Road Trip - Pics added July 28

Here's a link to my pics from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/run110hh/OutWest08

Tuesday, July 1 (Winona to Badlands National Park) - It feels so good to be far enough away from civilization as to hear no noise created by man and to be surrounded by nothing but God's creation and the Creator Himself. There truly is no excuse for man not to know God...As I sit on top of the highest peak I can find and look out over the small valley below I hear nothing but the wind and millions of creatures chirping. Everything that has breathe is praising God! I spent a couple minutes reading aloud from a few psalms. It was surreal...I was adding my praise to the praise of the animals and the insects! - - - On another note. For all the talk I've been hearing about people planning to drive less, there were plenty of cars on the highway today and I lost count of how many different state's license plates I saw. People were certainly traveling America's highways.

Wednesday, July 2 (Badlands to Yellowstone via Mt Rushmore) - Let me say first off that drive-up camp sites in national parks are lame. Okay, that's a little harsh, but they're not for me. They're for families with children. It's like putting up a tent in your backyard. It's still camping, but it's just not out in the wilderness. And what's the deal with charging you to get in the park and then charging you to camp?!!! From now on it's backcountry, or national forest camping. Camp site = last resort! Sorry for the negativity. Today was awesome. I left my campsite this morning at 7:30, past through Wall, SD to make a quick stop and then hit the highway. Where to begin and what to include/exclude...? I saw all kinds of weather today; from rain to heavy fog to sunshine and from 42 to 82 degrees (and that was within a 30 mile stretch. Rushmore was cool. It's a ten minute stop, but you have to at least get there once. The best part of the day was probably the long drive on Hwy 16 from Buffalo, WY to Yellowstone. Incredibly beautiful the whole way. The day took much longer than anticipated. Mapquest said only six or seven hours. I traveled for 13 hours all told, including a detour to Rushmore and rest stops along the way. The great thing was that I never got bored. I talked to a few friends on the phone, but other than that I just drove, listened to music, talked to God a little bit and mostly just enjoyed driving the this incredibly beautiful creation. Tomorrow I try to reach Grangeville, ID...

Thursday, July 3 (Yellowstone to Grangeville, ID) - As I sit down to write this it seems today was fairly uneventful. I left my campsite at 7:00 this morning and it took me two hours to get out of the park on the west side. I stopped by Old Faithful on the way out, but didn't have time to wait for it to erupt. On the whole I'd say Yellowstone was nice, but more of a two or three day stay so you can see everything, and more something for families. I definitely prefer backcountry camping and will probably try National Forrest camping next week too. The ride from the west entrance up to Butte, MT was nothing special, and Butte to Missoula was about the same. I will say, though, that going 75 on a little two lane highway through the middle of nowhere is kind of fun. I felt like I was in a video game. The sweet/crazy part of the trip was the ridiculously long drive down Highway 12 from Missoula to a town 30 miles short of my destination. It was wicked steep and winding for over a hundred miles. It was 40 degrees out when I woke up in Yellowstone. 20 miles before my final destination it hit 99! Almost a 60 degree temperature change for me today. I can really feel God's hand on me during this trip. So many little things, but the one that sticks out to me today is when I was cruising down Highway 12 thinking I had to get to Lewiston and then turn onto a different highway to get to Grangeville. I was about 80 miles or so from Lewiston and on a whim I decided to pull over and get out of the car to stretch my back and legs. I decided to check the map to see what was coming up before I had to turn and as it turns out the road that I had past less than 200 meters ago was my turn!!! Not 80 miles later. What a blessing! So, without too much trouble I found Keith's parent's place (where I'm staying tonight) and as it turns out, got there only ten minutes after them. So we had a great dinner prepared by Keith's mom and now we're just chilling on the deck overlooking an incredible valley. Tomorrow I head to Eugene, OR to hopefully see some track and field!

Friday, July 4 (Grangeville, ID) - Well, it's Friday and I'm still in Grangeville...I love not having a set schedule! I was sitting on the deck this morning before breakfast with my bible open and just kind of hanging out with God and I just felt like I was supposed to stay another day and I said nope, I'm going to Eugene. Again, "stay another day". Nope, I'm going. Again... I realized that it's just a track meet and I only have so much time to see my friends here in Idaho. So I'm here and it's good. Woohoo for fourth of July parades and fireworks! We'll see about Eugene tomorrow.

