Monday, June 08, 2009
Extreme Build Update
I got down here Friday night after visiting my friend Cindee in Indianapolis for lunch. We had our kickoff cookout and it was good. We spent Saturday working and got the walls and roof trusses up. I got to set up scaffolding on the one side of the house that needed. We didn't have enough, but since it's only for one side of the house we were able to make do. I also worked on putting up OSB sheeting around the walls. It was a long day but good. Even though there was a long stretch where a lot of us had to wait while they worked on the roof trusses it felt like we got a lot done. On Sunday we worshipped with the First Baptist Church of Whitley City, including my cousins' aunt Lana and her husband. I also found out that during the week we'll be working on the afternoon shift and I'll be in Daddy's crew. I'm looking forward to a good week.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Verse of the Day
I'll be gone on Extreme Build in Southern Kentucky with Mom and Dad for the next week. Then I'll be spending time visiting Lydia and Geron and Ann and Daniel in Tennessee. I'll try to update things as I can.
Verse of the Day:
"But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you might have life in his name." John 20:31 (NRSV)
"The cross and the works of the cross, the poverty and renunciation of the blessed in the Beatitudes, these are the things which will become visible. Neither the cross nor their membership in such a community betoken any merit of their own--the praise is due to God alone... It is by seeing the cross and the community beneath it that men come to believe in God. But that is the light of the Resurrection." Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Cost of Discipleship p. 134
Verse of the Day:
"But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you might have life in his name." John 20:31 (NRSV)
"The cross and the works of the cross, the poverty and renunciation of the blessed in the Beatitudes, these are the things which will become visible. Neither the cross nor their membership in such a community betoken any merit of their own--the praise is due to God alone... It is by seeing the cross and the community beneath it that men come to believe in God. But that is the light of the Resurrection." Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Cost of Discipleship p. 134
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Verse of the Day
"We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up. But God will not take a life; he will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever from his presence." 2 Samuel 14:14 (NRSV)
I found this argument really interesting. The speaker is the "wise woman from Tekoa" (also the hometown of the Prophet Amos) who has been sent by Joab to David to intercede for Absalom. Just like Nathan in ch. 12 she sets David up by telling him a story to which he responds with judgment and then turns his judgment back on him. Her claim is interesting because on the one hand we have manifest evidence from throughout the history of the people of Israel that God will indeed take a life but that he also devises plans to restore the outcast. Just a very short time after this encounter David will himself be banished from God's presence when he flees Absalom's rebellion but commands the priests and the ark to remain in Jerusalem saying, "Then the king said to Zadok, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, 'I have no pleasure in you,' behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him." (2 Sam. 15:25-26). David is only able to return to God's presence after Absalom is defeated. But there is also the ultimate divine plan to restore the outcast, Jesus' death and resurrection for those who were his enemies and banished from God's presence by their sin.
I found this argument really interesting. The speaker is the "wise woman from Tekoa" (also the hometown of the Prophet Amos) who has been sent by Joab to David to intercede for Absalom. Just like Nathan in ch. 12 she sets David up by telling him a story to which he responds with judgment and then turns his judgment back on him. Her claim is interesting because on the one hand we have manifest evidence from throughout the history of the people of Israel that God will indeed take a life but that he also devises plans to restore the outcast. Just a very short time after this encounter David will himself be banished from God's presence when he flees Absalom's rebellion but commands the priests and the ark to remain in Jerusalem saying, "Then the king said to Zadok, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, 'I have no pleasure in you,' behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him." (2 Sam. 15:25-26). David is only able to return to God's presence after Absalom is defeated. But there is also the ultimate divine plan to restore the outcast, Jesus' death and resurrection for those who were his enemies and banished from God's presence by their sin.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Chicago Mission Trip
I spent the weekend at Roseland Christian Ministries on the South Side of Chicago. I went down on Saturday morning with about 20 other volunteers from my church. We spent the day working to renovate a house on a block that is known as "Skid Row". There has been a lot of gang and drug activity on the block. In recent years RCM has been running a homes program where they will buy a foreclosed house, renovate, then rent or sell it at reduced price to local families. The house we worked on will be a rental or may be used to house summer volunteers. We spent the day on several projects in the house. Some painted cabinets, porches, rooms, or the upstairs floor. Some cleared weeds and trash from the yard. Some laid down tile in the kitchen and bathroom. I got to work putting up joist brackets under the porch and helped Mark do the trim in the kitchen. He did most of the measuring and cutting while while I smoothed surfaces, pried off boards to be replaced and nailed down the new trim, and generally supplied a second pair of hands. Mark and I stayed late to try and finish our job after everyone else had headed out. We didn't quite make it but we got to do a walk through before turning out the lights and locking up. I don't know what it looked like before we got there, but the upstairs looked fantastic where the team had been scraping, cleaning and painting all day. The house isn't done but I could really see that we had made progress.
