The Church--From Week to Week

I've been thinking about something for a few months. It kind of has to do with Advent and Lent (which we are in now), but it started in my head because of something else.

I've heard that the average church attender only shows up every 3 weeks. Since I know a lot of people who are there every week, that means a lot of others are even less consistent than 1-in-3, but still consider themselves to be members or attendees or whatnot.

I said whatnot.

And a lot of people go on vacations or just go visit friends or family whether for one week or for a month or two. Even if you go on a missions trip, you're missing the service.

And whenever we miss the service, we miss part of the life and growth of that church body.

The old mainline denominations keep to a liturgy that involves the calendar to some degree. Most of us are at least aware of Advent and Lent, but all year, there is progression.

I guess I'm just realizing more and more that when people miss a week or multiple weeks, they miss out on what God is doing in that local body. You can't make up for that. You can't capture what happened in a church service.

People complain that churches aren't feeding them, challenging them, or encouraging them; they say "you don't talk about this enough," or, "you talk about that too much." But, unless they have been consistently attending one church for an extended time, they don't really have much to base any of that on.

God is the same, but God is creative, and He does different things at different times in different bodies.

So, be consistent. Show up. Or else....

Or else, you might miss something great.

Yeah, you might not also, but you'll never know if you don't show up.

Mustard Seed Part 4: The Kingdom of God grows and grows and grows

One of the coolest things about mustard is that not only does each plant grow quickly, but it can spread so fast and so extensively that it can wipe out whatever plant is supposed to be growing in a field.

This picture is just one field that I happened to be driving past.


All around Santa Rosa right now, mustard is in bloom. It is a great reminder that the Kingdom is growing, and also a reminder to live for that Kingdom today.

I wonder if we would live more like Jesus taught if we were putting ourselves in situations that are like the parables more often. Does living near mustard help me? Would watching sparrows help me?

Incidentally, I saw a sparrow perched in that mustard field, but we were driving, and I couldn't take another picture. Too bad. The Bible makes a point of the fact that the mustard plant grows large enough for the birds to sit on it.

I'll keep my eye out for more interesting mustard pictures or facts, but for now, that's what I know about mustard.

The best picture I have ever taken

(above: not the best picture, but a cool one)

In December 2006 I went to South Africa on a missions trip and I saw a tree that was awesome. It became my favorite tree in the world. I took a few pictures of it that I really liked, like the one above.

The following December (2007), I went back on another missions trip. I took some even better pictures of that tree. But, I still haven't finished processing/editing all the pictures I took on that trip. The camera I was using had a dirty sensor (the thing that actually captures the image on a digital SLR camera), so it was tedious work.

I also didn't have the right software to be processing HDR photos. That's where you take 2 or 3 or more shots at different exposures, and then it runs an algorithim to blend them. This can either be used to make the image look more like it appeared in real-life to the human eye, or can be used to add surrealism. The trick is to do it, but not overdo it.

Yesterday I downloaded the best HDR program, called Photomatix. After using the trial and showing Julie what it could do, she told me I could go ahead and buy it, so here is the long-awaited (by me) best picture I have ever taken (in my opinion).


The above one is the more surreal style. I put a copyright watermark right over the tree, so you can enlarge it pretty big by clicking on it. Below is a more realistic HDR image. It was a pretty amazing sight--the coolest tree in the entire world, in front of a completely still lagoon (which is about 1 mile across and 6 or 7 long), and a 4,000 foot cliff face behind it, with those straight clouds behind the top left part of the mountain like little glowing/flashy things you'd draw to emphasize something.



This is one of my favorite spots on the planet, and it was the best moment I've seen it in yet. I'm glad I could finally get my act together and get the picture finished and share it.

Mustard Seed Part 4: The Kingdom of God grows in other kingdoms

One interesting thing about mustard being a weed is that it grows in the midst of other crops. I've read places that because it grows so fast and spreads so fast and so much that it can actually choke out planted crops.

Here (as in Israel, where Jesus was when he told the story), the mustard will grow in the middle of the rows of grapes in vineyards. Here are some examples:



Above is a normal one, here's an edited one:



So, my reminder is that the Kingdom of Heaven (as represented by the mustard) grows in the midst of other Kingdoms (represented by the fields). Sometimes, it's not supposed to grow in those fields, but it does.

I don't think Jesus was making this point when he told the parable, but it's still a good thought, and it is true.

And, here is the most Christian picture of all time. I'm glad I got to take it:


1. Mustard (Mt. 13)
2. Vineyards (a lot of parables Jesus told)
3. Mustard is a weed, Jesus told a lot of Parables about weeds
4. The road at the bottom: The narrow and wide roads
5. Streams of light coming down from the Heavens
6. The wires at the top signify the power of God.
7. This is getting ridiculous

But, I bet if Jesus was walking around with some disciples and came to this spot, he would tell 4 or 5 parables.

