Community X mas

This x mas eve i went out to my mom's families x mas whcih was in Visalia California. I am not always really really excited to go but usually do b/c my mom likes me being there. It is a rather new family b/c my mom was adopted and her biological father contacted her about 6 years ago, so it can be just different usually. However i think that there is some great and exciting ideas/projects/things that they participate in that we normally don't.

For example, most of their x mas gifts tend to be gifts that are very creative and community centered in which my x-tian family doesn't do. (by the way they arn't practicing x-tians which is just different from the rest of my church going family) B/c there are so many people in the large family they can't afford to purchase extravangant fits so for this year they gave everyone "wha-dinger sticks" which are long wooden sticks that have a fat end on the tip in which you place a uncooked bisquit on and spread really thin and cook over a open fire which leaves you with a cup of cooked dough which can handle all sorts of dessert items such as pudding or whipped cream or fruit topping. So basically after dinner we all roasted our bisquits together and had dessert. and their desire would be for us to take these camping w/ us and use them as alternatives to s'mores or in addition to. I thought that it was a brilliant thing to share w/ us all and was unique b/c g pa did it when he use to ditch class when he went to school. They also made simple bird houses for all of the families to enjoy.

So i think that it was a great x mas eve and wherever you are there are things and lesson to learn.

I gave fair trade coffee to my family and framed pics of some of my south african travels as well as my europe adventures and i think that they really enjoyed it.
tomorrow i am off to find and buy myself a car so i hope that that goes better than last time and that it will all work out nicely.


If ever you come near i'll hold up high a mirror, Lord I could never show you anything as beautiful as you ---mewithoutYou

Seattle

So, chad, jeremy and i left for seattle on friday at approx. 4:30. we drove straight through the night and arrived in seattle at 7:25 am. we got pulled over once but no ticket so that was nice. It has been a great time thus far, Brian and his wife Corrin have treated us very hospitably. We saw David Bazan last night and he was solid as usual. We went to a lighthouse about 5 min from their apt today and are off to mars hill for a little bit of worship very shortly. I really enjoy Seattle and am having a blast w/ these new friends. Hope you are all doing well and that everything is swell. Good stuff is happening w/ the thrift store and have been super stoked about that ever since. Love to all::

PH X Mas

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X mas Party at the Pink House. Great Food, Great Friends.

Lakes Show. Great Friends, Great Music.

A Severe Mercy

""The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians-- when they are sombre and joyless, when they are self righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths. But, though it is just to condemn some Christians for these things, perhaps, after all, it is not just, though very easy, to condemn Christianity itself for them. Indeed, there are impressive indications that the positive quality of job is in Christianity and possibly nowhere else. If that were certain, it would be proof of a very high order.""

This is an excerpt from a book that i am reading right now entitled "a severe mercy" it is a great book so far. kind of a love story of two adventurous souls. they are (as some say) pagans and have moved to study at Oxford and are 'looking' into Christianity. He has been hit by CS Lewis's writings and is in search of finding truth in Jesus. i am maybe a 1/3 into the book and would recommend it, however it makes me want to fall in love b/c this couple seems to be very much in love and aware of it all the time. who doesn't desire that right??? well i a librarian today and it is INCREDIBLE. i am looking forward to Lakes this evening in Tower and for what a meeting w/ some thrift store people will go. God is Good. For some reason, i have the song 'if heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool' in my head. well that is what is on my mind today. Love to ALL

Piper

here is article that Piper wrote in 1980 about God being a one of wrath. just for all of those comments on that last one.

http://www.theresurgence.com/john_piper_1980-08-31_final_judgement

read it.

Also, i am looking for cars online and it is awful! Maybe i won't be one after all, dang...

