Christian Friend or Business Associate?

Recently I have felt prompted to tell my friends how valuable they are and how important they are to my life development.  One of my best friends, who definitely lives up to this is Ty Robbins.  I have had the privilege of knowing Ty for almost two years and it has been such a great adventure!

Our friendship began through a church's local college ministry and we have strived to live Proverbs 27:17 through thick and thin.  There have been times of struggle for sure, times of growth, and times of extreme excitement and energy.  Many of the exciting times revolve around our passion for ministry and our mutual enjoyment of nature and the great outdoors.

It is so awesome to watch Ty live his life while witnessing to those around him.  These include his GSM small group, the AMWED small group, his 5 Star guys, and his hockey teammates.  I am encouraged when I hear of his love for his family and how he strives to be a good example to his parents and siblings.  I enjoy getting up in the morning to see Ty already making breakfast and reading his One Year Bible.  Not many housemates have that privilege!  

The greatest thing I have learned through my friendship with Ty is that each person desperately needs to have someone in their life with whom they can be honest and open, someone who will encourage them to take the narrow road vs the wide road (Matthew 7:13), and someone who will fight alongside them through prayer.

Unfortunately, for most people, the idea of "christian friendship" simply means someone that you hang out with at church.  Very similar to the term "business associate" the only difference being that the location has changed to a church building rather than an office!

The New Testament paints a very different picture of friendship.  It is a friendship that you are willing to lay down your life for, one that you are partnering with to spread the Gospel (koinonia), one that you can build confidence and trust on, and one that you can see marked progression of steps toward the image of Christ:

• Christian friends are to love sacrificially
• "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
• A friendship should never be all about me, and vice versa.  Friends should be mutually willing to sacrifice for the other person.
• Christian friends accept unconditionally
• "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." (Proverbs 17:17)
• There are going to be hard times in a friendship, that's obvious.  What most people do though, is leave a friend who stumbles across difficult times in order to find a friend that is "easier to hang out with".  This is the world's stance on friendship, not the Bible's.  The Bible says that Christian friendship is BORN for adversity.  That we are given the strength inside to endure it along with our Christian brother or sister.  That's so encouraging!
• Christian friends trust completely
• "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24)
• I honestly believe that Christian friends, over time, can prove that they are willing to stick closer than a brother or sister.
• Christian friends keep healthy boundaries
• "Love is patient, love is kind..." (1 Corinthians 13:4)
• Sometimes, instead of confronting the sin all the time, it is best to be patient and remain dedicated to praying for a close Christian friend.  Prayer is powerful and it works!
• Christian friends give mutual edification
• "Wounds from a friend can be trusted..." (Proverbs 27:6)
• Sometimes the hard messages have to be delivered and I have found that most people in my life choose not to deliver that message because they don't want to hurt my feelings.  This is not the case with Ty!  He is willing to tell me when I am making mistakes, even if it means stepping on my toes.

A few quotes on friendship:

"A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down." 

~ Arnold Glasow

"Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a fire?"

~ C.S. Lewis

"Would you throw away a diamond because it pricked you? 

One good friend is not to be weighed against all the jewels of all the earth. 

If there is coolness or unkindness between us, let us come face to face and have it out. 

Quick, before the love grows cold. Life is too short to quarrel in, or carry dark thoughts of friends. 

It is easy to lose a friend, but a new one will not come for calling, nor make up for the old one when he comes."

~ Leaves of Gold

"A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend; 

one human soul whom we can trust utterly; 

who knows the best and the worst of us, 

and who loves us in spite of all our faults;

 who will speak the honest truth to us, 

while the world flatters us to our face and laughs at us behind our back."

~Charles Kingsley

From girls to God

As I sat talking with my friend Arnold, I realized just how awesome it is to have solid Christian friends in my life.  We talked about everything from girls to God and it was amazing to see how Arnold's passion for life and service to the Lord came out in every sentence he spoke.

God-honoring friendships are critical to getting through this life.  We were never meant to live alone and are commanded to "spur one another on towards love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24)

And that's exactly what we did, and boy was it encouraging.  It was so encouraging, in fact, that we moved from eating at Five Guys to having coffee at Romy's; talking for over 2 1/2 hours!  It's hard to stop talking about God once you get into deep conversations with Christian friends.

If you know about the parking garage at ESCO, you only get two hours for free, then you have to pay.  I thought, "Shoot!  The time flew by, now we have to pay for it!"  Even worse, between the two of us, we managed to only scrounge up $1, definitely not enough to open the gate.

But, as we were pulling up to pay, we noticed that the gate was already open!  I have been to that parking garage many times and this has never happened before.

Very cool.

"On the first day of the week,
when we were gathered together to break bread,
Paul talked with them,
intending to depart on the next day,
and he prolonged his speech until midnight."
~Acts 20:7

Twice as much light? [Part Two]

Now a few thoughts from Scripture.

Personally, I know how important a good day of rest is.  There have been so many times in my life where I have taken a personal retreat day (or week!) and have needed it so that I could refocus and rekindle my drive and motivation.

This may be a blurry line, but this is not the type of work/rest that I am talking about with these posts.

What I am referring to are the tendencies I have to be only talk and no action with my Christian journey.  To be someone who will tell others to talk about God, but never share my faith with those who I work with or those I see on a regular basis. 

What are the ways we can receive eternal rewards here on earth?  Almost every example that I found in the Bible deals with action of some type:

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water…he will certainly not lose his reward.”

~Matthew 10:42

“The Son of Man… will reward each person according to what he has done.”

~Matthew 16:27

“Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them.  Then your reward will be great.”

~Luke 6:35

“You know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.”

~Ephesians 6:8

“You know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

~Colossians 3:24

“Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.”

~2 John 8

Okay, I am seeing a pattern here.  That there are some people who will receive more reward when they get to heaven and some people who will “escape the flames” through salvation alone, not receiving any rewards for deeds on earth.

Sound too harsh?

Let’s read on.

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it.  But each one should be careful how he builds.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.  It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

~1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Now, what do we do with that verse?  Pretend it isn’t in the Bible?  Keep our eternal perspective only when we come to church on Sunday, then forget it the rest of the week? 

So, back to the original statement that I am “too involved in the ‘doing part’ of my faith”.  After this week of reflection I have concluded that given enough moments of rest, not stretching myself too thin (view previous entry), and keeping an eternal perspective, this cannot be true in my life, especially now, when I have so much time, talent, and energy to give to God.

Yes, there are times people need a break, myself included.  But I honestly believe these times of rest should be short punctuation marks in our life stories that are surrounded by PARAGRAPHS of work that advance God’s Kingdom!

If Jesus himself came down today and said, “Will you serve me?”  How hard would you work for Him?  I know that I would bust my fourth-point-of-contact to do whatever He needed.  If He said, “work for me in the High School ministry”, then I would do it, sold out, 100%. 

Would any of your lives change if you saw Jesus right now and He asked you that?  Because I can tell you this, HE ALREADY HAS!

