Doc's Office

The Story of Love

2009-12-02T23:33:00.000-04:00

This is the dramatic reading that I will be painting to at the lock down this friday

In the beginning there was nothing.
It was black then with the words of
God's voice there was light.
Love created sky, earth, the seas,
Life.
Life was created in the image of God
made by his Love.
Then one day life betrayed Love.
This is how sin entered into the world
God and Love, did not abandon life though
He sent signs for life to find him.
There will be a star in the sky,
and a baby in swaddling clothing.
His name will be Jesus!
He will wash away all our sins.
Jesus came to give the truth.
Even though he knew that we would not listen.
Love cried out to us,
and we chained him down.
We pierced the hands that healed the sick,
then we pulled his broken, scarred, body up to the cross
In his final hours,
Love cried out to his father.
Though we were killing him, he still forgave us
with his final breath.
He...Forgave... me.
But the story doesn't end there,
Jesus did not stay in the grave.
Love does not die!
Jesus rose from the dead and all who believe in him no longer have to fear death,
they are no longer a victim of sin.
All those who believe in Jesus now have their name written in the Lambs Book of Life.
This is the story of Love.

Five Years Gone

2009-11-09T01:16:00.000-04:00

Life is a strange thing. Thats part of the fun of things. Quite frequently when I'm bored, which tends to happen a good deal at work, I play a little game I call '5 years gone'. This is just a little self evaluation exercise I guess. The game basically works think back 5 years what were you doing? who were you then? what were your ambitions then? and finally what would that you from 5 years ago think of you?
So of these questions can be just a little sobering. I don't think there are a lot of us that are close to where we thought we would be five years ago. For example: I didn't think I would still be living in Sussex, or really Canada for that matter. I thought I would be a pastor in a church or at least working with a church plant. I thought I would be married (honestly though back then it was wishful thinking/ God shows grace in the coolest things). Depending on the week I though I would be in the middle of my masters work. And there were probably a few other things in there.
In all honesty other than getting married I am no where near where I thought I would be. Here's the thing though the only thing that was in that list that I really left in God's hands was the marriage; which by far is why it is so blessed I've never taken a hold of it, it is totally God's. Everything else though was my plan. FYI for anyone that doesn't know my plans tend to suck. They might be fun sometimes but in the end they are short lived.
The other thing is God's plan doesn't sense. Right now God is leading me on a path of poverty. Most of my friends would say this is an easy task, were poor college students/ post college people, we don't have money. No we might not but we have stuff. So I've been selling my stuff. It's weird because all this stuff I've been hoarding that I put such an attachment value to just feels like its taking up space. I'm filled with the conviction that I don't need stuff and this stuff has a monetary value that can go to some one else that needs it. Or how about the fact God has placed a clear call on my life to plant a church in SLC yet he is taking me to Africa soon (check out providencemonday.blogspot.com for more info) and then possibly Korea. In his omnipotence i'm sure God can read a map so I'm not sure why he's leading me the long route . And right now God has me working in a church with a youth group that I thought I had quit. But instead he has me being a servant doing what needs to be done, and honestly being more full filled than I was when I was being a pastor.
I don't understand a lot, but what little I do have know this God is in control. Or at least he is supposed to be. I don't think in a million years I would be able to figure out where it is exactly God will lead me the next five years. I don't know if want to know what happens to make that person, because as much as the joy excites me the pain scares me (even the little sample that we've had this year was heart breaking). Honestly I think I would have trouble recognizing that person, just as I have trouble remembering who it was I was five years ago. But God knows that person.
Like I said at the beginning life is weird. It doesn't always go where you want, but it can be some thing beautiful and rewarding when your done.

NaNo and the other blog

2009-11-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

I am now full swing into NaNoWriMo for my first time. Hopefully I will write a novel out of this. Though I am constantly wondering if I have enough for 50 pages let alone the 50,000 word goal. Because I saw some one else do this and thought it was kewl I will be posting one page a day in another blog. If you go to IamMonsterdaily.blogspot.com than you can read this as I write it. For those who read my blogs on facebook I will not be linking this blog (I think, it might just do that any ways despite my intentions). Anyways have fun reading.

