• Archive of "Uncategorized" Category

    2 Days

    July 3, 2009 // 2 Comments »

    I am less than 48 hours away from being a married man.  We just finished the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  They couldn’t have been better.  In just a matter of hours people were descending on Davenport from all over the country, anxious to help get last minute things done, reconnecting with friends and family, and working on getting know new ones.  As we walked through the rehearsal I kept thinking, “I love how this is coming together.”  I would look around and see people that Amy and I have known from different seasons of life meeting and talking for the first time and I loved that see how Amy and I’s hope and dream of our wedding being about something bigger than just us was unfolding.

    Then, it was off to the rehearsal dinner.  It was stunning.  A semicircle room with an all glass outside wall with a picture-perfect view of the Mississippi River and Downtown Davenport.  The food was excellent, people were busy in conversations and greetings.  Amy and I got to distribute a bunch of gifts that we had tried to put some thought into for the people who are helping with the ceremony and such.  There was a time for some of our friends and family to toast us and I soaked it all in as though I were having an out of body experience.  Amy and I made small speeches and introduced a slideshow of our pictures from growing up and then together that a good friend who couldn’t be with us had put together.  As we finished, a major fireworks display began over the Mississippi for everyone to enjoy.  Stories were told and connections made throughout the evening.  We wound down and person after person commented on how beautiful and special the evening had been.  Amy and I commented to each other on just how lucky we are to share in so much love from all angles and all we could do was smile in in grace-washed humility.  I simply can’t wait for the fun to continue tomorrow.

    • Share/Bookmark

    Posted in Uncategorized

    Free Goodness

    June 6, 2008 // 1 Comment »

    OK mac lovers, here ya go. Some free goodness for ya.

    Dockdrop – this is a little thing that sits in your doc and when you drop a file or files on it, it uploads them to either an FTP site or flickr and then immeditely puts the URL to that file on your clipboard for easy sharing

    FLV2iTunes – another little thing that sits in your dock and when you drop a flv file on it, it gets converted to an mp4 and added to itunes, which is great when you use the next thing

    DownloadHelper – a firefox extension that will save youtube an other embedded videos as flv files

    PandoraBoy – Pandora is a sweet way to get introduced to and share new music with people, this will let you run Pandora w/o having a browser open

    FacebookSync – this little deal will import a bunch of stuff, pics, etc., from your Facebook friend list into your Address Book.

    PhotoBook – this is a handy-dandy (though pretty tough on system resources) little deal for perusing Facebook photo albums, looks like iphoto.

    Enjoy!

    • Share/Bookmark

    Posted in Uncategorized, mac

    Prophetic Speaking — Prophetic Action

    January 22, 2008 // 6 Comments »

    A friend posted this quote this morning and it got me thinking…

    Prophets yell because their hearts are on fire.  They scream at the world trying to wake us up.  They can’t help it  After all, God is in their throats.

    Steven James

    Having felt something of a prophetic bent in the way God has wired/gifted me, I was struck by the way, at times, I have decided to squelch this fire in my throat for the sake of sustaining relationships and trying to “be more loving” (as if not boldly proclaiming the message God has implanted in you could ever be loving??). 

    But as God has used prophets, God has never just given they fiery words to say, God has given them graphic symbols to display – walking around naked to display the shamefulness of God’s people, wearing an ox yoke to symbolize the burden God’s people were placing on others, marrying a prostitute as a way to convey God’s love of Israel the whore, and so on. 

    Jesus was a prophet too.  He came with a fiery (anti-empire) message in his throat and it got him killed.  He embodied a message as well, but not primarily one of judgment.  Rather, he embodied the message of the Kingdom of God come to earth.  He healed the sick, cast out demons, restored people to community and fellowship, sought to free people from the burden of wealth, and practiced radical inclusion and forgiveness.  These are not nice or quaint ideals or ways to exist, they are God’s salvation embodied. 

    Here’s what I know.  God uses prophetic voices as a means to correct and edify the body of Christ.  I also know that it’s that very church which is most resistant to their message, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how long I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Jesus – MT. 23:37). 

    Talk about your all time Catch-22’s.  So, this is my prayer for myself and those like me – looking to Jesus as our example, may God give us the grace to live out our calling with no regard for our own security and safety.  And for the people of God: Father, may you cause us to be open and attentive to your correction and calling.  May we, with Jesus, be willing to lay aside our rights and find our life in dying to ourselves.

    • Share/Bookmark

    Posted in God, Jesus, Uncategorized, blogging, church, community, decisions, friends, kingdom, prayer, prophets

    Derek Webb: The Ringing Bell

    April 10, 2007 // 4 Comments »

    When I first came across the album Mockingbird, Derek Webb instantly became one of my favorite musicians. At the beginning of May he will be releasing a new album, The Ringing Bell. You can pre-order it now and receive an instand download of the cd, which I would highly reccommend. I wanted to offer a sample in hopes that you’ll be inclined to support him as an artist as well as to give you a glimpse into the sort of things which are gripping my heart currently. Here ya go, have a listen, no stealing!

