My life as an exclamation point.

O Emmanuel -- the last day of Advent

2011-12-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

Today in many liturgical churches, the seventh and final of the O Antiphons is recited. On the 17th I started a short blog series explaining each Antiphon. There's a short intro to the whole series at the beginning of that post. Here is today's reading, O Emmanuel. ____________________________ Latin: O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum

O Rex Gentium -- The 2nd to last day of Advent

2011-12-22T01:00:00.001-08:00

Today in many liturgical churches, the sixth of the O Antiphons is recited. On the 17th I started a short blog series explaining each Antiphon. There's a short intro to the whole series at the beginning of that post. Here is today's reading, O Rex Gentium. ____________________________ Latin: O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva

O Oriens -- The 3rd to last day of Advent

2011-12-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

Today in many liturgical churches, the fifth of the O Antiphons is recited. On the 17th I started a short blog series explaining each Antiphon. There's a short intro to the whole series at the beginning of that post. Here is today's reading, O Oriens. ____________________________ Latin: O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra

O Clavis David -- The 4th to last day of Advent

2011-12-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

Today in many liturgical churches, the fourth of the O Antiphons is recited. On the 17th I started a short blog series explaining each Antiphon. There's a short intro to the whole series at the beginning of that post. Here is today's reading, O Clavis David. ____________________________ Latin: O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel; qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit:

O Radix Jesse -- The 5th to last day of Advent

2011-12-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

Today in many liturgical churches, the third of the O Antiphons is recited. On Saturday I started a short blog series explaining each Antiphon. There's a short intro to the whole series at the beginning of that post. Here is today's Antiphon, O Radix Jesse. ____________________ Latin: O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem Gentes

O Adonai -- The 6th to last day of Advent

2011-12-18T01:00:00.001-08:00

Today in many liturgical churches, the second of the O Antiphons is recited. Yesterday I started a short blog series explaining each Antiphon. There's a short intro to the whole series at the beginning of that post, along with yesterday's reading and my thoughts on it. Here is today's Antiphon, O Adonai. ____________________________Latin: O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,qui Moysi in igne

O Sapientia--The 7th to last day of Advent

2011-12-17T01:26:00.000-08:00

For the next 7 days, I will (most likely--assuming I remember to) be sharing the O Antiphons. The O Antiphons are a series of 7 stanzas anticipating the coming of Jesus. One is read on each of the last 7 days of Advent--the 17th through the 23rd (Christmas and Christmas Eve are not a part of Advent, they are their own special things). Most of us only are exposed to the O Antiphons through the

Learning to Not Plan

2011-12-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

Been on a roll with the blogging lately, and I have been having really good thoughts and realizations. I partly attribute this to the clarity and order brought to my mind when I write things down. Last night Julie and I had a long conversation about the future. It led to a realization that I have been learning a lot more from God than I realized. Over the last 6+ months I've gone through

Lessons from getting my blood drawn

2011-12-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

This morning I had some blood drawn. I got a new doctor recently and it was cheaper to get a physical than to do a new patient appointment. Of course, you're supposed to get a physical annually anyway. So I went to my doctor and he ordered lab work, just to see what my cholesterol is. I hate getting my blood drawn. The first time I went to South Africa, I had heard it was a good idea to get

Why I like the show "Once Upon A Time."

2011-12-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't written a blog here for a loooong time. I know that when I write I tend to think more clearly and be more focused on all areas in life. So, I thought I'd write a little something today about a new TV show I'm really liking. Julie and I have been watching the show Once Upon A Time every week because we were huge LOST fans and heard that 2 of the guys from the LOST writing team had

Toward a Theology of Creativity and Art

2011-02-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

Recently I've gotten really into photography again. I also have been reading through the book of Exodus. Today I'm planning on driving around and looking for flooded landscapes to take pictures of. This morning while I was eating breakfast I read Exodus 30-32. In the chapters leading up to and including chapter 30, the instructions are given for the design and construction of the altar, ark

Some thoughts on the Kingdom of Heaven and the 3 heavens of Scripture

2011-02-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here's an outline of what I think about the Kingdom of God/Heaven and how it relates to the earth: 1. In the Bible, there is an idea of the three heavens. The first heaven is the sky. The Hebrew word for sky is shamayim, which also means "heavens." The second heaven is where the stars, sun and moon are--what we now call "outer space." The third heaven is where God lives. It has a throne,

New direction for the blog?

