My Wonderful Wife

This day 1 year ago, I got married to the most amazing woman in the world!
Happy Anniversary Lindsey! I love you!

Peace and Justice Christmas

We've been exposed this year to some creative ways to continue to follow Jesus (instead of the consumerism of our culture) as we celebrate His birth. This one has been especially exciting--Advent Conspiracy--"substituting compassion for consumption."

In our apartment, we're pretty excited about the "relational gift giving" where the focus is giving the gift of presence as opposed to just the purchase of an item to own. I'm kind of sensing that we're going to be trying it out on each other this year, but I'm still not sure what it looks like...seeing as it's still a surprise!!! ;)

Thought this "song" was interesting. It's what got me rambling about this today. It was in the weekly email from www.sojo.net. Sojourners is a faith-based organization whose mission "is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world." I love this time of year with the traditions, Chrstmas lights, movies and songs and the amazing time to spend with family. Hopefully, like this song says, Jesus' call to love others doesn't get lost in the mix by those of us who are His followers.

Have Yourself a Peace and Justice Christmas
Have yourself a peace and justice Christmas,
Set your heart a-right.
Flee the malls and focus on Christ’s guiding light.
Have yourself a peace and justice Christmas,
Give your time a way.
Share God’s love,
And serve “the least of these” today.
Here we are, as we pray for peace,
We’ll live simply and give more.
We care for those far and near to us,
Which brings cheer to us, once more.
God brings down
The haughty from high places,
And lifts up the low.
God cares for the hungry and the humble,
so –Forget the stress and let the peace and justice flow!

Christmas Quiz

This came from my friend Emily and then Gretchen (also my friend) so I thought I would give it a shot!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? depends on the gift, I like the anticipation of wrapping paper

2. Real or artificial tree? Artificial, real trees make me itchy

3. When do you put up the tree? the weekend after Thanksgiving, I love getting my Christmas stuff out :)

4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day

5. Do you like eggnog? I think so...I have only tried it once. I always want to try the eggnog milkshake at Steak n Shake but I am too chicken.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? probably something Barbie or Cabbage Patch Kids

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad or David's dad

8. Easiest person to buy for? my mom or David

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, a Willow Tree nativity - - one of my favorite xmas things! (this was Gretchen's answer and I am going to keep it because I have one and feel the same way.)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Definitely mail, I love to receive mail and mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? hmmm....I don't remember, I pick out a lot of mine so they are usually pretty good.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After Thanksgiving and I try to be done my mid December

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably...I regifted a lot of Wedding presents for a silent auction and some gifts are going as White Elephant gifts this year (pooping reindeer and I Love Jesus hat)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? my Nana's peanut butter fudge...mmmm yum!

16. Lights on the tree? white or multi color, my mom and I found out last year that all red are scary.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Little Town of Bethlehem (I just love the line, "O come to us, abide with us our Lord Emmanuel") or O Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? With family, this year at my parent's house.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes but I am not going to list them right now

20. Angel or star on top of tree? star

21. Presents on Christmas Eve or morning? My mom always gets me pjs to open on Christmas Eve, they are always in the same box. Although, this year I told her I was at pajama capacity so I don't know if I will open anything or not.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Worrying about gifts...

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I have a lot of Moose ornaments but I like more country ornaments because they remind me of home and my mom's taste.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Definitely ham and my nana's homemade noodles

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? To have some great time with my family and friends. My family always spends Christmas afternoon doing ridiculous skits my grandpa puts together and playing cards. I love it and I can't wait!

26. Who are you tagging? Katie and Debra!

Northern MN church

Sitting here at home at Nett Lake, half watching the news when a story came on about a congregation that had three guitars stolen from their building.  Apparently at least one or two of them had been donated to the group by a guy in the community.  The news network said the donor didn't want any recognition so the news network didn't disclose his name.  I was kind of taken by surprise by the donor's request, because I can't imagine how hard it would be to really tell a news network "don't put me on TV."   ...I decided to give the story my full attention.

The news network began doing interviews with a few of the members, and one of the last ones was with a leader from the church.  When asked if charges would be pressed, he said "I'm not going to press charges against whoever did this, I just want them to come worship with us!"

My heart just kind of skipped a beat witnessing God's love and grace in action.  very cool...

-dave

Ephesians 4:15

Ephesians 4: 15 "Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church."

This verse has come up in conversation or study multiple times in the last few weeks.

I used it in a sermon David and I gave about speedy obedience. Amelia and I referenced it when talking about challenging our friends to grow deeper.

I think God is trying to show me more and more the importance of transformation in my life and in the lives of those around me.

My prayer right now is that I, college students, friends, etc. will grow in every way more and more like Christ Jesus.

