Things have been busy lately. With Winter Camp coming up, I am wondering if I can get in a full 20 hours this week. I have a lot of bills to pay within the next few days and I'm not sure how it's going to happen, and I start a brand new Bible Study tomorrow (technically tonight.) But at church earlier, (last night) I was encouraged by a bunch of kids. We talked about Elijah being taken up to Heaven and I talked about how I got moved to Chico. The kids showed me that I had a good reason (other than the great reason of following God's command) to move up here and I asked them to take a few minutes and pray asking God what He wanted them to do. Some of them took it seriously, but a lot didn't. One kid came down to me and told me that God told him he was going to be a missionary to Mexico. He already spoke Spanish and was carrying a Spanish Bible. I asked if he could read and write in Spanish and told him how wonderful it was. I warned him that people will try and tell him lies so he had to know what God says in His Word and through prayer so he will know the truth. I think he will be an excellent missionary. I want to encourage him more. Please pray for him.
Before that, at the 4:30 time, I read Psalm 30 and asked the teens what they thought about God's joy lasting a lifetime and weeping enduring for the night (Verse 5) and then we jumped down to verses 11 and 12 about Him turning our mourning into dancing and us living for the Glory of the Lord. That talk turned into a "What is your purpose?" question and I said it was all about the Glory of the Lord. To Shine His Light into the dark places and Preach His Word to the lost.
Not to be presumptuous, but I felt that God was really moving through me tonight. And I believe this is just the beginning. God's moved me before, but like Elisha asked for and received twice the spirit Elijah had, I want to think God's telling me, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
I need techy help
Anyone know google sites? I want to use google sites to update and maintain a website to be located elsewhere (like at jonathandow.com) and I can't figure it out. I also have another plan that I don't feel I can discuss in written form yet.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday Night College Bible Study
Great News! My College Bible Study has been approved. So for all you college students out there, from 7-9pm on Thursday nights, come to the lobby of Calvary Chapel Chico and bring your Bibles. We are going to dig in and discuss the Gospel of Mark. God's going to talk. Come ready to listen and kiss your old life good-bye. you are a new creation and there's no going back!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Almost got pinched today
I haven't updated my blog in a while, and someone let me know today.. or yesterday since it is past midnight... but anyway, I got home from church, heated up some frozen mini-pizza, and watched Swing Vote with a Kevin Cosner who swears a lot and a little girl who took care of her dead beat dad. It was an unhappy movie. It starts out with him being drunk and this little girl taking care of him. The girl did a great job playing the (maybe 9 year old) daughter and I was appalled at the amount of swearing they can get away with in a PG-13 movie with a kid in a lead role. I'm sure if they cut out the swearing, it would be down to a PG or G. There wasn't anything else bad in it... except bad parenting and bad acting... but I don't think they give higher ratings to bad acting... Anyway, the movie is about a neck and neck presidential election that comes down to one vote... that's right, Kevin's. the way they pulled that one off can pass for believable. So the movie is about these two presidential candidates (one is the incumbent) trying to win over his vote. They change platforms and say whatever they can to get his vote and throw parties and get celebrities and everything. Unfortunately, it got me thinking about what I don't like about our political system.
Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy living in America and I know that we don't have a perfect society, but it grosses me out how politicians spend millions and millions on elections and throw huge parties when our economy is in shambles and people are living on the street. When hard working people are jobless and shamed, politicians are taking six months off from running the country so they can spend millions of dollars campaigning. Do presidents really have in interest in bettering our country? Or are they just interested in the next four years?
Life isn't easy. But what makes it harder is watching people waste what they have on what is temporary. Most of the politicians in the US will claim to be Christian. Our current president makes that claim. Being a Christian means that we follow Christ. While I can't answer for those in power, for the people who represent me to the world, I can answer for me. I do follow Christ, and He is my representative to the Father. I would vote for Jesus.
But it got me thinking... if it were up to you to choose who would be the next president, how would you decide? You only have two candidates and they want to please you. They are politicians through to the core, and you had to choose. The world is watching. The media camps outside your trailer... or house. What would you have them do? What would you ask them? Would you believe anything they promised you? I'm curious. Let me know in a comment.
Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy living in America and I know that we don't have a perfect society, but it grosses me out how politicians spend millions and millions on elections and throw huge parties when our economy is in shambles and people are living on the street. When hard working people are jobless and shamed, politicians are taking six months off from running the country so they can spend millions of dollars campaigning. Do presidents really have in interest in bettering our country? Or are they just interested in the next four years?
Life isn't easy. But what makes it harder is watching people waste what they have on what is temporary. Most of the politicians in the US will claim to be Christian. Our current president makes that claim. Being a Christian means that we follow Christ. While I can't answer for those in power, for the people who represent me to the world, I can answer for me. I do follow Christ, and He is my representative to the Father. I would vote for Jesus.
But it got me thinking... if it were up to you to choose who would be the next president, how would you decide? You only have two candidates and they want to please you. They are politicians through to the core, and you had to choose. The world is watching. The media camps outside your trailer... or house. What would you have them do? What would you ask them? Would you believe anything they promised you? I'm curious. Let me know in a comment.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Mexico 2010
No one ever comes back the same after a Mission's Trip. Not even a short one. It's exhausting. You are physically and emotionally spent, but spent for God. You've seen people in their spiritual and physical poverty. You give them stuff for now and the Gospel for Eternity. You say Adios and hope that they keep the faith. Hope that they read their book and find the church you spoke of. It's a feeling that I've done all I could do, but it didn't seem like enough. I don't want to give the impression that what we did wasn't a good thing. It was, but I feel like we only did a part, and that's true too. We threw the seed. Some of it bounced and some of it was accepted. The problem in my mind is that I wasn't there long enough to watch it to see what happened. I know that I was never supposed to be there for longer, but there just seems that there is so much work to be done in Mexico. So I get back to Chico, where people don't build their houses out of pallets, where people don't live in fear of being killed on their way to the market, where armed soldiers don't stand every few blocks away, and things just don't seem as colorful (of course it's gloomy and raining too) and the food, although much better than in Mexico, doesn't taste as flavorful as it once did. The sense of purpose has drained a bit. When I was in Mexico, every minute of my day was planned by someone else. I gave over my freedom and surrendered to be another's slave to their schedule to further the Gospel of Christ. I worked without question or complaint because I believe that we were working for a greater good, and it was work the sweat and tears.
What is going on in Juarez is a good work. Amigo Fiel is representing Christ to that city and the city is responding with thanks. The city provided us with a bus to ride around in. They give facilities and land to Amigo Fiel hoping that Amigo Fiel will use it to benefit the city, which they will, but also to spread the Gospel of Christ. We went downtown once to do an outreach, and there was a crowd watching a couple of clowns. Pastor Carlos went to talk to the clowns and they allowed us to commandeer their sound system to give the gospel, and twenty or more people came to know Christ. It was wonderful. I played soccer with a kid named Javier, who wouldn't let go of the ball afterwards. I sat in Sunday school with a little girl named Zelma, and the only way I could figure out her name was that I wrote mine on my paper and asked her to write hers on hers. Five days was too short. The 2,000 kids we saw weren't enough. I wanted to stay an extra week, to reach even more, but my time was up.
The feeling that I felt when I get back must be something like a soldier going home after some time in the service. Everything is familiar again, but somehow seems foreign. Friends are how you remember them, yet you're a different person now. People think you're the same person you've always been, but you're not. There's something different, like the hobbits after they're returned from their journey. You've seen things that have opened your eyes to people you've never met, and even in our poverty in the US, there's hope and a choice. There are shelters and government programs so that if someone doesn't want to live on the streets, he or she doesn't have to. They may have to give up alcohol and follow someone else's rules, but that is a viable option. But it's not just the poverty. Maybe it is the look in the eyes that want something that you have. They hold out their hands expecting you to give them more than a smile. You give them the gospel, and they say yes, maybe because they mean it, or maybe because they see a gift in your hands and know it's for them. Something they didn't have to work for, that they've earned by lying on park benches and sleeping under bridges. You look around and think that the people in your country have no idea of what they even have and and are not grateful of what they know. On the trip, you had a mission and a purpose to fight this poverty of spirit, but here it's just the norm. It would be like a soldier going across the sea to fight terrorism and represent the government and come home to see their grandparents have their house repossessed because they can't pay the housing tax, even though the house has been paid off for years. You feel as if we need a mission's team here, working with these people from a benefactor outside the US that seems to have more answers and resources than we have.
