Entries from December 2007
This image says it all. Chaos, pain, anger, fear and death… not exactly what God had in mind for us. With all that is happening in our world and now the assasination of Bhutto it seems that things are getting worse and not better. Today it’s difficult for me to have hope in a world that can know peace and maybe even find some restoration. I am hanging on to what hope I do have…hoping that God’s light will break through the darkness, that he will protect the church in these terrorized countries, and that democracy will one day be found in the mid-east.
Peace and Love.
Categories: Church · Culture · Religon · world events
Well, the family has left…this kids are napping and the house is a wreck! We had a great day yesterday eating food, watching movies and hanging out as a family. This year we definatley cut back on how much we spent on presents and I’m glad for it. I think we took a small step towards changing our whole approach to Christmas, but I still feel like we should have done more. What I mean by more is less stuff for us and the kids and more for those who really need help. I don’t think we need to cut out gifts all together, but I want to start teaching my boys early in life that it’s not about them.
Have any suggestions on ways to make the day special, but not focused on more toys and clothes? Anyone with young children trying to break the normal run of the mill Christmas cycle and really do some things that matter? I’d love some ideas and thoughts!
Peace and Love.
Categories: Family · Friends · Religon
Today has been a Christmas Eve like few I’ve had. I happen to have the day off and rather than spending it on the couch or in bed our family joined some friends from Redwood who were going to a local nursing home to visit and sing some carols. I was a little reluctant at first because this is one area of social / ministry life that I don’t excel in…in fact it makes me feel very uncomfortable. For my wife, this is her thing…the does so well with the elderly. We met our friends, handed out baked cookies and just visted with many of the residents. We all brought our kids and it really turned out to be such a valuable experience. I loved seeing my boys (20 months and 3) talk with them in their rooms, and trying to sing Jingle Bells! Our church is a very young church with an average age of 33 years old, and being with those who many times are over-looked by people our age has me thinking about Redwood Hills becoming better connected to the elderly, handicapt and shut-in. After seeing some of my friends feel so comfortable and excited about what we did today, it’s obvious God has given us very capable people to lead such ministries.
Spending my morning with friends was so much fun…knowing we may have been a blessing to the sick and lonely is humbling…visualizing what could and should be with our church is exciting!
“Simple acts of love can change the world.” Mother Teresa
Peace and Love
Categories: Church · Friends · Religon
I last posted about the movie “No Country for Old Men” which I just saw for the second time…I continue to be fascinated with the script and the thoughts on “purity” as I see strongly displayed in the current of the movie. It haeppens to be based on a novel, which I have not read. My friend and I were discussing another upcoming movie called “Kite Runner” which premiers Friday. This too has been based on a novel, which from what I’m hearing is one of the best book-to-film adaptations yet.
This has got me thinking about what have been some of the best book to film adaptations.
Into the Wild? Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? Dune? Man, there are so many…
Which ones would have your vote?
Categories: Books · Culture · Film · Questions
Last week I went to see the Coen brothers’ new film called “No Country for Old Men”…what a film. Brilliant acting…thought provoking dialoge and striking imagry. If you’ve see it, what were some of your thoughts about the message of the film? How did it compare to other Coen bros. films? Could you in any way relate to Tommy Lee Jones’ character and his struggle with society?
On another note…what movie are you currently recommending people see the most right now?
Categories: Culture · Film · Questions
Recently I spent some time talking to a friend about politics, church and some theology. We differed on just about everything, but we always find ourselves able to converse with respect and I believe we listen pretty well to each others thoughts and opinions. Later as I was pondering our discussion and it had occurred to me that much of our defense or rationale was based on each of us as a person…what I mean by this is if we happened to discuss the legitimacy of war he might say, “you see, I’m the kind of person who will physically hurt someone if I have to to defend my friends…”. The question that enters my mind now is how much of our theology and or apologetics is based really on who we are and not the truth of who God is or the person of Christ. Maybe one can’t really justify war if it’s based off of their own inability to handle conflicts without anger or attack. We are such broken and sinful people, it’s sometimes difficult to come to a theology without bringing into it our own brokenness. This leads me to thinking of the necessity the Holy Spirit must have in our lives. We need wisdom…we must seek discernment…we should strive to live fruitful lives in every way.
Peace and Love
Categories: Church · Culture · Religon · Theolgy
I know some of you who follow my blog enjoy Rob Bell, others of you don’t. There is an interesting conversation taking place on Eugene Cho’s site regarding Bell and a recent TIME article. Personally, I believe Bell is right on with his approach to leaderhsip, the church and most of his theology. If you’ve never thought about Bell being a heretic as many are calling him, then maybe you need to really think and question about his writings and teachings…it will help you in coming to theological conclusions and better prepare you for anwserign others’ questions. He is provacative, out of the box and dangerous. But I like the dangerous thinking he’s presenting to us… it’s leading more people to the true Jesus and the true church.
Peace and Love.
Categories: Church · Culture · Questions · Religon · Theolgy
- I’ve been blown away lately at God’s faithfulness to my family. It’s been a rough ride this fall with the painting business being so slow…but every bill has been paid and each month work seems to come.
- I love pastoring our church, but it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done! When I pastored in a mega-church, I totally took things for granted…now I know how important perseverance is.
- I can’t allow the lack of our family Christmas budget this year to determine how great and memorable our Christmas can be.
- The Seahawks are rollin’ yet I still assume it’s all a tease. It’s the way of sports in Seattle!
- Friends are more valuable to me right now than ever before in my life.
- For about 2 months now, I’ve been too casual about taking sabbath and it’s beginning to take it’s toll. It’s not that I’m tired, but I need to find some peace about some things.
Peace and Love.
Categories: Church · Family · Religon · Seattle Scene
Today I drove south to the Chehalis, WA area to witness the flooding and all the problems the people there are facing. I spent the better part of the day driving around, talked to some local folks and was just amazed at what has happened here in my own state. Much of the water has receeded now, but the problems are still overwhelming for these people. I saw several lines of people waiting for food, homes torn from their foundations, dead animals and dozens of ruined cars. I hope that we as the church can do what we can to serve and give. This is our opportunity to do some very simple things to help the people of Chehalis and surrounding areas to recover and heal. If you could do one act of generosity here, what would it be? Would you give your time? Money? Belongings? I welcome your thoughts and ideas here…
Categories: Church
dscn0522.jpgThis has been one of those weeks where leading and ministry are simply put…a frustrating struggle. I’m frustrated with the lack of growth and development of our church (Redwood Hills is a community which values slow growth, so this tells you how slow its been ), relationships have been messy, confrontations with people I love, and too little sleep. I’m one who is normally very even-keel and calm about things but for some reason, this week everything is just eating away at me. This morning while sitting in a local coffee house amidst my own little pity party, I decided to take some time and organize my pictures files from our recent travels to Africa and I came across this photo (click photo link up top). A little boy living in horrible conditions who was being raised by the village “gogo” or grandmother, because both his parents have died from AIDS. We gave him a new soccer ball that we had brought with us and you would have thought someone gave him a million dollars! Looking at this picture again brought some serious perspective…our church will grow, resources will one day come, relationships worth having will always have their ups and downs. I value grace so much right now…with all my complaints and selfish wants, I’ve probably been a huge pain in the ass to God!
Categories: Church · Culture