And a final thought.  Too many times I believed that God wanted me to sing praises to Him at church and that if I truly meant it I was a good Christian.  Jesus never said, “If you love me, you’ll sing to me” or “If you love me you’ll read about me every morning before work”.

Yes, those are all good things, but if we aren’t DOING what He has commanded, then I think many times we’re missing out on the bigger picture.

“If you love me, you’ll DO what I command”

~John 14:15

Thoughts?

Change it up!

I read a quote recently that said, "teenagers aren't houseplants that need water every three days".

Haha!  But it's so true!  If ministries that I am doing are not seeing any fruit or are the same old thing week after week, then there is a problem.  Fresh ideas and new ways of engaging the younger generation will lead to changed perspectives, and ultimately, the hope of transformation.

Our God is not a duplicator, but a Creator!

Chicken wings

The most exhilarating times of my life are when God opens opportunities to advance His kingdom.  This past weekend was another addition to that category.

This picture explains it all.  A group of guys, gathered around some wings at BW3, watching some football, and laughing can make an atmosphere ripe for mentoring the church leaders of tomorrow.  It was such an encouraging weekend.  These young men are reading their Bibles and speaking to each other as true Christian brothers.  Their joy and excitement is expressed in every conversation they have.

"I always thank God when I pray for you
because I keep hearing of your trust in the Lord Jesus
and your love for all of God's people."
~Philemon 4 and 5

Twice as much light? [Part One]

The old saying “don’t burn the candle at both ends” is used to warn people not to become overly committed to something to the point of exhaustion. 

Recently a Christian friend of mine told me that I was “too involved in the ‘doing’ part of my faith”.  Wow.  What a statement.  Is it possible to be overly involved in ministry?

I have been meditating on this question all week and have decided to split this into a two-part discussion.  The first part will be my initial reaction to that statement and the second will be what the Bible says about work and rest.

My thoughts:

1.  I don’t know how long I will live.  We sing songs about it all the time, but seriously, if this is my last day on earth, would I do what I am currently doing?

2.  One of my favorite mentors is the Apostle Paul who may have been labeled a “double-end burner”.  More on him tomorrow.

3.  I don’t want to become comfortable with my current situation or become apathetic towards the moving of God.  Too often I have become stagnant doing the same thing I’ve done every day that eventually a year passes and I ask myself “what did I accomplish this past year?!”

4.  Some people are not thinking eternally when they condemn the ministry efforts of other Christians.  This is the first response I gave my friend: “I don’t think you’ll say that I did too much ministry when we are standing before the throne room of God”.  Honestly.  That is the end state.  It all comes down to giving Him my all and at the end of my life I want to look back and say that I did that.  I have a feeling that the moment I die and come before Christ, everything on earth that I have dedicated my time towards will be viewed, in full spectrum, before God.  The question is not AM I DOING TOO MUCH MINISTRY, but when I get to heaven is DID I DO ENOUGH MINISTRY?

5.  Rest is good and is desperately needed.  I will talk more about rest tomorrow.

6.  And finally, I don’t think God wires everyone the same.  God has wired some people to get more and more excited at His moving to the point that it is all they think about!  In his recent book Axiom, Bill Hybels explains this concept:

Sometimes while [Dr. B] was talking about the local church, I felt the passion so strongly I could barely keep myself from crying.  Other times I wanted to jump up and shout, “Gang, this is it!  Don’t you see it?  Can’t you feel it?  The local church is the hope of the world!  It’s the God-ordained redemptive agency that the future of the entire world hangs on.  Cancel your career plans!  Do something important with your one and only life!  Lay it down for the sake of the local church!”  The local church – it still stirs the deepest kinds of feelings in me.  Nothing else does this to me.  I’ve had some other exhilarating experiences in my life, but they pale in comparison to what stirs in my heart when it comes to giving my life to help renew the local church.  Vision and passion are inextricably bound together in the life of a leader.  God made it so.  When you have eyes to see the vision that God has given you, you’ll know it because your heart will feel it so deeply that, over time, any lingering uncertainty will vanish.  Leaders, don’t ever apologize for the strength of feeling you have for the vision that God has put into your life.  (pg 30-31)

Worship

It is such a joy to watch our worship team sing praises to God.  This past Sunday was no exception.  I was deeply blessed by the passion and heart of Gennie Sanchez, Mario Dunlap, and Carol Hurt as they gave their all to worship our wonderful God!

"Come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to Him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to Him.
For the LORD is a great God,
a great King above all gods."
~Psalm 95:1-3

Burning Hawk

During the Gulf War, a massive psychological operation campaign took place. Known as 'Operation Burning Hawk', it was designed to force the Iraqi Army to surrender before any shots were fired.

The plan was simple. Destroy a town in southern Iraq through precision air strikes. Then drop over 29 million leaflets to every town to the north which said:

WE HAVE COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE TOWN TO THE SOUTH.

SURRENDER BY NOON TOMORROW OR YOU WILL ALSO BE DESTROYED.

It was amazing to see hundreds of Iraqi soldiers coming out of buildings and foxholes in single file, AK-47s over their heads, ready to surrender to the more powerful army. An estimated 40-60 % of the army deserted their posts and fled!

I read stories like that and think, "if I were in that situation I would surrender too!"

But the fact is, that when it comes to God, I don't always surrender.

In Jeremiah 44:2, 10 it says,

"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw what I did to Jerusalem and to all the towns of Judah. They now lie in ruins, and no one lives in them...yet to this very hour no one has shown remorse or reverence, or chosen to follow my decrees that I gave you."

It gets worse. The people visibly shake their fists at Jeremiah and say (v. 16),

"We will not listen to your messages from the LORD! We will do whatever we want."

How sad that when God drops leaflets in my life warning of imminent danger, that I would refuse to listen to them. Some of my friends would say, "Well that sounds like a mean God, who would destroy you for not listening to Him." To which I reply, "He isn't the one destroying me, but I am destroying myself" (v. 7).

A fresh face for ministry

I like to have fresh things. A fresh sandwich at Subway, a clean fresh room, a fresh pair of underwear... you get the idea.

Lately the idea of being fresh has caused me to question some of the practices that I have been doing for years. Is the current system and style that I do things grabbing the next generation? Am I constantly trying to understand who my audience is and how I can best approach them?

A lot has changed since I was in high school. I didn't have a cell phone, didn't have streaming internet, and certainly didn't have facebook. Each of these readily accessible items has caused quite a stir among the younger crowd. The very idea of "free-time" has changed, relationships have morphed into a new quasi-informal entity, and personal accountability has decreased to record levels.

Last night the youth leaders of Calvary sat in a room together and tried to shake off the old and bring in fresh new ideas. And I think it's working. Sure, we had to go through a few bad ideas, but in the end I think we came out with a couple of winners. The excitement in the room was amazing as we began latching on to these winning ideas. I look forward to carrying them out.

High schoolers, like myself, enjoy fresh things. Am I being fresh?

a mediocre outcome

Rest.

Unwind.

De-Stress.

