Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens got nothin' on these 3 things! ...

     I have a few new favorite things: My first (in succession, not priority) favorite thing: www.pandora.com. It is a way cool internet radio setup where you pick an artist you like, and then the website plays that artist and artists that sound like them. My second favorite thing: 2 pound bags of Sour Patch Kids. I bought one at Wal Mart yesterday for less than $5.00 in order to have something to bring to a bonfire at the Moen's house. What can I say, the "first sour, then sweet" chewy candies were a hit.  I intended to take a picture of the bonfire and those in attendance, but I forgot, so I don't have any cool picture for the blog today. My third new favorite thing: Francis Chan's new book entitled, Crazy Love. It is incredible. I first heard about it from Andy Giessman so thanks, Andy, for the recommendation. Reading the book has essentially felt like getting lovingly beaten across the face by a 2x4, but in a good way. Here are a few quotes for you to think about.

     "When I am consumed by my problems - stressed out about my life, my family, and my job - I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities."

In giving a biblical profile of lukewarm people, Chan says:

     "Lukewarm people call 'radical' what Jesus expected of all his followers."

     "Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to."

Lastly, here is a more lengthy quote, but it is definitely worthy reading:

     "When I was in high school, I seriously considered joining the Marines; this was when they first came out with commercials for 'the few, the proud, the Marines.' What turned me off was that in those advertisements, everyone was always running. Always. And I hate running. 

     But you know what? I didn't bother to ask if they would modify the rules for me so I could run less, and maybe also do fewer push-ups. That would've been pointless and stupid, and I knew it. Everyone knows that if you sign up for the Marines, you have to do whatever they tell you. They own you.

     Somehow this realization does not cross over to out thinking about the Christian life. Jesus didn't say that if you wanted to follow Him you could do it in a lukewarm manner. He said, 'Take up your cross and follow me.' "

     I would recommend Crazy Love over both pandora.com and 2 lb. bags of Sour Patch Kids. It is a bold call to abandon the American dream. A call to live like we were created for a place we've never been. A call for each of us to live like we actually love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

     Another couple books I've been reading that have been even more convicting have been Romans and Colossians. Maybe I'll blog about them in an upcoming post. 

The Smell of Heaven Induces Asthma Attack!

This is my bookshelf. Correction: This is the bookshelf entrusted to my care by the church for the duration of my internship. It is pretty. It displays my "The beatings will continue until morale improves" pirate flag, my Michael Scott coffee mug, my Chicken Dance birthday card, and not a small number of elementary education class projects which I received as housewarming gifts from a beloved friend. Last, and certainly not least, right by my coffee mugs, the bookshelf houses my aroma therapy bottle containing a fragrance called, "Heaven." I am not here to endorse aroma therapy, but I do enjoy having a good smelling office, and "Heaven" has been the means to that end.

When I arrived at the church shortly after 8 this morning, the janitor asked me if I could do her a favor. Not wishing to impart vibes of ill-will, I said, "Sure." She, the janitor, asked me if I could rid my office of the aroma therapy, because when she opened the door to my office this morning to clean, she had an asthma attack from the aroma. "Oops," I thought. "Sorry. Sure thing," I said.

While I have received compliments on the celestial smell of my office, I suppose that the aroma can become overwhelmingly strong when the door remains closed for over 12 hours. Can you relate, Caleb? I guess there can be too much of a good thing.

In regards to Sunday's service, Pastor Bob preached from Exodus 15:22-27. This passage gives the account of Moses throwing the tree in the bitter water to make the water become sweet. Pastor Bob insightfully pointed out that this passage is essentially the whole book of Exodus given in one short narrative. The people grumble against God, God graciously meets their physical needs, God addresses the people and points out that their primary predicament is not a physical one, and finally God provides rest for his people. This cycle repeats itself over and over within the over-arching narrative of Exodus. 

Dealing with the issue of physical needs and spiritual conditions, Pastor Bob asked, "Which is worse, bitterness or cancer?" This question stuck with me and hopefully will stick with you. Whereas one destroys body, the other has the power to eat away at one's soul. Anyone who has wrestled with bitterness will readily admit that bitterness does to one spiritually what cancer does to someone physically. May we not be content to merely drink sweet water while ignoring the greater offer of water which will cause us to never thirst again. 