For those interested here is the link to the podcast of our message from Nov. 2 at South Side.
http://www.southsidechristian.com/#/Media/
Southwest Campus, Mission Emphasis Sunday.

elections!

The other day Linds and I were talking, and all of the sudden it dawned on one of us: "hey we're voting on Tuesday..." We were both shocked by how quickly time had flown during the campaigning season. With the voting booth right around the corner, it seems fitting to spend some time making some final decisions about the issues.

In considering how I'll vote, as a believer in Christ, I want to vote with Jesus' priorities in mind. But what are those? The Christian culture that I grew up in had me associate Christianity only with the Right. Interestingly enough, the Christian culture I encountered in college had me associate Christianity with the Left. It became clear to me during college that God is not a Republican, a Democrat or part of any other group in which we want to box Him.

So since I don't believe I should vote along party lines, I'm finding myself having a hard time discerning who to vote for in this election. It seems like any time I think I've decided, based upon an issue or a certain set of issues, I find another issue for the candidate that I do not support.

Some questions that are shaping this decision making process for me this last year:

1.)Which candidate will best represent the poor, the widow, the orphaned and the oppressed?
This year, God has really been showing me in His Word just how interested He is in justice for the poor, the orphaned, the widow and the oppressed. Though I think the call is first and foremost a personal one, I'm also convinced I have an opportunity to be representing Him with my vote.

2.)How do I decide whether to be an advocate for the lives of all of the unborn(whom God loves), or the lives of all the people in other "enemy" countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq(whom God loves)?

3.)Which candidate is most interested in preserving the environment God has given us?


What are the questions shaping your election decision? Do you have similar or different experiences, views, etc.?

-dave

Our Friends

Please Read This...

http://momentsofclaritybygretchen.blogspot.com/2008/10/hunger.html

Jesus wants to save Christians

I read this article today at Relevant about Rob Bell's new book Jesus Wants to Save Christians. David and I recently purchased the book and I am excited to dive in. I always enjoy reading, listening, or watching Rob Bell teach.

Here is a portion of the article I found really interesting.

As the title of the book suggests, Jesus Wants To Save Christians. In your opinion, what are the biggest things we need saving from?

Boredom. Which is really despair in its non-caffeinated form. And boxes. Where we live in fear and where we put those who unsettle us.

You describe the plan of God for the church to be a gift to the world. Many people today would say that the church is anything but. What are some crucial changes that our churches need to make to become a Eucharist that is broken and poured out for the world?

1. Master the art of doubt. Faith needs it to survive.

2. Surrender the compulsive need to constantly remind people that according to your worldview you're going to heaven forever when you die and they're going to burn in hell forever.

3. Celebrate the good and the true and the beautiful wherever and whenever you find it regardless of the label it wears or the person it comes from or the place you found it. All things are yours.

4. Remember that the tax collectors and prostitutes loved to feast with Jesus and the religious establishment gossiped about him and dissected his teachings and questioned his commitment to orthodoxy and eventually had him killed. There's a lesson for us there.

Morning Playlist

Gretchen just posted about a post from Mark Batterson.  So I'm going to post based off of the post Gretchen posted about Mark Batterson's post. *whew*

Batterson suggests that we need to wake our spiritual alarm clock each morning as much as we need to wake up our bodies.  So he has decided to listen to a few songs each day to start off his day with worship and asked for anyone reading to do the same.

My two songs right now would probably be...

"Breathing Air Again"  by Robbie Seay Band

"Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?" by delirious

Along these same lines, I was challenged a couple years ago by Dean Trune to write my own worship to God each morning.  This has really been great for me.  If you're feeling creative or you know that you've been gifted with creativity, or even if you don't think you're creative at all, try this out!  You might be surprised.  It can be awesome to really free up your heart before God and let loose the exact words that you would use to worship him.  

thanks Gretchen!  thanks Mark!

-dave

Canoe Trip

Here are some picture highlights from our trip. Thankfully, David and I did not tip! We had so much fun getting outside for the weekend and hanging out with friends. At one point on the trip, Brenna and I looked to our left and saw a break in the normal scenery. There was a beach area and right behind it was a group of trees all bent towards the water (see picture above). A light breeze blew by and leaves from the trees lazily started floating across the water...so beautiful.

Kenya Video

So I am going to attempt to upload this video. The resolution isn't the best because of how I had to save it show it on here but hopefully it is still enjoyable. Check out www.jumpforjoel.org for more info about or Kenya trip.

Banana Bread

I made banana bread (not from a box but from the bananas on my counter that were going bad) for the first time yesterday.

Verdict: My small group leaders thought it was good...I think I might be getting the hang of this cooking thing.

