I'm headed to the Nucleus small groups conference tonight and am so pumped. I haven't been to a conference in 4 years - so tonight will be refreshing and challenging and I freaking can't wait.

Alan Hirsch (linked to his blog) is the main speaker throughout the conference and will be speaking from his new book, ReJesus and relating it to small group ministry. I've spent the last month reading through one of his other books, The Forgotten Ways and it has been a great resource, added a lot to the conversation on the missional church and has been really challenging.

I'll be sure to post more about the weekend.

Got a chance to review this market guide for aspiring Christian Writers from Random House Publishing.

This is a great resource for any and all who want there work published. It has been updated and revised to feature the latest on...

• more than 1,200 markets for the written word
• 416 book publishers
• 654 periodicals
• 96 literary agents
• 100 new listings in Resources for Writers
• 226 poetry markets
• 316 photography markets
• 25 African-American markets
  
• and 166 contests

If you want to get your work out into the market, this is a great resource for you.

Thanks to Ryan Billings for this!

I recently saw a book titled, 'Between A Dream And A Job,' and that title has been haunting me for days now.

Why? Because that's exactly where I am - between a dream and a job. Stuck somewhere between responsibility and desires that are core passions of mine. In the end, I get paid to work a job - a great job actually. By any standard, I work with a great client (GM), work for a great company (TPI), I make good money and could have a great career here - but it's just not me.

It's just not me...I even tried. I tried to make it me - I've stuck with if for 3 years now, dedicated myself to learning as much as possible - even started an MBA in management, but it just isn't working. Have you ever done that? Tried to convince yourself that you can be this kind of person or that you can change that person or that you can 'fulfill' yourself by settling?

And it makes me feel stuck. I feel stuck because I need to be responsible, provide for my family and just be grateful that I even have a job right now. But I want more, I want to get paid to do what I love - it is an internal tension within me. It's hard to describe it, but it burns in my soul and at moments seems like grief..or pain...or sorrow.

But I'm learning great lessons through the process - lessons of patience, stewardship, servanthood, trust and contentment. Learning to wait on God's timing. Learning to be thankful for what I have and to do it with all that I am. Learning to find volunteer avenues and serve, though I don't get paid for what I love, I still love it all the same and need to do it. But doing it takes greater sacrifice - which points to the fact that it is truly a core piece of who I am.

I'm continuing to learn to just trust God, just trust. Simply trust. Not expect, not push, not contrive or take control my self, just wait on Him and then do as I feel directed. That has been a profound lesson. I love to read books and go to conferences and be a groupie for the current 'great thinkers' of my faith - but so many of my greatest lessons have come through just waiting to hear from God.

It's an internal struggle between wanting and waiting...and trusting.

I'm stuck between my dreams and my job.

The Strip Church is the new project from the #1 Christian porn site - XXXChurch.com.

They are planting themselves right in the heart of Sin City and reaching out to the consumers, producers and stars of the adult entertainment industry. If you've never paid a visit to XXXChurch or the Strip Church site, it is well worth your time. They are doing amazing things in a very 'in-your-face' kinda way.

You can read a cool synopsis of what their plan is here and you can join the call for 7,000 adventures to partner with them and donate just $7.77. I did it to help them continue reaching out to a very hurting and lost part of our culture - you can too here!

So over the weekend Kaiden found these little cowboy boots that someone gave us a few years ago. I would not normally allow my children to wear cowboy boots, except for Halloween or something - no offense to the cowboys of the world, I just don't want my kids growing up thinking that sort of thing is acceptable.

But seriously he looks really cute in them and refuses to take them off - even napping with them on Saturday. So, naturally between the cowboy hat from the dress up box, the little guitar Micah got 2 Christmas' ago and the creepy guy from Time Square - it made for a good picture.

Some blog friends tagged me - here's how it works...

1. Navigate to where you keep your pictures, select the 6th folder, and the 6th picture in that folder.
2. Then post it on your blog with an explanation of the story behind the picture

So it is reminiscent of this post (here), but this is a picture of my grandfather's burial site. He was buried in a military cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado - and this month marks 5 years since he passed away. He was a great man, loving grandpa, Looney Toon's fan and gave me a profound appreciation for candy. I miss my Poppy and this 'tag' makes me thankful I had him for so long in my life.

