kingdom travelin'

the day has come...

2008-02-24T16:28:00.003-05:00

kingdomtravelin is moving, if you have linked to this site, you might wish to update your link... but this post will be here for you to link to from here on out... to get to the new and improving kingdom travellin, when you get there, you will discover a new look that is developing... go to the new site

spring shows hope

2008-02-24T10:02:00.002-05:00

Daffodils are coming up... I saw my first Cardinals today... as I went for a long hard walk that was much needed this morning... I have been woefully negligent in my walking the last couple of months... today I struck out for a fast paced 28 minutes and saw that the neighborhood landscapers had been down to the pond and done some greatly needed trimming. No longer does one need to dodge limbs, the path is now clear... that makes me think of the life of following Jesus - there are issues in our lives that make us have to dodge our own stuff, when in fact we should not be dodging it - we should be cutting it clean, confessing our sin to Jesus and whomever we have offended or judged... and for the stuff that is deep in our hearts from our past that are hurting us and dragging us down, we need to lay that at the cross too... Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save the world... this is what spring reminds me of... rebirth... resurrection... redemption... relief.
The recent events in the Balkans (see previous posts), the newly awakened unrest (its not new, it is old, very, very old) shows us the need for the Gospel to the nations... all nations: Serbs and Albanians, these people groups are among the people groups who Jesus came to redeem... all the nations, all the peoples... for we ought to remember that the Greek word from which we get 'nations' is better understood as ethnicities... Jesus loves the Serb and the Albanian alike, He died and rose for them all, for us all... we all need the spring with its rebirth... resurrection... redemption... relief - thank you Jesus.

at week's end, some analysis on Kosovo

2008-02-23T07:28:00.003-05:00

BBC asks lots of questions and provides some new insights
PBS/News Hour hosted a discussion between two scholars on opposite sides

pix from last week in the HeartLand

2008-02-22T17:45:00.001-05:00

Here are some pix from my trip last week, click here.

a helpful timeline

2008-02-22T14:05:00.004-05:00

MSNBC has a helpful timeline of recent Kosovo history. Click Here

yes, I know... its American... it isn't my belved BBC, but it is valuable...

The International Herald Tribune has an article about tooday's events that has some scary words from the Russians. Click Here and a slide show, click here

Serbs continued

2008-02-22T10:40:00.006-05:00

Yesterday a huge mob of Serbs attacked and burned the US Embassy Consulate in Beograd. The embassy has been closed for days in anticipation of such. It's funny how the embassy staff could figure out the danger and the Serbian police/military couldn't. It took the riot police and fire brigade forty-five minutes to respond. See Pix from BBC. This and the attacks in northern Kosovo of Kosovar police stations was clearly orchestrated by the Serbian leadership. When I passed through Serbia last week, it was clear that trouble was brewing from the people, the newspapers and the leaflets being handed out. Some things never change. Read more on the BBC, don't expect much from American news outlets... click here.

thinking about Kosovo

2008-02-21T16:08:00.002-05:00

back in '99 as we prepared for the summer trip, i heard about a missionary in Bp who was collecting clothes for Kosovar refugees... they had travelled a long way, some of them walked all the way, at great risk to Hungary... I hope they are safe in their newly independent home now... [a bit more about the story and a pic is here... ] these little kids are teenagers somewhere now, I bet the older girl would be married now... the Kosovar's deserve thier own place, free nations should embrace them... many died for that freedom.

helpful maps

2008-02-20T18:56:00.002-05:00

The Kosovo question brings up lots of other questions... some understanding is helpful from a BBC web page... click here

growth and depth

2008-02-20T09:21:00.002-05:00

I’m back... this post is overdue, but I'm a bit jet lagged...
In my recent travels I observed servants of God engaging their friends in deep and meaningful conversations... I will limit myself to three observations.

In Sz I was so blessed by the worship at ICF and I was thankful to God to see two things:
first, how ICF has grown, there was a great crowd of uni students who came to worship, there were folks there from ten nations... so, so exciting to me, secondly, the team in Sz is developing as their leader has invested heavily into them and students are active in leadership of International Christian Fellowship

In Vu I was so blessed to see the sweet folks of Agape church... I love visiting these folks... but the night before, five friends invested about four hours together first around coffee and then over dinner discussing how people pour into one anther's lives... we were seeking to help a dear friend know that Jesus wishes to pour into him... depth of conversation, investing in people...

In Bp earlier, I attended a conversation among some university students and got to share how I had seen God work in the lives of young people in Kyiv... young people who were once street kids, but because of the depth of love Jesus shows through His followers, these young people were now living abundant lives of Christ-following... It was great to see the interest these men and women showed in this important issue…

Thanks be to Jesus for using these servants in these three places to bless so many as their service to God grows and deepens.

good news

2008-02-16T06:49:00.006-05:00

This past couple of weeks there has been, up in Hungary, a train strike that has been on and off. Because these trips of mine rely heavily on trains, I have been trying to keep myself informed about these train strikes. Over the course of the days leading up to our arrival in Budapest and our preparation to travel south I must admit that I worried about the availability of the trains. On Thursday night as we bought our tickets south from Budapest, we were told by two different people that the strike was called off. But these were people I did not know, so I was unsure. At a meeting we were at in Budapest Thursday night, I got to make a new friend named Balazc and Balazc worked for the railroad. As he left, my new friend said, that the strike was over. I was very glad and I said: “that’s good news.” And I thought about how that made me feel, I was reassured. I felt comforted. I was glad. Good news is good Good News (the gospel) is better.

This morning we took a train from Szeged to Subotica and the Emperor picked us up in the chariot and took us to get burek and hang out at his parents house for a while. We talked about the fact that perhaps tomorrow Kosovo will at 1700 hrs on the 17th of Feb. declare its independance from Serbia. Soon afterward we drove to Vukovar... I loved this sign on the way, note the two Budapest options, a left turn anyone?

I'm glad we left Serbia today, the borders may be interesting tomorrow. What will be the ramifications of Kosovo's independance? an inportant question that only time's passing can answer.

Upon arrival in Vukovar we began telling Dan and Mario the story of the war in Vukovar... In 4 1/2 years of coming here I have seen progress. The red building on the righ was norm... on the left is whats new!

peace to you from Vukovar.

it's just a joke, but...

2008-02-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

i went to the doctor for a bit of a check-up this morning... then i went to see Sweet Anna... she said "what did he say?" I joked "I have six months to live... gotta get busy!" then she asked the question "okay, so IF you REALLY (which i don't, calm down) only had six months to live, what would you do? so, no kidding, if you only had six months to live, how would you invest those months? note I use the word invest here not spend... i would want to invest my time in people...

related to that, in a conversation with a friend about what is going on in their part of the world, we began talking about what does discipleship mean... this is a summation of that conversation:

...discipleship isn’t about information transference... its about Christ-like character development which is facilitated by Christ-centered relationships... it isn't about programs, it is about depth of friendship which has Jesus as the real uniting factor of that friendship... as Paul said to the Romans in chapter one: "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." (1:11-12)

dollar rising against forint

2008-02-07T07:55:00.000-05:00

friends in HU be alert: the dollar has been rising and will buy more forints from your usa banks... in fact, this morning (and who knows what the afternoon will bring) the dollar was trading at a 5 month high... here is a helpful chart for those of us who watch these things... click here

a get away

2008-02-03T19:02:00.001-05:00

It is important to get away every once in a while... so Sweet Anna and I did yesterday... we went across the eastern ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains to Staunton... This town is known for its Victorian architecture.