2011-02-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

For quite awhile - a few years, really - I've been thinking about writing a series of blogs about heaven & the Kingdom of God, and also been thinking about writing a lot on how concepts found in math (specifically calculus) and physics (specifically things like the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and string theory) all give us clues into the nature of God and how the universe displays

My Thoughts On the Protests in Egypt and What They've Shown Me About Sticking With Your Core Values

2011-02-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

Right after President Obama was elected, I decided to read one of his books. He's not only a great orator, but a very capable writer. I was impressed by The Audacity of Hope. I found Obama to be a gifted story-teller, and while I don't agree with 100% of his conclusions, I think he attempts to find well-thought out and reasonable points of view. I was impressed also by the fact that the

The Two Shall Become One Flesh

2010-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to follow up on the last blog, and share the reasons why I started thinking about these things. Right after the phrase "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" is introduced in Genesis 2, the author writes, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Gen. 2:24 ESV).This shows that the situation described of the

"Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" - thoughts on marriage from the Bible

2010-12-22T15:46:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been thinking about the phrase "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." By "lately" I mean since right before I got married a couple years ago. This phrase is found in Genesis 2:23, right after Eve is created. Adam says, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh."At first glance, you might think he is just saying that he finally has another human being with him,

Jesusmas

2010-12-22T00:04:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, one of my Facebook friends (and I can't even remember who) said something about "Jesusmas" instead of Christmas. The idea was to not take Jesus out of Christmas. On the one hand, it sounds a little funny or like it's taking the whole "keep Christ in Christmas" thing to its logical end, but on the other hand, I think it brings up a good point. Too often, we call Jesus by his

The tree farm, a year later

2010-08-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I first posted a blog about my backyard tree farm. I dug up a bunch of baby trees from my parents' house and church and one from my grandparents' house, then put them all in pots. If you want to see other blogs about this, then look for blogs tagged "backyard nursery." Well, here's an update (with pictures). If you click on any of the pictures you can enlarge them.Everything

Glory, Steve Jobs, and Jesus

2010-06-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Three and a half years ago, I was sitting in a van driving from Cape Town to George, South Africa and listening to a talk by Louie Giglio on my iPod. Louie was talking about how the things that satisfy us most are the things we naturally glorify.He related the story of how people got in line really early to buy a new XBOX 360 when they first came out. Or maybe it was Halo 2. I forget which.

I wish I had more time

2010-03-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been wanting to spend some time just being creative for creativity's sake. I have hundreds of old pictures that need processing, I feel like recording some instrumental music, I want to get my wedding video edited. But, I have other creative obligations. They don't feel as creative, because I committed to doing them. Things like websites, wedding videos from a year ago, marketing

Why I think Marijuana should be legalized in California...maybe

2010-03-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

This blog is tentative. I'm not sure if I've reached a final conclusion on this issue.Today it was officially announced that legalizing recreational marijuana use will be on the State ballot this fall. Here's an article about it.First off let me say that I have never smoked or eaten pot, and I won't regardless of if it becomes legal or not. I agree with the general premise that legalizing

Thoughts on Glenn Beck from a "Social Justice Christian"

2010-03-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back Julie and I got a new TV and plugged it into our cable. We found out that suddenly we were getting 100 or 150 channels instead of the 18 or so we had before. Last week I was at home for a little while and for some reason thought I would watch the political talking heads. I don't like political TV, and for some time I've been pretty unsatisfied with both Republicans and

Best place to buy banners online

2010-03-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in awhile, since I've been tweeting more, but I wanted to share a resource with anyone out there looking for one. I have bought a few banners for church from esigns.com. The first one I bought came with an interesting story. I was wondering if there was a way to track my order, so I went on their website to see if I could get more info, and just as I logged in, our UPS driver

Fasting Days 2/3: It's cold!