In the evening the team served supper for women and children at The Strong Tower, RCM's short-term living shelter. Mark and I didn't make it back in time to be part of the supper crew but I did get to hang out with the children and play Simon Sez and Duck Duck Goose after dinner. Later we had a short devotional and worship time before same of played Clue and then turned in for the night.
During our devotional time David, the director of the homes program, and his wife Laura, the Volunteer Coordinator for RCM, shared with us about the history and vision of the ministry. This was a neat time. I had been in a small group with David during my second time around at Trinity and had met Laura on occasion. It was very encouraging to hear their vision for the ministry and some of the things that they had learned. We heard about families who had been settled in homes who had then been able to take out equity loans to send their kids to college or start a business. One of the houses that RCM had taken over had been a notorious drug house where someone had been murdered with an axe. The ministry bought the house after the gang was driven out and renovated. It's now owned by a lady from the church who tells the gang members and drug dealers to get out of her neighborhood but also that Jesus loves and is willing to save them too. David describes it as a model of how God works. He is a God of restoration, taking fallen sinners and making us new. Their vision is to see Skid Row become Reformation Row. Laura talked about working with the women at the shelter. When she was in seminary she expected that God would work through the things she said to people. But she has learned that He works even more through her presence, through her willingness to be there and listen and help. They share the gospel and tell the people about Jesus' love, but they are there in the neighborhood living that love. It was a powerful time and honor to be able to serve with them and to be able to pray that God would encourage and continue to support them in the ministry.
On Sunday morning a few of us stayed behind to clean the volunteer space at RCM while the rest of the team served a breakfast for the community at Roseland Christian Reformed Church. We ended up serving breakfast for 30-40 members of the community, some homeless, our 20 volunteers, and 50 folks from Iowa, The Gospel Singers Male Chorus of Oskaloosa, Iowa, with their wives. It was a delicious breakfast and interesting time talking to the men from the Roseland neighborhood who were there for breakfast. After breakfast we celebrated Pentecost at the church. It was a great service with joyful worship, good singing by the Iowans, and a powerful message from Pastor Huizenga about how the God who reigned at Passover, Sinai, Calvary, and Pentecost is the same God who reigns today.
I was touched by the time we spent there and I hope it was a good warm up for next week's Extreme Build in Whitley City. It's good to be able to serve.
In the evening the team served supper for women and children at The Strong Tower, RCM's short-term living shelter. Mark and I didn't make it back in time to be part of the supper crew but I did get to hang out with the children and play Simon Sez and Duck Duck Goose after dinner. Later we had a short devotional and worship time before same of played Clue and then turned in for the night.
During our devotional time David, the director of the homes program, and his wife Laura, the Volunteer Coordinator for RCM, shared with us about the history and vision of the ministry. This was a neat time. I had been in a small group with David during my second time around at Trinity and had met Laura on occasion. It was very encouraging to hear their vision for the ministry and some of the things that they had learned. We heard about families who had been settled in homes who had then been able to take out equity loans to send their kids to college or start a business. One of the houses that RCM had taken over had been a notorious drug house where someone had been murdered with an axe. The ministry bought the house after the gang was driven out and renovated. It's now owned by a lady from the church who tells the gang members and drug dealers to get out of her neighborhood but also that Jesus loves and is willing to save them too. David describes it as a model of how God works. He is a God of restoration, taking fallen sinners and making us new. Their vision is to see Skid Row become Reformation Row. Laura talked about working with the women at the shelter. When she was in seminary she expected that God would work through the things she said to people. But she has learned that He works even more through her presence, through her willingness to be there and listen and help. They share the gospel and tell the people about Jesus' love, but they are there in the neighborhood living that love. It was a powerful time and honor to be able to serve with them and to be able to pray that God would encourage and continue to support them in the ministry.
