Looking at the trailers for the movie The day after tomorrow This looks like a hot one.

I always thought that global warming was the means through which God unleashes his wrath a la Revelation

Just a theory I had as a kid. Yeah I was a pretty strange kid and I am still pretty strange :)

Dealing with raising money for this trip. This is the first time I have ever been this far behind in reaching a goal. Of course the usual doubts come. Am I called to go? Did Gods really speak to me? The funny thing about it is this goal of $2500 is way less than previous mission trips.

It would be so much better if I lived in a culture of hospitality then I could rely on the christian network like the Apostle Paul

Ethiopia-Oromo students have fled to Kenya claiming govenment harassment Read more about it here

The sad thing is that when oppressed people are pushed too hard there is severe backlash This time in the form of a grenade.

Pray for Ethiopia.
Pray for the Oromo people.
Pray for the students to receive the kingdom of God.

"God, I pray thee, light these idle sticks of my life, and may I burn up for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one, like Yours, Lord Jesus." — Jim Elliot, killed at age 28 by the Auca Indians with whom he was trying to share the Gospel.

This is hardcore. This is what it is all about. Are there anymore Jim Eliots around?

Listen

Listen
The melody of birds
Chirping
Competes with the bark of a dog
The ticking of a clock
As a plane soars overhead
Listen
To the whisper
Of the one who painted all the colors
Of your days
Shake yourself loose
from the noise
Listen
To what is the loudest
Because you can't help but obey
Resist the slavery
Of society droning
In the background
Throw off the 9-5 shackles
Listen
As they call you
To change your oil
Wax your car
The scantily clad woman screams
"Be like Me!
Listen
As the people in the room
Silence their hearts and tune in
To the new arrival
Everyday we we plot
For survival
Listen
Because life is what you make it
Although it's already amade
And he is already speaking
Listen

Thinking about skateboarding. I have always wanted to do it but when I felt inspired I had no money to buy one. Now I am going to buy one and become one with the half pipe. I hope not literally :)

I am starting a wee bit late so I don't think I will becomeTony Hawk overnight.

Pray that I can even do a simple ollie!!!

"One of the reason why Arabic Muslims want to see the film is because they have heard that it is anti-Jewish. Because many of them hate the Jews, they want to see the film. Isn't it astonishing, that God uses this film to make exactly the opposite statement, that we should love our enemies, and that Jesus prayed for his enemies as they nailed him to the cross? That is particularly touching for Muslim viewers," says another report.

Read more about the impact of the Passion of Christ in the Middle East in the Dawn Friday Fax.

I held my spirit in His holy presence recalling it whenever it went astray.-Brother Lawrence Practicing the Presence of God

Aware
Piercing glare
Beyond the rational
There is no formula
A daily journey
Leaving behind tokens of supernatural
Tinting all thoughts
There is no ordinary time
He is at work all around us

Interesting article on AllAfrica.com about mobile phone use in Africa.

In Moroccan rural households, mobile phones outnumber fixed by six to one. Thus for most Africans mobile is the only form of telephone communications they know and may ever know.

What potential community/economic development opportunity can be found in the mobile phone industry? This could be something to look into. Hmmm.

Interesting stories about Evangelicals on Religion/Ethics Newsweekly

This week they discuss pop culture and secular society's influence on Evangelicals. The program asks the question Are evangelicals shaping society or being shaped by it? The answer to that question is positive or negative depending on your perspective. From a missional standpoint there are many ways in which you want to be shaped by society. Contextualization. From a wholeness (holiness) standpoint society there are many things in our popular culture that lead to brokenness and unhealthy behavior.

There is also an segment on meditation from a Buddhist monk for buddhists and non buddhists. I will speak on Christian meditation on Saturday for my preaching class.

Still in the process of preparing for Ethiopia. This is such a different thing for me having to essentially start from scratch not knowing alot of things about coordinating a mission trip but the headache is worth it.

People ask me why I do it and to them it just doesn't make sense. To me it makes perfect semse and yet it doesn't. I am going because God called me to go. I am aware of his presence and his hand guiding me. That doesn't make sense at all at least not scientifically or practically. I could save myself alot of hard work and pain.

That's why they call it the mystery of godliness.

Live and die with Him. This is the real business of Christians. In a word it is our profession.-Brother Lawrence Practicing the Presence of God

To live and die with Him means to engage Him in everything I do. The more and more I do this the more and more of Him I know.

In VLI we have studied the Engel scale and it shows how people end up "putting the cart before the horse"; "jumping the gun" so to speak in telling people about Christ. People are in different stages concerning their knowledge of supernatural God, awareness of Christianity, need for Christianity etc. Alot of times it is comparable to telling an eskimo about water or ice or telling a primitive man that there are birds that fly people(airplanes). The gospel has no relevance or the person has no frame of reference for it.

The fish scale has been developed to track a christian commitment to missions in a pluralisitc society. Read about it more from the Dawn FridayFax

Just blasted through another week. We had an encouraging time at our leadership meeting for church. We talked about noticing and encouraging the different gifts and abilities we see in each ohter. This is the key to mentoring/discipling. Jesus renamed Peter "Cephas" or stone because this is what he saw in Peter even though there were many things that Peter did contrary to being a stable and grounded stone. He primarily encouraged the good instead of highlighting the bad.

On another note I was called a genius. They say genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Judging from my workload I guess I am a genius :)