Hi All!
This song has been in the forefront of my mind for over a month. The message is very convicting for me. This summer, I made it a point to understand what true leadership is. In the past year I had tried to gain positions leading various groups and organizations, but only succeeded in causing my heart much grief as I was denied all of them. Using these happenings as motivation, I sought a biblical standard of leadership. As I was very frustrated due to my apparent lack of progress this summer while driving home from the library, I heard this song. The words instantly convicted me of what I had become. All the leadership things I had done, were to fulfill personal desires, not to realize that God had plans for my life. I hope the message that impacted me so hard that day, not only continues through the rest of my life as a call to God and his plan, but also to you. We are not alone. Our Dad is right right there as we say, "Lead Me."
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Trip to Russia: Day 2: The Tournament
Day 2 began with an early morning. I could not sleep. I woke up at 3am and could not get back to sleep. So, making the best of the time, I took some pictures out of my window of Moscow.
3 am - Moscow
4am - Moscow
The bald headed, Vin Diesel look alike, is one of the leaders of our gaming clan. His name is Gomes. (Americanize it, don't pronounce it like you are supposed to.) He is Portuguese, a former member of the Portuguese army, and a veteran of the conflict in the Balkans. He is a great guy with a great accent.
Sadly to say, the horrible runaround and the "say one thing, do another" tendencies of the organizers, we had no chance to win the tournament. The Russians were given every advantage and swept the Championships in every category. Needless to say, it was not a good night. So I had a little Vodka to help ease the pain. :) Stay tuned for the finale: Day 3 - the trip to Kubinka.
4:30am - Moscow
The morning work began with a 2.5km walk through the streets of Moscow to the Venue of the tournament. The venue was used during the 1980 Moscow Olympics as the host of the fencing and weightlifting championships. The place was huge. It was much more than I expected for a tournament for a computer game that had been on the market for less than a year. I half expected a group of nerds in some guy's basement.
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| Our cold Breakfast of meat and cheese on bread, 2 danishes, and a few yogurt cups. Sadly, no spoons, forks, or plates were provided. doh! |
Inflate-a-tank!
Songs of the Month: Owl City
Hi Everyone!!!!!
Sorry that I have not been posting as regularly as I would like. I have had some personal things that I needed to deal with. But, now that school is starting, it is back to the grind!
For this update I will share with you the flavor of the month: Owl City! Owl City has two songs that I have consistently on repeat, Vanilla Twilight and Fireflies. ( I also recommend Galaxies.) The views of desire and child like hope are something that I both identify with and admire. Both of these songs are easy listening and move fairly quickly through the stories and chords. It is so much fun to watch the visuals that they have coupled with the songs. So, without further adieu, Owl City.
Sorry that I have not been posting as regularly as I would like. I have had some personal things that I needed to deal with. But, now that school is starting, it is back to the grind!
For this update I will share with you the flavor of the month: Owl City! Owl City has two songs that I have consistently on repeat, Vanilla Twilight and Fireflies. ( I also recommend Galaxies.) The views of desire and child like hope are something that I both identify with and admire. Both of these songs are easy listening and move fairly quickly through the stories and chords. It is so much fun to watch the visuals that they have coupled with the songs. So, without further adieu, Owl City.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Sleep and Weakness
Hi everyone!
As the title indicates, today's post is about sleep and weakness. Namely, however, my lack of sleep and newfound appreciation for weakness. Lately I've been having problems getting to sleep, averaging about 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night. I know this is not good, but at least I know I can operate through it, giving me a taste of reality for when the school year sets in.
With my time, I have been reading a new book. As some of you have heard Borders is going out of business, and I happened to pick up a new copy of Michael Horton's A Place for Weakness. This book has been shocking in its presentation of who Christian is supposed to be. Notice I said, who a Christian is supposed to be not what. Horton argues that many people today have misunderstood Christianity as a road to health wealth and happiness. The problem comes when these things are tossed into chaos. It argues that the solution to this problem is not an answer of "everything will turn out okay." But instead, he advocates for an answer of the gospel.