On Sunday morning a few of us stayed behind to clean the volunteer space at RCM while the rest of the team served a breakfast for the community at Roseland Christian Reformed Church. We ended up serving breakfast for 30-40 members of the community, some homeless, our 20 volunteers, and 50 folks from Iowa, The Gospel Singers Male Chorus of Oskaloosa, Iowa, with their wives. It was a delicious breakfast and interesting time talking to the men from the Roseland neighborhood who were there for breakfast. After breakfast we celebrated Pentecost at the church. It was a great service with joyful worship, good singing by the Iowans, and a powerful message from Pastor Huizenga about how the God who reigned at Passover, Sinai, Calvary, and Pentecost is the same God who reigns today.
I was touched by the time we spent there and I hope it was a good warm up for next week's Extreme Build in Whitley City. It's good to be able to serve.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Recent Reading and Quotes
I think I might have mentioned that I've been reading a lot recently. My general reading regimen for several years has been to read a Psalm and a chapter of Proverbs and part of a devotional book every morning. I just finished Future Grace, by John Piper, and have started The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for my morning book. Until February I routinely listened to an audio book whenever I drove somewhere by myself. This year I decided to reserve that for long trips so I've mostly been listening to music in the car. I'm excited about my upcoming trip to Kentucky and Tennessee because I'll get to listen to audio books again (among other much more significant reasons, of course). For the last two-three years I've been reading epic poetry at lunch time. I've been following a more-or-less chronological path through the western epic poetry tradition. I'm about to reread Dante's Divine Comedy. Before going to bed I read the daily selection from the one year Bible and part of another book. Often my night book is something chosen seasonally. I read something about the incarnation or life of Jesus for Christmas. Something about the atonement and/or resurrection around Easter. I might read something about sin or holiness for Lent. For several years I've attempted to work a book on the Holy Spirit in for Pentecost, but I've only managed this once. Currently I'm reading Piper's book A Hunger for God as my bedtime book. I also try to read several other books as well. I usually have a fiction book I'm working on, The Two Towers currently. I try to read something work related fairly regularly. The last three months that has alternated between something about job searching/finding who you are and something related to libraries or information science. I've almost always got several reading projects up in the air.
Recently I started journaling thoughts and interesting quotations from my morning and evening readings. I write down a summary and a verse or thought that sticks out from whatever my scripture reading is and I write down significant quotes from my devotional books. I've also been keeping a journal of whatever else I did during the day and other things read or watched. That accounts somewhat for my absence from the poor neglected blog. I've really enjoyed this practice and am curious to see how it holds up when I get back to work.
Anyway since I'm doing all this reading and writing I thought I'd reinstitute my verse/quote of the day practice. I might also try again to put up short reviews of the books I read but that might be too much. If I do that I'll try to warn you so you can skip on to whatever interesting might happen around here. So without further ado, I give you...
Verse of the day:
"The fear of others lays a snare
But one who trusts in the LORD is secure." Prov. 29:25 (NRSV)
Double-dip Quote of the Day:
"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave work and home to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time--death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call."
"The yoke and burden of Christ are his cross. To go one's way under the sign of the cross is not misery and desperation, but peace and refreshment for the soul, it is the highest joy. Then we do not walk under our self-made laws and burdens, but under the yoke of him who knows us and who walks under the yoke with us. Under his yoke we are certain of his nearness and communion. It is he whom the disciple finds as he lifts up his cross."
Both of those are from chapter 4 of The Cost of Discipleship, "Discipleship and the Cross". I really wanted to just quote the whole chapter.
In a completely unrelated note I took applications to several local bookstores today and had encouraging interactions at three of them (nothing wrong with the others, just no news). Between these and the registrar job I mentioned in the previous post, I might have good job news next week.
