Holding the Life

Mr. Kalkwarf

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here's one of my favorite videos. EVER.

I've had the privilege of being a friend to Martin Kalkwarf over the last three and a half years. I remember the days when he'd wander into our dorm room in Birch Hall almost every day, just wanting to hang out. It's amazing to see where God has taken him and it's fun to have been used played a small part in that journey. Martin is now an integral part of a church plant in Iowa City. He is the best embodiment I've ever seen of 2 Corinthians 5:17-- "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

I'll let Martin tell you the full story:

This is my God story - Martin from Veritas Church on Vimeo.

If you're interested, follow Martin's blog here.

Ron Who?

2011-08-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

It's been forever since I've posted. Busy summer. I promise a substantial post about the baby boy we're having, the fatherhood I'm preparing for, and the things I've been learning about God will be coming as soon as time allows.

First, though, some politics. Yep. I've been paying more attention this year than I ever have. Sam and I watched the Republican debates and I was surprised by what I heard. Most of the candidates just seem like political talking heads that just spit out the party line to rabid, cult-ish followers.

But not Ron Paul. The FoxNews analysts said he had a terrible debate, but, as you'll see in the video, the media is a bit biased. Ron Paul won me over in the debate. I don't agree with everything he says, but he seems sensible and thoroughly Constitutional-- even when that means losing some Right Wingers. I went to the Straw Poll and voted for him (though I feel like I'd need to do more research before I would vote for him in a real election).

Ron Paul is winning over lots of voters in a bi-partisan (I met some people at his Straw Poll camp who voted for Obama last election), grassroots kind of way. It's definitely not a media-driven effort, that's for sure. Maybe that's part of why it's starting to take off.

Hilarious Jon Stewart on how the media literally ignores the Paul campaign:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tier

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

Reminiscing (Part 2)

2011-06-11T20:55:00.000-05:00

Figures 1 &2: "The Shack" (Winter 2006)

This was titled well before William Young's book, "The Shack," and I'm not going to rename it now. One of the earliest photographs I took, this was for a high school art class. As I carried the photo into school to turn it in, two snowflakes fell on the print, ruining it. Instead of getting a new one printed, I decided to go with it. I beat up the edges, smeared some more water on it for a flood-damaged look, and mounted it on some matting I stained with tea to make it look antique. Here's the final product:

Figure 3: "Mongolian Sunset" (Summer 2008)

The hills of Inner Mongolia (basically, it's Mongolia but part of northern China) are one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen. Hill after hill covered in grassland and crystal clear, smog-less air. Awesome.

Figure 4: "Facebook Addiction" (Fall 2007)

Sadly, this is one of the only photos I have saved from my days as an Iowa State Daily photojournalist. It's a photo illustration for a story about how easy it was for many students to become "addicted" to Facebook, spending 4-8 hours a day on the site. My roommate, Grant Kellogg, agreed to "shoot up" on some Facebook (which was really Dial body wash I found in the dorm shower that morning). We took the photo in a tiny, dark room in the Theilen Student Health Center, because they wouldn't let me leave the premises with the syringe (I have no idea why Theilen had a syringe intended for use in medicating horses, by the way).

Reminiscing (Part 1)

2011-05-28T17:08:00.003-05:00

This morning I was going through some old files on my computer and found lots of creative projects from my past. Everything was more than a year old (honestly, I think it's been that long since I've done anything "creative"). Some of the things were more than six years old, dating back to my junior year of high school.

Not wanting to completely lose my creativity, I'd like to use "Holding the Life" to look back at these artistic expressions from years past. Some, in my opinion, were pretty darn good... others, not so much. But that's not what matters. We'll look back once every couple weeks or so and get another glimpse into what makes me tick. This will be a learning experience for me, too!

Figure 1: "The Fall of the House of Usher" (Spring 2005)

Appropriately, I'll start with the chalk drawing that made me decide that I like doing art. I did this as a junior in high school for an assignment in a literature class about Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Fall of the House of Usher." It's nothing special, but it's definitely (and sadly) one of the best human figures I've ever drawn.

Figures 2 & 3: "Anthem" (Fall 2008)

The church I went to in college puts on these awesome nights of worship twice a year called "Anthem." This is where I discovered I love taking pictures at concerts. The lighting is always phenomenal and the emotion bleeds into the pictures effortlessly. (Taken with a Cannon 5D)

Figure 4: "Holding the Life" (Summer 2007)

For a different crop, just scroll up. This photo is the banner for this blog. To me, it represents being all in. As the sun sets on my life, I want to be completely spending myself for the glory of God. (I don't mean to be morbid. I know I'm only 23, but each one of us is closer to dying every day.)
When I die, I don't want to have earthly treasures stored up in my clenched fists. I'd rather die with my hands open, just like this dead weed's seed pod, having completely surrendered myself and all I "own" to the Lord.
On a purely photographic note: This photo was extremely hard to capture with my point-and-shoot camera. I literally watched the sun close in on the horizon as I tried and tried to get the seed-pod in focus and not the background. This was the last shot I got before the tree line swallowed the sun!

My Hometown is Famous

2011-05-20T07:48:00.000-05:00

When I was in 5th grade (I think), former Kansas University basketball player Nick Collison was a senior at Iowa Falls high school. And he was good. Really good. Naturally, so was the Iowa Falls basketball team.

My home school, Clarion-Goldfield, had the misfortune of having Iowa Falls in their conference. And we weren't very good. Not very good at all.

Nick is now playing for the championship contending NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's good to know he still remembers Clarion-Goldfield. We're the school he talks about in the following interview on the Thunder's website: (Thanks, Levi Larue, for the link.)

We caught up with Collison for today’s installment of “Getting To Know…”

So you got your shorts pulled down one time during a game, right?
“We were playing a team, they weren’t very good, and we ended up winning 116 to 30-something. We set a school record. I went to turn and shoot and a kid pulled my shorts down.”

Do you think he was mad?
“Nah, I think it was a joke. It was weird. It was like his coach was in on it. And then when we had 98 points, they scored the 100th point in our basket – so they inbounded the ball and scored in our basket. It was just like a joke, man.”

How did you react to getting pantsed?
“I was upset about it. I was just shocked. Luckily I had shorts on underneath. I had like a smaller pair of basketball shorts underneath. I just pulled them up and they threw the kid out and maybe threw the coach out. Yeah, I was just shocked. I felt like it was more embarrassing for them but, whatever. It’s a story not too many people have. My senior year of high school.”

Not a bright spot in our school's history. Regardless of whether our basketball skills improved much, we sure got a lot more classy in the years to come! ;)

Family Worship

2011-05-11T21:37:00.000-05:00

I tried something new tonight.

And it was awesome. In fact, I want it to be a new Young family tradition.

It's called "family worship."

It's a concept that was introduced to me by our pastor, Michael Felkins. He leads his "family worship" several times a week with his wife, teenage daughters, and 10-year-old boy.

Maybe you've heard of it before, but it was basically new to me. The idea is beautifully simple: worship God with your family. Crazy, right? Worship the Lord regularly, together, in your home (yes, you can worship outside of the church sanctuary), with no pastor, no worship leader, off-pitch voices and all. Exactly how this fleshes out will differ from family to family, but the concept doesn't change a bit.

Here's how it looked for us tonight: We started with a worship song (tonight was "Praise You, Lord" by Anthem Band). Then we read Mark 1 out loud (we'll read another chapter of Mark every time we have "family worship"). After reading the chapter, we simply discussed any questions we had about the passage and what we learned from what we read. Finally, we closed by praying. I grabbed a copy of the Powerline, a weekly prayer bulletin our church puts out. Sam and I each prayed from something in the Powerline, as well as something not in the Powerline (I prayed for those impacted by natural disaster, and Sam prayed that our baby would follow the Lord).

I wanted to start "family worship" well before we have our baby for a couple of reasons: 1) It's just good for Sam and me to worship God together; 2) We can't expect to start a discipline like this once the craziness of a kid hits us. We have to get in the habit now. It might be an awkward hassle to get started, but I know it will be a rewarding discipline.

I believe the advantages of "family worship" are immeasurable. Most importantly, it glorifies God. It does this by centering my heart, Sam's heart, our marriage, our child's heart, and our family on the things of the Lord. I pray that God will give me the perseverance to continue this discipline for years to come and that He would use it to show my child how to unashamedly worship.

If you're married or want to be married, pray about what family worship might look like for you. Don't wait until you have a 5-year-old to start. Don't even wait until you have a spouse. Start now. Get in the habit. We'll learn together!

Finally, here are a couple of posts by Jason Helopoulos from "The Gospel Coalition" blog that gave me tons of theological and practical wisdom on how to lead this with my family. I positively, definitely, 10,000% encourage you to read, save, and share these two articles:

"11 Reasons to Worship with Your Family"

"The What, When, and How of Family Worship"

Oh Baby You're So Fine...

2011-05-05T07:59:00.000-05:00

Last week, Sam and I got to have an ultra-sound of our first child! Yes, we're having a baby! We're about 12 weeks along right now, and we're due November 19th!

Without further ado, our first glimpse of Baby Young:

As of right now, Baby and Mom are doing well. We're thankful to God for this indescribable blessing!

More to come later...

I'm a Terrible Videographer

2011-04-29T16:12:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week, Sam and I got to go to Des Moines to visit my brother, Andy. He's working as a page in the state House of Representatives during his last semester as a senior in high school. This means that whenever a rep needs something (whether it be a copy of a bill or a bottle of water) he gets to fetch it for them. That's a pretty simplistic summary, but he would tell you that it's be an interesting job overall.

When we visited, though, he got to play the part of a tour guide. He took us through all the nooks and crannies of the Capitol Building. We got to see places that normal tours never would.

Here's a video of the top floor of the rotunda. Sorry for the awful narrator, I'm not sure who that guy is...

This one's the inside of the golden dome. It felt like we were in "National Treasure" or something! Again, sorry about the narrator. The weirdo must have followed us around all day.

Lastly, the lavish Law Library (alliteration!). This place was sweet! And I never even knew it existed. A beautiful place filled with TONS of boring law books. Could be a cool place for someone's wedding photos, if our legislators would ever allow it. Just let me know, and I'll have Andy pull some strings for you. Just look past the fact that he's creepin' on my wife. Ha! What a kid.

Easter Message

2011-04-26T21:52:00.001-05:00

On Easter Sunday, I gave the message at the sunrise service at my home church in Clarion. I preached from Hosea 6:1-2, a beautiful prophecy of Easter. Here is the manuscript, for anyone interested:

HOSEA 6:1-2

¹"Come, let us return to the LORD;
   for He has torn us, that He may heal us;
   He has struck us down, and He will bind us up.
²After two days He will revive us;
   on the third day He will raise us up,
   that we may live before Him.

This text in Hosea is a beautiful prophecy of Easter. Indeed, it foretells the One who would be revived and, after three days, rise up and live.

Before we look at these two verses more deeply, I want to begin with a little background and context of the book of Hosea. The man Hosea was a prophet to Israel about 700 years before Christ was born. Hosea, an Israelite, lived in a time when Israel was committing unthinkable sins against the LORD. In fact, God tells Hosea that Israel has been, in effect, prostituting herself out. Instead of worshipping the God who brought them miraculously out of slavery, through the Red Sea, and into the Promised Land, they were bowing before all sorts of idols and false Gods.

In this time of abounding sin, God used Hosea to warn Israel about the coming judgment. You see, the God of the Bible is not only a loving God and a compassionate God, He is a GOOD God and a HOLY God. If God is good and holy, it means that anything that is not good and not holy must be separated from Him. Because Holy and unholy do not go together. Holy and unholy do not go together.