It was a quiet, restful time... we all need rest, God told us so... Jesus reminds us that the Sabbath was made for man... We need to make time and take opportunities to rest and reflect on Him.

order

2008-02-02T09:56:00.000-05:00

I was talking to a friend the other day who is an engineer; a very ordered fellow. And we talked about the necessity of keeping order in our lives... from keeping the checkbook balanced to keeping one's rooms and desk in order...

...in my daily reading, I'm now in Leviticus... each year as I journey through this book, I am struck by the fact that God has brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert so that He can show them that He will care for them...

...and with Leviticus he shows them how to bring and keep order in their community and in the Tabernacle. During the time of the year when I read Leviticus, I am thankful. I am thankful because God has brought order to my life by bringing me out of a world of condemnation and into a life of following Him... the New Testament teaches us that the followers of Jesus are the Tabernacle now... and there should be order to our lives... many of us have even understood that this means for us daily reading of Scripture so that we may hear God words to our hearts... For me I have found that my prayer journal has clarified my prayers... reading thoughtfully crafted prayers of the ages and writing my heart to God daily brings order to my prayer... but ardour is needed too, we need the passion and feeling that walking with Jesus and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit can bring...

hanging on to stuff in the heart

2008-02-01T12:33:00.000-05:00

a friend of mine, who is a great brother and cares deeply about people and God uses him to speak deeply into hearts, will often say to me: "let it go, Foley"... he knows the human tendency to allow the past to cloud our present... recently in a conversation about life another friend began to recount details of the past and look for people to blame... these were 'small' things of the past that did lead into the situation my friend found himself in... I asked him, "is this something you need to put at the cross and let go of?" he wasn't ready to answer, he needed to pray... that's okay... Jesus is ready to help us let go of past stuff when we are ready to give it to him...

"cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you" - Peter, talking to us about Jesus

ten commandments

2008-01-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

click here

Juno

2008-01-27T12:29:00.000-05:00

Sweet Anna and I saw it Friday night... pretty good acting... up to date script, especially if 17 year old sarcasm is your thing... it was interesting to see Jennifer Garner in such a role... at the end of the movie I was expecting her to put on a green wig and use the baby as a decoy to get someone from a Munich prison... but noooo... there was nothing Alias-esque about this predictable movie which is less about abortion and more about post-modernity expressed through adolescents and adults with adolescent ethics... wait for the video, it's not necessary to see it in the big screen... i'm not even going to bother to link to the problematic website, if you want to see and hear THAT THING, you'll have to google it your self...

MLK: a man of vision and action

2008-01-21T11:03:00.000-05:00

Read about a man who used his gifts and talents in life and death to changing the world. How will we change the world?

Jesus calls us to serve and to give of ourselves in Matt. 25 - read his words here.

Read the Nobel Prize website bio of Martin Luther King Jr... click here (photo from the Nobel website).

Watch and hear the I Have a Dream speech... click here

How are we living? how are we using our gifts and talents Jesus has given us to change the world?

a dusty screen

2008-01-20T15:11:00.000-05:00

I am working on my laptop. The sun is blazing in the window. The sun shining on my laptop screen shows how dusty it is! So I wipe it off and I see more clearly. But in the other room with just artificial light, I don't see the dust. We should seek the Son who shines the real Light on our hearts so that can see the dust and ask Him to wipe our soul clean through confession and His forgiveness.

advice

2008-01-18T19:21:00.000-05:00

Arden has some important advice - about advice - over on her blog... click the link on the right to read her thoughtful words.

snow day part two: Becca says she wasn't pummeled...

2008-01-17T15:56:00.000-05:00

so Becca prepares... and returns a snowball and then peace broke out with a mini snowman...

and of course you know what I say whenever the snow blankets the ground...

"though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." and "...we are covered with a coat of righteousness that He provided for us!"

remembering travelin last year

2008-01-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

von Lazo posted a short film (that Mark made) on a trip we took to Sarajevo last Feb. rather than post the film myself, I'll send you to Laci's blog to see it if you wish... click here.

btw, its a snow day here in the 'ville, here is Sweet Anna "the leftie" pummeling Becca in a snowball fight (note the snowball in the top right corner of the pic)!

intentional solitude

2008-01-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

intentional solitude

we should crave it for it is there that we meet the King...

I asked a friend something like this yesterday...

"what would the relationship between you and your girl-friend be like if your emphasis on time and intentionality with her was like the time and intentionality you give God?"

well???

court field trip

2008-01-11T14:14:00.000-05:00

I helped with a field trip to the UVa Law School today where students were jurors in "trials." It was interesting to discuss with them how their decisions were as much about the lawyers presentation as it was with the facts themselves. This raises one concern and one relief. The concern is for those people who go to court with an unskilled attorney. I am relieved that God is, as Romans tells us, a just judge. He sees the facts of who we are and what we do objectively. He deals only in the facts. He knows I am depending solely on the work of Jesus.

light at Notre Dame

2008-01-09T09:12:00.000-05:00

Continuing to think about Epiphany, I was seeking inspiration for a post and saw this pic that Joanna took Christmas night in Notre Dame...

I love lighting candles for specific people and offering a prayer for them and then giving that prayer to God with the candle as a symbol of the 'lastingness' of prayer... kinda like when the Hebrews used incense as a sweet offering of prayers up to God...

Epiphany

2008-01-06T08:36:00.001-05:00

The bringing of light.

Jesus said that he came to bring light to the whole world. He loves the whole world.

Paris: the beginning and the end of the trip...

2008-01-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

Here's some pix to prove I went: Sweet Anna, me and JOanna sneaking in... this is Christmas day just after we had checked into the hotel... this was sighting one of the Tour de Eiffel... one of about three thousand, six hundred and forty-seven sightings...

This is six days later on New Years Eve at the end of the Champs-Eleysees where there were reportedly 400,000 of us, whew, it was quite cramped! The blue vans in the middle ground brought in police in roit gear...

But it wasn't the sights, the food or the wonderful (no kidding) cold weather that made this holiday great, it was being with the family. Here we are on the 26th or 27th atop the Arc De Triomphe - you can barely see the Tour de Eiffel just to the right of us above my shoulder...

2007-12-24T11:08:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Break

2007-12-22T12:35:00.000-05:00

Note: this is one of those diary-esque posts, feel free to travel on to more interesting blog posts elsewhere...

Well, I finished giving exams on Monday... then I graded the essays... ugh... But interspersed with essay reading while at Greenberry's*, I had many great opportunities to hang out there and at the Tavern and Bodo's with friends who were home from college. I also bought and began reading unChristian. He is affirming what a bunch of us who work with this generation have been saying for a while...