Recently I started journaling thoughts and interesting quotations from my morning and evening readings. I write down a summary and a verse or thought that sticks out from whatever my scripture reading is and I write down significant quotes from my devotional books. I've also been keeping a journal of whatever else I did during the day and other things read or watched. That accounts somewhat for my absence from the poor neglected blog. I've really enjoyed this practice and am curious to see how it holds up when I get back to work.
Anyway since I'm doing all this reading and writing I thought I'd reinstitute my verse/quote of the day practice. I might also try again to put up short reviews of the books I read but that might be too much. If I do that I'll try to warn you so you can skip on to whatever interesting might happen around here. So without further ado, I give you...
Verse of the day:
"The fear of others lays a snare
But one who trusts in the LORD is secure." Prov. 29:25 (NRSV)
Double-dip Quote of the Day:
"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave work and home to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time--death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call."
"The yoke and burden of Christ are his cross. To go one's way under the sign of the cross is not misery and desperation, but peace and refreshment for the soul, it is the highest joy. Then we do not walk under our self-made laws and burdens, but under the yoke of him who knows us and who walks under the yoke with us. Under his yoke we are certain of his nearness and communion. It is he whom the disciple finds as he lifts up his cross."
Both of those are from chapter 4 of The Cost of Discipleship, "Discipleship and the Cross". I really wanted to just quote the whole chapter.
In a completely unrelated note I took applications to several local bookstores today and had encouraging interactions at three of them (nothing wrong with the others, just no news). Between these and the registrar job I mentioned in the previous post, I might have good job news next week.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
General Update
Used to be Colonel Update but got promoted. Applied for job in local college Registrar office. Might hear something. Up to the usual, mostly reading, watching t.v., youth ministry, and small group. Not much exciting going on here this month. Heading to the south side of Chicago for a short mission trip this weekend. Heading down to Kentucky and Tennessee for the Extreme Build and visiting on the 5th. Sentence fragments as least as much fun as run-ons.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Updating Again
I'll use punctuation this time. I, might? even/ use-it properly! as the pos,t goes on.
Another two weeks have passed. I don't have a job but am applying for an interesting position at a local high school doing original and copy cataloging for their library. Otherwise I'm still looking. Thanks to Jenn and Matt for the USAjobs suggestion. I haven't checked it out yet but will tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm having a bit of trouble in that I don't really feel the sense of urgency I should. I like being laid back but usually it's a bit too much.
I had a good time travelling with Matt and Rebekah down to Elkhart, Indiana for the Chicago Area Theological Library Association Spring meeting at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. The theme of the meeting was "Library as Place". We heard a report on an ongoing research project about student use of seminary libraries and the plans for an addition to the Library at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. That also led into a discussion of reading as a practice and the future of printed books. In the afternoon we heard a presentation on the new library at AMBS. It is a green building (not in the same sense as a "blonde house", but environmentally speaking). We had done a presentation for the Trinity library staff last year on trends in library buildings and I had done some research on the AMBS library then, but wasn't able to do a tour at that time. It was nice to see the building and what they had done. You can read about it here.
I mentioned somewhere that I'm auditing a course at Trinity College, History of Middle Earth, with Dr. Steve Fratt. For that we've read the Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings with a lot of reference to Karen Fonstad's Atlas of Middle Earth. Tolkien said that he was attempting to invent a mythology for the English and we've been trying to approach our discussions as though we were reading actual ancient histories. It says something about his work of world building that people believe it passionately enough to try to argue and puzzle out ways in which it can consistently hold together. We've also been playing a number of games. Dr. Fratt is developing a set of games based on the battles of Beleriand in the Silmarillion and game versions of the Battle of the Hornburg and the Battle of the Pelennor fields from LotR. On Monday night we'll be playing his version of The War of the Ring which covers most of the events from LotR after the Council of Elrond. Last Monday we went as a class to the archives at Marquette University in Milwaukee where they have Tolkien's original manuscripts for LotR and the Hobbit, as well as other bits of Tolkiana. I had seen a lot of this collection when they held a museum exhibit at Marquette's art museum a few years ago. Still it was cool to see it again and to hear archivist Matt Blessing's presentation. We saw a number of manuscripts and lots of original artwork. Often when Tolkien was dealing with a knotty problem in the story he would map it out and it was fun to see these maps, including the original map of Erebor from The Hobbit. It was a good time also to fellowship with Dr. Fratt and my classmates on the ride up and walking around Milwaukee.