And this is precisely what Hosea is warning about! In His goodness, God responds justly to unholiness. He responds with wrath and with punishment, which is exactly what unholiness deserves. That’s really BAD NEWS for Israel.

So, how does all of this apply to an Easter sunrise service in 2011, in a little town in Iowa? We’re pretty far removed from 700 B.C. and the Middle East, right? Right. But, this timeless Word of the LORD in Scripture directly applies to each and every one of us in a deeply profound way.

You see, you and I bow before idols every day. Idols aren’t just limited to golden statues and false gods. No, I am no better than the Israelites who Hosea warned of God’s judgment. None of us are.

We’ve all been deceived to worship something other than the One True God. The “false gods” in our lives could be work, family, money, comfort, self, the list goes on. None of these are bad things, but they often take our highest affections and attentions away from our Creator. They become our idols and we, like Israel, become idol-worshippers.

This means that the judgment of God upon sin is headed our way too, unless something changes. Left to my sinful self, I will only and always be an object of the LORD’s wrath. Remember, Holy and unholy do not go together. As sinners, this is really BAD NEWS for each and every one of us!

Right about now, you might be thinking to yourself, “Sheesh, Tim! What’s with all this talk about how bad we are? It’s depressing! Isn’t Easter supposed to be a celebration? Isn’t it about the Good News?”

To you I say, “Yes! Easter IS a celebration! It IS Good News! But you can’t see how good the Good News is until you understand how bad the bad news is. Without bad news, there is NO SUCH THING as Good News.”

And that’s where we come back to Hosea 6:1-2 where we see bad news followed by Good News::

Bad news: “He has torn us”

Good News: “that He may heal us”

Bad news: “He has struck us down”

Good News: “He will bind [bandage] us up”
Good News: “He will revive us”

Good News: “He will raise us up, that we may live before Him”

Remember that this is a prophecy of Jesus Christ. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Hosea said that someone would be torn – and it was Christ who was whipped until the flesh fell off his body. Hosea said that someone would be struck – and it was Christ who was twice beaten by the rods of the Roman guards until he was nearly beyond recognition. And Hosea said that someone would be revived, raised up, and LIVE – and it was Christ who was resurrected from the dead. He came forth from the tomb, ALIVE after three days). This is a prophecy of Good Friday and Easter Sunday!

This prophecy paints a picture of Jesus bearing the punishment we deserve to bear. We deserve to be whipped and beaten for our unholiness, but it was Jesus who took our unholiness upon Himself and received the blows.

What’s more, this prophecy paints a picture of US receiving the healing and holiness that Jesus earned by living a perfect life. Do you see that it is US, the new Israel, who is spoken of in Hosea’s prophecy? This is because the Cross presents us with a beautiful, but unfair trade: our unholiness in exchange for the holiness of the God-Man Jesus Christ. This means he takes EVERY BIT of our sin. That’s every thought, word, and deed that doesn’t honor the LORD. In exchange, we receive EVERY BIT of His holiness, so that we can stand before the Holy God. You see, we NEED His holiness, because holiness and unholiness do not go together.

Finally, this prophecy paints a picture of how we can have a relationship with Christ. In Christ, it is WE who are healed, it is WE who are revived, it is WE who are raised up, and it is WE who live! This is accomplished only by putting our faith in the unfair exchange, because it is only HE who does the healing, it is only HE who does the reviving, it is only HE who does the raising, and it is only HE who gives us life!

And as Jesus promised, this healing and life isn’t just physical (though He is the provider of all healing and life on Earth). The healing Jesus spoke of is something far more valuable, and far more lasting. Everything in this life is temporary, including pain, troubles, and even this life itself. Jesus bought for us a life of even greater worth than this Earthly one that has been corrupted by pain and sin. He bought each of His children an eternal life, forever before the Creator, the LORD God Almighty!

This spiritual healing and everlasting life isn’t something WE CAN EARN with good deeds and kind words. No, it is something that HAS ALREADY BEEN EARNED through the tortuous death of a sinless Savior and His resurrection on the third day. To try to earn it ourselves is to de-value Jesus Christ.

Instead, we must do as the LORD commanded through Hosea in the first line of this passage: “Come, let us return to the LORD.”

Let us leave behind all idols that grab our affections away from the Savior this Easter. Let us repent of our idol-worship and bow a knee in surrender to the King who left his throne to live among His people. And let us return to the Lord and rejoice in the Cross and the Empty Tomb, because it IS Good News!

I wish I could...

2011-04-13T18:39:00.001-05:00

But I can't.

I watched this video four times before I realized it shows TWO of this gymnast's routines. That's right, he didn't just get lucky and land it once. No, it looks as though this man is regularly capable of flipping and spinning his body like a squib kick in a football game.

I wish I could...

*If you're in a reader and can't view the video, click into the actual post.

B-B-B-Beat Box

2011-03-27T15:02:00.000-05:00

Actually, this isn't beat boxing. This is far more advanced. Like an alien race or something.

I saw this guy on TV yesterday. They said his snare/hi-hat/snare/hi-hat sound is so fast (18 times a second) that if he did it any faster our ears could only hear it as a constant sound with no distinction.

He's in a room with cool acoustics, but he's making all of the echo sounds himself. Enjoy!

The Beauty of the Gospel

2011-02-27T19:10:00.000-06:00

The Gospel is beautiful. Incredibly beautiful. It's so beautiful, in fact, that nothing that pleases God has ever been accomplished without it by a human being (Hebrews 11:8).

But I think I often neglect half of it.

I think we tend to see the gospel this way:

We all have this terrible burden to bear. This burden is sin, and it could be likened to a cup that we carry around. Inside this cup is every gross, nasty, grimy sin from every ungodly act, thought, and motivation we've ever had. And this ungodliness separates us from the Holy One.

This is where the Gospel steps in. Through His perfect life, His death on the Cross, and His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ has taken the sins of those He calls His children upon His shoulders. In effect, he has taken my cup of grime and poured it on Himself. Then He defeated the physical and spiritual death that my cup of grime deserves. By trusting in this Truth, I am His child.

But, if sin removal alone is our view of the Gospel we're missing half of it. You see, I often feel as though Christ has removed my cup of sinful grime but now I carry around an empty up. I'm desperate to fill it with my goodness. Sadly, I often go so far as to try to fill this cup by being loved and accepted by others... even my wife.

But all of my attempts to feel good about myself don't add a single drop of righteousness to my cup. In fact, since they're usually motivated by pride, they only add to my pile of grime Jesus died for.

The Truth of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ's righteous life, undeserving death, and hell-defeating resurrection not only bears my cup of sin-- it fills my cup with righteousness.

That's why the Gospel is so beautiful. God is incomparably Holy. I am indescribably wicked. Of myself, I have nothing to offer Him to close the gap between us. But, in His love, justice, mercy, and grace, God made a way.

He made impossible demands of us to be righteous, and He beautifully and completely met those demands, in Christ, on behalf of His children.

"For our sake [God] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might be the righteousness of God." --- 1 Corinthians 5:21

A Page in the Chapter

2011-02-18T07:40:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know, my brother, Andy, is forgoing his last semester as a senior in high school. Instead, he accepted a job offer to be a page at the Iowa House of Representatives for a semester. That means he gets paid to sit in the House during debates and formalities. He spends most of his time answering phones and running errands around the Capitol Building for the reps. A pretty interesting job, I must say.

He seems to be liking it so far, and has been keeping a daily blog of his experience called A Page in the Chapter. Check it out if you're interested.

Andy also has a sense of humor that, well... let's just say it runs in the family. He likes puns. Here's one of his recent posts on his blog-- it made my day:

"I'd like to share a few observations which have come from attending committee meetings and the like:
1) Agriculture - This committee is a homely bunch because they are so deeply rooted in Iowa.
2) Economic Growth - These are always very stimulating meetings.
3) Environmental Protection - For some reason, topics in these meetings are always complicated. Almost the whole time is spent clearing the air of confusion.
4) Transportation - To me, it is obvious that the Iowa DOT is in a rut.
5) Veterans' Affairs - People are always trying to sit in on these meetings. To ensure that no unauthorized persons enter, I am always on Guard.
6) Judiciary - I have never sat in on a judiciary committee because another page has requested all of its meetings. It's just not fair.
7) Labor - I dread attending these meetings - I always end up doing hard work.
8) Commerce - It's business as usual.
9) Ways & Means - As far as I can tell, this is the committee that finds ways of being mean by taxing Iowans.
10) Education - I haven't really learned anything from this committee.
11) Public Safety - I've only been scheduled to this committee once. Unfortunately, on my way to it, I slipped on a dangerously wet floor."

Some Videos From the WWW

2011-02-03T21:37:00.000-06:00

[Click into the actual post if you can't see the videos.]

Barrel-eye fish: God's awesomest creation in the animal world?

Chatty parrot: God's second-awesomest creation in the animal world?

Pick-pocket extraordinaire: I'm impressed and scared simultaneously (skip to 2:35, if you're pressed for time)

Jaw-dropping foosball tricks: Someone had too much time on their hands

Neighbor Update

2011-02-01T20:09:00.000-06:00

A quick update, for anyone wondering how our ministry to our neighbors is going. (Peruse my older posts if you're curious of what I'm talking about....)

We haven't even seen Esther lately. We figure her mom caught wind of the fact that she was coming over to our place without her knowledge. Definitely a bummer, since we thought she'd be coming to VBS and possibly bringing her family to church with us...

Alan moved away a year ago, so we don't get blessed by his amazing cooking and his available car-port anymore.

Frank and Kevin are almost never around anymore-- which is ok, considering we watched Kevin and Alan get in a fist-fight before Alan moved, and Jerry suspects Frank of stealing his car.

Which actually worked out ok for us. About the time Alan moved (and a new tenant who uses their car-port moved in), Jerry's car got stolen. Since we're friends with Jerry (and he won't get a new car because his health won't allow him to drive anyways) he's letting us use his car-port for Sam's car. Huge blessing.

All that to say: there isn't much going on anymore in regards to ministry with our neighbors.

Not that we haven't tried. This Christmas, Sam had the awesome idea to hand out little baskets of homemade treats to our neighbors. We spent a Saturday in December making our goodies together and giving them to the other people in our building. We also decided to be those super-weird Christian types and include a gospel tract with each box. (It's actually a really good tract that very clearly explains the gospel with lots of scriptural support.) Anyways, we got a few weird looks when we rang the doorbell and said, "We made some some goodies for you because we love Christmas! There's also a little booklet in there that explains why we love Christmas so much." We prayed that our neighbors would come and talk to us about the gospel, but no one has yet. It is (and always has been) in God's hands, I suppose.

Maybe things will pick up when it's warmer outside. :)

I can't do that...

2011-01-13T08:04:00.000-06:00

In no way is this original. I am totally scamming it from Gabe Noll's blog.

Still, it's worth a re-post on my blog. I love being impressed by things, and this is definitely impressive. Especially for me because, if you know me, you know that I have no skating ability whatsoever. Not even on a flat surface at low speeds. Can't do it. So, this amazes me.

Kilian Martin: A Skate Regeneration from Brett Novak on Vimeo.

Weird NFL Season

2011-01-02T22:43:00.001-06:00

It's been a crazy season in the NFL. I played fantasy football for the first time this year, so I followed it a little more closely than I usually do. I also did pretty well as a fantasy team manager in both leagues I played in (12-2 and 9-4). Maybe Sam and I will buy an NFL team someday.....