Consumed

I think sometimes...wait often times I fall into the whirlwind of worry and stress. I worry if I am doing enough in my life, in the ministry where God has placed me or too much. I stress out about meeting new students, what I should say in meetings, where am I going to find pictures for this week's powerpoints, if I am being kind and loving to my husband or just impatient and on and on. I let a lot of the little details of my life keep me down. I read this in Francis Chan's book Crazy Love last week:

Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Ouch.

1 Meal Every 2 Days...

Hey there!

Though we've been back from Kenya for over a month now, we can't get the kids off of our minds.  We met so many beautiful people in Kenya and we don't ever want to forget them.  

Part of that remembering them, for us, has been extremely challenging.  One of our friends, named Steve,  is a youth minister in a slum called Kiberia.  On weekends he goes to the slum and feeds the kids, plays games with them and just spends time with them.  We found out that in order to do this, Steve has to take the money that he earns during the week to pay for the meal for these kids (60-80 kids I think showed up when we visited).  Sometimes the money isn't there.  Sometimes these kids don't get to eat with Steve.

Then, we found out why that was such a big deal.  These kids get a meal maybe once every two days.

Once. Every two days.   Unbelievable.  The kid who's sitting right behind me and to my left is named John.  He was displaced by the violence in Nairobi.  John doesn't get food nearly as much as I do.

As a follower of Jesus to hear about this and to do nothing seems contrary to what Jesus teaches, so we're trying to figure out what that looks like. 

Here's what we know now:

-$60 will pay for Steve to provide food and materials for these kids for one weekend.

-With wiring fees, we need to come up with $300 to pay for September.

-Jump For Joel is awesome and is going to head this up.  jumpforjoel.org 

-We don't know where or how or when this is going to happen, so these kids are in need of lots of prayer that this can happen.

Questions?  Post a comment!

-dave

Been a long time

Wow. It has been over a month since our last post. It's hard to believe that the last time we were signed in, we were sitting in an internet cafe in downtown Nairobi.

The Kenya trip was amazing, but if I took the time to actually write about it, I'd be here for like 4 days. Maybe we'll type some stuff up later.

For now, I'd like to briefly share an amazing website. It is called noisetrade.com. It was created for musicians who do not have a huge following to get their music out there a little more, and also for music lovers to be exposed to more good music.

It's so sweet. It's set up like Derek Webb's Mockingbird, which was released for free online a few years ago. People have the option to either make a donation and/or to simply recommend the CD to three friends. After doing this, the code for downloading the CD is emailed to your inbox.

The website started right around the beginning of July. They're adding new artists all the time it seems.

So yeah. Check it out! And if you don't know where to begin, download Derek Webb's Ringing Bell, Waterdeep's Heart Attack Time Machine and William F. Gibbs' My Fellow Sophisticates .

later!
-dave

Hello From Kenya!

Hello friends!
It's 10 or so in the morning and we're at an internet cafe in Nairobi. We've had an amazing time so far. This last week has been spent in Gathiga at the orphanage. During the morning and early afternoon we've been working on the floor in the classroom building.(formerly dirt...and dust...) In the evenings we've been playing with the kids. Linds and I want to take them home. The joy that they have in the midst of such terrible circumstances is overwhelming. We want to take Maina in our suitcase, Elliot's smile doesn't get old and Joel is so much fun! All the kids are great and we can't wait to show you pictures and video footage of them.

The group has been doing well too. We're battling illness right now. Shana is staying home today while the rest of us go to Kibiria(a slum) for a feeding program and some kids activities. LInds and MIke have a cold and my stomach was doing backflips for most of the day yesterday. PLease just be praying for us to be healed and to persevere so that we can give the kids our all.

OUr hosts(Pastor Susan and Pastor Geraldine) are amazing. The stories they've shared about God working have been so amazing! Bwana Asefiwe!! (Praise the Lord! ...though I may have spelled it wrong...).

Other than that, not too much else to report. I'm preaching next Sunday. Please be praying for me for that. It'll be my first time. What a way to start!!

Thanks so much for your prayers. We love you!

-Dave (and Linds)

Kenya!!!!

We're flying out of O'Hare tonight to go to London.  From London we will fly into Nairobi, Kenya at 9 p.m. tomorrow night.  

We're going to Kenya.  

I can't believe we're actually going.  

We'll be back the 21st.  Please pray for us, our team, the orphanage and everything about the trip that God would be made known.  Praise Him with us for how He has provided everything for us to do this!  Amazing!  

later!

-dave & linds

Beardless

Take a look at the new beardless David!

Kenya update

Three weeks ago, we still needed right around $3,000 in financial support to pay off the plane ticket bill.

Two weeks ago we still needed right around $2,000 to go to Kenya

Now, I think we might need 200-300 and we're more than capable of paying off the plane ticket bill which is due tomorrow.

Is God incredible or what?

Praise God!