Grace

2009-08-31T00:26:00.002-03:00

There are so many concepts that we say Christianity hinges on. This may just be because it sounds good to say something hinges on one idea, though on the other side maybe it is because God, Christ, is the center. That is why his name is in Christianity. And Christ being God is so encompassing that choosing one thing as what he wants to communicate to us a little impossible because he is all of that. Jesus is love. Jesus is truth. Jesus is compassion. Jesus was a healer, he did evangelize, he was full of wisdom. And his life was a testimony of grace.

All of these things are true about Jesus, and should be true about his followers. There are so many other things that could be listed with those just listed because Jesus crammed so much into three years that in over two millenia we are still scratching our heads and leaving our jaws gaped open saying "what?". We don't get it, well we kind of do but not really. One of the ones i think we miss the most out of all of them, which maybe is why we have trouble with some of the other ones is grace.

Christians and Atheists alike and all persuasions in between seem able to quote John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He sent his only begotten son. That is grace. In all of history humans have sucked. God made us good, but then we went and did something that wasn't cool. We took control away from God. So God justly had to punish us. We had to work now, God still loved us, but we had to work to live. Our relationship with God was different now, but instead of us trying to restore it, we decided to carnally dive inward and take more control and force God away.

This is like the teenager that does something wrong, is then grounded, but instead of apologizing and admitting their err, sneaks out the window running away. The father would be heart broken over their child running away. Equally so God wept for us leaving him. Over time we wouldn't just leave him thinking we new better but we would join together and form new gods in our rebellion. The bible describes us as prostituting ourselves to these fake gods. Imagine being this father again desperately wanting to have your child back, then you get word that they are in the city and someone saw them on that street corner. As soon as you hear them say that you know what they mean. Your child is giving themselves away, again and again. Slowly being destroyed by one abusive stranger after another, being whittled away into despair as they try to desperately try and regain the love they used to freely have. What is a father to do what was our father to do?

God being God though new exactly what was going to happen. It is part of who he is to know yet to love us through everything. He formed us with his hands, and as he carved each intricate detail of who we are knew what we would do, yet he breathed life into us and loved. He could have decided that everything was perfect before Adam. But he loved us so, he made us.

As our father, God had to do something for us. He loved us so he had to rescue us. By no means did we deserve this kind of love. Most of us if we were betrayed at even a fraction of the level that we betrayed God would stop loving, yet he continued. From the moment God decided that he would love us he knew what that would cost him. Jesus was the price for love.

If God being the loving father that he is, wanted to restore full relationship with us than a sacrifice had to be made. One that could be given without question. God's love for us spurned grace.

God in love could have chosen to give us only what we deserve. Which as time passed for many of us was less and less. The majority of us right now if not all of us only deserve hell. But God is so full of love that he gave us grace, what we did not deserve, and made a way for us to come home.

Conviction, Sin, and a Tree full of tasty fruit

2009-04-19T22:20:00.003-03:00

For the last few years I have had the interesting opportunity for hosting a guys accountability night. This is done to address the issue of guys falling prey to pornography. With this well in mind it always takes me by surprise that this is really a problem. I'm not sure why it takes me by so much surprise though as for the longest time I was in the same boat. How did this become such a huge issue?

In the letters to the Corinthians, Paul had to deal with a church that just came from the problem of sexual perversion. The city of Corinth was a mix of Las Vegas and Vatican City (if Catholics were about sex and not the Pope). So all the people in the church of Corinth were tempted by that world around them and what they all used to be doing. Religion to many of them just a few months before was sleeping with the temple prostitute. Now religion has some rules for them, and it is very hard to understand that these rules are meant to give them freedom. They kept doing things really to us that don't make sense. Paul hears about all of their highly in appropriate actions and writes them back a list of things that clearly this is what you can not do. He listed that you can not sleep with any of your relatives. That you aren't to join yourselves with prostitutes. That you can not sleep with animals. You can not sleep with people of the same sex. That if you can not quell your sexual urges that you need to get married to satisfy them. Then at the very end of the list he uses a greek word pornea. Pornea roughly translates to anything else you can think of. It is the junk drawer term for sexual deviancy. This is also where we get our word pornography from. Essentially pornography is whatever other sexual sin you can think of.

