwork guy there) and split our students into the work stations/sites before dinner! I don't think that has ever, ever happened before. It was a great feeling to know that I was done the most time consuming piece, and also the one I am usually the most hated for ("But I don't want to do that...). We also got to unload our stuff in our "Air conditioned" rooms. Let's just say the swamp coolers in Mexico gave off more cool air...
We got to look around a little. We're staying "downtown" which basically is a little gravel circle with buildings around it. Our sleeping quarters is the old school. Our club room is in the building next to us which is church/town hall/mayor's office. He lives across the road in one of the nicer houses (and one of the few with bars on the doors and windows). We'll get to him a little later.
The only thing left is bedtime. A miracle happened. Everyone went to be happy, and everyone was out in about five minutes. By far the best time we've ever had falling asleep. Except for the fact that I'm in a really short bunk-bed under Adam Sopoci. More tomorrow!
T
Friday, July 11, 2008
Off On A Missions Trip
Sorry I haven't been on lately, I've been pre-occupied. On Sunday we're leaving on a missions trip to Coahoma, MS! The last few days have been doing the bestest part of any missions trip, paperwork! There's nothing more exciting than organizing, photocopying, filing people's health insurance information, covenants, all that fun stuff...
I'm going to try and blog from MS, we'll see if we have internet. But for today, all the paperwork is done and I have the T-Shirts. Oooooo...
T
I'm going to try and blog from MS, we'll see if we have internet. But for today, all the paperwork is done and I have the T-Shirts. Oooooo...
T
Friday, June 27, 2008
"I Told You So"
So I'm reading through Job, always a fun book, and although I've read it before, something hit me tonight.
A majority of the book, before God speaks, is simply Job and his friends bantering back and forth. They're trying to get him to either curse God and die or admit he sinned and let God end it (what wonderful choices) while Job is always maintaining his innocence.
But tonight I noticed something. In many of Job's responses, he basically says, "Why do you curse me? If there is something between God and I, let us work it out. Why don't you simply support me in my pain?" (loose paraphrase of the TV)
And it got me thinking as to how often we do this in the church. "If you simply read your Bible more..." or "Well, talk to God more...". When someone is in pain it seems like instead of identifying with them and acknowledging their pain, we tend to focus a lot more on spiritual "I told you so"s. Just a thought...
Another thought, this Sunday is the Fishers Freedom Festival Parade. Be watching for our float...
T
A majority of the book, before God speaks, is simply Job and his friends bantering back and forth. They're trying to get him to either curse God and die or admit he sinned and let God end it (what wonderful choices) while Job is always maintaining his innocence.
But tonight I noticed something. In many of Job's responses, he basically says, "Why do you curse me? If there is something between God and I, let us work it out. Why don't you simply support me in my pain?" (loose paraphrase of the TV)
And it got me thinking as to how often we do this in the church. "If you simply read your Bible more..." or "Well, talk to God more...". When someone is in pain it seems like instead of identifying with them and acknowledging their pain, we tend to focus a lot more on spiritual "I told you so"s. Just a thought...
Another thought, this Sunday is the Fishers Freedom Festival Parade. Be watching for our float...
T
Monday, June 16, 2008
Have You Ever...
My version of Liz' list. :)
1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight (does stopping one count?)
4. Changed a baby’s diaper (I've helped)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (at really big lake...)
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sporting event
17. Climbed the stairs to the crown of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (depending on how far back you go...)
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales (they weren't there the night we went, just the night before, and after)
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently (kinda fluently)
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check oops
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to a stranger
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ for one night at a friend's wedding
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone (not in a bad militant way)
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one (only in putt-putt)
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon (not a full one)
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet (a diet doesn't mean you want to lose weight...)
157. Found an arrowhead
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Been to the southern hemisphere
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane (the wings had duct tape on them!)
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood
188. Built a campfire
189. Have a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Fallen in love
Someone else's turn...
T
1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight (does stopping one count?)
4. Changed a baby’s diaper (I've helped)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (at really big lake...)
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sporting event
17. Climbed the stairs to the crown of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (depending on how far back you go...)
