YES I AM YOUR HERO

PENN & TELLER

2009-01-05T21:50:00.003-06:00

Wow! I haven't blogged in a long time. It's because life has been crazy. Of course it has been a good kind of crazy. Changing jobs, having a kid, selling a house, and all kinds of stuff tend to take me away from blogging which I am not very good at anyway.

I was at a youth conference this past weekend and was shown the following video blog from Penn from Penn & teller. Penn is an athiest. As I listened to him I couldn't help but shed some tears. Watch for yourself.

CARDBOARD TESTIMONIES

2008-06-26T13:59:00.000-05:00

Gollum sings Barry White

2008-04-28T21:59:00.001-05:00

I LOVE TO LAUGH

2008-04-05T22:45:00.000-05:00

SIMPLE QUESTION, SIMPLE ANSWER

2008-04-05T22:37:00.001-05:00

IF ONLY ANSWERS TO LIFE QUESTIONS WERE THIS SIMPLE.

HAD TO LAUGH!

2008-04-02T11:37:00.000-05:00

GOD BLESS AMERICA?

2008-03-23T12:20:00.008-05:00

I've always hated the bumper sticker that says "God Bless America". I ususally see it on cars that also include other ridiculous bumber stickers that are supposedly "Christian". What exactly does this bumper sticker mean anyway? Does it mean that we as Americans are selfish and do not care about other people in the world? Do we think that no one besides ourselves should have any blessings at all

What about this next bumper sticker. I think it is a little more accurate. Of course that could be interpreted wrong as well. Do we really think we can tell God He needs to bless us? I think He already has since He gave His Son to die for us so that we can be free from complete seperation.

It's sad when I see stickers like the one below that want to see Christ so bad through those of us who claim to be Christians. I know that we as Christians are not perfect and have many faults just like the rest of the world, but how do we shift this attitude and perception the world has about us? Is it possible?

SPRING IS HERE!

2008-03-22T11:39:00.002-05:00

SECOND DAY OF SPRING!!!!

WORSHIP NIGHT

2008-03-19T10:52:00.002-05:00

One of the highlights of my week is hanging out with middle school students every Tuesday night. Last night we had a worship night consisiting of music and many other experiential avenues. One of the stations was an opportunity to write a note with prayers to God and post it on the wall. I took some time to go around and read some of the prayers. It struck me hard to see all of the prayers asking God to help their parents to stop fighting and to stop many divorces of either their parents or their friends parents. There were also many prayers for their dads to find and to follow Christ or for their dads to start acting like the Christian they say they are.

All I can say is that it is so sad to see the pain these students are going through. I wish I could make it better for them. It's scary because I am going to be a father soon and I never want my kids to feel that way about me. I pray that my life will be one that shows love to my wife, my kids, to Christ, my friends, and everyone I possibly can show love to.

BACON

2008-03-14T15:12:00.005-05:00

As I was driving to Lake Geneva the other day I was doing what I shouldn't have been doing. I had a BLT Ranch Crispy Chicken Sandwich in one hand while driving with a cross between the other hand and my knee. Of course none of you have ever done this but if you were to try you would agree that it can be difficult, especially when driving on I-43 with all of the pot holes.

As I looked down at the box in my lap that the sandwich was so delicately wrapped in I saw a small piece of bacon! The bacon looked glorious and I knew I must have the bacon! It wasn't enough that I had a big piece of juicy crisp bacon on the sandwich I was holding.....NO, I had to have the lonely piece in the box. So I put my knee on the steering wheel and used my other hand to grab the piece of bacon. Mmmm! It was delicious! Better than the piece of bacon on the sandwich!

How many times do we reach for what we shouldn't have? We see something we really want but in reality it is dangerous. These things that are out of our reach can distract us from what really matters.

Colossians 2 & 3 tells us:

[2] 20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

[3] 1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Those things we definitely should not reach for. They are harmful and dangerous. I have been reading the book of Colossians for a while and I believe it is full of instruction on how we should live. If we truly are a new creation then we will not reach for the bacon that is dangerous. If we truly are a new creation then our hearts will seek our Creator and our lives will reflect the image of the one who so lovingly designed us.

FOX 6 NEWS

2008-01-29T19:17:00.000-06:00

I'm famous now.

http://www.myfoxmilwaukee.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5620572&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.1.1

EASY LOVE

2007-12-31T20:43:00.000-06:00

It's so easy to love those who love you....or at least most of the time it is. But what about the others? Not necessarily those that hate you but those who seem neutral. Luke 6:32-33 has been on my mind a lot lately. Here is what it says:

32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.

---Bible Gateway---

I find I am having a hard time loving one of these neutral persons in my life. I do not hate them but I do not love them.....I just put up with them. In some ways this is more devastating to my spiritual growth because it is so neutral that it is like being in lukewarm water. It may not be the most perfect condition but is comfortable enough to not take any action. Maybe this is why God prefers us to be either hot or cold in our faith.

Personality Type

2007-12-20T22:20:00.001-06:00

I had to take this test I found on Brandon's blog. Below is a definition.

ENTJ - The "Chief"
Myers-Briggs Personality Types (Free Test)
ENTJs are strategic, organized and possess natural leadership qualities. They are master coordinators that can effectively give direction to groups. They are able to understand complicated organizational situations and quick to develop intelligent solutions. ENTJs are outspoken and will not hesitate to speak of their plans for improvement. They are decisive and value knowledge, efficiency and competence.

