My phone, my life, and my culture.

I live in a college town and attend a university filled with college students. That said, the device created by Motorola in the 1970s that quickly went global in the early 1990s is ingrained in the culture all around me. It is a handy device that I use daily to keep my life going at a quick non-stop pace at every hour of everyday. I am a part of the cell phone generation.
It is a machine that is used for good and evil. It helps you connect with people, but not those around you. It helps you create moments in the future, but never be fully apart of one. I'm not the first to speak against the excessive use of the mobile phone but this past week I've felt a growing sickness within me by seeing its extremity.
The presence of a phone in everyone's hands at all times is destroying the human ability to interact with people face to face with other people and moment to moment with the world around them. My roommate recently said: "Eye contact is a lost art."

This past weekend I went to a Switchfoot concert and afterward Jon Foreman played a few songs for an after show. Now there are over a hundred videos of him playing songs during after shows on Youtube already, but still we see this. This is the only picture I took (yes, with my phone) out of a disgust for what I was seeing. It looks like a politician and the press, not a musician and a group of fans.
Why are we so addicted to documentation of moments and not living them for ourselves? Why do we just let them slip by without living them out? My favorite is the guy way in the back filming like his video will actually be worth watching later. It hurts me inside because we miss out so much on moments and with people when we really just care about what other people somewhere else may think about what we're doing, where we are, and what they think of us. Like there's a global audience you have to appeal to. Or maybe it's that we desire people to care about what we're putting out there and want them to approve of everything, this deep set desire to be a celebrity of your own life.
Often times I feel like, generally, people are always afraid of missing out, so we check our phones. What's happening next? Something I had to learn a long time ago was this: "No matter where you are, you're missing out on something." And that's a good thing, because people not with you are missing out on whatever you're doing too! But I may add another line: "If you're discontent with where you are, you're missing out altogether."
We are so wrapped up with these ideas that we always need to be on the go! Life is always so busy because we can make it full of all the things all the time! We never take a moment to sit and just be. If we ever are just sitting, it's because we're waiting for the next thing. The bus to stop, class to start, someone to show up. And where are we? On the phone. Instagram, twitter, you name it.

What makes me sick the most is how much of it I see in myself. My phone and I are attached at the hip. I know it better than I know a lot of the people I interact with daily. My constant companion. If I don't feel its weight in my pocket I feel off balance and out of nature. This frightens me. What have I done? Today I walked out on the excuse for a front porch (which is tiny, front porches have been done away with too because no one interacts in a neighborhood anymore) without my phone as the sun was setting and I felt like I was breathing for the first time all day. I need to settle down, quit caring so much about what's going on "out there" and look around at what's right here. There's a beauty to the unseen, a quality in secrecy and unknown of an unadulterated moment of undocumented, un-broadcasted, focused moment of simplicity. No matter where you are you're missing out on something. Be where you are, you wont miss out on what matters.

Here's a video that puts it better than I ever could.

Breakaway and the Broken

Breakaway Ministries is an on-campus organization at Texas A&M University that meets every Tuesday night to worship God and study the Bible. Over the years it has grown in popularity and size among the student body.
I am a huge fan of Breakaway, I'm actually wearing a Breakaway shirt right now. I would attend before I was even in college. It is an amazing ministry and I know it has changed the world for Christ in more ways than anyone may ever know.

I see this photo of thousands of students at my school campus studying the Bible and worshiping God and all I can think is "go!" Go out there to those who have no idea what love looks like. Go and let them know there is hope for the hurting soul! Imagine the impact of each of these lives photographed if they each told one person about Christ? Imagine if they took they time to get to know one person that didn't know Him and walked along side Him. It's beautiful to gather together in praise but what is it for if you don't go out in work? Instead of a show, let there be a flood of righteousness and evangelism. How hard can it be?
Texas A&M, you have been blessed. Lets go bless the world. We have enjoyed the comforts of a nurturing Christian bubble and now it's time to shine. We are called to go. Lets change the world.

Live a little.

3) If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

I think a lot of it goes back to the last question. We are afraid of stepping out and failing. We do what is expected of us and not what we really want in fear of rejection. We like a lot of things but say “in another life I would...” when really it’s feasible in your own life.