One Step Closer

My parents helped David and I get awesome duffel bag backpacks this weekend for our Kenya trip. It is such a blessing that we can now be hands free and that we have luggage that will last us through many trips like this summer's trip to Kenya. We are 43 days away from our trip!! We are both finished with shots and we are mailing our visa information off today. Amelia and I are going to hit the Salvation Army and Goodwill for some rockin skirts sometime soon so if you haven't made a trip to the local thrift store in awhile you should embark on this adventure with us.

- Linds

73 days!!

We leave for Kenya in 73 days...I can't believe it. Everything is starting to fall into place. Shana taught us a few words last night "Bwana asifiwe! means Praise the Lord!" which is how almost everyone greets each other (awesome), "Asante means thank you" and "Choo means toliet." The trip is becoming more of a reality everyday.


3 days until the Trivia Night if you need a place to deposit lots of useless knowledge.

Kenya!!

Hey!

This summer Lindsey and I are going to be traveling with some college students to Kenya. Shana, who went last year to the orphanage we'll be visiting forwarded this link to some pictures that a volunteer took. It makes me even more excited to get to go! God has made Himself known so much through His work at Gathiga Children Hope Home and an organization called Jump For Joel that Shana started. The organization has raised thousands of dollars to improve the conditions at this orphanage and the Christians at UIS have been able to be a part of it! We've been able to pray, support, and watch God work from our UIS home. But now we're going to get to see it up close and help out by doing some building projects for a couple weeks.

I can't express how excited I am about this trip. Linds and I are so pumped. We started raising support for the trip which is going to cost us as a couple a little under 6,000 bucks. Our group is having a trivia night April 26th out at South Side Christian Church Southwest Campus. Come on out! If you have any questions let us know!!

-dave

The Office Photo Shoot

Monday, Todd, Gretchen and I had our friend Howard take a couple pictures of us in our new office. We tried to think of cool, catchy poses to make us look skinny, like superheros, and awesome. However, we already embody all of those elements so we went with the traditional, family style picture.


The office is so interesting because we utilize it a lot and it provides a great meeting place for us on campus but technically it is not ours. It belongs to our students and we are just blessed with the opportunity to use it. On Thursdays I spend all day in the office. I love it. Normally it involves me making a PB&J and eating while propping my feet up with a good book. For about 10 minutes. Then I get distracted and talk to Shana while she is in the other room working. Then I wait for Katie to come visit me. My day ends with Amelia coming in to talk about small group material. I love being around people and the office provides a great opportunity for me to see people. It is much better than camping out in the cafeteria or sitting at my desk at home. So if you are bored on Thursdays and want to come talk about life, the great book you are reading, or have a craving for PB&J stop by the CSF office. That's right the CSF Office!

a myriad of things

Hullo!

Wow I really haven't posted on here in a while. District 186 went on Spring Break from last Friday through the end of this week. I've thoroughly enjoyed the time to rest so far. We went to Meredosia yesterday to be with Linds' family for Easter. Ashwin and Armando came with us and we had a great time. We ate way too much food, but it was all so delicious, it was hard to stop. Favorite quote of the day came from Ashwin: "Man, why can't you get this food in restaurants?" Needless to say, the food from Nana and co. was amazing and the company was great.

All in all, yesterday was an amazing way to remember Jesus. The morning was filled with worship, music, prayer, and some well spoken truths about how Jesus hates funerals. The afternoon was filled with food and family, and the evening was a time where Linds and I could finally go through the 5,000 papers we had stacked in random places throughout our apartment and then spend some time resting.


I have been trying to get some stuff done around the apartment. I've been challenged recently in my life regarding this. I think it has mostly had to do with the degree to which I love (like, really, selflessly put another person before myself). I'm learning, quite frankly, that I'm not very good at it. Specifically, as a newly married man, I'm learning about what it means to love my wife and function within this wonderful relationship. One thing that many people told me but that I suppose could not hit home until I experienced it, was how selfless a person in a marriage needs to be if they want it to work.

Before I entered into this relationship, I took it for granted that I could pretty much do my own thing. If I wanted to go out with a friend and stay up 'till one in the morning, it wasn't a big deal. If I wanted to drop all my stuff in the middle of my room and leave it there for 2 months(and yes, I did this for a long time), it didn't matter. No one else had to walk over it or spend less money because I spent more going out or sacrifice anything because of the choices I made.

Now everything is different. Since Linds and I desire a Christ-centered committment, we're both experiencing how different life is when it's lived in a marriage. It's amazing and the most beautiful relationship I've ever experienced and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But it's also the most work I've ever had to put into anything. Well, really I'm being shown that I haven't really put that much work into it. So I'm trying to change that.

In an effort to be a good husband today (and a halfway responsible car owner) I went out to my truck. My idea of productivity is to get things taken care of that are on my mind. As I was throwing out the garbage and putting some mail out, the truck came to my mind, so I decided to clean it out.

