Eating Ultimate Cheeseburger #2

Kevin had some good thoughts about Easter. Check them here.

I'll post some thoughts about it later today.

Monday night while John and I were at Room 5, I wanted a drink but didn't want one of my usuals like a Black Russian or a Bloody Mary or even a glass of wine. So I decided to make up a drink of my own, with things that I thought would go well.

When I got home I looked to see if it was a pre-existing drink, and I found that it didn't have a name, so in honor of the day I got fired, Peter, Bobby and I decided to call it

The "Pink Slip©"

Here it is: try it at home or order it at your local bar.

Malibu Rum
Pineapple Juice
A splash of Grenadine
and a lime to garnish that needs to be squeezed in.

Enjoy and remember to reference me when you order it. Just give them my blog address.

I began thinking this morning about how we as ministers should live our lives, in relation to time spend at church and time spent not at church. Most of this comes from the fact that I am only 1/2 time right now and therefore will having to be getting a 2nd job somewhere in the secular world.

In full time ministry (correct me if I'm wrong) much time is spent in the office and then partial time is spent outside the office. And when that time is spent outside the office it is usually spent with people in your congregation or group or with other people who are leaders in the church. All this began me thinking about value of spending working time in the secular community as ministers. I know my time spend working at a bank, at Jamba Juice and most recently in an office has provided me with valuable resources and experiences that have challenged me to step outside the comforts of working at a church. Here I really am living and working within the context of "go and make disciples of all nations". I am being forced to interact with those who do not claim (and even some who do, yet their actions say different) to be followers of Christ. It made me stand and look at myself and ponder whether or not my character and actions truly reflected the Gospel that I preach and teach at church.

While it is one of my main goals to be freed to be in full-time ministry, I have to wonder if I should not keep one of my feet in the outside world among my peers and those older than myself in order to make sure I am aware of the needs and values and mindsets of those who I would like to be able to minister to fully. I guess this is why I need to force myself to do things like watch MTV, watch an episode of the OC, listen to the radio stations my students are listening to, watch what I think are crappy (blockbuster) movies, and the like. So that I can fully be aware of what is going on outside of my own personal scope of ministry and confinements of the church walls. How am I to effectively minister to people who spend 8 hours a day in an office and not know what the culture and environment and challenges are? How am I to minister to students if I can't name at least 5-10 pop culture icons? How am I to minister to people when I do not understand their day to day needs instead of only ministering to their "spiritual" or "church" needs?

I love the picture Luther paints when he says we must read the Word in one hand and the Newspaper in the other. Ladies and Gentlemen, I suggest we work with one foot at church and another at the bar down the street.

Archives of 1, 2, and 3.

In continuing the discussion on work and work ethics and my personal view on such things, comes the latest installment, subtitled: I didn't like it anyways.

After getting the job at Canoga Pres I knew I wanted to get a better 2nd job, one that was closer to home and possibly paid a little better. I knew that I didn't especially like my current job and had pretty much taken it just because I needed to make the money to pay the bills and it was somewhat standable. I soon realized that possibly I couldn't tolerate this job as much as I wanted to. Then it started to happen, "sick days". I dreaded going, and it became increasingly hard to show up to something I felt I had no investment in and didn't feel like it was utilizing my gifts. And having to wake up extra early to sit in a craphole of a commute everyday just to make it to the job I didn't care about.

And yesterday (Mon) I was let go. This was really no surprise to me since I knew it was pretty much coming, but for one reason or another it just never happened. Until today. I am pretty much ok with the decision since, 1 I am sure that God will continue to provide for me, 2 that this frees me up to spend more time in ministry, 3 I don't have to do something I really don't like doing, and 4 that I don't have to make a 20 mile drive that takes me almost an hour and a half to complete each way.
I do have to gripe though, about the way I was fired. 1 It's Monday. 2 I got fired 10 mins after I got to work, at least let me finish out the day or call me and tell me so that I didn't have to wake up all early and drive down there just turn around 30 min later and go home, and 3 it was the day I was supposed to go to half time meaning I would only work Mon, Thurs and a half day Thurs, so I was actually motivated to come to work today since I knew that I wouldn't have to be back until Thurs. Geesh.