I have decided to let go of a few things in my life in order to de-clutter and focus my efforts. Right now it seems that I have been running around this city trying to do God's work, and in the process have done a lot of things, but only maintained enough time and effort to accomplish these tasks with a mediocre outcome. I would rather do a few things well than do many things okay.

It's time to apply laser guided focus again...

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..."

-Psalm 37:7

saving a lost brother

I was very encouraged the other day at Calvary when my dad talked about jumping into the river and saving a lost brother or sister in Christ. How am I mobilizing to help those brothers who are straying from the path? Am I being an encouragement or am I being a nag? Are my intentions behind my actions pure and right?

I was encouraged by Paul's words to Philemon. Paul knows what Philemon should do (in regards to Onesimus) but doesn't force him to do it. Instead he says, "I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do, but because of our love, I prefer just to ask you."

I don't want to force people to love God. It will just lead to a false religion. Instead, I want to lovingly encourage those who are struggling and allow them to make the right decision on their own.

"I will keep a protective eye on the godly,

so they may dwell with me in safety."

~Psalm 101:6

Was Jesus just a great moral teacher?

I am studying various religions in my theology class at school and have been hit with the fact that every single religion that believes in Christ (except for Christianity) just believes that he was a good teacher, not the Son of God (John 1:1).  

What do we say to this?  Read the quote below and tell me what you think.

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus 

said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a 

lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or 

he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this 

was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. 

You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call 

Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing 

nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left 

that open to us. He did not intend to". 

 -- CS Lewis

just a set of stairs?

This movie made me think about how the mundane things in life can be turned into fun and really have an impact on people's lives.

It also made me think about my own personal testimony.  Am I a person who is viewed as "just a set of stairs"?  Am I boring and dullish for people?  When people are around me, does it seem like they have to exert more effort than it's worth?  Do I bring a sense of fun and excitement to people's lives?

Anyway.  Enjoy.

If you can't view it on Facebook, please visit my site at Your Daily Source of Vitamin A.

record everything

So I am currently reading through the One Year Bible (OYB) and keeping accountable with a men's group that meets every Wednesday morning.  It is such a blessing to be encouraged in the faith!  I feel as though sometimes it is just me against the world.  I know that this isn't really the case, but it sure can feel that way.

Not really a huge post today, but I noticed something intriguing while reading through Jeremiah chapter 30.  God tells Jeremiah to "write down for the record everything I have said to you" (verse 2).  

The thought that hit me that I don't journal enough.  I must write down how God moves through my life; not only so I can be encouraged when I'm down, but so that I might encourage others in the faith.

God is so good.

America (Granger Community Church Interview)

I had the honor of being interviewed for the 4th of July weekend service at Granger Community Church.  Thankful for LeRoy King (vocals) and Trace Rorie (guitar).

Stand By Me

This song says:

"No matter who you are,

No matter where you go in your life;

At some point you're going to need somebody

to stand by you."

Do Something Great

Abraham Lincoln often slipped out of the White House on Wednesday evenings to listen to the sermons of Dr. Phineas Gurley at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He generally preferred to come and go unnoticed, so when Dr. Gurley knew the president was coming, he left his study door open.

On one of those occasions, the president quietly entered through a side door of the church, took his seat in the minister's study, located just off the sanctuary, and propped the door open just wide enough to hear the preacher. During the walk home one Wednesday evening, an aide asked Mr. Lincoln his appraisal of the sermon. The president thoughtfully replied,

"The content was excellent... he delivered with eloquence... he had put work into the message.."

"Then you thought it was an excellent sermon?" questioned the aide.

"No," Lincoln answered.

"But you said that the content was excellent, it was delivered with eloquence and it showed much work," the aide pressed.

"That's true," Lincoln said. "But Dr. Gurley forgot the most important ingredient. He forgot to ask us to do something great."
------------------------------------------
There is nothing wrong with average lives and average accomplishments.

Most of the good of the world is built on the accumulated efforts of everyday people. But, as Lincoln seemed to know, a life should strive for some greatness. Are you part of a relationship that, if given more effort, could be outstanding? Do you volunteer for an organization which is truly doing something excellent? Have you joined a cause that is attempting something great? Or have you ever said to yourself concerning a beautiful dream, "I could never do that," while knowing that if you were to attempt it and succeed, you could accomplish something significant?

If Lincoln is right, then every life should strive for some greatness. Including yours and mine!

*this article is from Life Support System, 12 January 2007.

the only complete realist

Just wanted to share one of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes from Mere Christianity.  It talks about those who resist temptation and those who constantly give in.

"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.  A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means.  This is an obvious lie.  Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is.  After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in.  You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down.  A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.  That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness.  They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.  We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means--the only complete realist."

Daily Reading: 31 March 2009

Wow, the Bible always amazes me with its wisdom and insight into daily human life.  I was taught a long time ago that if I wanted to understand mankind then I needed to understand man.  So in college I took Psychology, Sociology, Biology, and other natural and social sciences.

But the more I go to church, the more I read God's word, the more I begin to realize that if I TRULY want to understand mankind, then I need to study God.  

I enjoy reading stories that show God's heart and his compassion for me.  In Deuteronomy 18:16 it says that the people of Israel BEGGED God to stay away from them.  They didn't even want to hear His voice!  And what did God say?  "Fine, I will do as they requested."

But He can't keep from loving us and communicating His will to us.  He sends a prophet that will "proclaim on My behalf".  

How amazing is God's love?!  That even when I push Him away (which is quite often) and shut his voice out of my life (which is a regular occurrence) HE still pursues ME!

And yet, He doesn't push me to love Him.  In Luke 9:42, Jesus has been asked to heal a child with an evil spirit.  He told the people that they were "stubborn" and "faithless" and yet, He didn't just walk up and heal the boy.  He ASKED the father to have faith and bring the boy to Him.  Jesus didn't push the man to believe, but still gave him the opportunity, even though the man had already exhibited qualities of faithlessness.  How amazing!

In Psalm 73:1 it says, "Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure."  That verse, by itself, would depress me sometimes when my heart wasn't so pure.  But then I read the next verse and remember how much I enjoy David's testimony of falling down and getting back up again: "But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff!  My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone."

There are some characters in the Bible that I cannot relate to.  Joshua is one of these. He seems to have an almost impossible strength of character!  But David is so relatable because, like him, I have fallen down the mountain, patched up my cuts and scrapes through the grace of God, and climbed back up.

A question I hear a lot from my friends is "how can GOOD things happen to BAD people?".  There are a lot of different ways I answered that question before, but after reading through the rest of Psalm 73 it become much clearer.  I am going to write the entire Psalm here in the NLT.

3. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.

4. They seem to live such a painless life; their bodies are so healthy and strong.

5.  They aren't troubled like other people or plagued with problems like everyone else.

6.  They wear pride like a jeweled necklace, and their clothing is woven of cruelty.

7.  These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!

8.  They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others.

9.  They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.

10.  And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.

11.  "Does God realize what is going on?" they ask.  "Is the Most High even aware of what is happening?"

