Moving to WordPress

Hey All, I'm bored with blogger so I'm moving my blog over to wordpress, it's more customizable, better designs, and always improving. Blogger hasn't really changed since I started using it. So follow the link to the new home of Ramblings On . . .

Common Words on My Blog

I found this at snapshirts.com This is a word cloud of the words most commonly used onmy blog

Heresy Free

Another reason to thank God for the internet, if it weren't for this online survey I would never know for sure where I stood on the Chalcedonian Decree. 100% Baby Woo-Hoo!

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451. Chalcedon compliant 100% Monophysitism 67% Pelagianism 50% Gnosticism 33% Nestorianism 33% Modalism 33% Adoptionist 17% Apollanarian 17% Donatism 8% Socinianism 8% Monarchianism 0% Arianism 0% Docetism 0% Albigensianism 0% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

Score Two for Jason!!!

I came across this post today, I'm not only Left Handed, but I'm also tall. I will be a smart ruler though Left Handed People Rule the World

Jesus . . . what a guy

So last night I was writing my notes for >>beyond>> and I was just blown away again and again with Jesus. He's pretty stinking rad. Last week he told us not to worry, and to keep our treasure in heaven, and now this week he's telling us to be ready for his return. The only way we can really be ready is if we don't hold on to this world, but we live like the Israelites on the night of the first passover, eat with our shoes on, ready to go. This study of Luke has really been stretching me because it has caused me to have to really look at Jesus and get to know him all over again. Last year I led a bible study on sunday mornings called Jesus Unexpected where we looked at the Gospel of Mark, and a couple of years ago I went through the book of John with the youth ministry I was working in. All of these studies have really strengthed my love for Jesus, and each book has really opened my eyes to the different perspectiveson Jesus. John -- Jesus the mystic, lover of lost people, truly the son of God, embodiement of wisdom. Mark -- Jesus the action movie star, always on the move, miracle worker, teacher, efficient. Luke -- Jesus on Mission, Jesus the healer. I only have Matthew left, and I know that that book would easily take 2 years to unpack all the Jewishness behind it. This has been a great time of learning and preaching Jesus for me.

The Beauty of the Infinite

So every once and awhile I like to read stuff that I know will really challenge my thinking and stretch my brain a little bit. So I went to the library and put on reserve a bunch of books that seemed interesting, one of which is The Beauty of the Infinite, by David Bentley Hart. I just started reading this today, and the introduction is already making my head hurt. I really hope I can get through it. But I came across this quote in reference to Beauty and how even in the worst situations, there is still an element of beauty if we can look beyond the situation, if we look for beauty we will always find it.

Beauty seems to promise a reconciliation beyond the contradictions of the moment, one that perhaps places time's tragedies within a broader perspective of harmony and meaning, a balance between light and darkness; beauty appears to absolve being of its violences

Somehow beauty shows us the promise of God and if we search that beauty the natural conclusion will be God, reconciliation with him and others. But if we ignore beauty then that will hinder our reconciliation. I think Christians don't realize the beauty in creation enough. We take it for granted. When was the lastime that you were blown away by a sunset and praised God for it? When was the last time you looked at the stars and marveled at God's creative power? When was the last time you saw a cross and marveled at the beauty of God's self sacrifice? When was the last time you were in community and were amazed in the beauty of a community fo grace? I've come to the conclusion that recognition of beauty is the first step to giving up your worry. I'm still thinking about Jesus telling his disciples not to worry, he turned to creation; the birds who have beauty in their song, their flight, their plumage, they don't store and toil God takes care of them. The flowers in all their colors don't worry about what they are going to wear, and God clothes them. If we can look at the beauty of creation and be marveled by God's beautiful provision, what would happen if we really took to heart Jesus' statement that we are more valuable than all of creation. We would be able to truly say that God is beautiful, his grace if beautiful and his provision is beautiful, and I can enjoy what I have, and I can live with out worry because he is with us, watching out for us, and showering down his love on us. That is truly beautiful.