About the ENTJ
Expert Quotes & Links

"ENTJs are natural born leaders. They live in a world of possibilities where they see all sorts challenges to be surmounted, and they want to be the ones responsible for surmounting them. They have a drive for leadership, which is well-served by their quickness to grasp complexities, their ability to absorb a large amount of impersonal information, and their quick and decisive judgments." - Portrait of an ENTJ (The Personality Page)

"...have a strong natural urge to give structure and direction wherever they are -- to harness people in the field and to direct them to achieve distant goals." - The Portrait of the FieldMarshal Rational (Keirsey)

"leader, ambitious, hard working, dominant, prepared, hates to be bored, confident, opinionated, analytical..." - Jung Type Descriptions (ENTJ) (similarminds.com)"

"Unequivocating" expresses the resoluteness of the ENTJ's dominant function (Extraverted Thinking). Clarity of convictions endows these Thinkers with a knack for debate, or wanting knack, a penchant for argument. The light and heat generated by Thinking at the helm can be impressive; perhaps even overwhelming." - ENTJ Profile (TypeLogic)

"At work, ENTJs contribute a wealth of energy directed toward the goals and those of the organization. Their sense of identity is closely tied to how they carry out their responsibilities. They are curious about new ideas and theories, evaluating them in terms of their goals. They are very efficient, competitive, strategic, and task focused." - ENTJ - The Leader (Lifexplore)

SERVING PEOPLE

2007-11-17T14:04:00.000-06:00

Last night I had the opportunity to do what I do best. I was able to market my store and brand. I was also able to work with people and serve them as well. This was all out of the normal work environment I am normally in. I felt I was able to make a difference in peoples lives and didn't have to worry about so many other things that I typically have to. Last night I was passionate about what I was doing and loved every second of it.

A thought that occured to me is why am I not that passionate about life in general? Why am I so apathetic in the day to day operations of my circumstances? Why does it seem that my passion for Christ is so mute? I don't really think that my passion for Christ really is mute but that it is being muted. I have really been trying to figure this out for a long time now and haven't really gotten any where. It definitely is a sinking feeling though when you know you're in the wrong place in life but can't figure out a course to put you where you need to be.

LANDSCAPING

2007-10-05T18:54:00.000-05:00

Well, phase I of my landscaping project is complete. Phase II is next year. I do not have anything planted on the left side of the front of the house. Next year I will put rock in as well. Here are some before, during, and after pics.

PEOPLE

2007-09-08T20:17:00.000-05:00

It's interesting that I used to be an incredibly shy person growing up. Although I am not the most outgoing person in the world, I still love being around people. People are great. Tonight Katy and I hung out with friends...those we knew well and those not so well. It was great no matter how long or how much we knew them. It's such a change of pace from normal every day life. Currently my life is filled with being around people because of the type of job I have, but the problem is that there is not enough time to really build those relationships. Some of it is partly because of my status as a manager, but also because the only value the company sees is that of money and not people. We are a very customer service oriented business, but it is driven out of increasing sales and revenues. I guess my problem is that I want something deeper. I try to make the most of it, but sometimes it's just so hard because of all the stuff they keep putting on us managers. The unfortunate thing about answering to shareholders is that they value money more than anyhing else. If only they could look ahead in life and see how trivial money is when they get to the end of their life.

GOD'S WILL......DOES THE PHRASE HAVE A MEANING

2007-09-03T20:57:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that whenever someone asks me what I think God's will is for my life I just want to run away from them and not respond at all. Growing up in a fundamental Baptist church totally screwed me up I think. I think the question of God's will for every Christians life is universally the same but is acted out differently and uniquely in everyones life. God has a story that we're all a part of. We have our own character and circumstances. We have our strengths and our weaknesses. We have our fear, doubts, and assurances. But what happens when you you feel useless and have no clue how the message of Christ is to be acted out in your life? What happens when the bookmark falls out and you've lost your page.

It's really messed up when the Christian realm values a person based on their level of book smarts. I believe education is a foundational piece to teaching others, but is that the only thing? When you think about people in the Bible such as Jonah you may beome irritated with him (I do) because it's like he doesn't have a clue that God used him. He appears to be completely selfish. Maybe he is selfish, but what if he just doesn't really feel like he has a place? What if he needs someone to give him a break? I'm probably going somewhere with the story of Jonah that doesn't make sense to most, but I'm trying to think a little differently about his situation. I'm tired of the shallowness of most churches but how am I making it to be different?

I guess maybe I just rambled on but I have so many thoughts in my head that I can't seem to get a grasp on and focus. God's will for my life is to serve him and be a light unto all people. How that looks for me is different than how it looks for you. But tell me, what do you do when it seems that your unique part in God's story feels like it has been erased from the page?

What we learned in Mexico

2007-08-01T19:48:00.001-05:00

Another great video.

Mosaic Mexico Mission Trip

2007-08-01T19:47:00.001-05:00

This is a great video from the Mexico trip.