This afternoon, I get to visit with a group of friends from 1997's class at their 10 year reunion. Then on Monday night sweet Anna and I head east across the pond (dodging Santa and the sleigh - you did know that he begins in Asia and moves westward, didn't you?).

If I post (I'm planning to take the HP) in the next week, there will be a picture of the Eiffel Tower... (yes, that is the same guy who designed Nyugati Station in Budapest (just to clarify, it is by far his most momentous design... Nyugati, not the tower)... yes, we are headed for Paris, what AM I thinking? Ok, stop, don't get political...

that's it and just in case this post is it for a while...

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year (under the Eiffel Tower? then the plane home)

* I remember being in Gby's one evening grading papers when they were doing this photo shoot... it was about 830pm... one of the times when you don't have to fight for a table.

more tradition

2007-12-18T20:06:00.000-05:00

Our school has had a live nativity for twenty years. Students and parents dress up and I read the Christmas story from Matthew and Luke. It is a great tradition.

UnChristian

2007-12-17T14:24:00.000-05:00

I pretty much stopped calling myself a Christian in most contexts a while back. It's because of my experiences here in USA and in Europe that I began calling myself a "follower of Jesus."

The whole issue of the testimony of the church is one that is near and dear to the hearts of some of my friends and me... a new book is out which addresses the issue...

I heard an interview last night driving from DC. Some of the author's ideas are that Christianity is seen in America by unbelieving folks as:

1. Judgemental
2. Sheltered (not in the world)
3. Too Political (should we have national flags in churches??? or photos of presidents??? am I against Romney or Huckaby because they are so outspoken about ?)
4. Anti-Homosexual (I think they mean the people not the act)
5. There were more but i can't remember them...

This is a link to a generous sample of the book, click here...

I think this is some important material for those of us who are followers of Jesus to be aware of... how can we possibly present Jesus to folks without understanding them???

the love of God is like...

2007-12-13T12:44:00.000-05:00

the love of God is like a giant oak tree whose roots go deep into the ground and is sturdy and dependable... whose branches grow wide and provide shelter to birds who travel through... it does not care what we look like, smell like, sound like, act like, it is there.... it provides places of nesting for the young, shade from the summer's heat... comfort, provision and protection... this is something of what the love of God is like... faithful, unconditional

pix of home for joanna

2007-12-09T15:51:00.001-05:00

Joanna, We took advantage of an amazing afternoon to do some mulching, mom said you wanted to see some pix, so here you go! We love you! 16 days!!!!

more pix for Joanna

2007-12-09T15:07:00.000-05:00

there you go Jo! 16 days!!!!!! see you in Paris!

another tradition

2007-12-08T07:26:00.000-05:00

thanks Josh and Abby!

Christmas Tradition

2007-12-07T18:44:00.000-05:00

my choices and the plan of God

2007-12-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

I think God's will is more like a safe parking lot with plenty of light and numerous places to park than like a narrow street that I have to find which has a single parking place for me.

which way should I go???

2007-12-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

ok, I tried to steal a pic from Laci, but I couldn't get it as a jpg, so the best I can do is send you to their blog to see a pic that really shows where too many people are on their journey... we need to learn to get past the mixed signals that surround us everyday... click here

attitude is a decision

2007-12-04T17:51:00.000-05:00

i can choose to let stuff get under my skin or not

the pain now...

2007-12-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

...the pain now is part of the happiness then...

Jack in Shadowlands

petrol

2007-12-02T07:58:00.000-05:00

furthermore... a liter of petrol in Hungary costs about 285, let's see that's... 1080 forints per gal for the American reader...

1080 forints today is $6.25 per gallon (US) whoa, pray for your friends who serve in Europe as their dollar disappear faster as time goes by...

here in c'ville regular gas is $3.05 per gallon (US) (=3.785412 liters)

falling dollar and a loaf of bread

2007-12-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

many friends of mine serve God in Europe...

one of my friends and I just had an email conversation about the effect of the falling dollar on their lives...

in their country (Hungary) the cost of energy has gone up 20% in the last year... the cost of food has gone up 17% in the past year...

the dollar has gone from 221 Forints in July of 06 to 172 Forints yesterday...

so

if a loaf of bread cost 200 Forints in 2006, that's 91 cents...
then that same loaf cost 234 Forints in 2007...
at the new exchange rate its $1.36

so for these friends, his hypothetical loaf of bread went from $.91 to $1.36 in a year...

if I am calculating correctly, that is a net 49% cost increase combining their inflation and the falling dollar over the course of 16 months...

wow...

my sources - Hungary Economic data & USD - HUF

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T08:20:00.000-05:00

This morning my reading included Lamentations 3:22-23 I read this text frequently and it is a signpost, it is an amazing text... As I spoke with the Lord who had already reminded me of His faithfulness, He reminded me on this Thanksgiving Day of the great blessings that His people are being to one another and how He is making it all possible (sorry if you're weirded out by this description of a fairly mystical experience, but... oh well).

God is at work among His people on this globe that He made for us... God is at work through musicians, teachers, police officers, shop keepers, builders, pastors, people who serve coffee, train conductors, people who keep the internet working, prophets, trash collectors, doctors and nurses, moms and dads... you get my point... He is moving around and through us bringing lots of blessings... we only need to open our eyes to see his faithfulness...

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

No matter what day you read this, pause and be thankful for Him who gave you that breath just now. Whatever day today is for you, it should be Thanksgiving...

prepared to think and respond v.2.1

2007-11-20T17:07:00.000-05:00

I read a little book today which was a tome against Christianity. It was at times compelling. But the author's presuppositions against the existence of God drove his conclusions.

...also driving this guy's conclusions is his failure to understand the purpose of the Bible: God speaks to us to help us understand that we are broken and he offers to fix us.

another observation is that his tome, a letter to Christians, is written as though the sample data he uses, and the texts he chooses to use as representative, to create this massive population who believe what he says they believe is, in reality about 47 people... I say this because the VAST variety of sources that he draws from are 987 (I exaggerate of course) circles in a complicated Venn diagram in which there are (I exaggerate again to push my thought) 47 people in common on the whole planet...

This book though, has compelling arguments that will confuse lots of people who are woefully ignorant of God and His message...

It reminded me of how important it is

to know WHY one believes

WHAT they believe.

C.S.Lewis: part of his journey

2007-11-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

about this time each year, because of my curriculum path and, it so happens appropriately enough, the anniversaries of his birth (Nov. 29th) and death (Nov. 22nd), I revisit resources to remind myself of and learn more about Lewis as we get ready to learn about him in class, and then learn from him in Mere Christianity...

