this next week

hey everyone, well we leave tomorrow morning for workcamp. i have decided to start a WorkCamp blog here

so that you all can keep up with it and what all we are doing in the town.

other than that my brain is totally fried at the moment from getting this set and sorted with workcamp and finding a new apartment. (which by the way i think i have found one and hope to be moving in some time after we get back from workcamp)

well blessings and check out what our students are doing at work camp on the FCLCworkcamp wordpress

a time away

ok well its been about a week in a half. sorry  guys and gals. it has been super busy with taking some of my middle school kids up to Sky Ranch (which was an awesome place with amazing staff, i will be using them again for sure) then flying home for my best friend Jarrod’s wedding.

today is my first day back since last saturday and man do i have a lot to get done before i’m off and away again to Blanding, Utah for a mission trip with 70 of our Students. just lots going on.

i found out today that the church has give the clear for my to have a Fuller Seminary student shadow me the month of August. i’m pretty pumped about that. haven’t really got to talk to many UK people, so it will be good to reignite that side of my brain.

i did not have time to really think about a lot of work related things (like i needed to) but i did get a few more blog ideas and had the chance to read an amazing book that i recommend to everyone.

its called The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. just an amazing book about a mans last ‘living’ moments, and the beautiful outlook that he has during this time of his life. i would go into it more but i want people to read it. it is a total inspiration.

in short, despite this weekend taking some time away from things that were urgent, but not important

i had a great week, and glad to be back to work. i hope to blog later tonight about some ideas of ministry coming up and just some things i am needing to get done :-p ugh

French toast fellowship with Cliff

so i have just broken rule number….two or three i guess on the day off, probably actually number one.

i went into to work to get something. now before you all start cursing at me and saying you silly newbie you never do that, some amazing things came about from it.. well maybe not awesome…but amazing yea

i was about to head out the door, when one of our staff ladies came up and asked if i would join in a prayer for anointment for a man in our church who has just been diagnosed with several spots of Melanoma on his lungs. very sad. but we gathered and prayed around this man, again i saw the beauty of why we pray the Lords prayer, your kingdom come,  but this man had one of the sweetest spirits amidst this really hard time. was very open and just wondering how he could still minister to his family and those he comes into contact with. really moved by that and the opportunity to be there to be apart of that

as i was locking up the office, Cliff, one of our maintenance crew, came up and said you and me lunch….i laughed looked at my watch and trying to book something for tomorrow slipped and said its 11.30. he then said thats fine lets go…i laughed a sigh of man i have things i need to do on my day off…

we went to this lovely little ma and pa restaurant. he had the spaghetti lunch special…and i had french toast and biscuits and gravy…(i have been craving some of that lately, no braum’s ice cream and dairy) but i got to hear Cliff’s story of growing up in Boulder, being in Vietnam, and the army, coming back and being apart of a Missouri Synod Lutheran church and his journey through a SeminEx (a seminary that was considered exiled for not belonging to the Missouri Synod) to being married and divorced with four kids (Cliff is an older gentleman and his Kids are all my age or much much older). we talked about worship music and how he hates worship songs written about the Glory Theory but loves the Lutheran style of Cross Theory worship.

any ways just really interesting time out with this guy. and with this morning. if i had not come into work today i would not have got to experience any of it.

well i’m about to head home (my wee loft) and rest a while. my back is still killing me. i really hurt it this time so prayers for that would be wonderful. tomorrow getting things tied down for sunday (i’m teaching a sunday school on Blogs how flippin sweet is that) and then sunday after church i am heading to up to Sky Ranch with our middle schoolers till tuesday which i’m then flying home for Jenn and Jarrod’s wedding. so i’m out for a week. so i’m needing to get some names and numbers to take with me so i can call some parents about some of our new ideas for ministry this Fall semester. man i can’t wait. this is so exciting to be apart of this church and seeing where God is going to be taking us

a video and site to see

watch this Trailer and tell me what you think? i know some of the people involved in the Ordinary Radicals. but i’m curious what other brothers and sisters might think about this ‘movement

new eyes to the lords prayer

wow so this morning was probably one of the most physically painful mornings i have ever had. i have Sciatica which is just down right painful. i could barely get out of bed and walking was so very painful, had to take a shower and thought i was going to keel over. wasn’t sure how i was going to get work this morning…well let alone just put my clothes on.

