It's the same

I'm in North Bend, Washington right now (just Southeast of Seattle) working with some friends from Trinity and some other friends who were formerly Trinitians. Bobby and Kelli Higgenbotham and Curtis Lilly moved here from good ole Ada, OK to work with Lifepoint Community Church, a church plant in the Snoqualmie Valley.

Let's just say that the work has been hard and rewarding, but the circumstance is everything but what I expected it to be. Being at Falls Creek basically all summer, the high 90's days have gotten old. I expected to come up here to these beautiful mountains (which they most definitely are), and catch a break from the heat for a week.

Au contraire, mon fraire. It seems that we packed the heat in our carry ons, and let it out when we got off of the plane. The weather has literally been record highs for this time of year here, with temps in the upper 90's, and probably triple digits tomorrow, while it has been in the 70's and raining in Oklahoma. This, as you may imagine, is qutie frustrating. Who comes to Washington, in the mountains, and expects 90 degree weather everyday? Not I. And how does it decide to rain at home the week we're gone?

It's been a struggle to keep a good attitude, to be honest. I wanted something completely different than what I've been presented with, but God has been teaching me, the hard way as usual, some very important lessons.

1)My mission/job/call as a Christ follower is the same, regardless of location, circumstance, or expectation. I'm to tell people here about the love of Christ just the same as at home, which the heat so frequently has reminded me. My work is no different here than in Ada, it's just very different people and surroundings.

2)God does not have to get things done the way we may think is best. It's His mission, He calls the shots.

In the midst of this hard/hot/sometimes-frustrating trip, God has continually made Himself known by the things that He has made. Here's a little taste of what we've been working amongst.

http://twitvid.com/CF909

I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I think God might be drawing me to this area of the country. Maybe not the valley, but the Seattle/Tacoma area. It blows my mind and breaks my heart to think that people here are surrounded by such magnificence, and are so opposed to the Gospel.

Pray for the work that's being done here, and for the people who are living here, clueless to the love of Christ.

The Unbelief...

This article by John Piper absolutely confirmed some things for me. Not just in relation to sexual lust, but just toward other things like worry and looking for confirmation in other people. It's fairly long, but definitely worth a read.

I've mentioned this to a lot of people lately, the thought that the times when we forget the simple promises that God has made to us or when we choose to not believe them are the times that our hearts get into trouble. It's definitely something that I wrestle with, and this article was a stern reminder of what's at stake.

from wherever spring arrives

It has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of days. I have to say that I am welcoming spring wholeheartedly this year. Hopefully the temperature will start to level out and those of us who are sick can finally get well.

The topic of being a godly man has been one of high frequency as of late. I must say that it's a topic that absolutely scares the crap out of me in some aspects and is a great encouragement to me in others. To be a man of God, in most ways, is opposite of what the culture around us defines manliness as. That is frustrating to say the least. I mean, if you look at everything from how to treat those around you to your relationship with your wife and kids, scripture screams in the face of what most men practice today, me included unfortunately.

I guess the key to being who we're called to be is something that I've learned through experience over the last 3 years especially. We can't do it alone, as bad as we want to be macho and tough out this walk with Jesus by our lonesome, we just can't do it. I need men around me to encourage me, rebuke me, teach me, laugh with me, cry with me, and recognize the God who loves us with we. I have been blessed with an amazing group of guys from all over the place that I can live life with, that I know will be there for me whether I need someone to high five, or if I need someone to put that high five to my face and give me a wake up call.

We cannot and must not to this on our own.

the inner ring

C.S. Lewis, as I've said before, is absolutely one of my favorite authors. I think it may be the fact that he can write something like the Chronicles of Narnia, and also pen works like Mere Christianity and The Weight of Glory. I don't know of (though I'm sure there are) any other authors that can or have tackled two markedly different genres of literature so successfully.

I've talked about The Weight of Glory here before, but there is another sermon in that collection that I read the other night called The Inner Ring. In this sermon, Lewis describes this inner ring as the place where we're all trying to arrive, though the inner rings you're shooting for may not be the same as the ones that I am pursuing. This inner ring may be a certain group of people that you want to be friends with, a group of colleagues that you wish to be accepted by, or a board of leadership that you wish to move onto. Whatever they may be, because I believe that we're all striving for multiple inner rings, certain questions arise in our pursuit.

In one section of this sermon, Lewis says this:

"But if all you want is to be in the know, your pleasure will be short lived. The circle cannot have within the charm that it had from outside. By the very act of admitting you it has lost its magic. Once the first novelty has worn off, the members of this circle will be no more interesting than your old friends."

Now, I can say from lots of experience with this that this statement is true. I can name countless times that I have moved into a new inner circle to find that I only wish to be back where I was previously. To me, these words in some sense also describe our relationship to sin. We see this thing that we are pursuing (lust, money, acceptance, things), and when we finally have attained it, we realize that our means of acquiring it were not pure, or that the end result leaves us feeling empty, unfulfilled, or dirty.

In another section Lewis says this:

"A thing may be morally neutral and yet the desire for that thing may be dangerous."

To me, this is probably one of the most simply profound statements that I have ever heard. If I think about it, this is probably the dilemma that I am faced with more than anything. For example, having nice guitar gear is not wrong, but if that desire consumes me, if I do things that I normally wouldn't to acquire that stuff, then this moves that desire to being something that is dangerous. I think we can look at a lot of different areas in our lives and notice that this is the issue we face. It's those things that are not markedly right or wrong, black or white that cause us to stumble more than any other.

If you've read this far, thanks for taking the time.

impressions from the inauguration

I would have to say that the enormity of the crowds left me a bit awestruck. I can’t fathom being in a crowd of 3-4 million people.

As a singer, I sympathized with Aretha. Temps that cold are not conducive to good singing, regardless of talent.

The Invocation was excellent, and when Rick Warren mentioned the name of Jesus, my heart leaped. I’m not trying to over-spiritualize the moment, but after all the previous controversy about praying in Jesus’ name, it pumped me up.

Obama’s speech was eloquent and down-to-earth, which are two things that don’t normally coincide. As a communication studies major, I tend to analyze every speech I hear, and I had to just let myself listen to this one. My favorite line was this:

“To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

The poem…the poem. Something we talked about in one of my classes last semester was that most writers and poets are not the best candidates to interpret their own work. This was a prime example.

The benediction...lets just leave it at the fact that I was cool with it until "and when white will embrace what is right"...

This is one of those days, like 9.11, that I will never forget. Surely this is one of the greatest days in the history of our young country, whatever side of the aisle you sit on.

inclusion

I've been thinking about something now for about 2 weeks. I (I guess I could say we, for most of the people that read this blog) have a friend who, in my observation, believes their sole job in the world is to make everyone around them feel included. This is by no means a bad thing, and something that I want to strive to do more of.

For example, there was a group of people having a conversation, in which this person was a part. I walked up to the group late, kind of standing on the outside of the circle, just listening in. This person backed up to make a spot for me to enter said circle.

Now, for some people, this may not have meant much, but it made a huge impact on me for some reason that night. To see that this person was conscious of everyone around them, and to see them extend that invitation, verbal or not, made me feel welcome and immediately accepted.

I wanna make moves to be more like that, to let everyone know that they hold worth in my eyes. To let them know that they are an equal.

new musics

So first, I want to say that my lap steel is completed. It sounds amazing. My playing, however, does not.

Second, YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE FICTION FAMILY (Jon Foreman and Sean Watkins) ALBUM RIGHT HERE FOR FREE!!!!!!1