Fall Break

Ouuuweee. Talk about one fun weekend, two in a row...that's pretty sweet. Friday I drove to the rents house in Bburg at around 1230 getting there at around 5 with my Eldest sister coming in an hour later and my other sister meeting us at my brother's football game. He's in the marching band so we all went to cheer him on and not necessarily care about the game although some very nice plays were made by Blacksburg. When I say cheer, I mean screaming and yelling to the point of embarrassing total strangers that are around us and especially embarrassing my mom. hahaahha, yeah when the band marches on the field Kelly, Kasey, and I yell and scream our hardest with my dad whistling really loudly. We usually get Jon to smile or roll his eyes but it's awesome to be supportive in such a small way. We did it at his band festival on saturday as well but we caused him to mess up and he didn't turn around on the right beat so hahahah that was funny.
It's funny how this weekend came to be with me promising my brother that I would come home to play Halo 3 with him and then Kasey saying she was coming that weekend and us two convincing Kelly to come that weekend as well. Funny how Halo 3 got a family reunion going. Yeah, it's sad that I would drive 4 and a half hours just to play a video game but it's not just playing a video game but spending time with the little brother which doesn't happen that often. Plus hanging with the family is always, always freaking awesome. It's why I hold family and terms like brother and sister seriously.
I did not get to finish beating halo with Jonathan which sucks cuz that was the original reason I went there with us staying up til around 3 or 4 with me getting up at 7 to leave Bburg by 8 to get to work on time by 2. I hate having to impede family time with such a lame job like phone calling which does nothing beneficial, well kind of. But glad I got to go cuz I won't be going home for Fall Break due to alas! work. Got some much needed supplies like my water bottle, clothes, dvd player and posters so my room can doesn't look like a rapist's room anymore, who some people have mentioned that it does. These posters and a Jesus name one should take care of that problem.....hahaha.
I think the next thing I want to learn about are car parts. Whilst washing my car this weekend I was talking to my dad about taking care of my car which really motivated me to learn about how it works. Really like talking to my dad about stuff. Hope life is sweller than ever and I'm off to eat some dinnaaaaaaaa.

Retreat, Church, Family

I know have Freaking internet!!!! I've been wanting to write this blog since Sunday evening but was unable to because I did not have any internet at all; none, zip zero, couldn't even borrow it but now we do and it's awesome. No more half hoping for internet today.
The retreat was this past weekend which was awesome. This retreat and the retreat at Camp Rudolph last year are, by far, my favorite retreats. It was weird seeing the change from being a new person last year at the retreat, not knowing anyone and then being a leader at this year's retreat making sure that everyone felt known. I try to make sure that people feel that they belong because feeling new or feeling like you don't belong can feel a bit daunting and down. But man, it was a great retreat with tons of awesome times from eating with different people during meal times, to Frisbee, to volleyball, to the Saturday night worship, and bonfire...etc. It has been a real long time I've had something like that and it was good to be in that atmosphere again since I never go to Crash now due to work. The most memorable of happenings was Saturday night where we had a great time for reflection and worship with Katie and Jason singing worship songs with the C-team, Shane, Dawn, Jeremy(the intern), and Jeremy(friend of Shane's and Dawn's from Church) were in the back of the building where people could come back there and talk to them and pray with them which I thought was an awesome idea and loved it. So people dispensed to where they felt called and I was sitting in the row just thinking about stuff and saw my good friend Curby sitting in a row by herself thinking as well.
I had invited Curby to go on the retreat and eventually "convinced" her but I think it was more of the Holy Spirit leading her, anyways, she's not a Christian and came to the retreat. What was even more amazing to me was that she was in my small group for the weekend which was just God written all over it. So she's sitting there that Saturday night and me, being compelled or lead by the Holy Spirit went beside her to pray for her. I've never done that with any of my non Christian friends and it was just really really amazing and spirit filled. So intense in fact I almost cried when I began to pray for her but i was like, " pull it together, she needs you to be strong...." but anyways, that was really intense and cool that I was apart of that, that God let me be apart of that. So the prayer ended and she was crying and I gave her a hug and made her laugh alittle, you know it's good to laugh after such intense spiritual moments ;) After that I went to the back to talk to Shane, again feeling compelled to. That was really cool; we talked about what just happened with me and Curby, how awesome that is, and how the Holy Spirit was definitely in that room tonight and when I was talking about this I look over and I see tears in his eyes (sorry Shane if this embarrasses you but it was such an awesome moment for me to be in and I just wanted to share it :) which caused me to just let go and tears came streaming down and there we were, two adults joyfully crying about God and His work. It was one of the most memorable moments in my life so far, and when I look back at it I just can't get over how awesome God is and how He works, constantly working, constantly moving, constantly loving. Just being apart of God's work is just incredible and unbelievable even if it's such intense spirit filled nights such as that one or just being involved in church or missions or being a friend to someone that needs a friend; it's awesome and we both agreed that night that we want to spend the rest of our lives doing that.
Anyways, it was freaking AWESOME! Just like last year's retreat, but both were completely different awesomeness and growth; kind of weird looking back on that. In other news, Katie and I are really trying to be involved in the church we have been going to, Liberty Baptist Church. We went to their huge festival or carnival on Sunday which was awesome that they had it and the idea is great but since we were new to the church and didn't really know anyone except like one person we felt like we were on the outside. Katie put it nicely, "It's like one big family reunion" with me adding, "But we're not in the family" So it was kind of a let down but it's a good thing to feel new again that way we can try and make sure that no one feels unwelcome or what not. But this one church member, while we were touring Kidville which is basically the children's Sunday school wing of the church that looks like Dr. Suess amusement park, a lady over heard me kidding about teaching Sunday school and one thing lead to another and she hooked us up with the coordinator of the whole thing or something and now we just finished our applications to be involved in the church. Interesting, how God works. Hopefully this time next year we won't feel as new like at Camp Rudolph how I was new last year and a year later made sure that people were known this year. The lady at the church, I think her name is Sarah Mullins or something, but she was very interested in us and interested in us helping which felt really cool, very nice lady hopefully see her again or something. But man, very great weekend overall, being in the top 10 of weekends in my life by far.
I never really took this phrase seriously but I'm really excited to how God is going to use me, Katie, Curby, and Intervarsity overall. That's a nice thought to have.