2009-12-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

Not only am I skipping lunch this week, but I'm experiencing probably the coldest week I've ever felt in Sonoma County. The plan for my fast was to help me think more about people who go without food, but I've found myself also more aware of the fact that so many people are without shelter. I am aware that there are people living without shelter around the world, but what has really gotten to me

Fasting Day 1: Culture, Justice, Gluttony, and Football

2009-12-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

This week, our church is spending some time fasting. I'm fasting from lunch every day to spend time reflecting on what God has provided for me and to pray for people who go without food. I don't like talking about it when I fast. In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus tells us to fast in secret.But, as we fast as a church, it's my role to lead the group of people who are fasting from lunch all week, and

Update on the tree farm

2009-12-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

I've posted a few blogs about how my little backyard tree farm is doing (Here's the first post). To be honest, my green thumb has been hiding for a few months, as I haven't watered my plants or even had to mow the field at church for awhile. It's great having a lot of volunteers to help out there. I'm sure I'll be involved with that stuff in the future, but the weeds aren't growing too fast

Should Advent start on November 1st?

2009-11-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

A few hours ago, I posted this on Twitter and Facebook:"Since the retail industry starts the "holiday season" at the beginning of October, should the American Church celebrate advent that early?"I meant to write November, so that's why the title of this blog doesn't match the original question. :)People are already thinking about Christmas, or at least the holidays, so should those of us who are

If you're not an artist, don't compare artists

2009-11-07T13:14:00.001-08:00

Have you ever criticized a work of art? A song? A painting? A movie? It's OK to not like something because your taste doesn't agree with it. But, it's not OK to bash it for being too much like something else or breaking rules of art, unless you actually have a background in that sort of art.I've been reading a lot of music reviews lately because I've been buying a lot of new music. There are

Live Music Week -vs.- Just Spending

2009-10-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago I was lying in bed and thought, "what was I doing 24 hours ago?"I was leaving a concert in San Francisco."What was I doing 7 days ago at this hour?" I was leaving a concert in San Francisco (at the Fillmore)"What was I doing 2 years ago today?"I was leaving a concert in San Francisco (at the Fillmore)That makes it sound like I go to shows all the time. While that's not true,

Website accomplished!

2009-10-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

I finished my first ever real website. There will always be minor edits, and some are coming as early as this week. But, I got the bulk of it done and posted. I don't know how long I spent on it--80 hours? The thing I feel most satisfied with is that everything is 100% compliant with the W3 standards (which are the standards of coding). I have not seen any church websites that actually are

Victory! (Warning: Gross picture)

2009-10-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

I caught a gopher with a trap the first time I set one.

an update on my tree-growing ventures

2009-09-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

I posted a blog awhile ago about how I've started growing trees in my back "yard"--an area that is really just a patio with a fence around it--about 12' x 20'. Well, the biggest tree I had was a Japanese Maple that I dug up from my grandparents' house. It was about 4 feet tall. I took a picture of it and put it on the blog, and it looked nice. But, then it started to die. I cut the top foot

The Media: Information, Entertainment, or Comfort

2009-09-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about the news media a lot over the last week or so. While we were on vacation, we watched "The Soloist," and then the other night, Julie and I watched "State of Play." Then last night, I went and saw "The Informant!" The first two really dealt with the media, and then today, I was reading about the true story behind "The Informant," and it turns out that different

My normal/weird dream about Costco

2009-08-27T10:16:00.001-07:00

Every once in awhile I have a dream that I actually remember for a few hours. Sometimes they're meaningful, and sometimes they're weird. This one was more weird, but not that weird.I dreamed that I was in Costco with my mom and dad and siblings and my wife. I decided to go look at the clothes. They were displayed a little nicer than usual in Costco. I found a couple things I wanted, but then

