Spontaneous Combustion

Abby asked me the other day if I was a pyro. The answer is, um, maybe. Mainly I just like fire imagery.

A lot of the images I use involve sparks, matches, fires, etc...things that need help starting. Most chemical reactions are reliant on heat to begin. You need to turn up the Bunsen Burner, hot plate, etc., to get the job done. Think of cooking...what you put into the cake pan does not look like what comes out of the oven. At least it shouldn't. If it does, please step away from the baked goods and order take-out.

Some reactions give off heat after starting. You need heat from friction to start a match, but afterward, the burning gives off more heat than you put in.

Then there are the spontaneous reactions. Try putting baking soda into vinegar. I'll wait...

Now clean it up.

That didn't require any heat, did it? And it didn't give off much heat, if any, while exploding all over your room. So what happened?

Sometimes things just click. The basic nature of the baking soda and the acidic nature of the vinegar come together to make salts and hydrogen gas, resulting in an awesome display of bubbles.

I guess all that is to say, I'm happy at GC-4. It didn't require a lot of work from either end, but I have no doubt that God will do something incredible with this relationship. At times, it may not be as exciting as exploding household products, but it will be better in the end, because it will be God's.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

If only life were like Batman

I turned on the TV at Jacob's house tonight to an episode of Batman, the greatest cartoon/superhero ever.  Batman was underwater, being held in a chokehold of doom by Killer Croc, a mutant human-crocodile hybrid bent on destruction, namely the destruction of the Caped Crusader.  If I had turned this on having no prior knowledge of Batman or his wicked awesome crime-fighting skills, I might have been a little concerned for his safety.  But he's Batman, and he somehow bent his entire body in half (must not have ribs) and kicked KC in the head, rendering him thoroughly beaten down. As Batman should.  All Batman episodes involve the criminal gaining the upper hand at some point, but Batman coming through in the end.  You don't necessarily need to watch the entire episode to know what will happen. Bruce is gonna win.

I, however, contrary to popular belief, am NOT Batman.  I don't always win, I don't get out of every scrape, and I don't get attacked by man-odile mutant freaky hybrids.  At least not so far.  If you looked at my life right now with no prior knowledge of what was going on, you'd see me moving to Houston next week to be with my fiancée and start work at GC4 and not be concerned at all with what was going on.  Looks normal to you.  And you'd be wrong.

On May 17th, 2007, I was single, about to start work at a hospital in Abilene, bolstering my resumé for another crack at Medical School.  I had just graduated from ACU with my BS in Biology, and was not looking forward to a year cleaning operating rooms after surgery.  Life was moving forward, but tough and a little bit debilitating. 

On May 17th, 2009, I will marry the love of my life, Abby, and be in my 4th month working with the youth ministry at GC4, my passion in life. I'll be halfway done with my MDiv and gearing up for an awesome summer with some great kids.  Life will be moving forward, and it'll be exciting and terrifying all at once.

That's not how the episode ends;  on May 17th 2010 there's no telling what will be going on.  The important thing is to not forget how the episode started...and how God has guided me through all of it.   Stay tuned, sit back, grab your popcorn, relax, and for heaven's sake...don't blink.  You might miss the show.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6:25-27, 33

Prayers

Father God,

Thank you for this year.

For the exciting new developments, for the tragedies, and for the "little" events that will play big parts in our futures.

Thank you for Abby and her place in my life...now and in the coming year.

Thank you for my family and their support in a time where I don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow, much less a month or a year from now.

Thank you for the avalanche of blessings we receive and take for granted every day.

When we wake up and feel the brisk morning air, may we remember those who slept in the cold with no shelter from the winds.

When we sit down to a warm meal, may we remember those with nothing to eat.

When we complain on the way to our jobs, may we remember those who lack work and the feeling of self-worth that can come from being wanted.

When we look at our presents from Christmas and disdainfully dismiss some of them, may we remember those who woke up to an empty tree.

Give us the love to treat others as You have called us to treat them, and the grace to try again when we inevitably fail.  Allow us to remember Your Son and the sacrifices He made so that we may have this life of freedom from sin and death.  

In Jesus name, we lift 2009 up to You--

Amen. 

Joyeux Noel

That last post stunk. This one is better, because they aren't my words.

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."  Luke 2:8-11

Happy Holidays guys.

Fin.

Took my only two finals today for the semester...which means I'm free!

It's incredible how bogged down we can be with life, even if it's all good-natured and well-intended.  I got busy with friends and jobs and weddings and whatnot and forgot all about that little school thing I had going on...which led to quite the feeling of dismay during my Greek final.  I may be done with Greek, but I fear it's not done with me.  That sucker may haunt me for a while.

Anyone reading back on this, I encourage you to prioritize your life and learn to be happy with those choices.  If you choose work over school, you have to deal with those consequences.  But I will give you a small hint:

God is first. Always. No doubt about it. 

Let Jesus be your alpha and omega. 

(And there's the greek again. Drat.)

"Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last."  Isaiah 48:12

Glass to the Arson

"...and we are, we are, we are the arsons/who start all of your fires..." --Anberlin, Glass to the Arson

I talked with Mandy today about the differences between New Testament and Old Testament imagery.  The NT talks a lot about death and life and being washed clean...all fairly common images in today's society.  We have become so desensitized to the horrors of the world that death does not shock us like it should.  

The OT, however, uses awesome images like a Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel) gaining flesh and muscle and coming back to life or a plague of locusts devouring everything in its sight (Joel).  If we imagined sin as something that literally consumed us, bit by agonizing bit, screaming for help that won't come, until we are left dead, how real would it be for us then? The God of the OT doesn't play around.

Which leads me to arson.

We sometimes think of our conversion as a happy time, with wet hair and hugs and someone taking us to lunch afterwards, if we're really lucky.  John the Baptizer comments that he baptizes with water, but there is one coming who will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit.  What if when we accepted that Spirit, the holy tongues of fire descended and we burst into a righteous flame, like the burning bush, aglow with the love and grace and awesome power of our God?  Maybe then we would get it...the importance of life and the devastation of sin.  

I want to be an arsonist for God, lighting the world on fire with the Divine Spark until we are all a mighty conflagration, consuming everyone we come in contact with in the warmth of His love.

Got a match?

"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."  Deuteronomy 4:24

The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

What a ridiculous game.

However, I can honestly say that I haven't met anyone who is anywhere close to as good at it as I am. Sad, but true...I dominate that ridiculous game.  For some reason, God gave me the ability to recall actors and actresses from movies that I haven't ever seen.  It's a nice party trick and conversation starter, and it also leads to me being in anguish because I know who starred in movies from 15 years ago but I can't remember Greek vocabulary from 15 minutes ago. But that is neither here nor there.

The coolest thing about the human body to me has always been how it all works together.  The heart and spleen and liver and fingernails all work together to keep us healthy and keep everything regulated the way it needs to be.  There is a reason we refer to the church as the body of Christ...we all need to work together.

Today I got a Facebook message from my sister's roommate, who's best friend's sister is interviewing at the same Optometry school that Abby is at.  Yes...read that again.  My sister's (Jenna)  roommate's (Hilary) best friend's (Audrey) sister is wanting to get in touch with my fianceé. I was amazed as I watched Abby spring into action; her willingness to help Emily (the aforementioned interviewee) without even knowing her (or Audrey or even Hilary) is so indicative of how we all should act as Christians.  The 1st century church combined their resources to live in community, helping one another because they believed in love.

So yeah, I can remember weird things about movies. Big whoop.

I hope I never forget that I'm surrounded by love...try that for a conversation starter sometime.

"In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." Romans 12:5-6