Wine, Cocktails, Shots and Beer

This is something that has also been on my mind even though it has relatively nothing to do with theology. A good break and those who have been reading you've probably guessed that there has been a lot on my mind. Thanks again for reading it and also for saying that you look forward to reading this kind of stuff. Makes a guy feel loved when people take interest in what you're thinking.

Just want to clarify that this blog isn't about bashing people who drink or whatever, I don't do that.....or at least I do it to your face :) haahha, just kidding. But this has been a very controversial topic among some churches and Christians alike. I know in my family we are divided on this issue. So it has been on my mind since this the summer and especially now at college where drinking is one of the few things to do around here. But first confessions, I did drink alcohol illegally in this country once and then drank in Germany when I went there through the exchange program; never got drunk but not saying that as an excuse or to soften up what I did. My views on it now are quite different then my views in high school. Well, Biblically there is nothing that says "You should not drink alcohol" although the Bible does warn us about drunkness and to not participate it. There are several reasons why I choose not to drink which I won't mind sharing with you in person but for now, I want to get you thinking about this. Because you have Christians saying that it is a sin and no one should participate in it and then you have Christians using the excuse that Jesus drank and so can I or some just find no problem with it. For the first group, I would like them to point out where in the Bible it says that drinking is a sin. I know where it says that drunkness is a sin but the act of drinking; not so sure about and that's where the controversy comes in. Do I judge those who have different opinions than I do? No, I try not too. How can I when I did the same thing in the past? But I will say what I believe about it and my opinion on this subject which several people take as judging, which is not my intent nor motive, for what gain is there in doing so? And the only time I think when Jesus actually drank something alcoholic was during the last supper which doesn't really count due to the holiness of the event and situation leading to the sacrament of communion. But yeah, drinking. I think it's something that Christians at least think about and what they believe from reading the scriptures. However, I've heard apple martinis are especially tasty and quite delectable.....haha;)

Confirmation

This is just a short follow up blog from yesterday's. I finally finished that Methodist theology literature and confirmation was brought up which I thought I would write down so I could remember it and just to give you ( and me) some light on the Methodist beliefs.

So Baptists believe that baptism is the profession of faith, saying they believe in Christ as their lord and savior who died for their sins and bridges the gap between the sinner and God, etc. etc. etc., so they get baptized when they make this commitment, this choice in their life, whatever.

Methodist do that too but it's called confirmation. It's not joining the church, that's what essentially happens with infant baptism along with God's grace coming into your life at that point, but a profession of faith almost exactly like the baptist baptism. Basically Methodist confirmation = Baptist baptism.

