Through Hell and back...

I hate shopping.

I loathe shopping.

Especially around this time of year. But for some reason, the the thought of a Christmas gift for one of the parental units was enough for my siblings and myself to bestow upon me the cup of completing the task of gift acquisition.

As I stood in line for much longer than I cared and was annoyed by cell phones, the two high schoolers who were buying a 360, (they were so lazy one procured a shopping cart to set it in, and promptly abandoned it after checkout in the Electronics section, only to leave me and the cashier shaking our heads at them) and everyone else, I noticed several things.

A) I still hate shopping, especially around people.
B) I'm stupid for going out in the crowds.
C) I saw many people from church, and guess how many were male... that's right, zero.

Oh well, at least I did not wake up early for it. And now, with such a feeling of accomplishment, I don't feel like I need to do one more productive thing today.

Frustrating... yet relieved.

I had this theory about a storyline in a t.v. show.
I forgot to share it with others.
I found out I'm right.

Here's to the magical picture box that so easily entertains me.

Serenity...Now.

Wow. Its been a crazy past two weeks. First the F3 tornado and all the running around as a result, then the Fall Shabang and all the running around for that. A little over a month ago, I had planned a little getaway for this weekend. Little did I know then that it was impeccable timing.
I am currently sitting in a coffeehouse on historic Main Street in a city, two states away.
Its been a good trip, once again, I've been able to hang out with a friend who has moved on from Northern Indiana. Other than that, I haven't done a whole lot.

So where exactly am I? Well I'm in a pretty historical city. It's neighboring city currently has this going on. This is the place where This city was the original capital of the Show Me State.

Anyways, it is good to get away. But have no fear, all will return to normal Monday morning.

As for now, I want pay may respects in a picture tribute to a fine establishment currently missing from Naptown.

Here's to you, Kentaco Bell.

Phrase of the week

"Serenity Now!!!"

A.D.D., or just lack of desire?

As I try to fall asleep, my mind races as to what all I have to do tomorrow. There is all the tearing down, setting up and everything else that involves getting the church ready for Wednesday night. But, there is also Wed. Night Youth, which leads me to think of what to attempt to do in Small Groups.
One thing I've noticed as of late, whether it be in Sunday School, Church Service, or Wed. Night, is the fact that these kids don't bring their Bibles to church.

Why is that?

Is it because "they just forgot", they were in a hurry, or is it something more?

Now, I'm not saying that bringing your Bible to church is the end-all of being complete in Christ, but isn't it a small indicator of something deeper taking place in one's life?

Here is my thought process on this one: Little Billy has accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour. Little Billy understands that God is pursuing a relationship with him, and desires for him to do the same. Little Billy wants to do what ever it takes to draw close to his personal Saviour. Little Billy reads his Bible at home and hungers to learn more about him. Little Billy takes his Bible to church to follow along in Sunday School and in service. As a result, Little Billy participates and asks questions, and even takes notes on things that stand out to him.

Is this too far-fetched? You tell me. I think the problem is that somewhere along the line, something is failing in this storyline. I think its because it is not taking place at home. I think, as a result of not diving into a personal relationship with Christ, they don't show up to church wanting to learn or pay attention. I think there are too many distractions in their lives.

So, as a leader, what do I do? Should I throw my hands up in the air, like I just don't care? No. I should remember that for me to speak into the lives of students, or anyone, I need to live by example, and not give up.

Irony

This evening, I was talking to a gentleman at church. We talked about the tornado and swapped some stories. He pointed something out to me:

"Most tornadoes go after the mobile homes. This one decided to go after the factory that makes the mobile homes."

Here are some pics I took of the aftermath.

The Storm.

• Heard about a tornado, decided to check on my parents... power was shut off as I left from Naptown
  
• Took a different way back to church... took over an hour to get home
• Church opened as a shelter, helped run power from generators
• Told to go get rest at around 3 am
• Power restored about an hour ago
  

1. I was reminded of the awesome power of God and his authority
2. I was worried about a lot of friends and people from church
3. I was overwhelmed with compassion for those who have lost so much
   

Big Baby, tiny baby

I happen to frequent the Drudge Report on a regular basis to keep up on current events and whatnot. Every once in a while, there will be stories posted that are odd, or even amazing. Wednesday evening, I noticed a story about a Big Baby. You can find it here.
Just a short while ago, I noticed a story about a Tiny Baby. You can find it here.

In my heart there rings a melody...

