Today for the first time
I saw the road as a runner
What was once a four-mile eternity
Segmented into digestable portions
I believed it was a level track
Circling the basketball court
Level from start to finish
Even in difficulty; level in plane
False.
The first half? All uphill.
The second half? All downhill.
The end? Back uphill.
There's a rhythm.
That's why I died after two miles?
That's why after a quick walk I could finish?
I found the secret.
Today for the first time
I saw the road as a runner
What was once a four-mile eternity
Is a five-mile breeze
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Help? I need a new computer.
I've held out as long as I could.
This is possibly the last time I'll use my laptop, considering the screen is almost dead. I thought about getting an external monitor and keeping it alive, but I can't even run music without it skipping and jumping all over. So, I think it's time for a new computer.
Here's what I would like:
Internet
iTunes
DVD Player
Word
External speakers
Supports Logos software
That's pretty much it. Any suggestions or hot tips? I even considered iPad, since it costs less than many laptops. But since I mostly do typing, I would prefer a more traditional laptop.
Should I buy new? Used? Really, I'm clueless.
Help!
This is possibly the last time I'll use my laptop, considering the screen is almost dead. I thought about getting an external monitor and keeping it alive, but I can't even run music without it skipping and jumping all over. So, I think it's time for a new computer.
Here's what I would like:
Internet
iTunes
DVD Player
Word
External speakers
Supports Logos software
That's pretty much it. Any suggestions or hot tips? I even considered iPad, since it costs less than many laptops. But since I mostly do typing, I would prefer a more traditional laptop.
Should I buy new? Used? Really, I'm clueless.
Help!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Chinese Church
"I have no idea to this day what them two Italian ladies were singin' about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were singin' about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words..." - Red, Shawshank Redemption
On a strange impulse I wandered across my lawn to the church next door. I've never noticed all the cars on a Saturday night, but reading on the balcony afforded me the view. I figured it was probably a church service, and tried to keep reading, but I just couldn't.
So, I walked over. I noticed that everyone walking in was some sort of Asian. It turns out it's a half-Chinese, half-Taiwanese congregation. I was the only non-Asian present. I was okay with that. They sang some songs, I joined in some choreographed worship dance, and then I listened to a preacher speak Chinese while she was translated into Taiwanese for about an hour.
I have no idea to this day what them two preachers were talkin' about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were talkin' about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words.
On a strange impulse I wandered across my lawn to the church next door. I've never noticed all the cars on a Saturday night, but reading on the balcony afforded me the view. I figured it was probably a church service, and tried to keep reading, but I just couldn't.
So, I walked over. I noticed that everyone walking in was some sort of Asian. It turns out it's a half-Chinese, half-Taiwanese congregation. I was the only non-Asian present. I was okay with that. They sang some songs, I joined in some choreographed worship dance, and then I listened to a preacher speak Chinese while she was translated into Taiwanese for about an hour.
I have no idea to this day what them two preachers were talkin' about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were talkin' about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
God Is Bigger Than the Mean Guys
I recently had the pleasure of bringing one of our church kids down from a small tantrum.
He had forgotten to feed the fish, so his mom said she’d do it. “But I want to feed my fish!” I was offered the chance to field the situation, which I, of course, had to do. I knocked softly and entered the darkened room, sat behind the slightly cracked door, and with just enough light to discern the outline of a distraught small child I listened to how much he wanted to feed his fish. After a while he decided that no matter how hard he tried, it wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to feed his fish that night. It’s rough learning that you can’t always get what you want.
After that dust was settled we started talking about the rest of life, his friends and the games they played, which is grown up stuff for a kid. And then he told me he was scared of Mean Guys.
“Who are Mean Guys?”
“Mean Guys have swords, and when you’re asleep, they cut your head off!”
My experience and rationale told me that was ridiculous, and while Mean Guys with swords certainly could chop off a person’s head, there were no Mean Guys in the room. But, after reading Madeleine L’Engel’s Walking on Water, I had to remember that children have their own reality. I decided I’d go with it.
“Mean Guys, huh?”
“Yea! They’re really big, and even if you have a knife, they have swords, and they’re bigger.”