Saturday, July 5 (Grangeville, to Eugene, OR) - Fairly uneventful. Had a nice drive to Eugene, OR (aka: Tracktown, USA). Stopped by a waterfall along the way and hiked up to the top of it. It was cool, but for you Winona and La Crosse people, the view at Granddad's and Sugar Loaf are just as good. Yesterday was really great though. I would have been kicking myself had I not stayed the extra day. I got to go to the parade, play mountain ball and keepaway with the Seattle crew and the entire extended Carpenter clan. What a blast! Plus, most importantly, it was really good to see everyone for another day. Now that I'm in Eugene I'm staying with the family of a guy from church. It was nice just sitting around the table talking tonight. I am stoked to see the last day of the Track & Field Olympic Trials tomorrow!!!!!

Sunday, July 6 (Eugene, OR) - What an AWESOME day!!! I am wiped! Went to a little church that meets in a community center (called River Oaks Community Church). Great time of worship and great message out of Proverbs. Had a great talk with the pastor who has great vision. The girl that did the lead singing had an AMAZING voice. I hate when people say this, but she sings like an angel. I could listen to her all day long. So props to Natalie from Eugene. Then I took off for the Track and Field Olympic Trials final day of competition. When I got there I wasn't finding anyone selling tickets. At the last minute a couple had one for sale in a killer location. 7 rows up near the 40 yard line by the 200 start. The ticket I bought (for $40) was the ticket of the guy's daughter, who got sick this morning. It was a BLAST! Everything I hoped it would be. On to Redwood National Park via Coos Bay, OR (Pre's hometown), Lord willing.

Monday, July 7 (Eugene to Eureka, CA) - Today was kind of a bust. I left the Baumgart's at 8:15 this morning (forgetting to give them back the spare key) and headed towards Redwood Nt'l Park. I hit Coos Bay on the way and that was a let down. Kind of a small dirty town. I hoped to see something about Prefontaine. No dice. Then I cruised on down Hwy 101 into CA driving most of the way through Redwood National Park before I realized that there's no entrance gate like the other parks I've been to, so I pull over at the South-end visitor center to find out that I indeed did drive through most of the park. So I asked them what they thought in terms of a good back country trail and they sent me to this place waaaay out. Almost more remote than I would prefer...almost. I planned to hike in 2-3 miles camp and then head back that way in the morning...well, I was freaking out. There was no one around and I couldn't stop freaking about running into a bear. It was so bad that I even turned around 3 or 4 times and then decided to continue on. After I finally got over my ridiculous fear of the bears (that are rarely ever spotted in the park) I hiked on and searched for a place to set a tent. This trail is so back country that they don't have designated camp sites. The sign just said to camp on gravel areas. Well, I couldn't find any "gravel" areas! Plus I wasn't very impressed with the park. Let me restate that. It was beautiful, but it looked like any hiking area in WI. So around 6:15 I decided to head back out of the park (after 2 hours of roaming around) and head for a camp site that I didn't need to hike to. I drove and drove and every campground was either full or closed. At the moment that I was about to give up and just get a hotel (no Walmart parking lot presented itself) I saw a sign for a KOA in Eureka. So, begrudgingly I paid $27 for a campsite. So far I'm not a big fan of Cali. As a matter of fact I intend to get through this state as quickly as I can. Plus it's all foggy! Sorry for the grumbling. I'm am truly thankful to be on this trip. So, I sit here at a KOA that has internet. How 'bout that internet when you camp. What is the world coming to???

Tuesday and Wednesday, July 8 & 9 (Eureka, to LA) - Oh boy, no time to write tonight and no internet last night. Here's the short of it. Drove a long ways through Cali the last two days. Drove down the very long and winding hwy 1 yesterday and got to and thru San Francisco. Stayed in a State Park south of San Fran. Shot over to the 101 and cruised down to LA. Crazy huge city!!! Drivers not quite as crazy as I expected. Weird feeling having 5 lanes of traffic going each way! Staying with a friend I met in London last summer in Chino Hills. Planning on hanging with another guy from London tomorrow and then heading to San Diego Friday...unless plans change. I'm learning the value of friends after going 3 days without seeing anyone I know. Catch you next time I have the web... :)

Thursday, July 10 (LA) - Fun day. LA is HUGE!!! Even when the traffic is moving quickly it takes forever to get anywhere. We went to Newport beach and it took us over an hour to get home. Granted they are on opposite sides of town, but still... Okay, check this out. They call all their highways "freeways" and if I-90 were in LA they'd call "the 90". Every highway number is preceded by "the" and there are A LOT of highways. Seriously. Take the Twin Cities and multiply by 20. So crashing with my friend Paul and his family last night was fun. I had a great dinner and chatted with Paul and his wife all night. Woke up to a great breakfast and headed over to Pat's place (another guy I met in London last summer). We just drove around all day. Okay, here's a general rundown: In and Out Burger (I was required to go. Double Double, animal style; yum.), the 101, Dodger Stadium, the Pond, sidewalk stars, Hollywood sign, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Blvd, Winona Street, Beverly Hills, UCLA, Longbeach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach. Good times! Well, I found out that my friend Michelle, that I thought lives in San Diego, actually lives in L.A. So it's LA again instead of San Diego. We're meeting around lunch time and then I think I get to hang out with her and her kids. Awesome! Not sure where I'm staying tomorrow night, then off to Joshua Tree on Saturday. Peace.