Well I really haven't gotten to a revelation yet, but the question I really want to post is, do you think it's ok to get fired when you don't really like the job in the first place? Meaning I was going to be looking for a 2nd job this week, anyways. I had only hoped that I would still have this job to help pay for the bills while I looked for a job, but it's just a little harder and more urgent now. That's the only real difference.

I guess my revelation is I'm going to take this the best way I can, in that I know for certain that God will provide, both emotionally, financially, and with a new job. I also know now that I have the needed time (that I wanted) to pour into ministry and focus on what I feel God has certainly called me to do.

P.S.
I stayed out SUPER late tonight for the first time in months and I don't have to worry about not waking up in time to make it to work on time. YES!!!

As I was driving home from Easter Service I knew it would be a good 5 hours or so before I was going over to my friend's house for Easter dinner so I decided to stop of at Jack In the Box for something quick to eat.

My intentions had just been to grab a chicken sandwich or some 99cent tacos. All to my surprise as I pulled up there was a gleam of hope in a sign that read "Ultimate Cheeseburger 1.99 limited time only". Oh Joy. Oh Rapture.

I think I will be eating these frequently while this promotion lasts.

Nutritional facts on the Ultimate Cheeseburger:
Weight 314.5 grams
Calories (per serving)945 (I'm assuming there is only 1 serving in an ultimate cheeseburger)
Calories from fat (per serving) 580
Total fat 64.5 grams
Saturated fat 27 grams
Trans fat 2.5
Cholesterol 120 milligrams
Sodium 1525 milligrams
Potassium 480 milligrams
Total Carbohydrates 53 grams
Dietary Fiber 2 grams
Sugars 10 grams
Protein 39 grams

There you have it folks. The Ultimate Cheeseburger from Jack in the Box.



In other news, check out this new Burger King Sandwich.

Tomorrow I am leaving the country (it just sounds better) to go on a mission trip with church to Mexico. See here for more info about the trip.
This also serves as my official Hobo-blogger notice.

I don't think that anyone in ministry would disagree that ministry is taxing on the soul and the spirit as well as the physical. I am feeling tired. Not burnt out, but truly weary.
How do we function in a world that is constantly expecting us to live a high energy, vivacious society, that keeps us going from the moment we wake to the moment we fall over exhausted?
Does Christ ask us to continually give so that we have little left? I think he does and he doesn't. It boils down to how we give and what we give. Truly we can do anything through Christ.
When I begin to think about my weariness, I begin to realize more and more that the times I am truly weary feeling totally void and empty, it is more often due to the fact that I am overextending myself trying to compensate for what I think that God isn't doing. Instead of allowing myself to be consumed by what God is doing and how I am to be a vessel for that work. Spending countless hours at work putting together flyers and postcards, making phone calls, staying up all night, all of these things can be very draining on us. Though they need not become an avenue for our downfall of slumber, we must be sure that we are not tricking ourselves into thinking that what we are doing is absolutely necessary. Christ was very particular in what he choose to participate in. While we do not have records of his day to day activities, we can clearly see that he often retreated spending time connecting with God, to insure his motives were correct and he was attending to the things with the greatest benefit.
While I have been eager to devote all of my time to ministry, especially since I'm still stuck at 1/2 time, I don't think I can fully say that the cause of my weary state is no more than myself. Are you feeling worn out? Is it because we are allowing ourselves to be overrun by trying to accomplish what we feel is best or most needed?
It's my hope that even after a long week trying to get things in order to start the new job and spending over 15 hours in 2 days trying to prepare for our above mentioned mission trip, I can find some respite while serving. I must say that I do not think that these last few days planning have totally contributed to my oversense of weariness, but I do think that because I had been trying to work too hard on something that I have no control on. While this trip will be physically demanding I hope that I can report back to you that this week was so much of what God wants for me. That through my work, through my relationships with students, through my "vacation" I will be able to find the rest and rejuvenation I so desire.
What a fragile thing it is the desire for us to feel rested and ready for the work that God has called us to. Let us find peace in our busy lives allowing God to push us from our daily lividness, into a complete consciousness in which we are fully aware of God's limits.