The bottom line is this: The norm that was fine before I left is no longer good enough. But I don't know how to work harder, run faster, and strive more for the Gospel of Christ than I have already been. I don't have the wonderful support of 35 other team members who encourage and run alongside you all day long. I come home to a sleeping dog and a foodless fridge. Someone said I looked sad, but not really sad, once I got back from Mexico. And I was a bit, but didn't realize it. What saddens me now is the first response to these feelings is to do something, anything, but I'm so tired. And giving into sleep, the following feeling is apathy. I can't do it, so I shouldn't really try. Is there a middle ground that I can obtain? Is there a way that I can be the missionary to Chico that I was to Mexico? Can I work that hard with little sleep and food and no time to myself except for the last few exhausted thoughts on my way to sleep?
It was a good trip. Many people cam back with a lot of stories and we all had a lot of fun. I just came back with more questions, the biggest being, "What now?"
What is going on in Juarez is a good work. Amigo Fiel is representing Christ to that city and the city is responding with thanks. The city provided us with a bus to ride around in. They give facilities and land to Amigo Fiel hoping that Amigo Fiel will use it to benefit the city, which they will, but also to spread the Gospel of Christ. We went downtown once to do an outreach, and there was a crowd watching a couple of clowns. Pastor Carlos went to talk to the clowns and they allowed us to commandeer their sound system to give the gospel, and twenty or more people came to know Christ. It was wonderful. I played soccer with a kid named Javier, who wouldn't let go of the ball afterwards. I sat in Sunday school with a little girl named Zelma, and the only way I could figure out her name was that I wrote mine on my paper and asked her to write hers on hers. Five days was too short. The 2,000 kids we saw weren't enough. I wanted to stay an extra week, to reach even more, but my time was up.
The feeling that I felt when I get back must be something like a soldier going home after some time in the service. Everything is familiar again, but somehow seems foreign. Friends are how you remember them, yet you're a different person now. People think you're the same person you've always been, but you're not. There's something different, like the hobbits after they're returned from their journey. You've seen things that have opened your eyes to people you've never met, and even in our poverty in the US, there's hope and a choice. There are shelters and government programs so that if someone doesn't want to live on the streets, he or she doesn't have to. They may have to give up alcohol and follow someone else's rules, but that is a viable option. But it's not just the poverty. Maybe it is the look in the eyes that want something that you have. They hold out their hands expecting you to give them more than a smile. You give them the gospel, and they say yes, maybe because they mean it, or maybe because they see a gift in your hands and know it's for them. Something they didn't have to work for, that they've earned by lying on park benches and sleeping under bridges. You look around and think that the people in your country have no idea of what they even have and and are not grateful of what they know. On the trip, you had a mission and a purpose to fight this poverty of spirit, but here it's just the norm. It would be like a soldier going across the sea to fight terrorism and represent the government and come home to see their grandparents have their house repossessed because they can't pay the housing tax, even though the house has been paid off for years. You feel as if we need a mission's team here, working with these people from a benefactor outside the US that seems to have more answers and resources than we have.
The bottom line is this: The norm that was fine before I left is no longer good enough. But I don't know how to work harder, run faster, and strive more for the Gospel of Christ than I have already been. I don't have the wonderful support of 35 other team members who encourage and run alongside you all day long. I come home to a sleeping dog and a foodless fridge. Someone said I looked sad, but not really sad, once I got back from Mexico. And I was a bit, but didn't realize it. What saddens me now is the first response to these feelings is to do something, anything, but I'm so tired. And giving into sleep, the following feeling is apathy. I can't do it, so I shouldn't really try. Is there a middle ground that I can obtain? Is there a way that I can be the missionary to Chico that I was to Mexico? Can I work that hard with little sleep and food and no time to myself except for the last few exhausted thoughts on my way to sleep?
It was a good trip. Many people cam back with a lot of stories and we all had a lot of fun. I just came back with more questions, the biggest being, "What now?"
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Of all days, today happened after yesterday.