A LETTER OF THANKS

2007-07-19T17:07:00.000-05:00

I wanted to give you an update on the trip I recently took to Tecate, Mexico. The team and I arrived safely back to Milwaukee on July 14th after only a two hour flight delay leaving San Diego, Ca. I first of all want to thank everyone for your generosity whether it was prayer support, a financial gift, or both. I appreciate you all! The picture above shows my specific house building group as well as the family we built it for. We took approximately 50 middle schoolers and divided them all up in to smaller groups. Each smaller group built a house. Altogether our large group built a total of 5 12’x16’ houses. The lady in the front row three over from the right is Maria. My smaller group built the house specifically for her. She will be living in the house with her grandson who supports her financially.
This trip was an amazing experience for us all. I believe that everyone experienced every emotion possible while on this trip. Generally a mission trip’s purpose is to help those who are “less fortunate” experience Christ’s love by building a house or church for them. It typically includes some sort of VBS or some other program designed to verbally share the message of Christ. While in Tecate, Mexico we accomplished this purpose. I have to admit though that most of the time when we take mission trips our western mentality automatically thinks that we are doing something noble. We tend to hold ourselves up as the people who are going to share everything we know and that we are the ones who can make a difference in the lives of the “less fortunate”. Although we can make a difference in people’s lives for Christ we must also go with a humble spirit realizing that God wants to use the people we are trying to reach to help us see God in them. A mission trip is not about making ourselves feel good about what we’ve done. It is ok to feel good about it, but we must recognize God as the one who is doing the work through us.
I used the term “less fortunate” a couple of times already because it is generally the term that comes to mind when we think of the people we are going to serve on a mission trip. But what really is meant by less fortunate? We often look at this as people who do not have much money or those who have no money at all. Most of the time we consider them as people with no material possessions at all. Jesus reminds us in Mark 12:42-44 that just because we have wealth and give doesn’t mean that we are making a sacrifice. I learned this truth while in Mexico. Although I am not wealthy according to the “standards” of our society, I am wealthy as opposed to other societies. I realized that although I gave up a weeks worth of vacation I could have used for myself, time with my wife, money out of my own pocket to help pay for the trip, and many other things that I really didn’t make much of a sacrifice at all. After the week was over I came back home and picked up where I left off without it feeling like there was some sort of interruption or sacrifice that I had made. I realize that God has blessed me in so many ways physically, spiritually, and financially. If I am not actively and joyfully giving to others what God has so richly blessed me with, then I have completely missed his blessings and I have made no sacrifice at all.
I am not trying to downplay that importance of building houses for those who are not financially blessed. I just want to emphasize the importance of having a proper perspective on life. What do we value? As we met Maria and her family and started working on her house, we learned some valuable lessons. Everyday she had a beautiful smile that just penetrated your heart. She made our group lunch every single day which definitely cost her more than a month’s worth of income for her. Maria also took the time and money to make sure the beverages she made for us were of purified water and not the typical water that would make Americans sick from the impurities we are not used to. Maria and her son Noah would go to the local market and buy us bottles of coke as a treat. They wanted to express their gratitude in any way they could. Noah even helped us build the house. This was
definitely a challenge because he didn’t speak English so it was challenging in communicating what we were doing. The cool thing is that his friend Jose came to help as well and translated for us. Jose helped us build and he was great with working with the students. God used our group to bless Maria and her family with materialistic needs which is a big blessing to them and the value to them is not to be overlooked at all. But their generosity to us was a huge sacrifice for them. They didn’t care how much it cost them as long as they were able to give us whatever they could to make us comfortable and to feel at home. This was a lesson that touched each one of our hearts and made us re-evaluate our motives for going on a mission trip.
On the last day at the work site we dedicated the house to Maria and her family. We had a translator from our group help us out. We presented Maria with a Spanish Bible which we all signed. We were also able to give here more items that she needed to help her live. As a smaller group we collected $205.00 out of our own spending money to buy her rugs, pillows, a propane stove, broom, dishes, a pot and pan, and a few other items. These items were also a huge blessing to her.
During the week and on the day of dedication we were able to have conversation with Maria, Noah, Jose, and some of the other local people. We were able to talk about each of their beliefs. Maria believes in God but I am not sure to what extent her belief goes. Jose is definitely not a follower of Christ by his own admission. He told us though that he could feel something in his heart that wasn’t there before our group came to Tecate. He was definitely searching to know what this feeling was. He definitely needs prayer as he searches for the truth of Christ as well as to keep clean from the drugs and alcohol he once was addicted to in the past. The incredible thing about Jose is that he would not have been there for us to show him Christ if Maria and Noah would not have taken him into their home. They took Jose in to help him get away from his addictions and to help him start over. They did not previously know him…..they just welcomed him and loved him.
This trip was a great experience for me and the entire group and I wanted to thank you again for your support. You are a blessing to me and to the people we were with in Tecate, Mexico. Please check out the website http://www.flickr.com/photos/9922827@N06/sets/. There are a lot of pictures from the trip from our entire group. I love you all!

Thank you and God bless you,

Jason Eeten

Grizzly Bears

2007-07-01T11:15:00.000-05:00

Image taken from: http://www.hoothollow.com/Trip%20Report%20-%20Animals%20of%20Montana%202005.html

Grizzly Bears really do exist in the Grand Tetons! Follow the link below to read the story.

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/7988962.html

SLAYING THE DRAGON

2007-05-26T13:14:00.001-05:00

Katy and I recently returned from a vacation in Florida. Above is the dragon I slew. It's made of Legos so it wasn't very difficult.

Below is a pic of us at Epcot in the section of the park made to look like Italy.

CONVINCED VS. CONVICTED

2007-05-25T15:03:00.001-05:00

I was trying to decide if there is a difference between being convinced about something and being convicted about something. I think the dictionary confused me more but here is what I found:

The following definitions are taken from http://www.m-w.com/ :

Convince: to bring (as by argument) to belief, consent, or a course of action

Convicted: a strong persuasion or belief & the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth b : the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth

What I make of it is that conviction is the acting out of what we are convinced of.

So where am I going with this? Not completely sure except that I am trying to figure out how to really live out my faith. I think I struggle with that question more than ever before. If I am so conviced that God is real and that Jesus died for me and that the Holy Spirit guides me, then where is the conviction that I should have all the time? What does this conviction look like?

Let me know if you have some thoughts.