Friday, July 11 (LA to Oceanside, CA) - I had to drive 60 miles from East LA (Chino) to the coast in Torrance. I left Pat's at 8:00 am and had to take freeways all the way there. I was expecting crazy gridlock traffic, but I don't think I was below 60 mph at all. The traffic here really hasn't been as bad as I expected. I got to Torrance and hung out with my friend Michelle (whom I haven't seen in 6 years and now has a family) and her family at their horse ranch along the coast. It was a lot of fun; plus I road a horse for the first time since I was 4. Then I hit the road towards San Diego with absolutely no plan. I drove along the coast for a couple hours and remembered that one of my former athletes lives with her husband in Oceanside (north of San Diego). So I called her up and had dinner with her and Adam and now we're just hanging out. I guess I'm crashing here tonight. I've gotta say...I'm a little homesick. I hate to say this, but I'm considering shortening my trip. That's a tough thing to say when I'm as far from home as I can possibly be, haven't seen the Grand Canyon yet and have a few friends to see yet. The other thing is that I'm finding out that hiking and camping down here in the southwest in the summer might not be the best idea. I guess we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow. I think I'm going to hang out in San Diego tomorrow and then decide from there. We'll see...

Saturday, July 12 (Oceanside to San Diego, CA) - Today was a good day. This is so much fun. I'm thanking God for the rejuvination. I was a total tourist in San Diego today. I checked out the track at UC-SD, stopped by the US Olympic Training Center, toured the USS Midway (formerly the largest aircraft carrier on the planet), walked through the US Marine Corp museum and spent the afternoon on the beach. It was sweet! What a great day. Now I'm at this metropolis of a campground called Campland on the Bay. They have over 600 camp sites and only 40 or 50 are for tents. They've got all kinds of stuff going on here. It's like a city for campers right in San Diego. Plus they have wi-fi. Crazy! Not sure the plans for tomorrow yet. Can't get a hold of Sam to see when he'll be back in Tucson. Thinking either straight to Vegas or Vegas via a dayhike in Joshua Tree. Then maybe Hoover dam and a day at the Grand Canyon on the way to Tucson. Who knows. May the Lord lead me to the places He wants me to be. You'd be surprised how busy you can keep yourself when you're by yourself. I really need to make an effort to spend more time just hanging w/the Father. Peace.

Sunday and Monday, July 13 and 14 (San Diego to Tucson, AZ) - The last twenty-four hours has been interesting, but in simple ways. I never made it to Joshua Tree or Las Vegas. I woke up with this "knowing" that I wasn't supposed to go to Vegas, but didn't know where else to go so I thought I was crazy and decided to head that way anyways. I was delaying Tucson because I hadn't heard from my friend Sam in a few days and didn't know if he'd be back to Tucson yet from his vacation. I got on the highway craving Burger King for breakfast (I've been craving it for a week). Eventually I decided to stop for gas and to refill some essential supplies at a Wal-mart. I asked the lady at Wal-mart if there was a Burger King heading east on I-8 (or 'the 8' as they say in So Cal) and she said no, but there was a Jack in the Box. So I thought I'd try that. As I was getting back in the car at Wal-mart I got a call from Sam and he said he'd be home in 5 hours (ironically I was about 5 hours from Tucson). So my discomfort with Vegas was appeased as I decided to head to Tucson. Then the next exit up the highway I saw the Jack in the Box sign so I pull onto the off-ramp. The second I hit that exit I see a Burger King sign. Now I know all this might seem insignificant or even silly, but it is just the latest examples of God's hand on every aspect of this trip and how I'm learning to feel Him pressing on me when I need to go a certain way or do a certain thing. And then He provided something insignificant that made my day. I got to Tucson and hung out with Sam last night. It was relaxing. However, since I got here early in the afternoon I had decided just to stay for the day and head out in the morning. I just didn't have a peace about it though. Needless to say, as I drifted from sleep to awake this morning I felt that same nudge that I needed to stay another day. I'm glad I did. It's good to hang with my old friend an extra day. So it's Monday around Noon and I'm sitting in a courtyard at the U of Arizona. I'm not really sure what tomorrow will hold. I suppose I'll head towards the Grand Canyon and figure things out from there...

