The Meeker's Christmas Party

You're invited to join us after Carols and Candles for dinner at our apartment! We’ll have a 20 pound turkey to share (courtesy of Brandi, she bought one a few weeks ago just hoping that she's have an opportunity to make it one day, so we thought this was a great time! We are fixin' up some of the fixins', and if you’ll do your best to bring some of your favorites to share, or something to drink, we'll have ourselves a new Christmas tradition: Tinsel and Turkey after Carols and Candles! You know you always go out to eat afterwards anyway - just come over here instead! Robert will get the background Christmas music rolling, we'll have some Christmas movies playing for the kids (or even the big kids, if you're one of THOSE) and maybe, just maybe...we'll even take in a good Charlie Brown-eseque reading of Luke 2?! Who knows what will happen...we just know that it won't be the same without you.

If you think that you’re coming, let us know so we can make sure to have enough cookies (and chairs!) for everyone and if you need directions, shoot us an email!

See you at Carols and Candles!

From Saint Augustines Confessions

X. xxii(32) Far be it from me, Lord, far from the heart of your servant who is making confession to you, far be it from me to think myself happy, whatever be the joy in which I take my delight. There is a delight which is given not to the wicked (Isa. 48:22), but to those who worship you for no reward save the joy that you yourself are to them. That is the authentic happy life, to set one's joy on you, grounded in you and caused by you. That is the real thing, and there is no other. Those who think that the happy life is found elsewhere, pursue another joy and not the true one. Nevertheless their will remains drawn towards some image of the true joy.


XII. x(10) May the truth, the light of my heart, not my darkness, speak to me. I slipped down into the dark and was plunged into obscurity. Yet from there, even from there I loved you. 'I erred and I remembered you' (Ps. 118:176). 'I heard your voice behind me'(Ezek. 3:12) calling me to return. And I could hardly hear because of the hubbub of people who know no peace. Now, see, I am returning hot and panting to your spring. Let no one stand in my path. Let me drink this and live by it. May I not be my own life. On my own resources I lived evilly. To myself I was death. In you I am recovering life. Speak to me, instruct me, I have put faith in your books. And their words are mysteries indeed.

Y'all! I Didn't Even KNOW!

Hey, I found out on Friday that my beloved AVHG no longer existed. In fact, it's been gone for months.

In it's place I find LGHG. It seems much like AVHG, but with dogs instead of cats.

I think Bob Sjogren would approve.

God's Grace

Just an update for those of you who were at homegroup last time. Thank you all for your prayers for the little girls in my school. Today, I was walking toward the front of the buliding and I saw the mother of the two girls that we prayed about. She was beaming, for the first time in a long time. I looked at her and immediately realized that she was taking her daughter home with her. I don't know the full outcome yet, but I know that she is at least able to have unsupervized visitation now. I hope to find out more details, but just thought that I would share that with you. The look of happiness on her face was unexplainable! Praise God, and thank you again for the prayers.

For Megan

Click here to listen to this wonderful song...

Please Call!

Hey, if you are planning to come tonight, please call me, so I can tell the trainer how many books we need!

Also, we need a VCR. Can anybody make that happen?

Thanks!

"I love you" was written on the blackboard.

Last night, Bob and I watched a Kurdish movie called Blackboards. The movie itself was simple enough, you can read about it here if you'd like. But that's not why I'm writing. I mentioned to Brandy last night that during our time of praying and fasting last week, I felt like God was showing me that I am not praying enough for these three things: 1) Bob and I, 2) our crew and 3) our people and Iraq. Last night during the movie, at the very end, there was a scene where the people were coming out of the mountains, from Iran into Iraq (returning home after being driven out because of Saddam's chemical attacks), and I was again reminded of how I KNOW that these are my people, and how last week's confirmation must so be true. I've shared this before, but here's part of the vision God showed me back that scene in the movie last night, I sobbed just a little, then quickly wiped the tears away, just knowing that this thing is for real.

*sigh* How beautiful that God lets us be a part of this with him.

And I felt like God spoke to me and said, "THESE are my people, and someday they will be your people, too."

What I saw next was thousands of dark skinned Muslims, a "people" sort of, but they were a country, too, because some of them carried a flag (only I could tell that they WEREN’T a country somehow…it didn’t make complete sense then)....not all necessarily dressed in the traditional Muslim garb, at the base of a green/grey mountain, tired and ragged from being sent their separate ways, and they were starting to come back together from all different directions. At the top of the mountain was Jesus, dressed in a brilliant white robe and gold sash, and as he came down the mountain towards them, he extended him arms towards them and when he did, he drew them closer and closer together. The closer he came down the mountain, the tighter they came together as a people. Then, he said, "You've heard it said, "When my mother and father and forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." No longer will you be forsaken. I will be your Father and you will never again be alone."

Volunteering?

It's official. ANyone interested in helping with the Family Partner Program through CRIS (the one we discussed at the last HomeGroup) should meet at my house this Thursday at 6:15 pm.

A representative from Comunity Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) will be here from 6:30 to 8:30 to train us all on how to help immigrants in our area. Here's what's involved again:

Basically a Family Partner Team is composed of 2 or 3 volunteers who work closely with a newly arrived refugee family. The volunteers meet at least once a week with the family for the first month. You would help with transportation, tutor in English, help them navigate our complex bus system, teach them about "junk" mail, take them to apply for library cards etc. The commitment is approximately 6 months and training is given to potential volunteers as is on going support

Additionally, it're really awesome that they are willing to come to us to train us. I can't think of another organization that would be willing to do that. To me it proves that this is a group willing to do whatever it takes to serve the community.

It's pretty sweet.

Buried

I didn't want the following post to go unnoticed, buried in all the Ramadan posts, so here it is again:

I'm enjoying the James discussion (or at least, I enjoyed the first week of discussion, and the recap of what we missed last week). I wondered, Craig, if you might be able to give us a heads up before each home group as to what chunk of scripture we're going to be looking at so we can look at it before home group? It might help those who are like me and like to have some time beforehand to let the scripture roll around in our hearts and minds and lives... (Not the questions or anything like that - just the address of the scriptures). What do you all think?

Sounds like a god idea to me, too.

The End of Ramadan: Eid ul-Fitr

Eid ul-Fitr is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. In the Philippines, the day is a national holiday in recognition of the importance of the event to our Muslim citizens. Fitr means "to break" and symbo-lizes the breaking of the fasting period and of all sinful habits.

On the day of the celebration, a typical Muslim family gets up very early and attends special prayers in mosques and in large open areas, stadiums, or arenas. The prayer is generally short, and is followed by a khutba. The festivities start after the prayer with visits to the homes of friends and relatives and thanking the Creator for all blessings. The first Eid was celebrated in 624 CE by the Prophet Muhammad with his companions and relatives after the victory of the Battle of Badr.

After a full month of Ramadan, a religious tradition of surrender and obedience to Allah where adult Muslims observe the difficult fasting from dawn-to-dusk fast, Eid ul-Fitr is indeed an important and joyful event with great religious significance. Muslims dress in holiday attire. After attending the special congregational prayer in the morning, worshippers greet and embrace each other in the spirit of peace, love, and brotherhood.

Eid ul-Fitr is a day of forgiveness, moral victory and peace, of congregation, fellowship, brotherhood, and unity. Muslims are not only celebrating the end of fasting, but are also thanking God for the help and strength that He gave them throughout the previous month to help them practice self-control.

Eid ul-Fitr is a time to come together as a community and to renew friendship and family ties. It is a time for peace as all Muslims in the world to devote the day to prayers for peace and wellbeing. We join our Muslim brethren in these prayers. May the peace of the One God be felt throughout the land.

Article "borrowed" from Tempo, the Philippines' fastest growing newspaper(!).

Prayer for Day 7

Today is the 30th and final day of Ramadan. The following is from the Mafatih Al Jinan, a Shia prayer almanac.

O God, on this day,
make my fasts worthy of appreciation and acceptance,
according to what pleases You, and pleases the Messenger,
the branches being strengthened by the roots,
for the sake of our leader, Muhammad, and his purified family.
Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

Prayer for Day 6 (A Little Late)

Today is the 29th day of Ramadan. The following is from the Mafatih Al Jinan, a Shia prayer almanac.

O God, on this day,
cover me with Your mercy,
grant me in it success and protection,
purify my heart from the darkness of false accusations,
O the Merciful to His believing servants.

Verses for Home Group

I'm enjoying the James discussion (or at least, I enjoyed the first week of discussion, and the recap of what we missed last week). I wondered, Craig, if you might be able to give us a heads up before each home group as to what chunk of scripture we're going to be looking at so we can look at it before home group? It might help those who are like me and like to have some time beforehand to let the scripture roll around in our hearts and minds and lives... (Not the questions or anything like that - just the address of the scriptures). What do you all think?