Lame Behavior: Rating your indie-ness

2009-08-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

The other day, Julie and I went and watched (500) Days of Summer at the indie movie theater in Santa Rosa--the Rialto. The last time I saw a movie there was before it was an arthouse theater--I saw The Lion King in 1995. I wanted to go see Garden State when it came out there. I wanted to see Hotel Rwanda when it came out there. I missed both, and ended up watching the DVDs and they're among

Webdesign stuff I've learned

2009-08-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

In the last year and a half, I've been learning a lot about webdesign. I took some classes on how to build websites, and a few on what looks good.I've learned some stuff, and I feel like writing it all down, so here it is (well some of it at least).Positioning should be done with CSS and not with tables. Designers used to use tables to lay out websites, but you're not supposed to do that

This is so short, maybe it should be on twitter.

2009-08-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

Leading is difficult. I don't love making spreadsheets and organizing volunteers. But, it's worth it most of the time.

Birthday stuff

2009-08-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight I wrote thank you cards for my birthday presents. I wasn't planning on getting much for my birthday, being an adult, and all. But, I got some cool stuff. I used to feel weird sharing what I've received. But now I realize that saying "I got something as a gift" has little to no reflection on who I am, but speaks volumes about the generosity of those around me, and so it is well-worth

Photo editing is time consuming

2009-08-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I preached a sermon at church. It was titled "What is the Church?"A few hours later, I was exhausted. It seems weird, because public speaking doesn't burn a lot of calories, but it does leave you wiped out.So, I decided to process HDR pictures. I worked on probably 70 pictures, and spent 5 or 6 hours straight doing it.They were from Julie's and my honeymoon, from the day we went to

Growing Trees on my patio

2009-08-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

This year, I've become really into a new hobby--growing trees. It is a very weird, unique hobby, I know, but I have fun doing it, and it's pretty cheap. Basically, the way it works is this: 1. Find little tiny tree sprouts growing from seeds in the spring. 2. Pull up/dig up the trees and plant them in a pot 3. Water them So, all you have to pay for is dirt, a few pots, and water. Except that

a "whoops" moment, and an update

2009-07-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that my blog title image has a typo. I've had it up for months. I'll have to fix it. I want to make my blog wider anyway, so that's probably a good thing. I get a new computer tomorrow! Unless they deliver it today. That should be fun to set up.I'm preaching this week. I spent about 4 hours making posters for an illustration yesterday. I still probably have 30 to 45 minutes

Social Networking

2009-07-28T23:17:00.000-07:00

I set up a Flickr account tonight. My photostream is hereHere are a couple of the pictures I uploaded:I took those last year. I've recently been catching up on a bunch of old pictures that I hadn't processed (over a year old). I've also been getting back into the swing of social networks and adding a bunch more (like how I mentioned in my last blog that I got a twitter account--which I've used

Weird food craving

2009-07-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

I was just reading Google News, and I saw this headline:Web site recreates Apollo 11 mission in real timeI figured it must have something to do with it being the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing. That reminded me of how Subway did a promo for the 25th anniversary. It might have been kids' meals, since I was a kid at the time.That made me want Subway really bad.Weird.

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter

2009-07-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

I don't blog enough. I enjoy writing, but I don't do it often enough.I don't check my facebook very much. I still have a myspace, but I don't really check that pretty much ever.But, I still signed up for Twitter. Why? Because I feel like I'm out of touch with technology and culture, because I didn't have one yet. I don't understand how @ and RT are used. So, here's my Twitter.