Context: Recently there have been two(ok there are definitely more I'm sure...) insignificant yet consuming things on my mind:

1) my lost The Myriad CD entitled "You can't trust a ladder". This, my friends is one of the best CD's I've ever heard. The melodies, guitar parts, layering, the lead singer's amazing voice, etc has left me wanting to listen to this CD all the time. This wouldn't be a big deal except I bought it 2 1/2 years ago after hearing them at a Cool Hand Luke Concert and still want to listen to it all the time. Sadly I had misplaced it and it has been lost for around 2 months now. Every time I've opened my CD case, I've frantically searched one more time for this cd.

2.) The hole in my truck under the passenger side door. It's nothing new. My truck is an '89 Toyota pickup. I'm well aware that it's bound to rust. However, it has been on my mind recently because a week or two ago I noticed that not so small pieces of my rusted truck's underside were strewn on the ground below the truck. Me, being the paranoid individual that i can be, immediately drew the conclusion that one of the others living in our apartment complex had kicked it while drunk. This could've been an at least possible option except it would've meant our neighbors were drunk and interested in the demise of my truck's underside quite often as rust pieces were consistently falling off at an alarming rate. The flaw in this line of thinking was that our neighbors are awesome and have done nothing in any way to keep us from having a most enjoyable experience at our apartment.

So I went out to my truck and I stared at the hole before cleaning out the cab. Immediately, a bird flies out of the hole. A second one closely behind it flies out as well. Rust pieces are on the ground under my car where the birds flew out and I feel like a moron. So after realizing that I'm a really mean and paranoid neighbor and that more serious work would need to occur on my vehicle, I began to get to the task of cleaning out the cab. This means mostly that I have to reach under the seat(which extends all the way across the cab) and pull all the stuff that I throw under there.

What I found:
- 5,000,000 batteries that are all leaking battery acid onto my hands(ok really like 20)
-1 crumpled and destroyed map of Illinois
-1 frisbee
-5,000,000 pens (no, really)
-various gum wrappers, church bulletins, receipts, etc.
-three license plates (...three?)
-5 golf balls
-2 FM transmitters
-2 windshield wiper blades
-more papers
-2 CD cases containing three CD's, one of which was my Myriad CD!!!! Woo HOO!!

Needless to say my day has been productive after cleaning my beast of a machine out. I hope to patch up the hole. If anyone knows some good material for this, I would appreciate any suggestions. There are several places on my vehicle that could use it to slow the wear and tear of the vehicle (which I recognize is still inevitable).

love you guys
-dave

Minnesota Mission Trip 08

What I can't get out of my head this week...

Share In The Blame - Caedmon's Call

Don’t blame the bullet for the wars you have sown
Don’t blame the winter when you’ve forgotten your coat
When you make the same deals for a hundred years
and you wanna make a change
You gotta hold up the mirror and share in the blame

Don’t blame your brother for the color of his skin
don’t blame your neighbor for the house he lives in
from the same cloth, we are made of, we are just the same
you gotta hold up the mirror and share in the blame

(chorus)
like a coming of age, I am learning how to say
all the failures I’m dragging behind
Finding freedom to speak, freedom to release
Oh tonight I wanna make peace with you

Don’t blame the writer for the doubts in your head
Don’t blame the preacher for the lovers in your bed
When you find out that the world is round, everything is rearranged
You gotta hold up the mirror, and share in the blame

(chorus)

Don’t blame the president, don’t blame the king
Don’t blame your history for what might have been
we will be free where the grass is green and the lion is tame
if we just hold up the mirror now and share in the blame

This song is off their new CD Overdressed. The whole CD is wonderful, if you are looking for some new tunes I would recommend it.

Whew...

Where has February gone? In the midst of all the craziness I haven't (well we haven't, it is still weird for me to talk in we sense) been able to keep up with our new blog. Here are some highlights from the last couple of weeks:

21 Day Challenge Highlights
- Jesus burned with passion for the church (John 2:17)
- Jesus is bold...
- Jesus didn't try to hide who he was, He is the Good Shepherd (John 10)
- Reading all the fulfilled prophecies blew my mind
- John 15: 9-10"I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.
- Jesus cooked the disciples breakfast (John 21)

These are just a few of the many thing I pulled from the Gospel of John.

Friends:
I had a few friends from high school come up a couple of weekends ago. It was such a blessing to see them all. We have got to see each other more in the last six months ,because of all this wedding nonsense, than in the last 3 years. We want to keep it that way. Nothing is better than a good chick flick, pizza machine and chocolate fondue, yum!