Mustard Seed Part 3: The Kingdom of God grows like crazy (tons of pictures)

First off, please don't steal my pictures. Ask if you want to use them!

This is part 3 of my Mustard Seed series based on Jesus saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed" in Matthew 13.

Today I want to focus on how quickly Mustard grows. Mustard can go from being just a tiny sprout to being 2 or 3 feet tall in just a couple of weeks.

Not only that, but it can spread throughout a field quickly. Here are a bunch of pictures I took last weekend of the mustard fields in Sonoma County (in Alexander Valley). None of these were planted. These are all weeds.



Above: A pretty huge field full of mustard. There will be a panorama in a few posts to show you the scope of how much mustard there was there.


You can get an idea of how expansive this mustard field was, based on the size of that old Oak tree and barn in the background

This picture doesn't have as much artsy processing going on, so you can see what the mustard fields look like. This shot is taken from the top of a nearby mountain (we had just come out of the snow), and you can see just how much the yellow mustard has spread throughout the vineyards.

Clearly, mustard not only grows quickly as an individual plant, but rapidly spreads throughout its environment. It reproduces faster than it can be controlled.

In the same way, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed.

There's going to be a civil war in the USA

I read this weird article a few months ago.

I'll summarize it. Basically, there's this Russian political scientist named Igor Panarin who has been predicting that the US will have a civil war and come to an end in 2010. He's been predicting this for ten years, and no one really listened, but his predictions are pretty close to what's happening right now in some areas.


He predicts that California and some other major states will run out of money (which has already happened since I first read the article). Also, the moral decline of the country would play a serious role. But the main point is that powerful states would run out of money and stop paying the federal government, which would lead to civil war. In the end, there would be 4 new countries. The California Republic would be influenced by or under the control of China, and would include the Western States. The Southern States would become the Texas Republic, which would be influenced by or under the control of Mexico. The Atlantic States would become Atlantic America, and join the EU. The Central North-America Republic would be part of Canada or influenced by them. Hawaii would come under control of Japan or China, and Alaska would become part of Russia.

This is ridiculous, but not as far-fetched as it was when he started predicting all of this stuff.

California ran out of money exactly when this guy predicted. And there very well could be a taxpayer revolt in a few months, since they just announced a special election is coming on May 19th regarding taxes to bail out the state.

But, there are a few major issues with his prediction:

1. States don't pay federal taxes; citizens do.
2. There is no way that Utah would ever choose to join the California Republic (probably goes for Idaho too).
3. There is no way that racists in the South would ever go for being under Mexican influence. Others might, but there is too much prejudice still.
4. Americans are too lazy to fight a civil war. It would take something far more drastic to cause a civil war today.
5. There's no way we in California would give up Hawaii to the Chinese or Japanese.

I've been keeping this article in my e-mail for months now, so that I could post it. I hope it brightens up your day. It's fun to just let yourself run with his ideas for a few minutes and imagine what it would be like if any or all of this happened.

Mustard Seed Part 2: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a weed

Click to enlarge

This is part 2 of my Mustard Seed posts. Yesterday, I was over at my parents' house, picking up a rivet gun for a little electrical project I had to do at church with my friend, Eric. I got out of my truck and noticed there was a little mustard plant growing in the rocks in front of their house.
Here's a picture I took with my phone:

You can see that there is a small yellow area at the top, in the middle of the plant. That's where the flower (and eventually the seed), will develop. This stuff just sprouts up wildly and randomly.

There were 2 more little sprouts nearby.

The first lesson to be learned from Jesus' parable is that mustard is a weed.

The kingdom of heaven is like a weed. It sprouts up wherever, seemingly without organization. It isn't planted in neat, orderly rows. It starts off in all sorts of places, as a plant or two, here and there.

Stay tuned for more facts about mustard, more pictures, and more of my thoughts on what exactly it means for the kingdom of heaven to be like mustard.

I saw Lance Armstrong race today (picture included)

I took all below pictures! If you want to use any, send me a comment. I'll let you use them however, just let me know first.

Above: Francisco Mancebo, Tour of California 2009 Stage 1 Winner

Today we went to the Tour of California. The Tour is the most significant cycling race in the United States, and has quickly turned into one of the top tours in the world. It's only in its fourth year, and even from the very beginning, top cyclists were competing in it.

The best part is that it has gone through Santa Rosa all 4 years. In fact, the two time defending champion, Levi Leipheimer, is from Santa Rosa. Levi took 3rd in the 2007 Tour de France, won a bronze medal at the Olympics this past summer, and is one of the top riders in the world. Santa Rosa is also a huge cycling town, and the Tour of California loves this city, and all the riders do too. It makes me want to get a bike.