I hope I can be remembered in the same way...

Open mindedness is spoken of a lot in our culture. I have many friends who speak of their ability to be open minded like the ancient Greeks used to boast of the highest virtues. In fact, I consider my self to be pretty open minded, at least on some level, but as of late I'm struggling with what people really mean by it.

I believe most people would define open mindedness as the ability to be open to new thoughts, beliefs, people and experiences without prejudice. The idea of being inclusive and not exclusive - speaking of truth from a personal perspective, not a universal or absolute one. But can truth be personal? Can truth be subjective?

I get that our culture doesn't want to talk about who's right and who's wrong and instead focus on working together. I get that - but that can not mean that everyone is right. Can it?

Yet, regardless of how subjective you believe truth is, death is absolute - you will die. And upon your death absolute truth will be known - either it will be absolutely true that nothing happens, or absolutely true there is a heaven and a hell, or you'll be reincarnated or whatever - but it will be true. It will be reality - and not how we sought to define it or believed it should be, it will just be.

So there is a right and a wrong. I mean, we all believe what we do not because we think it doesn't matter but because it absolutely matters and we think we're right. We all grapple with our own existence and the existence of God because we want to know what is right - what it should look like, what we should do with it. We are all seeking reality, not our own form - we are seeking the truest reality we can find. But what we often find is our own form of reality, which is where I submit to the subjectivity of it all - but it does not rule out absolute truth.

Taking it a step further, if we assumed truth is at it's core subjective to the individual, then we could not punish crime. Evil would be only in the subjective eye of the beholder. Is rape ever right? The same person who argues that truth is subjective, also makes a stand for the wrong done them in life and the right they want to see. How is that possible if truth is really subjective? Being open minded can not mean that everyone is right.

But an acceptance of absolute truth, though subjectively and often wrongly interpreted into everyday life, make sense of this whole thing. We all seek the better because truth does exist, because there is a right and there is a wrong. That truth is Love. No one argues with Love - when you see it and when you experience it you know it is Right. Truth exists - we all just need to chase it, pursue it, live it, be it and seek its purest form. Because the believer in God can just as easily justify their actions 'rightness' as the non believer can. Maybe we're all just afraid to be wrong? But the Truth and Love I believe in transcends all my finite understandings and exist independent of them. I'm just trying to live within reality where love and truth best co-exist.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

Yes, this is a real product - and I bet some of you are even saying, 'Hey, that's not that bad of an idea?' To which I say, 'You've gotta be kidding me?' Why is it we Christians love to make ourselves a subculture? Why do we rip off ideas from the world around us in an effort make 'our own' products? Maybe it's just me, but it bothers me and it's cheesey.

You can check out their site here.

Thoughts...

Since the last series of 'You've Gotta Be Kidding Me...' went so well [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3], I thought I'd share what I found while perusing some flickr photostreams and had to laugh. Not only is it the wrong voice for Christians to have - it is a warning of impending judgment for 'Sports Nuts'?

So, I guess you can consider your self WARNED all you sports nuts!

I couldn't help myself and I couldn't fit all my hate on just one banner...

First this video impressed me (mad pen spinning skills), then it made me laugh, then I cried laughing, and it was kind of awkward in my cubicle.

Fluidity is where all theology and practices of life begin. Like fluid, the journey of life takes us from origin to origin, from stage to stage, form birth to everlasting life. Life flows – whether we want it to or not. Time marches on and so we must too. We must learn to ride the flow of life, control what we can, accept what we can’t and appreciate each turn, bend and valley we travel through. Life is fluid.

The fluidity of life, like a river, encounters times of shallowness; times of deep waters teaming with life; times of rushing speeds and times of still, slow progression. And everything we encounter, every good and bad experience; everything we hear and see and feel; every painful memory and all the fun of life is absorbed in the fluidity of who we are.

So …where does a person being to process all they absorb? How does one begin to think through who they are and who they are meant to be? What is the origin of beliefs, religious thought and spiritual experiences for a person? How can I live the best life possible? How can I stand at the end of my life, looking back on my journey and hold the least amount of regrets possible? This question shakes me – it should shake you. As I flow through life I want to do it right, be better and correct my wrongs. I want to be living water.

I'm re:posting this poem I wrote last year. Following yesterday's celebration of the first African American President, I thought it was fitting to remind ourselves of our individual responsibility to seek unity.