As the Lenten season comes to a close, I've come to realize a few more things about my journey of fasting. In case you've missed the discussion you can read the other 3 posts, here and here and here.

As I knew that during Holy Week I would be in Mexico building houses with church, I knew that I would most likely be stopping my fasting early as it would probably not be a wise idea to fast while working manual labor for 10 hours a day.

My Lenten commitment officially ended yesterday at about 9pm. 9pm you ask? Yes, yes I broke down and was eating at around 9 last night.

Let me explain myself.

A quote I posted last time was from Lauren F. Winner stating: "We fast during Lent because fasting gets our attention. It is a necessary tool for rousing us from our day-to-day sleepwalking." This was no longer holding true for me. For the majority of Lent this was true. Recently though, I really found myself not absorbed by the attention of Christ through fasting. I only saw fasting as an obstacle towards food and satisfying my hunger pains. My own pride and desire has truly shown that I am incapable of living up to a standard that I placed for myself. I lost sight of the only standard that matters: God's. God does not care if I actually make it through the day without food, or if I cheat and wait until Midnight to eat. He only cares about my attitude and my reasons for fasting, which I must confess for the last week or so has only been to be in compliance with my commitment, instead of my devotion.

It was my devotion that started me down the road towards fasting, hoping that it would be a great reminder of trying to "rouse myself from my day-to-day sleepwalking". Yet it only proved to be a nagging bladder rousing me only long enough to desire the warmth and comfort of sleep again. While I am not torn from the idea of fasting and find it of great value, I do believe that the extended period of Lent is possibly not the best arena for this discipline (at least for me). I do hope to keep it on the forefront of my mind, and continue to practice it on a regular basis, yet not quite as frequent as twice a week.

The trouble comes, as in many things, that I am making sure that I am doing it for the right reasons and that it is affecting the correct response of prayer and devotion and deprivation of self. I do also think that it needs to occur in the right setting. A busy office is not the correct place.

I recall an episode of the old TV show Northern Exposure, where the character Joel, (who is Jewish) is celebrating Yom Kippur. He is sitting on a mountain in Alaska and finally breaks his fast by eating an orange, after explaining the reason for the holiday and the fast.

While my season of fasting is over, I truly have gained much from the experience. There were those days where I truly felt connected to why I was doing what I was doing. The pain reminded me of those who had less, it reminded me that Christ suffered, it made me take a moment out of my day and pray. All these small things God looks down and says thank you for that, and some how, by grace, he overlooks those times I failed, I ate or my thoughts turned to the amount of time it would be before I ate again. Thank you God. What I did (although sometimes poorly), I did it for you.

For those of you who may still have a week left or have found yourself not holding yourself to your commitment, I urge you, re-evaluate as to what this season is about and continue to find joy and God in what you are doing.

I challenge you to take some time to reflect on your Lenten commitment and post about it (leave links to your post).

First of all thank you to those of you who responded to this post. I've hit my quota as long as they finish their offers. So go and help Katie and Kelsey get their free iPod.

Second, sorry for the few days I went Hobo.

Third, this week has been filled with a lot of work over at Canoga as I try and get things in order for the new job.

Fourth, readership (or at least hits) is up so I'm feeling more and more pressure to produce quality blogs. Hopefully there will be more discussion around here about ideas. I still feel (even though there is nothing there) like I want to gain the notoriety of Adam's blog.

Sorry no post today...busy and tired.

Yes there it is. An iPod.
As I've mentioned before the site freeipods.com really does work.

All I need is 2 (two) more people to complete an offer under me.

I am a poor youth worker and I don't have 400 bucks just lying around. So you have 2 options, either be really really really nice and sign up under me, or give me 400 bucks. Hmmmm...easy decision.

It really does work. Search for articles on the web and you will find true stories and pictures of people who have gotten their free iPod.

Help, me ObiWan, you're my only hope.