It seems so foolish that Paul had to write this church and tell them to cut it out. It seems so self evident what you should and should not do. Yet here is the thing that we as humans do. We look at what we know we can do and we think what can I do to get that. We have a bar set and we find what ever we can to get that bar to be lowered so that we can cross it. We impulsively feel the need to squirm under the thumb of rules as we feel they are so heavy, yet fail to realize that it is the thumb of sin that is actually pressed against us. This is how we were 2000 years ago thats how we are now. But we have now spent 2000 years lowering the bar. So much more is acceptable, and almost nothing is taboo. How long though before we have completely gotten rid of the bar and are allowed to go with every perversion that our heart desires. That there will be no difference between our practices and those of the animals. This is where we are at almost complete sexual depravity and we seem to be slowly becoming okay with it. Why are we okay with this?

There is a point where we are supposed to realize what we are doing and stop. That we turn away from our wickedness and do what we are supposed to do. Humanist believe that we just decide this in the face of injustice to turn around. Somehow a good deal of Christianity is expressing the same. Everything has become a one sided act that is all our doing and none of God's. We have tried to add righteousness to our control along with the sin that is already there. We could easily stop lowering the bar and live the life of freedom, if we would put God back in to the equation. You see God in our lives has the power to convict us, short of God the next best thing is guilt. Conviction is what it will take for us to live in purity, and conviction is from God. Despite having free and open access to listen to God we have denied ourselves his voice and move freely with our own desires. We have no care for what he has to say, mainly because we think he is just going to tell us no. We think God is out to ruin our fun. In our week and frail humanity we can not envision God telling us something that can be more enjoyable than the hedonistic world that we have made for ourselves. If we would be open to the conviction that God lovingly wants to bestow we would understand that he is not saying "no", but that he is saying "not now" or "not that". There is no bar in God's plan, there is only unity and peace, a new life. We need to listen for it though.

Way back at the beginning of time we were given one rule. Do not eat of this one tree, if we do that we die. This tree contained the knowledge of good and evil. All we had to do was stay away from the fruit of that tree. But we moved closer and closer and let the bar go lower. Until Eve stood under the tree with the fruit in her hand and Adam stood right next to her the same. The bar was now so low that they could just walk right over, and they did. These two walked with God and when they stopped for a second to listen to another voice, they lowered the bar and went with their own depravity. To them the fruit was pleasing, so is our fruit today. There is plenty that is great for sex, but there is a reason that we are told to wait to eat that fruit. If we eat we will die, but if we listen we will live. Let God convict you, and sin no more.

Uncertain Church

2009-04-14T23:27:00.003-03:00

I love the postmodern news show 'The Hour'. It is my Oprah, and George Stomplopogous is my boyfriend (if you watch the show its not as weird as it sounds). Almost on every episode they tend to have an author on with a new book. These are either books for dynamic life stories or analysis on culture. On tonight's episode they had the author of 'The Age of the Unthinkable' on. Now I haven't read the book so I do not know all of the in's and out's about what is in the book, but in the interview they were able to communicate the thesis of the book. We are entering into an age where we can no longer think in simple answers. That the big picture needs to be the focus, and we need be ready to live in a world where disruption works.

The author of the book figured out these things by gaining understanding from modern revolutionaries. Revolutionaries such as the inventor of the Wii, Google, and even Hezbolah. Completely non box thinkers. I couldn't help but thinking how does the church learn from these people, and adapt to this new culture?

The church every few generations reinvents itself. This comes from a response to new technology, or revolutions in how we think about theology (i.e. Luther). We are easily at a time when both will come into play. There are plenty of new thoughts on theology coming out, mainly focusing on ecclesiology, and christology. While I may not agree with all ideas that are coming out, there is a reason why we are reexamining ourselves and rewriting ourselves. Not in the sense that our theology is fundamentally different, but the communication of it is. 'The Shack' is a recent example of this. Theologically there are fundamental flaws overall, but the point to communicate the love of God in a suffering world is done in a way that is turning countless people back to a personal intimate faith in Jesus. Infinitely more complex answers are needed in this new generation, yet they will need to be communicated in a way that will be universal. This generation of preachers and teachers will have to be story tellers over preachers. Not only will we need to pierce the congregations hearts with the truth, but their souls with a story. We need move forward by reverting from the argumentative speech and back to the parable style done by Jesus and the Rabbi's of the day.

