Mood Swings

I hate school. I know I am not supposed to... that I am supposed to celebrate how blessed i am to learn and to study theology, but I don't love it... and I am really struggling to be thankful even though i know i should be. I love learning, and I love that I now know about Hebrew and Greek. But I hate the authoritarian structure of school where learning is controled by power structures and systems. Considering how much there is to know about the universe, much less God, aren't we all really learning together? Does a teacher or an institution own the truth they are purveying?
Especially in Christian circles, I think we would do well to cease being and creating experts, and to focus instead on creating communities of seekers who are seeking God together. As the book of Hebrews says,

"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely SEEK him." Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Ok, so I struggle with anger over school... I guess I am still thankful that even this fallen expression which i really dislike, is better than nothing. It is better than not having a place to learn about God at a higher level. I am thankful for how the knowlege of God that I have found has helped me to be more effective in my search for him. Learning about him is worth the struggle...



PIC: http://pradamama.pansitan.net/hello/212/1555/640/School%20Bus%20Lance.jpg

The Gathering & Letting go of the past...

I was thinking lately about how much I miss the Gathering...
The Gathering was a community of young adults that I used to be part of, but which no longer exists...

I do not miss the program... or the building we held is in, but I really miss the community of people that came.

They were in many ways the closest circle of friends I ever had.

For a season, the amazing people who made up the Gathering were so interwoven in my life, and now I only run into one of them in passing, or once in a great while.

It is really sad... but I guess unavoidable...

the lives that twenty somethings live is so unstable... with college, jobs, relationships, marriage, babies, & more causing great upheavals and moves.


Regardless, I miss the community that I was a part of... it is almost like lost family members.



I miss:

Cookouts,

Camping,

House worships,

Nuemann's Cabin,

Xtreme Worships,

Winter retreats,

the $10 retreat series,

Tuesday nights,

Ministry Team Retreats,

Game nights,

Superbowl Parties,

New Years Experiments,

Star Wars openings,

Worship Practice,

Ministry Team meetings,

Trips to My Parents house,

Burning down chicken coops,

& all the other activities where I was part of the Gathering Community...


I believe that the Glory days of the past are not the only Glory to be had in my life... They cannot be regained... they are over...and I have had to let go of them in order to move forward... BUT. There are new Glory days that are yet to be revealed... And I am living in them now...

Babies are cool....

Ainzley continues to amaze.... she keeps getting cuter. Maybe Emily and I will have one some day...

Progress

... So my stairs are safe finally... no more richoty temporary treds... Now I just have to tile, and the last major project is done... well except for the laundry room and kitchen... but those don't count...

Francis and Her Bone

My Dog is ferocious. Francis gets really jealous of her Cousin Chewy. Chewy belongs to Cory and Vicky, and she is a bigger dog so she gets bigger treats and bones. Francis loves to steal Chewy's bones so much that Cory and Vicky always give Francis her own when we visit...

I suppose that there is some spiritual application here... but I can't really figure it out... I just wanted to share the pic.

Trip to the Rock... with 60+ Middle schoolers!

I am now done with my final summer trip... It is awesome to be done. This trip was awesome... we camped by Lake Superior for a night and got to jump off 20 foot cliffs into a river. I loved it. I really loved all of the trips and enjoyed getting to know students and leaders in the ministry better. I think that I actually learned a few students names! That is really important and really hard when there are hundreds of students.
I talked about Elijah with the students from 1st and 2nd Kings. I think that many people have believed the lie that the Old Testement is a boring book... but there are so many awesome stories in it. They point out how Man drifts away from following God and must be reminded of how real and great God is. I need that reminder too...

... Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed,

"O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant.
Prove that I have done all this at your command.
O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you,
O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself."

38 Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out,

"The LORD—he is God! Yes, the LORD is God!"


1 Kings 18:36