Prayer for Day 5

Today is the 28th day of Ramadan. The following is from the Mafatih Al Jinan, a Shia prayer almanac.

O God, on this day,
grant me a share in its nawafil (recommended prayers),
honor me by attending to my problems,
make closer the means to approach You, from all the means,
O One who is not preoccupied by the requests of the beseechers.

Prayer for Day 4

Today is the 27th day of Ramadan. The following is from the Mafatih Al Jinan, a Shia prayer almanac.

O Allah, on this day,
bestow on me the blessings of Laylatul Qadr,
change my affairs from being difficult to being easy,
accept my apologies,
and decrease for me my sins and burdens,
O the Compassionate with His righteous servants.

The Laylatul Qadr is the "Night of Power." The night when the Qur'an was revealed.

Prayer for Day 3

Today is the 26th day of Ramadan. The following is from the Mafatih Al Jinan, a Shia prayer almanac.

O God, on this day,
make my efforts worthy of appreciation,
and my sins forgiven, my deeds accepted,
my flaws concealed,
O the best of those who hear.

Prayer for Day 2

Today is the 25th day of Ramadan. The following is from the Mafatih Al Jinan, a Shia prayer almanac.

O God, on this day, make me among those who love Your friends, and hate Your enemies, following the way of Your last Prophet, O the Guardian of the hearts of the Prophets.

Prayer for the 1st Day

Today is the 24th day of Ramadan. The following is from the Mafatih Al Jinan, a Shia prayer almanac. Enjoy

O God I beseech you to make me do that which pleases you in this month. I take refuge with you from that for which you may treat me with contempt. I beseech you to arrange my life in such a manner that I obey you and never break or tamper with your laws, O He who liberally gives abundantly to the beseechers.

Here are some more interesting excerpts on the month of Ramadan:

• O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may ward off evil
• And men who fast and women who fast...Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward
• In this month you are guests of Allah, enjoying His hospitality, you are from among His favorites, your breathing is "Praise Allah," your sleep is His worship, your prayers receive His approval, your invocations are sanctioned.
• He who does not receive mercy and forgiveness in this month is really an ill-fated unfortunate, condemned to everlasting unhappiness and deprivation.
  

Cold Outside! Warm In Here!

This Friday, 6:30PM at our apartment, let's all get together! And, we'll keep it sort of simple... DON'T EAT before you come. We're having pizza (so bring a few bucks). Oh, and check out this recipe from Bread and Better, the restaurant downtown! Cinnamon Rolls! YUM! I figure with all of us here, we can't screw them up too much, eh!? They'll be a great treat at some point during the evening...And I even have the proper baking pan for these!

Blankets

At last homegroup, we talked about collecting and giving out blankets this winter. What if we also made them?

I found this opportunity at the Community Refugee and Immigrant Services (CRIS) Website:

Warm the head, hands and heart of a new
refugee with the gift of a fleece blanket! Use
your creativity and craftiness to make a
blanket that will provide a lot of comfort
during the cold winter months in Ohio

Rich Food

I saw a video tonight on fasting, and wanted to share it with the crew...BUT, I can't post it directly here. You have to go directly to the website, highwayvideo.com, click on visual illustrations, volume 18, and then the video Fasting. hahah...You know, for when you're just kicking around with nothing to do. Here's what that site will look like when you get there.


And then also, here's a site about fasting that gives some biblical references for when, how, and why we fast.

Global Prayer Digest

Are you looking for a way to pray for various people groups daily, but aren't sure who or where to start? Check out the Global Prayer Digest. I remember this from back in the day, but just stumbled back on it today. It will give you a short description on their site, but then also link you to the Joshua Project site, where there is a lot more technical information about that people group, which could give you a lot more to go on if you're really praying for those people. It's not just for Muslims, either (thought right this moment, it does happen to be in that cycle). :-)

Ramadan

Here are some links to learn about Ramadan:

Ramadan on the Net
Submission.org - An Islamic site with lots of info on Islam and Ramadan
FactMonster


I'll keep my eyes open for more, but, if you know of a good resource, please post it!

Imagine!

I went to one of the meetings at the church to learn about the Imagine! campaign this evening.

I was pleasantly surprised. To be honest I was a bit cynical going in. I mean, why would the church build a chapel to house foreign language services when we don't have any foreign language services going now?

Turns out that the chapel is three years away and that Tom is beginning to build relationships within the Spanish-speaking community.

Does anyone else have anything to say on the topic? Any worries, fears, criticisms, etc?

Wednesday night HG'S party at the ranch

This Friday (9/1/06) is the rescheduled rain date for the Wednesday night HG's party at the Pauquettes ranch. It is scheduled for 7pm and you are supposed to bring a dish to share as well as a lawn chair. If need be we can meet at the church and go to the cookout from there. Unless everyone already knows how to get there then we can meet at the party? I will try to get either Brandy or myself to call everyone to remind them.



Also please read the comment section on the last post. The post Megan (thank you Megan) put on there about Rebecca's B-Day. I would really like to see this happen for Rebecca. I don't think she really feels apart of the group and she is really making a effort to reach out so I hope we can be there to show her we do care for her.

?

So what happened Craig? How did it turn out with your family this week?

We're back

Team Nicaragua is home safe and we all have many stories to tell. While there was some trying things I have to say that the trip was a great success and the Lord really used this time to touch me and to help bring a little clearer vision into my calling. Just ask me one on one and I will share what I know so far. It's hard to pick out one or two highlights from a trip but I would have to say that there are two little boys who I will miss very much. Franklin (who everyone fell in love with and I think we should all pull our resources and adopt him) and Elieazar (who Robert knows very well I am told). I have a story about Elieazar. I was playing with him and he took me into his room so he could show me all his stuff and where he sleeps. While we were in the room a moth flew in and Elieazar got a broom for me and told me to knock it down. So I did but what follows might be the cutest/strangest thing I have ever seen. He picked up the moth and got into his closest and pulled out a toy motorcycle. He put the moth on the motorcycle and drove it around his room for awhile. He then took the moth and made a bed for it out of some sheets and a blanket and then he climbed onto his bunk and pulled down his stuffed Pluto and laid it by the moth.

I look forward to catching up with some of you and telling you all about the trip, or as much as you can stand to hear. Thanks for all your prayers and support and I am glad that home group went so well. It sounds like it was a great discussion. Thanks Gina for everything, you are awesome!

Good Times, Good Times

Last night's home group was very small - 5 - but we had great discussion. We talked about sacrifice and overflow: sacrifice leading to overflow of blessing, overflow of blessing leading to sacrifice.

I won't go into it here. Those of you in Nicaragua missed out. Gina did a really great job.

We are all anxiously awaiting the return of our friends (and family) from Central America, though. I can't wait to hear all of the fantastic stories you'll have to tell.

Tough decision

Hey group,


I wanted to update you on my Uncle that you have been praying for. This past Monday he wasn't breathing properly and the nursing home where he is at had to call the ambulance to take him to the hospital. After running some tests they have asked the family to make a decision. He failed the swallow test so he is unable to orally take in food. The Doctor told us last night that a feeding tube thru the nose was out of the question because he would just pull it out. So the only option would be to do a surgical procedure where they place a feeding tube thru his skin into his stomach. He would have to be fed thru that tube for the remainder of his life. They are still unsure if he had another stroke on Monday or if it was just his Kidneys failing to flush out the medication he is on and the nursing home over medicating him. Anyway, if he doesn't have the tube implanted he has no way of getting nourishment and he would end up dying. There is no way to tell how long he would have to endure this before the Lord took him home. This decision has to be made within the next few days and my Grandmother and my other uncle (his brother and sister) have to make that . As most of you know my grandmother is not in real good health either and this is really adversely affecting her as you can imagine. My heart is breaking for my Uncle. Last night he was in so much agony that he would just hollar out, "HELP ME, HELP ME LORD". You really can't make out most of what he is saying but this was unmistakable. He did calm down for a minute as I prayed with him and asked the Lord to carry this burden and relieve some of his pain. I then asked him to sing for me because he used to love to sing old hymns. He began to sing a old hymn that he would always sing at the nursing home , if it is possible I thought I saw a slight smile on his face thru all of that pain. Can you imagine being so thristy that you hollar out for help but there is no water to be found. Basically that is where he is at. Today they did swab out his mouth to clear away the dead skin and stuff. I at least have the peace of mind to know with absolute certainty that he will be with the Lord when he passes from this life to the next and for that I am grateful. Please keep him and my family in your prayers. We need the wisdom of God to make a decision that no one on earth should ever have to make. I watched what it did to my Dad as he and his brother and sister had to make that decision with my other grandmother. Please pray for God to intervene immediately. Thanks and God Bless.

Summer of Hospitality-Am I Hospitable?

