tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365981642024-03-14T10:19:07.487-05:00Undone.A fitting description of life lived following Christ -- not finished, taken apart...you pick the metaphor.brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.comBlogger339125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-12643273849185005242012-08-07T09:33:00.002-05:002012-08-07T09:33:22.405-05:00Hugs.So there was this one time in Estes Park...there was a gal walking around with a 'Free Hugs' patch on her backpack. Another random cat walked up to her and said, 'For real?' and she was like, "Yeah!" and they hugged it out right there. So cool.
Occured to me this morning that I don't believe I hugged my kids yesterday. Monday is Explosion day in our house, after work we split and run both brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-15113117293104481602012-08-02T14:42:00.002-05:002012-08-02T14:42:21.881-05:00
I have learned over the years that much of ministry is not really about ministry, but more about seeing the need and meeting it. Working at camp taught me this - you jump in, do what needs doing, regardless of whether or not it is your job to clean the toilets or play guitar or wipe tables or end up with a cabin of squirrely Jr High boys when you thought you were supposed to be the pool guy brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-63168110781781915652012-07-30T10:02:00.002-05:002012-07-30T10:02:37.638-05:00MoiwaKari and I took a bus load of kids to Riverside yesterday. These kids are a cross-sample of our Wed night tutoring program and one young guy from our 1 pm service here at the church. They were crazy excited to go - some had gone last year, but majority had not. The last one to pick up was our guy Moiwa. He is the little brother of a girl in our 7-8 program, and his family is a faithful part of brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-11256976643986681032012-07-27T07:28:00.000-05:002012-07-27T07:28:54.228-05:00Coming home...Thinking this may be where I land again. Love to write, needing to find the inspiration. Maybe having a revamped spot...the Tumblr will be for photos and stuff. See link on the right.
Time to step out of the boat...brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-75295054522687271822010-12-13T09:28:00.000-06:002010-12-13T09:28:39.778-06:00I have migrated. Using something new...
http://bwo2312.tumblr.com/
shorter form blog, updates, etc. Feel free to follow along there!
So long for now...brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-37005988633285888762010-12-01T09:31:00.000-06:002010-12-01T09:31:15.612-06:00Rediscovered "My Utmost for His Highest" during the move; the online version became my morning devotional as all my books were in assorted boxes stacked about the old house. Yesterday's reading was particularly...teeth-rattling? The jist was that when we try to be overly 'humble' -- as in, "Oh, I cannot POSSIBLY do that because I'm not that good/worthy/mature...", we are in essence brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-72603216368141674602010-11-28T08:37:00.000-06:002010-11-28T08:37:30.631-06:00And so it begins...
I love the Christmas season, starting with Thanksgiving. The food, family, the turn of the mood as we celebrate Thanksgiving and set our eyes on Christmas. The season of Advent in the church is a good one; nothing like hearing Advent tunes sung by a choir. I love the joy of the programs, the kids, the church decked out in lights and trimmings. There isbrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-9645587046726446042010-11-03T13:36:00.000-05:002010-11-03T13:36:30.594-05:00Haiti ten months later...
This blew my mind. So many beautiful people living in such ruin. Be thankful for the so-called 'chaos' in our own lives, as I would imagine none of us could begin to understand the reality of life there. And pray, like crazy.brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-68703263531637947802010-10-13T19:19:00.000-05:002010-10-13T19:19:18.307-05:00For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
- Philippians 2:13
I am reminded of this as I write in a moment of silence at the Z; 7:15 pm having gone through 9th graders and memory work, and dropping a 10 min talk on Sr. High students on the responsibilities we have in relationships with one another. I think back on where I have been in the brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-58468488171781995762010-10-11T10:18:00.000-05:002010-10-11T10:18:25.741-05:00So I suppose this could be the end of a semi-self imposed, lack of things to say, general apathy about the whole blog thing today. Or maybe not. The lack of things to say part is pretty much true; I think after surviving a quarter of Greek that BLEW my mind and getting things at the Z off and running, each time I considered writing I found myself uninspired. Maybe mental let brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-65557217754914549132010-09-07T21:49:00.000-05:002010-09-07T21:49:01.960-05:00In Jesus' name, day 2.
Nothing super profound today. Thinking about how I treat people working around me -- Target this evening. I wonder how often someone goes out of their way to bless them -- to be kind, rather than to treat them as a transaction. When you consider interaction with others in Christ's name, for His sake and glory, it puts a different spin on it. I hope brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-5226541045672563382010-09-06T21:44:00.000-05:002010-09-06T21:44:03.774-05:00All things done in Christ, pt. 1
So the adventure begins...today at Hey!Good Cookies in Spirit Lake, IA. Went in for a treat and cup of coffee; found ourselves waiting in line. Not a big deal, especially here and in the morning. The time passed -- 10 minutes, to be exact. There were 3 behind the counter; not one greeted us; only one looked in our direction. One brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-29273433219159864772010-08-25T09:25:00.000-05:002010-08-25T09:25:21.066-05:00Interesting observations regarding the faith of our teens
Scot McKnight will be blogging through the book mentioned in the link. I tend to agree with the 5 theses proposed...how about you?brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-49654731016962121892010-08-15T07:38:00.000-05:002010-08-15T07:38:37.967-05:00This article is based on another from USA Today. Both exciting and frightening at the same time. However, it is
Confirmation of some things I've been thinking for some time.