Technology and culture are the other big changers of the church. We changed the church based on the pew, than the loud system, than to power point projection. What is the next step? Satellite churches are taking advantage of podcast, and video technologies. Are smart phones part of the churches next evolution. Is the future of the church decentralization? Are we to move from one massive group to a collection of smaller interconnected worshipers? In a big picture culture a church will have to be both global and local at the same time. We will be ending aids in Africa while stopping the prostitution on the street corner. This will also have to be age of action for the church over talk and platitudes. In the modern era the solution was simple, send money at the problem, let the big organization handle it. Instead now it will be to smaller groups of people to burden themselves passionately with private causes that will change the world. Imagine a thousand bodies of believers all taking on a different cause to change the world, and fully pouring themselves in doing it.

We will also have to learn to be a culture of distraction. The author illustrated this by people who talk on one cell phone while texting on another. The church has a tendency to react negatively to distractions. We are irritated by a crying baby in church, and we are left stupid by counter cultural movements (gay marriage). New thoughts on how we communicate gospel truth will be a necessary. Instead of protesting gay marriage, maybe we should be finding a way to show those in that lifestyle grace. What does this look like I am hard pressed to say, it is a very fine line to show them love, yet at the same time stand firm on our belief about their lifestyle. But it is clear that motions that are construe as hate are not the way. The church being interrupted would be highly organic, and would have to shed its modern age corporate structure in exchange for actually being a body that can move and adapt to the world. There will be a new level of spiritual depth that will be scene in this body of Christ, that will make many uncomfortable. Many will place it on the level with the likes of Benny Hinn and other eccentric pentecostals, and cry heresy. Yet that is fear and the enemy talking. People will be woken up and shake from this world as miracles will move from the fingers of those accepting the innocence to believe that their God is big enough to flood this world with miracles. They will talk with the confidence of the Christ himself and tell the storms to stop. We will walk up to heroin addict poisoned by their sin, and like Jesus turing the water into the best wine, change their blood to the purest in their veins. We will pull trash from dumpsters and by the Spirits blessing will feed a feast of kings to all those who are hungry. No miracle is to small in this age where we allow God to distract us to the world broken and crying around us. In this new age we will follow Christ not with just the burden of carrying the cross, but we will daily get up on it with him and suffer with the entirety of the Trinity in knowing how far gone the world really is. We will die, and the world will know love. We will die, and we will know life.

With a hammer and a nail God commanded Noah, and a revolution of the chosen began. With a hammer and a nail the ark then temple were built and a revolution of the Holy began. With a hammer and a nail Jesus flesh was pierced and a revolution of freedom began. With a hammer and a nail Peter hung upside down and a revolution of martyrs began. With a hammer and a nail Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses and revolution of truth began. With a fist that pounded like a hammer and a voice that pierced like nails George Whitfield, John Wesley, Orange Scott, and countless others began a revolution of hearts seeking holiness with God. With a nation hammers and nails today the body of Christ begins a revolution where we move forward and do not stop; a revolution of Love made real.

An uncertain world brings forth an uncertain church. We do not yet have all the answers. Yet we have guides and insights. Innovation and originality will move us, yet tradition and heritage will ground us. When David went to slay Goliath he wore no armor, it was to heavy. To slay this age the church will be exposed with out its armor. But with God it is written that we will prevail against this and every other age. The author named his book aptly as the Church can, and will make this age unthinkable. Where the church used to say of its beliefs this is the hill where we will die, the body will say of these beliefs we move forward. Be not uncertain your faith, move strong as the uncertain church. It will be the world that can not see where we are going as we head straight for Christ.

Tis the season

2008-12-09T16:07:00.003-04:00

Despite the title and time of the year this isn't a blog about Christmas. I do for the most part enjoy the holiday and wish everyone a blessed Merry CHRISTmas (yes I was trying to be as obnoxious as possible). This is more about the change of life.

I have built a habit for myself that I never live in any one place overly long. I am a little bit of a drifter I find life a little more interesting that way. Unfortunately this comes with a downside, I tend to be moving every 7 months or so. Sometimes I'm lucky and I can pack up a bag and just go other times things are a little bit more strenuous. This move will be a little harder. It will take three days in total. We could do it in less but I don't think I will ever want to do a shotgun drive in 26 hours (at least not with just 2 drivers).

In other changes I am no longer an intern. Come Thursday my last assignment will be submitted. In all honesty I'm somewhat killing time here, but it helps to keep the church a head of the game.

When we get back to NB, Kim will be back in school and I will be working more hours than are in the day. 50 hours between to jobs and school. It should be fun, I kind of already feel exhausted from it. But this what seems right, and it feels like where God is pulling things. I'm not sure what I'm more excited about my masters program or serving at Sussex Wesleyan.