GENERAL LEE

2007-05-04T18:16:00.000-05:00

If only I had $9.9 million dollars I could have bought the General Lee on Ebay. I was just a few quarters short.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070504/ennew_afp/entertainmentfilmauto_070504223323

VISUAL STIMULATION

2007-03-18T11:02:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to work with the tech crew for the Elmbrook women's conference in Lake Geneva. Ginny Owens was their guest artist for the conference. It was during her Saturday night performance that I was struck with a thought that made me think about what causes a real encounter with God. I believe everyone can experience God in many ways and may also have a couple of ways that really hit it for them. But this night caused me to think hard about some of the ways we use that could be defines as "materialistic". Ginny was telling her story about how she doesn't want pity of for people to feel sorry for her because she is blind. She is very talented in the fact that she can play the piano and compose songs.......and she can't see! She totally loves God and it is obvious that she connects with God. As I was listening to her while at the same time running the controls for the cameras that were filming her, I had to ask myself a question. The guestion was, "What am I doing here?" I couldn't figure out why I was helping with visual effects. Was our job to produce a show that wowed the audience with lighting and camera affects? Would they have had the same experience listening to Ginny give praise and honor to God without the effects? Ginny had no clue of what the stage looked like yet she was able to give her all to God. In the attempt to make a more invithing atmosphere for people to worship God, do we actually create an atmoshphere that takes us further from God without even realizing it? Now, I'm not trying to say we need to stop everything we do to draw people in the church or to help them experience God.....but we do need to find out WHY we are doing those things. What is our MOTIVATION? Does it HONOR God?

FEELING

2007-03-07T23:47:00.000-06:00

This following song is by an artist named Nicole Sponberg. The name of the song is Resurrection. The lyrics seem to put a lot in to words some of the things I've been feeling for a while. It's amazing how someone else's words can actually sort of describe someone else's thoughts and feelings. Sometimes when we feel a certain way we tend to think we are the only ones feeling the way we do. We start to isolate ourselves and our feelings until it slowly unravels us. It is comforting to know that we are not alone in our trials. Everyone has unique feelings and circumstances, but we are all able to understand in some way other people's pain and hurt. God is so brilliant in His creation. He has designed a world of people that are capable to be His hands and feet. He is amazing!

RESURRECTION:

I'm at a loss for words, there's nothing to say
I sit in silence wondering what led me to this place
How did my heart become so lifeless and cold
Where did the passion go?

When all my efforts seem like chasing wind
I've used up all my strength and there's nothing left to give
I've lost the feeling and I'm down to the core
I can't fake it anymore.

chorus:
Here I am at the end I'm in need of resurrection
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
What I've lost to the world what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again

You speak and all creation falls to its knees
You raise Your hand and calm the waves of the raging sea
You have a way of turning winter to spring
Make something beautiful out of all this suffering

chorus 2:
Here I am once again I'm in need of resurrection
Only You can take this empty shell and raise it from the dead
What I've lost to the world what seems far beyond redemption
You can take the pieces in Your hand and make me whole again, again

You have a way of turning winter to spring
Make something beautiful out of all this suffering

SETH

2007-01-21T14:38:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I have blogged......which is no suprise at all. Anyway, for now I just wanted to pass along a website that my brother and his wife created to help everyone keep track of the status of their son Seth. Seth is 2 years old and has been in the hospital in pretty bad condition. It is awesome to see how well he is doing now and how God has helped him and continues to do so. Sorry I didn't have this site posted sooner but it has been a little hectic.

http://seth.eandscomm.com/

GIVING TO GET

2006-12-03T19:13:00.000-06:00

As I was driving home last night I was listening to the radio. As I listened the announcer I felt disgusted by what he had to say. He was talking about pants for the homeless. Now...before you like that I am a loser and am disgusted about the idea of giving pants to the homeless.....please read on. The idea to give new or gently used pants to the homeless is awesome. What a great way to help those who are less fortunate that we are. The part I am disgusted about is the motive behind the giving. The announcer said that we should give because it's Christmas and so it's a time for us to do something nice. Now, I really don't think he meant to come across like Christmas time is the only time to do something nice, so honestly that isn't what's really bothering me. What is bothering me the incentive offered behind the giving. If you were to give a new or gently used pair of pants to this charity you will recieve a coupon for a free burrito or something else at Chipoltle. As this incentive was being used as a way to get people to give I began to think of how selfish and greedy we can be. It's as if the people who came up with this incentive knew that they had to offer something in return in order to get people to give. The idea of this just made me sick. Why can't we just give to give? Why do we have to be bribed and hassled to give something to others? Are our hearts so cold and selfish that we only do something for others in order to make ourselves feel good and to get something of monetary value in return?

HAPPY

2006-12-03T19:12:00.000-06:00

I finished one of my classes for the semester today! I actually received my final grade as well and received a 96%!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

2006-11-30T20:40:00.000-06:00

It's been quite a while since I have blogged. Let me just say that the past 4 weeks have been rough. I was working between 70 and 90 hours a week,trying to work on 6 credit hours of school, trying work on my house, and trying to spend time with Katy. I will call your attention to the operative word "trying" used in most of the previous cases. Things are settling down more now...which is great because I think for once in my life I felt like I actually reached my limit physically, spiritually, and mentally.

The most interesting thing about the last few weeks is that I now notice how much my spiritual health suffered the most. It was like I totally lost that part of my life. I was so consumed with other things that I neglected it all together. It's not like I really wanted to work that much...it just happened and I felt really trapped. During this time I also felt like a complete disappointment to everyone I knew. My relationship with God suffered, my relationship with Katy suffered, and with friends, family, and anyone else you could name. I missed a lot of my committments to the jr. high group I serve at and I even disappointed my boss in some areas even with all of the hard work I was doing. It's as if I couldn't win in anything I did.