The current series that Tom is doing at church has got me to thinking just how hospitable am I? A few months ago we went thru the whole spiritual gifting thing and at that time I found out that I scored low on areas such as hospitality, compassion and mercy. I joked then that I found out that I am not a very nice person. Really that series helped me to define my strengths and my weaknesses and helped me see more clearly just what type of person I am. Well for someone who scored low on Hospitality you must know that this current series has been quite a challenge for me. You look at Jesus' ministry and there is no way to avoid the fact that Jesus was hospitality epitomized. It got me to thinking how I could become more like Jesus in this area? I want to be more like Jesus in this area! I need to be more like Jesus in this area! But I don't want it to come out of a place of obligation to doing it. Because if it comes out of that place then I will not have joy in the midst of showing hospitality and it will show thru to those that I am trying to be hospitable to. Is it then really hospitality? I don't think so. So how do we as Christians move to a place of genuiness when we see a area we are lacking and feel a need to remedy that? For me it only happens by the grace of God and the move of the Holy Spirit in my life. For me it has started from this place of realizing that I am deficient in this area and that Jesus really wants to use me more and to stretch me in this area. I have also realized that the process has already started in me, long before I even sensed a need for change. Isn't God awesome!!! HE has already started the work of changing me into a more hospitable person. He has shown me just how far I have come and He has showed me a glimpse of how far I need to go. Just a couple of years ago I was so isolated from people and I refused to reach out to them unless and until they reached out to me. Let me tell you how well that worked out......it didn't, it led to me trying to fight spiritual battles all alone that I wasn't equipped to fight. It led to me being lonely and having the wrong thoughts in my head, it led to me having no outlet to blow off steam or to just have uninhibited play. So slowly the Holy Spirit changed my perception of things. He showed me first that I NEED people, that we ALL are built for relationships. He showed me that if I want others to reach out to me then I need to be willing to reach out to them first. He showed me to value people the way that God does and not for what they can add to your life in ways of upward mobility or popularity or whatever. You see just a few short years ago I would not have called people to ask are we getting together, or "can I come over", or I wouldn't even of accepted an invitation to a gathering if I didn't "feel like going". I am not saying that I have come all the way in this area but I am saying that I am on the journey and God has placed a group of wonderful friends in my life who will not allow me to revert back into my little hole. With that said I realize there is so many more areas of hospitality that I am very weak in, that I struggle with, and that, in all honesty, scare me. I have had a problem since the time I was very young of inviting people over to my house. I would always go over to thier house. Part of the problem had to do with being embarassed of our house. We didn't have the nice things or the new toys or whatever. Part of it had to do with the disfunction of my family. I won't get into that only to say that it was a little more then the normal disfunction. I have begun to realize that I am living as a 10 year old in this area. How can I be a mature Christian if I am living from a place of my childhood? So the thing that God has layed on my heart, with the help of a good friend, is that I need to be more willing to open my home up to people. If it starts just with my closest friends and then goes from there then so be it but it needs to happen. I know it won't happen overnight but I need to begin to take steps toward making that an area of strength instead of an area of weakness.




All of this to say that I would like to see some comments on this post. I want to put up a challenge. Above you have read one area that God has helped me to become more hospitable and one area where He is working on in my life. I would like to see the same from everyone. Please post a area of Hospitality that God has blessed you in and a area where you sense a need for change. Somehow just putting a voice behind it helps to bring it into reality and it helps to let others know where you are. We are built for relationships and God does want to use each of us to help others and He wants to use others to help us. This is a safe place for you to share.

Someone's Gotta Go First.

To get food, to cut the cake and to say that...

The cookout tonight at the Basinger's was fun. Good call, Craig.

So Did We Ever Tell You The One About...

A few months ago when our crew talked about "vision, calling, mission" and so on, and then also when you guys were asking me personally how I knew that I could go to that country and so on, I shared with you the ACTUAL vision that God had given me concerning the people group there. That was in college, and that's how I know I can go to that place. But there's more to my LIFE calling really...And this will help explain my OVERALL calling, the part that I usually shorten "to help equip believers for the work of the ministry." I've invited my friend Devan to pop in on this post because she was one of the founding schemers of this dream, though I don't know if she will say anything or not.

JC's Place: founded in my heart in 1995 and 96, when Devan and I were in high school. We used to sit around my house, her house, McDonald's, or go driving in our cars late at night just to talk about this "JC'S Place." We'd hang out at the computer lab to type up notes about it. Even after we both graduated, we'd furiously shoot emails back and forth from Tulsa (where ORU is) to Ft. Wayne (where Taylor is) to make sure that the dream of JC's Place was settled. I still have some of the more important ones, too.

What is JC's Place, you ask? Straight from the "JC's Place" manual sitting in front of me...(and I'm shortening this a bit for the post): to teach the Bible; to equip its members with the tools necessary for the work of the ministry, including but not limited to prayer, fasting, giving, the traits of 1 Tim. 3:10-13, and Eph. 4v11-16, the gifts of the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit; and to provide opportunities to excercise what they have learned both within the ministry of JC's Place itself, in the surrounding community and in all the world.

Where is JC's Place? JC's base is in the US. All initial training takes place here. After training, members are free to continue in the US or to go to another country. After sending out of the member, other bases could then be formed.

How long is the commitment to JC's Place? Pre-acceptance training last for a period of two months. The internship last for one year. After that year expires, members are invited to become elders and are free to go where the Lord leads them long term.

Where does the actual training take place? Where do members live during training?
Interns and elders are lodges at the facility of JC's Place. Members are expected to maintain an attititude of discipline, love and respect despite the fact that their home is their school AND place of ministry. Members are expected to pay for various expenses during their stay. These costs are to maintain the home, buildings and ministries of JC's Place. Once accepted, JC's elders will assist its members in fundraising and working to earn those costs.

Will interns have free time or time to pursue activities other than those involved with JC's Place? JC's Place will require the amoutn of time needed to be a college student who works a job. Many evenings will be free and schedules are flexible. We recognize the perils of a closed group setting and will work to avoid and problem this will create. Anyway, this is not all work, it's a lot of fun, too!

What will we do?
YOU'LL LOVE GOD

Pray.

Complete a ten month study of the Bible, four months OT, six months NT.

Create five original Bible studies every two weeks.

Attend all in house Bible studies, prayer meetings or staff meetings.

Memorize required scriptures.
YOU'LL LOVE OTHERS

Plan and participate in at least four service projects a month (some maybe ongoing projects).

Be actively involved in a local church.

Participate in at least three JC's Conferences while at JC's Place (these are youth outreaches in the local schools).

If you are based in the US, complete at least one foreign mission trip during your year stay.
_____________________________________________

Now here's the thing guys. Some of you read that and you think, "Big deal. That sounds like every internship program or mission organization I've heard of." That's all well and good, except we'd never heard of those programs. We didn't know about raising your own support for an internship - we thought, "Well this thing is going to cost money? Guess we'll have to help them raise it." We were making it up as we went along. We really felt like God was giving us a picture of something that we were to be involved with and to build at some point in the future, and it was unfolding on paper right before us. We ended up taking it to Pastor Brad one day (we were SOOOO nervous). It was like taking our entire lives' dreams to our Pastor ( CRAIG - can you imagine)!? You know what he said? "Yeah. Huh. REEEEALLLLY??? That's great. It already exist." We kind of looked at each other and then at him like, "NO you must not understand what we're trying to say here." HAHA...it was great confirmation that we were on the right track.

Anyway, all of that to say, I know what's in my heart with JC's Place, and the HEART of it...and I feel like it fits with the organization that sends people to that country to which we'd be going back eventually, and the work we'd be doing there as long termers. It's funny how the dreams that God places in our hearts years and years ago wriggle their way into fruition in ways that you might never expect, because they don't LOOK like what you were expecting. But they're there, just as clear as day...

Play at the Park?

Hi guys! I was wondering if anyone might like to go to a play at Schiller Park this Thursday, Friday or Saturday (if the weather is permitting). The play starts at 8PM, and is free. We could maybe pack some ham sandwiches and chips and pop? Here's a summary of the play. It looks to be humorous. (though isn't this also the beginning of the "weekend o' fireworks?"). Ah well...if anyone is interested, here's the plot summary!

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is a parody of the plays written by William Shakespeare with all of them being performed (in shortened form) during the show. The play is unique in that only three actors are involved in it. Typically, the actors use their real names and play themselves rather than certain characters. The fourth wall is nonexistent in the performance with the actors speaking directly to the audience during much of the play, and some scenes involve audience participation. The director and stage crew also may be directly involved in the performance and become characters themselves.

The script was published in 1994 and contains many humorous footnotes on the text that are often not included in the performance. However, improv plays a heavy role and it is normal for the actors to deviate from the script and have spontaneous conversations about the material to each other or to the audience. It is also common for them to make references to pop culture or to talk about local people and places in the area where performance is done. As a result, each performance can be vastly different from another, even with the same cast.