Also something I forgot to emphasize is that Methodists don't believe baptism is required to be Christian nor to live a life of faith but believe that it is the time when God's grace becomes apart of the child's life and well I'll just quote it, "The saving grace made available through Christ's atonement is the only hope of salvation for persons of any age. In baptism infants enter into a new life in Christ as children of God and members of the Body of Christ. The baptism of an infant incorporates him or her into the community of faith and nurture, including membership in the local church." I failed to mention that in the other blog. So with my personal theology, experience with God and interpretation of the Bible I would have to believe that baptism is a profession of faith rather than an entrance for God's grace. However, the issue still stand from the other blog about having to be re-baptized to join the church which I'm not quite sure I want to get re-baptized since, 1. Already baptized and made my profession of faith 2. it's disrepectful toward my parents and their beliefs 3. Family, hmmm, discontent on changing denominations to put it lightly. More stuff to pray about.

Baptism

Recently, I've been reading more of what Methodists believe i.e. Methodist theology. Well, I got started on this subject of baptism when I asked about joining the church and the response was that I would be "encouraged" to be baptized even though I was already baptized in the Methodist Church. So I've been diving into what baptism is and what the Methodist and Baptist believe baptism is and what it means. For the Methodists, infant baptism is most common, representing God's saving Grace bestowed upon those baptized which is later affirmed through faith later in life. Basically, God's grace comes into the infant's life when they are baptized; God claims the child in his grace during baptism, initiating the spiritual and faithful life of that child but that child must respond to God's grace through faith over time. Also, it is a statement that the child will be taught and raised among his or her Christian parents and the Christian community, i.e. the church. This would explain why Methodists believe that you can fall from grace because being baptized is being in God's grace and when you don't profess a faith for Christ, you don't respond to God's grace, you fall away into sin losing the effect of baptism and thus "falling from God's grace" or losing salvation. Baptists believe that baptism is a profession of faith by the person that is being baptized; a proclamation that they believe in Christ as their Lord and Savior and that they will live their life in faith with the baptism being a representation of the old life dying away and being washed anew and born again. The more I look into Methodist theology the more I disagree with it and the more concerned I get.

You might not think that's a big deal but being raised Methodist it's hard to just toss away what you were raised with. It's something I'm struggling with, that and a theology and religion but i heard a really good sermon about that and a talk with someone about that which I'll describe later but this whole Methodist thing isn't looking good and I just don't know how I feel about it knowing if I change "denominations" or whatever, the rents will feel extremely let down and disappointed. I don't know, but something to think about and pray about. haha, if I did join the church that would REALLY flip their lid. So baptism, yeah, I think I believe in the Baptist view cuz that's how I see it in the Bible but it when it comes to it, I guess it really doesn't matter.

Ants Marching

This is the title of one of my favorite songs by Dave Matthews Band. Yes, Steve, I know you hate it and hate everything Dave and it all sounds the same and you joke about every time you hear it or see it or whatever, but this song got me thinking about how people interact with each other on a daily basis, so I'll save the pain of listening to it and just say what I it reminded me of. For everyone else that reads this, feel free to listen to it. It's pretty awesome unless you're Steve and Andrew then it freaking sucks :)
Here's my analysis of the song, so a guy wakes up and does his regular routine: brushing his teeth, eating, etc. the same old routine day in and day out. His wife or girlfriend, significant other, is thinking that they live together and yet no nothing about each other, thinking about what they other one is thinking without ever saying a word and they become distant by the day. So the guy gets upset and goes to mommy whom helps him forget about his problems and he wishes that he was a little kid again playing under the table. Essentially the dude runs away from the problem instead of trying to work through it; he ignores the problem hoping it will just go away. Problems never just go away. So the song continues in the broader sense that people are constantly in a hurry passing by one another no time to talk or say hello or get to know one another. There's no time, no time for relationships because they are too hard and too time consuming so everyone are like ants marching, focusing only on the destination of travel, the work that needs to be done, or just themselves that they have no interest in others. That's basically the song's meaning and it's pretty interesting cuz it's true. When walking on campus I notice that I am one of those "ants marching" with out giving a care in the world about the person walking in front of me or beside me. I'm just too focused on the next destination, the next place, the next phase which reminded me of the last IV night last year when someone gave that kind of talk about how he would always look at the next phase or the next chapter in life having to get through the current one to get to the next instead of slowing down and looking at the present and what's happening now and slowing down to get to know people, opening up or whatever, and how rewarding that is. So thinking about this I started playing a game at school while walking to my classes. People walking the other direction i'll make eye contact with and if they look my way I make myself say "Hey". This is extremely out of my comfort zone but I just wanted to see what would happen if someone they didn't know actually took an interest in knowing them, granted I really don't have time to make an hour long conversation cuz I do have class to attend but I just thought it would be fun to see where that leads. Isn't that what IV's about, community, getting to know one another? Anyways, hasn't happened so far, got a lot of weird looks like "who is this kid saying hi randomly" haha, oh well gotta spice life up while walking to class.