I'm not sure where I am going with all of this except that I really want to apologize to those who suffered in some way or another because I let them down. I used to be so good at balancing things in life and keeping my committments to people....but these past few weeks have been quite a different story.

Not really sure how to end this blog....one thing that is cool is that I saw a really cool job posting for someone to manage a coffee shop that belonged to a church. It would carry with it all of the managerial responsibilities but would also function as a pastoral role in finding ways to incorporate new ministries with the coffee house. I was so excited to see such a job position. Unfortunately the job is in West Bend and we are not ready to make any kind of move out of the area any time soon. It did give me hope that maybe someday I will find an opportunity like that in this area.

COMMUNION

2006-09-10T19:09:00.000-05:00

As I was holding the clear plastic communion cup the other day I was staring at the juice inside the cup trying to picture Christ's blood. While I was doing so, I noticed my finger through the transparent cup. As I looked closer I could see that not only was my finger magnified but so were my fingerprints. I could see in detail the lines that make up my prints.....the prints that are unique only to me. I have noticed this before but this time it took on a whole new meaning. I realized that Christ died and shed his blood for me. This is not a new truth but as I saw my unique fingerprint through the plastic that was shaded by the blood colored juice, I realized that my sins that I commit are what put Christ there. I so deeply want my life to honor my Lord. I am so thankful for His incredible love.

CONTENTMENT?

2006-09-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

Are you ever torn over what to do in life? Being 28 years old and not knowing what I am good at........or should I say not knowing what to do with what I am good at is really depressing sometimes. I hate the feelings I sometimes get when I feel like I am doing absolutely nothing to further God's kingdom. The past year has been a lot like that.

2006 EMMY'S

2006-08-27T21:20:00.000-05:00

Picture taken from: http://www.dickclarkproductions.com/html/television.html

John 13:34-35 - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

As I watched the Emmy's and saw the segment that payed tribute to Dick Clark, I couldn't help but notice the deep love and respect that everyone seemed to have for this man. The love shown was intensified (if that's really a word) by the recent stroke that Dick had suffered leaving its horrible mark on his life. As much as we as Christians can learn a lot on how not to live by the "Hollywood crowd", I believe we can also learn a lot on how to love others by the same crowd. Compassion is greatly needed in our society. It's not that it is not there, it's just not promoted very well......it's kept quiet by those who need desperately to display it. Hollywood has its avenues of displaying love and compassion very publicly, so what do we as Christians have? Do we have any means of displaying this love and compassion that Jesus commands us to have? I believe that the answer to this question is the Church made up of many individual lives who each have a common goal. This common goal is to glorify God by loving all of His creation. We have the means to show this to the world.......now if only we could figure out how to love each other within the Church our love and compassion would be clearly communicated to the world.

PUNISHED

2006-08-15T07:04:00.000-05:00

I decided this week to read the book of Lamentations because I really have not paid much attention to it in the past. As I was reading I came across the following verses:

"Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven, and say: 'we have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.'"

Lamentations 3:39-42

Yes it is true that our sins can bring punishment from God. Our society doesn't like to view God as a God who punishes. We tend to stay away from that message and focus only on the love of Jesus. The funny thing about this way of thinking is that we totally miss how the two connect. Without punishment we can't have the love of Jesus. This punishment is not of a brutal and unfair nature; it is of a nature that allows us to feel remorse and desire to change an area of our life. This punishment is not even of an eternal nature to those who believe in Christ because He took the ultimate punishment in our place. The punishment that we may receive is out of the love of God who showed us His amazing mercy and His amazing grace.

YEAH......IT'S KIND OF LIKE THAT

2006-07-27T00:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/index.html

MERGE

2006-07-23T21:25:00.000-05:00

I spent the past week in Wheaton at the Merge conference. I am exhausted from it! It was really cool to see students and leaders learn new truths from God's story. I had the privilege of being a learning coach, which basically helps lead students into deeper discussion about the stories of the Bible. It was also great to listen to the stories of the youth as they went into the communities to serve others in the name of Christ. The conference could definitely use some fine tuning, but it is very effective in changing the heart of students and helping them to see the big picture through the stories they interact with. I do hold a special place in my heart for SEMP though because it was an experience God used in my life to mold me into who I am today. It helped me understand more about who God was and it forced me to break out of my comfort zone to be a light for Christ in the lives of my friends. I really believe that there is room for both of these types of conferences and not just one. I believe both are equally important.

A TRIBUTE TO BARISTA'S EVERYWHERE

2006-07-14T21:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/index.html

WHO MAKES IT POSSIBLE?

2006-07-12T07:10:00.000-05:00

Last night I had an awesome opportunity to speak at my good friend Brandons middle school youth group. Before I spoke Katy and I realized that it had been about a year since I had last spoken to a group. Wow! It didn't seem like it had been that long! I have to admit that the thought of going back to work today which doesn't involve working with students is saddening to me. Oh well, I know that right now I am where God wants me to be...and who nows for how long. Anyway, last night went really well and I was really pumped about the whole thing. I feel like God's Spirit was totally with me. I feel that speaking has never been a gift that I have had naturally but I have learned over the years how to develop it more and more. I am definitely not an amazing speaker my any means but I can tell I am getting better. One thing I know for sure is that whenever I speak I have to completely focus on God and rely on His strength to be able to speak clearly the message He desires. I find that when I do this , the speking goes really well. I have also clearly tried to speak to groups before on my own strength and have realized that when I do so I do a horrible job. I know that anything I can do is made possible by God. I am nothing without Him. If only I would go through life everyday with this realization in the front of my mind.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE!