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales (they weren't there the night we went, just the night before, and after)
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently (kinda fluently)
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check oops
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to a stranger
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ for one night at a friend's wedding
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone (not in a bad militant way)
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one (only in putt-putt)
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon (not a full one)
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet (a diet doesn't mean you want to lose weight...)
157. Found an arrowhead
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Been to the southern hemisphere
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane (the wings had duct tape on them!)
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood
188. Built a campfire
189. Have a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Fallen in love
Someone else's turn...
T
Monday, June 09, 2008
Where Do You Run?
This last weekend was kind of crazy. There was massive flooding all over the great state of Indiana. Pastor Mike was even stuck for a while, barely made it back for Sunday service (I'm glad he did, I'm even more glad he didn't stay at the hotel in Columbus he wanted to, the parking lot was flooded!)
So before service I'm praying with Cindy, our head of Stephen Ministry. Someone from that group always comes and prays with me before NewSong, and I'm so glad they do. Anyway, she mentioned in her prayer all the people that would not be in church that day. After, we were talking and we thought about all the people who would be in church that day. If you were watching TV or the news you would have seen that in all the flooding, most of the disaster meeting places were churches. Even our own church is a disaster meeting place, if something goes wrong and people need help, they're supposed to come here.
And it got me thinking. Isn't it funny how even now, thousands of years later, technology as it is, people all so "enlightened" that even now when a disaster strikes, people run to the church. Not the schools, the town hall, the safest office buildings, nope, we run to the church.
If only we could get the message out that it's not just for dire physical emergencies. Emotional trouble, spiritual disasters, even a place to meet when times are good so we condition our souls so there won't be a disaster. Just a thought...
Proverbs 18:10 ~ The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.
Psalms 46:1-2 ~ God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea-storm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
T
So before service I'm praying with Cindy, our head of Stephen Ministry. Someone from that group always comes and prays with me before NewSong, and I'm so glad they do. Anyway, she mentioned in her prayer all the people that would not be in church that day. After, we were talking and we thought about all the people who would be in church that day. If you were watching TV or the news you would have seen that in all the flooding, most of the disaster meeting places were churches. Even our own church is a disaster meeting place, if something goes wrong and people need help, they're supposed to come here.
And it got me thinking. Isn't it funny how even now, thousands of years later, technology as it is, people all so "enlightened" that even now when a disaster strikes, people run to the church. Not the schools, the town hall, the safest office buildings, nope, we run to the church.
If only we could get the message out that it's not just for dire physical emergencies. Emotional trouble, spiritual disasters, even a place to meet when times are good so we condition our souls so there won't be a disaster. Just a thought...
Proverbs 18:10 ~ The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.
Psalms 46:1-2 ~ God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea-storm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
T
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Typecasting
For some reason I've been thinking a lot about typecasting, how we see someone do one thing and forever label them.
I guess it started when I was reading about Margaret Hamilton. Don't feel bad, I didn't know who that was at first. She played the wicked witch in "The Wizard Of Oz" (actually she played both of them, quite a feat). So after laughing about her name in the movie being Elmira Gulch (name your kid that) they were talking about how she wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. The problem was, every kid recognized her as the wicked witch and were scared of her. Even when she was quite old people would still ask her was she was so mean to Dorothy...
It wasn't real. She didn't do it. She was acting. And now forever people associate her with that one role. So do we ever do that to people? They acted a certain way once and forever they're black-listed? I know someone who is like that with restaurants. If they eat at one that's bad, the entire chain is out forever (our list of places to eat is growing thin).
Okay, one more. Jamie Walters (again, don't feel bad, I had to look him up). He was on Beverly Hills 90210, the original, not the dorky whatever-it-is remake they're doing. He was Donna's boyfriend who was abusive to her. Played the part well. Here's the problem, forever he was labeled as an abuser. He's a musician and people would come up to him after a concert and ask how he could be so mean to Donna. He was acting. I'm sure she survived, but even years later people still see him on the street and bug him about it.
It's so easy. Lorie's sitting next to me and asked about the people in constipation commercials or adult diaper commercials...