______________________________________________________

The King had a Dream
And it included me
The King had a dream
And it included we
You
Us
Because it wasn’t just the King’s dream
It echo’s in our souls
From the depths of humanity
It is calling me
It is calling you
It is calling us to be one
And let this ignorance be done
It has taken enough
Cost enough, enslaved enough
Hated enough,
Separated long enough!
It is time,
It is time for you and me to be we
Because the King had a Dream
And because it continues with me
It continues when we become us
And when us struggles in unity
A struggle that is not easy
But is worth everything
Because it is a dream bigger than me
Than you
Than us
Because it wasn't just the King’s dream
It was birthed from the Creator
Innate in the complexity of His humanity
It is calling us
It is time for us
And may the world see what can be done
When you and me and we
Dream and act as one.

Rick Warren's Prayer

Almighty God, our Father:

Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone.

It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.

History is your story.

The Scripture tells us, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States.

We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity.

Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans—united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you—forgive us.

When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone—forgive us.

When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve—forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes—even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all.

May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.

And may we never forget that one day, all nations--and all people--will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, 'Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus—who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.
__________________________________________________________________

Of course a Christian Pastor praying before millions at the inauguration is going to stir up controversy, but this article made me laugh. People are mad that his prayer was too 'Christian?' Really? He's a Christian, how would he pray and not come across Christian? Maybe you can disagree with Obama's choice of who would pray, but you sound close-minded to judge Warren's prayer as anything other than who he is.

Thoughts?

...for people like Sylvester Williams today. Regardless of your political view, today is a great moment in our countries history. Sylvester Williams used to pick cotton and lived through all the segregation and hatred in the South during the first half the 20th Century. I'm glad he lived long enough to see the moment when an African American is sworn in as the President of the United States. Today is a proud moment for all of us in the U.S.

I heard there are 25,000 law enforcement agents on hand...
I pray nothing ignorant or racist happens today...
I'm praying for our next President...
I'm thankful that God's hand is on history...

In memory of the great moral leader of our country, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and one the greatest speech in American History.

I have never been able to listen to this speech and not be affected. The King deserves this day on our calendars so that we remember how far we've come in this country, so we remember the great transgressions we are capable of and so we remember that change can brought about in peace.

MLK had such clarity. He never wavered in his conviction to peacefully fight for the true equality of all God's people. He saw what was wrong, he knew what was right and possessed the ability to articulate that in a way that moved people to action. I have the utmost respect for Dr. King and am proud to say I live in a country where history can be written this way.

Saw this over at Taylor Lyall's blog and it really affected me.



This video comes at a time when I've been wrestling with my responsibility in this world I live in. I do feel that my inaction adds to the problem and that my comfortable life too often pretends everyone's life must be comfortable too. And though I do care, the life style I live says otherwise.

I often wonder why I was so lucky to be born in affluent America, why did I deserve that? Why do I get to make more in a day than most people make in a month? Why are my concerns more about wants, while so many struggle for needs? What am I supposed to do with this dilemma?

Thoughts?

In case you don't recognize these fellows, that's the used-to-be-funny Carrot Top and that other guy is the once-formidable Mike Tyson. Obviously the Carrot is juicin' and I'm not really sure if he has pants on in that pic, or even underwear. And though we've all known that Tyson has gone crazy, did you know he had become so 'plump'? The more interesting part of the Tyson pic is that he is holding a microphone. Who is he talking to? Who gathered to hear Tyson talk about anything? Does he seriously get speaking engagements?

Crazy...

When I think of stories from the bible and their lessons, their value comes not just in that they happened, but that they happen. If the story of Moses, the burning bush, the 7 Plagues, the freeing of millions of Hebrew slaves from Pharaoh, ect, is currently happening, it is seen in God's constant pursuit of His creation and desire to free us from that which enslaves us.

It is interesting to see the 7 Plagues through the lens of the Egyptians of that time. Each plague showed the dominance of I AM, the God of a Hebrew named Moses over the gods the Egyptians worshiped. And though I never want to be accused of 'over-spiritualizing' it is not hard to imagine current day plagues coming in the form of an economic down turn, a credit crisis, global uncertainty, the rising unemployment of not just 'others', but much closer to home with our friends and our families. It is not a far stretch to see God's hand moving to realign His creations perspective and dependency from themselves to the only thing that is truly constant.