So this morning i needed to be at fort miller mddle school and i couldn't find my scooter key. i was flipping out looking everywhere, by the time i gave up searching the apartment, it was 7:48. the school bell would ring in 7 min. so i was going to ride my bike there but its like 3.5 miles, so i thought i would ask one of my house mates if they could help me out. sure enough, megan decided she would drop me off at work. when i got there it was 5 min passed the bell, so i can't even imagine how late i would have been if i had rode my bike. I got some stares in the office (probably b/c what i was wearing is just my normal day to day clothes, v-neck, jeans, slip ons, army jacked) and i was super blessed by megan showing me some community and helping me out. so i think i will take the bus home b/c a lot of the students told me which one to take to go downtown. it should be fun. anyways, lesson, is to help those out in binds b/c it is very much appreciated. The rain is beautiful and so are You. ::All Praise Be To God::

a quick couple thoughts

first of all, i am on my lunch break at home and not wanting to go back to these dreadful 4th graders who have no control at all. it is unbelievable.

second of all, a 3rd grader's name was alondra and she told me the best story i have heard in probably forever. she wanted to tell me how she got her name, she said that her mom once heard a bird say it maybe two or three times, and she thought to herself....i think that i shall name my daughter that! how incredible of a story is that. and the story is just as beautiful as this girl. i see God in this girl.

Middle Ground???

So lately, i have been introduced to a lot of new and different and rather exciting theological discussions and ideas. It is very interesting to me because i have grown up with one train of thought my entire life and now things are moving and shaking around. the thought i was grown on was the conservative, evangelical church and now there is this whole new deal of i guess you could say "postmodern" (although that work already has too much baggage) but a different i guess more accepting view of faith and life. it is just far different than i am used to and i feel like it may be a while till i can have something figured out. although that may never happen i think that i should keep trying. i feeel as though sometimes i just accept and accept but have a hard time just saying NO to something that is unusual to me. i different contexts all differnet kinds of things may sound not so 'bad' anymore.
then i guess it all comes up on asking how much of this stuff is totally crucial and how much maybe more trivial than i think. i am not so sure i know where this is going and headed but i guess i just need to be honest w/ it all. keeping thinking, keep talking and keep loving is one (or three) thing that i know. Jesus calls us to follow him and love one another, so i will try to continue to do those things and as my boy joe dirt says "keep on trucking!"
so today i am working at Roosevelt High and get off at 11:15 then i am at an elementary that is quite far away. it is far down chestnut by church and i need tob e there by 12:00 so it should be exciting to see how this goes while riding my bike. I think i will post a picture of my beautiful bike soon, cause lately we have been spending a lot of time together. riding bikes is a lot more efficient than i thought. i went from Mclane High (shields and 168) to my house downtown in 30 min exactly!!! i thought that was pretty sweet. So right now i heard a student of mine telling his friend about having a 'kickback' as they are called. And i kinda just giggled to myself about that. For those of you who dont know what that is, it is a relaxed 'drinking' party where things don't get to out of control but usually happen when parents go out of town. i guess it might be to insure that things don't get broken or something. well, i thought i would share all of these random things with you b/c i KNOW you care about it all.
"lifes a garden, dig it!" --joe dirt

Bobby D

This looks pretty freaking sweet. it looks like an interesting dynamic for a movie on one person b/c some many people play him

http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/imnotthere/trailer2/

John 9

Today i have been listening to Matt Pond PA's new album and it is great, i have also been compiling a list of interesting things that i am going to start researching. I would be awesome to really really research them. A few things are; shooting stars, the beatles, the kingdom of jesus, LA city riots, i think just things i should maybe know more about already but its never too late to start.
In my bible study, this morning we discussed John 9. It is the story of Jesus healing a blind man but spitting in mud and having him wash in a certain fountain to restore his sight. Brother Thomas discussed how the very beginning starts off and kind of how peculiar this is. The disciples ask Jesus whether he is blind b/c of his sin or his parents. As usual Jesus responds w/ an answer which isn't either one of those in the questions. He states that he is blind so that the work of God will be shown. The answer is much bigger than just a matter of fact statement. I suppose there are many ideas to discuss about just this section of the story. My mind resides on the fact that we just don't comprehend the right questions to ask. I think that more that we can put ourselves in the kingdom perspective of discovering 'how is God going to restore shalom to this situation' we may be closer to this. i love learning about perspectives like this and was proud of my brother Thomas for questioning this part of the chapter when my mind was totally on another part.Then at the end of the chapter Jesus comes down on the judgments of the pharisees
41Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. this is probably a bigger statement than i realize. what do u think?