an endless summer...

Bo‧he‧mi‧an [boh-hee-mee-uhn]
–noun
1. a native or inhabitant of Bohemia.
2. (usually lowercase) a person, as an artist or writer, who lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules and practices.
3. the Czech language, esp. as spoken in Bohemia.
4. a Gypsy.
–adjective
5. of or pertaining to Bohemia, its people, or their language.
6. (usually lowercase) pertaining to or characteristic of the unconventional life of a bohemian.
7. living a wandering or vagabond life, as a Gypsy.

[Origin: 1570–80; Bohemi(a) + -an]


I visited my old church not so long ago and Miss Carla (as I call her) the secretary there and really the church mom in many senses told me that I was "sooo bohemian." I was unaware of what it meant so I made her describe. I can't stand labels, but there was no denying it, bohemian I am. After all I did live on a sailboat for 5 months, and then in my pick-up truck for another five. I would be blind to deny it. I ask though, is it a gift, or is it a curse? This is the question I have placed before myself and more importantly, the Lord. For a long time now I have lived a life of reckless abandon, and within the last three years, God has changed so much. Trying to decipher between old habits that must die and old habits that just need to be brought under submission to Christ has been an interesting aspect of living. My bohemianess is one of them. I have done a great job of submitting myself to a worldy (I say that loosely) looking life plan, work like a dog, put myself through school, etc., and I enjoy it (school that is), for the first time. But, there is always a but, I don't care. It isn't important, I don't think it necessary, I have no obligation, and in some cases think that I am consuming myself rather than seeking first the kingdom of God. So...

I went home the other day to find a note on our door saying that we all have to vacate the premises by the 18th of October. D-day, and B-day, what sweet news. Where to go, what to do, I have no clue. A friend of mine is moving to Hawaii, and was talking about this place and it stirred something in me that I have been wrestling with since. Where to go, what to do, I have no clue. Am I willing to sell everything I own (isn't much to begin with), to leave and abandon the structure I find myself in? Where to go, what to do, I have no clue. Would it be honoring and bring glory to the Lord to pack up and leave? Where to go, what to do, I have no clue.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust...'" Psalm 91:1,2

Read the rest, a prophecy of, for, by Jesus, but a prayer for us too.

Where to go, what to do, I have a clue...

fill er' up!

When I was talking to my sister this morning Gillian said that when I see her in October for my Dad's birthday party she is going to "hug me up." Kids are so great. I can't wait... to be hugged up that is ;-)

contagiousnessess

When I die, I have one question. Of all the history, of all the philosophy, of all other sciencesessess, of all religions, politics, yada, yada, yada, etc., etc., ETC.!!!

¡¡¡¡¡ ¿¿¿¿¿ WHY ARE YAWNS CONTAGIOUS ????? !!!!!

moving? again?

I found out yesterday that the house I'm living in has been sold. I was going to have to leave in December anyway (my roomate is gettin' hitched), but now maybe sooner. Where shall I go? Honestly, I don't know, but I feel more free than I ever have, open for whatever. Time will tell...

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6:6-9

It's great to be alive!

revive us again

LORD, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin.
Selah

You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.

Psalm 85

the only remedy

Those who know love, must love.

"The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death." Proverbs 13:14

Yesterday a semi-retired man I work with at the spa was complaining of the wealth our guests have, and I quote: "Guess that's what happens when you're rich. The world runs on your time, not on its own. Oh well, next lifetime maybe, missed it this time around."

I was heartbroken. Here is this man in his sixties and from "the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Dissatisfaction, brokenness, selfishness poured from this mans heart. What can be done? Love. Love speaks truth, love is truth. Love is God, love is Christ.


We're all dissatisfied on some level. We all need direction, every last one of us. Where do we get it from? Where does wisdom come from, not just intelligence, but that which is beyond the normal bounds of human intuition? From God of course, revealed through His son Jesus. The Word, the Word made flesh, and dwelt among us, that is our source of wisdom. Then there's the Bible, the Word, a book, just like the rest, but what it contains entirely unlike the rest. Why did God choose to reveal Himself in this way, literature? I think asking that question is like asking why are babies made the way they are (personally cuz I think asexuality would be quite boring). "His ways are not our ways..." And since His ways are not our ways, we are foreign to them, we find ourselves in this position...