Tuesday, July 15 (Tucson to Las Vegas via the Grand Canyon) – Wow! Talk about living up to the hype. The Grand Canyon is incredible! Absolutely everyone needs to see it at least once in their life in person. Magnificent! Part of me wants to know how God did it; did He just speak it into existence and it hasn’t changed, or was it carved over millions or billions of years? But part of me likes the mystery. I only stopped there for a short time and took some pics from the South Rim Trail, but it was amazing. Now I know I need to go back and give it a couple days. Hike to the bottom one day. Hike halfway up the next and then finish the ascent the last day. And I’d probably do the North Rim instead, since it’s less touristy. So I left Sam’s around eight this morning and left the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon. I got to Vegas around 8:00. Somehow I got the right exit and was driving down “The Strip”. It, too, lives up to the hype. It took me 20 minutes of driving up and down the strip to figure out that you have to go behind each of the hotels to find parking. I pulled in across the street from the Bilagio and parked in the Paris/Ballys ramp. Just for kicks, once I found (or stumbled upon) the front desk at Ballys I asked what a room would cost (expecting to hear at least $175 or $200. $90! Crazy! Then she upgraded me to a suite! So I’m staying on the 15th floor, in this crazy huge suite with a jacuzi, on the stip, in Ballys, across the street from the Bilagio! Talk about feeling out of place! Okay, though. The COOLEST thing in this town is the water shows in front of the Bilagio (like at the end of Ocean’s 11). That alone is worth the trip. Way cool! So, basically I didn’t spend a dime in Vegas (other than my hotel room, which was a steal) and had a blast just walking around checking out this crazy city. Well, I guess that’s it for tonight. It’s past midnight and I want to get going at a decent time in the AM so I can do some hiking once I get to The Arches in Utah tomorrow. Assuming that’s where I end up. Lovin’ it!

Wednesday, July 16 (Las Vegas to Arches National Park/Moab, UT) – Got out of Vegas around nine this morning. Had a nice drive to Arches National Park. Lots of lighting and thunder storms in the distance the last two hours of the drive. They don’t really do backcountry camping there and the regular camp sites were full so the park ranger recommended this campground in a wilderness area outside Moab. So that’s where I am now and I think it’s better than anything else I could have expected. I’m sitting on the side of a cliff about 30 feet over the trail while I type this. Awesome! Before I came to the campsite I figured I’d better drive the 36 mile (round trip) road through Arches NP. Wow!!! I think I found where the Ark of the Covenant is located. It’s gotta be in Arches NP. How obvious can God make his presence known? For those that don’t follow the analogy, the Ark was put in the most holy place in the Jewish temple and it represented the presence of God; it was where God dwelled on Earth. There was this one point as the sun was beginning to set that it shown on the side of this huge vertical mountain face and a rainbow hung above it. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt God’s presence in such a physical way before. It was incredible! How great is our God! I wish you could be sitting here with me now as I lean up against this rock looking at another huge rock face 50 feet away listening to nothing but the bugs, an owl, and the noise of my keyboard. Mmmmm. It is good.

Thursday, July 17 (Moab to Estes Park, CO) - It’s good to be back in CO. The air is a little fresher, the mountains are a little bigger. The rest of the country is beautiful, but there’s just something about the CO Rockies. I let the sun wake me up this morning, took a few minutes to enjoy creation up on a rock 80 feet above the campsites and headed out for Estes. Someday I will paddle the Colorado River between I-70 and Moab. What a gorgeous drive! It's like a mini Grand Canyon for 20 or 30 miles. It was awesome enough in a car with a roof. I can't imagine the beauty if I were paddling down the middle of it with nothing above me but the sky and red mountain cliffs. I passed 5500 miles on my trip today so I should be over 6500 by the time I get back to Winona. Also, I'm kind of getting the bug to learn how to rock climb (both free-climbing and with ropes) and fly fish. I know, fly fishing? It just looks relaxing watching the old guys fishing in the whitewater streams along the highway. And after being in Moab, rock climbing is really climbing my list of things to get good at. I think my hesitation is that I'm not a big fan of doing things that can cause serious injury. Death I'm not afraid of, but permanent injury/disability would suck. I can't tell you how psyched I am to spend the next four days in Estes. Some hiking in Rocky Mt Park, tubing down the river, seeing some friends, and spending lots of good hang out time with my sister and brother-in-law and his family...and NO driving until Tuesday!

Friday, July 18 (Estes Park, CO) - Just a chill day in Estes with Abby and Phil. Slept in. Took a sweet hike in RMNP with Abs and went to the house they're building while Phil and his little bro were framing the main floor.

