Friday, February 29, 2008

A few thoughts on prayer

This morning I met with several Christian brothers to pray.

Prayer has never been easy for me, especially when it comes to developing consistent habits of devoting time to the spiritual disciplines every day.

That's were community and accountability come in.

I think it's interesting that in the New Testament prayer is usually spoken of in a corporate sense just as frequently as it is seen as a personal discipline (cf. Mathew 18:19-20). Praying together helps expand our prayers to not only be about ourselves but to also be about our community, our nation, and the world.

I am excited to see what happens as we continue to seek the Father.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Window Shopping

I went with Darren to check out the Bike Courier today.

I ended up falling in love with this bicycle. Anyone have $460 they want to give me?

A friend also suggested checking out this bike if I want to save some money, as it is over a hundred dollars cheaper.

Decisions decisions.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

A whole lot of random

The lunar eclipse looked pretty awesome tonight. That's not something you see everyday.

My audition for the Sojourn worship arts team went well as I could have hoped. The American Idol-esque format was kind of nerve racking but luckily Mike Cosper is a pretty relaxed dude. There were definately a lot of very talented musicians trying out; I was relieved to be the only keyboardist.

Why did I get a smoothie at Quills tonight? I was already frozen on the outside so why not the inside too, right?

I hope I don't have to cut my hair to visit Shawnee Baptist Church, but a large portion of my grade is riding on this interview, so desperate times and all that.

Today marks the first day that I wore my Sambas around town. Previously I have saved them just for games, but they're over a year old so I think it's okay to retire them to domestic use- plus they're just straight stylish.

I found out today that my copy of The Kite Runner is being returned to me with a coffee stain. No big. Better coffee than going the way of my copy of X&Y.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

ah... the promise of a snow day tomorrow gives me the freedom to spend time blogging without feeling guilty.

Tonight i had real maple syrup on my gf pancakes for the first time ever... delicious. I'm completely sold on the real deal.... though it's hard to admit I've found something I like more than Mrs. Butterworth's.

Ingrid Michaelson performed at the 930 tonight. It was a very casual, laid back performance. I was fortunate enough to be assigned the job of guarding the backstage door, which allowed me to catch the entire performance
.
It was my first time being a bouncer and fortunately I didn't have to punch anyone in the face- though I was prepared to take out the first scarf-wearing scenester with sideways hair and a vintage peacoat to try and start something. After the show I did allow John Cabal to slip back stage so he could deliver a giant Valentine's Day card (quite literally coffee table sized) to Ingrid. Leave it to John Cabal to give a personalized Valentine's Day card to the musical artist with the #16 single on the top 40.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Lent

It is a very sobering thing to be told, "from ashes you were made and to ashes you will return" as the sign of the cross is made on your forehead.

This morning I attended an Ash Wednesday gathering with my church. Although I have been a Christian most of my life, this will be the first time that I have observed the the season of lent. For those unfamiliar the tradition, lent is the forty day period leading up to Easter. Just as Jesus fasted (did not eat anything) for 40 days in the desert, so Christians are also encouraged to fast during this period. While most people can not give up food for that amount of time (though I know some who have), it is possible to fast in other ways, such as giving up meat, desserts, entertainment, or other luxeries.

The purpose of fasting during this period is not try to impress God or show how good a Christian we are. In fact it's exactly the opposite. In fasting we better learn our own weakness and gain a greater perspective of how much we depend on God. By removing distractions from our lives, we are more free to focus on Christ and grow in our relationship with him. Deut. 8:3 says that, "man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." Fasting is a celebration of this fact. In reality it is not food, water, or shelter that sustains, but the Word of God, that spoke us into existance and sustains us to this day (Gen 1:1 Col. 1:15-20).