This year I have read Vol. 2 of his collected letters which range from 1931 - 1949 and I am now reading vol. 1 which is from 1905 (as a 7 year old?) - 1931. I have discovered that the editor separated the first two by the general time of his conversion process... and it was a process indeed...

his brother Warren had an experience, one in which he had a realization of the process of coming to belief that took place... Warnie (Jack refers to him as such) says about his realization of belief when he was standing in front of the Great Buddha of Kamakura in March of 1930...
"I started to say my prayers again... this was no sudden impulse but the result of a conviction of the truth of Christianity which has been growing on me for a considerable time... The wheel has now made the full revolution - indifference, scepticism, atheism, agnosticism, and back again to Christianity" - from his dairy (I edit from p. 1012 of Vol. 1 of the Collected Letters of CSLewis, ed. W. Hooper)

note the process of the early life... "indifference, scepticism, atheism, agnosticism, and back again to Christianity" an interesting series to think about...

C. S. Lewis says to his friend Arthur Greeves in Nov. 1931 "I, like you, am worried by the fact that the spontaneous appeal of the Christian story is so much less to me than that of Paganism. Both the things you suggest (unfavourable associations from early upbringing and the corruption of one's nature) probably are causes:..." note the words: 'unfavourable associations from early upbringing' and ' the corruption of one's nature' - experience and the fall color our understanding...

they (the Lewis brothers) were (as we are) on a spiritual journey... and there were forces outside themselves at work...

both Lewis men had experienced difficulties in younger life - with the death of their mother in 1908, when they were 10 and 13, and their being subsequently sent to boarding schools which were, at times, very bad experiences - that were couched in the culture of Christianity and this furthered their doubts...

doubts which, in Jack's case, were fueled by his fascination with Norse myth and the apparent occult practices of a "dorm mother" which caused him to arrive at atheism at about 14 (probably in 1912)... in Surprised by Joy (SBJ) he cites the reading of the classics and notes that Virgil "presented... a mass of religious ideas..." finally he says he "became an apostate, dropping my faith with no sense of loss but with the greatest relief." (SBJ IV)

two years or so later, in 1914, Jack began a correspondence with Arthur Greeves who was also from Belfast... they would be friends for life... Lewis describes Greeves a Christian and then describes himself as one who "bombarded him [Greeves] with all the thin artillery of a seventeen year old rationalist" (Lewis in a bio note in Col. Let. #1, p. 994)

an example of Lewis' answers about religion to Greeves is found in letters:

1916 - "...I believe in no religion. There is no proof for any of them, and from a philosophical standpoint Christianity is not even the best. All religions, that is all mythologies to give them their proper name are merely man's own invention..." (Col Let. #1 p. 230-1)

and again later that year...

"...there was once a Hebrew called Yeshua... when I say 'Christ' of course I mean the mythological being into whom he was afterwards converted by popular imagination, and I am thinking of the legends about hi magic performances and resurrection etc. That the man Yeshua or Jesus did actually exist, is as certain as that the Buddha did actually exist: Tacitus mentions his execution in the Annals (see Book 15 sec. 44 in this link). But all the other tomfoolery about virgin birth, magic healings, apparitions and so forth is on exactly the same footing as any other mythology." (Col. #1, p. 234)

he continued down this path for sometime. Though, interestingly enough, he worked hard to keep his non-belief from his father in an attempt to prevent him from hurt and further dispute between them (they often had issues until Jack finished his education and landed his first well paid teaching position in 1925)...

in 1926 Lewis began a dialogue with two Christian colleagues (Tolkien and Dyson) who challenged him to think differently about belief in God...

it was not until 1929 that he "admitted that God was God, and knelt down and prayed"... (SBJ) it is thought by many that Lewis, here, in the spring of 1929, became a theist...

following this was the famous walk before dinner (in Sept of '29) with Tolkien and Dyson followed by a conversation until four in the morning about belief

then as described in SBJ, after a journey with Warnie to a zoo riding in Warnie's side car (yes, a motorcycle with a side car), it was as though he had awakened from a sleep and realized he was awake... except in this case, he awoke and realized that he believed that Jesus was who he said he was... or at least now he was really headed in that direction...

it is worth noting that in the meantime their father had died - this would, it would seem, be further motivation to understand the real nature of life and death and that which follows...

all sorts of experiences showed that the "hounds of heaven" had caught up with CSLewis and now he went "kicking and screaming" into belief in Jesus...

we are all on a journey... we have all had different experiences, mainly through people who have drawn us to following Jesus, or they have, perhaps, repelled us away from Jesus... it is our task to take stock... to examine where we are in Him...

He has invited us, "come unto me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest..."
we are invited to walk beside Jesus...

More about Lewis:
PBS series link
BBC bio series

American Gangster

2007-11-18T01:17:00.000-05:00

rough film, yes... film
it does not glorify drugs, it shows the lengths men will go to to be rich, to have power, it shows that all men are screwed up, even those who are faced with the task of law enforcement, they too are screwed up people... even the one guy who wound not steal money, he was faced with the fact that he had put his job before his family and finally realized he was no better... is any man any better?
This film shows the truths of Romans 1, 2, and 7...
interestingly a rendition of Amazing Grace is playing when the gangster is cornered outside a church...
its also a film about influence, how men influence one another...
at the end the bad guy stood alone, older, alone, on the street outside the gate of the prison he had just spent fifteen years in... no one to greet him, he was alone...

new look

2007-11-17T10:42:00.000-05:00

after planning Shadowlands for class, and making a new playlist for the IPod, I checked the blogroll to see what was up with some friends and was motivated to put a new look to kingdom travelin' - - - now, to read and put grades on 150 essays by Monday... I'm motivated 'cuz Thanksgiving is coming!!!!

For what are we thankful??? For what are YOU thankful???

a radical on extremists

2007-11-14T18:27:00.000-05:00

I almost called this post "an extremist on extremists," but...

I heard people in Iraq call leaders in the US “Christian extremists,” just as leaders here [USA] speak of “Muslim extremists.” Everyone is delaring war and asking for God’s blessing. One beautiful Iraqi mother threw her hands in the air and said, “Your country is declaring war in the name of God and asking God’s blessing, and that is the same thing my country is doing. What kind of God is this? What has happened to the God of love, to the Prince of Peace?” Her question haunts me.

- Shane Claiborne in The Irresistible Revolution, p.218-219

I read this on Veterans Day but decided to wait a couples of days to post. When I read this I was reminded of the story I heard from the war in Yugoslavia when priests would bless tanks going to battle on both sides of the fron as Serbs fought Croats... how does one make sense of such? how?

missed the anniversary

2007-11-12T15:42:00.000-05:00

Kingdom Travelin turned 2 last week and I missed it... 426 posts and about five daughter blogs...

points 4 and 5

2007-11-11T14:30:00.000-05:00

Christian Humanism

point 4 - The Christian Humanist asserts the rightful place of reason - that Christian theology is rational and the Bible is its main text; with the Story, the Gospel as a rational foundation for knowledge [I hope I have not interpreted him too much].

point 5 - Christian Humanism provides guidelines for Christian Identity which includes education (providing wisdom, not skills - an understanding of Truth - embracing difference while being tolerant of difference - patriotic, but critically - science and technology should serve the common good not themselves... Christianity Identity includes embodied in the world but transcendent in ideals...

an interesting story

2007-11-11T14:27:00.000-05:00

Click here for, what I consider to be, a telling story about the state of history and culture in the former Yugoslavia.