Finished:
Last night, Jenny, Hannah, Erin and I finished our first bible study book (I say first because I hope there are many more to come). God so is good and wise. I started my internship praying to be challenged, praying I would still have community even though most of my time would be spent without my normal crowd, praying for a small group that I wasn't going to teach. He provided three of my best friends to spend one night a week with while looking into our purposes. We are all in different places right now and he used our different experiences to challenge us and create great conversations. It only took us 5 months to meet 8 times but we made it!

Started:
Small groups at UIS started a couple weeks ago. I am teaching a relationship study with my friend, Amelia and David. We have some great resources: Louie Giglio's audio series Boy Meets Girl and Craig Groeschel's book Going All The Way. They are funny, truthful, and challenging. More on that later...

Finally, Retreat!

This weekend is the Illinois Campus Ministry Retreat at Lake Springfield complete with Don Chafer of Waterdeep. David and I are both excited to hear some great music but more than that we are excited to retreat. My prayers this week have been, please let us feel the retreat. I am doing the registration for all the campus ministries for this retreat. I was worried at first that this was my time to shine and if I mess up they will think I am weird and my dreams of campus ministry will be washed away in a single weekend...yes I know it is silly. However, I decided this week that I have a choice going into this weekend. I can go in on edge or I can enjoy doing this organizational work (which I love) and then leave it at the door as I walk into the retreat. I pray this will be a great time to connect with my students and that I will be refreshed with them.

Ok this is really long...I only have one more thing. My amazing, husband bought me tickets to go see Derek Webb and Caedmon's Call on Saturday, April 19 in Chicago. I was so excited and he had all the CD's in my car so I could start jammin' out now...alas two days later all my dreams of musical wonders were crushed. I can't go that day. If anyone is interested in the tix let us know.

el desafío

or, "the challenge" according to an online translator. The 21 day challenge is still underway so I thought I'd post some thoughts from the latest reading.

As I've been reading John, I'm continually being struck by how Jesus was so much about God. I know this sounds pretty simple, but when I think about it in my life, I have this view of Jesus in mind a lot of the time as a rule-keeping, rule-teaching guy who is pretty lame and doesn't do much except frown and say "follow God" and "for God so loved the world..." The more I read John, the more God continues to show that Jesus was simply and wholly about God. God Himself. The real, living and active God. The One He continues to say is who we should love, and honestly, might just find we want and need to love Him anyway. Not some set of rules or certain actions.

So I was reading John 10 with that in mind. Jesus is talking about sheep and the master. A couple things that hit me

The sheep know their master's voice.

Just like Jesus has been saying that the ones who will choose to follow Him are those who are really desiring to know, love and experience the presence of the living God. He keeps telling the Pharisees that the reason they don't recognize Jesus as being from God is because they don't really have any idea what God is like. They haven't really desired to experience and love God as much as earn some sort of recognition for good works that God claims to despise.

The shephard lays down his life for the sheep.

I'm not sure I have(I don't know if I ever will) ever understood Jesus' sacrafice. I can't put a theological statement around it and I can't seem to fit words together that describe what it means. Every time I return back to His willingness to die for His sheep, I find something else to consider. Is this what people mean when they say the "depth of His love"?

This time I thought about His death. I thought about it in the context of the recent loss of my sister and last week of my grandma. It's not a secret to anyone ever that it hurts really bad when people die. It makes me wonder as I'm typing this just how much pain God felt about His Son dying.

The sheep flee from other voices

Jesus describes His sheep as being those who recognize their master's voice. They are able to distinguish between the real master and the other voices.

Do I know my Master's voice? Do I really recognize God when He speaks or moves or acts? What does He sound like? How do I hear it? Am I listening? After writing these questions that came from my journal, I thought of another question--How can I listen better?

I think my prayer right now is that God would just help me in the midst of all my doubts, questions and challenges to hear His voice and know Him above everything and everyone else.

have an awesome night!!!
-dave

I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow

Ok not really....but I did want to play in the snow!

8 Things

Gretchen tagged me in this blog forward...sounded fun so here it goes!

8 Things I'm Passionate about
David, my husband
Jesus
Learning, anything from finally learning how to use my macbook to learning more about my faith
Becoming a servant
Traveling
Reading, I love reading and usually have 3 or 4 books started at once
Campus Ministry
Pictures

8 Things I Want to do Before I Die
Give away more than I keep (I think I will keep this from Gretchen because I really like it)
Travel to another country with David (we are really excited about going to Kenya and we would like to go to India)
Spend a summer away from home
Have children (including adoption)
Read the Bible through in a year
Learn more about my new sister
Own a house (or live in some place where we don't pay rent)
Learn to play the piano

8 Things I Often Say
(wow, this is difficult)
I love you
Honey, why are you doing that? (that one I need to work on...)
Tell me every detail
Tell me the best part of your day so far (I like to start meetings this way)
No I am not actually in college anymore, I work with college students :)
Are you tired of hot pockets? (making David's lunch in the morning)
I'm cold!
Where are my keys and cell phone?

