I know quite a few people out there use w.bloggar to post to their web logs. I have only just now started exploring the possibilities. It is very cool, it even tells you what song I was listening to at the time of the post. “Real Stuff” to come later today, I promise.
Please do the following… enable your site feed on blogger! It will make it so that I have a “news feed” to your blog, and will know when it is updated, along with anyone else who wants to “subscribe” to your blog. No more screwing around trying to make an RSS feed work! It’s very neat, and if you don’t I will bug you, especially if I know you in the flesh and blood!
I have no roasting pan. I have no recipe. I have no experience. But I am going to “cook” some pork, add some vegetables, spices, and pray that something tasty comes out. I had a recipe but I could not find the ingredients, then when I went to ask our neighbor if she had a oven roasting pan, she didn’t have one. So, maybe I’ll create a new dish tonight! Oh my
First things first: Darren at LivingRoom is doing a 24 hour “blog-a-thon”, he will be posting every fifteen minutes. Why? To raise money to buy a Pedicab for a Philippino family. Click here to learn how a pedicab will help a family.
Enough of the happy feel-good stuff, life is meant to be an adventure, a tale of epic proportions, the glory of God is man fully alive. Moreover, in every adventure, epic tale, there are hard times, magical times, war times, but in the end, an amazing life is revealed. That life cannot come with out a fight, this life is enemy-occupied territory, and that is the entire truth. I know it sounds like I am ready to take on Satan himself, it sounds like that because I now know I can, because Christ has given us power through his Holy Spirit. I would much rather have to battle Satan himself than wonder weather or not I am “in God’s will” for the rest of my life, and just be a “sinner, through and through”. Our hearts are good, we are the glory of God.
And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. [2 Cor 3:18]
When I fall to sin, any kind of sin, it isn’t because my heart is bad, its because the enemy has attacked my heart, and taken something from me, which was never his to begin with. Our bodies are of this world, and the prince of this world is the Enemy. Our heart-souls and spirit are of God, we are God’s amazing creation, and nothing less.
The mega churches of today will never be able to reach the hearts of people, unless they begin to understand what biblical fellowship is, it is community, knowing each person intimately. Fighting for each other, loving each other, and praying for each other is what true fellowship is about. The early church shared everything together, and the early missionaries of the Bible fought evil spirits at almost every location they traveled. Looking up the Greek for “foothold” its more than just an opportunity, it conveys a meaning of “strong influence”.
And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. [Ephesians 4:26-27]
The prize of the Enemy is our heart, that is why our fellowships must fight for our hearts.
So, last week I got the impression that I was suppose to pray for one of the girls in our group, not just once, but every day, for her heart to open. Well, God is doing some amazing things, I heard from the people which live with her today, she has been “like a new girl”, and she has been “much easier to live with these past few days”. And to top it all off, their was a small quarrel with one of her roommates, and instead of just letting it go nowhere, this girl, apologized, which has been unheard of the three years they have lived together! Amen!
Tonight, I got a new impression, to have some kind of “men’s conference” in early summer, here in Zakopane. I don’t know how it is going to look, I am thinking like a one day Saturday deal, based off of the information in “Wild at Heart” and some other resources. I know it will be a hit, amazing, and life changing. I’m feeling a little like David, I’m the youngest person involved in any of the ministries here, I am not married, and I am not Polish, not to mention, I am nearly one of the shortest and smallest guys around. However, this is what God has put on my heart, and I know with him at the center, it cannot fail, it is honoring and glorifying to him. Lord Jesus will reign in the lives of the men here, and they will know what it means, and what it takes to be a man of God, and what it means to live a life for him.
The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. [Prov 20:5 NIV]
The burning in the heart
Of our deepest desire
Rising like a flame
Burning higher and higher
Burning in the heart
Of our deepest desire
Is to know You (Jesus)Jesus make us the men you want us to be
[Phil Joel: Bring it on: The man you want me to be]
Something hit me today, something I have unconsciously avoided. Usually I am open to criticism, and 99.9% of the time, I will have no problem with it. Tonight was different. Tonight I was told “You need to be more energetic and excited when you’re giving announcements”, I said, “Yes, I know, I just couldn’t remember what the announcements were” and “I hate announcements, it’s never been ‘my thing'”. It has never been “my thing” because I am afraid of failing to be the “image”, and that image includes someone with “energy and excitement”. I have always wanted to be the leader (see goal 6) who can spontaneously get and energize the group, who people just naturally want to follow. The words, “you need to be more
So, I have this plan which does not seem to be fleeing me, like most of my plans. This plan is open to changes, new circumstances, and whatever life may have in store for me. It is a plan I am submitting to the Lord, for him to do as he wills, if that means changing it or taking it away, so be it. God is God, and my life is his.
I have a few passions which I believe are all related somehow. I have a strong desire to guide people in making good relationship decisions, mostly relationships of the romantic type; however, I also enjoy resolving issues in other relationships. I also have zeal for sexual purity, what it is, why it is important, and how wonderful it is. And recently I have a new passion brewing; it is a heart for men, simply speaking to the hearts of men, inspired by John Eldredge’s book “Wild at Heart”. I believe all of these are interrelated, and I am ready to see where God is leading me.
This time here in Poland has certainly been what I have expected, which was just a “time to depend on God” everything else has/will been/be a super bonus. I now consider myself permanently attached to the people here; I hope to make a commitment of visiting them once a year. I also want to finish my associates degree when I return to Seattle, then transfer to a school where I can dig deeper into relational/family/men’s ministry. I will see what God has in store, I know much of it is up to me, and as long as these fires burn in my heart, nothing is going to stop me.
There is nothing quite as potent as a focused life, one lived on purpose. The men and women who have made the greatest difference in history were the most focused. For instance, the apostle Paul almost single-handedly spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. His secret was a focused life. He said, “I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. [Phil 3:13]” [Rick Warren: The Purpose Driven Life: Day 3
Generally, Friday’s are good, for me Friday’s are my Saturdays, seeing as Sundays have turned into a workday now. Yesterday was great Carol, Denise, and I all went to Krak
Well