So I thought about waking up early today... but to no surprise, it didn't happen. I did get up about 10am. I had an appointment to have internet installed in my house today between 10 and 12. I figured that he wouldn't show up in the first hour... okay, so I assumed that the installation person was a guy. I was right. Does that make me a sexist? Or does that make companies that do installations in houses sexist for hiring so many guys, that we all just assume... Anyway, I get a call a little after noon and he says he'll be there in 10 minutes... which turned into 15. I gave him directions to my house (since it is invisible) and when he showed up, I was pleased to see that he too had the name Josh Thompson. (For those of you who don't know Josh from my Central Coast days, I'm sorry. You're missing out.) He said that it would be hooked up in no time, but apparently, no time was an hour and a half including the visit from his supervisor. He finally finished at 1:45 and I had to get to church to run the tech stuff for a memorial service... well... I ended up pushing about ten buttons... but it was all in how I pushed them... with my finger... I don't know why people get so intimidated by this stuff... anyway, I should probably begin a new paragraph. this one is getting long.
So the lady who died seemed to be a very generous and loving grandma who loved the Lord. Pastor Bud officiated the service and although there were tears, we were all confident that she was in Heaven with Jesus. I spent an hour or so just talking to different people at church and had a nice chat with Pastor Will. It pushed my Costco trip back from 3 to 4. The samples weren't that great today... but it's Monday. Fridays are good sample days. I was going to buy a space heater, but the one I looked at last week wasn't there. I guess I'll just live with the one I have. It's not a bad space heater... it just isn't a good one either. It takes a long time to heat up, and even when it is heated, I can still touch the coils without burning myself. I think I shall refer to it as a space warmer rather than a space heater. But I got food for my freezer and a couple of Christmas gifts so I consider the trip a success.
My next challenge was to try and change the window switch on my car. I got the whole panel out, but could not get the switch out. I tried for half an hour. It was getting dark and I couldn't see anymore, so I came inside and lay down for a while. For some reason, my body was just tired and sore. I think it was just with the business of yesterday and the running around and playing with the kids. There are some muscles that hurt that I thought I used all the time... I guess I just used them for sitting. I can't think of what I did to them to cause all the complaining I got from them today... Anyway, I wasn't sleepy, but lying down was relaxing.
At 6pm, I picked Oscar up and we went to dinner with the guys' Monday night Bible Study. Mushrooms and Bacon should always be on burgers. Yum. Bible Study was great. Gabe taught on the first chapter of Hebrews. It was easy to see the frustration on his face as he wanted to talk about so much, but realized that people had finals the next day. He does a good job staying on point.
At the end of the day, I am enjoying the faster internet, getting work done and trying to set up my wireless router... it's not as fun as juggling puppies, but then again, not much is.
Wireless internet is not happy... maybe I'll try again later. I'm losing focus.
So the lady who died seemed to be a very generous and loving grandma who loved the Lord. Pastor Bud officiated the service and although there were tears, we were all confident that she was in Heaven with Jesus. I spent an hour or so just talking to different people at church and had a nice chat with Pastor Will. It pushed my Costco trip back from 3 to 4. The samples weren't that great today... but it's Monday. Fridays are good sample days. I was going to buy a space heater, but the one I looked at last week wasn't there. I guess I'll just live with the one I have. It's not a bad space heater... it just isn't a good one either. It takes a long time to heat up, and even when it is heated, I can still touch the coils without burning myself. I think I shall refer to it as a space warmer rather than a space heater. But I got food for my freezer and a couple of Christmas gifts so I consider the trip a success.
My next challenge was to try and change the window switch on my car. I got the whole panel out, but could not get the switch out. I tried for half an hour. It was getting dark and I couldn't see anymore, so I came inside and lay down for a while. For some reason, my body was just tired and sore. I think it was just with the business of yesterday and the running around and playing with the kids. There are some muscles that hurt that I thought I used all the time... I guess I just used them for sitting. I can't think of what I did to them to cause all the complaining I got from them today... Anyway, I wasn't sleepy, but lying down was relaxing.
At 6pm, I picked Oscar up and we went to dinner with the guys' Monday night Bible Study. Mushrooms and Bacon should always be on burgers. Yum. Bible Study was great. Gabe taught on the first chapter of Hebrews. It was easy to see the frustration on his face as he wanted to talk about so much, but realized that people had finals the next day. He does a good job staying on point.
At the end of the day, I am enjoying the faster internet, getting work done and trying to set up my wireless router... it's not as fun as juggling puppies, but then again, not much is.
Wireless internet is not happy... maybe I'll try again later. I'm losing focus.
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