I can't keep my eyes off of you...no, I seriously can't. It's distracting during worship.

Well I cooked my first ever thanksgiving meal the other day. It went surprisingly well. Everything tasted pretty good and no one got food poisoning, so all in all I count it a success. Nine of us including myself dined on turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, peas, corn, carrots, stuffing (thanks Mom), butternut squash soup, cranberry sauce, and dessert. We had 4 courses in total (Does beer count as a course?). When we were done we played a game similar to Cranium that Joey taught us. It was so funny. I had a lot of help from Adam and Bronwen especially and it was really good fun. The house was a disaster afterwards and Abbie and I just finished cleaning. I know the timing is a bit strange as thanksgiving was over a month and a half ago, but we didn't have enough time to do Canadian thanksgiving, so we did American, and a few days late at that because we have had a busy week and that was the only available day. But the Irish and the one Aussie enjoyed their first thanksgiving ever and I didn't hear too much "that's not how Mom used to do it" from the North Americans. Now I have to do something even more amazing for friends Christmas dinner.

Work

You know how when a group of people is put together to do a task and there are always people who work as hard as they can to get what they need to get done accomplished well and then there are others who don’t really do anything and when they finally get off their butts to start working they drop it half way through and you find them 20 mins later watching tv in the other room? Well I’ve run into that situation a lot lately, and those of you who know me can guess which of those two categories I fit into.
Tonight CFC held it’s 6 TroyToy. TroyToy is an event that uses drama, music, dance, multi-media, and several other creative ways to touch youth and tell kids about God, a few of whom gave their lives to the Lord. We got there this morning at 10am and set up sound, lights, stages, moved chairs, were security guards, tore down, loaded trucks, set chairs back up… you name it, we did it tonight. Now everyone worked really hard at one point or another but I felt several times that people were sitting down and chatting or taking really long breaks when there was clearly more work that needed to be done. At one point I was hauling stacks upon stacks of chairs back into the sanctuary while about 5 guys were standing in the same room as me just talking to each other. When we were all done it was midnight and Elaine (bless her heart) bought us beer and food. I was really tired and cranky so I just went home. As I was walking my feet were sore, my hands were blistered from all the heavy lifting, and my back was tight. I spent a lot of time wording this blog. Making sure that I would get across eloquently my distaste for poor work ethic. As I was passing under a streetlight I looked at my palms, red and sore, and God spoke to me so clearly – if this is the only price I have to pay to see people saved, it is a very low cost. All of the sudden I was confronted with my own selfishness. I was knee deep in self-pity because I thought other people weren’t pushing themselves as hard as I was instead of rejoicing that a few more people felt God’s love and accepted His hand. And by His astounding grace God decided to give me a part, however small it was, in touching their lives. There are believers in this world who sacrifice their freedom, their comfort, their very lives to tell others about Jesus. All I did tonight was sacrifice a little bit of time. Not even a full 24 hours.
The work I did tonight I did with a poor attitude, but thankfully God still uses us even though we don’t quite get it yet. Next time I find myself in a similar situation I’ll just look at the palms of my hands and remembering the blisters I’ll thank God that He sees fit to use me to bless people, bad attitude and all.

Every fat person can curl...that's not how that was supposed to come out...crap

Mom left this morning. It was great having her here. We went to Giants Causeway on Saturday. The bus ride up was nice and sunny and gave us some good chatting time but when we got to the Causeway it was rainy and cold. Still a good experience, but I spent most of the ride home complaining about how cold and wet I was. Sunday was spent as all my Sundays are, at church doing various things. Monday (my birthday) at staff meeting Bronny brought me a cake and Paul Reid led the staff in a rendition of happy birthday. Then Mom and I spent most of the afternoon making dinner for the Source students. We were waiting for the water to boil and kicking a soccer ball around in the sports hall. I didnt know that Robin Mark was recording in the studio next door and I was giggling loudly. He opened the door just as I was beside it retrieving the ball and laughing and he gave me the look of death. I felt so bad. So we stopped playing. It was pretty funny. Then Tuesday I spent in class and Mom met up with us afterwards and about 10 of us went to the hotel for a drink then back to my house to watch some friends. Then at 6:45 this morning we went to the airport and said goodbye. It was a short trip but a good one.