Don't make me re-post this everyday, cause I will, you know.

This quote stuck out to me last night.

At its present stage, however, it has this inconvenience, that people of different ages and different types do not all acknowledge the same standard, and we hardly know where we are. While this confusion lasts I think that old-fashioned people should be very careful not to assume that young or 'emancipated' people are corrupt whenever they are (by the old standard) improper; and, in return, that young people should not call their elders prudes or puritans because they do not easily adopt the new standard. - C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

While this comes out of context, in a chapter called Sexual Purity. I think we can definitely learn something from it, especially when thinking about the emerging church. Making a change in an established system is hard, yet not impossible...

In case you don't follow my blog very everyday. Here are a few highlights of this year. It's a good sampling of serious and fun posts. And I really don't have anything to blog about today, so there you go. Enjoy.

In no particular order of preference:

I call the big one "Bitey" 1/10

More On Fasting 3/3

Happy Blogaversary 2/4

Wine and Tunes 1/25

Seriously folks, help a brother out 2/15

Fish are funny 2/1

Thinking Theologically About Stress 2/18

new year, week old pain 1/1

I've been branded as an "imposter" 2/16

Voice 1/7

In case you didn't know 3/1

If you remember at the beginning of this month the Supreme court ruled, now making it illegal for people who commit crimes under the age of 18 to be sentenced to the death penalty.
Here's the article.
I don't want to discuss the issues surrounding the death penalty or whether or not juveniles can be executed. But there was one statement from the ruling that I thought was pertinent to the discussion of youth ministry.

"The age of 18 is the point where society draws the line for many purposes between childhood and adulthood. It is, we conclude, the age at which the line for death eligibility ought to rest"..."our society views juveniles...as categorically less culpable than the average criminal"

It's not so much the first half that disturbs me, it's more the 2nd half.

The issue that is raised, that it seems that younger people are not capable of making "culpable" decisions. On this issue I must mostly disagree. While yes, in support of the court's ruling, I think there are a number of times that teens do not make "good" decisions, but I do think teens are capable of weighing the consequences. I think that most of the time they just don't stop to weigh out the consequences.

Maybe it is because I work with teens and am determined to be a part of their world and culture. But I do believe teens are far more capable than we, as a society, give them credit for. It seems quite contradictory of society to say that teens should be capable of making life decisions at the age of 12-14 as in planning for their future. Meaning college, relationships, personal growth, and sometimes even managing a family, either their own personal offspring or immediate family due to single parents or other circumstances. I hope I'm not the only one who sees a disconnect between the two. It seems that society is telling teens one thing and then another. No wonder they seem to have a disdain for authority or lack of involvement past their own sphere of influence.

We expect them to make decisions about sex, drinking, driving, college, who they are friends with, what to study, how hard to study, how to manage their time, which extra curricular activities to participate in, eating, sleeping, what to wear. None of which are exactly easy when put into a cultural context of the world of teenagers. Yet somehow we find it possible to say that teens are not responsible for their decisions?

If we are going to hold teens to such high standards then can we as "adults" at least be present in their lives so that they have somewhere or someone to turn to when they feel overwhelmed and making them incapable of making a "good" decision? Where have parents gone? Do teachers really care? How does the church fit into this? Should their "friends" be a reliable source?

I fully support that teenagers are very capable of making hard decisions. I have seen many teens make decisions that I don't want to have to face in my lifetime. Being a teenager is hard. And as much as we'd like to deny it, yes it is harder for them now than for us, even if that was less than 5 years ago. They have more to deal with, more pressure, more rules, more boundaries, and are expected to do more within those boundaries.

Parents are today more concerned about their own lives, their own careers, putting their own shambles back together, and are leaving their children to do the same. Setting an example that if I can't do it than neither can you, and I'm not going to help you unless it doesn't interfere with my own prerogatives. Teachers only want their day to be less stressful, make it to the end of the day so that they can retreat back to their homes, to deal with their own family messes. Why take on a profession where they are constantly cleaning up the messes of other parents?