Anyways, I learned some interesting factoids about the NFL playoff picture this year:

1) The Seattle Seahawks are the first team ever to make the playoffs with a losing record (7 wins, 9 losses). They tied for the best record in their division (the NFC West is horrible) and won a tiebreaker game tonight against the Rams to head to the playoffs.

2) The San Diego Chargers have the NFL's #1 ranked defense and #2 ranked offense and did not make the playoffs with a 9-7 record.

3) The Oakland Raiders won every single game they played against their AFC West division foes (2 wins each against the Chiefs, Broncos, and Chargers), but got 3rd place in their division and did not make the playoffs with an 8-8 record.

Murder, Forgiveness, and a Flying Car

2011-01-01T12:44:00.001-06:00

This is absolutely one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Not only because something from decades of science fiction might finally become practical, but because the purpose of its development is to serve the Kingdom of God.

The inventor's name is Steve Saint. His dad was new tribes missionary, Nate Saint. Steve's dad, Nate, flew airplanes into the jungles of Equador to bring the light of the Gospel to tribes deep in the wilderness. When Steve was only 5 years old, his father was killed by the Waodani tribe in an attempt to make peacful contact with them. Dispite the murder of Nate, Steve's aunt, Rachel, continued to try to make peaceful contact with the Waodani's. Eventually she succeed and led most of the tribe to follow Christ.

(Steve's journaling of these events inspired the movie "The End of the Spear".)

In an amazing act of forgiveness and love, Steve, at the age of 10, went to live in the jungle with the Waodani's -- the same tribe that had killed his father. After some time learning the jungle way of life with the tribe, Steve was baptized by two of the men who killed his father 5 years earlier.

Incredibly, it is the Waodani people who led Steve to invent such brilliant machine. Tribes deep in the jungle are usually inaccessable by car and by foot due to bridge washouts or impossibly rugged terrain. The Waodani's asked Steve to make something that could help them reach the other tribes in the Amazon to teach them to "walk the trail of God".

Check this out, then buy me one.

PVC Instrument

2010-12-04T12:03:00.000-06:00

Hello Blog,

Sorry it's been a little while since I've written. I promise, a more meaningful post is coming quite soon. As soon as time allows and inspiration's light bulb flickers on.

For today, though, you have to see this video. If you haven't already, it's worth watching all the way through. This kid is a high schooler and he built this instrument on his own. Pretty amazing talent!

Moralistic Theraputic Deism

2010-11-03T14:47:00.000-05:00

This is a good interview that puts its finger on the pulse of the "new religion" of America. The religious concept itself isn't at all new (in fact, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were Deists), but the way it is sweeping the United States is striking. It has been perpetuated by the media and the social norms during the past few decades, certainly, but the roots reach back over two centuries.

Take a few minutes to watch:

So, what do you think? Do you identify with what he describes in the interview? Or are you in agreement with him? Or complete disagreement? Post a comment and let me know what you think. I'd love to open this up for some dialogue.

And, if you're interested in hearing more about this and how it makes our charge for evangelism even more urgent, take a listen to the excellent sermon my pastor gave on the subject last Sunday: "Evangelism in Light of the Truth of the Gospel"

Jesus, the True and Better

2010-11-01T20:20:00.006-05:00

We spent an hour yesterday morning in our Bible study at church going through the book of Matthew. The only thing we studied out of the book were the specific Old Testament prophecies it records that Jesus fulfilled. I plan to do a post on that someday.

It reminded me, though, of a quote Pastor Michael used in one of his sermons, "The Purpose of the Big 12 [Minor Prophets]," he preached a couple of weeks ago. In the sermon, he quoted from a 2006 sermon by Tim Keller. The quote, to me, is a powerful (and extremely brief and non-exhaustive) summation of the general foreshadowing of Jesus Christ that God accomplished in the Old Testament. It speaks to me about God's sovereignty. The OT is not just a collection of stories about God's chosen people, Israel. (Speaking of sovereign, God choosing the nation of Israel is a pretty sweet argument for election, but I won't go into that now.) The OT was orchestrated by a powerful and sovereign God to point like a flashing arrow towards the coming life and sacrifice of the Anointed One, Jesus Christ.

Check this out:

- Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed (credited) to us (his people).

· Jesus is the true and better Able who though innocently slain has blood now that does not cry out for our condemnation but for our acquittal.

· Jesus is the true and better Abraham who full of God left the comfortable to go out into the void to create a new people of God.

· Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was offered but not just offered up on the mount but, was truly sacrificed. God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because did not withhold your son, your only son from me. Now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your only Son, whom you love, from us.”

· Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow for us so that we could receive wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

· Jesus is the true and better Joseph who sits at the right hand of the king and forgives those who betrayed him and uses his power to save them.

· Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

· Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses who being struck with the rod of God’s justice now gives us water in the desert.

· Jesus is the true and better Job with truly innocent suffering who now intercedes for us and saves his ignorant friends.

· Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes the people’s victory because they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

· Jesus is the true and better Ester who didn’t just risk loosing an earthly palace but lost the ultimate heavenly palace and didn’t just risk his life but gave his life to save his people.

· Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

· Jesus is the real rock of Moses, he is the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect.

· He is the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread—the Bible is really not about you is it? It is about Jesus Christ!

Chris Johnson and Simon Estes

2010-10-12T08:03:00.000-05:00

Chris Johnson, our worship minister at Grand Avenue, directed a concert for a Habitat for Humanity benefit at Cornerstone. The choir consisted of 200 singers from Ames, Ballard, Collins-Maxwell, Colo-Nesco, Gilbert, Nevada, and Roland-Story High Schools along with the choir from Grand Avenue Baptist Church, and Simon Estes.

Check out a photo slide show from the Des Moines Register:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=D2&Dato=20101010&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=10100801&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr%3D1&ref=nf

Oops...

2010-09-23T21:20:00.001-05:00

I recently posted about a movie I saw called "Outsourced." I loved the movie, and still recommend it for the reasons I listed in that post.

You might remember that I was also excited for the new TV show, based on the movie, starting soon on NBC. Well, that show premiered tonight and I watched it with great anticipation.

But, it was awful.

If you took time out of your day to watch that show because I recommended the movie, I'm sorry. We both wasted half an hour of our lives. The acting was poor, the writing was lame, and it was tacky-- just like I feared.

If you saw the TV show, don't let it stop you from watching the movie. And if you haven't seen the movie yet, give it a watch and let me know what you think.

Big Hit

2010-09-23T19:17:00.001-05:00

Have you seen this video?! If you watched the ISU vs. Iowa football game, you probably did (they showed it during the game). Even so, it's worth a blog post.

They give football players mo-peds at the University of Iowa. Josh Koeppel, the second-string center on the team, was driving his in Iowa City a couple of days before the game against Iowa State. The dashboard camera on a police car caught this video of Koeppel going through an intersection. The incredible thing: he wasn't injured. Not at all. They did a full-body MRI, and found nothing out of the ordinary. He even got in the game against ISU a few days later.

(P.S. Watch his shoe fly in the air!)

God is More Astounding Than OK Go

2010-09-21T00:10:00.000-05:00

To find out why OK Go is astounding, check out my last post.

To find out one small reason why God is infinitely more astounding than OK Go, keep reading.

Remember this post about Sam taking me to Half-Price Books? We bought six of John Piper's Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (also titled The Passion of Jesus Christ). That was just enough, plus one extra, for each of the high school guys in our youth group to have a copy to work through during our 6:30am Thursday morning Bible studies we are starting this week. (I ask for your prayers for that, by the way!)

I thought we would try going through the book (we're also studying Hebrews) with just the guys. If it was good, I'd buy a few more copies and have Sam lead the girls through it, too. When I mentioned this off hand to our pastor, he said he had a few more copies he could give me so the girls could start studying it right away. Unfortunately, his copies plus my copies left me four copies short of what we needed for everyone to get one.

For the last two weeks, I've been looking for cheap copies online but I haven't been able to find them in bulk for a reasonable price. As I continued searching for cheap copies, I felt increasingly convicted that we need to be studying this book as an entire youth group. I kept feeling like God wanted to use this book to change my heart and my view of Him, as well has the hearts of the students in the youth group. But I still didn't have enough books, and our study starts in less than a week.

Yesterday, God blew me away. After youth group, Sam and I walked over to the main church building for congregational meeting. As we came around the south corner of the building, a woman from the church got out of her car and walked up to us.

"Do you have any use for these in the youth group?" she asked me, as she handed me FOUR copies of Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper!!!

My jaw hung open for several seconds.

"How did you know we needed those?" I asked her.

She explained that she had no idea we needed them. In fact, she found them on a bookshelf in her home and decided to bring them to the church library where they would get some use.

"I was just going to give them to the library," she told us, "if you two hadn't come around the corner just as I was getting out of my car, I never would have thought to ask if you could use them!"

It's not astounding that the Creator of the Universe is astounding. That makes sense. Of course He is astounding. He defines astounding. He knows us and our needs. And He provides for them, big or small, according to His perfect timing and will.

God is on board with this Bible study. In truth, He is the one leading it. Please pray for me and for Sam that we will be blessed with insight and humility as God leads us to unpack the truths in Hebrews to our high schoolers. Pray also for the kids, that their hearts will be like soft clay in the Potter's hands.

Finally, praise God for His provision in the tiny details of our lives and our ministries. May He be glorified above all things in both.

OK Go is Astounding

2010-09-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

This band, called OK Go, puts together some magnificently unique and stupendously creative music videos. Here is their latest one:

In case you've never experienced the internet before today and have never seen an OK Go music video previously, here are three of my favorites:

Outsourced

2010-09-16T07:59:00.000-05:00

About a week and a half ago Sam and I watched a movie called "Outsourced" with my family in Clarion. We found it by accident on that new "stream-movies-for-free-through-your-Wii" program thingy that Netflix is doing. If you're like me, you've never heard of the movie before. I'd never seen a trailer or a promo.

Needless to say, I didn't expect much. It's about a guy's job at a call center getting outsourced to India, so I thought it would be funny for Sam to point out all of the movie's shortcomings since she spent two months in the country.

We were astounded not only by the accuracy of the movie, but by the funny and extremely clever writing and the excellent acting. It was fun for my family and me to get a better concept of my wife's time in India while laughing at the comedy created by the culture chasm.

Here's a trailer:

There are a two "awkward scenes" where sex is strongly implied, but neither shows anything and they are easy to skip. Other than that, I remember the movie being pretty clean. (It's such a low-budget film that Focus On the Family's "Plugged-In" doesn't even have a review of it.)

Despite skipping two scenes, this was one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. I'm excited to see that NBC has a new show based on the movie! It looks like "The Office" meets India. It will probably end up being tacky or inappropriate, but here's to hoping!

Spending Spree

2010-09-05T18:30:00.001-05:00

Sorry it's been awhile since a real posting. Unfortunately, things haven't developed very much with our neighbors. Esther doesn't come by any more. We think her mom found out she was coming over and put a stop to it. Frank and Kevin are both around from time to time, but we haven't had a chance for any conversations.

So, instead of posting about our neighbors or a cool video, I'm going to post about my wonderful wife!

Yesterday, Sam and I took our first free Saturday in more than a month to go shopping in Des Moines. I needed a new pair of boots for work. I did a little shopping around, and ended up buying from Red Wing Boots. And I definitely recommend them.

I got some all leather, water-proof, GoreTex-lined, composite-toe boots (as opposed to steel-toe, which are heavier and get cold in the winter). It was one of those purchases that it seemed wisest to spend more money now and get a more quality product that will last several years. This is an exciting step up for me from the $6 work boots I got at Salvation Army and have been using for the past 6 months. They served me well, but it was time for them to go.