Have you ever had one of those songs stuck in your head? Not one of the obnoxious ones, but a good one, say a worship song. Last Wednesday, I heard that Hillsong came out with another album. I got it and listened to it at work. One song in particular has been stuck in my head and my heart. Here's the words to Saviour King.

Verse 1
And now the weak say I have strength
By the spirit of power that raised Christ from the dead
And now the poor stand and confess
That my portion is ? and I'm more blessed

Pre-chorus
Let now our hearts burn with a flame
A fire consuming all for your Son's holy name
And with the heavens we declare
You are our king

Chorus
We love you Lord, we worship you
You are our God, you alone are good

You asked your Son to carry this
The heavy cross our weight of sin

I love you Lord, I worship you
Hope which was lost, now stands renewed
I give my life to honor this
The love of Christ, the savior king

Verse 2
Let now your church shine as the bride
That you soar in your heart as you offered up your life
Let now the lost be welcomed home
By the saved and redeemed those adopted as your own

Ending
I give my life to honor this
The love of Christ, the savior king

Going to Work

There are times when going to work isn't fun. I'm sure there are those of you out there that know this feeling: It seems that you can do everything right without recognition or reward, but as soon as you make a mistake(yes I make mistakes ,too), people let you know about it.

I really hate this. Not so much for me being told what i did wrong, but the fact that I get upset and frustrated and come down on myself much harder than most others do.

How do you deal with this, those three of you that might be reading? Here's the best that i can think of.

Slow down...

Take deep breaths...

Remember God is still on the throne...

Deal with the outcome.

Hmm. Remember God is still on the throne. Its kinda funny as even as I type this, that thought puts everything back into perspective. Thanks for listening, I think I'm gonna be okay now.

Going to church

Going to church is a hard thing to do when you work there all week. I have to be honest, I'm a poor attendee of NMC. There are two reasons for this:
A. Its my own fault. I wake up late, miss my alarm clock, and so forth.
B. Its because of work. Its hard to catch a complete service while wearing the pager. There are also more and more instances of people calling me or asking me to take care of something, because the secret is getting out that I work at the church.

In the last month, I've had the opportunity to go to The Connection twice. That makes the Grande total of Connection services I've been to three times (not including the two times I ran Media Shout).

Lately, my boss and i have been trying to get a good schedule so all of us facility people that work on Sundays can have a shot at an uninterrupted service.

In the past three weeks, my hours at the church have been getting little loopy. When can you do when your help decides to go to college? Bit it in a sense has been a blessing as a result. As I have to do more of the grunt work again, I have found myself attending church in Georgia, and California.

Podcasting is a gift from the Almighty. In recent days I've been confronted, convicted, challenged, and encouraged in my life. Now I know its not a replacement for attending a service at NMC, but it has been helping me put church into work during the week, w when at times on Sundays the work takes away from church.

If you are a little sluggish on knowing what podcasts are out there, check out my favorite four...
North Point Community Church - Andy Stanley
Mars Hill Bible Church - Rob Bell
Mosaic - Erwin McManus
Cornerstone Church - Francis Chan

This one's for you, Cam

Umbrella

Wake Up!!!

What do you do when you are awakened at 5 am by a call about an alarm going off at the church, and can't go back to sleep? You mess around with the camera. I tried to get some picks of the lunar eclipse, but the clouds weren't cooperating.

Pics from Sunday

Yeah, its a lot of pics, and sure I should delete some of them. But I think it takes away from the feel of it. So, enjoy!

Baptism and prayer room

So long, Christian Light (Bookstore)

Christian Light Bookstore in Nap-town is in what seems to be a snail's pace process of closing shop. I had been meaning to stop by for one last hurrah, and today was the day. Much to my delight , everything in the store is 70% off the original price. Needless to say I took advantage of it. I bought me a NASB Bible, a book by Donald Miller, and about 12 cds, in which 6 are cds I plan to hand out to a few people.

In other unrelated news, I despise Arby's again. I had been slowly warming up to the "5 for $5.95". Apparently now its "5 for $6.95".

Right now I hear a girlfriend voice being used in the house.

Where's Dave? (Just wanted to see if you are reading this.)

Its weird and sad not having all, or at least most of the SOAR kids around. Granted the two that are left behind are cool, but there was something about a bigger group, maybe because it was entertaining to see the personality clashes. Maybe because each one of them taught me something this summer.

I finally got my latest shipment of random shirts...two weeks after ordering them. But its all good. I'm just glad they came.

I'm anxious anticipating the arrival of Small Groups. I'm excited to jump in again with the same guys.

Wed night before the storm

Me and the nieces