Roadtrips, Pride, and a Picture

Today is Saturday, and I am spending the day relaxing. This morning I walked to the bank. After that I washed, waxed, and vacuumed my car. After that I finished reading the book, The Seven Checkpoints, by Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall, and now I'm telling you all what I just did. 

Thursday was spent traveling for 11 hours to New Jersey. We arrived at the pastor's home (a former intern at Cornerstone) in time to eat some dinner and watch the Yankees get CRUSHED 13-4 by the Toronto Bluejays. Friday a.m. was the ordination. It lasted just short of 4 hours and then we, the Cornerstone clan (consisting of Pastor Bob, Patrick, Ryan Gasperado, and myself), hopped back in the mini-van and drove back to Detroit arriving shortly after midnight. I really enjoyed being able to sit in on the ordination. We, the Cornerstone clan, had spend 7 hours evaluating the doctrinal statement during the drive out, so I enjoyed not only hearing what questions the council felt were necessary to ask, but I also enjoyed thinking in my head how I would answer those questions if they are ever asked to me someday.

While on the road, the clan discussed the issue of male pride, specifically how it manifests itself in the context of road trips. We dialogued about how a man would rather suffer from severe internal agony for upwards of several hours than request that the driver of the vehicle stop at the next exit because he, the proud man presently suffering from severe internal agony, had to use the bathroom. I fall under this category of proud men. The common solution oft used by men such as myself is that of mentioning a desire for food a.s.a.p. Upon arriving at food source, be it Arby's, Wendy's, or a Flying J, we swiftly yet subtly hit up the bathroom before we casually browse the shelves and/or menu, purchase the munchies we may or may not want, and dishonestly announce to the group still waiting in the car, "Thanks guys! These munchies will really hit the spot!"

That wasn't all we talked about, but unless you want me to include a transcript of our 7 hour doctrinal statement discussion, you'll just have to be content. Enjoy your day, thanks for reading, and I'll try and have another entry up on Tuesday. It will probably include some thoughts on Pastor Bob's Sunday's message and the book I will have begun reading, Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church, by D.A. Carson. 

Here's another picture for you all. It's a picture of the bedroom I am currently staying in, and, more specifically, the room from which I am typing this entry. The guy sleeping in the bed on the left is Phil. We're roommates until Wednesday when he leaves for college. He doesn't know I took the picture.

K Root, K Root, K Root is Online

That's right folks! I officially have internet in my office. To celebrate, I decided to to write and post today's entry from my purple chair. My last entry was on Sunday so I'll catch you up on what has happened since then. The SNAC Sunday night was awesome. Some of us guys and a brave girl played driveway basketball for a long while before all the students jumped into the backyard swimming pool to cool off. The bellyflop contest was won by appx. 90 lb Elliot. The cannonball contest was won by a 6'6", "very full-sized" incoming freshman named Ben. Hats off to both men for their skills and bravery.

On Monday, Tuesday, and today I went out to lunch with different members of the ministry staff in order to have a chance to learn more about what they do in their specific ministries. Those lunches have been very informative, and I have enjoyed getting to know different members of the ministry staff. Monday I dined (I ate a Buffalo Chicken Sandwhich) with the Administrative Pastor, Tuesday I ate out (I enjoyed a Pepperjack Burger - medium well) with the Director of Women's Ministries, and today I dined Arby's style (5 for $5.95) with the Children's Ministries Pastor. He, the Children's Ministries Pastor, told me a really embarrassing story about Pastor Greg that involved a dead cat, fireworks, and an ex-girlfriend.*

Last, but certainly not least, I would be remiss if I neglected to give a shout out to Paige and Sarah for making me an awesome sign for my office door. The sign provides stylistic flavor and dignity historically reserved only for television shows involving the exuberant phrase, "Move that bus!" Here's a picture. Enjoy. Tell your friends and family. Thanks for reading.

*This sentence is a complete fabrication. No such stories were told. But can you imagine how interesting a story would be if it included such elements?

Say Hello to My "Offive."

