Near and Far Faith

For those of you that we're in The Carpenter's service this past Sunday, I just had to hand-peel an orange. All three of my "peelers" were dirty. It took a ridiculous amount of time. I'm very stressed now. Gotta go run the dish washer (seriously were they really even dirty? Really? Could you see the dirt or just smell the orangy goodness).

So guess who came to church today? GOD.

This morning was amazing. I felt God moving through me confirming all the work He's been doing over the past week. I asked people to stand if they accepted Christ for the 1st time today and one girl stood up. It was her first time at Carpenter's and she was here because her daughter came to VBS this past week (Rock on Renee and Cher). She had some awesome tattoos and when she stood during the invitation she had tears pouring down her face. I got really choked up. I'm a cry baby. I cry easy (like... at Oprah and Extreme Makeover Home edition). I walked off stage while the worship team sang "follow you" (by Holyfire) and took a moment to just let the tears come. I found out later that she told the greeter at the door that she was just watching her daughter sing and then taking off because she "wasn't ready". That was one of the things I talked about - how we put off doing what God wants until we're ready, assuming God made a mistake by bringing things into our lives too soon. Call it what it is.

But honestly I was choked up all morning. Seeing the kids from Avalanche Ranch singing got me. I just could feel God moving and it's a powerful and privileged feeling.

So it was a good time. I never feel as useful to God as I do when I'm speaking. I did say "suck on that" today from the stage. It wasn't meant to be offensive... ok it was. People laughed though. I was talking about how I like to cook and how when I tell other men that I get all sorts of random Neanderthal comments. Just in case you think I was bluffing, last night I made a pork loin that was awful (I threw most of it out), but today for lunch I made bagel pizzas with home made sauce that rocked. You win some, you lose some.

Can't wait to drive up to Hamden this Wednesday with Justin. I was actually watching one of our favorite shows last night "Flip this house" and it was in Hamden. It was our favorite team to watch from CT Homes in New Haven. Anyway... people stepped up and gave over $1000 today for Holyfire. I'm pumped to see what the students do this Tuesday. Two weeks ago they gave almost $200 among the 40 of them. They're the best bunch I've ever had the privilege of working with.

I just felt blessed today.

Just wanted to give another public thanks to Chuck. Yesterday he walked in with another, badder laptop with more RAM potential and a faster processor. I spent the day setting it up and I'm digging it! Chuck's a great guy that loves to give. I hope he inspires more people like he's inspired me. Giving is underrated.

Thought this was cool... and I felt the peer pressure from Tally and Cherie.

So I've got to throw out a blogosphere shout to my friend Chuck. He attends Carpenter's and works for a local hospital network. He's a great guy with a passion for reaching kids with the Word and a good guy to know. Here's why - after reading my blog post about my computer, he came in yesterday morning (dude's doing VBS every morning this week - not paid) and told me he had a laptop for me. Working for this local hospital network's IT department, he gets access to the outdated technology when they upgrade. He's provided numerous machines for us that Carpenter's wouldn't function without. He brought it in today and totally set it up - extra battery, extra power cord, a case, and a sweet dock. Chuck - you rock. It may not feel like much but you've helped further the kingdom with the technology. On a side note, Perry was talking in a podcast the other day about churches that say God doesn't use technology. Let's see what they do when the modern technology of their AC goes out in the next few months (tell your G-ma to chew on that Justin).

So I was looking for some upgrades for my new free (FREE!!) laptop and discovered a new website. I'm all about bargains and passing them along. Check out Geeks.com. I got a 120 Gig External Firewire hard drive and a USB 2.0/Firewire Combo Card shipped for under $70. They deal with new and refurbished stuff. Rock the bargain.

I'm getting more and more excited about this weekend. Everything that God's been doing all week is building into it and He is going to do some major things - He already has in my heart and life. One of the main areas of my life He's been showing me needs a lot of work is my prayer life, or lack there of. After seeing what people can do when motivated behind a purpose like Holyfire's recent plight (more on that later - I'm going to Hamden CT next Wed.), I'm praying and believing in God to knock our financially-doubtful teeth out this week. Don't miss it. See you Sunday.