i sat down in this chair (which was like being stabbed in the lower back) i sat down to do my quite time (which i haven’t really sat intentionally sat down and done in awhile sadly) on did the ol famous open up to something and read… i do love how the spirit works in that sometimes

i opened to Mathew 6. and read to the Lords pray, and was really moved and challenged in reading it in a way i have never done before. i began to really be grieved in reading it and just really wanted to touch heaven and the kingdom. i know my being in extreme excruciating pain was playing a huge part in this prayer

and as i prayed in a very selfish prayer for the reasoning of the Kingdom coming about in this world…i was overwhelmed with why we pray “your kingdom come” what does Gods Kingdom entail?!?! no more pain (no hurt backs, broken bones, no beatings, no arthritis, no inside pain from not being who you want us to be, the hurt from others) no sickness (no cancer, AIDs, lupus, colds, flues, lung problems) no tears (tears from broken hearts, tears from pain and sickness) no longer damaged by that horrific fall (no more lust, no more porn, no more abuse, no more sexual sin, no more temptation of looking and being attracted to the same sex, hatred and fear, all is gone….all is gone) complete joy and everlasting peace in the presence of God.

my situation of extreme pain in my spine while praying this really helped me see with new eyes why we pray/or rather should pray with all intentness the Lords prayer as it was/is meant to truly usher in
God’s kingdom into our world.

i turned from praying for my back and quickly realized how so many more men, women, and children, are in so much pain and suffering…and why…because the fullness of the Kingdom has not yet come..but it is also here. it is here in and through Christ that has come to merge the two worlds back into unity…man to think back on those days of bliss in the garden…that is what we are moving towards…that is what we are made for that is why we were redeemed….

God our Father who is in heaven, (who came to earth to bring us back to you), hallowed be your name, (the only wholely holy name we can truly now and forever call on), Your Kingdom come, (the kingdom that is full of peace where there is no more war, no more pain, no more greed, no more rap and assault, no more little children being molested, no more suffering), Your will be done (the will for peace and justice and complete restoration and completeness) on earth as it is in Heaven ( oh God we know it is so perfect there…thats what we want to see) Give us our daily bread (teach us to depend on you knowing that you are the only one who truly gives us life and that you will give us what we need) Forgive us our Debts, AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN OUR DEBTORS ( we are to have already forgiven…please let us forgive) and lead us not unto temptation (for we are so weak we would crumble under the pressure) but deliver us from evil….For your is this beautiful kingdom and power and glory for ever and every every and every Father….

God bring your kingdom to us in fullness so that we can truly see and be touched by your grace. amen

so i look like…

man its been a long long long weekend. i had wrote a very long post this morning at work and upon reading over it…i was completely displeased with it and trashed it. my brain is currently on spin cycle at the moment and i’m waiting for the ‘please stop so i can think’ cycle to start in.

had a great weekend. friday night went and hung out with my aunt and uncle and his mother and father. awesome couple….and stayed the night with them. downside is i had to get up and drive very early the next day for a meeting at the church to be there at 9. we were meeting for our HUGE WorkCamp mission trip. i have an amazing volunteer Sililo who is doing some amazing amazing work with that. he has been leading it and organizing it for about 7 years now and has seen it grow from nothing to 70 kids and 10 adults….just astonishing. i am so blessed to have him working for the kingdom and helping me out

that evening had a party in my honour over at a families house. had some amazing bratwursts cooked by one of my amazing helping dads named Wayne. just an amazing church. i can stop singing praises about it.

sunday services were beautiful as we do a outside service at 8.30 which is just something to behold. in both services Pastor Bruce blessed me and prayed for the ministry and students and the parents. was very cool. just really cool service. i’m going to try and start linking the podcast service through here for you guys to check out and listen to

here is Ben’s Faith Journey FaithJourneyPart2.mp3 that i thought you would like to listen to

and here is Linda’s Faith Journey

ok so i have been told in the past five days by 6 people that i like look like Silent Bob of Jay and Silent Bob (i’m not tagging a site to them cause they are dirty) but here is a picture of him…and me

him me