Christian Humanism: point 3

2007-11-11T08:33:00.000-05:00

Point three: Live in hope.

This is not a call for optimism, but it is a rejection of pessimism. The Christian Humanist affirms human potential as the image-bearer of God who has rationality. While recognizing the inherent fallen-ness of man [my clarification], he or she will not live in subservience to evil or totalitarianism (the speaker was active in the anti-apartheid movement).

Christian Humanism

2007-11-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

point 2

Christian Humanists stand in contrast and opposition to that which dehumanizes people.

Christian Humanism

2007-11-08T09:44:00.000-05:00

SO, I went to these two lectures sponsored by the local university. The speaker was from S. Africa. The second lecture was titled "Christian Humanism against Fundamentalism and Secularism."

In his talk the speaker (more on him later) gave a manifesto. One point of the manifesto is that a Christian Humanist believes that

Christians are humans first and Christians by choice.

more to come.

a gift that reminds of a promise

2007-11-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

my good friends, the "emperor" and "empress" gave me a cool, cool gift... a pen that is made from bullet casings from the 1990s war in the Balkans. There is a cottage industry in Bosnia, in particular, which take the brass(?) from these instruments of war and turns them into works of peace...

back in Feb. I brought home a Turkish Kave set made from the same material. I thought of a prophesy of peace... click here to read of the promise of peace on earth to come...

Thanks, von Lazo, as you see it is my prayer journal instrument now... may His peace be upon us all as He extends His Grace to us through His Son and The Spirit.

think on this

2007-11-03T09:03:00.000-04:00

"...after seeing plenty of poor folks forced into economic crimes by their poverty, and after seeing plenty of rich folks so content in their riches that they forget that they need God or anyone else, I think we are all ready for something new."
- Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, (p. 172)

Read Proverbs 30:8-9

I live in a rich town. I am struck by this quote and how the Proverb speaks to me in this culture of wealth...

traslation

2007-11-02T08:41:00.000-04:00

A classicist has provided the desired translation and information from the tablet pictured below:
Many Thanks to Patrick the Latin scholar!

(Kingdom Travelin will be 2 years old in 6 days)

a big question

2007-11-01T16:38:00.000-04:00

there is a big question being discussed on the John Templeton Foundation website... if you would like to consider some thoughtful answers to the question "Does the universe have purpose?" click here

(thanks Steve A. for the tip from the New York Times)

((several days till the 2nd birthday of Kingdom Travelin))

I wish this stuff was in my neighborhood

2007-10-31T20:31:00.001-04:00

Under these bridges (overpasses) are Roman artifacts...

no. 1
no. 2
no. 3

A colleague who is a classicist has provided the desired translation and information from the tablet pictured below:

IMP(ERATORI) CAESARI
TIT(O)? AELIO
HADRIANO
ANTOINO?
AUG(USTO), PIO, P(ATER) P(ATRIAE)
CO(N)S(UL) III
LEG(IONI) II ADI(UTOR) P(RAEFECTUS) E(QUITUM)

“For the Emperor Caesar
Titus? Aelius
Hadrian
Antoninus?
Augusutus Pius, Father of the Fatherland
In the year of his 3rd consulship
Given by the Secretary of the Second Legion,
the prefect of the cavalry.

It appears to be some kind of stone dedicated to the Emperor Antoninus Pius who ruled from AD 138 to 161.

Many Thanks to Patrick the Latin scholar!

no. 4 (NO! I do not count as a Roman artifact, thank you very much)

more Bp pix

2007-10-31T20:22:00.001-04:00

here are some more pix from last week.

I'm back...

2007-10-30T15:53:00.001-04:00

some pix from Budapest...

sweet Anna and me on the yellow line (oldest subway on continental Europe) ... yeah, its in Bp --- UPDATE!! Joanna (the pic taker) says this is the red line... and on careful investigation, I see she is right... sorry...

We found the shoe memorial to the Jews who died in WW2 on this spot.

mom, dad, child... died here

leaving

last post for a while

2007-10-21T19:36:00.000-04:00

I think this will be my last post for a while (probably a bit more than a week). I have been pretty wrapped up with the last post and there is more I want to do with it 'cuz i think its important. Anyway, on Tuesday sweet Anna and I board a plane for HU. We are excited about seeing our friends in service to the Lord and we will be staying in our daughter Joanna's flat in Budapest while there. Lots of conversations are lined up for this trip.

'till then, here are some thoughts from the news (I've been a little ill and laying around listening to the news...)

The news from the Iraq-Turkey border isn't good. The PPK is creating a further complication in an already crazy situation...

I read an interesting story about the Kosovo-Serbia situation which describes Serbia as a Russian client state. Read here. I have found this interesting historically but I want to make sure that people realize that there are many folks in Serbia who do not look at Putin as a hero-savior.

A friend and I are discussing God and world events. The question we are wrestling with is how involved He (God, not my friend) is in world affairs and how much He allows humans to take their own 'fallen' course of action. In a similar conversation, a student once said, "if God chooses to do nothing, isn't that still a choice God makes?" Indeed, and the good thing is the assurance that we can have that the ultimate good is going to prevail in the end and that He is with us today, tomorrow and from now on... He will never forsake us. For this I am so grateful.

a great thought about the heart and my job among students

2007-10-17T16:47:00.001-04:00

My job is in a high school. I try to teach seniors about God. I have been saying for a good deal of time that quite often, the reason so many young people "leave" the faith (Christian... uh.. evangelical-?ish??) in college is because it was not a real faith of their own to them to start with. This book I'm reading speaks to the point of this topic:

"I would suggest that in most cases he has not forsaken his faith. In reality, his faith was the faith of his parents; he simply lived within its limits while he was still at home. When he went away to school and those restraints were removed, his true heart was revealed. He had not internalized the faith. He had not entrusted himself to Christ in a life-transforming way. He did the "Christian" things he was required to do at home, but his actions did not flow from a heart of worship. In the college culture, he had nothing to anchor him, and the true thoughts and motives of his heart led him away from God. College was not the cause of his problem. It was simply the place where his true heart was revealed. The real problem was that faith never took root in his heart." (Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, p.64)

I have not heard this stated quite as succinctly as this. This is what I have observed and suspected for a long time but not read put quite this way. Herein is the answer to seek to reach hearts with the Gospel. Nothing new here, just affirmation of what we knew to be true. I just wish I could generate some conversation about this. Maybe I can get something started through Facebook with some twenty-somethings. I would love to hear the agreements and disagreements from people who are close to this topic and have been there recently.

the heart

2007-10-15T18:28:00.000-04:00

I'm reading a book which talks about our need to seek God to change our hearts. I am struck by this truth... from the heart comes the words of the mouth...

Honest with God

2007-10-14T15:24:00.001-04:00

I think when we are honest with God and with each other, the enemy hates it. I think this because honesty doesn't hide stuff and when I am not hiding things from God, my wife, my friends, I am being real with them. I think this is what God wants: honesty. The enemy wants our pride to cause us to hide stuff from God and each other.

