Czech Republic... Day 1 and 2

On June 29th... 12 of us from LCBC left the church at 330 in the afternoon. After a quick stop at Chick-Fil-A we made it to the airport. We flew out at 9PM and landed in Europe at 9AM...

June 30th... Today has been a day of rushing between trains and buses and subways... it was been a long one... I will update more later...

Great trip so far.

True Community...

So, I have not been posting lately. Mostly because I have been busy with school and my work schedule that i have not had too much time to post. But partly it has been because I needed to get a refocus with my blog that it is not about me in reality and i need to be using this thing to help other people. So that is my new focus for this blog, I am going to blog my own thought but in a effort to help me and other people see the world in different ways. I want this to be a really interactive thing that people can respond to make a dent into my thoughts as well.

As i think over the past 6 months or so, I see an amazing focus on commmunity in my life. While a lot of people are starting to focus on that now due to the series in Saturate or other things, it has been a thought that has been in my mind and heart for a while. My life group and others surrounding my life group have been the driving force of it. Three things have lead to the community that i have developed through this group of people... Commitment, A Common Goal, and the ability to play together. All of us are committed to this group of people. We see each other as valuable and treat each other that way. We want to serve the other people and we want to see their needs met. Secondly, we all have a desire to learn more about God and about each other. I think the learning about God leads straight into learning about each other. Because, as we learn who God is, we learn who we are and that leads us to a deeper understanding of each other. Lastly, we play together all the time. We hang out every weekend and do something fun. Swing dancing, birthday celebrations, and bonfires are a regular part of our deal.

Interestingly enough, if you look at Acts 2:42-47... I think you see a good description of this group...

42 They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.43 Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles!44 And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common.45 They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.46 They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful,47 as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

What kind of community are you a part of and how has it developed?...



A lot of these thoughts come as a reflections to a note that I read on facebook by Josephine... Thanks Josie for recording your thoughts.

This Video just broke my heart.

Wow, I did not know this about Mark. It's true of me too. This is all I will say for now.

Today is not what I thought...

Today is a stupid day.  I have this nagging feeling of discontent.  This nagging feeling that I can not get things right.  I get this feeling a lot and it is not a feeling that I like.  It's a feeling that I struggle with because it always makes me upset.

Let me describe:  All the people that I graduated from high school with are graduating college this year.  Where does that leave me?  I am frustrated because I still have another year left.  I want to be done with school.  I want to graduate.  I want to have a full time job.  BUT, I know I need to be content with where I am.  I know that I still have things to learn and ways to grow.

There is other things like that in my life.  Things where I am frustrated because I want something more, something extra and I know that I can't have it.  I know that there are ways that I still need to grow and ways that I need to learn.  So I need to learn to be content.

Anyone have any ideas?

What a cool moment to be a part of...

What a cool moment this inauguration was.  Every swearing in of a new president holds a special place in American history.  From JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country" to FDR's "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," every inauguration is special and changes history in it's own special day.  But I am proud and excited to be a part of history today.  President Barack Obama was sworn in a little over two hours ago.  Though I did not see the actual swearing in, I caught most of the speech.  And wow, that was a cool moment in time.  It was awesome to stop and spend time listening to this man who has inspired so many people to care about this country and to care about what is happening.

As I think back over the speech and the things that he was saying and insinuating throughout this speech, I am amazed at how far we have come.  He restated over and over again that now needs to be the end of politics.  Our country is at a time of crisis and we need to bond together to change this world.  He said nothing to the fact of big government or small government, the only thing that he said is that it needs to work.  If the ideas that the government is promoting, they will keep doing them.  If not, they will stop those ideas.  It was a very practical approach.  I liked his speech alot and am excited for the next four years.

The other thing that struck me was Rev. Lowry praying the benediction.  Wow.  He worked directly alongside MLK and now here he is at 87 years of age praying for our first African-American president.  I am proud of our country.  I am happy for what transpired today.  And, I am inspired to do what i can do to make this country great, now and always.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="585" caption=" President Obama and Vice President Biden and Wives bid farwell to the Bush's"][/caption]