Here's the challenge: As churches are we teaching our members, especially those with families, to be more involved with themselves? Are we teaching and training them to raise Godly families? Are we as youth ministers empowering our youth to make good decisions? Are we working WITH families so WE are not solving problems but teaching families how to do it themselves within a Godly context?

If we as Christians are supposed to live by a different set of rules that produce a different set of results, yet we still produce the same results as the rest of society. What kind of witness is that?

I try not to think that most of the students I minister to, are more sexually experienced than myself, that most of them drink on a regular basis, have tried drugs, lie, cheat, and etc. on a regular basis, because it depresses me. That is a fact. And these are the "church kids". But statistically they are the same as any other "non-church" highschooler. And parents ship their kids off to our groups so that we can "teach" their kids what to do and not to do. Yet, we only occupy about <1% of that students time during their week. While a parent at least sees their child 15% of the week. Who's the bigger influence?

Are we spending our time in the right way to be effective youth ministers? I'm not saying stop hanging out with your students or even stop putting as much time into your program. I am saying evaluate how you are interacting with their parents and coming alongside the parents, who are burnt out, tired, overstressed, sometimes just pain crazy. Are you ministering to them in a way that empowers them to minister to their own children? "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4. I'm not one to be totally PC but it would be wise to interchange "fathers" with parents.

Students are far more capable than anyone above their age give them credit for. I say allow them to make hard decisions, allow them to reap the consequences of their decisions, but be ready and available to offer help if asked for it. Prepare the relationship so that they feel comfortable and know they can come to you for help. Right now the last group of people that teens feel they can ask for help is adults, especially their parents. What if we changed that? What if...?

An open letter to my friend 9,667 miles away.

Time brings everything we can think of, but most importantly time brings change. Most often it is slow gradual change.
There are of course those snap occurrences that change everything, usually for the worse that we spend a lot of time and energy correcting or we just give up and walk away from.
My friend, I do not want the latter to occur.
Although we were finally able to speak frankly with each other, we soon parted company for other adventures. I can only hope that time will bring us back together. That we will once again be able to stay up late into the night talking in front of 7-11s or over a midnight doughnut. That we will spur one another on towards our dreams and goals.
I do miss our long talks about ministry and our blatant weaknesses and how we even once complimented each other.
I must confess that many a times I was envious in your ability to relate to people that I did not have. The way people were drawn to you and felt able to open up to you and allow you into their world. There were many times that things you did encouraged me to be more like you.
I miss my friend who was able to make me laugh at the drop of a hat. I miss my friend who would call me in the middle of the night to talk. I miss my friend who would share in my woes about women. I miss my friend who enjoyed 7-11 more than I did. I miss my friend who's truck got stolen and returned more times than I saw star wars episode II in the theatres.
I miss a good friend.

I know things may never return to the way they were. I know there is still hurt and less trust. I can only hope that once he returns that we can begin over. That what we started right before he left can continue on.

I want him to know that I do think and pray for him often. That I hope his time away is teaching and growing him more than I can know. I hope that he is willing to share those things with me when he returns. I want him to know that I still look up to him as a friend and as a brother in Christ. I hope to continue to learn from him in how to do ministry. I want him to know that while I can't change the past, I do think that our friendship will only grow stronger because of it. There was a reason that God brought us together. And I don't think he's finished with us yet.

Here's my prayer for you.

God,
Give him strength. Give him grace. Give him hope. Give him the love that only you can give him. Give him all of these things in abundance. Allow him through his time to draw closer to you and closer to those he is far away from. Allow the people he is ministering to, to be open and accepting of how you are using him to further your love. Protect him from the fears of loneliness. Grant him friends and people who let him know he is loved and cared for. God, allow him to be broken and rebuilt, knowing that your hands are more gentle than anything in this world. Christ fill him with your Spirit. So that he may empty himself unto others, only to be filled once again to the brim by you.
Thank you for my friend. Bless him this day.
Amen.

Happy Birthday Ryan.

In Him,
Your friend, brother in Christ, partner in ministry, and lover of life,
Drew

New GHETTO BLOG

I just got these 4 cd's and have been listening to them non-stop. I'd recommend any of them, if you already don't have them.