     

     
     This Too Shall Be Made Right: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

    • Share/Bookmark

    Posted in Uncategorized, justice, music

    My Brother the Graduate

    June 14, 2006 // 2 Comments »

    My younger brother, Alex, graduated from college this weekend.  It was so cool to be together with him, my mom and dad, my grandma, and even my cousin Beth and her boyfriend Kale. We all got down there on friday afternoon.  I got to play a softball game with Alex which was a whole lot of fun.                

    Sidenote – He told me to be there by 8 and I was running late from the word go, so I sped all the way there.  It was a miracle that I didn't get a ticket.  Then, when I got there, he was no where to be found.  I called and he said that the game actually started at 8:30.  He just wanted to make sure that I was there in time.  Ironically, he ended up being the one that showed up late.  He was to be the second batter and the car he was in pulled in at the same time that he was supposed to be up to bat.  He ran from the car, threw on his jersey, didn't even take one practice swing, stepped to the plate and crushed the very first pitch over the dcenter fielders head for a stand-up triple.  It was the kind of entrance that every athlete dreams of making. 

    We spent the rest of the evening packing up his apartment and loading cars with all his belongings.  Saturday morning went slowly and we went over to the convocation center, where his ceremony was to begin at 2 o'clock, at 1.  So, we had to sit there for an hour even before the 2-hour ceremony even began.  It was just as boring as every other graduation service I have ever gone to.  The address was good.  The gentleman who spoke talked of the need for the graduates to challenge the status-quo and to live in the world and not just their country.  He spoke of them using their education to contribute to the great needs of society.  It's funny to me that all he wouldhave needed to do was offer an invitationat the end of his address and it would have, in many settings anyway, counted as a Christian message or sermon.  I'm not quite sure what to do with that yet.  They said Alex's name, we clapped, met up with him, snapped a few pictures and were off to Alex's studio where we got to see where Alex spent the bulk of his time as well as his final project.

    Dinner was a scrumptuous and beautiful buffet (blog on buffets to follow) at a local hotel.  We snapped some more pictures after dinner and then everyone went their separate ways for a bit.  Mom, grandma, dad, and I went back to the hotel to relax for a bit, which, for me, meant a visit to the hot tub in the pool area.  Beth and her boyfriend went to see Katie's (my brothers girlfriend) new apartment, then they took off.  We all reconvened back over at Alex's apartment to get the stuff that was left and to clean it out.  Grandma and mom took over here and let me tell you that place was absolutely sparkling when they were finished with it.  It was amazing.  As soon as we were done, we were all off to bed.

    We all met at the hotel on Sunday morning for breakfast together.  From here, mom and grandma left for home and dad and I went over to Alex's studio to help him pack up and clean that out.  As soon as that was done, we set out for home.  We grabbed a bite to eat on the way and that was that.It was a great weekend. 

    I was reminded just how much I simultaneously love my family to death, and, after a while, am more than ready to say goodbye.  I wonder why families are like that.  I know the expereience isn't just mine, it seems like all my friends say the same thing.  We love our families, look forward to spending time with them, having conversations and doing things together, but our family members seem to get on our nerves quicker than anyone else.  Is it because we have higher expectations?  Maybe it has to do with the phenomenon of spending concentrated pockets of time together rather than prolonged, sporadic times?   I am sure that part of it has to do with established perceptions.  Members of families, based on those seasons of life when they lived together, have certain perceptions of one another.  Then, as one member of the family moves out and on, they inevitably change, they grow up and mature becoming, quite possibly, a very different person.  But when those members of families reunite, the old perceptions remain and there is a clash between who one is and who others perceive them to be.   This has to be, at least partially, what Jesus had in mind when he talked about prophets not being welcome in their home town.  How does one speak as a prophet to the same people who helped raise them, who disciplined them, and who knows their faults and failings?  Anyway, back to the point of the post – I love my brother.  I am very proud of him and extrmely anxious to see what the future holds for him.  He is home for a week or two and then he's off to live with some friends in New York City as he looks for a job.  His degree is in interior architecture and it sounds like he'd love to either be working on set/stage design or in an architechural firm, possibly working towards a masters degree in something design related.  That would be simply amazing.

    All the best to you Alex, your big brother's behind you and all your dreams.

    • Share/Bookmark

    Posted in Uncategorized, family, love

    Narrative Theology

    June 9, 2006 // No Comments »

    Narrative Theology: A Literature Review

    This quarter (which officailly ends today!) I have been doing a directed study with Dr. Ryan Bolger.  I have had a growing interest in the field of narrative theology (an ok definition) and am planning on doing my masters thesis with regard to this field (stay tuned for more info. on that).  However, before getting to that point, I though it would be a good idea to get a good undersanding of the main books and authors who have been primarily influential.  The link above is to my final project, a review of 8 books and their importance for the idea of narrative approaches to theology, specifically with regard to where I might be heading with my masters thesis.

    I'll try to write more on this topic later, but for now, enjoy!

    Related Posts with Thumbnails
    • Share/Bookmark

    Posted in Uncategorized