Had a good convo with Shane the other day but one question he asked just stuck in my head, "You don't have many close friends, do you?" It was a good question to what we were talking about and it's good to remember who those true friends are, especially when they are going through some rough spots or when you are. So slow down a bit and look around, you might miss out on something good if you don't.

Science vs. God

Evolution states the man came from a common ancestor as monkeys, not that we came from monkeys but great-great-great granddaddy also spawned monkeys. I'm in this evolution class for being a bio major and it's interesting to hear the professor, whom is extremely intelligent, teach evolution as it is fact; however, evolution is just a theory with major missing links. It's a bad misconception that everyone makes when thinking of Darwin who was a religious man but he seemed to forgot that man was created in the image of God. Man, not monkeys. It's funny that many scientists try everything in their power to try and disprove the existence of God; thus, the big bang theory, the start of the universe, and other theories to try and explain life. To study science is to study God's creation and if you try ignore the creator you're going to miss out on some key points in the creation.
For instance, how can the Earth be in such a specific location in the solar system at such a specific angle, in such a specific rotation and revolution(it's orbit around the sun) to support life? How could that be random? It's the only planet, moon, star, etc. that can support life and will ever support life.

Moving on...I watched the Prince of Egypt the other night which is a portrayal of the Moses story; Moses leading the Hebrews out of tyranny and bondage. You know the who plagues and "Let my people Go" thing. We've all heard it and probably have the story memorized: Christian and non-Christian. I was watching the History Channel a few months ago about Moses and the Exodus. They tried to explain, with scientific evidence, the 10 plagues God sent upon Egypt and the classic pillar of fire and the parting of the Red Sea. I was kind of interested to see how they were going to try and pull this off. For example, Water to Blood they said that rare times the Nile soot will appear to be red; blood like......WEAK, not buying it. With the locusts you could explain with science because locusts are insects that move from place to place devouring everything. Famine is also explained by science here. With the Pillar of fire they explained that Moses would light a torch like structure, it was pretty tall, that looked like a pillar of fire and during the day would kind of put it out so it looked like a pillar of smoke. Historically, it was common for generals to lead their armies with such methods which explains the pillar of fire and pillar of smoke described in the Bible. What I really found interesting was that the parting of the sea wasn't really a parting but more like an extremely low tide that exposed a marsh strip to the other shore which would allow passage by foot but not by chariot; thus, when the Egyptians moved in after the Hebrews they got stuck in the marsh and high tide came in and drowned them all.

With these explanations one could argue that God did nothing. I mean, that's what it sounds like when seeing these plagues in scientific explanation. Maybe that was how it really was, I don't know I wasn't there. However, I do believe that God performs miracles and signs and in Exodus it clearly states that He would perform signs and wonders. I sometimes think that we sometimes de-glorify God when trying to explain God and all His wonders. In this case, the History Channel was doing a production that, in my opinion, de-gloried God; taking all the power, the wonder, and majesty of God when explaining these plagues on human terms. God can't be explained completely on human terms; He's too perfect for that. The Bible states that He brought upon the plagues, the signs, the wonders, the sea parted with a wall of water on the left and right, and a pillar of fire to lead them by night and a pillar of smoke to lead them by day. And I believe that. It goes against every single natural law ever developed but God doesn't necessarily follow nature's law does He? He's God. Which I think these explanations seem to degrade that point. That He is God. Which is odd, because He brought upon the plagues in the first place to show the people of Israel and Egypt who He is...God ( Exodus 6:6-7; 7:5). Powerful, perfect, committed, mysterious God. And I just disagree with explanations like these that undermine and degrade that. God is God. There's no avoiding that. So History channel, say it how it is instead of taking God out of the picture.