I've learnt so much in the last little while, it's been hard to process it all, but I wanted to share what Adrian spoke about in class the other day. As always I wont capture this perfectly so bare with me.

FASTING
I've never really understood fasting. I knew it was Biblical - something Jesus practiced himself and something that he expected his disciples to practice as well (Matt. 6:16 'when you fast and pray...'). But I didn't get why it was so important. I've heard it said that God answers your prayers faster when you fast because it shows him you are serious about your faith because you are making a sacrifice, or that by denying the body you are bring it into submission to your spirit. These things are both good and probably true, but I still didn't really see the application to my own life.
When I first decided to try to become a goalie in soccer I wasn't very good. I had some natural ability but I had to put a lot of practice into it. I remember me and my Dad going out into the field at Sam Livingston School and he would shoot at me over and over again. First he would shoot it right at me so I would get used to handling the ball. Then he would shoot it a bit wider so I would have to move back and forth. Once we got that down I started to make diving saves. Then one day in our backyard we practiced slide tackling for hours until I was comfortable at that. We would do the same thing over and over again. When game time came I didn't know exactly what the strikers were going to do but because Dad and I took so much time practicing I could react no matter what they did. I could dive, jump, punch out the ball, slide tackle.
The same principle can be applied to the spiritual disciplines, including fasting. In Mark 9 the disciples are arguing because none of them were able to cast out a demon from a young boy. Jesus came and drove it out of the boy. Later the disciples asked him why they were unable to do the same. Jesus replied in verse 29 'This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.' What is interesting here is that Jesus didn't stop to pray and fast before he cast out the demon. He didn't have to. Jesus led a life of prayer and fasting so he was prepared when things got tough. He had practiced his slide tackle.
Fasting, prayer, study, meditation. These aren't things that you do for the first time when you desperately need them. We need to live a life of the spiritual disciplines so that when we are required to walk out the hard parts of life, when more is asked of us then we know how to give, we're already prepared.
And don't get me wrong. If you're facing something really hard in life then you may need to fast a pray more than normal. When the championship game is coming up you don't stop practicing - you run the extra laps, and train that much harder.
When we decide to follow Christ we lay our life at his feet. He doesn't just require you in the moments you can't do it yourself, or in the moments you feel his presence like a cloud around you, he requires you at all times. The mundane, the boring, the ordinary. I don't know if I'm getting across what I want to here. There is something inside me that I really want to share, but my words are so inadequate. Jesus gives life - abundantly. Isn't that what we're all searching for?

I hope at least part of that made sense. There's more that could be (and probably should be) said about this subject but those are the only words I can get out at the moment. So if that wasn't helpful then I'm sorry, please feel free to ignore it. C.S. Lewis said that all our prayers are in some form heresy because none of us have our theology exactly right. So take from that what is right and throw the rest away.

I've read some amazing books recently that have made me think a lot about...Well everything really. I highly suggest you grab a copy of Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. The same guy who does the Nooma videos, which are also excellent. And Adventures in Missing the Point by Brian McLaren and Tony Compolo. Give 'em a read and tell me what you think.

Lots of love

More Crosslinks Photos

So for Crosslinks this week we had to choose an object and take 10 different pictures of if to get us thinking about new perspectives and angles. So I chose a tea pot. These were some of my favorite shots. The others are of a wall and the hand grips of the wooden benches we put out every sunday for the kids to sit on. I really like taking close ups of things, if you haven't guessed that already.

Attempt to Upload Pictures #15

Well here are some shots from Enniskillen. I didn't take any because I felt like it was sacreligious or something to take pictures while I was supposed to be quietly waiting on God. But luckily for me Adam took some, and here they are. Enjoy.