It's weird looking around and seeing that I'm now the grown up. I still feel like I should be the kid on wild adventures, it's weird that I'm now the responsible one... I don't think I am quite the mature one yet.

In a couple weeks I will be starting a second blog. A scary thought given I barely keep up this blog. This new blog will be following the team that I'm taking to Salt Lake in the spring. It will build from there as the beginnings of a new church plant. So look out for the Jericho Blogs

Some movies need warning labels

2008-11-01T17:06:00.002-03:00

It's fairly usual for Kim and me to go rent a lot of movies on the weekend, and last night proved no different. There were a bunch of new releases that I wanted to check out and while I was looking for those I stumbled across this movie that stood out above the rest. Sunday School Musical.

Now, being a pastor I have this slight responsibility to watch Christian movies when they come out that way I can promote good Christian media. Though half the time I would rather point out the latest block buster and the Christian themes with in it. So when I see a Christian movie I'm inclined to watch it.

Now from the cover and title you would expect this to be a Christian version of High School Musical, possibly a slight parody there of. Unfortunately if it was that it would have been miles better than the pile of fecal matter that it was. The only thing that was actually decent was the music... well the singing of it. The choreography felt like it was done in preschool. The dialogue tried to be realistic, but ended up coming off like a speech impediment as almost the whole movie has bad timing. And the acting to say the least was flat, but that tends to be common in musicals... just its usually not this bad.

There was also the multiple plot points that keep popping up, but then never have a proper resolution. Yet a few scenes latter they have magical disappeared. Even the overall plot seems to go away at the end with out conflict only to be resolved, even though for some reason no one brought up it was missing.

I really wanted this to be good despite the prerequisite for camp that it had to have with a title like Sunday School Musical (which fyi there was no Sunday School, just Christian Schools). This was probably this worst idea for a Christian musical. A much better template would either be a) an original score (already proven to work with HERO!), or b) something in the vein of Across the Universe using reworked version's of a popular Christian artists songs (I'd love a suggestion on an artist that could pull of this).

So if you want to torture yourself please watch other wise, boycott it just on the principle of sheer crapiness.

Costs more than Death

2008-10-31T13:50:00.002-03:00

Every night my wife and I read a chapter to each other (this is kind of weird writing in a third person sort of thing when 99% of my readers are close friends, so I hope you appreciate this 1%) from the bible. Right now we are in the book of James.

I have loved this book for a long time. It is one of a small series of biblical books that I frequent quite often. I even took a seminar on this book where I essentially had to memorize the whole thing. Yet still it amazes me that I find something completely new last.

James 4:15b and 17 read

"If it's the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

"Anyone then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

Nike might be the Greek goddess of victory, but clearly "just do it" is a Christian thing. There have been certain issues that I have been wrestling with and essentially over complicating, and these things are several years off. This isn't how Jesus really works things. Things are a lot simpler in His plan. If He asks than you do.

For me this comes that I am called to Salt Lake City. So I will go. I don't need to worry about mother churches, or team members, finances, location, what do I say, or thousands of other things. I just need to go.

So this what equates to "Do this ______, or sin", slightly more existential and weighty than Do or Die.

I'm a horrible Blogger

2008-10-17T22:22:00.003-03:00

So if I was paid to blog I'm sure I would be fired by now. The funny thing is in a few months I will be blogging on a professional level as part of the church plant I will be starting. So essentially a month overdue I am blogging again (at least it's not a year this time).

Recently I have engaged in a new Spiritual journey. I have found that despite being a person of faith I seem to have very little belief in miracles. In fact I have noticed that I actually am having a little trouble seeing God in things. I am not saying I've lost faith or anything, I'm just running into a problem a lot of Westerners seem to have.

It was recommended to me by my boss that I should try the "Experiencing God" workbook. So on monday I'm going to start it. I'm not sure if it will change things but I am very open for things to change.

At one point some guys that I would call spiritual leaders saw me walking towards water for my baptism. They said that I walked with such fervor that they believed I was going to walk on water. That didn't happen then. Who knows though what can happen when one's faith is opened to the wonders of Christ.

How you save a life?

2008-09-13T14:57:00.002-03:00

Coincidentally a really kewl song but has nothing to do with what I am talking about. Yesterday when I was in the office a gentlemen in his 60's came in asking for water. I'm not thinking much of it, people come in all the time for water, we give it away for free. Then he tells me it is for his heart medicine that he needs to take the pill before his heart explodes. This is a little out of the ordinary. After he gets his pill down I find out that he is a recently retired doctor.