Plot summary
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The three actors first introduce themselves to the audience and begin with a parody of Romeo and Juliet. Next, they do a parody of Titus Andronicus, portraying it as a cooking show. Following it is Othello, which is done through a rap song. The rest of the first act demonstrates most of the other plays with all of the comedies being combined into one convoluted reading and all of the histories being acted out through an American football game. At the end of the act, the characters are about to finish when they realize that they forgot to perform Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest work. One of the actors becomes nervous about this and runs out of the theater with another actor chasing him. The final actor is left to entertain the audience by himself, which he does by telling jokes and calling for the intermission.

After the intermission, the two actors who left return, with the nervous one being convinced to do the performance. The entire second act is the performance of Hamlet. The audience gets involved during this segment when one audience member (sometimes, but not always, someone that has been planted by the director) is asked to portray Ophelia. The rest of the audience makes up Ophelia's subconscious, with three sections that each represent her ego, superego, and id. After the portrayal of Hamlet is over, the actors play it out several more times, each one faster than the last. They finish by performing it in reverse and saying goodbye to the audience.

So I got to thinking

It has been awhile since I actually posted a real post. The reason for that is that I really don't have anything to say and I haven't really wanted to write. Every so often I get in this state of mind that has me not wanting to have anything to do with thinking or learning or anything. For those that know me I love to read and I usually read a lot. To put into perspective just what this funk is like, I have been on the same book for over a month now. I have actually forgotten what the beginning of the book was about. Will I go back and reread it? Probably not. I will just finish it off at some point and hope that the information is floating around somewhere in the vast expanse that is my brain. Some may say that maybe the book is not interesting? I don't think that is the problem at all, while the book is not what I would consider a must read or a page turner it does deal with something that I tend to be passionate about and has a lot of good facts and insight that will be very helpfull in the future. Well, enough about my lack of reading and onto more important things. So I got to thinking...... why am I like this? Is anyone else like this? You see I think I go full out for weeks or months and I tend to fry my mind, and it takes some time to cool down enough to be able to start putting things back into it. It reminds me of a radiator cap on a car. You all know what I am talking about. Your car starts to overheat and steam comes rolling out of the radiator cap but you know (or at least you should know or you shouldn't be driving) that you shouldn't open it right away or the pressure from the radiator might send boiling water all over and you might get seriously injured. Now I know some die hard car guys and gals will tell me that the caps that they put on cars nowadays have a pressure release seal. Well you go ahead and open it right away I will wait a few minutes, Thank You very much. Once the pressure is released and the water has cooled to a less threatening level then you can start investigating what the problem is. I think I am de-pressurizing as I speak. Life is changing so fast yet not changing at all. What I mean by that is that I can see some things in motion in my life that will come to fullness sometime in the future but back here on June 19th, 2006 life goes on at what seems like a snails pace and nothing much happens. All I want is some nugget to hold onto now of a future occurence that will give me aim and focus.I want something tangible, something I can put my hands on and grab ahold of. Something fresh and new. The same ole thing has gotten pretty boring and tired and somehow all the promises of a better day have blended into the old routine of life and it feels like I have been down this road before. I hate going down the same road all the time. I am a restless person. For example as most of you know I live on the East side of C-Bus and our church and my friends all hang out on the West side of the aforementioned city. I come out there alot and on my way back home I usually go different routes. I get bored taking 270 all the time so I switch to 70E but after a time or two it gets boring so I take 670E (I love the view of the Columbus skyline from 670 at night), even this gets boring after awhile so if I have enough time I will take Broad Street or 104, etc.etc.etc.. So I guess my point is that I would like to see something new and fresh and make it a surprise please! Does anyone else have these feelings or is it time for me to seek professional help?

This is a post from Brandy Shrader, via Angie's computer.

(Brandy's pictures)

I went to the Franklin Park Conservatory. Would anyone like to go? I have a pass and it would be free.

Let us see if she knows what she is talking about?

While reading a Blog of a certain friend who is also a member of this blog I came across a post that I am having trouble believing. In this post this person wrote that people are reading the blogs and they often ask her why people have quit writing. She assures us that people are reading even though they may not be commenting. So I want to put this to the test and I need ALL of the so called "readers" help. If you do read this blog just let us know by posting a simpe comment. It doesn't have to be witty or deep or spiritual or anything. You can just simply say "I was here" and leave it at that. I personally believe that not many people are reading the blogs or at least this blog but I want to be wrong. Unfortunately I believe this little test will prove the writer of a certain other blog to be wrong.

Update on the Crazy One.

Cristi got the job here in Columbus. She'll be back this way come September.

Stealing the Good Life

Does anyone have the "Stealing the Good Life" series?

Are you crazy or what?

It's 2:30 am on Thursday morning and I am sitting at a computer typing this message. So if by chance the ramblings of a mad man become unintelligable just chalk it up to sleep deprivation. As I sit here writing out this message I wonder how many others are out there in the wonderfull world of Blog that just can't sleep? Why is it that I felt compelled to turn on the computer and write down my thoughts? Maybe because the rerun of the Fresh Prince that is showing isn't so "fresh" or the Sanford and Sons' show is just not as funny at 2:30 am as it was at 12:30am. I hear the minds the first thing that begins to go but do you really recognize it when it happens? Sleeping has begun to be a sort of game that I play. I try to trick my mind into believing that I want to sleep, I do this by doing my usual routine which includes the normal stuff like changing into your night clothes, brushing your teeth, I let my dog out and I go take out my contacts (this is so I can't see all the neat things going on around me). Blindness is a sure way to trick your mind into thinking that there is nothing better out there to be doing rather then sleeping. Then I do the one thing all the so called "sleep experts" tell you to do. "Clear your mind of all thoughts" they say, "let your mind wander off into dream land" they say. Well really, who are they kidding? The thought of clearing your mind of "all thoughts" is kind of counter productive. I keep thinking, "well if I am thinking about not thinking then I am thinking". As far as this dream land business I am wondering what kind of dreams I will have and wouldn't it be neat if we could just dial up the dreams we want to have, instead of rolling the dice and falling to sleep. It's all a crap shoot! I could get one of those dreams where I am falling off a building and I wake up the instant I hit the ground (or I suppose I hit the ground), those are horrible, in fact I run the risk of death, either mine by hitting my head on the night stand as I unwittingly act out my dream or the death of my dog as I do a suplex off the bed onto the unsuspecting black lab at the foot of my bed. So back to my story....after I have done all the "right" things and I should be prepared to lay my head down for a long winters nap..err, spring nap, my mind begins playing it's own little game. It begins by saying, "I can't wait to lay my head down, it's going to feel so good, I am sooooo tired, doesn't this bed feel comfy, I will be asleep any minute". Enter the parade of nations!!! As every conceivable thought, idea, plan, hope and dream goes racing thru my mind. I fight a good fight, I say "I will not let this happen, I want to sleep and I will not think about anything, I will clear my mind of "all thoughts" (see above). Right then and there the fight is lost, only mother nature can overpower the evil genius that is my mind. So for those of you that may encounter the zombie that is Craig tomorrow beware and be warned that hidden beneath that quiet facade, that seemingly gentle nature, is the mind of a evil genius. Plotting the destruction of all bodies who would be so inclined as to think that they might sleep.



AHHH to sleep, oh sweet sleep, why do you elude me? Where have you run to? Oh the agony of longing for something you know you will never have. Sleep I knew thee once but now you seem as distant as the stars in the skies. Just a distant memory of days gone bye, of a better time and place. A time when neighbors gathered on the front porches to visit neighbors as everyone sipped thier fresh squeezed lemonade and pa picked his banjer. SLEEP,SLEEP MY KINGDOM FOR SOME SLEEP!!! Oh do not tarry sleep, come quickly to your humble servant.

Empty Shells

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Bcause it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


One of my favorite poems for all and ...

EMPTY SHELLS
Leaving one life is beginning another,
They go together like days and nights,
like the roots of a tree and its fruits,
like empty shells
in the steel blue sands of twilight
when the near-full moon casts an eye
and a vagrant tide washes the soles
of my feet.

Leave softly, but leave -
then will you be complete
as you touch and receive
the rising moments
in their unabashed splendour -
and allow all fear in your heart
to dissolve forever.

Are we not then like these
tudong shells
that gather on the beaches
buffeted on the waves,
polished and refined in the depths?