The Day's Events--Awesome Manly day

2009-06-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

Wow...what a crazy day.Today, I finished painting my office. Then, I cut down a bunch of rose bushes, overgrown shrubs, shoots from trees that had become trees, and blackberry bushes. I got a bunch of thorns in my body.We were working on renovating the house at church before we start renting it out to the next set of tenants.My dad found a gopher above ground, so I got 3 shovels--one for him,

Flying Home--Over the Grand Canyon--From the Funeral

2009-06-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today Julie and I flew home from Utah. I scheduled our flight home on U.S. Airways, because it gave me enough miles on United (they're partners) for a free flight. It was only a few bucks more than the cheapest flight back to Oakland.That meant we had to fly through Phoenix. I realized a couple days ago that we would probably fly over the Grand Canyon.Sure enough, today we flew over the Grand

Thoughts on Death, Relationships

2009-06-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about death. Now, before you think I'm suicidal, let me explain.First, a few weeks ago, a friends' grandma died. Then, a lady from church died last week. She had just started coming in the last year, but her family has been a part of our church for some time. Then I heard early this week that another friend's grandma died. On Thursday, I ran sound at the

2 websites I'm loving right now

2009-06-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

I just became aware of 2 websites. I'd heard of the second one, but never checked it out.I was reading a photoblog that I often check out, and the guy mentioned this video: Watch it if you have a few minutes. That video was from ted.com, which is a site for the TED conference. That conference has speakers on a variety of subjects speak for 18 minutes. That is the first site I'm really

Good Music week

2009-05-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

I bought 2 new CDs this week. On Monday night, I bought the new Mat Kearney album. Every once in awhile, I know that an album is coming out (on a Tuesday, as most albums do), and I go on iTunes a little after 9 pm on Monday to see if they're out yet (because it's already Tuesday on the East Coast). So I did that.The CD is really great. The guy knows how to write a catchy tune, and I liked his

Jesus is God

2009-05-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

OK, all this answering of Jehovah's Witnesses that I've been doing lately has been really good for me.It's forced me to think. It's led me to passages I haven't read in a long time. It's made me use my mind to investigate how well I have things thought-out.But, I also highly value the church as a body. So, I pay attention to what other Christians are thinking and saying. I recently came

Answers to Jehovah's Witnesses -part 3-

2009-05-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

A few blog posts ago, I wrote about how I need to investigate what I believe before I am qualified to teach others. I illustrated it with a realization I had based on the Jehovah's Witnesses. That led to a number of comments and questions, which I am attempting to answer.Part 1Part 2Here is part 3. The third comment I received said this:Roland said... So you are a pastor. Can you show me in

Answers to Jehovah's Witnesses -part 2-

2009-05-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago, I wrote briefly about the Jehovah's Witnesses. This led to a few comments, which I'm responding to here and in the previous post. The second comment on my blog (two posts ago) said this:jessica said... What about Jw's message do you find harmful and misleading?It's unfortunate that you feel that way, but we can be grateful to Jehovah God for the gift of free will which enables

Answers to Jehovah's Witnesses -part 1-

2009-05-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

I got a bunch of comments on the last blog. I want to take some time to clarify a number of things.First off, the intended main audience for my blog is those who know me. I believe that the best use of the internet is to strengthen real-life relationships, and not to pretend that you are getting to know people through a screen and some cables. That's my philosophy, you might say.So, I don't

On Misleading People

2009-05-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

When I work at the print shop, I have to work on files for all sorts of customers. One of them is the Jehovah's Witnesses in the area. They get flyers from their headquarters, and then then have to imprint specific locations and dates/times on them.I always feel conflicted about working on those flyers. I want to do my job well, and my bosses have no reason to not print those flyers. But, I

Strawberry Ice Cream

2009-05-19T23:51:00.001-07:00

My favorite Ice Cream Flavor is Strawberry. Of course, I don't get to eat much Ice Cream, since I am lactose intolerant. In the last 3 years, I've gone through two year-long spans of not having ice cream. Breyers started making lactose free ice cream awhile ago, but they only have vanilla. A few weeks ago, I found out that Lactaid is making Ice Cream. It's real ice cream, and they just put