This is Jack Johnson's latest release, In Between Dreams (click on album). It came out on Tuesday 3/1, but I've had it since last Thursday, see here. It's a great follow up to his sophomoric release On and On. This has more of a relaxed feel, of lounging around the house on a Saturday afternoon with nothing to do with some friends or a "special someone". All in all it holds to the cool, calm Jack style that is apparent in this surfer, musician, filmmaker's work. Some of my fav tracks are Do You Remember, Banana Pancakes, and No Other Way.




This is John Mayer's 1999 independent release Inside Wants Out (click on Album). It features many of the songs on the Grammy winning debut album Room for Squares along with a few songs that you may not even be familiar with. This album (even as a "follow-up") gives a great insight to the beginnings of this new rock legend. If you are already a John Mayer fan, some of these tracks can serve as an acoustic supplement to his other albums. If you are not yet a fan, it's a great introduction to this man's work. It does contain the original version (the other version is found on the live disk(s)Any Given Thursday) of my favorite song Comfortable.



This is the debut album from The Postal Service, Give Up (click on album). Not to be confused with the US Postal Service, which in fact you can order The Postal Service's album from, go here. This album is a somewhere between electronic, pop, 80's alternative and fantastic. Featuring 2 guys who collaborated through the USPS (hence the name) came up with a mix of songs that delve into the mind and soul. It even features guest vocals of Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley (see below). The intricate beats and loops keep your foot tapping and you take a journey into the world of the Postal Service. They also have a new EP out called We Will Become Silhouettes



This is Rilo Kiley's 3rd album More Adventurous (click on album). I must admit I've only recently jumped on the Rilo Kiley bandwagon. I'll get the other 2 soon...I promise. Rilo Kiley is the brain child of singer/song writer Jenny Lewis and friend Blake Soper/Sennett. Lewis first gained notoriety as an actress in such films as The Wizard, and Sennett as an actor on the TV show Salute Your Shorts. This LA based band is quickly gaining popularity on radio station KCRW. Her hauntingly beautiful voice and heartfelt lyrics about loves had and lost bring emotion and depth to this collection of songs. Keep your eyes and ears on this band as they continue to develop from an indie secret into a full fledged household name in anyone with a decent record collection.

Feel free to share comments about what you are listening to right now.

In case you haven't been following my Lenten commitment was fasting see here and here.

I found a cool article via, the youth specialties weekly newsletter about fasting.

It comes from beliefnet.com.

While it's tilted Giving Up Sex For Lent (it's a good/funny read, so just read it) Lauren F. Winner makes some good basic points about Lent.

"Actually, her fast from sex gets to the heart of Lenten discipline. We give up something for Lent to align ourselves with the heart, will, and experience of Jesus. Fasting teaches us that we are not utterly subject to our bodily desires. And in sated and overfed America, fasting reminds us, sharply, of the poor."

"We fast during Lent because fasting gets our attention. It is a necessary tool for rousing us from our day-to-day sleepwalking."

"We fast during Lent because when we willingly give up something we delight in but do not, strictly speaking, need, we come closer to participating in, understanding, and reverencing the self-emptying act that is Christ on the Cross."

"The very discomfort - the uneasy chuckles and tight smiles - that a Lenten sex fast inspires may be precisely the reason that Sharon and Greg's idea is such a good one."

She is making a few very key points about Lent that are often forgotten during our journey towards devotion. It seems too often we are just trying to "see if we can make it through the torture" instead of "rousing us from our day-to-day sleepwalking". In my opinion it is kind of a shame that we only begin to focus on denying ourselves things once a year. I do assume that there are other places in the Christian Calendar for that, but that's whole other post. For simplified purposes we only really focus on this one season of the year to bring ourselves under control. But I would assume if we tried to be focused on it the whole year, that it would fade, just as many New Year's Resolutions, fade with the melting of the snow.

I encourage you to continue to be focused on your commitment. It is a time of discomfort, not of pleasure, in an earthly sense, but delight in the pleasure of serving a God who was able as a man to withstand any and everything.