Wandering the vast seas
we arrive, yes
we arrive in one majestic
breath on the shores
of freedom,
to cease at last, to rest,
smiling jewels
discretely reflecting
the unnameable Silence.
- Ayya Medhanandi October, 2003


Dear friends do not think that it is easy for me to leave. I have had to do a lot of leaving recently but travel is as much a part of me as breathing and I seem destined to go. I have found something unique here, something not to be expected in such a sort time as I have been here. I really find it hard to say what it is, to describe our life here and I know that my leaving changes that in some small way.(ok fine so I know it is a really small way, dont rub it in!!). Yet as I leave in body, dear dear friends,know that I do not leave in mind, or in heart (or sarcastic wit!! Brandy will keep up the bar I am sure). Please keep me in your hearts and dont let me get away with forgetting you, make me toe the line!!! Praying to make it back soon, all my love, Cristi (promise I am still not crying, no really I promise!!)

One last word from David

Psalm 16: 5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

Party at the Pauquette's!!!

Clear your schedules for Friday June 2nd at 7:30 pm. Tom and Karen have invited all Wednesday night home groups to a evening of food, fun and a bon fire. Everyone in your family is invited. Bring a lawn chair and a dish, all the drinks and eating utensils will be provided. I hope all of you will make it to this fun evening. It's a chance to get together and hang out with others from the church. Kind of a mini-family reunion.. If you have any questions please let me know. I will mention this at home group on Wednesday for those without the internet, if I should forget please remind me, we want everyone to have the opportunity to come out and enjoy the fellowship.

7 Things...All Day Every Day

I was thinking in the middle of Saturday night service that Tom should send an email reminder to the church to do their lists of "7 Things To Do, All Day Every Day." He won't, but he should.

But I can. So here's your reminder. Maybe if you're brave, you'll post it as a comment even. In an attempt to gain control of the "CHAIROTICA" of your life, if you had to do only seven things a day, every day for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Also, another question for you guys and gals... Tom said in his message this weekend that the four parts to a godly Sabbath were (let's see if I can remember this without the notes in front of me, so I'm totally paraphrasing)...

1. worship (through music??)
2. contemplation and comparison of the Lord's greatness??
3. uninhibited play (that's really the one I remember)
4. uh...considering areas of growth and flourishing?

In order to ask the next question, someone will need to help me clarify those four areas... but...

which of those four areas do you need to rest in more often on your Sabbath? Which is the easiest for you? AND WHY? is there something we can do to help? is there something we're doing to get in the way? How goes your Sabbath these days?

Why You Should Plant A Church

Below is the first part of an article I read tonight that I thought you guys might like. The rest of the article can be found by following the link at the bottom of the quote. This is about "church planting," but of course, "church planting" can apply here in the states, abroad, but ALSO...I want to challenge everyone to read the article think of themselves as THE CHURCH...because in reality...we are ALL church planters, aren't we? In everything we do, we plant the Church. Now don't get me wrong, I also love this article for what it means to say - actually planting fellowships...but fellowships don't always have to look like what we think they have to look like, and if that's true, then all it takes is believers like you and I to start that...so here's why YOU and I should plant a church.

In the early days of our church planting adventure I spent some time seeking out other church planters, hoping for some wisdom and encouragement. Man, did I get a wake up call.

There seem to be two distinct schools of thought in the church planting community. The first is “This is hard. Are you sure you want to do this? You don’t look like you’ve got what it takes… I’m not so sure you should do this! Have you prayed about it?”

Gee… thanks.

The second school of thought starts off sounding much like the first, but then takes a dramatic turn: “This is hard. What do you need? How can I help you? Man, what an adventure! Let me pray for you.”

Do you hear the difference?

The sad truth is I heard a whole lot more of the first than I did of the second. To be honest, it was discouraging to hear such defeatist talk from those on the front lines of the revitalization and renewal of the church: church planters themselves.

*I KNOW I CAN DO IT... IT'S YOU I'M NOT SO SURE ABOUT*

Let’s just put it out there. You have to be a certain type of personality to jump ship from the institution, the known, the safe and head off into the uncharted waters of church planting. It’s not for everyone… and for the A-type personalities who often make up the ranks of those who have jumped, those who are sailing those uncharted waters, when we see others getting ready to do the same, a common first impulse may be to wonder who they think they are… don’t they know that this church planting thing is for the few, the proud, the best of the best? And since we’re doing this different, emergent-type thing… we really don’t need more competition, do we?

Better to weed out the weak.

Click here to continue reading "Why You Should Plant A Church..."

A Fine Bottle of Champagne.

(Craig - Cristi is having trouble actually posting as a contributor - can you take a look at that??)

This post is from Cristi all. She saw this article this week and wanted to share it with you before she left for her interview on Monday. Enjoy.

People's opinions are not generally formed or controlled by arguments or reasonings, as they fondly suppose. They are imbibed by sympathy from those whom they like or love, and who are, or have been, their associates. Thus people, when they arrive at maturity, adhere in the main to the associations, both in religion and in politics, in which they have been brought up, from the influence of sympathy with those whom they love. They believe in this or that doctrine or system, not because they have been convinced by proof, but chiefly because those whom they love believe in them. On religious questions the arguments are presented to them, it is true, while they are young, in catechisms and in other forms of religious instruction, and in politics by the conversations which they overhear; but it is a mistake to suppose that arguments thus offered have any material effect as processes of ratiocination in producing any logical conviction upon their minds. An English boy is Whig or Tory because his father, and his brothers, and his uncles are Whigs or Tories. He may, indeed, have many arguments at his command with which to maintain his opinions, but it is not the force of the arguments that has convinced him, nor do they have any force as a means of convincing the other boys to whom he offers them. _They_ are controlled by their sympathies, as he is by his. But if he is a popular boy, and makes himself a favorite among his companions, the very fact that he is of this or that party will have more effect upon the other boys than the most logical and conclusive trains of reasoning that can be conceived.



So it is with the religious and political differences in this and in every other country. Every one's opinions--or rather the opinion of people in general, for of course there are many individual exceptions--are formed from sympathy with those with whom in mind and heart they have been in friendly communication during their years of childhood and youth. And even in those cases where persons change their religious opinions in adult age,the explanation of the mystery is generally to be found, not in seeking for the _argument that convinced them_, but for the _person that led them_, in the accomplishment of the change. For such changes can very often, and perhaps generally, be traced to some person or persons whose influence over them, if carefully scrutinized, would be found to consist really not in the force of the arguments they offered, but in the magic power of a silent and perhaps unconscious sympathy. The way, therefore, to convert people to our ideas and opinions is to make them like us or love us, and then to avoid arguing with them, but simply let them perceive what our ideas and opinions are.

Time to rally the prayer team...

Group,


As I was praying yesterday afternoon I recalled a time a few weeks back where I really felt that our little community was going to face a time of trials and where the world was going to come against us. This feeling has been a persistent one for a long time now and I think we are seeing the evidence of that continue to grow. I don't want to be an alarmist or to make a mountain out of a mole hill but.... the evidence is there. In order for our community to thrive we must be willing to weather these storms together and fight the urge to turn inward. I know personally I am fighting that urge. There is a lot of personal hardships that have hit numerous people in this fellowship and a lot of doubt has crept in. Please do not get me wrong. This is a very strong community and nothing is crumbling or falling apart. But I get a overwhelming sense that NOW is the time to pray. Now is the time to come along side each other and say I am here with you in this!!!


There is a lot of changes that are in store for our group. A lot of things that the enemy doesn't want to see happen. There are tremendously strong Christians within this group and the enemy would like nothing better then to drive us apart. People are dealing with a lot of issues right now and are hurting. This group IS the body of Christ. I see many people in this group praying at work and praying for others at thier work, I see missionaries in two countries taking ground from Satan, I see people stepping outside thier comfort zones and being obedient to what God has called them to do. This group of believers are the body of Christ! So as the body I am asking that you would post a prayer on this Blog for the group, for a individual or however you feel led. Speak from your heart, encourage one another as you yourself have been encouraged.

Many Thanks...

I hear that you all have taken great care of my sister in the wake of her job loss.

Thank you all so much for your kindness. It's hard to be so far away when someone you love gets bad news like that, so it's good to know that you are all there for her and that you'll buy her favorite ice cream in my absence.

You truly are the Body of Christ!

From the Church At Grove City...

To the Church in IQ... Here's a link to what we did tonight. I'm emailing Robert right now, too...so hopefully he'll get it in the next day or so. Like I said tonight, I found out today that they've been crazy busy in the latter part of this past week, so I'm not sure when he'll get it.

One of the cool things I remember about when I first met all of you is hearing you all talk about being the crew that would encourage the workers in our church...it's neat to see that you really are that. Thanks for making this happen tonight, even if it's not our normal rowdy get together. I promise - all the drinking, licking, selling of goods, and scatting (if that's a word??) will resume next time we gather! Love ya guys! Have a great week! haha...

The truth is stranger than fiction.

Brandy thinking "What? When do I ever tell the truth?"


Craig taking a look at the glass on the other side of the Steak N Shake to see if it's any cleaner than the glass near our table...if so, it just might be worth taking a stroll over there to take a tasty lick.