Creativity/Media stuff and me...currently

2009-05-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

I used to call myself "an aspiring renaissance man" on my "about me" section on myspace. That was because I was trying to learn how to do so much media stuff while I was in college.Now I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of a few useful things. I've been working at the print shop for about 9 months, and that time is coming to an end. My bosses needed to hire someone who could mostly

TV Finales

2009-05-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

This past year, I've actually gotten to the point where I like a whole night of TV on one channel. Wednesdays on ABC has been pretty great.I've been a "Scrubs" fan for awhile, but this was the first time I watched new episodes. Then, they had a new show "Better off Ted," which was pretty funny--kind of like the Office, but less annoying. And, next was my favorite show, "Lost." Well, last

Tupperware

2009-05-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

I had a realization this morning.I was putting away the dishes in the dishwasher, when I realized that the main reason I tend to put that particular chore off for so long is the tupperware. It never dries all the way. Water drops get stuck under the edges, or sometimes it gets flipped over during the wash and is full of water.I started thinking about how it would easier to put things away if we

I almost hurt Julie really bad...

2009-05-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today Julie and I went to see Wolverine at a matinee. Afterwards, we took both of our cars to Wal-Mart, since we were pretty close already, and had both of them with us.We needed to get new wiper blades anyway, and it was raining. So, we got our wiper blades, and decided to go to the bank to deposit our paychecks. We thought we should just leave my truck at Wal-Mart and take her car. So, I got

Oxygen

2009-04-19T17:25:00.001-07:00

The other day, Julie and I were shopping at Costco.We were walking down one of the main aisles on the non-food side of the store. We walked past one of the sample tables, and there wasn't anyone at the table besides the lady doing the samples.She was speaking in a rather quiet voice to no one in particular.As we walked past, we heard her say, "Oxygen is the enemy of food."The way she said it in

Following up on the Haikus about the Gophers

2009-04-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

A couple posts ago, I was writing haikus, and I couldn't think of a funny topic. I thought I'd write about gophers, who are my nemesises. So I did. The haikus sucked as far as humor goes. Although, a few people got some entertainment out of them. To those of you who commented, thank you for your warm comments. I appreciate them.Anyway, I mentioned in the Haikus that I anticipated I would

Jesus Wants the Rose--the Point of the Gospel

2009-04-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

I just watched this video on the Desiring God Blog. It's incredible.

That worship song that gets stuck in your head

2009-04-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've had a worship song that I really connected with. I think the last one was "Mighty to Save" in late 2007. I have liked a lot of other worship songs since then because I like what they say, but the connection has been more cerebral than emotional.Last year, Hillsong put out a CD with a song called "You Are Here (The Same Power)." They only played the bridge, and threw

Haiku Time...Just because

2009-03-30T22:05:00.001-07:00

Nothing worth bloggingPretty normal day todaySo I'll write HaikuFive, Seven, and FiveI like to do this sometimesExercise my mindExorcise some thoughtsGet the creativityand get me thinkingSometimes in collegeBefore writing a paperI would write HaikuIt would help me thinkIt helps the words start to flowClear, concise, just rightI like funny onesThese have been boring so farMy apologies_____________

Hammock

2009-03-29T22:31:00.001-07:00

I found out about this band called Hammock. They are an ambient ("shoegaze" is the real genre) band. The guy who wrote "God of Wonders" is one of the two guys in the band.They are fans of Sigur Ros and Jonsi from Sigur Ros is a huge fan of theirs. So they are good.And they are Christians. There is a new movement called "post-worship," which is based on "post-hardcore"/"post-rock" music used

Talking to Hippies about Jesus Part 5

2009-03-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

To read the first part of this story, read these other blogs:Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4On Tuesday morning, March 17, I woke up around 6:30. I usually get up around 8:30. I didn't fall asleep until about 2 the previous night, so needless to say, I didn't want to get up. I remembered that Jackson had planned on meeting me at church at 6:45 AM. But, I didn't actually get out of bed until around

Talking to Hippies about Jesus Part 4

2009-03-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been telling the story of Will and Kim. If you haven't read the previous parts of the story, you may want to check them outPart 1Part 2Part 3We left off at the end of the Young Adults' group. I asked people to put money in a small box that we could use to buy tire for these stranded travelers. As people filed out, Julie, Lauren, Josh Mello, and I stayed with Will and Kim and

God Provides: a lesson in perfect timing.