Thanks Pastor Bill for preaching on this. Thanks Pastor Laci for blogging about it.

so true

2007-10-09T20:51:00.000-04:00

Over on JR's blog, there is a thought provoking post on being right... check it out.

Over on Good Morning Sarajevo, you have got to see the images from a mosque during Ramadan...

No, I don't have much to say... wait, yes I do. I heard a great story from a young friend tonight on how God has delivered him from drug abuse for 50 days now!

Thanks God for not leaving or forsaking us! So TRUE!

But please be kind about it will you?!?!??! (only makes sense to those who read JR)

just added a blog to browse

2007-10-08T13:24:00.000-04:00

The last couple of weeks I have followed Laci's link to "Good Morning Sarajevo" and to day I decided to add it for my own sake and to encourage you to check it out, it is a fresh look at an old city filled with cool people.

home again

2007-10-08T13:08:00.000-04:00

As I get to travel around, it is increasingly good to come home. Covenant is closed for today and I am enjoying the day of reading, praying and reflection... I began Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands this weekend. It is good stuff... posts will be forthcoming.

some wisdom

2007-10-05T09:11:00.000-04:00

ESV Bible Online: Passage: Proverbs 30.8b-9

8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;give me neither poverty nor riches;feed me with the food that is needful for me,9 lest I be full and deny youand say, “Who is the Lord?”or lest I be poor and stealand profane the name of my God.

some stuff to keep you busy for about 10 minutes

2007-10-04T20:03:00.000-04:00

So, my buddy JR talked about U2's song "Grace" at the retreat a couple of weeks ago, so I downloaded it (thanks Mark and Laura for the ITunes for my b-day) and I found a You Tube presentation using the song... I think its pretty well done, check it out here.

Also, Tuesday night the officer and i went to a really cool worship time at the UVa chapel (TAKE THAT T.J.) here's the website... if you're in the 'ville next time they have ignte242 (2nd Tuesday of NOV????), you need to check it out.

One more thing, here is a video (sorry to do two youtubes in a single post) that three people have emailed me about... it's worth a look... click here.

I'm headed for fall break in Maryland. Peace

some blogs...

2007-10-01T17:05:00.000-04:00

...that i have been directed to or have just run across:

good.morning.sarajevo

“Nice” Christian Boys and Girls Make Me Sick…

2007-10-01T16:09:00.000-04:00

This one has a warning for graphic language... consider yourself warned...

Perry Noble dot com » Blog Archive » “Nice” Christian Boys and Girls Make Me Sick…

ESV Bible Online: Passage: 1 Peter 3:8

2007-09-30T09:29:00.000-04:00

I discovered this morning I could send Scripture straight from the ESV search site to my blog... below are select texts from the search: heart and mind...

This morning I heard from the Lord in a fresh way that there should be no disconnect in them (the heart and mind). He created us as beings with emotion and reason. We should not seek therefore to elevate one over the other. He gifts us differently but we are all one. He who may look more toward the emotion should not look askance at she who he terms a "brain-iac" nor should she who is more inclined toward reason look down her nose at he who meets God in emotion. Indeed we have both and I do not believe that this compartmentalization of these is biblical, in fact I would posit that this "division" is a result of the fall. Scripture is replete with texts that call us to understand the amazing gifts of God the Holy Spirit. Consider the gift of knowledge given to Daniel and the boys in Babylon because of their faithfulness to God and HIS wish to show himself as God to the Jews in exile as well as to their Babylonian keepers. But I know too the deep sorrow that I have felt as the Spirit convicts me of my sin... the great loss that I have felt at the loss of a child, and the great comfort that enveloped me as the Word of God was real to my mind and my heart was filled with joy... mind or heart? NO! We are the image bearers of God and should never ever seek one over the other, we should glorify God in brothers and sisters who are gifted by the Spirit in these wonderful attributes we all share. God wants no compartmentalization of the individual or of the church... we are one. When will we embrace one another as one? When will we realize the wonderful potential that exists within us and release our selves truly to HIM who wishes to bring joy to us and, in that GLORY unto HIMSELF.

Let us love HIM with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

ESV Bible Online: Passage: 1 Peter 3:8: "1 Peter 3:8 <<>> Suffering for Righteousness' Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind."

ESV Bible Online: Passage: Luke 10:27

2007-09-30T09:28:00.000-04:00

ESV Bible Online: Passage: Luke 10:27

ESV Bible Online: Passage: Psalm 26:2

2007-09-30T09:25:00.000-04:00

ESV Bible Online: Passage: Psalm 26:2: "2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. [1]"

mind and heart

2007-09-30T09:21:00.000-04:00

David's Charge to Solomon
1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. (ESV)

wrong thinking? wrong belief?

2007-09-29T08:56:00.000-04:00

This morning while listening to the radio, I heard these words from a former US Army Staff Sergeant who fought in Fallujah.

"I couldn't understand a Judeo-Christian God, that, uh, I was always told was graceful and all-forgiving and loving, to exist in a environment that was, just so, haneous and horrible so, I... I decided that, you know, I knew that, that God was still out there, I'm still a believer, but, you know, I figured if, uh, if he could handle this, he would've, and, he's got me here for a reason, so, let's just close the New Testament and do the job that we have to do..."

Just before this the interviewer had remarked about his Christian upbringing, etc. That comment sparked the words he spoke...

read them again...

"I couldn't understand a Judeo-Christian God, that, uh, I was always told was graceful and all-forgiving and loving, to exist in a environment that was, just so, haneous and horrible so, I... I decided that, you know, I knew that, that God was still out there, I'm still a believer, but, you know, I figured if, uh, if he could handle this, he would've, and, he's got me here for a reason, so, let's just close the New Testament and do the job that we have to do..." (BBC-The Interview 29 Sept. 2007)

I was taken aback by these words because they are, in my mind, quintessential to the way SO MANY people box God up in their cultural thinking, or worse yet, in what they learn about God in SO MANY churches in America (and elsewhere too, I guess, but I am into American church bashing, you know). So many people have God enveloped in this package of their own construction so that when they are faced with stuff that is outside that envelope, they are just at a loss for what to do with God. So, what they do is what Sgt. Bellavia did: "...I decided that, you know, I knew that, that God was still out there, I'm still a believer, but, you know, I figured if, uh, if he could handle this, he would've, and, he's got me here for a reason, so, let's just close the New Testament and do the job that we have to do..."

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not disrespecting the soldier or his service. Heck, I used to believe in this war. And I get where this guy is coming from. I (kinda) don't fault him. He is operating on what he knows and believes (what he was taught or what he 'caught'). But as I look at his words (that were broadcast around the world on the BBC), I see that he has been let down by the church. The church did not give him an adequate understanding of God. He was taught to believe in a little box shaped God that he can put in his pocket and then do what he felt was best. American Christianity: ain't it great?