I like the show Once Upon A Time a lot but one thing that bothers me the most is that everyone has this understanding that there’s nothing they can do to change their own lives and they have to get magic to do it for them and is sucks every time. Thankfully life isn’t actually like that. You can actually be yourself and oddly enough, people like it when you’re yourself. Go give it a shot! Life is short.

With the life I have left, I’m going to do what I enjoy. I am going to know people, love them, I’m going to learn, even when it’s hard and I’m going to travel, see what I can before I can’t move anymore. And after that? That’s when the real living starts.

Safe or Significant

2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?

Hopefully we can all agree on this one, but I may be wrong. D.L. Moody once said:

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter.” I couldn't have said it better myself. See it's easy to play it safe and never fail at anything, but then you've never really lived have you? "To live would be an awfully big adventure" are some of the closing lines of one of my favorite films, Hook. To live is to make mistakes, fail, recover, succeed perhaps, but that's not guaranteed.

And who's to say failure is a bad thing? It's really where we grow. That's the nature of this world. If you work out, your muscles are torn down so they develop into strength. So it is by failure that we grow to be better than before. I think of Edison: "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." It is by perseverance that we have significant lives. Think of Frodo and the One Ring compared to the rest of the hobbits of Hobbiton, he is the Hobbit that Elves in great halls would sing of for generations. He lived a dangerous life and because he never gave up he was significant. Significant lives are never safe, but safe lives are never significant. Don't trade what is possible for what is comfortable.

Now some things may simply be failure for some. William Wallace did die, but his bravery liberated Scotland. Realistically speaking, it was because Wallace was not afraid to die that his memory and historical impact will never die. He could have stayed in his village and lived a safe life, but he knew and understood what was possible.

I think of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and their fellow missionaries in Ecuador. Did they fail? Well, they were killed by the people they came to save. Doesn't sound like a winning situation. Nevertheless, because of the risk they took in going, knowing the dangers, thousands of people have heard the truth of Jesus Christ. That is a huge win for something that really matters.

Always be willing to fail, because "to live would be an awfully big adventure".

50 Questions and Age

I've been challenged by one of my very best friends to complete a challenge. I am going to post every day for the next fifty days and answer one question in each. Simple enough. This was inspired by another blog and if you want to see all the question you can go check it out.
So here's question number one!

1. How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

As I started this blog post, Pandora thought it would be appropriate to play Blink 182's "What's My Age Again?" Good on ya Pandora.

Whenever people ask me how old I am I normally ask them to guess. The average age offered is 25. Maybe they're just trying to flatter me though....

This question sort of makes me laugh because for the past few years I can count three different groups of friends that have referred to me as an old man. One of these groups is actually in a separate country. When I was a sophomore in high school one girl said I was an old man even then. Don't ask me, ask them. It might be my diction.

I am 20 years old, as far as I know, but I have always been something of an "old soul". I like to think I have enough experience and exposer for an old man in some areas. I also like to stay home in my robe and read a book while drinking tea and smoking a pipe instead of going out dancing.

I think if I could choose how old I was right now without losing the days between I would be 23. Seems a young, able, mature, respectable age. Like you might have your life together a bit more. Nevertheless, we know how all those 13 going on 30 situations worked out so I'm not wishing on my lucky stars.

Summery Summary: SpeakOut

I'm not the first to say this, but the greatest conclusion you ever come to is that of your personal perception of the person of Jesus Christ. Lately, within the past few months, I have been brought back to the importance of the gospel. How important is it? More than anything. This is mind, why don't we share it?
This summer I went back to Slovakia, the country I consider to be my home. I have a lot to say about it, more than I can manage in one blog post, so here's a quick summary. I wrote a news letter for people who were aware of the trip and I wanted to share it with you.

Hello friends!

     I am back in the US of A! Flights, trains, speaking Slovak, and the use of passports are all over for the time being. I've seen old friends, I've made new ones. I've laughed, cried, and made many many memories this summer in Slovakia. Now, I am currently sitting in my favorite coffee shop and thinking back on it all.

     God has worked in beautiful ways this summer! Yes, He has worked through me: I led worship for the team and led tutor groups of unbelieving campers. But more than that, I have seen Him work in and through others in ways that blow my mind still. Others led me to see just how much God cares for Slovakia.