2006-06-17T21:33:00.000-05:00

Hello! Wow! It's been quite a while since I have last posted. I have been so extremely busy lately that I just really haven't had time to post. I have been working hard at management training at Caribou and have been working hard at classes through Moody. My summer 3 credit class is taking up a lot of time since it has to be done in half the time of a normal semester. I am actually in 6 credits right now. I think I am going insane.

Katy and I also started to work with the Jr. High group at Elmbrook. We are excited about that! We started last week and already on the first night I was loving it. It was great to be able to start connecting with students again. I miss it a lot! Anyway, that's all for now since I am taking a break form my studying for a bit.

CORPORATE AMERICA AT IT'S BEST

2006-04-20T20:50:00.000-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/nonsequitur

HAPPY EASTER!

2006-04-16T08:46:00.000-05:00

HE IS RISEN!

http://www.art.com/asp/sp.asp?PD=10079592&RFID=990016#

TRUE WORSHIP?

2006-04-14T12:54:00.000-05:00

As a lot of people know, I have been taking classes through Moody Bible Institute for a while and I am pretty close to finishing my degree. Overall, the education I have received as been very meaningful and has taught me a lot. But right now I am very unhappy with a particulat course I am taking. It is a class called Christian Worship. I was a little worried when I received my books and discovered a book called True Worship: Reclaiming the Wonder & Majesty, as well as a hymnal called The Worshipping Church. Now, I have nothing against hymnals or singing hymns at all. As a matter of fact, I believe that a lot of hymns are very valuable in what they teach. I also believe that today's contemporary songs can be just as valuable. Here is my problem with the course. Although the author claims to be writing with an objective and open mind about what true worship is, it is obvious as to what he believes constitutes true worship. Let me quote a disturbing line from the book by Donald Hustad. It says, "But, in my view, a megachurch is not a church that I can identify in the New Testament - a church in which worshippers know and are known by a pastor, and one in which they find true spiritual community with more than a handful of people. Only in such a church can the body of Christ be genuinely experienced. Hustad made this comment in general about Mega churches but used Willow Creek as his main example. I really don't know what all to say about this book I have to read, but the arrogance as well as ignorance of this guy makes me sick. It's hard for me to finish this course when I don't necessarily agree with this guy.

To Hustad's credit, he does have some very valid points. One of his desires is to see the church be unified in their worship instead of drawing the lines between our worship style preferences. This is a very difficult thing to accomplish but I believe at the root of it is the recognition that we all have one thing in common which is Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Here is another quote from Hustad. "THe procedure of searching for consensus under the Holy Spirit's guidance will properly incorporate the gifts of the community - as gifts to be shared for the upbuilding of all, rather thatn for the self-fulfillment of the gift's possessors."

One thing I strongly believe in the the incorporation of the all ages in corporate worship. I believe as a church we have failed to stress the importance to the younger generations of the importance of the unityin Christ that we have with all ages. Sure there are generational and cultural differences.....but what do they matter in the end? What are we accomplishing by creating such tension in the church body? Is it of selfish nature of do we believe that what we are doing is directed by the Holy Spirit? The world is watching us as a divided church. When will be show the opposite? Do not take this blog as me saying that we should do away with all age specific programs or different worship styles. It is merely me saying that I believe that these programs are very important, but we need to do more in making sure we worship together as well and do not isolate ourselves from each other.

What happens to those who are too old for their age group? Where do they go? Do they feel invited and accepted to in "Big Church", or do they just drop out? I wish I had answers.

PLACES I'VE BEEN.......AT LEAST ONES I REMEMBER

2006-04-01T20:32:00.000-06:00

create your own visited states map

create your own visited countries map

Too bad you can't see Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago on this map....but I was there.

TOO FUNNY!

2006-02-26T15:57:00.000-06:00

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/nonsequitur

UNITED TOGETHER

2006-02-26T15:23:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I blogged about my difficulty lately of connecting with God through music. I've had a hard time connecting through music during worship services. I have recently discovered a new way that I connect with God which seems kind of weird but is actually pretty cool. I've been aware for a long time that serving people is actually a spiritual gift of mine and have always been encouraged when I see people serving other people. Seeing people help others helps me connect with God as it does when I serve people myself. But recently I have seen a new aspect of this connection with God. During the music portion of the worship services I have started watching closely the musicians that are on stage. As I watch them play the violin, harp, piano, guitar, drums, and whatever else there may be, I see them as people that are using their gifts to glorify God. They are using their gifts to lead others into the presence of God. They are not just musicians playing the selected set but individuals in the body of Christ working together united for one cause. As I watch them play I can hear the beautiful sound of the congergation lifting up their voices as one to the Lord God. I can see God's hand so clearly in all of this. God has gifted each person to be able to work together to accomplish what he desires. Now, as I stand there not using my voice and wondering what is wrong with me, I am able to worship God through seeing other people use their gifts to serve others. My heart has finally found a much needed connection once again. Thanks God!

PSALM 19:14 (NIV)

2006-02-20T08:20:00.000-06:00

MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH AND THE MEDITATION OF MY HEART BE PLEASING IN YOUR SIGHT, O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER.

(Something to think about today)

PUPPETS & STRINGS

2006-01-31T21:49:00.000-06:00

So....I watched the State of the Union Address tonight and I couldn't help but be annoyed at the whole thing. The address has become more than ever a way to publicly show how much republicans and democrats really hate each other. Ok, hate is possibly too strong of a word but I don't know what else to use. Both parties talk about working together but they never do nor do they seem to have any intention of doing so. It seems as if there is no getting past the partisan lines. Although I voted republican in the last election, I can't say that I was extremely happy with the candidate, but I have to say that a vote for Kerry would have felt like voting for the devil. Republicans right now seem to be hard asses to the democrats while democrats seem to want republicans to give up all morals whatsoever. It seems that neither party in Congress really has the best interest of the people in mind. They have their own agenda which are labeled republican way or democrat way.