For a very long time now I've been pondering where God is leading me. If you have been following this blog for any length of time then you will probably recall the various jobs that I've had and hated. You know that I have heavily wrestled with where I am now, spiritually and physically. It has been hard for me to justify my training and desire and the evident position of not being in ministry, to desiring to seek after where God may be calling me and the desires of my heart to pursue a career and lifelong journey of ministry in Youth Ministry, all amongst the struggle with loneliness and struggle to find community.

I have to attribute everything to faith and the provisions of God. I like to think I have a lot of patience. And in most cases I do. Standing in long lines usually doesn't bother me. Waiting for things in the mail isn't too bad. Having conversations that I'm really not interested in, can be torture for some people, but for the most part I try and at least be a good listener. Sitting in cars for long period of times, is something that I casually enjoy, and waiting in airports is actually kind of fun for me. But when it comes to major life issues I find that my patience quickly turns into doubt and fear of God not providing. Examples: Ministry jobs and a wife.

These things I know God will provide, in due time. I know this because he continually provides for me financially, nearly every month when I go "crap, how am I going to pay all my bills this month?" Yet still I sit around and worry that maybe I'm not called to go into ministry, maybe I'm called to a single life. Those last two statements scare me. For they are a few of my biggest hopes.

Faith is my biggest spiritual gift and even though it's not listed as one, hope is a major part of who I am. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)
If we give up on hope then there is nothing left. If Christ had given up on the hope that his Father's promises were true, then there is no way he would have subjected himself to dying for humanity. I am hopeful for my future, I am hopeful for the re-vitalization of the church, I am hopeful for the PCUSA, I am hopeful for a wife, and I am hopeful that more and more people will come to recognize Jesus and God as their Creator and Savior.

Prayer has been a major part of this journey, my prayers, my not praying, Christ praying, friends and family praying. I thank all of you who have at one point or another lifted me up in prayer over the last 3 years as I have sought after the call God has given to me.

What I have learned so far: God is good. God does not break promises. When I have nothing left, he provides. Friends are a true blessing. Laugh. Listen more than speak. Being broken is something we should desire not try to avoid. Do not be discouraged. Cry. Do as much as you can within your current state. Be moldable. Patience. Patience. Make sure you are honest with yourself. Pray. Love God for who he is, not who you want him to be. Love yourself. Do not be content with just anything that comes along. Be thankful for the little things. Singleness does not = bad. Road trips are good for thinking. Be bold.

I don't even want to go into what I need to learn. The list would be much longer.

I really am thankful to have had this blog for the past year. It has allowed me an avenue to vent, pray, bring concerns, share joys, pose questions, be questioned, develop theology and share who I am with many people.

So finally after all this time, I am proud to announce that I have been hired as:

the director of youth ministries at Canoga Park Presbyterian Church

Although it is part time for now, I have come to the clear understanding that God has prepared me for ministering to this specific church at this specific time.

Please continue to lift me, the youth, and the church in prayer as we venture down this new partnership to glorify Christ and serve the Kingdom.

The Chronicles of Naria by C.S. Lewis are being made into movies.

The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe is coming Dec 2005

The official movie site.

Here are a couple of behind the scenes movie clips.
Clip 1
Clip 2

If you have never read the books or haven't in a long, long time. I encourage you to do so.

CAUTION:
If you are going to be purchasing a new set of books, be warned some of the newer editions have the books in a different order than originally published. Magicians Nephew should be book 6, which is the original placement of the book in the series. Just be cautious of which edition you are getting.

UPDATE
Here is an excellent essay concerning the ordering of the books.

Pray for my friend Tony and God's call on his life, see here.

Continue to pray for Kayla and her dad.

Pray for Jeni and her being sick.

Pray for Amy's husband Justin and his 2nd job interview today.

Continue to pray for Ryan and his time of service and contemplation.

And lastly pray for me and my (hopefully) final interview with the church I've been talking to, for a youth director position.

If you have any prayer requests to add of your own, use the free prayer link on the left to add.