A few firsts.

This past weekend I had a few "firsts". I'll rank them in order of my personal amazment at these first-time experiences:

5) Watched two live Arsenal matches within 30 hours of time. The Emirates-Cup pre-season "friendly" tournament hosted like six matches within 48 hours. Unusual arrangement for fussball.
4) Performed a wedding away from the church campus - Spindletop was amazing.
3) Performed said wedding outdoors - rain threatened, but held off
2) I ate jellyfish - interesting, indescribable taste and texture (Another first that came along with the wedding!)
1) Talked with people from a Taiwanese/Buddhist culture and American/Baptist culture in the same place at the same time. (Again, the wedding...)

Got new specs and other trivial things

I went to the eye doctor for the first time in six years last week. I got my new glasses on Monday and, after a few headaches and getting used to the feel of them, I'm all set.

FC Bayern Munchen won again yesterday, making it to the finals of the LigaPokal - facing the penultimate runners-up, Schalke'04, on Saturday. Hopefully they shall be runners up yet again. Good old Arsenal will have one of their first pre-season matches televised in my area this weekend, too. Plenty of time for Fussball this weekend.

Speaking of the weekend. I'm performing a wedding. Picked up the tuxedo today. Ready to roll...

I ate at the Blue Line Diner with my friend Brett today. Good food - I had the Buffalo Chicken Wrap. Good friend and conversation. Odd atmosphere. I'll have to tell you about it sometime if you care to ask...

It's been a week for tough stuff. Two people close to me have cancer diagnoses. Pray for N. and M. if you think of it. Found several opportunities (even though I wasn't looking) to have tough conversations with several people. All went well, though.

Ministry? Finished our latest writing project today and turned it in for editing. Helping people connect with each other. Walking alongside over 150 existing Life Groups in the midsts of their successes and challenges. Growing a care structure from within.

Unbelievably close.

I've been in a place of trying to know Jesus better. Not just adding more trivia to my store of knowledge, but trying to focus on talking with Him in prayer, hearing from Him there as well as in the Word... Well, you know it's just been amazing to remember and know that God says He lives in His people - and that this is a present reality. It's not a distant relationship in any way! Anyway - John 16:23-28 is another one of those things that clobber me over the head when I try to comprehend the open communication we can have with God. (Keeping it in the present, it's more like: "that I have with God now.") I have to constantly remember that God is not dwelling in the past and not far off in the future, fully available but distant for now. My old view of Him as history relegated Him to the realm of fiction. My way of thinking that God will be there "whenever I need Him" put Him out of the present and far off still. He is here, though. Knowable. Interested in us. In me, even.

I lost my sleep.

Last night I went to bed at around 10:30 and my good wife was reading in bed beside me. I fell asleep almost immediately with the pillow over my head to keep her reading light out of my eyes. Somewhere in what I thought was the middle of the night, which turned out to be about thirty minutes later, I was startled awake by a banging sound in the dining room... I bounded out of bed, ready to take on the intruder. Turned out my wife was finishing a cake she was baking. The adrenaline rush didn't wear off until 2:30 in the morning. I prayed for a while (super spiritual, you know?) and then played FIFA07 (addicted to the beautiful game, of course...) until I turned out the lights. Four hours later the alarm clock goes off. Lovely.

Death by doggie.

Maybe not exactly a brush with death since my life didn't flash before my eyes... I was running today, as I often do on my lunch break. At the back of the church property, I looked up and saw what looked like a gathering of people in a circle having a picnic. It turned out that it was one lady sitting and reading, surrounded by a dozen large dogs. As soon as they saw me, the dogs charged. I went, "Well, Lord, I can't do anything about this myself... Help!" I'm thinking - don't be afraid, they can smell fear. What do you do, though, smile at them? After the prayer and the thought I went totally blank. (Which makes me wonder - if I'm ever attacked by a bear, will I remember what the Worst Case Scenario survival guide says to do?) As I ran into the charging pack, they were nipping at my heels and fingers and finally the lady called to them to back off. They finally left me alone when I stopped running and stood still... I lived to walk away with the distinct feeling of drool (I think I was still in control of my bodily functions) running down the back of my leg.

Seeing God

My good friend Michael Burchett led me to consider the ways we perceive God. In a post a couple of weeks ago, he described how he sensed two different gods in two different communities. Granted, our thoughts about God can be drastically affected by our emotions. But how do the people around us affect our ability to perceive God?

5 Things I Dig About Jesus

Man. My first tag. Not entirely sure of the protocol, but this one was started by John Smulo and I was tagged by Peter Aschoff in Erlangen, Germany.

He was the King of the entire universe... And yet:

1) He liked to be with people. Various text references in the word. The implication - He liked all kinds of people. Hey, He might just like me too!
2) He enjoyed a party. John 2 hit me over the head here.
3) He met people where they were. This is all over the Gospels. He engaged people where they happened to be - He didn't make them change first, then come to Him. He talked, challenged, put a choice out there. He was openly invitational.
4) He was an amazing friend. I don't think people chased after Him because He was dull. I don't think He just gave them a good feeling. He genuinely cared, helping them to see what they could be. He loved and lived well.
5) He was human. The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood! How ludicrous?! And how outstandingly amazing?!

Alright then... Let's hear what you've got,

Trevor Durbin
Michael Burchett
Dan Ott
Steve Taylor
John Turner

I got rid of my desk.

I was sitting in my office last week and thinking, "Why in the world do I have this massive desk in here?" I guess it was there because it was an office. Made sense to have a desk, you know? What did it hold, though? A little phone, a laptop, a lamp, and that was about it. So now the phone is mounted on the wall, the lamp replaced with a floor lamp, and my laptop sets upon an elevated cafe table. I wonder if there's anywhere else in my life where I have things (or do things) just because they're expected?