"So Philip ran to him (the Ethiopian eunuch) and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him." Acts 8:30,31

We need guidance, from each other, from wise men, from the Word. Why? God made it that way. Who are we (besides ignorant, insubordinate, individualistic people) to question the Lord of heaven, He who created the starry host.

"O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!" Psalm 84:12

"help! i need somebody..."

How is it that people cry out for truth and even speak truth, yet remain so far from it? The Beatles knew they needed someone, they even said in another song "all you need is love." The apostle John wrote "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7,8

The quote from John has very heavy implications. Neither the Beatles, nor anyone else who does not know Christ has ever loved. That's a thought that will make the most well intentioned man hate Christ; apart from knowing Christ and the redemption that comes through His shed blood, we, humans, are so sinful that even that which the world perceives as love is truly a form of hate. No good intention on behalf of the unrighteous (those not covered by the blood of the Lamb) is even remotely good. How unlike the mainstream thought prevalent today that "as long as you are a good person..."

"Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel." Proverbs 12:10

on my mind...

"There are some things in life, and they may be the most important things, that we cannot know by research or reflection, but only by committing ourselves. We must dare in order to know. Life is full of situations to which I can respond not with part of myself but only with commitment of my whole being." - J.H. Oldham

To know for certain, to control, to have assurance aside from faith, these are all faults that the dead man in us all screams for. Backed by the technological advances of man that has created a way of living allowing us to basically be in control of all situations, we are helpless when it comes to stepping out in faith. Why do we feel, do I feel, the need to know before acting?

Balance, a balance beam, a tight rope... that which we are called to walk, in every area of life, or as Jesus said, "a narrow path."

"Be wise as serpents but innocent as doves..."

Jesus lead on...

TUG 06

Well, it has definitely been five months since we returned from our trip to Africa, and I am just now putting up pictures for all to see. It was an amazing trip, to say the least. Trips like this are so... I think overwhelming might be the word I'm looking for. To go from living in a place like we live, to experiencing something SO different, it is down-right shocking. When you're there you feel so inspired, so motivated to change, and upon return and being thrown back into the rat race I feel so much of that inspiration is lost. Oh, by the grace of God all things work out for good; but really, the way we live here has been so rightly coined as a "consumer society," and tragically, I'm certain we are being consumed more than we are consuming, and I don't think we even realize it. What are we doing with our lives? God says "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4 and "If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:10

"I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditated, my spirit faints." Selah Psalm 77:1-3

Unfortunately I can't say that I can pray that psalm and it be a proper representation of where my heart is. On some small scale I feel that way, but I know I am calloused, shallow, and selfish. Lord, again... where is my heart? Where is the heart of the church? You have revealed Yourself, disclosed where Your heart is, it's just a road not many are willing to follow... Father give us strength...

Well, that was heavy, and I want to say enjoy the slideshow ya'll... but realize it's not simply a jolly remembrance of another vacation, there's so much more...

oh church of God, where is thy heart?

"But Jesus called them to him and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so amony you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'" Matthew 20:25-28

"Yet today's Christian culture seems intoxicateed with power and glory. We see this in the church growth movement, in the fascination with celebrities who become Christians, in marches on Washington, and the pride of influence in the halls of government. We see it in the over-done religious musicals that often pass for church services, and in the mass crusades during which hundreds come forward but few become disciples.

We 'celebrate' our way into God's presence, climbing a sentimental ladder, singing songs that replace Christ and his cross with me and my desire to see God's face, to experience his power, to see his glory, to feel his touch. Meanwhile, despite all the pomp and show, secularism continues its steady march uninterrupted as the noise from the theology of glory drowns out any dissent that might be heard coming from the ranks of the faithful.

Being united to Christ sounds like wonderful news at first. We hear inspiring testimonies about how much happier and more fulfilled people were after they 'found Christ.' But we seldom hear, and often forget the far-reaching ramifications of this identification. Not only are we identified with his victory, but are also destined to share in the 'fellowship of his suffering.'"

Where oh Lord is my heart, where oh Lord are our hearts, where oh Lord is thy heart, bring us back to you...