<-- This is picture of my office where I spend much of my time. I like to sit in the purple chair and read or lie on the couch [as of yet unseen in blog pictures] and read. The many chords are a bit of an eyesore, but when I'm sitting in my purple chair I can't see them so they, more or less, serve as a visitor deterrent. People don't like to stay long when they visit my office because the sight of the many chords and wires hurts their eyes and makes them [the visitors, not the eyes] feel woozy in their tummies. 

Yesterday I set up a bank account, went to the Macomb mall, and checked out the shops at Village Park. The bank account experience was good. I was given $25.00 just for opening an account, and I also got my roommate $25.00 because he referred me to the bank. The Macomb mall was ok. I bought a pair of jeans, but when I got home I realized they were dirty so I exchanged them today after lunch. The shops at Village Park are fancy. I had to pay 75 cents just to park on the street. I went to these shops because one of the shops is a Borders Book Store. A store specializing in having many books. Unfortunately this Borders didn't have two of the three books I wanted, and the one it did have was frighteningly overpriced. 

So then I sat at a table, took advantage of the free wireless from the Panera across the street, and ordered the three books off of Amazon. I ordered The Reason for God,  by Tim Keller, Vintage Jesus, by Mark Driscoll, and Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. I've read the first two already but wanted to own copies for myself because they will serve as great reference sources. The third book I have not read, but I've heard great things about it. *At this point in my entry, I learn from the ESPN channel on TV that Jeff Gordon just got knocked out of the NASCAR race. Poor Jeff. Now he won't be able to provide food for his family. Also, one of the sons in the family I live with is at this NASCAR race with his girlfriend. I hope neither of them is a Jeff Gordon fan.* 

This morning I spoke for the junior high and senior high Sunday school class. Like I had planned in my Wednesday blog, I did speak from Luke 15. Everything went well and I feel that I communicated as clearly as I could have hoped. I spoke with one of the leaders afterwards who I lived in the dorm with back at BBC, and he said he thought everything went well and that he didn't see anyone falling asleep, which on many Sunday mornings is all one can ask for. 

Tonight is a Sr. High SNAC which I figured out is an acrostic for "Sunday Night After Church." Thursday morning I am leaving for New Jersey with a couple of the pastors and a couple men from the church to attend the ordination (an event when a guy is asked a lot of questions about his doctrinal positions to determine whether he qualified to be ordained) of a former intern. We will drive back from New Jersey on Friday. It will be a total of appx. 20 hours in the car in 2 days.  

That's all for now. I appreciate all who provided additional suggestions for the flannelgraph curriculum. If I can be so bold, could I ask that those who read this, please leave an occasional comment at least letting me know that you read the blog or drop me an email (isingintheshower@gmail.com) letting me know the same. I'm curious who all reads this and knowing my audience might have an effect on what I include in my entries.

warning: the following is an inside joke I have with one of my friends who reads this blog. please don't invest too much time trying to decipher it's meaning.

P.S. The grass in Detroit sure is on the scary side!

Panera and Prodigals

This is a picture of the house where I am living in Grosse Pointe:

I am not what people would refer to as or "computer savvy" or "a guy who can figure out how to post multiple pictures in one blog entry in a neat orderly fashion," therefore I'm just gonna post this one picture right now and keep you tuning in to see pictures of say...my office, or...the couch in my office, or...my bedroom while my roommate Phil was still asleep in his bed when I took the picture because I took the picture early in the morning. 

These last two mornings have consisted of meetings with Patrick and former students at Panera Bread. My breakfast choices have consisted of a Cobblestone muffin with orange juice on Tuesday and some sort of Egg/Turkey Sausage/other miscellaneous ingredient souffle with coffee today. Tuesday's meeting was with a former student who is two years into the Coast Guard Academy who was home on leave, and this morning's meeting was with a former student who just graduated from the U of M and is raising support to return to U of M as a campus missionary. 

I spent much of the last two days reading about the chronology of the Old Testaments prophets and how they correspond with the events in II Kings. I'm considering doing a chronological walk through of the Old Testament this spring after preaching through the life of Christ this fall in order to give the students an idea of how books like Ezekiel and Habakkuk fit into the Biblical historical framework. 