12.  Look at these arrogant people--enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.

13.  Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong?

14.  All I get is trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.

15.  If I had really spoken this way, I would have been a traitor to your people

16.  So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.  But what a difficult task it is!

17.  Then one day I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I thought about the destiny of the wicked.

18.  Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.

19.  In an instant they are destroyed, swept away by terrors.

20.  Their present life is only a dream that is gone when they awake.  When you arise, O Lord, you will make them vanish from this life.

21.  Then I realized how bitter I had become, how pained I had been by all I had seen.

22.  I was so foolish and ignorant--I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.

23.  Yet I still belong to you; you are holding my right hand.

24.  You will keep on guiding me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.

25.  Whom have I in heaven but you?  I desire you more than anything on earth.

26.  My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.

27.  But those who desert Him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.

28.  But as for me, how good it is to be near God!  I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things that you do.

third house from the end

I go to Jordan Ford at least once a week to get a free car wash (sorry, only for people who bought their car there). Recently, I ran into an old high school buddy named Jacob, who also works in the used car area. But usually, a guy named James takes my car through.

I've been getting to know James for some time now and that's been good, but on this particular occasion, a middle-aged woman came out and hopped in my drivers seat.
"Hi, I'm Jonathan"
"Hi, I'm Roxanne".
We talked, as most polite humans do, about a host of different topics. Where she used to work, how she got the job she has now, and what her hobbies are (it's a long car wash).Then we got on the topic of where I went to elementary school. I told her Battell, on Cedar Street. She said that she used to live off of Cedar, on Lawrence.

I said, "Oh, that's interesting, I used to live on Lawrence too". She asked me where, and I said, "I don't remember the exact address, but it was the third house from the end on the right, just before Division". She snapped her head to the right and looked at me real funny. She said, "Was it a duplex?" I told her it was.

Her mouth dropped open and she did a double take. She said, "That was the exact house that I used to live in!" She lived in the same house I did, just ten years before my family moved in.

Now, is this a coincidence? No. Not only has the Lord allowed me to develop a relationship with James, but he also placed Jacob there (someone I already know), and now this woman named Roxanne, who I now have this very weird connection with. There were quit a few layoffs at Jordan ford recently, and they only kept three people in the used car area; three people that I now have a direct connection with. I believe that the Lord is priming this as a significant ministry opportunity.

"At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ."~Colossians 4:3 (NET)

servant's reward

Have you ever been blessed by the Lord? Some things happen and I don't necessarily think that the Lord is blessing me, when in fact, He probably is.

First example. Last December I was sitting at Fort Bragg getting ready to head overseas. Because of the ice on the streets, me and some buddies decided to stay in our barracks and play a game of Spades and order pizza. There were six of us and the pizza came by the truckloads. We finished our game around 11pm and the guys started to head back to their rooms just down the hall. The weather had turned worse and freezing rain was now coming down pretty hard. No one wanted to run the empty pizza boxes out to the dumpster about 200 meters away from the building, so I volunteered. I cleaned up everything, all the tables, the half-eaten breadsticks, the marinara sauce, and hauled those four empty boxes to the dumpster in my sweatpants. On the way to the dumpster, I found a $20 bill.

"Cool!", I thought as I picked it up. I walked another five feat and found another $20 bill, then another, then another, then another. In total, I found $100! I thought that it was neat that I had volunteered to be a servant and reaped the reward. The next morning I told everyone in the building that I had found a certain amount of money, but no one claimed it. It's literally like it fell from the sky.

Second example. My brother called me late on Thursday and said that he and his friends wanted to get together for poker. Well, it was past 9pm and the weather was said to get really bad, I hadn't had any coffee, my brother lived 25 minutes away, I had to swing by the ATM to get $5 for the buy-in......my mind was racing with a thousand reasons NOT TO GO. Then I had this quiet thought of "He's my brother and I need to reach out to him whenever he reaches out to me". And I went. Now, mind you, I have never won at a poker game in my life (and I've played quite a few) but I won the top prize of $30 that night. And I got to spend time with my little brother. Did God honor my obedience to do what was right? When I get to heaven I'll ask Him.

pull out all the stops

I wanted to share a short paragraph that my pastor gave me just before I left for Iraq. It's an excerpt from a letter written by a missionary out in the jungles of New Guinea:

Man, it is great to be in the thick of the fight, to draw the old devil's heaviest guns, to have him at you with depression and discouragement, slander, disease. He doesn't waste time on a lukewarm bunch. He hits good and hard when a fellow is hitting him. You can always measure the weight of your blow by the one you get back. When you're on your back with fever and at your last ounce of strength, when some of your converts backslide, when you learn that your most promising inquirers are only fooling, when your mail gets held up, and some don't bother to answer your letters, is that the time to put on mourning? No sir. That's the time to pull out the stops and shout, Hallelujah! The old fellow's getting it in the neck and hitting back. Heaven is leaning over the battlements and watching. "Will he stick it?" And as they see Who is with us, as they see the unlimited reserves, the boundless resources, as they see the impossibility of failure, how disgusted and sad they must be when we run away. Glory to God! We're not going to run away. We're going to stand.

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it."~1st Corinthians 10:13

The three onlookers

At GCC this past Wednesday Ron spoke about setting up "ducks" in my life that are difinitive places where I have seen God working. I pulled this story from a year ago, but wanted to share it with you if you haven't heard it.

//December 29,2007//
This past week was spent in Minnesota with my fantastic family. It was a welcome break from Fort Bragg.My trip was very interesting. I left Kalamazoo around 0230, hoping to beat the rush through Chicago and make it to Minneapolis around 10am. The roads were clear and traffic was light when I left. The temperature was around 48 degrees.

I got through Chicago without incident. However, as soon as I hit the west side, the temperature started to drop very quickly and the snow began to fall. Temperatures were now at 16 degrees.I kept driving north into Wisconsin cheese country, as the temperature kept dropping and the traffic steadily became more congested.

I pulled over around 0740 to grab some coffee from Starbucks. They weren't open yet because their delivery truck was stuck in the weather, however, after my sob story of being deployed to Iraq and this potentially being my last cup of hot coffee in the United States, they were obliged to give me a fresh brewed cup. As they passed it out the window they said, "Don't drink it for a while because it's extra, extra hot." And they were right. Even with gloves on and the cardboard coffee wrap, my hands still felt hot.I got back on the freeway and kept driving north, determined to "be home for Christmas".

About fifteen minutes later I'm cruising along and decided to call my mom on my high-speed hands free device. We're chatting and joking when all of a sudden my car hit black ice and immediately began turning clockwise on the freeway at 55 mph. It completed a 180 degree turn, slid to the side of the road, hit the ditch, flipped on it side, and continued sliding into the ditch until it came to a halt. I had my seatbelt on, and was laying on my side with the ground right next to my head. I was still on speakerphone with my mom, and had just finished narrating the entire thing to her as it happened, so she sounded very distressed and asked me all sorts of questions.