2009-03-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm losing my job at the print shop. I can't go into details yet, and I may not ever on this blog, but it looks like the very longest I will still be employed at the print shop is the end of May. Most likely it will be sooner. It's not based on my performance. It's not based on the economy really. It's based on my bosses' decision to do something else with their own lives and the fact that I

Talking to Hippies about Jesus Part 3

2009-03-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

It's taking me a lot longer to tell this story than I anticipated. A lot of other things are going on in my life so I'll have to interject some other blogs also.But as far as the story about Will and Kim goes, I think we were at the part where Josh Mello and I had just introduced ourselves.Will and Kim lived in Bolinas, which is in Marin County, and about halfway between Bodega Bay and Point

Talking to Hippies about Jesus Part 2

2009-03-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

On Monday nights, I usually get to church around 6:45 to finish setting up for Young Adults' Group. Julie makes the coffee and tea. I light the candles, put on some music, and grab whatever I forgot to get out of my office.At 6:30, we got a call from Chris, the youth pastor who lives in the parsonage, which is at the church. He said there was a couple whose van broke down. He said he couldn't

Talking to Hippies about Jesus Part 1

2009-03-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

I have a story to tell. I took place on a great day in March 2009.It was the day before Saint Patrick's Day. It was the day I met 2 hippies traveling to Mount Shasta. They had been in Marin County--in Bolinas.It was also the day I was supposed to lead a young adults' group through the parable of the Shrewd Manager in Luke 16. Originally, I was going to talk about that parable a few weeks

Christians Should be Politically Independent

2009-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

In my last blog, I wrote that Christians should love the Kingdom of God and serve whatever nation they are in.I've come to realize that most Christians have an inconsistent theology of politics.Perhaps the best way to explain this is to look at stereotypical Republican Evangelicalism.The theology behind the beliefs of the religious right looks like this:1. Abortion and Homosexuality are wrong

Don't love the USA, just serve it

2009-03-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier, I wrote a blog about Barack Obama's book The Audacity of Hope. Here's a follow-up containing more of my thoughts.The main thing I realized from reading The Audacity of Hope is that Christians should love the Kingdom of God, and serve the United States or whatever country they are in.I no longer believe in loving the USA.I am glad that I live here. You might say that I love it, but I'd

I read Obama's book...here's what I think

2009-03-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

I just read The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. He wrote the book in 2006, before he was running for President, and a few years after first being elected as a Senator. It was a really good book, and I'm glad I didn't read it before the election, or I probably would have bought an Obama sign, because his ideas as laid out in the book are consistent, and further developed than what he was able

Spring is here...at least in me

2009-03-12T21:29:00.001-07:00

The last days and weeks have re-energized me.There are challenges, but I can feel the rebirth.Today I was reflecting on my emotions and realized that my mood may be more affected by the Seasons than I realized.Which led me to think about the origins of Lent. Lent was started by European Churches. It is to be a season of not hearing God while searching for Him. It ends just around the time that

Further thoughts on New U2 songs: Magnificent

2009-03-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

I think I'll probably write a few blogs on my thoughts on what the heck Bono is talking about on the new U2 album. I've read some blogs by theologians and pastors, and they might be right. But they could be hoping that Bono views the world like they do, and misreading what he means. Here's my attempt.So far, my favorite song on the CD is "Magnificent." This song is the most overtly Christian

2 Ways God Speaks to Me

2009-03-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been in a season of wondering why I'm not hearing God's voice. I've gone through doubt. I've been in a place where I would question why I'm more concerned with getting people to mature in their walk with Christ while I wasn't believing much outside of my head. I wanted to see God as more than a system of belief.I know that there are seasons in our lives where faith is all we have