Saturday, July 19 (Estes Park, CO) - Tried something new today; whitewater tubing my sister calls it. Cold rocky mountain stream running through Estes Park with lots of small rapids. Good times. Had a great time hanging out with a bunch of Abby and Phil's friends (most of whom I've met several times now) tonight for dinner and conversation. It's been a great end to my trip here in Estes. It's good to just hang out and not be driving or have an agenda. I'm no carpenter, but I'm going to try to help Phil up at the house tomorrow. He's got to finish up some things so they'll be ready to put up the trusses on Monday. Should be interesting. Hangin' out with some friends Kyle and I met last year on Monday and then heading for home bright and early Tuesday.

Sunday, July 20 (Estes Park, CO) - Interesting day today. Went to Rocky Mt Church this morning. Small little Free Church in Estes. It's interesting going to other churches of the same denomination I go to and seeing how they do things. Then I spent the rest of the day helping my brother-in-law build their house. I think it was like nine hours or something. Boy do I have a new appreciation for carpenters. It was fun working with Phil and I learned a lot about home building, but wow, I'm going to be sore tomorrow! Pretty sure I won't be able to move my shoulders. Let's just say we went through a LOT of nails and staples. I feel like there's more to say, but I'm just so tired nothing's processing...I'm excited to see the Deardons tomorrow and get out into RMNP.

Monday, July 21 (Estes Park, CO) - Went for a 10 mile hike today. Life is good! Some friends that Kyle Reschke and I met last summer when we climbed Long's Peak got to town today to do some backpacking. Since I have to leave first thing tomorrow morning I wasn't able to camp with them tonight so I hiked to their campsite with them and then hiked back out. It was great to see them again, and great to catch up on life and just enjoy the hike together. About half way to the site we got a great view of the peak that we all climbed together last year. It was fun seeing it from a distance with the friends that stood on top of it with me almost a year ago. Wow, my trip is, for all practical purposes...over :( Iknow, I have a thousand miles yet to drive tomorrow, but it's just the homestretch and I've driven it many times. After tonight, Lord willing, the next bed I sleep in will be my own. Boy, a week ago (the day before San Diego) I sure didn't think I'd be wishing this trip could continue...I hope I've enjoyed it for all it was worth and didn't waste any of the time that God has given me these past three weeks. It's been a lot of fun and I think I had some great, once in a lifetime, experiences. I'm so grateful for all the friends that took me in for a night or two, fed me and shared in my journey. And I'm grateful for all my friends back home who've kept in touch with me, in one way or another on this trip. It was a great time of learning to appreciate my friends, both at home and those along the way as well as time to appreciate being alone, and alone with my creator; enjoying Him and everything He created. I hope to be on the road by 6:00am Mountain Time, so if you're bored tomorrow don't hesitate to give me a call and keep me company; especially during the monotonous drive through the cornhusker state. ;)

Tuesday, July 22 (Estes Park to Home) - Aaaaand I'm home...

Humility in position

The bible seems to indicate the John the Baptist was a person of significance and influence in the time leading up to Jesus' appearance on the public scene. Whether by title or just his influence, he was a leader. Then Jesus comes along and John gives us an incredible picture of humility.

I was reading the end of John 3 and saw something in a new light. John's disciples were concerned that people stopped following John and followed Jesus. Wouldn't you be concerned? You are an influential person in your field (a leader) and all of a sudden people leave you and start following someone else. Humiliating, don't you think? Wouldn't you be filled with self doubt that you weren't good enough or maybe feel bitterness or envy towards the person that "took" your followers away? I think I would. Well John's response (as you probably already know) is "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, ans is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less." What a lesson!

Who's capable of love?

So I went to two weddings this weekend. One of which I am confident that the couple has a solid relationship with the Lord and the other...not so much. It may have just been my perception, but what I observed was sad and it's something I've been noticing the past few years as I've gone to many, many weddings. I so look forward to Christian weddings! You can see love and 'pure' joy on the faces of everyone there, from the bride and groom to the random friends that are there. But at the weddings where you're pretty sure they are not Christians it just seems like a formality. Of course everyone is happy, but it's not the same kind of anticipation, joy, or excitement.

What I'm getting at is this, and this is a rather bold and possibly painful statement; those who do not know God don't really have the ability to love...I know, you think I'm out of my mind. You're saying, "Of course they love! People fall in love and get married." There are many outward acts that we would say are carried out because of love (in marriage and otherwise). For instance, commitment and compassion. I would argue that those things can be misconstrued as love. 1 John 4:7-8 says, "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." This would seem to back up what I'm proposing. I've always known this verse, but I don't know that I've ever taken it seriously because, come on, all people love...don't they?

Loving Father

God is truly the loving Father who lavishes good things on us. There's no way that, at 30 years old, I should still be able to put on my spikes and run the race that has been such a huge part of my life for over 15 years...and still be competitive with college athletes. But God is gracious and has continued to allow me the ability to do something that I love sooo much.