BEFORE RED WING:

AFTER RED WING:

In case you're in the market for some good work boots, Red Wing Boots rocks. Along with extending the 20% off State Fair discount for me, they provide free monthly boot cleaning, free laces for the life of the boots, and a good warranty.

After boot shopping, Sam took me on a surprise birthday excursion (a couple of weeks early) to Half-Price Books. I'd never been before, but her little plan was brilliant. Any time we go into a bookstore, we have to agree with a handshake that we won't spend anything. Bookstores are a budget-busting weakness for both of us!

Sam informed me that this time was different. Half-Price Books buys used books in good condition and sells them at super low prices. Most paperbacks range from $2-7 and hardcovers go for $5-10. And, once again, God blessed us with a 20% off sale! Best of all, Sam said for today only I was to be un-restrained by our budget. What an awesomely clever birthday gift! I love my wife.

Here's what I got for $45 total:

The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper (5)
(I'll use this for a Bible study with the GABC high school guys)
Epic by John Eldridge (2)
What is Reformed Theology? by R.C. Sproul
Where Your Treasure Is: What the Bible Says About Money a Bible study by James and Martha Reapsome
(Sam and I need some help on this topic after our spending spree!)
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
To Live is Christ: Embracing the Passion of Paul by Beth Moore (this one's for Sam)
And 3 movies for $3 each: "Gladiator," "The Recruit," and "Breach"

To end the night, Sam took me out to Texas Roadhouse. If you've never been there, you must go. I had an incredible sirloin and amazing cheesy mashed potatoes. But the best part? All you can eat shelled peanuts and soft, delicious dinner rolls for FREE!

Silent and Invisible U.S. Military Heat Ray Non-Lethal Anti-Riot Weapon

2010-09-05T15:29:00.000-05:00

I saw this on TV a couple days ago. I thought it was fake at first, but this amazing piece of weaponry is for real. Astounding.

Fishy

2010-08-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

I plan to post something a little more substantial soon, but it's already past my bedtime (man, I'm getting old...) and I just found this online.

The diversity of our King's Creation blows me away. What an awesome and creative God!

On a different note, how is it that we never learn about most of these creatures in school? Now that would've made elementary school interesting!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1TPenW/www2.yk.psu.edu/~mer7/Phil/fish.htm/r:f

My Kind of Jokes

2010-07-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was --
--Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, --
--but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .

3. She was only a whisky maker, --
--but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class --
--because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. Time flies like an arrow. --
--Fruit flies like a banana.

6. Atheism --
--is a non-prophet organization.

7. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. --
--One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'

8. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison --
--was a small medium at large.

9. A backward poet --
--writes inverse.

10. In democracy, it's your vote that counts. --
--In feudalism, it's your count that votes.

Legacy

2010-06-19T15:45:00.000-05:00

Last night the guys in our youth group had an all-night hang out at the church. It was pretty sweet. We ate pizza, watched the Bourne Supremacy, and had a Nerf basketball tournament. I won. We also had an awesome late-night discussion about "legacy." Around the "campfire"-- a candle lit in the center of the room (we were forced to camp inside because of potentially tornadic weather)-- the question was asked, "If you died tonight, how would you be remembered by those closest to you? How about those who aren't as close to you (classmates, co-workers, etc.)?" In effect, the question was, "What would your legacy be?"

This is an extremely valuable question to help followers of Christ assess their ministries. It was convicting to me that my high school classmates, if I were to die today, would probably feel as though they lost a friend from high school who was a nice guy, smart, and a little bit too silly at times. I don't think they would remember me as a man who loved Christ with all his heart and was excitedly devoted to his Savior with all he had. Hopefully, those closer to me now would remember me a little bit nearer to the last description (though I'm still far from it). But what about my college classmates from last year? Or my co-workers? How would they remember me? Is the light of Christ shining bright enough through me that I would even be known as His follower?

These questions are important and convicting. I should revisit them often as my ministry and outreach develops over time. But we must also be careful how our hearts cling to our legacy. I've heard song after song play on Christian radio talking about leaving a legacy. Many pastors and preachers excite their listeners by challenging them to leave a legacy when their time is done on this earth. It seems like a very Christian idea to "leave a legacy of love," right?

So, I looked to see what the Bible hast to say about legacies:
Nothing.

Nothing at all. The word "legacy" is never once used in the NIV, ESV, CEV, or NLT translations of the Bible. Eugene Petersen paraphrased it out of scripture eight times in The Message version. Twice it was used to describe a negative inheritance left by a foolish or lazy person. The other six times he used it to refer to the legacy left by God.

What do I conclude from this? What our actual legacy ends up being is not important if we have lived our lives for the glory of God. It is extremely valuable to consider how boldly we are living out our faith by how those around us will remember us upon our death. Use that as a tool for changing your heart and lifestyle to proclaim the Truth of the Gospel. But do not get caught up in how your name will be remembered.

Life is not about my name on a plaque, how much is in my bank account, the tears and fond memories of family and friends when I die, or my four paragraphs in the obituaries section of the paper. In fact, it's not about ME at all. It's about Yahweh. It's about Jesus Christ. It's about the work of the Holy Spirit in the souls of believers around the world.

It's about the legacy of the Gospel. So let's live it out for the glory of our King.

Surrogates

2010-05-21T22:58:00.000-05:00

Sam and I were watching that new movie "Surrogates" a few nights ago. It stars Bruce Willis and the basic plot is that like 15 years in the future everyone owns a perfected robot version of themselves that they live through vicariously because they are too self conscious of their physical bodies to interact with anyone. Interesting concept. Not the greatest movie, but it made me think a little.

Anyways, that's not really what this is about. In that movie, one character played the tech geek-dude, and was one of the only people in the film who didn't use a robot surrogate. This is the dude:

Recognize him? I did. Right away for some reason. I "imdb.com-ed" my hunch and, sure enough, I was right! He played a minor character in one of my favorite movies that came out when I was 3 years old. You've seen it. He's changed a ton since then (no pun intended).

Who is he?

Buzz McCallister from the Home Alone movies! Remember?

Don't know why, but I thought this was hilarious.

Paper Towel

2010-05-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been like a month since I've posted. Finding time to write is a challenge, but it's worth making time tonight.

So, my wife and I were sitting one our futon catching up on the latest episode of LOST (only 1 episode left, forever!) online when there was a knock on our door. It was like 9:00pm and we weren't expecting anyone. I looked through the peephole and could see that our screen door was open but there was no one standing there. Thinking that was a tad shady, curiosity won out over protectiveness and I opened the door.

I'm glad I did, because God answered prayer.

Standing at the door was this little African-American girl named Ester. She's in 3rd grade and lives in an apartment across the street with her mom (who is pregnant with twins!) and her little brother and little sister. She said, "Is Sam here? I have a note to give her."

When Sam got to the door, Ester handed her a note written in black marker on a paper towel (we don't know who Angie or Jackie are, but that adds to the fun):

The funny thing is, we barely know Ester. Sam met her a year ago when we first moved into our apartment. Ester was sitting on the curb by our carport and Sam introduced herself for a few seconds. Every time Ester saw Sam after that, she remembered her name and waved at us. The only reason we can think of that she gave Sam this note is because she sees Christ in her. We have never had a conversation that lasted more than a minute or two, and those are few and far between.

Here is the coolest part. Just last night we had a meeting for our summer Vacation Bible School program at church. A big part of VBS is the opportunity for outreach to the community around Grand, which Ester happens to live in. We often see her and her siblings playing outside and they have been on our heart for nearly a year. Last night, I specifically prayed that God would give us an opportunity to share the light of Christ with Ester and her siblings through the VBS program!

God answers prayer.

Praise God for the way He has worked in and through my wife so that a child is drawn to the light of Christ shining through her. It is DEFINITELY not anything we have done. The glory and credit is God's alone. He is majestic and mysterious. How fun it is to get a small glimpse into the way He is working all around us!

Anyways, Sam gave Ester some cookies to take back to her family, and we're hoping this will open the door to invite them to church and VBS. Please pray that God will reveal Himself to that family. VBS is June 13th-17th, please pray for that also. We are asking God for 75+ kids this year--

And God answers prayer.

Another baseball video

2010-04-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

My wife showed me this. Maybe you've seen it. Pretty sweet. I always dreamed about doing this in little league, but I didn't get on base much and never had the ups to make this kind of a play happen.

Does it match the play in this post?

Laughing Gravy

2010-04-17T12:47:00.000-05:00

Sam and I are taking our youth group to something called Challenge 2010 this summer. It's an E-Free conference for high schoolers in Columbus, Ohio. It also features missions opportunities for our kids, including church plants in more "un-churched" parts of the city. I'm excited.

Anyways, we are doing some fund-raising to go. Last Sunday for youth group we played "Bigger & Better". To play, the group divided into three teams and we drove them around Ames from door to door, wherever they wanted to go. The teams each started with a quarter and, as they went door to door, asked if the resident has anything "bigger and better" to trade for a quarter. You keep trading up and up and so on, but many people just give us stuff they have lying around rather than trades us for something else they don't really want. We played the game for an hour. Tomorrow after church, the youth group will auction off the items we collected, as well as some other items donated by church members.

Here's a picture of what the three teams acquired:

Some of the acquisitions: chandelier, karaoke machine, stereo, 2 kites, wheel ramps, size 12 shoes, a tiny chair, a microwave, and lots of other miscellaneous stuff.

Oh yeah, and here's the kicker.You can barely see it, but on the right side of the picture there is a rudder and a box holding a sail for this bad boy:

Yep, we traded it for a quarter. Trailer included. Good job girls' team. We'll be selling it tomorrow after church, in anyone needs a sailboat.

The boat's name is the best part:

Keyboard Drums

2010-04-08T22:11:00.002-05:00

This is one cool cat.

Watch the whole thing... pretty sweet.

The best play of the year on opening day?

2010-04-06T07:47:00.001-05:00

Incredible.

Thanks, Martin Kalkwarf, for the vine.

Church was Cool Today

2010-03-28T15:09:00.000-05:00

Not that church isn't always cool.

I just learned something I never knew before. Maybe you know it, but I didn't.

You know when the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ the Redeemer, was on the cross and He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I had always taken this to mean that Jesus, bearing our sins upon Himself, was now separated from God the Father. I'm not sure how much theological sense this makes, but I won't get into that now.

My pastor, Michael, presented a far different interpretation of Christ's quote in his sermon this morning:
Jesus was presenting the Gospel in His final breaths before His death. Jesus was quoting the first line of Psalm 22, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" (My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?").

In the time of His crucifixion, written passages were referred to by their first line or two, not titles or labels like we have today. It is likely that it was the entire passage of Psalm 22 that Jesus wanted to convey as He was being asphyxiated by His own weight on the cross. When you read the passage, read it as if this is what Christ wanted to get across:

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
       Why are you so far from saving me,
       so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
       by night, and am not silent.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
       you are the praise of Israel.
In you our fathers put their trust;
       they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
       in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm and not a man,
       scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
       they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
"He trusts in the LORD;
       let the LORD rescue him.
       Let him deliver him,
       since he delights in him."
Yet you brought me out of the womb;
       you made me trust in you
       even at my mother's breast.
From birth I was cast upon you;
       from my mother's womb you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
       for trouble is near
       and there is no one to help.
Many bulls surround me;
       strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions tearing their prey
       open their mouths wide against me.
I am poured out like water,
       and all my bones are out of joint.
       My heart has turned to wax;
       it has melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
       and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
       you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me;
       a band of evil men has encircled me,
       they have pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones;
       people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them
       and cast lots for my clothing.
But you, O LORD, be not far off;
       O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
Deliver my life from the sword,
       my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
       save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
I will declare your name to my brothers;
       in the congregation I will praise you.
You who fear the LORD, praise him!
       All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
       Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or disdained
       the suffering of the afflicted one;
       he has not hidden his face from him
       but has listened to his cry for help.
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
       before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
       they who seek the LORD will praise him—
       may your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth
       will remember and turn to the LORD,
       and all the families of the nations
       will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the LORD
       and he rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
       all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
       those who cannot keep themselves alive.
Posterity will serve him;
       future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness
       to a people yet unborn—
       for he has done it."