Through the conversation I find out a lot about his faith and basically his testimony. It was interesting hearing him talk about how he was led to a strong faith knowing the miracle of the human body. At the end of the conversation he wanted to share with a lot of friends about Overflow so he took a bunch of our info.

When he left his words telling me how we were such life savers, and really meaning it just stayed with me. Especially given we were thinking of canceling the free water just a few weeks ago. So how do you save a life?

I heard it... and it was really weird

2008-09-02T17:54:00.002-03:00

So I was on the way back from a meeting with my boss today. As we were having a conversation I heard something come out of my mouth that I have never heard before. I said the word "out" and heard the dreaded Canadian accent. This is the first time I have ever heard it seriously. I have heard it plenty of times when people try to show me how I sound but I've never really heard it out of my own mouth before. This is the weirdest thing ever. I now understand why Americans make so much fun of it, it really sounds weird and kind of funny.

On another slightly more spiritual note. I have been really struggling with God's current prompting in my life. I really love where I am right now and it seems like an excellent place for me to grow in so many ways but I know this isn't where I am supposed to be. As I have been coming to terms with going back to the Maritimes, God has given me a huge passion for Sussex Wesleyan Church. I would say this annoys me and I want to kick and scream at this. But it is such a burden of love that I can not help but feel peace towards this. The weird thing is that this isn't staying internalized. It has just started to flow out of me. My wife even said that I was seeming perky, which even the idea of such things was described years previous as a sign of the apocalypse. I am enjoying this being more Christ centered. Possibly even being sanctified, but I'll let the theologians debate that.

Jesus Eats

2008-08-19T19:08:00.003-03:00

One afternoon in a cave far away

A table is drawn for many,

as they slowly come to sit

each chair hand carved with heart

knowing care given to the soul that will sit there.

As they file in, it is plain to see

How different they are

Nothing in comin' by face or deed.

In one chair a man who has seen little day light,

still baring the chains marking

how violent his life has become.

The next is pale and sickly

baring legions on his skin

showing a love that has betrayed him.

A general sits down next,

squinting through his glasses

he wonders why the world thinks he mistreats his people,

darkly he wonders if his people feel the same.

Solemnly another enters with a long beard and a head fully dressed.

Lines mark his face from when he has smiled at others strife.

A Doctor is next who feels she has done no wrong

as her actions were all some one else's choice.

More fill up the table with stories of strife.

Pain and fear.

Hatred and angst.

All enemies to those who are just.

Then their host raises his hand

marred by gracious love

for all those who attend

with a small blessing, He says

"my friends let us eat!"

Outside as they eat

There is a deafening roar

Signs wave in the air

to protest the day.

They claim someone as Lord

but little do they know.

Inside a cave,

With those the abhore

Jesus Eats

Pray

2008-08-19T18:45:00.003-03:00

Pray for them

Pray for the girl who cries alone with no one to turn to

Pray for the man that took her joy away

Pray for the one that couldn't handle the shame of the life on her inside

Pray just Pray

Pray for the man in the cave who plans away,

praying that you will die another day.

Pray just Pray.

Let the tears run down your face

As your heart falls to pieces

Your knees begin to throb

and your hands blister from your clasp

Pray just Pray.

Pray for the person in the box

huddled next to the vent just to stay warm

Pray for the man being pulled over for not being the same

Pray for the officer about to make a mistake

Pray just Pray

Pray for the girl on the corner

who is enslaved to a stranger with a needle

Pray for the husband who hides his ring

as he goes to pick her up,

because those images in the dark no longer work

Pray just Pray

Pray for the child who dies once you finish this line

Pray that the next one gets food

or medicine

That Jesus comes and shows us all

That it all means something

If we just

Pray

I haven't done this in a while

2008-07-29T12:07:00.002-03:00

It has been close to two years since i Blogged here. It doesn't help that I lost my e-mail and password to access it but somehow a new one i made a few months ago works fine. I did start a thoughts and ponder blog called Emmaus crawl but I started to neglect that. So now I am back, at least for a while.