8 TV Shows I Recently Watched
( I don't watch much TV...but I catch a show every once in a while over lunch or chillin' with my homies)
Will and Grace
Project Runway
Scrubs
NFL
CNN (I have been trying to keep up with the presidential debates)
The Office
Ace of Cakes
Good Eats ( I think that is what it is called...)


8 Songs I Never Tire of Listening To
Share the Well- Caedmon's Call
If I'm Brave- Ali Rogers
Anything David Crowder Band
Wicked Soundtrack
Any worship song David plays on the guitar
Christmas Music
I want you to be my love- Over the Rhine
Anything by the Beatles


8 Things that Attract me to my Friends
Openness and Vulnerability
I can call them anytime
Randomness
Their willingness to tell me every detail
Being able to laugh and cry in the same conversation
They challenge me to grow
Grace
The fact that we can talk about Jesus


8 Things I Learned in 2007
How to plan a wedding
What it is to grieve
How to move off campus and get an apartment
The joys and fears of support raising
That I can write if I trust and obey
Not to be nervous when talking to big groups of people, just be myself :)
My husband is an amazing cook
Grocery shopping on a budget

Now lets see here I will tag Jenny , Erin , and Hannah

Have a great day!

Prepare the way

Passage: John 3:27-30 (New Living Translation)
27 John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. 28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ 29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. 30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

Thoughts: I am amazed at John the Baptist's humility. He knew his place, he knew the role that God had planned for him and he wanted to live it to the fullest extent. John was here to prepare the way for Jesus and he set about doing. He preached to people. He told them about Jesus. He never took any credit for being great because he knew the one that was so much greater than him was here. I love how in my Bible this section is labeled John the Baptist exalts Jesus. That is just what he did! He knew that his attention and status as crazy religious guy was going to be pushed aside for attention for Jesus. He says it so humbly, without trying to cling to his status or ego, "He must become greater and greater and I must become less and less." In my life I want to prepare the way. I want to do my part in preparing for Jesus' return. I want to live a life that shows Jesus to others and I want to not be afraid to tell people about the Messiah.

Prayer: Lord Jesus you are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Thank you for being our Savior. I want John the Baptist's words to be prayer. I want you to become greater and greater in my life and for me to decrease. Please show me how I can be preparing the way for your return right now. Open my eyes. Praise you and in your name I pray. Amen

Peace out, Lindsey

The 21 Day Challenge

Hello again!
It has been a while since I've posted on here. UIS is in full swing again and CSF has another new beginning--another chance to draw closer to God, to see Him work and grow in His love seen through Jesus as a community. I'm so excited about what God has already been doing on campus this semester.

One way that He has been teaching us on Friday nights is through the sermon series right now. It's a three week series called "FedUp". It's all about growing up in Christ--looking at three basic stages of growth in our relationship with God and finding ways that we can "grow up" in the sense of drawing closer to God and away from the things that keep us from Him.

Last night, as Linds taught about adolescence, she challenged all of us to read and journal through the book of John. A really sweet journal was provided to keep our thoughts. So the first day of reading and journaling was today and Linds and I thought we would keep a record on here of where God is showing Himself through this study.

So today was on John 1. There were several things in this chapter that stuck out to me, but I thought I would write about one of them.

As I was reading this chapter, I started noticing just how many different names are meant to represent Jesus. And really, John doesn't even mention Jesus' actual name until 16 or so verses in.

Check this out! I'm going to bold the different names.

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood^[a] it.

6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.^[b]
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent,^[c] nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,^[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " 16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,^[e][f]who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
19Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ.^[g]"
21They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
22Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' "^[h]

24Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
26"I baptize with^[i] water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

32Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."

35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

39"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter^[j]). 43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip.

47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."

48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

50Jesus said, "You believe^[k] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51He then added, "I tell you^[l] the truth, you^[m] shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

And this is just the beginning of the passage. Jesus is referred to in five or six different ways in the first 18 verses. I think there are like 8 more names after that. And this is all in chapter 1!

Why does John(the author) do this in the beginning thing? I'm not sure I've ever understood why John didn't just call Jesus by His name at the very beginning of his writing. Regardless, I think it's cool to look at these different ways of talking about Jesus. "The Word" reminds me of a couple sermons I've heard that have stuck with me. Their message was that just like words(seen) are what gives something concrete to what's in our brains(unseen), so does Jesus' life(seen) give us something to actually look at about what our God(unseen) is really like. This is hard for me to really wrap my head around though. I'm glad that Jesus would give us a concrete example of what it means to live with and for our God.