Not only was Jesus proclaiming that He fulfilled the prophesy of the Messiah's death on the cross ("they have pierced my hands and my feet"), He was proclaiming the Gospel to the world.

He was proclaiming the way in which he was mocked by sinners unto His death ("He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD rescue Him").

He was proclaiming His Message to me and to you, "a people yet unborn."

He was proclaiming that His righteousness is inherited by faith, not by works.

"For He has done it."

When Hitler found out UNI beat Kansas...

2010-03-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

Death

2010-02-25T23:10:00.002-06:00

Hi there. Sorry it's been so long since we've talked. You know how it is... things get busy, and, well... blog posts are the first thing to go. I'm going to try to mend this relationship. Here goes:

So, I've been thinking a fair bit about death lately. You see, my Grandma Young, 85, passed away on Valentine's Day from complications from open heart surgery. She and I were really close, so it's been hard for my family and me. It's also a time for rejoicing, though, because Grandma's trust was in Christ. I was blessed to have an opportunity to give a eulogy at her memorial service. These were some of my thoughts:

If you met Grandma even once, you know that she was an amazing woman. She had this incredible ability to make people feel welcome and loved. She often took people into her home to feed them, to give them a bed, to listen to what was on their heart, and to lend her advice (whether they asked for it or not!).

There is so much I could say about how she was an inspiration to hundreds of people. She went back to college (ISU!) in her 40's when her youngest son (my dad) graduated high school and went there as well. She then became a high school English teacher in Clarion for almost 20 years and was simply called "Ma" Young by her students. Towards the end of her life she divulged to me that she would occasionally shut the door to her classroom to pray with her students. Even though it was illegal, not one of her students ever complained or reported her. Dozens of her former students came to her visitation or funeral. How many of your high school teachers made such an impact in your life that you would go to their funeral --- thirty-five years after you last had a class with them?

Grandma never really retired like we think of retirement. She worked part time for my dad until October of last year. Until two weeks before she died, she played piano for the contemporary service at her church. When I asked her how she could stand the drums being so loud, she said, "I just turn down my hearing aids and I can't hear a thing!"

Grandma's greatest inspiration, though, wasn't any of the things she did. If that's all we're inspired by, we've missed the main point of her life--- her faith in Christ. My last memory of Grandma is visiting her in her hospital room, a week before she died. It was just Sam and I at her bedside when she asked us to pray for her. When I asked her what she wanted me to pray for (I get teary-eyed just thinking about this...) she said, "Please pray that I would help people to know the Lord."

Grandma's life and love was invested in the Creator of in the universe and His Son, the Savior of humankind. Her love for family and friends (though great) paled in comparison. Certainly she was far from perfect, but she realized that she fell short of God's holy and perfect standard and knew her need for a Savior. Her trust was in Christ for her redemption, not the work of her hands. This was her greatest inspiration.

The wonderful 18th century American preacher/theologian, Jonathan Edwards, had a similar outlook on death as my grandma did. Edwards wrote the following note to his daughter, Lucy, as she was the only family member present at his deathbed. His love for his wife is so eloquently and beautifully expressed that it causes my heart to well up with excitement as I look forward to having such a deep and long-lasting marriage with Sam. The last two sentences of this letter are so faith-filled and God-centered that I even get pumped at the thought of my own death! I'll end with Edwards' simple last words to his family:

"Dear Lucy, it seems to me to be the will of God that I must shortly leave you; therefore give my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her that the uncommon union, which has so long subsisted between us, has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual and therefore will continue for ever: and I hope she will be supported under so great a trial, and submit cheerfully to the will of God. And as to my children you are now to be left fatherless, which I hope will be an inducement to you all to seek a father who will never fail you."

Fantastic Photos

2010-01-31T00:31:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the results that turned up as I searched the web for funny/amazing pictures from around the world:

Pretty sure this would qualify for the HOV lane:

I'll never complain about the #23 route on CyRide being crowded on cold winter mornings again:

Keeping with the "overloaded vehicles" theme:

Maybe you've seen this... this dude draws sweet art with chalk on sidewalks in cities:

I thought you had to be in great shape to be a boxer?

Those tinted windows can make driving hazardous:

Is this what the actor who played Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia wore?

How does this even happen?

Gotta love those Chinese delicacies! (The origin of stinky tofu.)

Wonderful prank:

I know it's photoshopped, but it's still hilarious:

Disney World, Mini Golf, Jousting and Parkour

2010-01-18T21:42:00.002-06:00

Sorry it's been over a month since I've posted. I've been crazy busy over the holidays, but I'm looking forward to getting back on track with my blogging with the rest of this month. Here goes:

So this weekend I was chilling in Florida. Yep, I got to go to Florida. My parents invited Sam and I for a long weekend (Friday-Monday) in the Sunshine State. We stayed in a condo, continued our family mini-golfing tradition (I won!), got to go to Disney World and experienced this sweet medieval kingdom dinner and jousting reenactment arena thing (we even got to eat our food without silverware). It was an amazing blessing to spend time with my wife and family and to get out of this blustery mess and into some 70 degree sunshine. But that's enough making you jealous.

I was sitting on the couch in our condo yesterday talking with my mom and she made a sad fact known to me: she had no idea what parkour is. I was proud to tell her that one of our ISU friends (Tim Odell) is the president of the Parkour Club at Iowa State. Most of you have probably seen videos like this, but, just in case you haven't, hopefully this blows your mind and makes your day:

Gradu... wha?!

2009-12-18T15:52:00.001-06:00

So, I'm graduating tomorrow. From college. College. No grad school for me. I'm done. With school. Maybe forever. I am not attending classes anymore. I am no longer taking tests or writing papers. I may never do an MLA or APA-formatted works cited page ever again (and I'm oh-so grateful!). I'm done.

And that's weird. I've been in school for the last 19 years of my life. I don't completely know what living in the "real world" is like just yet. But the weirdest thing about graduating, I think, is that I don't feel like a big deal or anything. Maybe I should? Maybe I would if I got my doctorate? I don't know.

But it is a big deal, isn't it? I mean, I have been blessed with the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Statistics say that by simply holding this bachelor's degree I'm likely to double my life's earnings. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for providing this opportunity for me to be financially successful.

So much more important than gained knowledge and increased earning potential, however, was the spiritual growth that took place in me over the last seven semesters at Iowa State. Can you see how God has lavished his blessing upon me?! He has drawn me to Himself in such a masterful and beautiful way here in Ames, and all while I have been learning about His Creation (even in those Bio classes that teach godless evolution as fact, there is SO MUCH to be learned about our Creator!) and doubling my financial potential as a student. His blessing is extravagant and unearned. In fact, how much less do I deserve this blessing than His children who are hungry for their daily bread in Africa or for His sons and daughters in the Middle East who are running from their families to save their own lives?

I have never known such hardship or persecution, yet He has chosen to reveal Himself to me here, in the richest of places. Those of you who are reading this who still have some time in college left: eagerly search for God in everything you do. Even with classes that seem pointless and professors that make your blood boil, look for how God is bringing Himself glory through that class. And those of you who have completed college: understand what a gift you've been given (even if you're still paying off student loans!) to be able to live lavishly in an abundant land.

Finally, those of you who have not yet gone to college: don't make the mistake I did as a freshman. Don't look at college as an education that allows you to selfishly pursue money, status, or obsessions. Check your heart. On the other hand, realize the magnitude of the opportunity that is before you. Don't let apathy, laziness, or complacency rule your heart, but in everything you do, do it with all your might for the glory of our King.

College is where you solidify who you are and where you're trained to lived out your faith (or trained not to) for the rest of your life. Allow God to reign in your heart, not selfish ambition. Thankfully, God pursued me and dragged me through my selfishness (though it's still my tendency) and into His arms. He has used the Salt Company, Cornerstone, and now Grand Avenue to provide teaching and fellowship to spur my growth. He even chose this time of my life to provide me with a wonderful wife. ("He who finds a wife finds what is good, and receives favor from the Lord" -- Proverbs 18:22.)

The ways in which God has blessed me and revealed Himself to me during these years is indescribably more valuable than any course I could have taken or any degree I could have received.

And I couldn't be more excited to never do MLA citations again.

GABY Update: Christmas Party!

2009-12-16T16:40:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday, we had a Christmas party for our youth group meeting. We had plenty of cider, cookies, and salsa con queso with nacho chips to go around (Feliz Navidad!). Our first game involved unwrapping a present, the roll of a dice, and some violence. Here's a picture of Evan punching his way through a box:

And Greg, realizing there is yet another package inside:

Fun game! In order to get a shot at opening the present you had to roll doubles as Sam walked around the circle with two dice and a platter to roll them on. After rolling doubles, it became your turn to try to open the present. The first catch was that you had to put on a Santa had and a big, thick pair of gloves before you started on the box. The second catch was that the box started huge and easy to open, but inside the first box were ten more boxes-- each successively smaller and more difficult to open. Because it's not easy to unwrap with bulky gloves on several new tactics were employed, including biting, punching, and body-slamming.

After that we had a white elephant gift exchange. I lucked out and got a sweet flying disc thing. I gave a yellow, light-up, smiley-face sphere lamp do-hickey. Yes, it was sweet. Some of the more memorable gifts were: a 10-year-old toothbrush holder and used toothbrush, a frozen t-bone steak, and a plastic bag filled with water and six live shrimp (bought for $0.06 each at Wal-Mart).

Finally, some of the girls decorated a ginger bread house. It actually turned out pretty good. See for yourself:

Praise God with me because we had 18 high school students show up for the party, including two new visitors.
Now that's a gift to get excited about!

Ephesians 5:25-27

2009-12-12T12:17:00.002-06:00

As a husband, I feel like you're supposed to have chapter five of Ephesians pretty well figured out. It's the "marriage chapter", you know? In fact, it was the central passage for the message at my wedding, seven months ago.

But, I think I missed one of the biggest points Paul makes to husbands.

The chapter starts off by imploring us to imitate God: "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Paul fleshes this out by differentiating between darkness and Light, foolish and Wise, secrecy and Truthfulness.

Then he continues by explaining that reverence for Christ is submission to one another. That's the starting point for his mini-sermon on marriage in verses 22-33. It is out of reverence for Christ (not because of any inferiority or lesser value) that wives are to submit to their husbands as they do to Christ. Likewise, it is out of reverence for Christ that husbands are to give themselves up for their wives and love them like their own body, as Christ loved and gave Himself up for the church.

But there was something I have always been confused about in Paul's nine-verse counsel to husbands. Verses 25-27: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansingher by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

I read this and wondered, "How in the world am I supposed to present Sam to God as radiant, holy, and blameless?" I just took it to mean that I have a huge role in encouraging her, rebuking her, and training her so that God can use me to refine her into a better picture of His Image. Ok. This is true, but it isn't much different from the command given to all believers in 2 Timothy 4:2.