     There was a group of twelve Slovak volunteers that had formerly been a handful of the campers in years past. This year they stepped up in maturity to invest in the ministry just as much as the rest of us. I have never been more encouraged in my life as when I saw the love for the Lord these young believers have. It was an honor to work with young Slovaks that cared about making an eternal impact. We were all there to fill a role in sharing the gospel to nonbelievers— to the campers. 

     Some of the most amazing moments I had this summer were in modest situations much like the one I am in now, sitting, drinking coffee, and talking about Jesus. I had six Slovak high schoolers as my personal campers this summer. Four of these young men, from the day I met them, rejected God as either real or relevant. All of them are wonderfully kind but unwilling to accept Christ. Over the course of the week, between frisbee, swimming, and card games, I would share the Gospel as we drank coffee or Kofola, every Slovak's favorite soda. Many of them had no basic understanding of the gospel to begin with. Over the week, step by step, they came to understand what I believed and who Christ is.

     One guy in particular comes to mind: Jozef (or Joseph, in English). He is a 17 year old atheist from Košice, Slovakia. He had never understood the gospel of Jesus Christ before coming to SpeakOut. On the last day, after a week of exposure, we sat at a café drinking espresso and talked about what was holding him back from accepting. I could see the cogs turning in his head and with so much understanding he said he just needed more time. I couldn't ask anymore of him. I had seen him go from just living life for the fun of it to understanding how significant this decision was.

     I wanted to write and thank you for your prayer and support throughout this summer! You have no idea of the extent of your partnership's impact on this summer in Slovakia—only God knows— and I can't thank you enough for all your faithfulness.

     Please continue in prayer for these Slovaks. Pray that while they are in school this semester being followed up by SpeakOut staff that they would come to know Christ and grow in Him. Some, like Jozef, are so close! Also, pray in thankfulness for the 40 who did receive Jesus this summer, and that they would continue in faithfulness.

     The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!

Passport and identity.

Call me "expatriate",
Third culture kid is the term,
Little did I know it would put my personality in a third world state,
A foreign native
I'm a living, breathing paradox,
Born on Texas soil,
Raised to sing of the maroon and white
And I will, proud as any.
Ale každý deň stále necítim American,
And for those of you unfamiliar with slavic dialects:
It means I don't fit in.
See, I am an expatriate,
A person who lives outside their native country,
But now I'm confused,
Where am I an expatriate?
It's the stamps in my passport that define me,
More than the seal on the cover
Or the name and number in the front.

I've wondered this earth,
I've climbed Tratra mountains,
Breathed the wind of endless savannah plains,
Tasted the saltiest oceans, cried at the sight of the clearest nights
I knew travel before I knew words,
I realized I'm the smallest unit of the most complex masterpiece
God has blessed this diverse universe with
People, places, sights and smells
One can never define in thousand pages,

Red dirt, red sunsets of a hundred horizons
is just as much a part of me as the blood in my veins,
Oh call me "expatriate",
"Alien" will do,
To where? Anywhere. Everywhere!
I'm at home in the world as much as I'm not,
I belong beyond the clear dark sky,
Sure I've got numbers that a make me a country's,
But man existed before border and boundaries,
My ID is not my idea of an identity,
You'll find me where I have tobacco to smoke,
At last I will identify with the the old German baroque:
"On land, on sea, at home, abroad, I puff my pipe and think of God." 

Thanksgiving, Gaza, and Black Friday.

Here in America, it's time for thanksgiving. In an hour I get out of this class and am free for the break. Something I'm thankful for, to say the least. It's been a busy semester. Nevertheless, my heart turns when I look at the news. War rages in the Middle East, people are dying. It hurts knowing I'm here and safe, able to eat big meals and chill when there's so much wrong elsewhere. And I don't say this to make everyone feel badly about enjoying the blessings they have—that's the whole point of thanksgiving!—but I do have a heavy hear this holiday season for those in the land where it was once said: "Peace on earth, good will toward men."
We should be thankful for all that we have, for all we have been given. But I want everyone who reads this (myself included) to be sure to give a healthy amount of time in prayer for the unrest of the situation overseas, because it is serious and that's easy to forget. God is good, He knows best and His plan will perfectly be portrayed in history and now.
One gauntlet I have been meaning to throw down on this blog for a few years has been on the topic of Black Friday. This day is the thanksgiving of the Devil himself. I bet he and his goons take the day off in the US and let our flesh take clubs on each other as we raid stores and literally trample people to death annually to get something cheaper now. Not that gross economic consumption in itself is wrong, it just breeds so much envy, strife, violence and just plain evil. Again, think about the war in the Middle East, the hunger in Africa, the unreached everywhere, and the call to be like Christ I grind my teeth at a day like Black Friday.