The big news this year is that the Tour of California is one of Lance Armstrong's first races since his comeback from retirement began. Lance is on the same team as Levi, which is called Astana. The team also includes Alberto Contador, who won the 2007 Tour de France, but he didn't compete here. Astana is sponsored by the government of Kazakhstan, which is hilarious, since the movie Borat makes fun of Kazakhstan. But, apparently some people in the Kazakh government love cycling and want kids there to live healthy lives, so they bought a team and named it after their country's capital. Pretty cool.

Pretty much all the big names in cycling were here, which was cool. Last year the only Tour de France winner I knew of was the guy who was the team manager for one of the teams. This year, there were winners of 7 or 8 of recent Tour de France competitions.

The weather was terrible, but it was worth the numb, soaking feet and legs. Lance Armstrong wrote this on Twitter, "“Holy hell. That was terrible. Maybe one of the toughest days I’ve had on a bike, purely based on the conditions." I'm glad I was there to see it.

Here are a bunch of pictures I took. I didn't edit them at all. The blur is real, and so is the reflection.


Above: Tour de France 2006 Champion Floyd Landis (He ended up losing his championship for doping, and this is his first race back from his suspension--he still insists he is innocent)


This is Francisco Mancebo. He ended up winning the stage (which was 108 miles from Davis to Santa Rosa. He broke off in the first 5 miles, and led the whole race, until this point (which was the 3rd of 3 laps in downtown Santa Rosa). 2 people caught him, but he ended up beating them out. The commentators on the Versus TV network said his victory was the most well-deserved they've seen in years. He played to the crowd.


Here's Vincenzo Nibali. He ended up winning second. This is a really cool picture. I love the reflections and blurs



And here's the best picture (not photographically, but because of its subjects). The rider in front is Lance Armstrong, followed by two of his Astana teammates. The second rider is Levi Leipheimer, our local hero. Lance, Levi, and 2 other guys on their team finished tied for 4th in the main chase group (which is the group of riders who tried to chase down the eventual winner). You can tell their team is ready to dominate the world of cycling this year.

I really am a much bigger fan of Levi (being the hometown guy), but it's pretty great to say you got to see Lance Armstrong. And even cooler to say you got to see him race.


That's the finish line with the peloton (main group of cyclists) crossing. Other years they've said 100,000 people were downtown for the finish, but the rain kept the crowds down a lot. Still, some of the European fans were impressed at how many of us stuck around.

“When it rains at the Tour of France people still turn out, of course,” said Ronald Blok, who is from Holland. “It’s surprising to see how many turned out here in the rain. I’m impressed.” (I copied that from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat)






Those two pictures are of Lance Armstrong's bike (2nd from left) with his teammates' bikes. Levi's bike is on the right. Lance also had his time trial bike stolen last night. Since it is the only one of its kind in the world I'm sure it's going to be hard to sell without getting caught. Lance also said his goal in this race is to make sure Levi wins. That's cool.

Sorry for the long blog. I hope it was interesting!

Mustard Seed: Part 1

Click to enlarge

This is the first of what I hope will be many blogs about the parable of the mustard seed.

This parable, even though it is so short (Just 2 verses--Matthew 13:31-32), is loaded with meaning.

Parables are meant to be simple analogies that serve to educate those who want to learn, and to confuse those who don't want to listen.

We can only take them at face value and shouldn't delve too deeply into looking for more hidden meanings.

But, in the case of this parable, Jesus simply says, ""The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

So, we know we can learn a lot about the kingdom of heaven through researching mustard seeds and mustard plants.

Here in Sonoma County, CA, we have the same climate as Israel. We have tons of grapes (this is a wine-grape growing region), much like Israel. Another result of our similar climate is that in the late winter/early spring (now), we have mustard growing everywhere.

In the next few blogs about the mustard seed, we'll explore the biology of the mustard plant, and I'll share some pictures I took today as I went for a nice drive with my wife for Valentine's Day.

The Path =or= Why I haven't posted any pictures in months (until now)

I've been so busy for the last few months that I hadn't transferred any pictures off my camera onto my desktop since early September (or late August). My computer crashed back then, and I never re-installed Lightroom, which is one of the programs in my photo-editing workflow.

Today Julie and I drove around and I took some pictures. So, I decided to import a few of my old ones. I even still had some old pictures of Cancun from the last day of our honeymoon to import. So I finally imported them all. Here's one I took last fall on a hike with Julie on a Friday afternoon after work. It was on November 21st, but it was around 75 degrees outside that day.

We were coming back down the hill from our hike, and the sun was setting as we headed up a slight incline. Once we got through that stand of trees, it was light again, but for a few moments it was dusk. I loved the way the light was streaming through the trees. It felt like an enchanted forest.

Click to enlarge.

I'm well over a year behind in my photo processing. Which is bad. I think I've got 3 or 4 thousand pictures to process. Maybe more. I guess I need to be more selective about which ones I work on.