As I was reading this passage again last weekend, I realized that is is not my primary role to sanctify Sam (to make her holy and blameless) because that is Christ's alone to do. Sure, He can use me to encourage and rebuke her and lead her, but He alone is the one who can present her to God as pure and radiant.

So, then, what is this passage saying? It's pretty simple. My role in marriage is intended to be a replica (what a poor job I do) of Christ's role in the church. Christ presented the church to Himself as blameless. In the same way, I am to present Sam to myself as blameless. I have never done anything good enough for Christ to see me as pure, but He sees me as pure. It doesn't matter what Sam does or doesn't do, I am to present her to myself as without stain or blemish, but holy and blameless. I think husbands imitating Christ in this way makes marriages so much stronger, deeper, and loving and a more accurate picture of Christ's relationship to us-- which is what marriage is designed to be.

Once again, that is not to say I don't have the role of leading her spiritually, rebuking her sin, and encouraging her in triumphs. Christ also lead, encouraged, and rebuked His disciples.

But He always saw them as pure and radiant-- not because of how they lived, but because His blood made them so.

Beaches in China

2009-12-07T11:15:00.002-06:00

I received an email from my mom earlier today. It made me extremely grateful for the beautiful beach environment Sam and I enjoyed on our honeymoon in Mexico. As a reminder, here's a photo we took of the beach scene in Acapulco (click here for a recap of our honeymoon):

Now, here's what a honeymoon on the beach could have looked like if we'd gone to China instead:

Not a square inch is left unused on this beach:

Notice the lifeguards in their stands (an impossible job?) and the smog:

...I like the guy who stored his inner tube on top of his umbrella.

Yep, I think our beach in Mexico was a little more comfortable than if we'd gone to China:

All that said, I love China. Some of my favorite memories are from that country, but the beaches don't look like a great place for a honeymoon.

Enchiladas for Thanksgiving Dinner?

2009-12-04T17:33:00.001-06:00

Much to our delight, Sam and I took our honeymoon during our Thanksgiving break last week! We spent 11 days and 10 nights amongst the palm trees and crashing ocean waves in the hot (95 degrees) and tropical climate of Acapulco, Mexico. It was great because not only did we get to spend a week and a half enjoying each other, but we got to experience a new culture together. We spent a lot of our time swimming in the ocean, walking on the beach, bartering for souvenirs in the markets, watching movies in our hotel suite, and eating at little Mexican restaurants near our hotel. Our suite was beautiful and had three (yes THREE) balconies right on the ocean.

We also had some great Bible studies together. I think I learned the most, actually, from Jude. Verse 10 says about godless men, "Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them." God has allowed all men to understand at minute portion of His Nature simply by instinct, because we are made in His Image. However, being made in His Image is not enough to win our hearts from the slavery to sin that we have chosen. In fact, it is these instincts can be the the very things that destroy a someone who has not been freed from their sin. An example that came to mind was the homosexual "revolution" that is occurring in our culture today. I've heard people say things like "how can a good and loving God deny the happiness of two people who love each other?" Their instinct of love is right! They are right that God is a good and loving God and that love between two people is good. But it is this instinct, when not checked by Godly wisdom and Biblical Truth, that leads them astray.

Anyways, back to the honeymoon. Here are some pictures:

Our bedroom, right on the Pacific!

A picture from our balcony at night.

The Mexican culture LOVES hot dogs. This whole counter is selling hot dogs, and this is only the left half of the counter!

Can you find the six guys climbing/standing on the cliff?

We watched as these nuts-o performers dived from the top of the cliff into the canal 135 feet below!

P.S. They're diving into only 11 feet of water.

We went scuba diving, jet-skiing, and para-sailing! It was awesome.

My wife and me at sunset, after scuba diving.

I think Sam likes her new name...

Storytime!

2009-12-04T15:51:00.000-06:00

James & James have the best storytimes! They made this video for Salt last night and, for those of you familiar with Cornerstone, included some pretty great caricatures of the pastors. James & James are having a variety show and bakesale at Cornerstone on December 11th at 7:00pm to raise money for the Leatha Orphanage (completely supported by TSC and Mark and Leatha Arant) in Malawi, Africa.

G.A.B.Y. Update

2009-11-16T19:41:00.002-06:00

Here's a description of what went down for our last two youth group meetings:

Sunday, November 8th: We mixed middle school and high school to do something called "Operation Christmas Child". Maybe you've have heard of the program. It sends shoe boxes filled with hygiene products, toys, school supplies, etc. as Christmas presents to children in third-world countries who are struggling to survive. If not for Operation Christmas Child, these impoverished children would never receive a Christmas gift and would likely never hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Not only is Operation Christmas Child providing these children with a reason to smile on Christmas, it more importantly points them toward the ever-satisfying love of their Creator and Savior! I encourage you to look into Operation Christmas Child if you've never done so before. It's too late to do it this year, but they'll do it again next Christmas and it is amazing to be a part of. If you're interested, check out the O.C.C. website: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

To make our shoe boxes for GABY, we walked to Wal-Mart and divided into 10 groups-- five guys groups and five girls groups. We split up to get our gifts, with a $10 budget for each shoe box. We ended up spending $112 total, which isn't bad considering ten children will receive hygiene products, school supplies, and toys in their shoe boxes. We got them things like notebooks, markers, pens, pencils, soap, toothbrushes, games, puzzles, balls, dolls, and tons more. When we got back to Grand, we took time to write each child a personal letter.

Here's the group with our shoe boxes:

By the way, praise God for answered prayers for growth. We had 22 middle and high school students show up for this youth group!

Sunday, November 15: Sweet turnout again! 12 high schoolers came! I taught from Hebrews 11:1-8. This passage will change the way you think about EVERYTHING, if you let it. Here are a few of my teaching notes:

-On a scale of 0 to 10 (with 0 being completely evil and 10 being completely good), how good are people in general? (Answers in the group ranged from 1.5 to 6.5)

-Romans 3:23 says we are NOT a 10 (completely good), "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and Psalm 51:3 says, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."

-So, then, are we neutral (somewhere between 0 and 10)?

-Hebrews 11:6 states, "without faith it is impossible to please God."

-Neutral actions do NOT exist! Anything not done by faith in Christ is wholly evil (i.e. displeasing to God). This means that "good" things like praying, helping orphans, or giving offering to church, if not done by faith, are evil actions because they do not please God.

-If neutral actions do not exist, neither do neutral people. We are either 100% evil, or 100% good. We are sinful from conception, and we need to be purified to meet God's standard.

-Only through trust in Christ (who was 100% good), can we be cleansed from our lack of faith (our displeasure to God). (Romans 3:22-26)

-Our goodness comes only through faith in Jesus. Only by faith in Him can we bring pleasure to God. We're unable to earn our way to #10 on the scale. In fact, we're unable to earn our way to #1 on the scale. (Romans 5:6 -- "...at just the right time, while we were still powerless,Christ died for the ungodly.")

-We have no power to earn our salvation. Earning salvation was done on the Cross and it was finished on the Cross (John 19:30).

Barbershop Chorus

2009-11-05T11:58:00.000-06:00

If you've got a few minutes, this is worth your time. I've never heard so many voices sound like one before! (Maybe a small, small, small, small, small, small, small glimpse of what Heaven will be like? Though we won't be singing about trombones, I'm sure...) Not typically my choice of music flavor, but this performance is too cool not to appreciate:

Highlights of Launch09

2009-10-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

Here are the video highlights from the middle school retreat we went to a couple weekends ago called "Launch09" at Hidden Acres. To read more about what God did in my heart and in the lives of 150 middle schoolers, read this post.

Advent Conspiracy

2009-10-27T20:40:00.003-05:00

My pastor, Michael, introduced me to this idea today. It's called "Advent Conspiracy" and it's pretty sweet. Advent Conspiracy is an organization that was started in 2006 by five pastors who decided to make Christmas a revolutionary event by encouraging their faith communities to:
1) Worship Fully -- Christmas starts with Jesus and it ends with Jesus
2) Spend Less -- Gifts are great, but Americans spend $450,000,000,000 on Christmas every year
3) Give More -- Take time to make gifts and be with your family, rather than shopping
4) Love All -- Give to those who need the most help (widows, orphans, starving, homeless, etc of the world)

In a culture where such a sacred celebration has become overwhelmingly commercialized, it is easy to miss the point of Christmas. What if Christmas was once again a world-changing event? It's an appropriate time to talk about this, since the next two months will be the months we spend, spend, spend for the Holidays. Think of what could be done if we, as a church, took back Christmas for the glory of God. I don't think that necessarily means we need to remove the wreath, toss the tinsel, or cut the candy canes, but I do think that we need to re-examine where our dollars are going this time of year. Is each cent being used for the glory of the King, or are we trying to impress the family and keep up with the Jones'? If the church spent the same amount on Christmas this year as it did last year, but redirected 60% of that money towards reaching the lost with the gospel, providing life-saving services to the third world, and reaching out to the hurting in our communities, imagine what would be accomplished for the Name of our Lord!

www.AdventConspiracy.org
www.RethinkingChristmas.com

Finally, if you're a friend or family member, please don't feel any obligation to get me a gift this year. Instead, take what you might have spent on me and give it to someone who needs it, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Psshaa... PSSHAAAAAW!!!

2009-10-20T18:38:00.000-05:00

Turn up the intensity! Psshaa... PSSHAAAAAW!!!

That's one of the expressions we learned at the middle school retreat at Hidden Acres last weekend. Evidently, that's what it sounds like to turn up the intensity (it's also required that you make a motion with your hand like you're turning a dial).

Sam and I led five students from Grand at the retreat which combined forces with Cornerstone, Ames E-Free, and West Wind in Des Moines to bring over 150 middle schoolers to Hidden Acres for a weekend of fun, chaos, and spiritual intensity. I had a blast getting to know the boys from GABC better and Sam led the girls in their small groups. The weekend was nothing short of incredible. Here's a timeline of how it went down:

Friday Evening:
Arrived at C-Stone at 5:15 to a chaotic hoard of pubescent adolescents. It took time to get everything sorted out but eventually all of our kids made it on to buses to head to the camp.
Due to weather problems Jeremy Kingsley, the speaker, couldn't fly in until late Friday night. So, rather than a message, we had an extended worship set and headed to small groups. (By the way, a HUGE thank you to Anthem for doing worship - that makes 3 retreats in 4 weekends for them. Keep rocking for the Lord!)
Small groups were a good "get to know each other session" and after that we had games in the gym.

Saturday Morning:
First teaching session led by Jeremy. Really good. I could tell he is passionate for the Lord. He talked about Jesus being more powerful than the wind and waves and the following story about the demon possessed man falling on his knees before Christ. I learned that "Legion" (which was the name of the demons in the man) likely meant that he was possessed by 3,000+ demons because legion was a common term in those days referring to groups of 3,000-6,000 soldiers. All 3,000 demons when they SAW Jesus ran to Him and fell on their knees before Him and begged for mercy. It's sad how I tend to have such a calm and feeble view of Jesus. The reality is that He is more powerful than we can conceive. He alone is worthy of us falling on our knees before Him, begging for mercy.

Saturday Afternoon:
Second teaching by Jeremy was about our reputation. He taught about how Solomon was known for three things (wisdom, wealth, and women). He pointed out how only one of these things pointed to God while one could go either way and the third one was downright evil. (I'm not saying women are evil, but that having 1,000 wives is evil.) The questions He left us with were:
1) What are you known for that you wish you were not?
2) What aren't you known for that you wish you were?
One thing that came to mind for me was my being known for not bein a decicive decision maker. Part of being a leader is being a decision maker. I feel like I've grown in this recently, but it isn't yet part of my reputation.
The teaching was followed by small groups, games, and then free time for the rest of the afternoon.