The news of the days a big for those who read this, not really all that big for those who actually know me. I got married a little over 2 months ago. I'm on my internship thats why the picture is that kewl O logo that the logo for the church i work for "Overflow: a church for the thirsty"

In other news I'm one step closer to really being a Doc as i will be starting my master soon. Yay for NTS and there M. Div program

In recent events I just finished a huge Guitar Hero Aerosmith tournament. I didn't get as may people in as i expected. But the face time i got with those that did show up was huge. Never devalue relationship building for small numbers. I think we will host another one in Novemeber. Thats all for now.

Carpe Nox

There is an alien in my office

2006-06-20T21:57:00.000-03:00

First off I need state a retraction from my last post. By something that is pretty much dead on to an act of grace and or a miracle, I received a job in the feild that I am trained for. And here is the kicker of it I am actually getting more than a social worker. This is one of the few times I am glad that I have been proven wrong.
Second my office rocks mainly because I have an alien in it. I am supposed to have internet but for some reason the lan line isn't agreeing with my iBook. Eventually I will figure out why and fix it. My coworkers are fairly kewl, my boss is quirky to say the least. For the most part me work has been research and updating forms and files. I have been doing tons of preperations just for when we start up summer session. For some reason we had 4 tv's sitting in storage all of which still worked, so we are going to use those for something awesome. On the flipside we are also doing tons of work for the Philly Missions trip wich I am pumped for.
The final thing is if you notice there is a new link on the side bar. www.whosjesus.com this site is amazing. Go to it watch everything and Follow the leader.

The Great Job Hunt

2006-06-06T22:33:00.000-03:00

Job hunting has to be the downfall of human civilization. Well I doubt it is but it man does it feel like that when you are in the process of finding a job. If you don't have connections it doesn't matter how many jobs are near by, or how qualified you are, you won't get anything. I have been job hunting since my last post and only last week did I find something and that was by luck because it was through connections. I'm not even trained to do this job, but because I knew a guy I got the job.
I am trained as to work with Youth and in counseling. I am not trained to as crack filler. I work with people thats what I am good at. I rock at retail, most pastors do, because we are people persons. We are good at helping people, thats what retail is a service. But did I get an interview at any retail place, nope. Also keep in mind I have worked retail in the past. Try and make sense of that.
The disturbing fact of the matter is that I am trained and really good at a job that is constantly short changed or asked constantly to be done for free. And why is this because I use God as a motivator to why I help. Yet a civil servant who tends to be detatched, and distanced, and just ineffective because they've gotten beaten by the job. But its rare for pastors to just lose it and when they do it never long. We have a love for this, it isn't work it's life. It's sad that the world doesn't work out the way it should, but I will fight to help people. And maybe one day it will actually help out my wallet as well, until then good luck and God bless.

Adventure's in Independance

2006-05-11T22:56:00.000-03:00

Well for the first time ever I am living my life in complete independance. I'm not living at home, and I'm no longer living on campus. Although to many people's opinion it is unfortunite that I'm still living in Sussex a place that makes nothing interesting at times. As of last friday though I am living in Sussex, down the street from a Subway in fact, in a small little appartment (emphasis on the small, but hey its affordable).
My major adventure in independance happened on Saturday when I went grocery shoping. This was trickier than I thought. There is alot that fits under the category of essentials, and not all of it lasts that long. Aparently a box of cereal only lasts four days. But the worst part is how expensive they are, i know some of the stuff will last me till christmas (thank God for PB&J).
The next major adventure happened on thursday. My first visit to the laundry mat. After being to the laundry mat I now have a good idea of what purgatory is like (not Catholic by the way). Again a good discovery laundry is expensive with one load costing $3.50. This seems a little high, owell you kind of need clothes to live.
All this though is worth it. See I'm staying in this small backwards town to help out with the youth group I voulunteer with. They're a great group of kids and I'm glad to be doing this. But all of this culmanates to another adventure the great job hunt.

Planet of the Apes

2005-08-15T16:58:00.000-03:00

Today Israel moved the rest of its Jewish citizens out of the Gaza Strip. What does this have do with the Planet of the Apes, simple take at Sharon he looks like a shaved orangatang. Then George Bush, and Tony Blair look like chimps. Paul Martain reminds me of a gorilla. Now this by no means is rascist as they are all white and I am like wise. But isn't it funny that current world leaders all bare resemblance to monkey's. Hmm now if I remember the movies correctly the next thing that happens is nucleur holocaust and charelton heston in lepord skins. Creepy.