Miroslav Volf said in Free of Charge, "Our Hearts become factories of idols in which we fashion and refashion God to fit our needs and desires.
Yet the most powerful and seductive images of God are not the ones we craft in the privacy of our hearts. They are the ones that seep into our minds as we watch TV, read books, go shopping at the mall, or socialize with our neighbors. Slowly and imperceptibly, the one true God begins acquiring the features of the gods of this world." (Volf, p. 22)

Followers of Jesus are charged with knowing God personally and relationally through Jesus' work on the cross and the Spirit's work in us. But there must be a true biblical knowledge of GOD, not just our view of God that has been tainted by this or that writer or teachcer, and surely not from TV and the movies, and no, not from the BBC either. This is our calling: to read and know the inspired Word of God as the Spirit of God teaches us, and to continually build our relationship with God to serve and honor Him, biblically... thoughtfully.

Capturing, as Paul said, every thought for Christ.

trail results on Vukovar massacre anger Croatian friends

2007-09-28T20:24:00.000-04:00

I heard on BBC radio this morning that in the trial of some leaders in the Vukovar Massacre, sentencing was yesterday.

Croatian friends are outraged. They feel the men on trial were not judged rightly, those who know the 200+ killed believe much harsher sentences were deserved. In the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb protesters held photos of the dead. (Photo:AP Photo/DARKO BANDIC)

The BBC report is here. My good friend Laci, who lives in Vukovar commented on his blog. There are some other articles linked from Laci to learn more about the battle of Vukovar. The Herald Tribune's article.

Meanwhile in Burma, the crackdown has taken lives and stopped internet cafes from sending pictures.

What a fallen world. Come, Lord Jesus.

still watching Burma

2007-09-26T16:15:00.000-04:00

check this out...

monks protesting Monday...
read about the latest on the BBC

Is it Burma or is it Myanmar? Read a BBC analysis.
Photo from Mizzima news/AP found at the IHT

This Reuters Photo shows a standoff today.

an event that bears watching

2007-09-24T09:19:00.000-04:00

the protests in the former Burma, now Myanmar click here

Also, in the IHT is an interview with the French president... A friend to the US? Can I remember such a thing? click here In this interview, Sarkozy says the Americans and the French are alike in that they both believe they hold to "universal values." Interesting.

Happy Brithday Joanna

2007-09-21T20:09:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday Joanna!!

International Herald Tribune

2007-09-21T18:08:00.000-04:00

A link to the I H T is now on the right, mainly 'cuz I use it to read up on Europe.

James vs. Paul?

2007-09-21T08:09:00.000-04:00

James vs. Paul???

some thots on identity

2007-09-19T20:46:00.000-04:00

So my friend JR spoke on seeking identity at our retreat.
He asked the question: Who are you?

Its not your name...
Its not your family...
Its not your nationality...

Its deeper... much deeper than any of that.

He quoted the song Grace by U2... I found a cool presentation on youtube that has some very meaningful images set to the song... check it out.

More later... gotta finish writing about the revolutionary period for class.

Peace to you through Grace

Finished CS Lewis Letters, Vol. 2

2007-09-19T20:04:00.000-04:00

I have beed reading this for a few months now. I finished it this morning. There are AMAZING insights into Lewis' life, thought and theology within. Here is one quote...
"On Calvinism. Both the statement that our final destination is already settled and the view that it still may be either Heaven or Hell, seem to me to imply the ultimate reality of Time, wh.[ich] I don't believe in. The controversy is one I can't join on either side for i think that in the real (Timeless) world it is meaningless...." (1946, p.703)

Now, vol 1 or 3???? any input???

back from the retreat, catching up

2007-09-18T20:42:00.000-04:00

Driving home this afternoon from our GREAT retreat, I was thinking what a busy fall I'm in the middle of... the beginning of school, the bi-annual retreat, next up is interims (ugh), football games, a wedding to do in Oct, a CEO meeting in Oct. to get ready for in mid-Oct, a CEO trip to get ready for... man, it'll be Nov. before I get to breathe...

I cleaned out my inbox, SO, I get this email from a friend. A fwd... (have I ever mentioned how annoyed I get at some fwds?) I often delete fwds, but I looked at this one. It was about British Muslims and the hatred that surrounds them. They carried placards of real hate. I was shocked and concerned. I invested some time researching this issue and discovered that most of the stuff out there is from "anti-" groups, either anti-God, anti-Muslim, anti-liberal, or anti-something. It was saddening. I wrote my friend that only the work of Jesus in hearts or His return will bring this to an end.

...sort of related...

From MSN.COM, "Greenspan charts our economic course in 'The Age of Turbulence." Who is Greenspan kidding? Please tell me an "age" during the existence of the human that WASN'T an 'age of turbulence'?

next post will have some quotes from the talks at the retreat...

appraoching the 2nd anniversary

2007-09-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

The idea for Kingdom Travelin was born in 2005 at the bi-annual Covenant School retreat. JR and I were discussing life, ministry and theology and he suggested I should start a blog... 385 posts here (and a few score more on my other blogs) later and Kingdom Travelin will soon be two years old... there are lots ok kinds of blogs... I seek here through the everyday to see the glimpse of the Eternal that I think Plato saw and I know C.S. Lewis borrowed with the idea of the Shadowlands... If we will just open our eyes and see, we will see glimpses of the Eternal all around us, HE is trying to wake us up! To see HIM and to follow HIM...

Today I depart for the bi-annual retreat and I look forward to more conversations with JR, my brother in the work.

I prayed with thanks this morning that stronger, smarter, younger men are leading now... Recently, Mark sent me a chart about life stages the other day and I am settling into the role of encouraging more than doing... it's a role I am learning to embrace... for something over two years now I have been sought 'being' instead of so much 'doing'... It is, to use the language of Paul: 'peace'... Thanks be to God for the Grace that has enabled Peace...

Peace to you, through Grace...

post

2007-09-13T07:57:00.001-04:00

here's a post, happy?

Narnia, church, football

2007-09-09T19:39:00.001-04:00

I finished the Chronicles today. They were a fun read. Lewis really does an amazing job in The Last Battle of taking the focus off us and putting the focus on Christ in heaven. Simultaneously, I am 2/3 through the 2nd collection of Lewis' letters... it is 1948 and he is thanking people for the "care" packages they are sending him. He is feeding all his friends. I was not aware of how drastic things were in Europe for several years after the war, food shortages... paper shortages, etc. oh, finished "Band of Brothers" with buddy john the other night and it seems in '45 there was a call for CARE packages even before the war ended... I seem to remember as a kid hearing about CARE but then it was not headed to Europe... maybe Africa?

unrelated...
The church I attend had the greatest worship time today. All worship music and sharing from the people. It was really awesome. To hear how God is blessing people, people should hear more of that... thanks leaders!

more unrealted...
Went to UVa football game yesterday. There is one word to describe the event: SURVIVAL. That applies both to the game as the Hoos struggled at times against Duke... yes, you read correctly, against DUKE... this ain't b-ball I'm talkin' about folks, this is football... and when a team struggles against DUKE in football, that bodes unwell for the season... The fans struggled too... poor turnout and HOT, it was about 756 degrees up there in the sun... man... survival... but then... the guys I was with at the game needed to leave, so after the post game tailgate, I began to walk back to my car (which was at Covenant!) and the coolest thing... as i got to the bottom of the hill below Frys Spring, a guy stopped and took me the the rest of the way... it was like God sent an angel to carry me to the next stop in my journey... thanks angel!