Retreats and conferences and work, oh my

I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've posted anything. I've had a busy week.
From monday to Wed. we went on a retreat to a place called Enniskillen. While there we got to practice the spiritual disciplines we've been learning about in class. We observed extended periods of silence, participated in Biblical meditation, and had times of prayer. I think the greatest experience I had was on the second day. We had 6 hours of complete silence where we got to engage with God on our own. The first 2 hours I went into the forest. At first I walked around a bit, then I went off the trail into a wooded area, found a comfy looking tree and sat up against it to read Scripture and pray. Let me tell you, no tree is comfortable after 2 hours. I tried really hard to hear from God, to be open to whatever He might say...nothing. So I got up to go back to the cottage but I realized I was lost. I wandered around a bit more, chased a frog, found a cool walking stick, was attacked by several bushes, and eventually found my way back to the path. I got back to the main complex in time for lunch, chicken soup and a bread roll. While we were all waiting in the hallway for our meal, not talking to eachother, Joey was so into his oun little world that he walked into the womans bathroom. We all tried to laugh as silently as possible, and after about 10 seconds of him not realizing what he had done I went in to get him out. Oh, it was funny.
Anyway, after that Adrian had set up prayer stations based around the elements. There were applicable scriptures to fire, earth, air, water, and wood (which isn't an elemnet). I started at the water station and right away heard God speak to me as clearly as I have ever heard Him. It was really cool, because if I hadn't taken that time out to be still in front of Him I really dont think I would have been able to hear what He wanted to say to me. If I had quit after the first two hours then I would have missed out on something special. It really made me understand in my heart why quiet time is so important. I ended up staying in the prayer room for the rest of the afternoon. It was really great.
The rest of the weekend was fun and the location was beautiful. I'm having trouble posting pictuers so I'll try again on another entry.
Then from Thursday till saturday there was a conference here featuring Erwin McManus and Phil Baker. They were speaking on the church in the future and the future of the church. Thet both come from a post-modernish point of view, which I have been reading a lot about lately. I got so much out of it. They were both extreamly good speakers, very funny and engaging, and had a lot to say. But they both came from a place of love and were very positive as opposed to some of the literature I have read that seems to only condem what they felt has been wrong about the past. Both are published authors and I highly recommend getting ahold of some of their work. Or you can get their podcasts of every sunday service. I really want to listen to everything they said again and sort through it some more. After I collect my own thoughts I'll tell you more about it.
Then the past three days have been filled with classes, work, and more work. So this is really the first chance I've had to do anything. Mom is here in two days which is absolutely insane. It's going to be good to see her. And I turn a whole 23 years old on monday, so this is a big week for me.
I'm going to have another go at my pictures now.
Love always

More Giants Day Picks

Best Quote to describe Giants Causeway:
"In a place as beautiful as this you've just got to hold a woman."
-Joey Mawson

My trip up north

Today James, Joey, Nathan, Myself and our new friend called Karen went up north to the Giants Causeway. The drive was really beautiful, the lush rolling green hills, the sheep, and of course the water. But once we got there I was really blown away by the causeway itself. For those of you who dont know it's made up of these huge hexagonal stones jutting out of the ground. I've heard it called "Gods cigarette carton" which is pretty much what it can look like from some angles. Scientist think that it is some sort of lava formation but the myth behind it is that there was this giant in Scotland and one in Ireland and they built this thing to cross over. The history is more complicated than that but I dont feel like writing it all down, so look it up if you're interested. There is a similar rock formation directly across from it in Scotland so I'm told. To sit there and watch the waves crashing onto the shore and clamber over the massive stepping stones was really something. We didn't have a lot of time because Nathan had a meeting tonigt and it's about an hour and a half drive so next time I go I want to spend a whole day. I'm going to try and organize a whole day trip up there for when Mom is here. Right close to it is also Dunluce castle which we saw from the road but didnt stop at. Its in ruins but it still looks pretty spectacular. The north coast is really stunning and these pictures dont do it justice at all but here is a small look at what this land has to offer.