T
I guess it started when I was reading about Margaret Hamilton. Don't feel bad, I didn't know who that was at first. She played the wicked witch in "The Wizard Of Oz" (actually she played both of them, quite a feat). So after laughing about her name in the movie being Elmira Gulch (name your kid that) they were talking about how she wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. The problem was, every kid recognized her as the wicked witch and were scared of her. Even when she was quite old people would still ask her was she was so mean to Dorothy...
It wasn't real. She didn't do it. She was acting. And now forever people associate her with that one role. So do we ever do that to people? They acted a certain way once and forever they're black-listed? I know someone who is like that with restaurants. If they eat at one that's bad, the entire chain is out forever (our list of places to eat is growing thin).
Okay, one more. Jamie Walters (again, don't feel bad, I had to look him up). He was on Beverly Hills 90210, the original, not the dorky whatever-it-is remake they're doing. He was Donna's boyfriend who was abusive to her. Played the part well. Here's the problem, forever he was labeled as an abuser. He's a musician and people would come up to him after a concert and ask how he could be so mean to Donna. He was acting. I'm sure she survived, but even years later people still see him on the street and bug him about it.
It's so easy. Lorie's sitting next to me and asked about the people in constipation commercials or adult diaper commercials...
T
Monday, May 26, 2008
Could We Forget Easter?
So tonight I was reading a favorite Bible story of mine, that of King Josiah. I don't know why, but I'm always drawn to it.
Quick recap, an 8 year old is made king. After a few years he decides maybe Israel should start following God again and rebuilds the temple. While rebuilding the temple they find the Book of Law. He reads it aloud to everyone, they decide to follow what's in it. They celebrate Passover and all is well.
Cool. Great. But it just boggles my mind. How did they lose the Bible? I mean really, a Holy Book that is the cornerstone to the entire civilization is lost. (If you want to see what things were really considered important to those involved, read how the guy who finds the Bible gives it to someone to give the king, and that guy reports on all the money being spent on the temple, then adds, "Oh yeah, and we found this book...") Can you imagine us today losing the Bible? It just seems so messed up.
But then I read about the Passover. They celebrated Passover. Why is that important? Because they hadn't been celebrating Passover. It's like us forgetting Easter. Really? Forget Easter? Just forget there's a holiday on that day? It's like our holiday, big meal, day off work, family time, just forgotten. They even add in the midst of the story that Passover had not been celebrated like this since Samuel was a prophet. Okay, seriously? That was 450 years ago!!
I just wonder how that happens. Obviously it's not an overnight thing, it took possibly hundreds of years and lots of bad leaders. But could it happen to us. I mean, could we actually lose the Bible and forget Easter in a country that says we're a Christian nation? So how did it start? Possibly by taking the Holy Book out of the classroom, by removing it from the place where laws are made and/or upheld...?
Just thoughts...
T
Quick recap, an 8 year old is made king. After a few years he decides maybe Israel should start following God again and rebuilds the temple. While rebuilding the temple they find the Book of Law. He reads it aloud to everyone, they decide to follow what's in it. They celebrate Passover and all is well.
Cool. Great. But it just boggles my mind. How did they lose the Bible? I mean really, a Holy Book that is the cornerstone to the entire civilization is lost. (If you want to see what things were really considered important to those involved, read how the guy who finds the Bible gives it to someone to give the king, and that guy reports on all the money being spent on the temple, then adds, "Oh yeah, and we found this book...") Can you imagine us today losing the Bible? It just seems so messed up.
But then I read about the Passover. They celebrated Passover. Why is that important? Because they hadn't been celebrating Passover. It's like us forgetting Easter. Really? Forget Easter? Just forget there's a holiday on that day? It's like our holiday, big meal, day off work, family time, just forgotten. They even add in the midst of the story that Passover had not been celebrated like this since Samuel was a prophet. Okay, seriously? That was 450 years ago!!
I just wonder how that happens. Obviously it's not an overnight thing, it took possibly hundreds of years and lots of bad leaders. But could it happen to us. I mean, could we actually lose the Bible and forget Easter in a country that says we're a Christian nation? So how did it start? Possibly by taking the Holy Book out of the classroom, by removing it from the place where laws are made and/or upheld...?
Just thoughts...
T
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