As I said, the rest of life is going well. Several of the youth went on Wednesday to set up bedding at a homeless shelter before our group meeting while others of us stayed back at the church and prepared bag meals for the homeless. My adult small group is nearing the end of our study of the book of Romans and our church just had a really awesome missions Sunday this morning. Yesterday I attended a session at Trinity for alumni and this springs grads focusing on resumes and job searching and in the afternoon I went to a Christian Youth Theatre production of The Wizard of Oz that some kids I know are in. I'm getting to do lots of reading and t.v. watching and am generally enjoying myself. Steve was sick this weekend but it appears not to have been H1N1 flu and I didn't pick any of it up myself.
That'll do. Maybe next time we'll try a sentence fragment update.
Another two weeks have passed. I don't have a job but am applying for an interesting position at a local high school doing original and copy cataloging for their library. Otherwise I'm still looking. Thanks to Jenn and Matt for the USAjobs suggestion. I haven't checked it out yet but will tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm having a bit of trouble in that I don't really feel the sense of urgency I should. I like being laid back but usually it's a bit too much.
I had a good time travelling with Matt and Rebekah down to Elkhart, Indiana for the Chicago Area Theological Library Association Spring meeting at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. The theme of the meeting was "Library as Place". We heard a report on an ongoing research project about student use of seminary libraries and the plans for an addition to the Library at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. That also led into a discussion of reading as a practice and the future of printed books. In the afternoon we heard a presentation on the new library at AMBS. It is a green building (not in the same sense as a "blonde house", but environmentally speaking). We had done a presentation for the Trinity library staff last year on trends in library buildings and I had done some research on the AMBS library then, but wasn't able to do a tour at that time. It was nice to see the building and what they had done. You can read about it here.
I mentioned somewhere that I'm auditing a course at Trinity College, History of Middle Earth, with Dr. Steve Fratt. For that we've read the Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings with a lot of reference to Karen Fonstad's Atlas of Middle Earth. Tolkien said that he was attempting to invent a mythology for the English and we've been trying to approach our discussions as though we were reading actual ancient histories. It says something about his work of world building that people believe it passionately enough to try to argue and puzzle out ways in which it can consistently hold together. We've also been playing a number of games. Dr. Fratt is developing a set of games based on the battles of Beleriand in the Silmarillion and game versions of the Battle of the Hornburg and the Battle of the Pelennor fields from LotR. On Monday night we'll be playing his version of The War of the Ring which covers most of the events from LotR after the Council of Elrond. Last Monday we went as a class to the archives at Marquette University in Milwaukee where they have Tolkien's original manuscripts for LotR and the Hobbit, as well as other bits of Tolkiana. I had seen a lot of this collection when they held a museum exhibit at Marquette's art museum a few years ago. Still it was cool to see it again and to hear archivist Matt Blessing's presentation. We saw a number of manuscripts and lots of original artwork. Often when Tolkien was dealing with a knotty problem in the story he would map it out and it was fun to see these maps, including the original map of Erebor from The Hobbit. It was a good time also to fellowship with Dr. Fratt and my classmates on the ride up and walking around Milwaukee.
As I said, the rest of life is going well. Several of the youth went on Wednesday to set up bedding at a homeless shelter before our group meeting while others of us stayed back at the church and prepared bag meals for the homeless. My adult small group is nearing the end of our study of the book of Romans and our church just had a really awesome missions Sunday this morning. Yesterday I attended a session at Trinity for alumni and this springs grads focusing on resumes and job searching and in the afternoon I went to a Christian Youth Theatre production of The Wizard of Oz that some kids I know are in. I'm getting to do lots of reading and t.v. watching and am generally enjoying myself. Steve was sick this weekend but it appears not to have been H1N1 flu and I didn't pick any of it up myself.
That'll do. Maybe next time we'll try a sentence fragment update.
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