He's giving me a new perspective on competition since the last time I ran for a college team. Back then it was all about getting better and winning and be an All-American or a National Champion or breaking the school record. Now I appreciate it so much more and know that every step I take on that track and every beat of my heart is because He allows it. Now I compete for the love of it and knowing that every time I do something that He's created me to do it brings Him glory! Praise God for His goodness!

Matthew 7:9-11: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

What does 'faith in Christ' mean?

I'm finding that I have a real aversion to Christian lingo. I think it has to do with my disdain for cliche's. You know how a word loses it's meaning if you say it a whole bunch of times in a row? Try it once if you don't know what I mean. Say the word 'boat' over and over until it loses meaning and is just a word...Okay, cliche's are the same way. There must be truth in them or they wouldn't be said all the time; right? When I hear a cliche that has lost it's meaning to me I try to reword it in a way that has meaning, or at least break down the current wording to figure out what it really means.

I want to take the phrase 'faith in Christ' and look at what it really means. When I hear/read that phrase my brain associates it with believing that He exists...I think that is a wrong association...You would never say that you have faith in a friend to mean that you believe they exist. You would say it in that way to mean that you believe that they can/will accomplish something. So, if I say I have 'faith in Christ', I must mean that I believe that He will accomplish (or maybe has accomplished) something...?

Just a thought...

Grace and love and the War in Iraq

I'm not usually one to argue politics, but I ran across an argument that I must comment on. Shane Claiborne, in Irresistible Revolution, makes a pretty up front statement that it was wrong of us to go into Iraq. That it was not a loving thing to do. And he gives quotes from people saying, "What kind of liberation would do this to a child." Speaking of a child with metal shards in it's skin. He says that this is not showing grace.

There is no argument that thousands, even tens of thousands of people, both civilian and military, both Iraqi and American, died these past five years. But what were we supposed to do? Let Saddam continue to violate what we Americans call inalienable human rights!!!? Are we just to stand by and let him (and the culture around him) abuse and kill humans!!!? No doubt that any life lost is tragic, but isn't it worth the risk of lives to ensure safety and health for this and future generations? Maybe I'm wrong...and I'll gladly admit it if you can give me a good argument, but letting the atrocities committed by Saddam continue would not be giving grace or love!

Please set me straight if this is crazy-talk. I want to walk like Jesus walked and I don't think He would stand for what was happening...would He?

The most important event in all of history!

A friend of mine recently posted in his blog that "the cross is the focal point of all history". What a profound reality! The entire old testament points to that day and all of history since that day has revolved around it.

Whether you believe in it's significance or not you cannot argue that the cross and the Man on it has not shaped the world! Is there a greater point of contention anywhere in the world? If you believe in it's significance it is the source of unending peace and joy in the fact that we can spend eternity (starting today) with God and not eternity without Him. And if you think it was a meaningless occurance you cannot ignore the fact that governments have been built around it and countless wars have been fought either defending or attacking those who profess it's importance. I wish I were more eloquent, but reading that statement hit me in a new way. It truly was the most important event since the fall of Man; for if Man hadn't sinned, the act of the cross wouldn't have been necessary...but that's a whole other topic!

Orphans, Widows and the Poor

Jesus told us to take care of the orphan, the widow and the poor.

What if an orphan is someone who doesn't know God as their father, a widow is someone who is not the bride of Christ and the poor is someone poor in spirit (ie: lacking the Holy Spirit)?

Balance

Note: I wrote this a year and a half ago, but never published it. I guess I felt like it was an unfinished thought. I ran across it and decided to publish it anyway...
Ahh, balance. This seems to be the theme of my life right now. Not that I exhibit this quality, but I seem to be encountering it and talking about it a lot. I see us as Americans (and Christians in particular) finding something that we believe in and taking it to an extreme. Let's take politics for instance since it's already termed left-wing and right-wing. We pick a side and run full force at it. While I admire passion and commitment in people I think that going to one side of the road while ignoring the other isn't healthy. I think we need to go down the middle of the road. I don't mean we should be wishy washy or luke warm, but that we need to find a balance. Let me speak in spiritual terms/church-talk. On the left we have legalism and on the right we have freedom. Some would jump with full force to the side of legalism and say that by no means can we ever alow X to happen while others will say God gives me the freedom to do whatever I want so I am going to indulge in X. Because of what Christ accomplished, we are now free from the restrictions of the law, but in acting out our faith (salvation that we obtained by grace) we will naturally follow the law because of the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Love & Evangelism

The greatest commandment and the great commission seem to sum up what the Christian life should be all about. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27), and go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19).

Love God. Love people. And make disciples; ie: evangelize.

The case for love for the sake of love: God calls us to love...period. Not to love with a motive.

The case for evangelism: God calls us to make disciples. I believe that loving people is an excellent means to do so.