Injury of the month

2009-03-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hopefully this isn't actually my "Injury of the month," but my "Injury of the year." I tend to go through phases where I get hurt a lot, be it due to my own carelessness or something else.Last night, I was cutting some bread around 10 PM. I didn't want to have to do any dishes or clean anything up, so I was holding the bread over the sink to keep the crumbs off the counter. I sliced right

Creation vs. Evolution and the new U2 album

2009-03-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Julie and I were talking about how believing that God created the earth in 7 days isn't really that critical to your faith. And how I am completely fine with Christians who believe that God used evolution to make stuff, so long as you believe that God is a Creator.Even if you don't believe that God is Creator, I think you're probably still a Christian if you simply believe that Jesus

The Church--From Week to Week

2009-02-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

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

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

2009-02-27T21:59:00.001-08:00

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

The best picture I have ever taken

2009-02-23T01:48:00.001-08:00

(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

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

2009-02-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

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,

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

2009-02-21T00:38:00.000-08:00

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

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

2009-02-20T17:42:00.001-08:00

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

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

2009-02-18T17:04:00.000-08:00

Click to enlargeThis 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

I saw Lance Armstrong race today (picture included)

2009-02-15T21:56:00.001-08:00

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 WinnerToday 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

Mustard Seed: Part 1

2009-02-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

Click to enlargeThis 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

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

2009-02-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

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

Copying old blogs

2009-02-13T23:17:00.001-08:00

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

Solving Big Problems: Energy

2009-02-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

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

Onions and Mustard

2009-02-11T11:57:00.000-08:00

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

Haiku time with Josh

2009-02-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

Going to write haikuI preached yesterday morningNow I can't think straightHave to get readyYoung Adults' group is tonightHaving mental blockHaiku is so goodStarts the creativityFive-Seven-and-FiveI hope this helps someI need to get to work nowBetter 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

Best worship albums

2009-02-07T13:00:00.001-08:00

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

Tourette's Syndrome

2009-02-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

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

Phoenix

2009-01-30T17:59:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Phoenix yesterday. I was there for 4 days for the New Official Workers' Forum, which is for all the new licensed workers (mostly pastors) in the Christian and Missionary Alliance.The conference was good. There was a lot of leadership preparation and techniques that I was already familiar with, and since I grew up in the Alliance and went to an Alliance college, some of the

Tonsil Stones

2009-01-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: This blog might be a little gross, but it's not a funny blog. It's a medical blog (even if I'm no medical professional).I'm in Phoenix right now on my first business trip, sitting in my hotel room. For the last 10 or 15 years, I've occasionally gotten these hard BB-sized whitish-yellow-tan chunks that I will cough up. They usually stink a lot. I wasn't really sure where they came

Obama's weekly addresses

2009-01-24T20:33:00.001-08:00

I just watched Obama's first weekly address. Since FDR, presidents have been doing them on the radio. Obama is doing his on YouTube.It's about time our government caught up with society.And...congratulations, YouTube. You're classy, finally (sometimes).

Sick

2009-01-24T20:15:00.001-08:00

I'm sick. I've had 3 colds in 4 weeks. The second one started just as the first was ending. So, I was sick for 2 weeks in a row. I know they were separate because my doctor showed me a chart outlining when you get which symptoms during a cold. You can only get a fever at the beginning of a cold, and not as it is ending. So, I had these back-to-back colds, then got better.Then, for a week (

These Are Good Times

2009-01-20T23:31:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed the inauguration and surrounding festivities. Here are a few personal highlights:1. Rick Warren praying what he believed, but also verbally expressing why he prayed in Jesus' name during the prayer, and being very tactful in his treatment of faith & politics while still being true to the gospel of Jesus.1a. Rick Warren taking Billy Graham's mantle as the pastor to the presidents