Thought for future blog, maybe,....notice that God speaks personally to people in the Old Testament and almost doesn't say a word in the New Testament.....more to come on that

Intervarsity Christian Fellowship

Awww look at all of those smiling faces............ well except for Joel who never seems to like smiling in pictures but will in real life. That was taken at the Leadership retreat at Shane's parents house in some place Virginia near Lake Gaskin. Those are the leaders for this year including small group leaders, C-team, large group and small group coordinators, a worship leader and other positions that I forgot.
That was a good weekend filled with food, swimming, catch phrase, and a good movie followed by good discussions. So that's IV Leadership that will shape and impact kid's lives on campus and shape what IV will look like. So much change has already happened and it is great. More events planned for college kids to do and Crash taking a different route than before. Both seem to be a big hit with CTF bringing in almost 70 people and Crash itself bringing in more new people than ever in the past. Shane's very happy as the numbers keep growing.
So small groups started this week with my starting last night. One person showed up and he's in the picture above so no new people thus far. However, there's still a lot of time and hopefully some guys will pick up the courage to go to one even to just try it out but even if my small group is just us three then I'll still going to give it my all and devout most of my time in those two other guys. Really want it to be bigger but just going to have wait and see what God does. Pretty exciting to rely on faith instead of knowledge, makes life more of an adventure, a journey than a calculation. Makes life a lot more frustrating as well but overall it's better, more fun, and just good. You never really know what God is going to do next. Kind of scary but that's a tangent. So last night was small group and so us three guys just walked to Webb cuz one of us was hungry and just sat on the wall next to the Lion and just hung out and talked about well, the Bible and church history and the history behind the Bible and really random topics.
Made me realize how much I don't read the Bible nor know anything about it but this is a good kind of not knowing cuz it really makes me want to learn about the history behind the Bible and the writers of the Bible. It's not a "i need knowledge, seeking out knowledge just for knowledge sake" but to seek out God in doing so, seeking out the perspectives of God, seeking out Jesus kind of seeking for knowledge. That probably didn't make any sense but that's fine. For example, I had no idea that Paul and Barnabas had a falling out, a disagreement and totally went their separate ways never talking to each other again over the concept of Predestination. Barnabas believed in the "black and white predestination where you were either chosen or not and even if you think you are chosen you still might not be" while Paul was more like "uh, it's not quite like that..." so I thought that was interesting. I hope I never have that bad of a falling out with such a close friend although it has happened in the past and there have been some close calls presently but man, that must really suck. But I went on another tangent, so overall IV looks promising for this year and just hoping that small groups becomes a bigger hit.

Anger Management

So I played kickball today, showed up an hour late cuz I was at my sister's house and didn't leave til late, but showed up in enough time to play at least a half hour worth. It was pretty fun; haven't played kickball in a long time and didn't do to well but still it was a good time. There was just one "drama" incident that I wish was avoided but it happened and you gotta just move on. A kick was made and it went through the trees and a person on my team caught it and everyone ran in as it was the third out. However, the whole game they had been playing that if it did go through the trees and was caught it would not be counted at a catch. I was not there when the rule were laid which explains what I said. So the kicker gets extremely upset, very angry, like this guy in the picture except extremely verbal. And he's been known to do so, well that is the number one thing is known for: his extreme temper. So the story continues with him yelling obscenities and making sarcastic/a-hole comments which I reacted to. So then we kind of yell at each other and he leaves feeling pissed and very angry. Kind of like a small child would do when he or she would not get their own way; pouting and storming off. Granted I should not have said what I said knowing how he gets, even though in my opinion it wasn't anything offensive nor obscene, but was taken as that and thus, nothing was solved and now I'm known to be a complete jerk and a-hole in this kid's opinion. But I'm going to have to apologize to him later on the field for I will definitely be seeing him weekly and that's not a good image of a Christian either.

Gym was closed that was a bummer but I got a great run in so that was a good overcompensater. Hmm what else did I do this weekend, CTF which was a complete success considering numbers; about 70-80 people showed up but unfortunately that made game play extremely hectic and confusing and no fun at all being the one having to tell everyone on my team the rules and not to break the rules and people cheating and getting frustrated and crap like that. But next time will definitely have to be smaller like 20-30 which will be a great game...so look for announcements. Played Resistance on Co-op for the first time and wasn't as bad as I was against seasoned veterans who like to pray on kids that have never played before but it was a ton fun and being video game/tv withdrawal made it more fun than it would be usually. Sunday was Busch day with the family and then today. So I guess that's it uh, just filling up space now and I'm out. gotta cook me some dinner.