“Oh, yea, that’s bad. Do you think God’s bigger than the Mean Guys?”
He thought about it for a second, pointer finger on his chin, of course. And he responded,
“God’s bigger than everything! He’s even bigger than Giants. Like, God, if he puts up his finger, he can touch a cloud. But a Giant has to use his whole arm! God can even jump over a whole mountain, or pick a mountain up.”
“So, do you think God can keep you safe?”
“… Yea, I guess so.”
“So, you gonna go to bed?”
Realizing he’d probably been tricked, he let out a submissive “Okay.”
And then we prayed that God would keep him safe from the Mean Guys. I haven’t seen him since, but I’m thinking he made it through the night just fine.
I learned this lesson that night: Faith has to make sense for the real problems in life. We can talk about things that have to do with our beliefs, faith, religion, etc., and that’s great. We can discuss God is love, Jesus as man, and the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives. But until these truths deal concretely with the problems in our lives, they don’t mean much of anything to most people.
How well are we equipped as Christians to explain God in a way that makes sense to people? More importantly, in a way that matters to people? I’ve found that if God can’t keep a person safe from the Mean Guys, it really doesn’t matter if Jesus died for their sins. Theologically speaking, that’s really hard for me to say, but if it doesn't deal with real life, it's probably bad theology anyway.
While I don’t have any quick fix answers on how to make faith matter for someone else, I will suggest one thing: Listening.
If you listen to a person long enough, they will tell you what matters to them. They might not say it right out, but if you really listen you’ll hear themes, names, stories come up over and over again. Listen to any mother; you’ll know her kids matter to her. Listen to a teenager; it won’t take long to know whether they’re trying to fit in, or if they get along with their parents, or if they feel like they’re worth anything.
Then, after listening, listen again. This time, listen to the Holy Spirit. What does God offer that situation, that hurt? How is God able to speak into that life? What is the hope that matters in their life? That’s the hardest part to figure out. But if you’re not wrestling with that, you’re probably not doing much evangelizing, which is not (contrary to popular belief) converting people, it’s spreading the Good News.
What is the good news? It’s going to be different in every situation. Ultimately, we believe the good news is that Jesus has reconciled us with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit goes along with us to bring about a better world for everyone until Jesus comes again. But people need you to bring them real good news that matters for their lives.
For one kid, the good news that matters is that God is bigger than Mean Guys.
What’s the Good News in your life?
He had forgotten to feed the fish, so his mom said she’d do it. “But I want to feed my fish!” I was offered the chance to field the situation, which I, of course, had to do. I knocked softly and entered the darkened room, sat behind the slightly cracked door, and with just enough light to discern the outline of a distraught small child I listened to how much he wanted to feed his fish. After a while he decided that no matter how hard he tried, it wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to feed his fish that night. It’s rough learning that you can’t always get what you want.
After that dust was settled we started talking about the rest of life, his friends and the games they played, which is grown up stuff for a kid. And then he told me he was scared of Mean Guys.
“Who are Mean Guys?”
“Mean Guys have swords, and when you’re asleep, they cut your head off!”
My experience and rationale told me that was ridiculous, and while Mean Guys with swords certainly could chop off a person’s head, there were no Mean Guys in the room. But, after reading Madeleine L’Engel’s Walking on Water, I had to remember that children have their own reality. I decided I’d go with it.
“Mean Guys, huh?”
“Yea! They’re really big, and even if you have a knife, they have swords, and they’re bigger.”
“Oh, yea, that’s bad. Do you think God’s bigger than the Mean Guys?”
He thought about it for a second, pointer finger on his chin, of course. And he responded,
“God’s bigger than everything! He’s even bigger than Giants. Like, God, if he puts up his finger, he can touch a cloud. But a Giant has to use his whole arm! God can even jump over a whole mountain, or pick a mountain up.”
“So, do you think God can keep you safe?”
“… Yea, I guess so.”
“So, you gonna go to bed?”
Realizing he’d probably been tricked, he let out a submissive “Okay.”
And then we prayed that God would keep him safe from the Mean Guys. I haven’t seen him since, but I’m thinking he made it through the night just fine.
