the dream of the kingdom

wow. you guys ever have one of those brain farts where you just totally mix something up? a few days ago, i sent out a couple of christmas packages to two friends. i just got a phone call from one of them, asking me if knew someone with by the name of my other friend. apparently i had got the packages all nice and ready, then put the labels on the wrong packages.

talk about absent minded. and i was so happy that i got the packages out before christmas and that they should be there ontime. all i can really do is laugh at myself. and try to get the packages to their rightful owners.

still working on finishing up the changes to the site. emese's photo blog is a pretty big influence for the new color scheme. if you haven't checked out that site, you might want to. very good photos. i aspire to be as good as she is.

i head home tomorrow for a week in my hometown. different world. different culture.

i have been listening to tim keller, the pastor of redeemer in nyc. i love the biblical perspective he brings out concerning our relationship to the city. one of his assertions is that the city challenges you, refines you, and brings out your talent. that someone in a small hometown may never realize their potential, because they have only swam in a small pond. they never know what else is out there, and are inherantly challenged less that those individuals in a big city.

the more i live in boston and la, the more i believe i am called to live in a city. perhaps not in the united states, but a big city somewhere on this earth.

i also used to think that in order to raise kids right, you need to be in a small town in the midwest, to keep them from the evils of the city. some Christians use anecdotal evidence that the big city is inherantly evil. an example of such a story, that i have heard many times: a kid grows up in the midwest in a strong Christian home with a good church. he goes off to college in the big city, and before you know it, he has lost who he was, and falls into a life of self-service and sin. so some Christians say, "see? the city corrupted him!" this seems to be a short sighted view of things. i assert that this kid was never serious to begin with. it was not the city that corrupted him, but kid himself that decided what he would do. blame cannot be assessed to the city.

if you get the chance, redeemer has some free mp3 sermons you can listen to. there is a series on their core values, and i highly recommend this sermon, on entitled the dream of the kingdom.

Entry posted by byscuits at 02:03 PM | Comments (2)

christmas time

i leave this saturday to go home to missouri for a week. should be really cool to see some old friends, as well as get to spend some time with my family. my brother's wife is expecting their first in early january, so it'll be great to see them. his wife is pretty tiny, around 5'1" or 5'2". he said she looks about ready to burst. and my sister's son is now about a year and a half. maybe i'll be able to bring home a few good photos of the fam.

so much is going on right now, i hardly can pick what to write. a great friend of mine is moving here in january for music school, so i am checking out apartments for her tonight. i gotta see them before i leave saturday, so that pretty much leaves tonight.

i went to see return of the king at the midnight showing last tuesday. it was much more emotional than the previous two, and really did a good job wrapping things up. i plan to see it about two more times in the theater, and then maybe once more before the extended edition comes out next november. it was nice to have closure on a three year investment, albeit a small one. a very good movie. i highly recommend it for anyone. one of the few times the third movie in a trilogy was the best.

oh, and i (obviously) updated the look and feel of the site, so far the front page, the blog, and the pixelbox. i'm a big fan of the orange/gray combination, and i finally feel like the design is up to the level i prefer. eventually, i will write a script that randomly changes the photo on the front page, along with the description. not really that tough, just takes a little time.

there are quite a few new photos over on the pixelbox. check em out and let me know what you think.

Entry posted by byscuits at 03:22 PM | Comments (1)

community

ephesians 5:9
wake up, o sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.

we had a very good men's group last night at the house. i have felt like the waking dead these past couple of weeks, so it was really good to have a time of prayer and building each other together as a community. i saw a bit more of how the idea that we are each independent creatures is absurd. there are parts of me that only come out when i am around certain people. there are parts of others that only i bring out. someone read from the four loves by lewis last night, and he writes about that very thing. he says that, for instance, there are three friends. if friend A was to die, then you would not just lose friend A. as friend B, you would also lose the part of friend C that was only brought out by friend A. as the verse above speaks of, when we are not walking with Christ, we are dead. so in a community, when i am not walking, that means that not only am i dead, but so is a little piece of those around me. whenever someone weaves through our life, we are forever inextricable. perhaps that is why it is so hard when relationships end: we actually lose a piece of ourselves. i mourn that loss.

Entry posted by byscuits at 12:58 PM | Comments (1)

la, ca

this thanksgiving i went to the zoo. i had fun. i got to see lots of animals and people that looked at the animals. we had fun. we drove in the car to look at animals. i got to take picture of the animals. some were pretty and some were scary, but they were all fun to look at.

also, i got to see a movie that is called 'elf.' it is a funny movie about a boy that was human but grew up with elves. one day he realized that he was not an elf because he was so big. so he went to find his dad in a big city. at first his dad did not like him, but at the end they were friends. i liked this movie because it was funny to watch a man eat spaghetti with syrup and pop tarts. i liked it so much i saw it two times. it was very funny.

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seems like very time i leave LA, i honestly consider what would happen if i just didn't get on that plane.

Entry posted by byscuits at 02:02 PM | Comments (3)