Monday Morning Reflections

So this morning I have been working AND taking care of Judah while Kathy is sleeping because she had to work last night. This has been tough. But we made it. Mondays are always tough because Judah's schedule is all messed up because of Sunday. But he's sleeping right now. I have been trying to get him to sleep for a while but the problem is he gets so tired that he gets himself all worked up and anxious and he can't sleep until he winds back down. last night at >>beyond>> we talked about Jesus telling his disciples not to worry. And I was thinking about that while Judah was screaming in my face. I know his problem and he knew his problem but he had a hard time letting me help him relax. I wonder if that is how God feels when we worry and get all stressed about issues that we are facing. He knows and he wants to help but too often we are so worked up that we just can't let him help us relax. And while we are screaming in his face about our problems he is patiently holding us and waiting for us to get our venting out and then just says, let me do this. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 46:10 -- "Be still and know that I am God." The only way that we are going to truly get our rest and relaxation in God is if we just trust that he's God and we are not, and all our toil and stress and running around isn't going to fix a dang thing. There comes a point when we just have to be still and know that he is in charge and us running around frantic trying to fix everything on our won is wasted energy. God is big enough to handle all of our worries, and all of our stress, and all the problems in the world. Ultimately his Will will be done, he will his glory, he will be God and we will worship him and give him glory by trusting him and finding our rest in him.

Blog Wars

I think it's funny how people use their blogs to combat some one else point of view. Is that really the best way to spark a debate? Is that even effective? It seems like it's a waste of creativity to just bash other peope, or maybe it's a lack of creativity. It's one thing to state your opinion it's another to actually attack people. I've seen it from the right and the left, and it just seems like nonsense. If I'm reading your blog I want to read your thoughts not your thoughts on other people's thoughts. I don't care! It's frustrated to go to a blog that usually posts really great insightful posts and then fall into their disagreements with other people. GRRR So if you're going to read this and disagree, do me a favor and don't blog about it. Just shoot me an email, or better yet, don't do anything.

Wikipedia

So it's been a slow day at C&B so I created a wikipedia entry for myself. I'll continue to update it, but the beauty of wikipedia is that anyone can update it. So if you want to add some more "facts" have fun. I want to see if wikipedia will ever delete it. Read the entry here update -- Wiki must be on top of it because they already deleted my entry. We'll just have to try again later.

dropping off my game

Man I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post. I don't know what's wrong with me. Sorry to all my millions of readers. I know that you have been hanging on for the latest nugget of wisdom or humorous anecdote. I'm sorry that you have had to endure the silence. Know you know how the inter-testamental period must have felt. Or Whatever. . . The main reason I haven't written much is because not much has happened. I hung out with Judah on Monday and Tuesday Nights, and we had fun. Kathy went back to work so I was a single dad for two nights. It's hard working taking care of a baby all by yourself. And I really respect single parents who manage to raise quality people. But I am just blown away by how much he has grown and is changing, he's laughing and smiling more, he's crying less, and he's been a lot easier to get to sleep. He's basically a perfect little angel. I'm begining to feel worried about our next kid, I'm worried that they won't be as easy as Judah. But oh well I'll love them anyway. I hung out with one of our youth staff this morning, he got a macbook and I got jealous. Those things are great and wish I had waiting for one. But i love my iBook. It's been really great and easy to use. Our podcasts (links on the bottom if you haven't subscribed yet) are produced with the iBook and it's really easy. But hanging out with Chris was fun. We talked a lot about technology but also a little bit about ministry and evolving his role. It was a lot of fun. Chris is a great guy and I am so blessed to have him on the team. He's got a great heart and knows everything about tech and he's really funny too. So he rocks. After work today I'm staying in fremont and I'm going to hang out with my friend Kevin. We are going to Cafe Ladro. He's a great guy and I love hanging out with him. So I'm going to be away from home longer than I have been in quite a while. I already miss Judah and Kathy. I will really only see Judah asleep today, bummer, but I don't have any plans for friday so I will work from home and then be home that evening. It's gonna be fun times. So yeah, I'll try to post more often for you guys, I did update some of the links and currently reading secions.

Summer Camp '06 EPIC

So I just got back from our summer camp. What a great week. Our speaker was great, the band was great, the weather was hot but not dealy hot, I lost five pounds, a great way to boost up you diet, I have broken the 260 barrier, the kids bonded in ways that really surprised me, and the food was actually really good (bigger surprise.) All in all, it was great fun. I was in charge of the river tubing activity which was the only off-site activity this year. I wish I could say that it was smooth and flawless, but alas no such luck. The river was just plain slow, and what I was told was a 20-30 minute ride was actually an hour and fifteen. So that was a bummer because we just didn't have enough time to get all 300 kids down the river. If we had one more day like we usually do then that would have been different. Or iif we had used the small group time everyday to run down the river, and then have the groups who went do their small group when they got back. That was a solution that I never really thought of so I'll take the blame for that. I really learned this week that God is in control and not me, he's in control of the river, as well as the faith progress that our students make. I honestly think that each student made some progress over the week. i brought 6 students from our ministry and they all grew. I have been at Northgate (now Creekside) for 1.5 years. (Now since we have officially changed our name do I have to start counting over?) And all of these students have grown so much since we first started. It's amazing what prayer, time and energy can do in a student's life. I wish I would have had more time to hang out with our group, but I was away with the tubing group a lot. Next year I don't know if I will be involved in that level of leadership, but if I am I am definitely going to delegate out the days better so at most I would only have one day away from my group. All in all it was a great camp. Check out some pictures over in my sidebar