What was even more annoying is what appears to be the new democratic puppet on a string. This new puppet is Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. Kaine is a democrat who apparently he has reached across partisan lines in Virginia by relying on his Catholic background and missionary work to bridge that gap. Unfortunately democrats have found that it worked at winning over republicans and are now exploiting that relationship on a national level in order to attempt to regain the presidency in the next election. His democratic response was definitley not a reach across partisan lines but of one that bashed the President and put democrats on a pedastool. He also couldn't stop talking about what he had done in Virginia. Could this governor be the beginning of a presidential candidate in the making? I don't know, but if so I hope he doesn't continue to be a puppet on strings like he was tonight.

Anyway, these are my thoughts.....tell me your yours. I don't care if they are different than mine because you have that right.

24:SEASON 5

2006-01-15T21:15:00.000-06:00

INSANE!!! INTENSE!!! I love this show! I am not disappointed at all. The premier was intense. This is definitely looking like another incredible season. I can't wait for the 2 hour second part tomorrow night.

IT'S WEIRD REALLY......

2005-12-25T21:35:00.000-06:00

For the last 2 or 3 months I have had a very hard time finding the value of music in worship services. I say this because I have had a very hard time connecting with worship music and find myself either zoning out during the singing or trying to figure out just what the words actually mean. I tend to look around at the other worshippers wondering what is going through their heads and hearts as they are saying the words typed out on the screen. No, I am not trying to judge these people. I am just really curious if they are feeling the same thing that I am or if they truly are having an incredible moment with their Creator. It's been so long since I have connected in this way that I am beginning to wonder if any of my previous experiences of connecting through music were actually real of if they were just a bunch of empty emotions brought on by a certain music style. Whatever the issue may be I really hope that I can reconnect (or maybe really connect for the first time) with my Creator in this way.

I'M STILL HERE!

2005-12-15T14:48:00.000-06:00

Yes....I am still alive. It's been a while since I've posted to my blog. I've been busy plus I really haven't had anything to write about.....at least nothing that I have been able to translate into something fluent. Hopefully soon I will have something to post. Oh yeah....I recently discovered again how cool I think ebay is!

YES I AM YOUR HERO

2005-11-14T19:29:00.000-06:00

You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause.

Batman, the Dark Knight

75%

Lara Croft

67%

The Terminator

58%

Indiana Jones

54%

James Bond, Agent 007

50%

Maximus

46%

Neo, the "One"

46%

William Wallace

42%

The Amazing Spider-Man

38%

Captain Jack Sparrow

29%

El Zorro

25%

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

YOU'RE WEIRD!!

2005-11-13T15:10:00.000-06:00

Just thought I would share this from my calendar. It's fun.

ADDICTION AND THE FIRST STEP

2005-11-10T11:06:00.000-06:00

Yes....I am an addict. I've been told that the first step to recovery is to admit that you have a problem. Here is my problem......I am addicted to Major League Baseball 2K5 for XBOX!

Oh good.....I feel better now that I've admitted it! Now I'm on the road to recovery.............. On second thought, This whole admitting you have a problem thing isn't working......I want to go play more baseball! I'm playing a season with the Red Sox and kicking butt! They need me, so I will go now.

DO WE UNDERSTAND FAITH?

2005-10-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

What exactly is faith? The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines it with the following: a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust

In Hebrews 11, we are given perfect pictures of what faith really is; what it really involves. A brief glimpse into the chapter follows: (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV)"1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for."

Why is it so hard to have faith? God shows Himself over and over again to us every day in many situations but yet we still fail many times to recognize his incredible work and sovereignty. Life can be tough with the situations we face that do not go our way. We tend to think we know what is best for us, which is what always gets us in trouble. Once we start thinking like that we rob God of praise and glory and of our worship. We just can't stand it when God has different plans for us. We want that instant gratification and the feeling that everything will be ok. When it doesn't go our way we complain and think God is out to get us. We tend to think in the "here and now" and not the "what may come". We lose sight of that "faith of being sure of what we hope for", which is the fact that as believers we will spend eternity with Christ. The world may suck, but the end is a beautiful new beginning. We need to share this new beautiful beginning with others by having joy in all circumstances and keeping our eyes on the goal.

Titus 3:4-8(NIV) say, "4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

The passage above reminds us that we are not deserving of God's grace. We have done absolutely nothing to deserve it, but He loves us so much that He justifies those who believe through Jesus Christ. If He has done this for us, then why is it so hard to have faith? I don't understand it. I am guilty many times of lacking in faith, but in the end I can never deny God's and Grace because I have experienced it so many undeserving times. For all those who are struggling, please know that God loves you and wants you to love Him. Have faith.

http://www.m-w.com/
http://www.biblegateway.com/

EVERYTHING COUNTS

2005-10-12T18:49:00.000-05:00

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NLT)
You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.