There's a bit of a conflict of the heart here. I argue that we should love for the sake of love with no ulterior motive. But, then, what about evangelism? If we are using love as a means to evangelize is it actually love or just a method? Maybe evangelism is what motivates us to action, and love is the means in which we carry it out. Is that love real? Are we being fake? Are we reaching out in love just to bring someone to Christ? Is it wrong if we are? What if that person we're reaching out to shuts us down and evangelism is going nowwhere? What do we do? Far too often, I believe, we love only to evangelize and then when we're done evangelizing, we stop loving and then we're shown to be hypocrites. The world is just waiting for us to perpetuate that stereotype.

The argument was recently made that if we love someone we should want them to be saved. That is true and we will go on loving that person no matter what, but we want them to know God. That's not what I'm talking about, though. I'm talking about evangelism to the random person (neighbor) that walks by or is at some point or for some reason in your life. You don't know the person, so would you honestly say that you feel love for them? Probably not. However we are called to act in love towards them. Now the question; do you act in love so that they will come to know Christ, or do you act in love for the sake of love? Does it matter?

This may sound like symantecs, but I believe that Jesus gave ample examples of how He cares more about your motive (what's in your heart) than your outward action. Your outward action may be love, but is that what's really in your heart?

That whole discussion was a preface for the following statement. You must be willing to continue to love even when evangelism seems to be going nowhere. Just like everything else in the Christian life (and life in general) there must be balance.

Sabbath

So we were talking about the Sabbath last Friday at this early morning coffee shop thing that I go to and we talked about what it really means to observe Sabbath as a 21st century Christian. Is it still relevant? How do you observe Sabbath? What it's for? At some point I made a comment about it being a day of rest and so whatever is restfull to you is what you should do. I realized, partly that morning, but more-so today how wrong that is. The Sabbath is not just about rest. It's about setting apart a day for God. I was thinking about this today as it is MLK Jr. Day. It's a federal holiday and lots of people have off from work or school. So basically it's a vacation day or a day of rest, but how many people actually "observe" the day for it's inteded purpose? A couple times today I thought to myself, "Oh, it's Martin Luther King Jr Day today". But other than that I did nothing to set today apart as a day to think on or honor the meaning of the day. I think the Sabbath is like that. I (or we) recognize that it's Sunday and those fortunate to have the day off can spend it resting and in the end may think I am so holy b/c I went to church and took a day to rest, but did I really set apart the day for the Lord? Did I take time to rest with Christ or was it all about me? What do I want to do to rest? Did I truly "observe" the Sabbath, or did I just rest?

Love people so that...?

Jesus said to love our neighbors...period. Not to love people so that they will 'get saved'. He also said that "They will know that you are My disciples by the way you love one another." The motive is to love for the sake of love, not to love for the sake of "bringing someone to Christ."

It's such a fine line. Some college kids and I bring homemade cookies and other treats to a spot on campus Thursday nights to give to anyone walking by. People ask us what group we are with or why we are doing it. We tell them that "Jesus told us to love our neighbors so that's what we're trying to do." The question on my mind is do we do this in the name of love so that maybe, just maybe, someone will 'get saved', or do we do this solely out of love with no ulterior motive?

As always with Jesus, it's about the motive, not the outward action...

I'm reading this book called "UnChristian" and they talk about how this generation is "quick to sniff out what they believe to be the underlying motivations and superficialities." And it's often thought that Christians (genuine motives or not), "rather than being genuinely interested in people for their friendships, often seem like spiritual headhunters."

Identification Please

People often throw out the phrase "identity in Christ" and I never know what that means. They say they know their identity in Christ. If that were a multiple choice question (What is your identity in Christ?) I don't even know what the choices would be. If the question were "what's your favorite color?" or "What state were you born in?" or even "What's your favorite part or verse in the bible?" I would at least know what some possibilities would be: Blue or green, Wisconsin or California, Romans 12:2 or 1 Timothy 5:2.

As I often do with overused statements and cliche's I tried to reword the statement so that I could understand it in a way that makes sense. I asked myself, "If God issued my ID card and not the state of MN, what would it say about me on that card?" My first thought was that I am a son, a brother, an ex-husband, a coach, and a friend.

That's all well and good, but those are just my relationships to other people. Who does God say that I am? I am a child of God, a son, an heir to the Kingdom, the bride of Christ. I am a man who seeks after God's heart. I am a disciple, a missionary, a servant. Satan has no power over me and sin's chains have been broken. I think that's a pretty sweet identity.

I'm also rereading Eldridge's "Wild at Heart" and he talks about "taking the mask off". I guess he means that we act in a way that is not who we are to hide. Hide what or from what...? I guess it's to hide our wounds and to hide who we actually are. What lies about the world or about myself am I trying to hide? What wound(s) am I hiding or compensating for...? Boy, those are tough questions that I just don't have answers to.

