i see you.

there are so many people around who are living their lives in seeming contrast to the rest of us here in portland. i see them. i hear them crying out, "notice me, notice me."

there are so many reasons for this pain, but chief is the breakdown of the family and the lack of fathers.

oh that we would rise up and be the church who notices.

I wonder what it was that the "God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven" heard when the Holy Spirit came?

The picture above is in the Philippines and I took it when driving to a village church on the island of Bohol to preach. What great memories.

food for thought...

Yesterday had President Elect Obama choosing pastor and author Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration January 20th. Ben Witherington has the story and his thoughts on his site http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/

Check it out.

Faithful # 2

God has done it again. He has proven himself faithful.
School's first semester is over, and I am so thankful that God made a way for me to get stuff done on time. I didn't arrive at the end of the semester with backwork still to be done or the sad feeling that I could have done better. Oh the sweet feeling of accomplishment!
I'll now be working on campus with the custodial team, part time. It's really an answer to prayer... the only thing I'm struggling with is how I'll continue to work with the Stitches team and keep the relationships I've built with the families. How does he want this to work?
Icing on the cake: I got a call that someone gave an anonymous check towards my tuition today!

I'm reading the latest book by Rob Bell called Jesus Wants to Save Christians.

it blows me away...

I'm just realizing that I've been here in Oregon just over five months. Craziness

sheesh...

school was intense this morning...

if asked to describe the feeling i have right now, i probably would say its something along the lines of heavy or thoughtful or maybe just intense. perhaps this is what it feels like to fear God, to be in awe of Him; apologies, i'm not too sure of how to categorize what i'm thinking and feeling.
i've questioned before why the israelites wanted a mediator instead of a direct connection with God, but i'm thinking that i understand, a piece of it anyways. honestly, i wonder if i would respond differently. it seems easy for me to question their response, but on days like today i'm not so sure i would be doing anything different. not to say that all my earings would go into a pot and come out a golden calf, but today i felt the presence of God a few times and it has come close to wrecking me.