final unrelated...
I sure am enjoying not having a TV in the living room... fasted from computers for 48 hours, it was great! thanks to Arden and JR for the inspiration to do that!

there... ya happy von Lazo?

the beginning of Labor Day Weekend thoughts

2007-09-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

Whew indeed... I have never been happier to get a three day weekend... perhaps I really am getting too old for this stuff????? Well, yesterday was awesome. With some level of uncertainty yet great anticipation at 0630 when I started setting up for chapel, I was most pleased, most pleased with the team that began arriving just before 7 to set up... though we had to overcome some significant technical obstacles, the first chapel of the year was awesome... I told the team beforehand "this is not a performance, we are lead-worshippers, worship God in spirit and truth doing it with all your heart, that is the job..." I think that is what occurred. It was awesome. So, the first week of school ended with all my classroom objectives met and a great first chapel.
Then last night Sweet Anna and I went downtown to see the last couple of songs by Sparky's Flaw at the Pavilion... I liked their musical style... (this was music week... heard three songs by Third Day last Sunday night from near the mall and then Vaden Cox at Gravity on Thursday). Then we went to 5 Guys to get dinner (this was the grace of Anna to suggest 5 Guys!).

We sat at the counter looking onto main street (the mall)... there must have been eight million 15 year olds and younger out there do the younger adolescent social dance of wanting to talk to this person or that and being afraid of rejection and talking to your friends to try to figure out how to talk to this person without seeming like you want to talk to them and being all cool and stuff... good grief... it was kind of amusing to watch and then I realized how honestly sad it all is... Anna and I talked about the parents who were there too. They were on the fringe of things... looking on with out trying to seem to do such... We talked about the parties that are held in homes where the parents "looked the other way" and the two parents who are facing jail time for providing alcohol to a bunch of kids some months ago... Why? Sweet Anna asked... I don't know, really... maybe they too... are trying to be cool?? I don't know. Alcohol is such an issue with kids today... We continued walking, chatting and people watching down the mall.

At the Regal, Anna points out the movie "No Reservations" so we decide to hit the late showing. It surprised me right off the bat. It was not just a romantic comedy, it had complexity in dealing with workaholism, grief and loss... it was really good and I recommend it.

Now, I really must go out and cut the grass while its under 90 and before the neighbourhood assoc. calls me (as Mark and Tom pointed out the other night! Thank's guys for the encouragement... ugh).

The reading goal for the long weekend? To finish the Chronicles of Narnia, 4 down, three to go... Haven't read them in a while? Reread them... it is awesome reading which has great Truths that sneak up on you!

whew

2007-08-30T09:22:00.000-04:00

This is one of my toughest teaching weeks. As I seek to lay, or solidify a foundation of knowledge of the history of the Old Testament which leads to an understanding of the New Testament, I cover a lot every day. Sometimes by 7th period, it is all I can do to sit on my stool and cover the ground... But I am blessed with five great classes of engaged students, most of whom have really good attitudes. For that I am thankful. I sure am glad for Labor Day and look forward to some rest.

gettin ready for the long haul

2007-08-24T23:26:00.000-04:00

Well, the week of preparation is over and we start classes this Monday! I'm pretty excited, but am not ready... but then, it's not the night before yet, right Liz... wait... Liz is gone! With whom will I share the blue wing Sunday night before school??? Or should I try to get in to hear Third Day.... or should I get the class blog ready? or write my sylabus? hmmmmm... I know! I should go to Greenberrys and hang out with someone!!! There'll be lots of time for prep!!!! After all I've got my lessons ready... yeah, a tall dark roast with a little room please! I just need some routine...

some pix from the CA coast

2007-08-22T21:30:00.000-04:00

Monday morning, one of our early views of the CA coast...
later in the day we saw these elephant seals... your should see the fight video!Early Tuesday at Pismo Beach

as the sun rises over the nearby hill the waves shine...as you can see the ocean is met by a pretty good hill... up on the top of the hill in the early morning the cattle were making a lot of noise...

more pix from CA trip

2007-08-22T21:25:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, Sweet Anna and I had a great morning at Pismo on the beach then we headed to LA... ugh

After LA we headed to SanDeigo on Wednesday... the traffic... ugh
but we made it to La Jolla (in N. San Diego)... and found more seals... regular size this time...

a wedding with a bunch of Covenant guys... PLUS

2007-08-22T21:20:00.000-04:00

On Sat. I'm surrounded by seven guys from Covenant 97 and 98... ... to celebrate Bob and Emily's wedding... John has not changed a bit...
But here is the really handsome couple...

from CA to AZ

2007-08-22T21:15:00.000-04:00

Sunday early we make the 400+ mile drive through the desert...

above are the dues that Star Wars was filmed in!!!
Sweet Anna did lots of desert driving...
More dunes... Mexico was on he right...
Here is our accomidation in Tucson, very cool spot, very cool indeed...
Last morning, the car is packed and in the shade (it would reach 111 that day)... me and my rental Fusion... Below...over coffee, I give Hyun some last minute counsel about life...

movies

2007-08-18T00:08:00.000-04:00

Well, Becca is in town this weekend and Sweet Anna, Becca and I went to see "Becoming Jane". I really enjoyed the way this film showed Austen to be a woman of intelligence, passion and justice. She saw what should be done and did it. I found the direction to be just excellent and the script fantastic...

This week my friend John and I have been watching "Band of Brothers". I have found this series to be compelling in the manner that it looks at the effects of the war on a different man's life in each episode. In episode five, the leader of the band was experiencing PTSD in the Paris subway (which looked just like the yellow line in Budapest) and this series really make me get a sense of some of the feelings that these men experienced... There is little doubt that I thought of Vukovar on more than one occasion.

back in the 'ville

2007-08-16T12:29:00.000-04:00

we are back... a great trip! I will post about the fun trip with Sweet Anna, awesome visits with people, driving 1200 miles, two cross country flights, redwood trees, the fighting elephant seals, the clam-cracking sea gull, the beauty of the CA coast, the millions of cacti in the cactus forest in AZ, going from sea level in La Holla, CA to 4050 ft on a desert mountain and then back to sea level in the desert in about an hour and a half in far south eastern CA on the way to Tucson, driving real fast in the desert, and AZ - where the wild, wild west is still alive and well... all that and a pic or two later. Right now, I'm just getting reorganized after being gone from the 'ville for all but two weeks since June 8! okay, back to work!

another leg on the Journey

2007-08-03T18:08:00.000-04:00

Sweet Anna and I head out early in the am to fly to CA for our great SW USA adventure!!!! OUR ROUTE... Who knows if I'll be posting... It's been a crazy week in the ville... but another good one... life on the Journey is sure with travelling... but you gotta keep your eye on the map!

SW USA trip

2007-07-29T10:57:00.000-04:00

our SW USA trip is shaping up! Here is a link to our updated route...