I undo my seatbelt and turn off the vehicle. I look up to the passenger door and there are two faces staring back at me. It shocked me at first because it had only been 30 seconds or so since the accident. They ask if I'm okay. "Yeah, I'm fine." It was two men who looked like they were from West Virginia and had baled hay their entire lives.One man opened the passenger door and held it open for me, while the other grabbed my hands and helped me out. As I'm pulled out, I noticed there was a third person standing next to the two men. It was a women, dressed in a white fur coat. She says, "Are you okay? Do you have any injuries? I'm a registered nurse, let me look you over."

She has me pull off my hat, she examines my head, and then checks for any other injuries. She smiles and says, "Everything checks out". Just then, a police car pulls up. Again, I'm shocked because I hadn't called for any help yet. The state police officer began asking me questions, and put me into his car to stay warm. The officer needed my registration, so I went to my vehicle and opened the passenger door, holding it open while I fumbled around in the glove compartment. Those doors are heavier than they look!

After a moment, I retrieved my registration. As I was shutting the door, I noticed my coffee cup. Remember? That steaming hot cup of coffee? It was sitting, straight up, without the lid, on the drivers side window, completely full. It had not spilled one drop during the accident. Unbelievable.I walked back to the police cruiser, just as a fire truck was stopping at the scene to check that there weren't any injuries. It was still only five minutes after the accident.

About five minutes later, a tow truck pulls up, flips my car right side up, and hoists it out of the ditch and onto the back of his truck.The truck driver took me south, about five miles, to DeForest. We drop my car off at the repair shop and he offers me a ride to the airport to pick up a rental. I said, "Aren't you still on duty?" He says, "Actually, this works out well. You were my last pickup so I'm off the clock now and would be happy to give you a ride." So, he drives me twenty minutes south to Madison to get a rental.

I decided to continue driving to Minneapolis, but I first wanted to grab everything out of my car in case it was declared a "total". As I'm cleaning out my car, another tow truck drops off another SUV that had rolled. The truck driver says, "I hope you aren't planning to go out there, it's real bad. We just received a call to go and get another car that had flipped in the ditch." This changed my mind, and I got a hotel room and waited out the storm. So I made it up safely the next day. After thinking about the incident and going over everything in my head, I realize how much God had His hand on the entire accident.

The most amazing part were the three people who arrived almost instantly after the crash happened. Although I didn't think of it at the time, I never recalled any vehicles at the scene but mine. The three onlookers didn't have a car anywhere near mine and I never saw where they went after my attention was diverted to the police officer. I am convinced that the Lord allowed me to visually see my guardian angels, even for a brief moment.

He also provided a police car, a fire truck, and a tow truck right behind me before the accident happened so that they were on the scene immediately. He orchestrated where my hot coffee would fly during the accident, and he provided me transportation to the airport by means of an off-duty truck driver. And to top it off, I didn't have any injuries. I am grateful this holiday season to worship a God who answers prayers before I even ask.

"Before they call, I will answer. While they are still speaking, I will hear."-Isaiah 65:24

the chair

My roommate and I had a very interesting encounter yesterday.

Our neighbor living below us, Walter, came up and gave us a chair that he didn't want anymore. My roommate Randy told me to come out and look at it because it bothered him. When I looked at it, I agreed. The old chair was beautiful, made of dark shining wood, and didn't have a crack in it. However, in the center of the chair back was a large engraving of a devils face, mouth full of fangs, and eyes beading out in 3D. Both Randy and my spirits felt off just looking at it. We didn't know what the history was behind the chair, but we both knew something wasn't right with it.

Randy and I have prayed over our apartment, so we knew that any type of evil spirit would be bound by the blood of Christ.

We nervously laughed about the hideous image and threw a towel over the back of the chair, promising each other that we would give it back to Walter in the morning.

About ten minutes later Walter came back up to our apartment, saying that he forgot to tell us something. We told him that we didn't want the chair and gave it back to him.

Then he says, "What did you guys do to my chair?" We told him we didn't do anything to it. Then we looked at it and our mouths dropped open as we saw that the entire demonic face, just the face, had turned ash white and was filled with many large cracks and hundreds of tiny ones. This once beautiful but ominous chair had turned into a disgusting and wimpy old chair....all within ten minutes.

Walter later told us that he and his wife had always felt wierd around the chair, and that they had moved it from room to room, hoping to get rid of its negative presence. This has opened doors of spiritual discussion with our neighbors. Please pray for them.

I don't know everything that happened in my apartment yesterday, but I do know that, as Christians, there is authority at our disposal that flows from the reservoir of power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead. This same power is used to overcome the works of Satan in our daily lives.

Praise God that we are not under Satan's power or subject to his authority. In Christ, we are above all demonic rule, authority, and power.

"...the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who belive. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might..." Eph 1:19

San Francisco 2006

I think I am becoming a running junkie. Over the past year and a half, I have really become attached to my running regime. It’s one thing, other than my devotionals, that when I don’t do it, I actually miss it. This past weekend I did the San Francisco half-marathon. It was a blast. The excitement and the energy of all my fellow runners is too difficult to explain in words.

The race began at 0530 in front of the Ferry Building (not fairy), and wound itself through the entire city. I ran along the SF Marina, then partway up the Presidio Hill, then through a park (whose sprinklers were still on because it was so early), then down along the Bay, and up another large hill until I reached my favorite part: The Golden Gate Bridge. It was awesome! I turned around on the other side and caught a view of the entire city right after sunrise. It was breathtaking. Then back over the Golden Gate, up another large part of the Presidio Hill, through little Italy and China town, ending up at Golden Gate Park.

I wasn’t as tired as I thought I would be, and regretted not doing the full marathon. I finished better than I had planned. I was able to maintain a 7:10 minute mile the entire race, running it in 1 hour 34 minutes. Out of the 3858 people that were running the first half-marathon I finished 41st, and 15th in my age group of 20-24 year olds. It felt really good. I look forward to my next race, the San Jose Half-Marathon in October!

fresh strawberries

I had an interesting encounter yesterday. I was walking through Farmers Market, a weekly gathering of local merchants in downtown Monterey, and had just finished getting some fresh strawberries and blackberries for my smoothie addiction when someone behind me called my name. I turned around to see a longtime friend, David Wynegar, who has apparently moved to Monterey while his girlfriend is studying at MPC. I was shocked. Despite the fact that neither of us knew we were out here, it was such a weird meeting! I was so shocked, I forgot to get his cell phone or any contact information whatsoever. Maybe hell be at the market next week too.

My parents came out to visit for Memorial Day. We had such a relaxing week. We spent a day and a half in San Francisco, touring everything from Alcatraz Island to China Town. We even managed to hop a ride on the trolley. We spent the last part of the trip in Monterey. We headed out to Pebble Beach for half a day, went to Bubba Gumps, walked along the beach, and just spent time enjoying each others company. We ate a lot of food (including that amazing meal on Coast Guard Pier) and laughed until my mom almost had an accident. Also, a good friend of mine from GCC came up to visit, Stephen Hinkel is his name, and serving God is his game.