All these names in general remind me of a study Linds and her friend Melissa did together a couple years ago. Linds still references it and any time she does, I'm always struck by it. The study is called "Praying the names of God." Apparently, the Old Testament is stuffed full of different names for God. The study provides and defines these different names. Each one describes a different characteristic of our God. For example, there's one name--Yahweh Yirah(expect this word to be misspelled...), meaning God provides.

When I think of John 1, it kind of reminds me of that study because there are so many names. In exploring the answer to my own question posed toward the beginning, it makes me wonder:

How many names does it take for us to understand who He is? How many names does He have?
How many different descriptions are needed for me to understand what He's about?
I dunno. Maybe those aren't answerable questions...

Some other ones--
What are some names of Him that I don't know? What about Him don't I understand yet? What can I learn from the names others have given Him?

I do know that it's nice to be reminded at different points in my life of certain characteristics of Him that carry special importance at that time. For example, trusting God as my comforter has been really important with all the grief in my family over this last year.
I also know that seeing God as a Joyful Father was so amazing(and a view of God I'm not sure I'd really considered before) during the celebration of marriage.

So the names of Jesus. Maybe when reading through John, I can start seeing just more of what He is about. The names themselves seem like they could help unpack so much about Him---and I haven't even looked at much of what He actually did.

Well, I hope everyone is having an amazing and restful Saturday. Stay warm! If you're bored, some guys will be at La Fiesta at 6 and some girls are going to be at the movie theater at 4ish.

later!
-dave

Yahweh Rophe

So lately I have been thinking a lot about restoration. Erin mentioned it to me about a month ago when talking about her Sunday school class and the teacher praying for healing. I don't know if I had ever really prayed for spiritually healing in those terms before but I liked the idea. Whenever I think of healing I always think of physical or even emotional and in the last six months David and I have cried out those prayers many times. However, this prayer for restoration and healing in the spiritually sense is new and I like it.

I have left the idea to float around in my mind until last week when I pulled out an old bible study Melissa and I did several years called Praying the Names of God. One chapter in there is on Yahweh Rophe, the Lord who heals. The Hebrew word rophe means "heal, cure, restore or make whole." Make whole, I really like that sound of that. It makes me think of all the times I pray asking for forgiveness and laying everything out there then leaving still having a void. I know that I am not supposed to hold on to things after handing them over to Jesus but this prayer for restoration, restore me Jesus, make me whole and bring me back to how I am supposed to be in you has really opened my eyes. I can be restored, never fully in this life, but Jesus can bring me closer to that state. Transformation can happen.

Psalm 147

1 Hallelujah! It's a good thing to sing praise to our God;
praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.

2-5God's the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
who regathers Israel's scattered exiles.
He heals the heartbroken
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
we'll never comprehend what he knows and does.

This makes me think corporately too, how as a "we" we can be restored. Jesus will set us right, one day we will all be restored.

Sorry if this is jumbled. Have a great day guys!

Hockey!

My mom won Blackhawk tickets at her office Christmas party and gave them to David and I...what made it even better was that they were playing the Minnesota Wild. David was so excited to see another Minnesota Pro Sports team and it was my first ever hockey experience. We got to see three big fights and one even knocked the plexiglas out of place. The game was awesome and we are in a box complete with free food and drinks. It was a nice getaway to Chicago for an evening.

Lazy Sunday

Hello!

It has been a great few days getting things situated. Thanks to anyone who was a part of our wedding and/or gave us so many amazing gifts! We've spent the last few days just trying to sort through all of them. It has been a lot of fun and we're so excited to try out all of our cool new toys (i.e. anything from kitchen utensils to a few cool new board games).

On a slightly different note, I found out the other day that one of my favorite bands is in need of assistance. Cool Hand Luke has been an incredibly important part of my musical and faith experiences the last four years. Check out the note they wrote if you haven't already. And if you haven't heard their music, check it out!

I start work tomorrow at Lanphier and Linds is gearing up for another exciting semester of campus ministry. We're both looking forward to students being back and can't wait to see what God does on campus.

-Dave

Stuck

Current Location: Savannah International Airport
Local Time: 1:21pm
Arrival Time at airport: 9:30
Departure Time: 2:25
Not to shabby...

We are sitting in the airport because our Chicago flight was canceled this morning. David and I have had lots of relaxing time in really comfy waiting seats. There is no sarcasm there, the chairs are nice. We were bored so we bought access to the internet to get some work done. I can't believe the honeymoon is over and we are on the verge on being thrown into real life. David starts teaching on Monday and I start preparing for a new semester. I am so excited for some new things CSF is doing and I can't wait to for the students to return to Springfield.

Well it is time to play with the video camera again or maybe read some more. We are reading unChristian by David Kinnamon of the Barna Group and Gabe Lyons. It is pretty good and definitely provides some reflection material. More on that later.

Peace.

New Blog!

Oh my goodness! We're starting a new blog!

It's gonna be fun!

-Dave and Linds