Saturday Evening:
Jeremy taught about persecution. He gave an excellent Gospel presentation and we witnessed the Grace of the Living God as 15 or so middle schoolers fell on their knees to give their life to Christ! Praise Him! After this, he called anyone who wants to live more boldly for their God to fall on their knees before God and ask His forgiveness and grace. I was definitley part of this group and so were about 120 or the students there. It was an incredible time of worship and prayer.
Jeremy's teaching was from Acts 5 where the disciples considered it joy to be beaten, imprisoned, and flogged because they were counted WORTHY by God of being persecuted. Jeremy told some stories about his father who was a preacher in a small Wisconsin town when Jeremy was growing up. He talked about times when his father was taken from the house by men in the town and beaten up in the front yard. Jeremy also told about his experience in middle school when he wore a shirt that simply said "Jesus" and was kicked, punched, and spit on in school because he wore it. These stories astounded me, but even more astounding was their family's response to the persecution. They stayed where they were and kept doing what they did. They did not move or seek lawsuits. They KEPT DOING WHAT THEY HAD BEEN DOING because what they were doing brought God glory. They considered it joy to be persecuted for His Name!
When I realized this I was brought to tears. I bawled and bawled because I realized that I do not have that kind of faith. Would I stay in my town if my sons were coming home from school with black eyes week after week because of their faith in Christ? I don't think I would. But I should.
It says in 2 Timothy 3:12, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a Godly life will be persecuted." A couple of key things Jeremy pointed out:
1) the verse starts with "IN FACT".
2) It's not "maybe", "might be", or "could be" persecuted, but it says Godly men and women WILL BE persecuted.
How much am I being persecuted for my faith? I don't think I necessarily will get beaten for it, but am I willing to be beaten for it? Am I willing to face verbal harrassment? Am I living my faith so boldly that, in fact, persecution will come? Will I flee from it if it does come?
This awesome message was followed by small groups in which we had great discussion about what it looks like to follow Christ at school and how God works through prayer (one of Jeremy's sayings was "When men and women work, men and women work. When men and women pray, God works." True dat.)
Finally, the night was capped off by a costume party where kids dressed up was what they want tobe when they grow up. We had music, games, and prizes. Good times.

Sunday Morning:
Jeremy's final session. The parents came out to have the session with the kids, which was a cool idea. It gave me a chance to talk to the parents about what God had done over the weekend in their children's lives. Jeremy preached on humility and following Christ's example in that. We must not think we're above certain jobs or tasks because the King of the Universe, Himself (the same one who a legion of demons bowed down to), joyfully got down on his knees to wash his disciples' feet.

God moved majestically at the retreat. Absolutely incredibly. He is an awesome God with awesome plans to use the students who dropped to their knees before Him this weekend. Please pray that those students would remain on the narrow path after returning to the temptations and pressures of life at school with Godless friends and/or families.

Psshaa... PSSHAAAAAW!!!

Really? (REMIX)

2009-10-16T13:08:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I haven't had much time to post, nor has anything occurred that has really been post-worthy.

That is, until last night. My previous post "Really?" (click here) and "Really? (Part 2)" (click here) are about how God has been using us to proclaim His Name to those living around us in our apartment complex. Well, we are full of praise because God used us again last night.

It actually started last week when we got a knock on our door around 8:00 pm. It was a college-age guy named Kevin who was hanging out with his girlfriend at Jerry's place (the floor below us). It was actually pretty funny. The guy at the door looked at me and said, "Hey. You're a male, and she's a female. Maybe you get this. I know it's weird, but I don't get paid 'til Friday and my girlfriend needs some... uh... tampons."

I laughed and said we'd be glad to help. He appreciated that and we didn't really think much more about it. Last night at 11:45 we heard a knock on the door again. It was the same guy as last week. He started, "Hey, man. I know it's late and I know you don't really know me, but I gotta get outta here. Man, I'm tryin' to leave Ames, cuz this ain't where I need to be right now, you know? I'm tryin' to get a bus ticket to go to my dad's in Chicago, and I put all my money together. I got $182, but I need $193. I just need your help, if you can."

Admittedly, I was hesitant at first. I asked Sam if she had any cash and we were only able to put $10 together for him. Then came the kicker, "Dude, you don't even know me and you guys are happy to give stuff to me. Thank you. What is so different about you guys?"

Praise God for this response! I invited him in and Sam and I had the opportunity to share with Kevin just what is so different about us. We shared that we have found true joy and satisfaction in the grace offered by God through Jesus Christ. I told him that I, just like him, am a failure. I am no better than him, but the difference is that my failures were washed away by the cleansing blood of the Perfect Lamb. Kevin explained to me that he'd been in and out of prison over the last year and that he was, in fact, drunk while we were talking.

It was probably the alcohol that opened him up so much, but he shared with me the futility of his lifestyle and that he has tried to live for God, but has failed every time. We talked for about half an hour about what it looks like to be surrendered to the Lord. He said he'd actually spent some time going to GABC before. "You know the Lovins?" he asked, "They my people, man!" I was encouraged to be able to see a small glimpse of how God is continually drawing Kevin back to him, with common themes. What are the "chances" that he would ask for help from the GABC youth pastor's apartment after having been invested in by that church (specifically the Lovin family) in the past? Our God is an awesome God! He is is drawing Kevin to himself continually. He has a presence in His life.

Before he left, Kevin got my number and email address and he said he would come say goodbye before he left for the bus station today. I hope he does. I'm praying that Kevin will not only remember the conversation we had last night, but that it will remain at the forefront of his mind eating at him until he finally surrenders to the One who created him. I hope that God continues to use His children to speak Truth into Kevin's life and open his heart to a relationship with the Savior.

How often am I so concerned over something I think I own (like $10) that I am not willing to give that to God to be used for His glory? Everything I "own" is yours, Lord. Don't let me hold so tightly to the treasures of this world that I'm blind to the immeasurably greater treasures You give in Your Kingdom. Finally, let Apartment #8 continue to be set as a "city on a hill" that stands out as a shining Light for Your glory!

Really? (Part 2)

2009-10-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

If you haven't read my previous post about my friend, Frank, or if you need a refresher, click here.

This post is an update on my experience with Frank that happened two Sundays ago, September 27:

I stopped by Frank's place (just below our apartment) on Sunday morning around 10:00 to ask see if he was going to come to church with me. When I knocked on the door I heard a raspy, "Come in!" from inside. I entered to a living room filled with cigarette smoke. The only person there was the old guy who thought I was a cop the week before who was now sitting in a recliner watching TV. I asked him where Frank was and he said, "He's not here... you wanna call him?"

So, I got Frank's number and gave him a call. "Hey, Frank," I said, "I'm at your place wondering if you want to come to church with me this morning?"

Frank replied, "Yo, I don't live there, man. I just hang out there all the time. And, yeah, I was just thinkin' about how I was gonna go to church with you but I'm watchin' my kid this week so I can't come."

I told him that is understandable and that I hoped we could do it soon. I hung up the phone and introduced myself to the old guy in the recliner. He told me his name was Jerry and that he, in fact, was the one who lived there. He appeared to be in pretty tough shape. He said he'd fallen earlier that week and the entire right side of his face was bruised and swollen. I also noticed his swollen hands and feet which he told me was gout. As if that wasn't enough, he was having a lot of trouble breathing. He was wheezing terribly the whole time I was there. I asked if he'd like me to take him to the hospital, but he told me repeatedly that he was ok.

I asked him if he had a church home in Ames and he said that he went to a Methodist church on Main Street. I asked what he believed about God and he told me, "I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins."

I was so excited by this!!! I asked Jerry if I could pray for him and he said he'd appreciate that. God blessed me with an amazing opportunity to pray for his health and his heart towards God.

Then, last Wednesday, Sam saw Jerry by our mailbox. He asked if he could talk to me so Sam got me for him. When I came outside he said to me, "When I'm feeling better and can get around a little easier, would you guys mind if I came to church with you?"

Wow. I told him I would love it if he came with us. Hopefully Grand will work well for him because it's close and I think it's really hard for him to go very far from the house. Please pray for Frank that he would end up coming with us to church soon and that his heart would be softened to the Truth, and for Jerry that his health would improve and that God would be revealed in his life in astounding ways!

Retreat

2009-10-06T18:20:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I took the high school youth group guys camping for a retreat. It was sweet. Sam's family blessed us by letting us stay on the 19 acres of land they own along the Des Moines River about 15 miles southeast of Fort Dodge. They're living in Kansas City right now, so they let us stay on their land for the weekend. It was a PERFECT place! (By the way, Sam took some girls on a retreat to Omaha, too. She'll post on that soon on her blog.)

We got there Saturday around 11:00am and did some exploring. The property is in the heavily-wooded river valley-- beautiful. Our goal for the day was to build a shelter that would last until next spring. We really were roughing it-- no tents, bonfire cooking, and 40's-50's temperatures. I can't praise God enough for how He did provide for the weather, though. It was supposed to be a nasty weekend, but there was almost no wind and we had a total of 10 minutes of rain (which stopped 5 minutes after we prayed as a group that the God of the universe would dry the clouds over our campsite).

The food was amazing. A big thanks to the Martens who put together menus for our four meals (including steak on Saturday night!). We ate well.

Our shelter was pretty hardcore, too. I meant to have pictures to show, but the batteries in my camera died. Bummer. Our campsite is on the side of a hill. We made our shelter by using twine to lash long logs together like an upside down "V"and leaning them up against a tree. We then added a third log in the middle for added support and lashed the whole thing to the tree with barbed wire-- it's not going anywhere (remember I said it is supposed to last until we come back next spring?). Then we took tarps and tied them over the logs with twine making a rainproof shelter. Throw a tarp on the ground to sleep on, and it's pretty darn homey! I got a little cold in the middle of the night, but everyone else said they slept good. We just had to take off the tarps when we left, and it's ready for when we come back in the spring when I'm shooting for having a paintball retreat and we'll come back and expand our campsite/shelter.

On Sunday afternoon we studied Titus. We looked at it specifically from a leadership perspective, since Paul has a lot to say about what makes a good leader. Some of the qualities of a Biblical leader that we came up with from the text were:

they are held to a higher standard
not addicted to alcohol
only have 1 wife
not overbearing
wise
not quick tempered
not violent
not dishonest
self-controlled
not rebellious
not self-centered
good role model
sound speech (no gossip, no swearing, truthful)
respectable
submit to authority

We talked about the fact that all of us men are leaders. Even the high schoolers are to lead their sisters in Christ. How can the high school guys be leading more effectively? How can I help foster their growth as leaders in the youth group, in the church, and in the relationships? I've been challenged by this over the past few weeks. We also talked about which quality of Biblical leadership from Titus we are best at and which quality we are most challenged by. I think I'm best at being a good role model and I need the most improvement at not being self-centered... is that a contradiction?

The only mishap of the weekend was that our Suburban's battery went dead. We found out just before we left, so we were delayed over an hour before Sam's uncle from Fort Dodge came to give us a jump (thanks, Mr. Lowrey!). Can't complain, though. No serious injuries, nearly perfect weather, a hardcore shelter, time in the Word, and two days in God's Creation.

Not a bad weekend at all!

Here we are returning from our epic voyage: (Evan, Jared, Greg, Lance, me)

Do I Hafta Get a Job?