Knowing God and Valuing The Eternal

I'm getting choked up just thinking about it. Life is just overwhelmingly glorious today.

Mondays are exciting days for me this semester. The weekend is over, we're getting back into the groove of the week and my first class isn't until 10:35. We aren't expected to be there until 10:45 because it's ice skating and the instructor is super chill. Because it's ice skating. I love it.
Because of this I take my Monday mornings as good extended time with the Lord. Last Monday I went in the backyard to read and I left music playing on my computer on the dining table. I went to class and came home an hour later to find my computer missing. After some investigating I realized it was stolen right out of my house.
By no means was this expected or good. It was violating, a shock, and a stark exposure to the twisted nature of the world. Nevertheless, from the moment I realized until now, it's okay. Yes, I lost a lot of information and important things I had on a very expensive device, but it's okay. God gave me the desire that morning to be challenged and I asked him for a challenge. I didn't expect it to come that same morning but that's the way he works. Since losing my computer I have started being a joyful giver because I realized even computers are here one moment and gone another. Things don't matter in the end.
I got a glimpse of God's nature that morning when I was on the phone with my sister and realized my computer was no longer in my house. I froze, smiled, and asked her about her life. That's only by God's power and his movement in my life.

My encouragement to you is to know God. Pray, take time to get to know him daily. And second: give things away. I really can't express how rewarding giving is.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-22

Pinterest, its fueling and fanning of the female fanish flame.

So I definitely just had to search how to spell that word.

My good friend recently posted a status on facebook: "Pinterest's main message seems to be "It's okay to be fat, but you should also have six-pack abs, and here's a million pictures of cake." Now, I don't know a lot about pinterest, admittedly, but I have some experience in culture. The inconsistency of it all is stark. Pinterest is a place on the internet where girls go to feed their most girlish desires. I'm serious. I'm not getting on there right now because I'm at Mugwalls and everyone walking by would see me on there and that's not happening. I'm sure if I got on I would see exactly what every girl wants most. You have the marriage albums, the food albums, the good looking men albums and so on. The girls want to be accepting of who they are and so their cool with flaws. At the same time there's a desire for flawlessness because the world will be the world and have its way. And though there's nothing wrong with flawlessness, it is what we're called to, it isn't physically achievable.

Beyond that, Pinterest feeds a mighty fire of fanhood. Pinterest is a brand new machine that runs the factory of obsession. I was thinking today about the coming and going fads. Highschool Musical, The Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber, The Lord of The Rings, Hannah Montana, Twilight, Inheritance Cycle, The Hunger Games, and Webkinz (That's right, I went there.) just to name a few. They come and they go, and now Pinterest is a means of that. I saw lately. Is this wrong? No, nothing is really wrong in and of its self, but there's a lot of potential for evil. I recently saw on facebook a picture of some girl's album filled with pictures of Josh Hutcherson, who played Peeta Mellark in the recent Hunger Games movie. It was titled "My Future Husband." I can't help but shiver at the thought of it. Clearly this is too much. Even if she doesn't really think she's going to marry him, she is pouring her thoughts, emotions and time into obsessing over him. He's something that's going to be old news before we know it. (unless he gets a lot better at acting soon.) How much time is Pinterest taking away from what really matters? And worse, how is it affecting the minds of those on it? Take me seriously now, I know I'm starting to sound like an old conservative geezer.