Tour de France Blues

So this Tour de France was one upset after another, it opened with many of the favorites being ousted for doping, and now it's come to a close with another doping scandal. I was so happy when Floyd Landis came back from behind to win! And now I'm bummed that it's come out that his second test came back positive, you can read for yourself here. I went to his website and it wasn't respodning. So I don't know if they took it down, or if it's been overwhelmed with people trying to check it out. But Oscar Perrero was a strong rider too, and if the Mayo Jean goes to Oscar then that's cool, i guess.

Friday Afternoon

Well It's friday afternoon, and I really don't have much to write about. Camp is pretty much in the bag. Work is pretty dead, and I have .5 hours left until I get to go home. Tonight I will be going to a Worship Concert by my friend Chris Ritchie. Chris and I were in a band together and you can read about it here. Planning on this evening has brought back a lot of memories about the band and traveling and playing with the band and other bands. Those were good times. One of my favorite groups to play with was wideawake. These guys a awesome, and if you are looking for good music on itunes go get these guys. They're great. It's cool to see how well they've done. We played shows together where they couldn't even give us gas money, and now they are rockin' the austin scene pretty hard. They've even released a single to benefit the LiveStrong Foundation. You can read about it on their site, but that song was played when Lance Armstrong appeared on the tonight show. Pretty cool, pretty cool. The first time I saw Wideawake we were playing at a Christian Battle of the Bands. They were called Common Thread back then. They were definitely the best group there. So from Dightmans Book Store in Tacoma to the WB, MTV, and Livestrong, it's been a journey for them and I'm excited to see where they end up.

Great article on writing

So I have been wanting to write a book for sometime. And it's hard to build the momentum to get going I have actually several ideas that I have been kicking around. A book about Jesus in the Book of Hebrews, a book about Youth ministry, and a novel based on the songs of Johnny Cash. But I just haven't had the time and focus to really get working on any of them. But I came across this article and I thought I would post it for any other aspiring authors out there. Seth Godin's Advice for Authors enjoy!

Worship

I love worship, I love to sing worship songs, I love to play worship songs, I love worshipping Jesus. But in Body Peircing Saved My Life I came Across this lengthy quote.

Worship Music is the logical conclusion of Christian adult contemporary music -- not just unappealing but unbearable to anyone not already in the fold. Every song follows the sam parameters. It opens gently, with tinkling arpeggios or synthesized harp glissandos that portend the imminence of something celestial in galacial 4/4 time. In the second verse, the band--invariable excellent players--soft pedals in, gaining in volume to the bridge. And then the chorus. Heavens, the Choruses. They could put U2 out of business for good, they're so huge. Another verse. A Middle eight. Then, a breakdown when the audience takes over singing. Another massive chorus. Fin. This isn't music to appreciate; it's music to experience. People at a worship servce close their eyes and, as ecstasy spreads across their faces, begin to rock rythmically, arms out, mouthing the lyrics. It's more than a little sexual and a tad uncomfortable if you're sitting next to an attractive person who's been overcome by the Spirit. Worship tunes tend to evince an adolescent theology, one that just can't get over how darn cool it is that Jesus sacrificed himself for the world. "Our God is an awesome God." "O Lord, you are glorious." "How can it be/That you, a king, would die for me?" Moreover, it's self-centered in a way that reflects evangelicalism's near-obsession wiht having a personal relationship with Christ. It's me Jesus died for. I just gotta praise the Lord! Not for nothing is "Amazing Grace," which marvels at the author's salvation, one of the few traditional humns to be regularly included in modern worship services. Absent is any hint of community found in hymns such as "THe Church Is One Foundation"--the Jesus of worship music is a mentor, a buddy, a friend whose message is easily distilled to a simple command: praise me. Not "feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner." Simply thank Him for His gift to you (and make sure to display copyright information at the bottom of the screen so royalties can be disbursed). All of which I could bear, or at lease imagine defending, if all the songs didn't sound the same. now, I don't want to be a total bully here. Obviously, worship music means a lot to many people, and there are worship songs that stand up on their own, as music but they are in the minority. As is any hint of evangelizing--this is musicby the save only, for the saved only, an art form where the images projecrted on the screens are more fruitful sources of meditation and reflection than the lyrics superimposed on them.

