vay cay

Today is a non-student day. That means, there is a lot of work to be done. And no "fun part" of teaching.

But, since we're not actually getting paid to work today, I'm pretending it's just January vacation.

To celebrate vacation, I woke up at 5:30 and drove to Seattle. Now, I'm hanging out at my favorite coffee shop in Wallingford waiting for my lovely friend Nicole Ulrey. Then, I'll drive down 45th to get lunch with the best sister in the world. Later, I think I'm meeting up with Nicole Barrie and her Craig to catch up on life. It's still early but the forecast is for lots of rain. And the coffee shop oddly smells like a livestock barn. However, I will still appreciate every ounce of this surprise vacation.

This morning, I'm trying to practice being still:
"Be still. Know that I am God." -Psalm 46:10


There will be plenty of science notebooks to grade this weekend. Plenty of report card comments to write. Plenty of time driving. Plenty of youth ministry meetings.

But right now,

There is plenty of time to Be still.

sanctuary

It's a weekend, so I'm off to the mountains.

The wilderness here is fantastic.

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." -Psalm 90:2


"The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the LORD of all the earth." -Psalm 97:5


Everything in the Earth belongs to God. Especially the wilderness.

Bret Farve

The following is an actual conversation I intercepted between some students today (names changed, of course):

Tom: Did you hear that Bret Farve announced on the news that after 5 years, he's retarded?
Sam: Who's Bret Farve?
Tom: He's a football player. And he announced that he was retarded.
Me: Tom, are you sure you don't mean "retired"?
Sam: Haha, he's retired. You're retarded!
Tom: No, I saw it on the news. He made an announcement.
Sam: How would he announce it on the news? He's a football player?
Me: Well, sometimes players do have press conferences, but it makes more sense to announce that you are "retired" than "retarded".
Tom: No, I'm sure it was "retarded". He announced it on the news on Saturday Night Live!!!

And suddenly it all makes sense.

This is why I love my job.

At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. -- Matthew 11:25

more plagiarism

A quote lifted from a stranger's facebook: 

	An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered. - GK Chesterton

A prayer borrowed from the early church:
"Grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." -Acts 4:29-30

A new vision for a new year:
Father who loves us, You're in control. Teach us humility. May Your faithfulness and salvation always be on our lips. Use us to bring healing to the world.

tenacity

Ahmad Masood, Reuters 2010

Some regions of Afghanistan are so isolated that you can't reach them by car. So, this donkey is carrying tubs of ballots to remote villages. This is a photo from the Afghan parliament election this year. That's how important democracy is to the people of the Panshir province. They send their ballots on a donkey.

Do I have the same tenacity as that donkey? As the people of the Panshir province? Those mountains are tough to cross. And donkeys are stubborn. I'm pretty loyal, but I still quit often. I lose hope.

Really, though, our hope has nothing to do with democracy. It's a bigger, outside-the-box solution. Bigger than the beautiful mountains of Panshir.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey " Zechariah 9:9


It's a story that already happened. The King of Kings rode on a donkey. He's more precious than those tubs of ballots, as monumental as they are. Good has won, because God won.

That's the tenacity that I want to mark my life:

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39

Rappelling resolution

It's 2011. A year full of treacherous promise. (Like every year, pretty much).

Instead of "resolutions", I've chosen catchphrases or concepts the last few years.

For example, 2008 was the year of gentleness. Consequently it was also the year that God messed up my life. (Funny how the two seem to go together...)

Then, 2009 was the year of trusting. Any account I set up in 2009 had "trust" as part of the password. It was a year of learning to trust God and be content in all circumstances. Even if circumstances meant living in Kitsap county. It was a good year.

Last year was the year of enjoying God. Mmmm, it was a good year. I liked 2010. God didn't mess up my life quite as much.

And that's why I'm hesitant to share the resolution/revelation/expectation for 2011. It has to do with rappelling.

Every time I go climbing with Shannon, I freak-out when its my turn to rappel. That is, where you hold onto a rope and lower yourself down a cliff. Even when I set the anchor myself, even when I can see the coils of rope resting on the ground, even if someone is holding the ropes for me at the other end, I freak out. Granted, I freak out substantially less now than the first time I tried it. But still, there is freaking out involved. This is the greatest reason why I will never climb big walls in Yosemite, or somewhere like that.

So, the tie-in to 2011... I'm rappelling into God's goodness.

Stepping out and trusting Him to be faithful. Letting His goodness carry me to whatever destination. Embracing adventures without freak-outs.

That's the filter for this year.

Here's a picture I saw online tonight that captures my sheep heart as I follow our Shepherd King:

I don't have permission to share this picture. Someone named crackalackin posted it to rockclimbing.com

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5&6