In a number of recent conversations, many people are feeling the inconvenience of all our modern day conveniences. And for those who subscribe to the teachings of Jesus, our constant struggle with faith and life has been so diluted in the conveniences of our consumerist culture. If we are honest, we know little about true dependency on God, because we have rarely had to depend on Him for anything. A problem we have not yet fully come to realize.

But as our world continues to seemingly fall apart, at least for a moment we are gaining new clarity. A clarity we had previously only scratched the surface of, but never really wanted to come to grips with, or needed to for that matter. And consumerism has not just replaced our need for dependence on God, it also offers services to handle our identity, security and stated value in this world. It tells us that we can be who ever we want, pursue a life of comfort, consume more than is needed, live beyond our means to somehow achieve the 'dream.'

May we all take heed of the moment and reevaluate our priorities, dependencies and securities. If we are learning one thing, the economy, our leaders, the dollar, banks, CEO's, pensions and the so called American Dream are fleeting and lack the substance to offer us little more than self-centered quick-fixes. May we all seek something bigger than ourselves, something with an eternal perspective that gives us mission for this lifetime and lives on when we die. I'm convinced that at the end of my life my regrets will hinge on my selfish pursuits and not what I did and sacrificed for others.

Just for fun...

Ever since The Shack hit the shelves, it has been all the rave in the Christian fiction arena - some hailing it as one of the best contemporary Christian pieces. So naturally I'm excited to read it and finally picked a copy up last month. In the meantime I'm still wrestling through another book that is a weighty, exciting and slow read called The Forgotten Ways, review to come - but I haven't had a chance to get into The Shack yet.

But in fielding my excitement for the book, a few interesting discussions transpired around the feminine image of God used in the book. Two women who I love and respect very much, put the book down after getting about 70 pages in because God was a girl. I was taken back by there refusal to continue reading the book everyone else is talking about. It's not like you have to agree with it to read it - right? Moreover, I was taken back by their refusal to even consider that God is a girl - or at least to consider that He is neither.

I admit I have a total man-crush on Rob Bell, but his recent Nooma video 'She' (preview clip below) sets the table for the discussion and a fuller understanding of who God is.



Does this mess with your theology or understanding of God? It doesn't with mine.

The Hebrew word Rob refers to is 'rechem' and literally all throughout the Old Testament, every time God is referred to as compassionate or having compassion, it is the same word for womb - feminine imagery for God. And in Job 38.29 God uses the analogy that creation was birthed from His womb, I mean Her womb. I understand that for ease, we label God as a man, or a He - but at best that only refers to half of who He is, because the other half is understood in the attributes of a women, who She created in Her own image.

But to be more accurate God is niether male or female, because that is what makes god, God. If only we had gender-nuetral pronouns for God, then the male dominated traditions of our history would not have limited our understanding of God and God's compassionate side.

Thoughts?

This is a cool promo video from my buddy Mike and the work he's been doing for the Teen Challenge Global Internship program over the past year (more info here, apply here). This video reminds me of some of the truly life-altering experiences I've had on missions trips. There is something about being out of your element, depending on God and thinking of others more than your self - which sounds a lot like the way Jesus explained God's mission for us in this lifetime. Anyway, thought is was worth sharing...

I love spoken poetry and I recently found Peter Nevland and his site the Spoken Groove. He has a potent message intertwined in a unique style. You should check him out.



So, what have you been waiting for someone to legitimize? Though no one may have told you, you were created for a reason - are you doing it? Whatever it is, you should be pursuing it, developing it and building your dreams around it!

Back from my 2 week staycation and not really excited to be at work. Long breaks from work lead me to believe that I could get used to not working - but I shall endure.

Anyway, my family and I had a great time together, watched movies and played with all the new toys. Micah turned 4 this past weekend - which again reminds me that my life is going too fast.

But we also had a chance to connect with Ryan and Ashley, who paid us a visit from Oklahoma. Ryan and I grew up in Colorado together and we haven't seen each other in a few years. We had a great time, went snowboarding for 2 days and brought in the New Year together. And then our good friends Mike and Candice stopped in. They were speaking at a conference in Cincinnati, not far from this, and then crashed at our place for a few days.

Good times.