I was reading this today and for some reason it really stuck out to me, but I can't figure out exactly why. Why is it that we act in these ways? Why are we unloving and unforgiving? Why do we love pleasure rather than God even though we know that the pleasure we seek fails us and God doesn't? It would be easy for me to say that I never struggle with any of these things.....but who am I kidding. Deep down my heart's desire is to follow Christ and allow others to see Christ in me, but when I am reckless and unloving then I am not following Christ. This is totally what the scripture is talking about when it says we love pleasure rather that God. We take our eyes off of what is Holy and pure and are left with no self-control. We become proud and fail to recognize the power of God. We still pretend we our godly, but in reality we have only fooled ourselves. Unfortunately we haven't fooled anyone else and we end up breaking the third commandment (You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God)by not properly representing Christ to others. Thank God that we can find forgiveness and love in Him all the time no matter what. Thank God that even if we aren't reflecting Christ He can still work in the hearts and lives of anyone. Katy and I saw the movie In Her Shoes today and there was one part that almost brought a tear to my eye. Cameron Diaz's character had been reading a book to an old blind guy every day. One day she went to take care of him but he had died earlier in the day. The man's grandson came in and realized who she was and said that his grandpa had talked a lot about her. She was amazed at the fact that he talked about her becasue she didn't realize just how important reading the book to him really was. A lot of us (including me) go through life without giving a second thought to our words and actions. We don't realize that our life affects others....even the small things that we think don't think matter like reading a book to an old blind guy. Just think about the impact for Christ that we could have if we went through our day with the mentality that EVERYTHING COUNTS!

IT'S GONNA BE COOL!

2005-10-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

Who else besides me is looking forward to this movie? Who wants to go see it with me?

Leaving California

2005-09-25T23:44:00.000-05:00

So, Katy and I (along with my parents who helped us drive back to Wisconsin) have arrived safely back to the wonderful world of Wisconsin. Of course, God totally protected us after we incurred 2 blowouts on our car carrier that we were towing behind our 16 foot Penske truck. Can you believe it! Two blowouts in a period of 2 days! It's a long story, but we actually had a total of 6 tires changed on the car carrier due to blowouts, a wrong size rim, and stolen tires that were on there from U-Haul. Anyway, we are back and we are loving it already. Anyway, that's all for now. The pic above is of one of the blowouts....enjoy!

HARRY BAER

2005-09-15T23:15:00.000-05:00

I'm really afraid of Bears! I had a near death experience once with them. :)
Just ask the brown squirrel all about it. :)

SOVEREIGN GOD = LOVE FOR ALL....NO EXCEPTIONS!

2005-09-14T11:58:00.000-05:00

Well, it's almost time for Katy and me to leave Santa Maria to start all over again in Milwaukee. I love Milwaukee. We are excited to go back, but there are definitely some things that we will miss here. We have gained some wonderful friends here who we have a small group Bible study with every week. I will also miss the amazing scenery God has provided such as what's in the pic above. God is so amazing. As much crap as we have been through this past year, it's exciting to know that God never leaves us and he never quits being sovereign. One thing we all have to realize is that people are people and all are sinful. We are to love everyone no matter what pain they may have caused us. You ask why? It's because God loves us. We are the most undeserving of God's love yet He just keeps surrounding us with it. If we as Christians don't show others Christ's love, then we don't love Christ. It's definitely not an easy task a lot of times, but if we don't start loving people, then who will?

1 John 2:9-11 (NIV)
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

REALLY.......WHAT IS IT ALL FOR?

2005-09-06T09:52:00.000-05:00

I know that what I have to say is nothing new or insightful, especially to those under 30, but it's on my mind and it's my blog. What really is the church here for? The cartoon above seems to have figured out that a lot of churches are about gimmicks and charades. Churches tend to think about how they can attract people (which isn't bad), but they lose focus on why they want to attract them in the first place (that's bad). The culture has changed completely from when I was in High School. I really feel that a lot of youth pastors have realized this and are trying to make their ministry effective to these changes and they are doing a great job whether they think so or not. The problem seems to be with the rest of the church....mainly the leadership such as senior pastors or the board. It's not that these leaders are necessarily bad people, but they haven't either noticed a change in culture or they are just stuck in how they are used to doing things. The way they doing things isn't necessariy bad for the older generations, but it doesn't necessarily promote spiritual growth among the younger generations. A lot of times the leadership in the church views youth ministry as a time where you bring the kids together to entertain them with whatever we can to keep them out of trouble for a couple of hours. The church tends to think that they are still a bunch of immature children who continually do stupid things. The church has not realized that it is our responsibility to come along side of them and to assist their parents in teaching them about God. Part of doing that is also recognizing that the students are growing and maturing and we need to be a part of that instead of putting them in their own little corner away from the rest of the church so that they can't be seen or heard. I was recently a part of a church where two elders sat me down and told me I needed to produce a "WOW FACTOR", otherwise my job doesn't look promising. At that point I looked at them and new it was over. They didn't seem to care about the fact that the Jr. High had more that doubled in size and that they were getting excited about digging into the Bible; They didn't seem to care about the fact that the High School group had an influx of new students (although I had lost a lot of junior and seniors who didn't like the youth pastor change too much....which is normal) and that students were actually getting excited abbout God's Word and that some students had given their life to Christ. The problem is that the church leadership began to focus on numbers instead of spiritual growth. Sure I had seen some growth in the groups and had done more that they had asked me to do, but what I didn't do was hold a "WOW FACTOR" event that brought in 300 kids at one time for a concert of something like that. They were evaluating be based on how many kids I can pull in at once, not caring about the life change that was actually taking place among the students which would have in turn produced more disciples of Christ. That is still the old school youth ministy way. I'm not saying that those events are bad or wrong in any way, but the important thing is to evaluate where your group is at and also not forgetting why you are doing those events. Well, I've said enough for now even though my head is full of this stuff.

I Finally Did It!

2005-09-05T21:52:00.000-05:00

So......I finally gave in and am now an official blogger. Oh the peer pressure! Well, that's all for now.