My point is, Pinerest brought to mind the temporariness of so much that we invest in. So much of what we talk/think/complain/worry about does not matter. Often times it's hurtful. At one point in the gospels, Jesus calls Peter "Satan" for thinking about earthly things over heavenly things, it's a big deal. So I suggest if you read this far, think about what you worry about and spend your time doing, because that's what matters to you. Simple as that.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

Jesus

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Valuing the Physical while knowing a Spiritual Creator

Over spring break I lost my bible. I'm pretty sure the day of presentation written in there by my parents is June 30th 2003. It's not just any bible, I've spent my most significant years of my spiritual growth reading that copy of the Word. I admit as much as the other bibles I have are just as much God's Word it has been a struggle to get as much out of time in them. Hopefully I will find my old NKJ somewhere someday but I bought an ESV yesterday that I've really enjoyed so far. (Nonetheless, if anyone happens upon a blue bible that's falling apart in either Galveston, B/CS, Frontier Camp or anywhere in between please let me know!)

I bring this up because of a few reasons. Ben Stuart of Breakaway Ministries last night had a tangent about the physical. He mentioned how as the church we have a tendency to over spiritualize Christianity. We forget that God made the world and all the physical existence and that it is good. So when we do this I feel like, for me personally, I start to phase out the value of physical ability, appearance, and behavior. These things matter (hah, get it? They matter because they... yeah forget it.) and we shouldn't detach them from how we live spiritually. We, as humanity, are the coming together of both the spiritual and the physical. When we were made in God's image we were given souls, we are the grand finale of the Conductor's great symphony of creation of the physical realem. We can't suppose that our lives aren't directly linked the the physical world around us. We are emotionally and spiritually affected by the physical. The position that you pray in doesn't matter as far as being acceptable but it being on your knees means something. I don't have to have a bible similar to my old one, the way it's tall and thin, but the new one is familiar and comfortable to handle and read. Also it's green, and has a cool cross design on the cover.
We can't write off ritual or tradition as weird symbolism of olden days. We take the bread and the wine, we eat and drink in remembrance of a physical death. One goes on his knee to propose to a girl to form a relational bond. We are baptized into water as a testimony of faith in the unseen. We cry when we're sad. There is a clear physical connections to the relational/spiritual/emotional aspects of life.

I don't know if there's a word for it yet, but I am the sort that views everything as significant or potentially significant. As a significantist, I have a good memory... I can also be sappy at times. All this to say, I don't think it's wrong to value the physical. There are little things in this world that mean something to me. From a hat to a train ticket, and I know I'm not alone in this. God knows this and blesses us by it. He gets us, I don't think we realize that enough. Of course we know that all will be burned away someday and we are only left with God and us so we need a good balance, which is almost always the case. God created a world full of opposites, most of them can oppose or complement each other. For example: the present case of physical and spiritual but also male and female, night and day, work and relaxation, sleep and wakefulness, talk and silence, truth and grace in their own way and etc. These are all good things (note that some opposites are not) but too much of/emphasis on one over another would be wrong. So much of life is a balancing act of our prospective and my prayer is that ours as individuals and as a church will be godly. For we walk by faith and not by sight.

1. Afterlife

(This post was first started last last year.)

One day I walked out on my front porch to see that there was a package waiting for me. Inside was Vice Verses, Switchfoot's latest album. That was September 26th. Since then my buddy Nate and I have covered a lot of miles listening to this album and I've sung my lungs out. This is a powerful, beautiful and straight up solid record.

I have decided to write on each of the tracks in this album. Each is very different and powerful in its own way. Here we go.

Afterlife
This is the start of something big. This album is something of a story of a life how it should be lived. A memoir for the human soul. It's powerful and vulnerable. Musically it starts the album off on a good foot and really gets you into it. There's a darkness that carries through the whole record, a soberness, an awareness of the bitterness of life. We're not just making sound here, this is for real.
This song is about living your life. We are made to live to the fullest and live now. We can't go talking like we're going to mess around now and get serious when we get to heaven. When we are saved by Christ, when the Holy Spirit comes into us eternal life begins right then and there. We are given a Power like no other and we are supposed to use it! "I've tasted fire, I'm ready to come alive." This should be us everyday.
See in the church it's always been this way. I'm not going to trash the modern church, Paul wrote to messed up churches and Jesus even visited John in a dream to rat on churches so it's not just us. Anyway, we need to keep the eternal perspective in mind and heart. That we have hope of what's to come, yes, but also that we remember that the Lord of all creation is indwelling and present every moment of our lives. We walk with a Holy Fire and power. Show the world! And that means pray more often then you might think. Take everyday as the beginning of forever. We live in a dying world, we are called to make a difference and we have no excuse to do otherwise.

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

-John 17:3

How we all see the same thing.

Some people see me and say: "Americký"

I often get called a "Slovakian"

but those don't even exist.

They're Slovaks, and not even the Czech sort.

In the north,

I'm a southerner.

In the deep south,

My pawpaw calls me a yankee.

I have been called a false teacher,

Overly spiritual,

A heathen.

I've been seen as rich,

I've been seen as poor.

Called humble, called arrogant.

Who's right? I can't say I agree with any of this,

At least not with all my heart,

Not fully.

Oh to be in a world where I belong!

There's a God who calls me His son,

I am pretty okay with that.

The Fridge of Social Networking

So one night I was laying in bed wondering about life, love, and why when I happened upon a thought.

Facebook, is pretty much the refrigerator of the internet. So often I find myself standing in front of the fridge just staring at what's inside. I don't know how I got there or what I'm doing there or what I'll do next. Then I close it and look around until I open the fridge again. This continues for about the rest of my life.

Here's the thing with Facebook. It's like everything else in the world, it is a neutral tool that can be used for whatever the user wants. A lot of good things happen on Facebook as well as really really bad things. I'm still there now, after a lot of debate, just like I still have a refrigerator.

Rethinking

I suppose I sort of have a reputation of thinking. This is funny because that really doesn't mean much besides getting really distracted when spotting for someone bench pressing while thinking about the purpose of working out. Thinking is a dangerous business.
Just because I think I feel like I form differing opinions than most people I know. It was thinkers that started revolutions.
Now just because I think doesn't mean I'm wise. I waste time thinking over acting and can get pretty honestly depressed if I let myself think about some things too much. I do a lot of dwelling. Wisdom is applied understanding.

I have been rethinking a lot lately and it's sort of scary. I have been pretty set on my major for a while and I'm really starting to think about changing it. I need to apply to Texas A&M soon as possible but I don't even know if I'm sure what college to apply to, I actually admit I don't. Nothing I want to chose makes sense to most other people but then, the foolishness of God doesn't make sense to most. That might be a bad example....
I was thinking I may want to major in English, maybe Creative Writing. Minor in Geography. Haha, what a weirdo.
Also, I was thinking about taking a gap year, do things I love and spend time in places and with people I love. Make some money. I'm getting tired of reporting to an authority that doesn't really care about me. I long for freedom that's really only been half-gained now that I'm out of the house.

Meh, ranting. I have been writing a lot anyway, and reading for that matter, it's been nice. I want to create art more than I think I ever have. Spring break hopefully I'll take the time to really be proactive.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is.

Hopefully it isn't big headed of me or insensitive to say I get used to it. I get used to new countries and I am no stranger to seeing people not as well off as I am. Haiti was a new experience for me, but new is something I know very well. Having been to so many countries and (three of them third-world countries) before coming to Haiti I wasn't phased by the lack of things and the amount of poverty. The most amazing part of it was how easy it is to get there, honestly.

Something I never want to get used to, and what I love most about my trip to Haiti was the hope of the Lord. Truly without the Lord there would be no motivation, I feel that's obvious. I see a hope in these people that I have not seen in the wealthy and I believe with all my heart these people are better off than I am. Jesus actually meant something when He said that it was harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom than for a camel to fit through the eye of the needle and He actually meant it when He said the poor shall inherit the earth. When we get to Heaven it will be so different from this earth because the worshipers who had nothing but the Lord and rejoiced shall be the ones running the show.
Going to church and singing with the believers and singing at camp I witnessed once again the truth that this world is nothing compared to the glory of the Lord. In Romans 8, Paul writes saying that "the sufferings of this present day are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us." I have always thought this meant when we come in our glorified bodies. I actually still think that's what he meant. However, I believe that there is much glory being revealed by the Holy Spirit through us now. When we smile in the midst of calamity knowing God is in control, when we say "Even so, blessed be Your name." and when acknowledge the victory of Light over dark we reveal the glory of God. Who does this more than the afflicted church? Truly they are the greatest of us all. It's easy to lean back in a lawn chair with your Shiner held high and sigh "God is good." But I want you to know death, mud and the uncertainty of food tomorrow as well as the Haitians and tell me the same.

I was in Haiti for ten days, it was actually more like nine but that's technical. In that time I met a lot of people and a lot of young people who couldn't be in a better place for them spiritually. Jacob's Well is the most exciting place I have been and I've been everywhere, man. There is something happening there that I know the Lord has His hand in. Nothing can be more exciting than that.

Please keep the people of Limbé in your prayers and the missionaries that are there full time and the ones in and out. 

Separation: A reflection on a memory

October 18th 2011

It's that awful feeling deep in your stomach,

The pain at the sight of the beauty of morning,

The sun is rising, rushing the stars away and you are forced to let go.

To let go of all that is falling behind you,

On the highway being eaten up ahead of you by time,

Can't look back.

Goodbye.

The air is cold and fresh in your nose like the tears on your cheek,

The knowledge that it is over and no one else will mourn,

The history books will be ignorant and no archeologist will find this treasure.

Moving, dividing, separating.

If time and God heal all wounds, there's a reason Heaven lasts forever.

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
1 Chronicles 16:34


Often I see thanks giving connected to God's lovingkindness or His goodness. Like in 1 Chronicles but again I see it five times in Psalm 107: "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!"
So seeing as it was just Thanksgiving I figured it was about time I start publicly giving thanks because "I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations." -Psalm 57:9


I work well with lists sometimes.


Hot Water-
I'm thankful for this for many reasons.
 -First, not many people actually get water to endlessly pour over their heads, even fewer get to pick the sort of temperature they want it to be.
 -Second, back in Slovakia I could make breakfast while waiting for the water to heat up and sometimes I would wait through Christmas and New years before realizing that the heater was out of hot water. (Slight exaggeration may have been applied.) Suffice to say, I liked stepping into my hot shower this morning.


School
-As tiring and annoying as it can be, I'm so thankful for being at Blinn and being a lantern for the Lord on that campus.
-Education is fun.
-Professors are funny.


Winning Tickets to the final Lone Star Showdown
-Even if we did lose, it was awesome to be there and the fact that I won sweeps steaks to get there was crazy.
-Being able to take MaryGrace, my sister.


Food
-Sometimes less common than you may realize.
-Sometimes more delicious than you'd expect.
-Thanksgiving meal.


Music
-I feel like if all music stopped the world would simply just stop turning.
-$100 iTunes gift card from Apple. = well over 100 songs and 6 hours of music gained in one night.
-A close second to the Holy Spirit for connecting people.


A Car
-Even when it's totaled it gets me around. Here's to Harvey Dent!
-Complete coverage from State Farm. What a good neighbor.


The Word
-Even though I haven't been in it enough this semester at all, it's my passion and motivation.


Family
-Always loving, always forgiving. This is not a common happening and I praise God for that.


Friends
-I'm always surprised at my friends for how accepting and interested in me they are.
-Randomly going to Galveston with Nate to hanging out with the Veronies at the beach. I don't think any really realized how much good that did my soul. I loved it.


The Rain
-I woke up this morning to the sound of the rain. After this summer of praying for rain and still now for the sake of camp next summer, it was a great song of praise on my rooftop.


The Coming of Our Lord in Glory
-What keeps me going.
-Come, Lord Jesus, Come.


Merlin
-Because a new episode is coming out today and that's way exciting!

Romans 15 and Haiti

Romans 15:19-20

"And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, 

lest I should build on another man’s foundation, but as it is written: 

      “ To whom He was not announced, they shall see;

      And those who have not heard shall understand.”

On January 3rd I am going to Haiti with a Hand full of friends to minister to the Haitian people through a kids' camp. I have never been to Haiti before and know a very small something about it. I do know the heart of God though and I look forward to this trip with much seriousness, expectation and joy. This is a moment for God to shine and my hope is simply to be a lantern of the Light and be a tool of glory for my Lord Jesus Christ's name sake.
We're going into a culture that wasn't raised on Veggie Tales, "In God We Trust" or in towns with multiple churches on the same street. We're not going into a world we can relate to. We're going into a world where the name of the creator of the world, the name of Jesus has no previous connotations. This has been a calling to me, if not of the Lord of my own heart. I desire so much to share the Truth of Jesus Christ with those who have never known how much they need Him. There is nothing more than this.