Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Another day in paradise..

You know, even though at times my day may be hectic, or im pulling my hair out, it could be a lot worse. When people ask me how I am, usually, I have two responses: "Just another day in paradise" or, "It could be worse". Well, it could be a lot worse. I have been enormously blessed recently. I have a great job, I have awesome friends and a stable family. I am able to wake up in the morning and get out of bed. I serve an awesome God who wants nothing but the best for me. Heck, I live a pretty darn good life.

This all gets put into prospective for me when I hear that someone I am close to is going through tough times. You may think you have it hard, but at least your brother didn't try to commit suicide. What do you say when you hear that? For some strange reason, "I'm sorry" just doesn't cut it. There is nothing you can do, nothing you can say, except that I care about you, and I'll be praying for you.
What I really have a hard time with though is that I like to fix things. I enjoy helping people out, and fixing problems. I can't do that in this situation. It is something that only God can take care of. For that, I am thankful. I know if it was me, I would probably screw it up. And that is ok, because as great as I may think I am, I am nothing compared to Jesus. Letting Him have control is the only thing I can do.

In a way, it is an enormous load off of my shoulders, but in another way, I am still here in this moment, waiting to see what is going to happen.

He knows what He needs to do, but I don't know what I need to do. Luckily, He has it all planned out. I will wait patiently.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

My thinking spot...

So, I was standing at a urinal doing my thing this afternoon, and a thought hit me...

That to say that everyone should have a urinal.. I mean, your doing your thing, staring at the spot (you know what im talking about guys), and all of a sudden, a thought hit you... Brilliant!

Im looking for a house right now, and having a urinal would sure be a plus..

Thursday, January 17, 2008

I know, I know... Three blogs in two days.. I must not have a life. Give me a break, I just got my wisdom teeth pulled, and I have slept most of the past two days. The blog-o-sphere has given me someone to share insight with.

So I went to Fresno Pacifist tonight (FPU) to a porno seminar. Craig Gross, one of the founders of this website (xxxchurch.com) was speaking of it. We watched a movie that basically narrated what they were about. It is a "Christian" organization (Ill explain the quotes later) that goes around the country, including schools, churches, and porno conventions to tell people that Jesus loves them. Kind of outside the box. I mean, who the hell would go to a porno convention to tell the porn stars that Jesus loves them, and he wants them for his own. Apparently this isn't your parents seminar.

Chris talked about how he has spent parts of the last few summers going on tour with Ron Jeremy (the biggest male porn star) to schools to debate porn. Ron and Chris have become friends through all of this, and they have had intense conversations. One thing that Ron said struck me. Chris is openly accepted in the porn community, even with what he does. If Ron walked into a church tomorrow, he would be rejected, based on his past. How heart breaking is that? Here we are, called to be Christ-followers, and on the off chance that a porn star, past or present, walks in wondering what we are all about, would possibly get turned away. Something isn't right.

I asked Chris where he gets more rejection from, the porn community, or the "Christian" (quotes again?) community. Without a doubt, he said, the Christian community. People apparently don't get the idea that we need to show the love of Christ to people. Apparently that means only the people who have their lives together. You know, the ones who love their wives, the ones that don't drink too much or swear, or kick their dogs for no good reason right? But it doesn't work that way.

Who did Jesus hang out with? He hung out with the prostitutes, the broken, the poor, the tax collectors... That was 2K years ago.. Allow me to translate to today... The poor, the politicians, the construction workers, and the porn stars (just to name a few).

Chris regularly attends these porn conventions to hand out bibles inside. "Christians" stand outside and picket these events telling people that they are burning in hell for doing these things.. I seem to remember reading in the Bible that no sin is better or worse than another. Porn must not be what was being talked about...

How cool is it that people think outside the box when it comes to Christ? That is something that I strive to do. It does me no good to sit in my pew on sunday and listen to the preacher talk about Christ and then do nothing about it during the week. I mean, if I love Christ, why don't I show it? Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.

I sincerely hope that I never become a Bible beater. The church has a choice, the way I see it. We can choose to adapt to what the world needs, or we can stay in church, talk about how the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and do nothing about it.

But what do I do about it?

By the way, the quotations... I put Christian in quotes because I hate the word. Christians have been stereotyped as people who are bible beaters. I would much rather be called a Christ-follower. You can be a Christian without being a Christ-follower. You can't follow Christ without loving Him (after all, isn't it all about love?) Cue Cheesy music, but you got my point.

