I've been re-reading Wild at Heart for the past couple of weeks. There is something that resonates within me when I explore the mans heart that God gave me. It is inspiring to know that the passion and fierceness I sometimes feel is in my nature. It makes me think about how Jesus at times was this confrontational man who stood up to the people he encountered. When the situation called for it, Jesus could unleash on people and tell them strait up how things are. Of course, there were times when Jesus was gentle, compassionate, and loving, but it helps me to know that he was strong. He ruffled peoples feathers.
When Judas and the soldiers came carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons to arrest Jesus, he asked them who they were looking for. They said they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus replied "I am he." When he said that, the crowd actually fell backward onto the ground. Then he asked them again who is it you are looking for. The crowd said Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said, "I told you that I am he. (John 18 paraphrased)
That is a powerful presence. There is no mistaking the identity of Christ.
Jesus was a real man.

There are many changes coming up in my life. I graduate from college in April and will have to start my career. We're planning on moving to a different state depending on where I get a job. It's exciting and stressful at the same time. There are many, many choices of places to go , but I don't know where I should go yet. I pray that God takes guides us to where we can do work for him. One of our top priorities will be to find a place where we can get involved in a dynamic church.
It will be sad to leave the place where we have been for about 6 years. It is our home and we have many friends in the Zoo.

Megan and I went up north this past weekend with her family to a cabin they own in Baldwin, MI. We snowmobiled on Sat and Sun. On Sat we took a 50 mile trip over to Lake Michigan around Manistee. It was awesome to see the beach the beach covered in snow with huge waves because of 30 mile an hour wind. The trails through the forrest were beautiful after the fresh 6 inches of snow that fell. At least the parts that I saw when I was concentrating on not falling off my snowmobile at 60 miles per hour. I'm happy whenever I can get away for the weekend and relax. Seeing the beauty of northern Michigan reminds of how awesome God is. Having a different perspective and being in a different place, if even for a weekend, is refreshing.

I have fallen to my knees
As I sing a lullaby of pain
I’m feeling broken in my melody
As I sing to help the tears go away
Then I remember the pledge you made to me

I know you’e always there
To hear my every prayer inside
I’m clinging to the promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

Will you help me fall apart
Pick me up, take me in your arms
Find my way back from the storm
And you show me how to grow
Through the change
I still remember the pledge you made to me

I am holding on to the hope I have inside
With you I will stay through every day
Putting my understanding aside
And I am comforted

Kutless
Promise of a Lifetime

Why is it hard to practice faith on your own. It seems whenever I try to venture out on my own, I fail again and again. It seems like I cannot grow closer to God on will power alone. That is why I buy into this community thing. Getting together with other people to dialogue is the best thing I can do. I am encouraged to dig into my faith by people who are also working through theirs. It helped me to read through the bible every night with my wife. One of us would encourage the other person to read that night. We drifted away from that the past couple of months but it was a real help to have the extra budge to learn from the bible. Every time a go to our discipleship groups and Sunday morning service I feel empowered to live out my faith. But this quickly fades when I am on my own when I go back to work or spend a couple of days researching for my graduate work.
It feels good to write this down. I pray for more consistency.

I was preparing for a discussion with a group that meets on Tuesday nights and I thought I would write down some of my thoughts. Getting together and kicking it with other people in discussion can be an awesome way to grow. Especially in a setting like our d-groups as we call it. We all learn from each other and try to see what the bible says about different topics.
This week, we're going to discuss harmony. Scott let me borrow the book Off Road Disciplines by Earl Creps and we've been discussing different topics from that book. The chapter on Harmony: The discipline of blending differences was a good one. Creps says that harmony happens when all the major brands of church value the Christian witness to the world above personal preferences.
These personal preferences are something that I have been prone to getting caught up in. I would say I went as far as to discredit a certain church because I didn't agree with their methods. Only because they weren't right for me. But I realized that if their purpose is to show people the way of Jesus, I should be able to live in harmony with them.
Our way of doing church is innovative and some people may have a problem with that. I could argue with them and become mutually hostile, but that other people would see that we were not in harmony.
People are so diverse, that certain methods and preferences are never going to please 100% of poeple. I pray that Jesus would make me part of his answer for harmony.

I bought an X-Box from a guy that Megan works with last week. Since Megan doesn't play video games, I played alone a few times. It was cool playing the new Madden and NCAA football games, but I am used to playing with someone else. Like playing Halo with my old roommate, or taking on my friends in Tiger Woods Golf, or playing with my brother as teammates on Madden. I think the reason X-Box is fun, is the social aspect of having someone to trash talk to, laugh with, and chat with while playing. It's kind of boring playing with yourself.
It's the friendship part of X-box that I like. If you're going to spend time playing video games, why not play with someone else and build your friendship. So if anyone wants to play, I'll take you down in Madden or Tiger Woods. Maybe not Halo, I need some practice.

Joel Hunter was recently named the president of the Christian Coalition and then stepped down after a few weeks because of a difference in priorities. Joel wanted to expand the scope of the organization to include issues like poverty and the environment. The Coalition said these issues are good issues, but they're not our issues. Typically, the Christian Coalition mainly supports marriage and pro life issues. There are more than just two or three political issues. I don't consider myself a hardcore political person, but hearing something like that makes me sad. The Christian Coalition and people in general should support needy/sick people and protecting the earth. I hope other political organizations don't draw the conclusion that Christians are not concerned with these issues.

Sources Relevant Magazine, Orlando Sentinel

I decided to start a blog and see where it goes. I would like to get out some of my thoughts through writing. I've have enjoyed reading others blogs and have learned a lot from them. Maybe if you read my blog, you will learn how to become more Funktastic.