I learned this lesson that night: Faith has to make sense for the real problems in life. We can talk about things that have to do with our beliefs, faith, religion, etc., and that’s great. We can discuss God is love, Jesus as man, and the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives. But until these truths deal concretely with the problems in our lives, they don’t mean much of anything to most people.
How well are we equipped as Christians to explain God in a way that makes sense to people? More importantly, in a way that matters to people? I’ve found that if God can’t keep a person safe from the Mean Guys, it really doesn’t matter if Jesus died for their sins. Theologically speaking, that’s really hard for me to say, but if it doesn't deal with real life, it's probably bad theology anyway.
While I don’t have any quick fix answers on how to make faith matter for someone else, I will suggest one thing: Listening.
If you listen to a person long enough, they will tell you what matters to them. They might not say it right out, but if you really listen you’ll hear themes, names, stories come up over and over again. Listen to any mother; you’ll know her kids matter to her. Listen to a teenager; it won’t take long to know whether they’re trying to fit in, or if they get along with their parents, or if they feel like they’re worth anything.
Then, after listening, listen again. This time, listen to the Holy Spirit. What does God offer that situation, that hurt? How is God able to speak into that life? What is the hope that matters in their life? That’s the hardest part to figure out. But if you’re not wrestling with that, you’re probably not doing much evangelizing, which is not (contrary to popular belief) converting people, it’s spreading the Good News.
What is the good news? It’s going to be different in every situation. Ultimately, we believe the good news is that Jesus has reconciled us with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit goes along with us to bring about a better world for everyone until Jesus comes again. But people need you to bring them real good news that matters for their lives.
For one kid, the good news that matters is that God is bigger than Mean Guys.
What’s the Good News in your life?
Computer Issues
I really don't want to buy a new one.
My laptop decided the screen didn't want to work anymore. But if it sits in one position, and I don't move it, it's fine. So, it's now a desktop.
Then my wireless thing stopped picking up the internet. It would know the router was there, but that's it. Weird.
Then EVERYTHING went really, really slowly. Like, almost comatose.
So, I restored to some time in the past where things didn't suck. And, surprisingly, she's working like a charm right now, which is good since I've got a few things I've been waiting to post, and I'm way, way behind in reading everyone else.
My bad.
My laptop decided the screen didn't want to work anymore. But if it sits in one position, and I don't move it, it's fine. So, it's now a desktop.
Then my wireless thing stopped picking up the internet. It would know the router was there, but that's it. Weird.
Then EVERYTHING went really, really slowly. Like, almost comatose.
So, I restored to some time in the past where things didn't suck. And, surprisingly, she's working like a charm right now, which is good since I've got a few things I've been waiting to post, and I'm way, way behind in reading everyone else.
My bad.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Running, Playing and Jumping
At least one is what you think it is.
I've been running, training for the half-marathon in October. It's been mostly good, but I haven't kept a consistent schedule, which I think supports my "I don't try really hard and still do good at most things" mentality. I'm working at being more disciplined. It's funny that people would probably think I run because I'm disciplined, but really I run to be disciplined. I think it's the same thing with prayer and scripture; I don't do it because I am holy, I do it to be made holy.
Next Thursday, Aug 12 I'll join the band of Eric Landshaft for an event in downtown Chicago, playing at Millenium Park! (See Pritzker Pavilion, above.) For those of you tuning in from Orlando, this is a bigger deal than playing the Lake Eola shell. It's more like playing House of Blues or something. Regardless, it's an amazing opportunity! I'll be playing rhythm guitar and having tons o' fun! Hopefully Ian will be playing percussion and we'll have a jolly grand time!
I'm jumping into a new role at the church, though not many people will know it. I'll be acting behind-the-scenes more as an associate pastor, learning the ropes of what it means to pastor a church. I really need more responsibility, as I have found I know very little about pastoring a church aside from what I already do. It's a part of this new stage of life, of conscious and intentional growth and learning. It's a good thing.
Other than that, I'm still at the funeral home, working at the restaurant, and living the dream. Thanks for keeping up with me. Maybe you can answer me a question:
What's new with you?
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