Song

I was goin through an old Derek Webb CD..and came across this song..it's really resonated with me recently

As you came to us so we come to you
fragile as a baby hopeful and new
but learning fast that to walk is to fall
soon we've done it all
chorus
we come broken and we come undone
we come trying hard to love everyone
but we come up short in all that we do
because we do
so we come to you
as you came to us so we come to you
dirty and hurting then dead in the tomb
but raised redeemed to show off the scars
cause youve brought us this far
chorus
tag
you came to show the way not around but through
so through it all we come to you

I really like a lot of his albums. His music has really spoken to me in a lot of ways. Hope everbody had a great Thanksgiving. Continue to remember how deep Christ's love is for us. Come to Him..and live. Peace

Night at Best Buy

Well the Nintendo experience was quite interesting. We rolled up to Best Buy at around 3:30 AM. At this point I thought the store opened at 7:00...only to find it didn't open till..9:00. The line had already started..there were probably 2 tents...and a bunch of sleeping bags..and people sitting in lawn chairs playing poker and what not. They came out and gave each person a ticket that said "Wii" on it....up to 78 people. The rest were turned away..and offered $50 off an XBox 360...however I found out once we got in that they actually had 50 more systems..they were just saving them for Black Friday. It was kind of chaotic once we got inside. If you had a ticket you were golden..you just had to go wait in a long line to pay for it. So the plan was the guy's would go wait in the line, and I would make the mad dash to the game section. Now most of you know what a mosh pit is..well insert a mosh pit from a Deaf Tones concert into a small corner of Best Buy..and that's what you had. We were all on a mission and that was to GET ZELDA. These boys wanted Zelda! Being that i'm a bit lower to the ground then a good chunk of the population it was easy to kind of nudge my way into the line. I basically let the crowd of people push me to the front..and I used a good box out technique that I learned in Jr. High basketball..( props to Mr. Lester) Once they brought a new shipment of Zelda I grabbed two of them..turned around and pushed my way back out of line. For some reason this particular Best Buy was only putting out a certain amount of specific games that day. I went over to the boys..gave them their games..and we waited in line to finish off the morning. They are priced pretty well compared to the other systems...although I didn't buy one..it was a good time. I caught up on some sleep..now i'm ready to go back home and enjoy some Turkey with the folks in Beaver County...gotta love going back to the promised land...yee haww.

Counting The Cost

As most of you probably know this is the year for the video game system outburst again. Sony is coming out with Playstation 3 ..and Nintendo is fighting back with their newest system...I can't remember the name. Anyway, last night I was hanging out with some students, and there were 2 in particular who happened to be talking about the Nintendo one and how they wanted to get it, but they didn't have a ride to go pick one up the day they came out. Apparently if you don't get them right away you have to wait for months. So I thought to myself..wow this could be a good time of being relational..and a good time to hang and talk with these guys a bit. So I offered to give them a ride to go get in on this madness. Well it turns out to have a realistic shot of getting one you have to be there when the stores open..( 6 AM). However that doesn't mean you can just "show up" at 6 and walk in and get one...no not the case at all. See you have to wait in line...a line that starts forming hours before the stores open...a line that my students think they need to be in at 2:00 AM!!!!!!!!!!!! So I thought about this for a minute..the main thought being "how am I going to explain this to my wife"..then I thought..this will definitely be a "memory making moment" for these guys...so I talked to Ashley..she laughed and gave me a "don't even think about waking me up stare"...and i'm gonna do it. So this Sunday..2:00 AM...I will be waiting outside Best Buy..then we'll head out to breakfast..and then to church. All I can say is..there better be 2 of those things left for my guys when we get to the front of the line...or you may just see me on the headlines of nightly news casts everywhere.

The Harvest is ripe

So i've been having some great convos about faith and life with the people i'm in this community theatre with. The Lord is just opening my eyes to the ripe harvest right here where I am. I've been convicted more and more of it every day. I think my perspective was all messed up before, but now i'm seeing things in a new light. He's been showing me my selfishness in the area of "mission work". I've always had a burden and a heart to minister to other cultures, so much so that I think I tend to overlook the one I am currently in. I have been humbled recently. In a recent e-mail, I got this:

"Was Jesus a man or a myth? I don't know. I am unconvinced by both arguments. I find the constant Christian assertions that Jesus is as well attested to as any figure in history to be laughable. Nothing was recorded about Jesus the man until he was no longer a man, if he ever had been".

This person and I have been having great conversation recently. I'm not downplaying the role of international mission work. If it were not for that, the gospel would not be reaching areas of the world that would otherwise be untouched. I am just saying that I am realizing that God's call to love Him and love people transcends all cultures. I've been rethinking, how I go about ministering in the culture i'm in. The Lord has shaken me up, and has showed me my selfishness in areas I thought I had a grasp on. Sanctification is pretty cool as it plays itself out.

Good ole Lewis

This quote speaks for itself..i like it..so i posted it.

"All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."--Lewis

Football Pride

Having pride in your hometown football team can go a long way. For me, it may send me 8 hr's. In an effort to back my Pittsburgh Steelers 100% in this time of turmoil, I just laid the cards on the table with Samuel Wilsey. (An avid Denver fan). We got to talking during an afternoon IM chat, and as the smack talk and testosterone for football kept progressing, it led to our eventual bet. He insists that the Steelers won't make it to even the playoffs. Which as much as I hate to admit is a very strong possibility. However based on what happened last year with the Steelers, it can happen. Anyway, we agreed that if his team (Denver Broncos), who are 5-2 right now(5-3 after the Steelers beat them this week) make it to the AFC Championship, I will travel out to where he lives in Cleveland to watch the Broncos in the AFC championship. However if the Steelers make the playoffs, he will come out here to NJ to watch their first playoff game. If neither team makes the playoffs, we agreed to meet halfway for coffee and lament together. My risk is a lot higher in this bet I know, but my love for the Burgh runs deep, and until they are out of the playoff hunt in every way numerically possible, they are still in, and always will be tops in my book. No fickle fan here. And yes..next year is the year for the Pirates...count it.