Went out to the Range two weeks ago. It was at Fort Hunter-Liggett, which is about 2 ½ hours south of Monterey. We left base at 0230 in the morning (where does the Army come up with these times?!) and as soon as we left the Monterey area, the temperature shot up from 64 to 80. On the way down, we almost had a serious accident, one that may have injured or killed many soldiers. We were approaching Hunter-Liggett and getting off on the exit ramp when suddenly the brakes in our bus went out. The driver tried to pump them, but nothing happened. We continued our exit at 55 mph, flying through the intersection at the bottom (and that stop sign). Praise God though that no one was coming through the intersection, and that the entrance ramp to get back on the highway was right through the intersection, rather than a jog to the left or right. Also praise God that we were the first vehicle. If we had been any other vehicle (and there were five buses), we would have slammed into the back or side of another vehicle as it was turning at 55 mph. I wonder how many guardian angels were following us on our trip that day.

The Arabic school house that I attend issued every one of its student brand new, still in the box, Video iPod. Retail value $300. Unbelievable where the Army spends its money. It has been nice to have though.

I have so much more to write, but its late and I need to head back home and sleep. Plus, they just turned the lights off at the coffee shop Im sitting at.

20 miles a week

It is official. My fellow classmates and I are a third of the way through our Arabic program. I can't believe that in less than a year I will be home and fluent (give or take a few words) in Arabic. It doesn't seem like that day will get here!

This past week has flown by. We had Friday off becuase of a base-wide "Language Day", which was such a blast to attend. We had high schoolers and teachers from all over the country come to see how the DLI operates and teaches languages so quickly. We had teachers from as far away as Michigan and New York join us. It was great.

This past Friday I went and saw the Da Vinci Code. It was the first time that I had been to a movie that was completely sold out (our group of four had to split up to find a seat), and that had protesters and camera crews outside. It made for an enjoyable night. The movie was done really well but I recommend reading up on your church history before going to see it, as there are many blatant errors in the film. Click here for a link to some good material.

Saturday I spent with my roommate Randy. We went for a seven mile run from Asilomar to Lover's Point and back. It was a beautiful day, right around 74 degrees with a light breeze. I have really gotten into the sport of running. I run over 20 miles a week and have met a lot of new people doing so. I see people all the time in downtown Monterey that I know just because they run the same trails/roads that I do. It's like a secret little community that I never knew existed! We're all training for the same thing too, the San Franscisco Marathon. So whenever we see each other we say, "You better be training hard if you want to beat me!"
My prayer is that I can run the race of life with the same fervor and run alongside a strong group of Christians that can motivate me when I'm down and keep me accountable when I'm weak.

I think the LORD has blessed me with such a group. I have been attending a Bible study at a couple's house in Monterey for nearly three months and have really gotten to enjoy the people there. Saturday we went to see Ice Age 2 and then headed back to their house where Rich cooked us his famous BBQ spare ribs. They were delicious. Then, in a surprise move, we decided to go to the beach for a bonfire (yes at 11pm). It was such a blessing. We spent about an hour talking with each other, roasting marshmallows, joking around, and then 45 minutes in worship: Andy on the guitar and God on the drums (the ocean). I remember looking up at the stars and thinking, "If this is even a glimpse of Heaven, being surrounded by friends and worshipping you all the time, then I can't wait to get there."

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.~Ecclesiastes 4:12

the un-lit floor

As most of you know, I was forced to find an apartment because there is a housing shortage on base. This past Good Friday was the first day I stayed in my new place. I borrowed a blow-up air mattress, a table, a couple of chairs, and some silverware from the Army housing department, and officially “moved in”.

Over the past week I have discovered, through the pain in my back and neck, that sleeping on an air mattress every night is not beneficial to my health. So yesterday my roommate and I heading to our neighbor hood Ikea store. Actually it was the store in Palo Alto, nearly an hour and a half north of Monterey. Distance doesn’t matter much when you have phenomenal deals to back it up.

When we arrived we were both overwhelmed with the sheer power and monstrosity of the place. For those of you who have never been to an Ikea, it is too difficult to put into words. Maybe I’ll try to after our next visit.

Anyway, we spent all day walking through the showrooms, picking out things for the apartment. We ate a delicious Swedish lunch (at the Ikea restaurant), and then headed down to the warehouse to pick up the things we liked. We had so much stuff! Randy was pushing a flat cart full of furniture, and I was pushing not one, but TWO wheeled carts (talk about a task) filled with miscellaneous items for our humble abode.

We didn’t measure any of the items and therefore didn’t discover until returning to the car that none of the furniture fit in the back of my vehicle. So we had to take off the headrests for the driver and passenger and lean forward a little bit on our ride home. Randy thought that he would be decapitated if we hit someone, but I assured him that this wouldn’t happen (I really had no idea).

We made a quick tour stop at Moffit Air Field, which is home to two of the last three standing Air Force Blimp Hangers from World War Two. They are huge structures, made completely of wood, and did I mention they’re huge?! It was interesting also, because there were some Army guys on the base standing around in their PT’s. We stopped and asked them for directions, and one of the guys in the group walks forward saying that he recognized me. Turns out that I served in Iraq with this guy for six months! It seems that the Army gets smaller and smaller with every year that passes.

Returned home, I ran and picked up a good friend from the airport, went to Quizno’s for dinner, picked up a friend from base to help us build our furniture, then returned home again to begin our tedious task.

Let me just say that it started out well. We built a chair, built Randy’s bed, built a couple of lights (forgot to get lightbulbs), and then started work on my bed. It was around 9:00pm when we started my bed, and by 10:00 we were just about done. Right around this time is when I’m trying to find my mattress to put on my bed. “Randy, have you seen my mattress?” Nope. I jokingly run down to the car thinking I had left it in there on accident. I return, more desperate then when I had left. No mattress.

Apparently, after reviewing the days events, we realized that we had left the $100 mattress at the checkout lane. We took it out of the cart so the cashier could scan it. “So I guess I won’t be sleeping on my bed tonight”, I said, as a tear slowly rolled down my cheek and fell on the un-lit floor. We determined that it would be okay. We’d just go back to Ikea the next day, receipt in hand, and explain the whole situation. They’ll give us another mattress.

“Randy, where are the receipts?”

Apparently, partly because Ikea doesn’t believe in shopping bags, we left the receipts in the cart, which we left in the parking lot. So no receipts. This will be an interesting problem to solve.

I told Randy, “Well that's fine, I’ll just sleep on the futon that we got for the living room, but I am not sleeping on that blow-up air mattress again.” As we began assembling the futon we realized that we had forgotten to purchase a mattress for it.

I slept in the living room last night, like a guest in my own home, with a partially constructed bed in my bed room, a partially constructed futon right next to me, a lamp with no light bulbs right above me, on an air-mattress that I knew would have no air by morning.