Wow, this is a non-christians take on worship music and worship time in the church. What really stuck out to me is at the end that we don't look at worship with the purpose of bringing people into the community of Christ, we just want to feel good. It's a little indicting that the evangelical church in america is not evangelical when it comes to our music. what can we do to correct this? What can we do to make worship evangelistic? What would happen if instead of singing love songs to Jesus we sang songs that led us to love others in the name of Jesus? Would that change the dynamic of our services? Would that change the dynamic of our churches? Could it be that the reason that most churches in the US are dying is because they sing about what Jesus does for them, and them alone? Could it be that our songs and song styles that we fight over and churches split over are the very things that drive people away? Could it be that people want more from church than to just feel good and have their felt needs(whatever that means) met? Could it be that they want more than just the recent hits in worship music? Could it be that people want songs that challenge them? Songs that invite them to change the world? Song that tell them what's wrong with them and how to fix it? What would happen if durring a worship service the band played, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. This is a song about a spiritual quest that says, everything we know and have experienced isn't the end all. There's something more than just feeling good, there's something more than knowing all the answers. Would the church freak out, or would they embrace the message of the song to contiually seek and search in God? What would happen? I am loving this book, it's so insightful to the whole Christian sub-culture, and it really reminds me that everything we do should be to build the kingdom becaause everything when you boil it all down is God's and he wants it back. to quote Martin Luther, Larry Norman, and Geoff Moore, "Why should the devil have all the good music?"

What A Wonderful Day For A Walk . . .

and watching fighter jets fly over head at breakneck speeds. Let me explain. Seafair is in full swing here in Seattle, and every year along with the pirate, the parade, the hydro planes, and the drunken boat parties the Blue Angels come to town. And with the blue angels comes the annual mid morning thursday traffic jame as the blue angels do their practice. So this traffic jam was causing my bus into seattle to be late and I was going to miss my transfer. So I got off at an early stop and walked to work. And it was actually faster to walk to work this way than to go all the way downtown and wait for a transfer. Pretty stinking sweet. So not only did I get to enjoy the weather, and get some exercise in, I also got to watch the blue angels zoom over head and do some things that I'm pretty sure would cause me to wet my pants. Thank you Seafair for the inconvenience that turned out to be a nice stroll. Thank you.

Body Piercing

So I've had Body Peircing Saved My Life on my currently reading panel for some time but I am just now really geting into it. A phone call from the library saying it's due will really put some energy behind reading a book. This is a book written by one of the Contributing editors of Spin Magazine, he's not a christian, and he's giving an outsiders view at the phenomenon of Christian Music. One of the things that I am realizing in this book is that people really do look at christians and think that we are weird or different. Partly because we have a desire and a tendency to seperate ourselves into subcultures that I don't think was Jesus idea when he said go into all the world and make disciples baptizing them . . . But I digress. I think this is going to be a very insightful book and I have really enjoyed it so far. The author talked about dcTalk and I reminisced about just how awesome Free At Last and Jesus Freak really were. I just finished reading a chapter about Tooth & Nail which is a record label that is located in Seattle. it was very interesting. This is a great book so far and if anyone wants to get an outsiders perspective on the christian sub-culture this is a great resource.

flickr photos

Hey Everyone, I've posted some pictures of Judah on flickr, check them out here

Excited

As I begin to look to fall I am feeling excitement about all the things that are going to be going on. Transit will launch back up on September 20th, that's something that I am crazy excited about. Even though it's another thing that I have to prepare for each week, it's totally fun because we get to talk about the bible, worship and build community. Also I am starting to plan for elevate 07, which was a highlight for the past year. This year I hope that it's even better, and that we really have a great retreat. We are also going to begin planning for a membership class thing, that I haven't thought of a name for yet, but I'm working on it. Instead of a one time meeting and peacing out, we are going to spend some time talking about our core values, our churches statement of faith, our six purposes (the wheel), the mission of the church, membership duties, and all that. I'm really excited. I think a program like this will really help get our church people on the same page, and welcome in the people who are on the fringe of our community. This is going to be a great way to get them connected with other people, and get them plugged into the life of the church. Summer is fun, but fall is a great time for new life, and growth, and excitement and I can't wait to see all that God has in store for us. This is a great season to be a part of Creekside Church. It's gonna be quite a ride!

Sleep Is Beautiful!

So last night Judah slept from 9ish to 5am, that's right 8 hours of glorious sleep. I'm praying that this isn't just some freak night that teases us and gives us a sense of false hope. But he's really cute anyway and I haven't posted a picture for a while so here's one: