Scattered Thoughts!

For this Weeks Scattered thoughts: Fishing

My wife and I recently went to Hawaii to visit family for about 5 days. It was a great 5 days. But for one of those days my uncle, his brother and I went out deep sea fishing on their boat. I had gone out the last time with them and had an amazing time. This time I couldn’t wait to get out there.

We cruised out about 2 or 3 miles. As we got out to the buoy we just did some standard fishing (nothing deep). It was calming to be out on the sea and I could tell that my uncle was in his favorite place. And then I started thinking.

What does it mean to be a fisherman? As a way of life I can only imagine it to be frustrating (says the guy from California).  Sometimes you don’t catch anything, sometimes you get a few fish, but every so often you get the big catch. 

So for the first couple of hours we just cruised around the buoy talking about family and traveling. And then it dawned on me. I wonder what these guys would think if they had heard Jesus say to them “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. I sat with that for a while as I stared off into the vastness of the ocean. Then I thought, wait a second what does that mean to me?…

Here’s some thoughts…

1. I feel we need to look constructively at the way we evangelize/witness to people.

- So much of what I have been disgusted with everyone is there ability to memorize but not real thoughts and no heart.  People who haven’t really allowed anything to simmer for a long period of time. I guess Lack of Discipleship?

- Too much of it is forced. I understand the urgency! but I don’t understand the constant bombarding of moral subjugation/oppression. Thats not what Jesus was about.

2. Its not just about telling people about Jesus! Its not just about telling people about Jesus!

- Its about living a life that exemplifies the characteristics of Christ. With all the mess, with all the pain, with all the joy. In its perfect incomplete form. Allowing people to see its not about a set lists of do’s and don’ts but a lifetime (process) of knowning and being known. Whatever that looks like.

3. Its not about pulling people into the church (the physical site location)

- its about teaching people to go out into the world as doctors, lawyers, gas station workers, truck drivers, policemen, CEO’s, stay at home mothers, people who just lost their house and represent Christ. And not even have to tell people the One’s name in which you go. Crazy huh!

 

Still more to come on this post….

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Bands I like!

This Week’s Bands I like: ALbert Hammond Jr.

Some of you may know him from his days with “The Strokes”. Providing a solid rhythm guitar, but his solo stuff is genius.  I picked up his first album, Yours To Keep,  a couple years back and fell in love with it right away. A mix of pop, rock and just all around good music. His second release ”Como te llama?”  is magic. Highly reccommended.

Check him out!

Albert Hammond Jr. – 101

 

Albert Hammond Jr. – Everyone Gets a Star

 

Albert Hammond Jr. – GFC

 

Albert Hammond Jr. – In My Room

Enjoy!

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Monday’s Scattered Thoughts

For this weeks Scattered Thoughts:

In light of thanksgiving, which was full of everything imaginable, I am coming to some new process of thankfulness. I know it sounds cliche but tis the season. Much of what I am have made myself accustomed to is the idea that I am working for something. I have a job, I do that job well (very well in my book), I get paid, so therefore I am thankful.  I should also add, I can pay bills on time somewhat.

What if I had nothing? What if I lost my job today?  (I hate to play the What if game but I’ll indulge just  this once) How would I be thankful?

For me its hard to just simplify my thoughts to think/say, “well I’m alive, thats something to be thankful for” or “I have it better than 95% of the world, so hey you should be thankful”

What a western thought that is? Its too shallow for me (thats how I feel) to simplify my thoughts and what I say in that way.

So where am I going with this?

Well God is pushing me around a bit here. Drawing me to take in my own circumstances, the circumstances of others and where he is wanting to lead…. <<<<<<<< This is what I am thankful for…. I’ve just be debunked. He never fails to produce his redirection…

So… I know he provides for me, I am thankful. I know he leads me, I am thankful. I know that he has made me to be type of person to make the right decision (still a process), I am thankful. Not everything is about me, I am thankful.

My Goal is not to be thankful in everything… I couldn’t do that, not honestly. But I’m learning to be thankful in the change. The change of life, thought, relationship, and most importantly the world that surrounds me.

Still processing this…. much more scattered than I thought..

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Bands I like

It’s back in full effect….

For this week’s Bands I like: Cold War Kids

Classified as Indie Rock, they just flat out rock my socks off! If you get a chance to check these guys out, GO! Check em out:

Cold War Kids: Hang Me Out To Dry

 

Cold War Kids: We Used To Vacation

 

Cold War Kids: Tell Me in the Morning

 

Cold War Kids: Somethings Not Right With Me

 

Enjoy!

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Monday’s Scattered Thoughts!

I know its Wednesday, but I didn’t have time to finish so here we go….

For the better part of the past two months I have been out of it… Out of touch, out of tune, out of my mind. why? Well it hit me yesterday when I realized my weekend was gone/done/over. It wasn’t something that I hadn’t felt before, on the contrary I feel it every Sunday night. It was me reaching a breaking point of sorts. This is what my body said to me that night…. “you go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go, what did you expect?”,”We’re missing something here, and you know what that is”. So my natural reaction is get down on myself, which never solves anything.

So this is what my body was telling me. You’re losing it! The only reason you are out of touch is because you made the decision to walk that way. You don’t make time for things you need to make time for (e.g. Devotional, worship, proper rest, & Solitude/Silence). You are a poor manager of self. UHHHH…. what am I suppose to do with that…..?

So I’m finding my way back…. and its painful!

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I know you hear me but are you listening?

Piggy-backing off of “life together”. Tonight I’ve been simmering with a particular part of the book dealing with the minstry of listening. Its really not anything new to think about, just a helpful to read it out loud, particularly for those “in” ministry. Most people are looking for an ear to listen to them. Funny thing is, and he states this, “they do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are too busy talking where they should be listening“. Tell me its not so Dietrich…. is there anything else you would like to add? Well, “Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and his follies“. So what you are saying is that, our attitude toward our brother is reflective to the relationship with have with our Father/God?

Think about it….. the last conversation you had with someone opening up to you?

The last time God was trying to tell you something?

Get where I’m going with this…. Think about it some more… sit with it/wrestle with it/quit it whatever.

So this is what I’m simmering with…..

Listening is a discipline, its hard! If you are streched thin like I know I can be, you know what I mean when you just don’t feel like you have the capacity for “one more freaking thing”. Its sad really. Not to say I don’t enjoy listening to people, because I do, its one of my favorite things in all the world to just listen to people and their lives. But sometimes…. oh man

For me the problem lies when I feel like I have to be a problem solver. Automatically I can turn into “know it all mode” and begin to guess where people are headed and begin talking over them….. thats a problem! Thats not what people are looking for….

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Life Together

There are a few books that I like to read each year. Books that have a lot in them and that challenge me to look at things differently every time I open them. This morning I breezed through, Life Together by Diedrich Bonhoeffer, once again. I love this book. Yet the more I read this book the more I am challeneged by it. Not as an individual but as a part of a communuity

Much of what the book represents is Community Living, hence “life together”, brotherhood. One of the key features is his emphasis on the Centrality of Chirst, coming together and worshiping in unison. This always causes a pause in my reading….. think about it…. Do we know why we meet each week? Do we know its purpose? and most of all, are we accomplishing that purpose? Some good questions to ask and to answer in a group… For me, corporately speaking, Gifts aren’t being used (my own included), communication is a lost cause, and quality is measured in amount of seats you fill. There is a lot more but those are the ones I reflect on the most.

“will remain sound and healthy only where it does not form itself into a movement, an order, a society, a collegium pietatis, but rather where it understands itself as being a part of the one, holy, catholic, Christian Church. . .”

I love this book for its approach to community. There are a few things that I feel it lacks or over emphasizes way too much but strongly recommended.

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Monday’s Scattered Thoughts

Suprisingly, I’ve made my way back to the blog.

Mondays Scattered thoughts:

I tend to be a person who has conversations with other people in my head. I’m not crazy! or at least I don’t think I am? It usually occurs when I feel resistance or when I see something is wrong. Yesterday I took a little time to sit back and analyze, why the heck am I doing this? I’ve narrowed it down to this.

1. I hate being confrontational

So much of my upbringing was sheltered and dominated. I was the youngest of 3 and boy did I get it, not to mention the only boy, OUCH! On a more serious note, I saw a lot of fighting growing up and paralleled that with things falling apart.

2. I’m too Sensitive

Something I am learning over and over again, is that not everything that happens is because of me nor do I need to make it about me to rationalize my thoughts. I can tend to want to argue for others whom I feel aren’t being taken care of as they should. Call me the fuel to the fire

3. I lack Courage

Some of you that may know me might tend to disagree. I think we all have our moments when we can clearly stand up and be firm about something. But I think courage can be those times when we just let it go.

 

I’m still expanding, still growing, still falling down, still conversing in my head. But its gettin better. Always!

Enjoy

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