Matthew 6:6-8 (ESV) But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. [7] "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

slamming her feet

This past week has been extremely busy. I was forced out of the barracks by the Army because there isn't enough room on base to house all of the soldiers, therefore, sergeants have to go. I spent most of my free time last week looking for a place to live which consequently, caused some things to fall by the wayside. Things such as Physical Training, keeping in contact with loved ones, etc, etc. All the important things basically fell to the side!

To top it off, we had our first C-1 test this past Thursday and Friday. For those of you unfamiliar with how testing works at my language institute, let me just tell you that it is a very long process. We have five parts to our tests: Speaking, Reading, Listening, Arabic-English translation, and English-Arabic translation. I received the results back on Monday and, praise God, received all A's and B's. Not a bad start to my academic report card.

Had an amazing Easter celebration weekend as well. Watched the Passion of the Christ on Friday with my Bible Study group as well as had communion with them. That was a very powerful time for us. We sang songs and reflected on Christs sacrifice well into the evening.
I have had the priveledge to connect with some amazing Christians here on base who truly have a passion for the Lord. I look forward to the work we can do together in the advancement of God's Kingdom.

Monday began the week anew. Not much to report on, other than a delicious Tuesday night dinner at the Joneses house (potato caserol with a mixed fruit bowl). The only highlight from this week was this morning when I was backing out of my apartment complex. I accidently hit a parked car as I was turning my wheel. It wouldn't have been so bad, but like I said, it was in mid-turn so it basically scraped their car all the way down. I couldn't even see the car because I have to back up down a hill. Having just moved in, I don't think this is the best way to meet my new neighbors.

I don't know why I'm thinking about this right now, but I was running on the treadmill in the gym, as is my daily routine, and there was this old Korean lady running next to me. I was running fast, right around 9.5 mph, and I could hear this elderly Korean next to me keeping up at my pace. Frustrated, I bumped it up to 10 mph. She kept right up. Finally, I glanced over and looked at her treadmill screen, only to discover that she was actually "running" at 3.7 mph. She was just slamming her feet down so hard and taking such little steps that it sounded like she was running much faster. The scene just made me stop and laugh right there on my machine.

Anyway, that's been my week. I'm still in class. Still studying Arabic. Still learning a lot. And still giving God all the credit.

Intimate Knowledge

"Feeling low again, insignificant. My thoughts and fears overcome my mind, I find that there's no easy way to run from everything that's haunting me. I'm looking in the mirror for a smile, nothing is returned no matter how hard I try."

I know that these words may not seem like words of encouragement, however today, these were exactly the words I needed to hear.

I find it absolutely shocking that the person I'm around the most, the person that I should know everything about, constantly surprises me with what he does (or doesn't do). Yep, I'm around myself 24 hours a day and there are still many days where some of the things I do stun me. Despite my most valiant efforts, I have been the author of broken friendships, crippled dreams, and many unwanted detours in my race of life.

Again, I know this sounds depressing, and it has been a very depressing time right now, however the end of the story is good, so bear with me. My story continues:

"Now it's sinking in and I can't defend the broken man that I've become. I find there's nothing here that I made for myself and why I let it fall apart again."

Why do I do the things that I hate?

Galatians 5:17 (ESV) For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

This verse didn't leave a very positive taste in my mouth. I thought, "So basically it's pointless to try and avoid sin in my life because there is no way out from its control." However, once I read verses 16 and 18, all became clear, and suddenly this thing called life became much more hopeful:

Galatians 5:16 (ESV) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:18 (ESV) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The word walk literally means "to tread all around". Sometimes I am content to tread next to the Spirit, but usually I tread in front of Him, taking Him where I want to go. This is where a lot of my problems in life develop.

Yes, I have made some dumb mistakes. Yes, I have destroyed relationships in the process. And I am sorry for my actions.

Through it all, there is a person closer than a brother. There is someone with whom I can weep my sufferings. And there is someone who is willing to forgive me when I screw up. Someone who knows me more intimately than even I know myself.

The song concludes in a soft moment of brokenness:
"But what I can't see is what you see inside of me. Help me to see what you see inside of me."

the basis for my values

It is the end of the day, I have been in class for nearly nine hours, and my mouth is dry from the vitamin pills I am currently taking. Due to my exhaustion, I will be writing from the top of my head, rather than sitting and constructing sentences that make sense. As a leader, my day has been somewhat frustrating. I won't go into the details, but if I can write out some of what I'm thinking it might help me stay in check.

Here at the DLI (Defense Language Institute) I have been assigned two primary leadership positions: Squad Leader for ten IET soldiers and Section Leader for a class of ten. During my time in the Army, I have learned a lot about leadership. And while it is true that I base some of my decisions on past experiences, it isn't what drives me, nor is it the foundation for my values. This is one reason why I don't enjoy sharing "war stories" or even the things I have done or been witness to.

The Army is big on values. So much in fact that they post their "values" all over the place: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage have become one of my mantras during my career. But if one really thinks about it, these aren't really values. Let's say a situation comes up where a soldier must decide on being a good friend to his buddy (loyalty) or between turning him in (duty). What does he do? Thus, the Army Values aren't really values, rather virtues. They're great to have, but don't help a soldier come to a definite conclusion in their decision.

I guess what I needed to remind myself of was this: If there is one thing I've learned during the span of my career, one aspect of life that I have been blessed to see, it would be that throughout everything Yahweh is present. He is here in Monterey, He was with me jumping out of planes, He was with me in Iraq and the other twelve countries I've been to, and He is here with me now. One of my favorite things about Him is that He never changes. No matter where I go, He's there, ready to accept me for who I am and where I'm at. Because of this, His holy Word has become the light for my dark path. It has become the basis for my values.

Lord, help me today. Help me become the leader and man you want me to become. Allow me to see the world through Your eyes, rather than my own, and help me to remain strong through difficult times, keeping my eyes fixed on You. I rest in Your arms.

put down the Big Mac

This past week has been intense, both in class and out. Class has been going by at blazing speeds. It is only by the grace of God that I have: a. not fallen asleep during a lecture, b. been able to understand most of what the teachers are talking about, and c. not thrown myself out of the second story window due to insanity. This course consumes me. There is not much else I think about during the day other than Arabic and how can I learn more Arabic?

As most of you know, I run as a pastime. In fact, I have been putting in at least four miles a day, the latter part of the run usually being straight uphill. This past Saturday I was running through downtown Monterey, past the quaint shops smelling of fresh coffee, to the top of a few parking garages, and then past the flock of swans in El Estero Park; all this while I dodge old people strolling along the boardwalk. My usual routine when running through town is that when I get stopped by a traffic light, I get down and do push-ups until the light changes. On this particular day I was doing push-ups when I heard this loud *CRASH* behind me. I turned around to see that a small car accident had occured about four feet from where I was exercising. The person who was rear-ended (a woman of large proportions, not to be trifled with) decided that the accident was cause enough to put down the Big Mac she was consuming, and get out of her car to see what had happened. She steps out, holding in her other hand a large vanilla ice cream cone. The man who rear-ended her was an elderly Korean man, who by the sounds of things, couldn't speak a word of English. I haven't seen a funnier sight than these two strangers try to talk out their new problem together!