I'm also considering doing a little series on "Bible stories that never made it to the flannelgraph board" which might include Elisha calling down the bears to attack to kids who made fun of his bald head and/or the woman in Judges who put a tent peg through a guy's head. I doubt the series will ever come to fruition, but it is fun thought. Maybe I'll recommend those stories to the creators of Veggie Tales to see what they could do with them.

On a more serious note, I am leaning towards preaching the parable of the two sons in Luke 15 on Sunday. I want to primarily focus on the religious lifestyle and mentality of the older son. I feel that those of us who struggle with self-righteous attitudes subconsciously believe that God owes us happy, pain-free relationships, financial security, godly kids and/or a stable job if we faithfully provide him with our acts of service. The more we serve God, the more he is obligated to give us in return. The problem with this mentality is the Bible. Scripture teaches us that God doesn't need us and consequently we can never put Him in a position of owing us anything. If our salvation is a gift offered purely out of God's gracious heart, and we cannot earn it in the least bit, then there is nothing that God cannot ask of us because we have nothing with which to barter. God says, "I have given You my Son, and at no point in your Christian walk will you get to a point where the tables have turned and all the sudden I owe you something. In fact, every act of obedience you do is a result of my sanctifying grace therefore you are not paying me back, but rather falling deeper and deeper in debt everyday." God is a good, loving God who gives us grace upon grace so our response should be that of worship and thanksgiving for who He is and what he has done. 

Don't forget, that picture of my office couch will be posted relatively soon. Don't act too excited.

First Impressions

Today was my first day on the job. Technically I began yesterday but all I really did was observe Sunday school, go to "big church," and go to a SNAC after the evening service. 

I'm not sure what SNAC stands for or if that's how the event title is spelled. It's an acronym for something...something referring to students going to someone's house after evening church to eat food, drink drink, and play games. Last night consisted of ... drumroll please... hotdogs, chips, watermelon, ice cream, and s'mores for food; icy cold coke, mountain dew, and water (or wudder for my jersey friends) for drink; and tetherball, tree climbing, driveway basketball, and a rather intense game of volleyball using what I believe to be a badminton* net. Fun was had by all, and I was able to memorize the names of all 30-35 students who attended. That's one of my goals, the memorizing names thing. 

This morning I kicked off my day with a bowl of fruit loops. Then I did my best to look hip and cool by swinging into starbucks on my way to church where I busted out my macbook and enjoyed a tall, decaf, caramel latte. if my jeans were tighter and i had thick-rimmed artsy classes i would have been the coolest guy ever. i was feeling good about my day until i left starbucks and turned the wrong way down a one way street. i don't care how tight your jeans are or how artsy your glasses are, going the wrong way down a one way street is never cool. because i had done my devo's**, god ordained that no cars would be driving towards me so i was able to quickly run a red light and get back on the correct street. 

i spent the rest of my first day setting up my office, filling out insurance and tax forms, listening to a sermon and reading. i read the first 14 chapters of ezekiel, some of the gospel according to john, and part of desiring god (for the record, desiring god is not a canonical book and no, john piper did not write the book of hebrews). Additionally i'm reading through the book why we're not emergent :: by two guys who should be. if you have no clue what emergent means or why two guys who are not say they should be, don't worry about it. just read the bible and believe that when God says something, he actually means what he says.

i speak on sunday for combined junior high and senior high. i'm not sure what i'm going to speak on yet. most of the sr. high is just coming off of one, if not two, mission trips so they are flying high spiritually. i'll post later this week after i have decided what topic to speak on/ "on what topic to speak" (your preferred sentence-ending prepositional phrase will depend on whether or not you believe prepositions are terrible things to end sentences with).

if you read this entire post, go take a break and reward yourself by watching michael phelps swim faster than everyone else in the world.

*i had to dictionary.com the word "badminton." does anyone ever pronounce the first "n" in badminton? i vote we get rid of that pesky "n," and also remove the "p" from raspberry. and the first "r" in february.

**please catch the intended sarcasm of this phrase and it's ensuing independent clause. while i am a firm believer in the sovereignty of God, i do not believe that my having or not having devotions this morning was a motivating factor behind God's blessing of not having a semi headed my way.