Creepy.

Fortune cookies say "People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”

The Sacred-Secular Dichotmy

or "Conversations at Dairy Queen Revisted."

Here's an article I read today out of Relevant Magazine, I thought you guys might find a quick and interesting read (part of me likes this article - part of me thinks it's kind of flaky, but overall I think it furthers the conversation we were having at DQ). I pasted it below so you don't have to go offsite to read the whole thing - sorry to take up the whole page with it though!

There is a difference between observation and inhalation.

When a person observes something, they watch or see. It involves looking and bearing witness to an event. Inhalation is another matter; it is the essence of life. It is the rendering of passion and the breadth and scope of synergized being.

There is a difference between missions and holistic Christianity; as a matter of fact, I propose that the word "missions"—when used in a certain sense—does not represent a fully biblical idea. The word (and sadly the idea that is associated with it at times) implies a beginning and a conclusion. There is a focused effort on an objective and a target. There is strategy and a plan—we will “win souls.” Do you ever wonder why Christians sound so militant? I guess that’s a whole other story. I understand the concept of mission, and I don’t get too hung up when the word is used because largely the intention behind the said user is noble and genuine.


I propose a simple idea … holistic Christianity. Rather than falling into the lie that has been perpetrated since the first century—the lie that says that there is a spiritual world and a secular world—we should take another look at Jesus’ words in Matthew when he mandated the disciples to “go and make disciple of all nations.” What does this truly entail? How is an entire nation discipled?

When the followers of Jesus heard this, it made perfect sense; it wasn’t befuddling at all, but likely very encouraging. They thought back to the only nation that had been ultimately discipled by God: Israel.

When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, they were a virgin nation. They were exposed to every element that existed. They were laid bare and had no way to live. The law given to Moses, by God, was not just for the Israelites spiritual survival. The law encompassed rules for war and the environment. It addressed health care and education, mass media and communication. The law gave instruction for government and the ethical treatment of the poor. Justice was covered. Business and economics … not a problem! Discipling nations means becoming involved in every aspect of a society’s culture. Inhalation over observation.

Holistic Christianity is nothing more than simple obedience to God. It means that you are true to the gifts that He has endowed you with. There is no secular arena from which we, as followers of Jesus are exempt or restricted form entering. The word secular means "without God," and there is no place on this planet that God cannot operate. We are not to go on missions; we are to live and exist. We are to love God and others with all of our heart, souls, mind and strength. This validates every aspect of an individual … God, himself, tells us that we are to use the very gifts He has given.

Being a friend to others who believe differently is essential. Do you value converts over conversation? Are you a confidant with ulterior motives? Or can you simply be a pal? Christians are so quick to become enraged with the state of the world. Many blow gaskets due to the inordinate number of people who “smoke, drink, cuss and chew.” Here’s a tip that makes life a whole lot easier: Do not expect people who are not Christians to live as Christians.

If a person has chosen not to live their life by the teachings of Jesus, then how should they live? And how should you treat them? Jesus treated people with dignity and respect. If you are unhappy with the state of the union, then do something about besides complaining. Get involved with politics or education. Become a writer (hopefully better than this rambling one) or a business owner. For Christ’s sake (literally) do something, anything. Just don't whine about how bad things are "out there."

There is nothing more spiritual than obeying God. Period. Whether you are a pastor or a plumber, just be obedient. Don’t fall into the lie that there are certain occupations that are more spiritual than others.

Please, inhale life. Don’t just watch it pass you by.

Quote..

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Nelson Mandela

I post this because it relates to Megan's post. Be sure to read what Megan's written and comment on it. I think she's addressing something very important!

Yoo Hoo...Over Here...

Hey...when you hooligans get done taking shots at one another in the comments section of that last post, you should check out that blog I mentioned at DQ tonight. And for those who weren't there and are wondering where that link will take you...you know how we have a friend who's visiting another country? I found a random blog of a guy who is also visiting that same country, for a similar general calling, only he's teaching humanities at an elementary school...and he writes with a lot more detail than our friend can because he was ASKED to open teach from a Christian worldview...He has the same great sense of humor and wit that our friend does...(I mean, I AM biased a little about our friend, I know...) but anyway... for those who are interested in reading more about the life and times of where our friend is, this blog might have something for you. Pictures, too, btw.

Edited on later... Only when I first wrong this post - I didn't know where this guy was in that country, and I certainly didn't expect that he'd be in the same city as our friend...let alone that our friend would KNOW him, or that our friend would have actually hung out with this fella! Strange, huh?

Good Friday: The Lion, The Witch, The Wardrobe

Hi everyone - I'd like to invite you all over to the apartment after the Good Friday service to watch the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Maybe if each person could pick one one of the following items to bring, we'd even have a meal:

one oven-baked pizza (we already have one cheese pizza)
two two liters of pop
a dessert to share
a salad
a bag of chips or two

I just thought it would be really cool to check out that movie together after the service (even thought all of you have seen it already! :-(....

Oh...listen to this. Allanah Coker was in the office yesterday, and she came up to me and said, "I watch the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this weekend, and my daddy told me a secret about it, and said that I should tell everyone the secret. Do you wanna know the secret?" At this point, I was actually interested, so I said, "There's a SECRET in that movie? What is it?" She said, "All of the big, scary monsters that shave the lion - you know, the really scary mean ones?! They're like Satan and all of the bad angels. And the lion and all of his friends? The lion is like Jesus and all of the good angels. THAT'S the secret!" Yup. Leave it up to Jason to teach his kids to share the gospel through movies at age 5.

Once In A Lifetime

On Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

That won't ever happen again. You may now return to your regularly schedule life.

Where is everyone???

I see my post on 1 Samuel 16:7 went over very well. I don't know how I will ever digest everything written. Ok, I see participation has waned over the last month or two and I am putting out an official call to all members!!! I would like to see a post or comment on here from everyone telling the group how life is going for them. How the 40 days of Mercy have gone or any stories of encouragement you might have. Basically I just want you to let everyone else know how we can be praying/supporting you in your walk.


On a personal note. I have had to move out of my apartment and my number is no longer valid.My new number is 614-235-8973 and my new address is 4475 Broadhurst Dr. Whitehal, Oh 43213. I have a cell phone number but it is a pay as you go (614-599-0673). My story is that I know without a doubt that everything I have been going thru the last 8 months is serving a greater purpose. Including having to move out of my apartment and back into my Dads house rooming with my brother. (My Dad doesn't stay here, just my brother). I hope to have some news on my next step towards my calling this summer. I have to believe that the changes my life is going thru is working toward that goal.

I will go for now back I hope that EVERYONE will respond to this post. This is a great way to stay connected to the community. See you all on Wednesday, please keep thinking about Mercy and how God has been merciful to you and bring any stories of how you have shown mercy to others and be prepared to share to the group.

1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his apperance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."



This past week I was reading in first Samuel and came across this passage again. It was one of those God moments when He says, "Slow down and read that again, think on that, ponder it awhile longer." As most of you know the context of this passage is right after God has rejected Saul as leader and Samuel is looking for the next leader of Israel. God sends Samuel to Bethlehem to Jesse and they parade his seven older sons in front of Samuel and God rejects them one by one as the next leader. Then they sent for David who was in the field tending the sheep and as soon as Samuel saw him God said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." Why did he chose David? David was the smallest and least likely of all the brothers. I wonder how many times we look around and think that people are more worthy or less worthy of God's anointing by thier looks alone. Have you ever looked at someone and pitied them for the way they looked when you should have shown mercy to them? There is a difference! Have you ever placed to much faith or trust in someone because they "looked" the part? Now don't get me wrong we all need mercy and grace. What the Lord has spoken into my life is twofold, one is outward focused and the other is inward focused. I need to see people thru HIS eyes and look not at the outside appearance but remember that the true person lies beneath the exterior and we must be people who are not superficial but willing to spend enough time to see the real person. The second part of this is that I felt God say, "now turn that around and apply it to yourself." Some of us struggle with the idea that we must "look" the part or we must put on a front so that others will not see our weaknesses. But it is in the weaknesses where He is made strong and it is there where He is wanting to meet us. We must apply both focuses in our lives. We must look at others as God does but we must also look at ourselves as God does. I would love to hear other comments or view points on this topic. Any thoughts anyone????

Calling all home group members

Hey group we have a fifth Wednesday night this month and as we talked about at the last meeting we are going to have some food and fun. The time is 7:00 pm on Wednesday the 29th and the place is at Miss Meekers apartment. If you need directions call her at 270-4822. I hope all of you can make it, that is all of you that are not going to be out of state or out of country.

This is me quietly being interested.

Hey guys - anyone else want to go to a VLI intensive over at Cooper Rd. with me?