What do these two separate questions/comments have in common? I guess it's about who we are and who we act like we are. And I guess even who we think that we are, even though we have no idea.

God's will and the open door

I've been meditating on Romans 12:2 the past few days* and a thought occured to me that when you are faced with a number of open doors that all seem like they are in line with God's overall plan for humanity (ie: loving God, loving your neighbor, and fullfilling the great commission) just pick one and charge through it full blast, guns blazing. There's no need to wait around to figure out which one God wants you to do.

*Rom 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what the will of God is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."

If I could go back to any one moment in history...

I was paging through the book of Joshua in the bible the other day and the fall of Jericho caught my attention, so I read it more closely. It starts like this: Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come."

WOW!!! Can you imagine that!!!? I mean, of course there are a ton of other cool moments that it would be great to see (the transfiguration, the burning bush and probably a ton of others now that I think of it), but seriously, The angel who is the commander of the army of the Lord. Okay, first of all angels...? How powerful must they be? And God? No one/Nothing more powerful! And this guy is the commander of God's army? Wow! All I'm saying is that is one moment in history that I would have liked to been there for!

Beautiful picture

I saw the most beautiful picture of the church (the body of Christ) tonight! The church was doing what it was made to do; build each other up and glorify God. An empty room filled with nothing but college students, about 80 of them, scattered throughout the room. All of them there for the purpose of worshiping God with a worship team made up of their peers. A break in the music; and a man, the pastor for college students at this church, says that he feels there are people in the room that need encouragement and to be prayed over. The keyboard player beautifully plays underneath it all while students come up front for prayer and encouragement. After a good amount of time has passed and many have been up front the students begin to gather around each other to pray for their friends. A girl in the corner stands with her hands high and her eyes closed swaying back and forth as if dancing with God. Others sit on their knees in silent prayer. What a beautiful picture of unity in the body of Christ; the very thing that was prayed for at the beginning of the evening: Romans 15:5 - May the God who gives you endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Giving your very best

I'm a coach. And sometimes what I see and experience makes me think, "Is it all about winning and losing? Is that the greatest purpose of what I do? Or of sports?" Maybe it's about giving your very best. If you believe that God created you, don't you think you owe it to Him to give your best? Even if you don't believe that, don't you at least owe it to yourself? I don't remember the times I won or lost so much as the times I gave it my all or just gave up...

What's your motivation? Why do you do anything? Satisfaction? Glory? Reward? Whether God allows you to be successful or not, He deserves to be praised either way!

Ask one thing of yourself. Give your very best every day. When you fail to do that you are letting yourself down, and possibly others around you. Win or lose you can't expect any more from yourself than your very best effort. When you've given your best, that alone is something to be proud of. Never give up! Press on toward the goal!

Romans 15:20

Romans 15:20; Paul says, "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation."

That verse summarizes how I've always felt about missions. Taking the gospel to people who've never heard Jesus' name. I heard someone say once that, "No one deserves to hear the gospel twice until every person on Earth has heard it once." That's bold and maybe a bit harsh, but I think I agree with it. I think, "What good could I do in a group who hasn't been reached? Maybe I should just join with someone else's effort."

I feel like I can't argue with someone who's already made up their mind about God, but I would love to talk to someone who's never heard of Him, or who believes in a false god.

Just some randomness that I thought I'd write down...

Ted Haggard

Do you assume that everyone that teaches you something is able to execute every instruction that they give you without flaw every single time? If you’re in sales does your sales trainer ever make a mistake and you then proceed to say that that person is a fake and a liar because they messed up a sale? I’m a coach. Do you think that just because I know how to teach someone else how to pole vault or long jump that I can execute a perfect pole vault or long jump once, let alone many times over? Of course not! I’m an awful pole vaulter and my long jump form is terrible. Just because someone teaches something that does not mean that they themselves can perfectly perform that task. Ted Haggard teaches people (among other things) how to live a righteous life before God. That certainly doesn’t mean he himself is able to do so. Shouldn’t we give a pastor the same grace in failure that we give a teacher or a coach?

Salvation & The Matrix

Salvation is much like Neo taking the red pill. He didn’t find the answer (Morpheus and Trinity). The answer (Morpheus and Trinity) found him. They found him and offered him the answer, but it was up to Neo to take the pill! We don’t find God, God finds us (or shows Himself to us). Then He gives us a choice, the red pill or the blue pill. He presents us with the truth and we have to decide if we want to find out how deep the rabbit hole really is…God finds us, opens our eyes and gives us a choice: follow Him…or don’t…it’s our choice!