The gospel is such that it cannot be denied were shoved to the side. As many popular preachers would have us believe Christianity is not about what you get in this life. Christianity is about what life is. Christianity does not sugarcoat life Christ himself even says there will be struggles there will be hardships and there will be times of doubt. But our constant renewal of faith is a reminds us that he is sovereign. Life is not an amusement park jumping on one attraction finding a thrill. Then getting bored with that one and finding the next one. Our lives today are so impregnated with a drug culture mentality of highs and lows that many people view Christianity as something that will give them in eternal high without the reality of the low points in a person's life. In reality, God is so sovereign and universal that we see him not only in the high points, but especially in the low points of our life. We see him through both the blessings and the falterings in our lives. This universal mentality of God is a thing that I struggle with so much. It is easy to forget who got you to the point in your life that you're currently at. And it is all too easy to remember that God is supposed to care for you during the low points of your life. Yet instead of shaking our fists at God, we need to remember, like Job, "if there be for him and Angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man, what is right for him, and he is merciful to him, and says, "deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom; but his flesh become flush with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor"; then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness. He sings before men and says: "I Sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. He has regained my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light."" (Job 33:23 -- 28)
we must every day look with the confidence that Job has in chapter 19, where he exclaims, "oh that my words were written! Oh there were inscribed in the book! Oh that with an iron pan in the lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been us destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart feints with in me! If you say, 'How will we pursue him!' and, 'The root of the matter is found in him,' be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment."
Amen. Soli Deo Gloria
As the title indicates, today's post is about sleep and weakness. Namely, however, my lack of sleep and newfound appreciation for weakness. Lately I've been having problems getting to sleep, averaging about 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night. I know this is not good, but at least I know I can operate through it, giving me a taste of reality for when the school year sets in.
With my time, I have been reading a new book. As some of you have heard Borders is going out of business, and I happened to pick up a new copy of Michael Horton's A Place for Weakness. This book has been shocking in its presentation of who Christian is supposed to be. Notice I said, who a Christian is supposed to be not what. Horton argues that many people today have misunderstood Christianity as a road to health wealth and happiness. The problem comes when these things are tossed into chaos. It argues that the solution to this problem is not an answer of "everything will turn out okay." But instead, he advocates for an answer of the gospel.
The gospel is such that it cannot be denied were shoved to the side. As many popular preachers would have us believe Christianity is not about what you get in this life. Christianity is about what life is. Christianity does not sugarcoat life Christ himself even says there will be struggles there will be hardships and there will be times of doubt. But our constant renewal of faith is a reminds us that he is sovereign. Life is not an amusement park jumping on one attraction finding a thrill. Then getting bored with that one and finding the next one. Our lives today are so impregnated with a drug culture mentality of highs and lows that many people view Christianity as something that will give them in eternal high without the reality of the low points in a person's life. In reality, God is so sovereign and universal that we see him not only in the high points, but especially in the low points of our life. We see him through both the blessings and the falterings in our lives. This universal mentality of God is a thing that I struggle with so much. It is easy to forget who got you to the point in your life that you're currently at. And it is all too easy to remember that God is supposed to care for you during the low points of your life. Yet instead of shaking our fists at God, we need to remember, like Job, "if there be for him and Angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man, what is right for him, and he is merciful to him, and says, "deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom; but his flesh become flush with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor"; then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness. He sings before men and says: "I Sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. He has regained my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light."" (Job 33:23 -- 28)
we must every day look with the confidence that Job has in chapter 19, where he exclaims, "oh that my words were written! Oh there were inscribed in the book! Oh that with an iron pan in the lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been us destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart feints with in me! If you say, 'How will we pursue him!' and, 'The root of the matter is found in him,' be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment."
Amen. Soli Deo Gloria
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