Life on the Mission Field: Practical Realities
Saturday, April 8 (8AM-4PM) & Sunday, April 9 (2PM-7PM), $30
Dr. Tad & Amy Blackburn; Mark Batcheck
While the missionary life can be tremendously satisfying and rewarding, many missionaries are not sufficiently prepared for the practical challenges of living on the field. This course is an honest look at missionary life and an in-depth oientation to all that is involved with living overseas: moving and setting up a new home, culture shock and stress, handling conflict, team life & effectiveness, marriage/sngleness, sexual purity, family and parenting, etc...

Language and Culture Learning May 13 & 14
Dwight Gradin
(no other information listed)

Serious Question

Hey, all. I have a post that isn't about Brandy's slippery-slope behavior (see picture below).

;-)

Seriously... What does God tell you when you pray for me? Specifically about my time and purpose here in K'Stan. I really need the help of my homies on this one.

And, by "homies," I mean y'all.

If you think it's beneficial, post the answer as a comment or you can e-mail me directly.

Thanks!

Ye Ol' Mohawk.

You know, it's just too hard to ignore the stories about Brandy Shrader's past when the evidence says otherwise... (that's right, it's my picture, I'll tell the story anyway I want! and if want to say it's a beer bottle, then it's a beer bottle!). ;-)

The Price of Admission

Hi guys, Since I was quiet during the "share your calling and apostolic passion" talks, and since I told Megan and Craig tonight at church that I would go back to my own blog and paste in some old post about my my passion and calling, here it is as promised. Nothing earth shattering, I'm sure, and since you guys seem to know me pretty well, I think it will just confirm what you know. But here you! Have fun!
_______

(written on January 12)
This doesn't really make me a nerd, but there are moments when I really, really like my job. I've spent most of today getting my information together for the Nicaragua Parents' Meeting on Sunday...which isn't really about getting the information together for a Parents' meeting, it's about planning a mission trip for students. I can't believe I get paid to do this. I feel the same thing when summer camp rolls around, or any number of things where I feel like I'm equipping students to fulfill the call of God for ministry. I've known for a long time that's part of my actual calling - equipping the saints for the work of the ministry (I know, I know...I should go be a pastor or something like that)... It's why I know that I don't have to just be a youth pastor or just be this or that. MY calling extends to whatever allows me to equip people for the work of the ministry - and on days like today - I'm having fun because I'm doing just that. :-)

(written on Feb. 1)
But then as I continued to pray last night, I also felt like He was saying to me, "Your time working at the church will be shorter than you expected." And as I prayed, asking "WHY!?" he spoke more clearly the last part of the verse, "continuing on as I was when I was first called." The calling I have is to equip believers to reach the unchurched; the gifting I have is to do that by starting new ministries; and the skills I have allow me to bring order to chaos. My passion is for young people and for people who have never heard the gospel or for new churches. Does that have to be in another country? It could be. Does that have to be here in the US? It can be. That's the freedom of my particular calling. I just know what my calling is, and that in the past, my vocation has allowed me to work out my calling, gifting and skills even though the positions have looked very different from one another.

(written on Feb. 4)
OH...and I was just poking around again on the Navigators website...Like I told Craig and the crew on the AV blog, my problem is that I have no passion for areas outside the 10/40 window. Literally, I don't even look at those opportunities because I know the need to be greatest in the window. Could there possibly be a way to squish together everything that I want to do into ONE job?! I was talking with Devan yesterday about missions and she said, "I was just wondering when missions when come back into play in your own life, and I always figured it would be when you had to take your youth group on a mission trip. The passion you displayed when you were neck deep in it back then, I knew that hadn't gone away." But that doesn't mean that all of the other stuff I'm about just goes away either... I'm still going to be about youth, technology and communication in the church, leadership development, new church development and ministries, equipping believers to do the work of the ministry themselves; teaching new believers... These things aren't going to just go away because I'm rediscovering a passion for missions. (Maybe rediscovering isn't even the right word...it's more like coming to a place where that passion has space to breathe again. My first church did missions, but in an old school way - they just threw $ at it. East Lake didn't at all.) Sigh... This is part of Tom's series that kicked my butt. The "desire" part. I have a plain "desire" for all of my passions to come together in one, and maybe, God wants for those desires to come together, too, "if I delight myself in the Lord." I find myself delighting in God LOTS these days - He's such a good God and has such grace for my shortcomings and goofs...(I mean that statement to have much more theological depth than I'm writing it with). He deserves my delight.

prayer/fast

The Joellenbecks and the team from the church is holding the BBQ today at 5:00pm. Sorry for the late notice!!! If you read this post in time please stop and say a prayer or if you have the opportunity to fast a meal and feel led to do so, please do.

1:00pm- Cell group leaders are going house to house in the country to invite people to BBQ.
4:00pm- cell group starts, led by Nil. They will welcome people and preach and will end with an invitation to accept Jesus.
5:00pm- BBQ for all

Scott asks for prayer that the weather is good. Especially since everyone will be arriving by foot. He also asks us to pray that peoples hearts will be open and that the day will go smoothly.

prayers needed

Hi group,


We have a couple of people in the congregation that are in need of your prayers. I will give you some of the information here but please contact Brandy or myself if you need more information.


A couple weeks ago I sent out a prayer request for Teri Furrey who had a episode driving home after a prayer meeting on Tuesday. The tests that she has taken since then have shown some abnormalities. Tomorrow (Wednesday) she will be going in to have a heart catheter done. Teri has had heart problems in the past and has had the balloon procedure done. This time the Doctors aren't sure they will be able to do that and they are looking more to putting in stints. The procedure is to be at 5:30 am tomorrow and she will be able to have visitors but probably won't be awake enough until thursday.



Last weekend Brian Paquette was riding a horse at his parents home and had a bad accident. In essence his entire arm from the elbow down was crushed. He went thru a 6 hour surgery to repair the tendons and muscle and to reattach them to the elbow. At the last I heard he hadn't had the other surgery done for the wrist. Tom told us that he is under the best care in Columbus and that the doctor he has is very well known for his ability to reattach tendons and such. But as we all know the master physician is God and we want to make sure to lift them both up at this time. Brian will probably be in the hospital for about another week.

Apostolic Abandonment!!!

Have other passions crept in and taken over from the call on your life? What are they? How do we get back to and focus on the will of God? Have you deceived yourself into thinking that you are passionate about Jesus? Do you want the credit for your passions without paying the price? Are you afraid to sell out completely to Jesus... no matter what the cost? Are our passions only the things of this world, dressed up to look religious? Are you willing to allow the Lord to change your will?

Apostolic Passion!!!

Do you have Apostolic passion? Do you know what it is? Did you have it at some point but seemingly have lost it thru the everyday grind? Can you remember a time when you felt absolutely confident in what the Lord was calling you to do? What happened? What got in the way? How are you going to respond to that call? What are you willing to do in pursuit of your calling? How far will you go for Jesus? Will you obey at all costs? What if it means you have to suffer, are you ready? Where are you storing your treasures? If called will you make the ultimate sacrifice......YOUR LIFE???



HE DID!!!!!!!!!

Barb

Hi group,
Please pray for Barb and her family. Her Grandmother has passed away. For those of you that want to go to the funeral home please contact Brandy or myself and we will get you directions. The showing will be tomorrow from 2-4pm and Monday from 4-5 in London.


Also please keep Tim in your prayers. He went into the hospital on Thursday night with pneumonia. He is at Mt. Carmel west. He is due to get out either Sunday or Monday.

Spiritual Leadership...

Uh oh. Craig's not blogging for awhile. Where will we go for spiritual leadership?

Just kidding, of course. If this were a lesser homegroup, we'd have to worry, but there are so many amazing people (and, no, for once, I don't mean me). So keep on posting here. People do read it (and, this time, I do mean me).

Good luck, Craig. I'll be praying for you. I know that God wants to tell you great things, so I pray that he'll open your ears to hear it.

Things on my end are good. It's cold out here, though.

I will be off the Blog (for awhile)

Hi group,


As the title of this post says I will be off the Blog for awhile. The short version (if that is indeed possible for me) is that I need time with God. The last month has taken alot out of me emotionally and spiritually and I need time to refresh, away from the everyday stuff. I want to let you all know that this is something I do periodically anyway and it just so happens to be more public with the Blog and being a Home group leader. I need to take this time and figure out what exactly God would have my next step to be or what HE wants done. It's a time of spiritual inventory taking for me and it has become a necessity in my life. Please rest assured that I will check the Blog every few days to read prayer requests and other things that may be going on. I am still available by phone if you need anything and if there is a need that arises that needs to be communicated from me I will post that on the Blog. I don't know how long I will be off the Blog, it could be a few days or it could be much longer? I really want to encourage everyone to continue to use the Blog and to post new thoughts or ideas that you may be thinking about. This Blog has the potential to be a great tool in building community and friendships as well as stirring conversations and thoughts. BUT IT CAN ONLY DO THAT IF YOU USE IT!!! I hope that we will see others posting that have not been as active on here, as well as those of you that have. Please keep this Blog up and running while I am away, it's an important tool. I love you all and I will be back.