Novacaine

I have no idea what they give you when they pull your wisdom teeth, but it never seemed to be enough. I think the worst part of getting them pulled (during the process, because after sucks pretty bad too) is listening to the snapping and the cracking. When you hear the doctor say something along the lines of, "I think he's choking" it makes me a little nervouse as well. But alas (yes, I used alas in a blog.. yay me) My wisdom teeth are out, and I am moving on with my life. But, it all got me thinking.

#1 there are many good and bad ideas of food to eat when you have your wisdom teeth taken out.

Good ideas: ice cream (thanks steph), smoothies (with a spoon), and soup.

Bad ideas: Crackers and granola bars... (stupid me)

#2 One of the teeth being pulled was not completely numb. The doctor gave me a couple more squirts of the numb juice, and I was ready to go.

How often do I choose to be numb to people because it just hurts? I walk by people asking for money or work or something at least a couple times a day. I was talking about this to a friend of mine the other day, not necessarily the novacaine, but the homeless.

When we pray the Lords prayer, we ask for His kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven. What would do that look like? how would we treat others. Instead of ignoring them because they are a waste of time, or they have nothing to offer society, would we hold them in a different light?

I met a homeless guy a while back, and he seemed to have a wonderful heart. We had lunch together, talked about Jesus, and just had a good time. I couldn't believe how much scripture he knew. If we saw homeless people differently, how would we see this guy? He would have a great story. He started out with everything, lost it, and then got lifted back up again..

But as it is, once the homeless become homeless, it is nearly impossible to get back on their feet.

I really wish I knew more about programs or things to help people. Some deserve to be homeless, but at the same point, some have just had a run of bad luck. I dont know what could lead to that, but at the same point, it could happen.

I go home from work early yesterday, and the product of my mind produces something like this.. Welcome to my life people.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Update

Life has been great the past month.

It is amazing how life can change with the addition (or subtraction) of people you are always around. One of my bosses has been re stationed. While this makes my job more difficult in some ways, it helps tremendously with my stress level. No longer do I have the eight or ten interruptions per day from them, but now, I am able to do the work in the order I need to, and more quickly. It has greatly reduced my stress level. When you couple that with the gym (the ultimate stress reliever), life has been good.

Not only is work going well, but church has been great too. We are currently going through Jonah... I know I know. Everyone knows the story of Jonah. But I am trying to still get something out of it. When you have the same story presented by someone different, you get different opinions. As I get older, my opinions tend to change as well, I look at things differently. So, to keep the story short, it has been good.

The time has come for me to get involved at church again. I know it doesn't mean a whole lot me saying it, but im trying. I have called the worship leader about running sound. He hasn't returned my call yet, but I am hopeful. I love to run sound. I may not be vocally talented (those of you who I have serenaded can attest) but I can really help out with sound quality.

The problem for me comes when I get over-involved. Last summer, I was doing a lot of different things. I ran sound for the 4th service every week, as well as did all the set up and tear down. I got over stretched. There was no joy in what I was doing. So, I am going to do my best to keep that from happening.

That being said, I still have more I need to do, I talked with Charles smith last week and this week about getting into a guys small group. I know that the Bridge has many life groups, but what I really need are men around me. Mens accountability, and mens fellowship. A friend recently challenged me on this. I have been talking, for almost a year now, about getting into a small group. They were right in telling me that I need to be a man of my word. Well, it has been a long time coming, but I will soon be able to comply with my own wishes.

The last few weeks, prayer has been amazing. It seems that I can no longer sleep without having quality time with God. I'm not good at prayer, but I dont know anyone who really is. I tend to run out of things to say, and things to pray for. But I guess I have been listening to people with a different ear. while they may not have been specifically asking for prayer, they are still part of my prayer life.

Two of my closest friends are moving away this weekend. Andre and Carrie are moving to visalia, and taking Ezra (their kid) with them. I think the move is great for them, but it will obviously have an impact on our friendship.
I came to the Bridge a few years ago during a hard time in my life. I knew Carrie from the previous church I went to. She and Andre invited me to their small group, and the growing began there. Andre has helped me through so many situations, and I am immensely thankful for that.

With all that being said, I think it is a good move for them. Their lives are becoming more and more entrenched in the south valley. That, and they dont currently have a home church (long story). So, needless to say, it is a good move.

Well, Today I am off to the dentist to have a foot applied to my face, and have teeth pulled (wisdom teeth). It is an afternoon appointment, and I will be back at work tomorrow. People have told me that I wont be able to, but they don't know who I am... I am no mere mortal.

Stay tuned for updates.