Every morning I ask the LORD to use me. To let me be a light to a dark world. To let my life count for something. With that prayer, I ask that He allow me to encounter who He wants me to during that particular day. Just as those two strangers in the intersection met, that's how I want the LORD to arrange my meetings with people. I'm not saying I want to get in accidents with people! But it has been amazing to see the people God brings across my path, if I'm willing to see them.

This evening someone on my floor, someone that I barely knew, asked if I wanted to go to the chow hall with him. It wasn't my usual routine, but I agreed. At chow, I asked how his language was going, what his plans were for the Army, and where he saw himself in a few years. We laughed and joked as we shared life stories. I then asked how his family was. He became silent, the smile gone. He put his fork down and looked away for a moment. Then he looked at me and said, "Well, one of my closest relatives was just released from prison. Unfortunately he got involved with his old life-style and this past weekend someone shot him in the back. He's paralyzed from the waist down." Wow. I sat back and sighed heavily at this ubrupt change in conversational tone. I let him continue talking about the great times they had when they were younger, all the while praying that the LORD would give me the words to say.

When he had finished, I started speaking, realizing that it was the Holy Spirit speaking, not myself. "So do you ever wonder what causes two people, with the same type of upbringing, to travel down completely different paths in life?" He had never thought of this before. His belief is that it's all random chance. That people don't have much control over their choices and that most of life is plotted out circumstancially. Our time was then cut short because he had to leave.

It is true that, as A.W. Tozer said, "God created the world in such a way that in the end, everyone gets exactly what he or she wanted."

It is also true that there is a hurting world out there in desperate need of someone to share the truth with them. I admit, I must be more bold in my faith, not backing down when the time comes, rather, standing firm on the Chief Cornerstone, the Author and Finisher of my faith.

The LORD is good and His mercies endure forever.

And for those of you wondering: Yes, when the light changed, I jumped to my feet and continued on my run, laughing all the way back to base.

Make Your ways known to me, LORD; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; I wait for you all day long.
~Psalm 25:4-5 (HCSB)

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sipping on coffee

This past week has been very interesting. Our class finally finished our Sound and Script portion of our curriculum with the culmination of our test this past Friday. So it is official: I can read and write Arabic. I don't know what the words are, but I can read it and write it. One of the many hurdles I must cross while here has finally been completed.

I had an interesting encounter at the Del Monte Shopping Center a couple of days ago. I was there with my friend Randy and for some reason I turned around in the middle of the store and started to stare at these three men. I wasn't even sure why I was staring. One of them came up and asked me why I was staring at them and I told him I wasn't sure. I then asked them where they were from, to which they replied, "Saudi Arabia". So that was it! I was staring at them because they were speaking Arabic to each other. My mind must have subconsiously picked it up. We quickly became friends once they found out Randy and I were students of Arabic. Each of them are Colonels in the Saudi Army, one of which is an F-16 pilot. All of them are studying at the Naval Post-Graduate School, located just down the street from the DLI. Before we departed, they gave us an open invitation to visit them at the NPS for some Arabic speaking practice. They told us their room number and building and we parted ways.

The next morning (Saturday) Randy and I were driving around doing errands when he suggested we visit our Arabic friends at NPS. I agreed, although neither of us remembered the building or room number. All we could remember was that it was on the third floor. We went to the front gate and asked where they put the foreign students and the guard told us the building. However, when we got to the building, we realized that it would be impossible to find them because there were too many rooms on the third floor. We searched, but no one was around to ask for help. As we were about to give up, we noticed the door to one room propped open. So we knocked and peaked inside. And wouldn't you guess? It was our friends we met the night before! We had a great time talking Arabic with them while sipping on coffee and munching on snacks. It almost reminded me of when my team would meet with the Mayor of Tikrit in Iraq. Well, except for the part where we had to wear body armor, things would explode, or people would shoot at you.

Wow, that was a long story for what it was worth. I just thought it was an interesting encounter.

Some of us went out to an Afghanistan Restaurant tonight in Pacific Grove (picture above). The food was great, but it was much more enjoyable getting to know my fellow servicemen. They are all professionals and motivated to accomplishing the mission of learning Arabic.

I don't really have a lot of energy right now. I can see that my writing is getting worse by the minute, so I'm going to have to write more at another time!

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or it he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?
~Luke 11:11-13

smacked in the face with a 2x4

I think there are only two constants in life. Two things that never change no matter what comes their way. The first is the love and grace of Yahweh, and the second is the beautiful weather in Monterey. Wow. What a gorgeous day (view insert of our parade field on base).

I have finally broken down and bought a cell phone. I am back in the loop (view insert).

I visited a new church today called Shoreline Community Church. It's located within Monterey, about ten minutes from base, and it reminds me a lot of GCC. They have core classes 101 through 401, they have parking lot ministry, a great children's ministry, a praise band that rocks, and the message presented by the pastor is amazing. I feel extremely blessed to have found this church because there were no ads for it in the yellow pages (weird huh?). Someone told me about it on Friday night and I researched it online.

Class has been going very well, considering I study all the time just to get by. I have never (literally, NEVER) studied this hard for anything in my life. That includes when I came through DLI four years ago for Serbian-Croatian. The Lord has been faithful though. I have an increased energy during class and I find that I can concentrate at night when I need to study.

Speaking of class, I have also been blessed to have a great section. There are ten of us in the same class from all areas of the military (Navy, Air Force, etc) and we have grown close just over these past few weeks. Eight of the ten went with me to the Joneses house last night for some dinner and a study session (surprised?). It was a blast. They are great to have in class and bounce Arabic off of.

Happy Birthday Laurakaga.

I had a mandatory APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) this past week. The way it's set up on this base is, if you score high enough you are exempt from the mandatory company PT (which is every Mon, Wed, and Fri). Well, the mandatory company PT was getting really old because it wasn't really working me and it was taking up a lot of my time. This only motivated me more to get a good score on the APFT. And YES! I achieved a high enough score to be exempt from company PT and do my own physical training during the week. I figure it will save me about four to five hours a week.

I have been praying, for over a month, for someone who I can consistantly pray with. About a week and a half ago one of the guys in my class just walked up and asked me if I wanted to pray with him three times a week before school. Have you ever been smacked in the face with a 2x4 from God? I am excited just writing about it! What an answer to prayer!

I don't think I will be able to keep my five a month Starbucks commitment. I'm sorry to those of you who will now take me off of your top 8. I'm at four and it's only Feb 5th.

Tomorrow on base there is a DIA briefing. I think I'll go just to see what they offer. I'll let you know what I find out.

I was running through downtown Monterey (view insert if you forgot how beautiful it looks) and listening to Blessed Be Your Name. What an awesome song. It gets me pumped up everytime I hear it. Especially on warm beautiful days. "Blessed be Your name, when the sun's shining down on me..." Oh, and it's cool that I can amaze the Lord with my faith.

When Jesus heard this, He was amazed...
~Matthew 8:10a