2009-09-24T14:13:00.000-05:00

I don't wanna get a job...
(No, no, no, no!)
Do I hafta get a job?
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
But I won't worry about tomorrow...
(No, no, no, no!)
'Cause the Lord is over me.
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
[It's a James & James song, for those of you who don't know: http://www.myspace.com/jamesnjames]

Yesterday afternoon I planned to go to the career fair for the Business/LAS College. Last week I went to the Social Services career fair, but it wasn't very fruitful. (It turns out that organizations who make no profit are having a difficult time creating jobs in this economy... who knew?) I'm a senior graduating in December at which point I'll be a prime candidate for a real-life, full-time job (along with the thousands of other unemployed workers and recent graduates).

At first, I was excited at the opportunity of talking to actual employers and expanding my horizons and such; but, after sitting at my computer yesterday for an hour-and-a-half scrolling through every business at the career fair, all of my excitement left. Most of the 300-or-so companies didn't have any open positions at the present time and I had already applied for the open job at the only corporation I thought would be worth talking to for me. Having a major like psychology is tough because it offers no specific direction, unless I head to grad school (which I'm not). Psych is cool, though, because it opens a broad range of opportunities and a 4-year degree is certainly valuable. My job search is further complicated by the fact that I'm heavily invested at GABC and Sam is in grad school in Ames, so we'll need to stick around here for awhile (unless God does something dramatic, which I'll try not to be opposed to). Jobs in towns surrounding Ames are definitely a possibility, but I don't like the idea of removing myself from the city where my ministry investment is high (it just isn't very logical).

After I mulled these things over yesterday, I lost a lot of faith that God could/would bless me with a full-time position that allows me to provide for my family. I even considered not going to the career fair because I felt as though it would again be fruitless (the last career fair I went to was humiliating because they are looking for people ready to join the workforce-- and obviously I wasn't one of those people as a freshman). It was about that time that Sam came home. She strongly encouraged me to go to the career fair in faith that God will open doors for me to get a job and that He will provide for our family.

I decided to go, even if it was just to talk to that one employer and build up that network (it's always good if they can meet you face to face rather than just seeing a resume). After getting to Hilton, where all the employers assemble their 5'x5' booths with their displays explaining why their the best company to work for, I had to take a few minutes to pray. I prayed that God would bless me with the confidence (in Christ) to put my best foot forward in faith that He will provide. He gave me just enough to go to that one employer. They asked some great questions and gave encouraging feedback. I'm excited to see what happens there. After that, though, I wanted to leave. I decided to sit up in the bleachers for awhile and "pray it out". That's when I overheard the girl behind me talking to her friend, "I hate this. It's pointless. It's like they see 'sophomore' on my name tag and write me off, just because I can't work full time yet. I went down to Wells Fargo and they were like, 'Sorry, we're looking for someone who is graduating to fill one of our open positions in the area.'"

Through some random girl in Hilton, God provided me with the words I needed to hear. Maybe I do stand a chance and getting a job after all. I went and talked to Wells Fargo, and they took my resume. Hopefully an interview will follow from there. After that, I got excited about the career fair and I talked to five or six more companies who took my resumes and who have open positions they are hiring for. One of the companies even gave me an interview this morning! I think it went well. The position isn't exactly ideal, because it's in downtown Des Moines, but if commuting = providing, I'll do it.

Why do I ever count God out? I've seen Him miraculously provide for me over and over and over again. I am confident that this will be no different. I don't know if He will directly use the career fair to bless me with a job, but I do know this: He is a King who blesses without end, and I am His child with whom He is well pleased because of the cleansing blood of His Son that has washed every stain away.

Really?

2009-09-21T16:53:00.000-05:00

So, there's this guy named Frank who lives in the apartment below us. Frank is pretty different from me-- he's a little rough around the edges, so to speak. In fact, I can't really think of any ways we're similar except that we're both humans and we live in the same apartment complex.

Here's how my story with Frank began, about 4 months ago:
When Sam and I got married and moved into this apartment, we asked God to allow us to make relationships with the people who live around us and for him to "put people in our path" who we could be a Light to. He blessed us with a cool relationship with a guy named Allen, but that's a story for another post. Other than that, we didn't really strike up any meaningful relationships with anyone. However, there were these neighbors who, quite honestly, annoyed us. They were always sitting on the stairs that lead up to our door. Almost every day they were out there swearing, drinking beer, making a mess, etc. Not to mention they were right in our way to get to our apartment. Wait... did I say they were right in our way? As in they were "in our path"? Isn't it funny how God answers prayers?

These folks weren't who we had envisioned ministering to. They weren't like the white, middle class, college-aged students we've spent hours ministering to on campus, nor were they Chinese or Indian internationals we have plenty of experience with. I didn't really know where to start, once I realized I needed to be a Light to them. I simply tried to be friendly and say hi every time they had to move to let me up the stairs.

Then, about a month ago, God presented the opportunity. Sam and I were returning from youth group at Grand Avenue Baptist Church where I had just taught about not regarding anyone from a worldly point of view (2 Cor. 5:16), when Frank (who was on our steps drinking with two of his bros) asked, "Where y'all comin' from, church?" I told him that we were just at a church down the street where I'm a part-time youth pastor. From that starting point, God allowed me to sit on the steps with them and gave me words to boldly proclaim the Gospel to Frank and his friends. It was sweet. By the end of the conversation, Frank promised me he would come to church with me and I hadn't even ask him to. "Not this week, or next week... 'cause I got stuff to do. But the week after that, I'll come," he told me.

Cool. I was really excited about that, plus the fact I was able to build a relationship with one of my neighbors. Still, though, I had my doubts about whether he'd come because I wasn't even sure if he was sober when we had our conversation. I said I'd hold him accountable to his decision to come and he told me, "You ain't gotta hold me accountable, I'll come." Over the next three weeks, my faith in that decision (and in God's ability/willingness to change his life) weakened.

I only reminded Frank once that he said he'd come to church with me on the 20th (yesterday), and he said he'd come. "You'll come get me at 10:00, right?" he asked. I told him I'd be there and we'd go together.

So, here's where it gets weird. I showed up yesterday at 10:15 (a little late, but we had a half hour of leeway) at Frank's door, admittedly with little faith that he would agree to come. When I knocked, some old guy who I'd seen around a little answered. When I asked if Frank was there he replied, "I don't know no Frank." I walked away bewildered. I wondered if he moved out of town, or if I had just imagined Frank, or if he gave me the wrong name, or if we were entertaining angels. Certainly isn't how I'd pictured angels...

Sam and I were confused about that until later that evening when Frank caught up with us as we were walking up to our door. He asked me what church I go to. I told him Grand Avenue Baptist and he said, "Aw man... I thought you went to Heartland Baptist! I woke up at 10:10 this morning and realized I was late. So, threw on a shirt and went to that church. Man, I must have spent two hours there lookin' for you. I was like, 'Anybody know Tim? He teaches Sunday school or somethin' here.' But nobody knew you. They took me to all the classrooms but I couldn't find you. And the guy who answered the door this morning... he thought you was the cops, so he said he didn't know me."

I couldn't believe it. I was touched, bummed, excited, and cracking up all at the same time! I was excited because Heartland is known for reaching out to people who are struggling to get by and I thought it might be a good fit for Frank. When I asked him how he liked it he said, "Sucked. Hated it. People always tryin' to give me coffee and stuff. I was like, 'Man, I don't drink no coffee!' Now if they give me a beer, I'll take that, you know what I'm sayin'?"

I laughed and explained that we go to Grand, so no one would know me at Heartland. He said he would go with us next week because he said he'd go with us and he would keep his word. Please pray for Frank, because now I'm convinced he will go. Pray that his eyes and heart would be open to Truth and that he would be convicted of sin and broken before Christ. Pray for me that I would be filled with the Spirit when I talk to Frank and that I would speak the words he needs to hear. Pray for the church that they would love him and that Frank would respond to that love.

How often do I sell God short? How often do I see the worst side of things when, in fact, He is moving the whole time? In what other areas of my life am I not submitting to Him because things aren't going according to my plan? I am sorry, Lord. Please forgive me, my King.

Finally, what would a church look like that offered beer instead of coffee?

Infected?

2009-09-17T14:17:00.000-05:00

This is my first-ever blog post. I'm wondering if it'll actually catch on and I'll get "infected" or if this blog will be like the thousands of other ones out there that just lay dormant for months after a couple of weeks of their master excitedly leaving posts (I completely forgot I had a blog called "Natural Blogarhythms" [it was a pun on natural logarithms] for the past 9 months... I never posted on it once, and when I found out today how terribly un-clever the name was, I deleted it immediately to start fresh with this one). We'll see. Hopefully I'll do better this time around.

The name for this blog, in case you're curious, comes from 1 Timothy 6:18-19. "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1&2 Timothy are my favorite books, I think, because I like to read them as Paul's letters to me, his son in the faith.

This is my final semester at ISU (graduating in December in psych) and it's turning out to be more challenging than I anticipated-- in more ways than one. Between working two other part time jobs, I wanted to kind of coast through this last semester. It's not quite happening that way with several papers I'm being forced to write. The other challenge is that three out of my five classes challenge my faith. I've dealt with one class or so every semester that tries to prove to me that I'm putting my faith in a lie, a fraud, an out-dated god, an irrelevant god, or an oppressive system of beliefs. This semester, I have three of those classes all in a row-- every Tuesday and Thursday (History of Christianity, then Social Dimensions of Religion, then Sociology of Intimate Relationships). I'm 4 weeks through it and it's been awesome. God is using all of these instructors and students who are trying to prove me wrong and, instead, has been building up my faith more and more. More than ever before, I am able to see that man's wisdom is foolishness in the eyes of God. These poor people are hungry for Him, yet they refuse to yield their lives and be filled. It breaks my heart to see, but almost every bit of the University culture pressures students and professors to look somewhere other than the Truth for their answers.

In the History of Christianity class, the teacher has been explaining to us how the Bible is not a historical book and cannot be read as such since it is biased from a faith-based perspective. I see her point, so I've decided not to read anything historical that was written from a biased perspective. I guess I won't be reading anything historical. Ever.

One of the cool ways God allowed for me to be really encouraged through that course was through learning the following about the groups of Jews that existed in Jesus' time:
1. Sadduccees- followed the Law to the "t". Extremely religious and saw sacrifice as important for obtaining righteousness (but they were probably the ones in the temple who were charging unfair prices for animals; this is where Jesus started turning tables), but did not believe a messiah would come.
2. Pharisees- saw themselves as separated from everyone else, avoided "unclean" people and things to follow the law to the "t". Keeping the law was their "righteousness".
3. Zealots- revolutionaries who struggled for self-rule and longed for messiah.
4. Essenes- Jews who took refuge in the desert and longed for messiah.
The above 4 groups make up only 10% of Jews in Jesus' day. The other 90%:
5. "People of the Land"- Craftsmen (including carpenters!), peasants, farmers, and shepherds.

As I was learning this in class I started smiling to myself and thanking God for being the God He is. He didn't reveal His Son through the elite men who didn't care about the people, many of whom were "unclean". He humbled Himself and started from the ground up. The KING, Jesus, was step-son of a lowly craftsman, not a high-up pharisee. And how many of Jesus' stories and parables could the people understand and relate to because they were farmers of the land and shepherds of their flocks?

In fact, if the story of Jesus was a man-made story, it would have necessarily been written by the top 10% of the Jews because almost none of the people of the land could even read or write. And, if it was made up by those top 10%, then it most certainly would not have used illustrations that resonate so deeply with the common man and make the religious elite look like a "brood of vipers"!

A truly awesome God, indeed.