Take some time to read this.
Need some music to challenge your soul...and rock your mind!brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-39847278891730082552010-07-28T08:21:00.000-05:002010-07-28T08:21:52.849-05:00Short and sweet today. From an article in the NY Times this morning about the disipation of the oil slick in the Gulf that appears to be disappearing more rapidly than expected:
"The winds from two storms that blew through the gulf in recent weeks, including a storm over the weekend that disintegrated before making landfall, also appear to have contributed to a rapid dispersion of the oil.brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-36603723298738659422010-06-25T07:55:00.000-05:002010-06-25T07:55:15.681-05:00I'll be in Estes Park, CO starting tomorrow for a week of service and fun with 17 Sr. High students and some rock-star adults. Follow all the fun at:
summitserve2010
Our theme revolves around Micah 6:8 -- Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly. The rallying cry for the week:
Do Hard Things.
Pray for safe travels, good weather, unity in the team, and for an experience of Jesus that brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-20265127235299950872010-06-13T07:57:00.002-05:002010-06-13T07:57:23.130-05:00Talking about 'Unstoppable Prayer' today at the Z. Here are my suggestions for helping your prayer life become unstoppable!
5 ways to amp up your prayer life!
1) Write it down!
- keep a record of your prayers in a journal
- post a white board in the kitchen
- use sticky notes and post them where you’ll see them
2) Use pre-formed prayers!
- Follow the Lord’s Prayer
- The Daily Prayer (http://brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-86185635627817504552010-06-10T09:34:00.000-05:002010-06-10T09:34:21.716-05:00This is a fascinating read for a Thursday morning. Sort of what I spoke about at Redeemer last week Sunday, only much deeper, and probably more concisely. The author is one of our professors at Bethel.
Hope of heaven -- God comes down
Enjoy!brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-8230858235014312722010-05-18T09:46:00.000-05:002010-05-18T09:46:59.085-05:00One of the most poisonous of all Satan's whispers is simply, "Things will never change." That lie kills expectation, trapping our heart forever in the present. To keep desire alive and flourishing, we must renew our vision for what lies ahead. Things will not always be like this. Jesus has promised to "make all things new." Eye has not seen, ear has not heard all that God has in store for brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-31653681513466634482010-05-04T11:41:00.000-05:002010-05-04T11:41:38.831-05:00Study as Worship
I live in a weird tension right now. I have always love to read, ever since I was a young lad. Anything, really. Dinosaurs, adventure stories, moving into pop culture magazines and Jesus books as I grew up. I still love to read; however, as a student, the reading has taken on a serious and fairly mentally taxing nature. It sounds as though I am brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-6555444230941181812010-04-28T21:10:00.001-05:002010-04-28T21:15:20.238-05:00A Great Awakening.
So I've been a little sporadic in my writing of late...lots in my head swimming about in a rush of due dates for school, Greek nouns and endings and gobbledygook, Church History trivia, kids schedules, various work-related things to keep straight and put out on time (which has at moments been an EPIC FAIL)...some things in the past few days that have been pretty profound.
I brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-26250233734110488552010-04-14T10:03:00.000-05:002010-04-14T10:03:10.131-05:00Today.
Boasting About Tomorrow 13Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— 14yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." 16Asbrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-46243089365063052242010-04-13T09:53:00.000-05:002010-04-13T09:53:07.379-05:00Sometimes it helps to laugh at yourself.
Youth Pastor Scorecard
According to my own scorecard, I miss legendary status by 6 points. Ah well.brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-18821260938703449692010-04-10T08:26:00.000-05:002010-04-10T08:26:30.439-05:00Resurrected Life.
I was struck driving to school yesterday at how alive the neighborhood was. Brilliant blue sky, fluorescent green grass, red cardinals singing their lungs out, kids walking towards Monroe Elementary, flowers starting to pop out of the earth. Life is all around, and it is breaking out in a big way. This week we have tried to focus on living the Resurrected Lifebrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36598164.post-17814616092802397582010-04-01T10:02:00.000-05:002010-04-01T10:02:39.868-05:00Thursday, Maundy Thursday's thoughts.
This is a pretty big day in my faith-life. This was the day a lot of years ago that I went to a Thursday night service in advance of hanging out with friends, and at that service I saw the Last Supper visually re-enacted. Something clicked. I sat there thinking..."this is it. This is what I've been missing. This is the thing I brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292554978925002657noreply@blogger.com0