Where to begin?

I just want to thank everyone for thier great response to the call to bless our Missionaries in Brazil. You know as I was sitting here thinking about our group I couldn't help but think that this is what Heaven is going to be like. This group of believers we have are truly a community and I am in awe of how much you love one another and how much you are in love with Jesus. Never in my life have I experienced anything quite like this. I think about our community which now extends to three countries and I know without a doubt that God has knit a group together that not time or distance can ever tear apart. You make me want to be a better person and you keep me uplifted and encouraged even when I want to sink into a state of depression or when I want to pull away. I want you ALL to know that I pray at all times for all of you, I can't wait to see what our Lord is working out in your lives. I know there will be times of great trial and that our group will have to endure them but I am confident that the people in this group will band together and triumph under the banner of Jesus. Keep pressing in, keep trusting in the Lord, keep building community, keep praying, keep loving one another, and never forget that Jesus dwells among us and it is for HIS glory that we are the community that we are!!!

Do you want to be a blessing to someone?

Hi group,


I received a e-mail from the church that the Toths and the Joellenbecks have asked for some items in hopes that we as a church would be able to provide for them. As some of you know we are sending a team to Brazil in March and we are hoping to have the items needed by Friday March 3rd so that we can send them with the team. I signed us up for the purchase of 5 bottles of Multipurpose Solution for contacts (Equate brand- you get at Walmart). I need 5 volunteers to provide 1 bottle each and bring it to the home group next Wednesday. So the first 5 that respond will be able to bless both the Joellenbacks and the Toths. I only need one bottle a piece from 5 different people. If the church still needs more items then I will pass that information along to you. Right now other home groups are getting the opportunity to bless our missionaries by purchasing or supplying other needed items. Please respond either to this Blog post or to the e-mail I sent out a few minutes ago so I know where we stand. God bless you and thank you for your service to the Lord.

True Worship

While talking with many different people at church I realize what a impact this latest series has had. It seems that it has "kicked everyone's butt" (Angie's words) and I would have to agree. I am still trying to figure out what my "episode" meant and what my life is going to look like going forward. You know it seems that the Holy Spirit has shown up at Grove City Vineyard and is not leaving anytime soon! For months now I have felt a different feeling there, it's as if God is speaking directly into the lives of those willing to obey Him and placing a nugget of truth in thier hearts. At the same time He is directing the fellowship as a whole into a new "revelation" of Himself, combining the path of the fellowship with the path of the individual so that a birthing may take place at some time in the near future. For those who have had the "experience" I believe you/we are the people that will be asked to sacrifice and obey a call that is greater than ourselves and we may soon find ourselves in a position that we may not have dreamed of. For those who didn't necessarily have the "experience" I believe you have been called to sacrifice in another way. You will have to pray and support those "called" and you may be called to step into the roles left vacant. Your sacrifice is every bit as important and in many ways much more difficult to obey. The GC Vineyard is a living, breathing organism and the life of the church must be upheld and strengthened and many are called to that task. With that said I want to share a little about my "experience" and what I believe I have heard since. On Saturday night,last week,I met for prayer before the service as I do most of the time and during our time of praying for the service I kept getting the impression that God was calling us into a time of "true" worship. A time that is not manufactured by man and not necessarily created by singing songs or teaching or even praying,but a time of fellowship with the only one worthy of praise and worship. The feeling gripped me at first but then it was time to leave the prayer meeting and go into service. Most of the time when I get those "impressions" it doesn't turn out to apply to the service, but 10 minutes into the saturday service I felt a feeling come over me, I couldn't tell you what Tom said for the rest of the service because I couldn't concentrate on him. I can only tell you that as we began to sing at the end of the service I began crying (I am not a person who cries in public) then I heard Tom say that there were people there who want to worship God with thier tears. Now let me interject here for a moment, left on my own I would never go to the front of the church and ball my eyes out.I wasn't left on my own, I had to go up and I couldn't stand there I had to get face first before the Lord and I sobbed, and sobbed and my whole body was shaking. I couldn't control it and I really didn't want to. I couldn't stop crying for two days and even now I find myself in a more emotional state than I usually am in. While up front Tom asked for a couple of volunteers to tell the congregation what was going on with them. I began to arise but I couldn't stop crying and I couldn't verbalize what was going on, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!!! Only after the crying stopped, two days later, was I reminded of the prayer meeting before the service. "True Worship". I began to get it. God is calling us to true worship and he wants us to find that place where we are naked before him, where we can't hide behind singing along with everyone else, we can't pray "the right" prayers, we can't take down the notes from (Tom's) message or sit there passively and listen. We must, without fail, get NAKED before the Lord our GOD and we must do whatever it takes!!!! We must continue to press in to Him and Him alone and not lean on the understanding of men. Only by seeking Him and His will, will we be able to transform our lives into something of eternal significance and in the process we ourselves will be set free from the bondage that we are in. The chains we have placed on ourselves.We have for far to long conformed to the world and sang the songs of this world and prayed the prayers of this world and listened to the teachers of this world without giving a second thought as to what true worship looks like to GOD.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in thier hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever Amen." (Revelation 7:9-12)

What is God saying to you?

(note to Craig)

Craig - can you help me move that desk to my apt. on Thursday sometime? It could even be during the day?

Prayer meeting tonight!!!!

Hey guys,


I want to encourage everyone who is free to come to prayer meeting tonight. We have a home group leaders meeting tonight that coincides with the prayer meeting and I think Tom is going to take a opportunity to pray for the leaders. I can always use prayer and at this point in my life I really need it. I may try to call a couple people to remind them of the meeting.

Check Bob's Blog

AHHHH! Robert called this morning and I got to talk to him! (she writes as she runs around the apartment waving her hands in the air ala Home Alone and screaming with joy). hahaha! Check out his blog - he had a chance to write some stuff today. Craig and Barb - seriously - after reading it - the idea of "You really mean all they need is PEOPLE!? just gets worse... are you sure you don't want to go? ;-)

say a prayer please

Hey guys,

I just wanted to ask that you would say a prayer for me. There has been a couple of things that have happened the last two days that I could use some intercession for.
1)Yesterday I discovered that my debit card/MC number had been stolen and someone over seas has drained my account. This was the money that I have been running on until I get the job that God has in store for me.
2)Today my grandmother called me and asked if I could come over so she could talk to me. When I got there she told me that she didn't have anyone else to talk to and then she broke down into tears. My heart is breaking for her and I was extremely humbled by the fact that my grandmother had broken down in front of me. Don't get me wrong I am glad that I was able to be there for her but to see her in that condition was awefully hard to take.
The short version of why she broke down has to do with my Uncle who is in the nursing home who she has taken care of for over 10 years. He is complaining that they are mistreating him there (we have found no solid evidence of that yet), and he keeps saying that he wants to come home. My grandmother has no way to take care of him but she wants to bring him home. As she said "I just can't let another brother or sister die alone, it's to hard!" I am very concerned that her health is suffering due to the stress on her, she just doesn't look good.

I am praying that God would give me wisdom for this situation and peace for my grandmother.

What's your calling?

OK , I expect to hear from everyone on this subject.

As you know Tom has started a new series with Sunday night clinics based around this subject. We are exploring the opportunities and giftings that God has placed within our lives. Now I was greatly moved and encouraged by those of you there that the Lord has spoken something into your lives. As you friend and as your home group leader I am not going to allow you to give me superficial answers here. I really feel strongly that a couple of you already know what the Lord is telling you to do and you are apprehensive for one reason or another. I can fully understand and relate to that, but, you must know that I will do my best to keep you accountable to what the Lord has spoken into your life. We (as a home group and church) will not let you go thru this alone and we will be with you every step of the way.
As most of you know my heart is in missions. I am talking about cross-cultural missions (is there any other kind???). I have for a couple of years now had this vision that at some distant "family reunion" there would be a gathering of people from around the world that would reunite at this church for that occasion. Now I fully realize that not everyone is called to missions. Let me rephrase that, not everyone is called to GO, everyone is called to missions!!!!! With that stated I want you to earnestly seek the Lord in what it is He would have you do, do not be afraid to fail. If God is calling you to do something He will both make a way and equip you for that.
With that I hope to see a lot of activity on this thread. Thank you and God bless.

Happy B-Day Barb

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARB!!!!!!!


I hope that you and Rick were able to have a great celebration. Thank you for everything you do for the group, I truly appreciate your enthusiasm.

Quote...

" If you can't see far ahead, go ahead as far as you can see"

- Dawson Trotman, Founder of The Navigators