I get to preach this week and I am so stoked. I was working through the message yesterday and and God was speaking so clearly. I'm excited to let loose what He's been pouring into me. I'll be talking about overcoming adversity as pt. 3 of Chase the Lion. I truly believe that God's going to get up close and personal this week. If you walk out offended, it's the Holy Spirit, not me.

I've gotten so outside inspiration this week from Perry. I listen to Perry's podcast every week (well i'm like 3 months behind). Everyone should listen to a podcast here and there - even if you don't have an ipod you can get itunes for free and listen to them on your computer. Some you need to pay for but most churches and ministries are free. Check out Perry's, Tally's and, my new favorite, Tony and Tim's. The last one has been done for a while (no new episodes) but you can still DL all of them and catch up. They're practical ministry guru's that won't preach at you but help you work out the details of running a church. They've written come awesome books too.

Bottom line - get some inspiration somewhere. God's brought people through life so you can use their story as fuel. And when you get through some rough crap, tell the story or put some resources out there so God can use you the same way. See you Sunday (or for the next 5 weeks, Suday).

Rory and I compared Tattoos last week. Her "Nemo" was pretty intimidating. Thanks Sam. I've decided on a tattoo design, well at the general idea. It actually came originally from my mother-in-law. It's going to be an olive tree. I did some research and an olive tree has extremely long life because when part of it dies a new part grows up around it and the tree continues to grow. It's always moving forward. Always growing. I love the thought process. and the images is cool too. It will go on my left forearm and Chris Garver will be doing it (in my dreams).

I would really like a lap top. I'm not just groveling for the latest technology, I have good reason. One of which would be this past week. We spent an amazingly long week in Chesapeake, VA and it would've been great to be able to blog each day about the progress. It's not exactly a name brand PC. I'm not even sure it's a PC. I believe it to be descendant of an ancient model in the "Quantum Leap" era. Notice the Velcro and stickers holding it together. It keeps tricking me and telling me to put USB devices in the USB 2 slots in the back where there are none. And the hamster that runs in the little wheel inside to keep the machine running is getting more demanding... and scary. So how about it? Anyone out there want to give a pastor with a severely lame computer a leg up? I'm tired of people thinking that the Church should get the leftovers (check out our "library" for all your latest someone-gave-this-to-me-and-it's-boring reads). We should have the best because we have the best to offer.

Alright, it was amazing and here's the quick blitz of the week: Sunday late worship. Monday, due to door hanger mishap, house remodel AM, door hangers PM (door hanger mishap #2). Tuesday, rip CARD distribution due to door hanger mishap #2 AM, party in the park sans sound equipment due to lack of communication on the city of Chesapeake's part (mad props to Tally for keeping his cool). Wednesday July 4th, drive to Reston Community Church's neighborhood for door hanger distribution and lunch, spend afternoon split between a quarantined Air and Space Smithsonian and a pricey Holiday Inn restaurant (I know "pricey restaurant" and "Holiday Inn" don't seem to fit) due what the Nation's Capital called "severe weather". Severe enough to evacuate the mall, but not severe enough to cancel 23 minutes of fireworks. Thursday, back to house remodel to sweat off a few pounds while getting dirty. Jon weeks improved the property value by like 10 Gs with his landscaping. You rock Jon! (see picture). Friday, Busch Gardens - get stuck in major traffic with 4 vans who's AC doesn't not work while stationary and 1 that is leaking transmission fluid like crazy (what's a mission trip without a hot car ride. Seriously. Has there ever been one?). Saturday, rework Party in the Park 2 for new location due to City's miscommunication and find a weird "Christian restaurant" on th VA Beach. Sunday, Focal Point's service and 8-hour ride home (it took 6 to get down there).

It's was a wild week full of changes. At some point I looked at my wife, who was accompanying me for the first time on a mission trip, and said with all my heart "I live for this". I'd do it again right now. It has nothing to do with students. Honestly, I believe it would've been worse with a group of adults. These students took everything that we could throw at them without ANY fuss and made a difference in a community. No, it wasn't the fun factor of the students, or Becca's 16th birthday, or meeting John Smith for the first time, or giving away 2 ipods and a Wii. It was seeing God move and move and move, despite circumstances. It was a very internal trip. By that I mean that the majority of the work was done inside all of us that went. It's easy to trust God trough our plans, but when God takes our plans away and forces us to rely on him minute by minute, the world changes.