Copying old blogs

I think it's been over a year since I started this project.

I'm copying all my old MySpace blogs over to Blogspot. You have to do it manually. I think I've copied around 200. I have 191 left.

Ugh.

But, it's really good for me to be reading about old experiences, old thoughts, and old friends.

Reflection.

I've changed a lot. Mostly for the better. Some things I wrote about are kind of weird, and I would never write about them now. And sometimes I'm proud of who I was.

I'm currently up to around July of 2007. There's some good writing in some blogs, some immature stories in others. There are deep thoughts in a handful of blogs, and bad poetry in others.

If you see a weird, out-of-place blog in an rss feed from me, that's because of this huge copying project. When I'm done, I'm going to add all of my total blog views on myspace to my little counter so I can see a total number more quickly.

Solving Big Problems: Energy

What if instead of trying to solve problems like the energy issue by creating large fields of solar power plants and entire hillsides covered in "wind farms," we tried using small solutions.

I know people have suggested putting solar panels on every roof, and I think that's great, but what about this:

What if there were tiny hydro-electric generators in every downspout on every gutter, and in every storm drain?

They could all be hooked into the power grid somehow. So whether it was raining or sunny, every home and business would be producing energy, either through solar or rain-powered hydro generators.

Large problems can be solved with tiny solutions sometimes.

Onions and Mustard

Yesterday, I was mowing the field here at church. It's about 3 or 4 acres of mixed grasses and wildflowers. Like most of Sonoma County, we have a ton of mustard growing right now. That just makes me think about the parable of the mustard seed so much. I'll blog about that sometime in the next few days (in a kind of devotional/Bible study sort of way).

I was mowing the field and everything smelled like onions to me. I figured it must just be the mustard. But then, I thought of all the little patches of bluish-green grass that I've seen that grow completely vertically. So the next time I saw one, I got off the mower and smelled this "grass." Sure enough, it's onions.

In this picture, my thumb is pointing toward some onions, and my pointer is pointing toward some very small mustard that probably just sprouted in the last 2 or 3 days.

I think they're green onions. They smell great. Except when you end up smelling them all day from handling them. Maybe we will grow an onion patch.

Mark West Neighborhood Onion Patch.

Haiku time with Josh

Going to write haiku
I preached yesterday morning
Now I can't think straight

Have to get ready
Young Adults' group is tonight
Having mental block

Haiku is so good
Starts the creativity
Five-Seven-and-Five

I hope this helps some
I need to get to work now
Better get going (go-ing)

_____________

I did preach yesterday. Here's a link to the sermon: God's Economic Rescue Plan. It's based on the story of the Rich Young Man who had a conversation with Jesus (Mark 10:17-31).

Maybe I'll sum it up sometime.

Best worship albums

I was thinking last night about the best worship albums I've heard. I wasn't thinking about the most influential ones, or even the ones that have the songs I've sung the most. I was thinking about the ones that I have enjoyed listening to on my own the most--the ones that have been most beneficial for my personal worship times.

There have been other albums that were great for me, but this list is based on what styles I like today.

The other requirement for this list was that they had to be cool bands. So these are the more alt-rock style worship albums I've liked for the last 10 years.

Interestingly, these are also the albums that I've probably learned the most songs off of. For example, King of Fools was one of the albums I used to teach myself to play guitar 10 years ago. That was crazy when I realized last night that I've been playing guitar for 10 years now. I still can't get over that.

Here the list is:

King of Fools, Delirious? 1998
World Service, Delirious? 2004
Remedy, David Crowder Band 2007
Look to You, Hillsong United 2005
Phil Wickham, Phil Wickham 2006
Cannons, Phil Wickham 2007
Give Yourself Away, Robbie Seay Band 2007

And there are a few other songs I'd have to include:

"Unashamed Love," Much, Ten Shekel Shirt 2001
"Your Love is Strong" Spring, Jon Foreman 2008

So if you're looking for worship music that sounds less typical than what most modern worship sounds like, those are some CDs to check out, even if some of them (especially King of Fools) helped define the Modern Worship movement.

Tourette's Syndrome

The other day, I was at work (at the printshop). My boss Mike told me that the guy I was making a business card for has tourette's syndrome, so don't be surprised when he comes in.

A few hours later, he came by, and he seems like a really nice guy who has this disorder. I'm going to skip a lot of the details. He called my bosses (Mike and Bonnie) some swear words (not intentionally, because that's just the way it is with tourette's).

He tried to stifle it and keep it under his breath. But, I could tell he was saying "pig. pig. pig," whenever he saw me.

I'm glad I'm just a pig and not something worse.

I feel sorry too that people have to deal with tourette's syndrome.

Jackson and I were talking last night about the distinction between demonic oppression and mental disorders and disabilities. How can we tell which is merely caused by the human psyche and the fallen condition of man and what is caused by demons?