A Come-from-Behind Victory

While I love discussing deep, theological ideas and how they play out in the world, I also love just relaxing a watching a Sunday afternoon of NFL football. This year was my first year to play Fantasy Football and it has been a blast. This past week was the first week of the playoffs and it had me nervous that my fantasy season was over.

With only 3 players left I was down to my opponent by 75 points, seemingly unsurmountable odds. Two games later, however, I had taken the lead and won the week by a mere 2 points. I now move into the semifinals and if win this week, I will play for the championship. Now some of you may be thinking that this is of little significance. Some of my excitement revolves around my desire to win, but most of my elation over my first-round victory is financial in nature. I had to pay a decent amount to play in this league, so if I can get into the championship game, I think I might get my money back. To quote Cuba Gooding Jr., "Show me the money!"

Social Justice

So God has really been working on my heart in the past year in the area of social justice but I am still left with more questions than answers. I am so glad to have people in my life who are willing to both ask me hard questions and listen as I think through my random thoughts.

Hard Question:

Is it okay for Christians to own expensive vehicles like a BMW, Mercedes, or a Lexus? In a world of such dire need, are we ever justified in owning more than we really need? I'm really not sure.

Random Thought from my friend Nate:

Nate said that he can't justify ever washing his new car and using all that water when millions of people in the world have no access to any clean drinking water.

Just something I'm thinking about. Peace.

The Wait is Over...

For those who frequent this blog, you know that Mandy and I recently visited Seattle to look at a seminary there called Mars Hill Graduate School. This afternoon I received a phone call from the director of admissions telling me that I have been accepted. I cannot be more happy.

Mandy and I still have a lot of talking and praying to do in order to decide when is the best time to move out there and start the next chapter of our lives. Please pray for us that God would grant clarity in this decision. Peace.

Enjoying the Now

This afternoon I froze my butt off (actually it was more my fingers and toes) while watching my alma mater, the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, play the semi-final round game of the NAIA football playoffs. USF just squeaked out a victory in the waning seconds to propel themselves to the National Championship game this coming weekend, while I found myself amongst hundreds of screaming fans barbarically high-fiving and yelling like maniacs. While the game was a blast to be a part of, I found myself thinking deeply as I exited the stadium.

Ironically, while I was in college I rarely attended any sporting events and had very little school spirit, which I greatly regret. Why is it that we fail to enjoy things until it is too late and time has passed us by. We can get so wrapped up in ourselves that we fail to realize what we are missing out in the world around us. I want to be someone who fully enjoys the opportunities in the here and now, while still looking forward to future. I don't want to miss the ways in which God is blessing me now, while I am busy awaiting His future blessing. May we all treasure the time we have in each season of our lives and not be impatient in progressing to the next stage before leaving the current one.

A Different Kind of B-Day

Today is my 25th birthday. Now like the average American, my history of birthdays have almost always been solely about myself. I get the attention. I get the gifts. I get served. While I am very blessed to live in a culture where gifts are given (and much appreciated), for the first time ever, I spent half of my 'special' day serving someone else.

For weeks I have been speaking to a lady named Ann, whom I have never met, about how she needed help moving into her new apartment. Today was the only day that worked well so...this was the day it happened. I rallied a group of six together this morning at 8am to help serve a woman none of us had ever met...and it was great. To be honest, I can't imagine a better way to celebrate another year of life than by serving Jesus Christ through service to the poor. This woman had no one else to help her, it snowed and sleeted the entire time we were working, and she barely thanked us at the end, but it was great. I praise God that He continues to mold my heart for the poor and oppressed. A few years ago I could have cared less. While I still have a lot to learn and a lot of growing to do, I have enjoyed the ride and look forward to the journey ahead. Blessings on the road!

We're Back...

I pulled into the church parking lot this morning and felt like I was visiting a foreign country. I love vacation and time away from the everyday, but it sure is hard getting back into the routine. I'm sure the natural question on everyone's mind is "How was Seattle?" We have gotten that questions dozens of times since our return and the response has yet to get old. Seattle was amazing.

Seattle:
We really did LOVE Seattle while we were there. Mandy had never been there and I was pretty young when I visited, so we didn't really know what to expect. We had received mixed reviews from others, with some saying they loved Seattle and some ranting about the terrible weather and the depression that follows. Well...we loved it.

It rained all day when we arrived, so that part wasn't much fun. The weather was pretty good, though, the rest of the trip. Most of the time the rain exists in the form of a mist that doesn't really get you wet, so it was not annoying at all. The temperature was great! In the winter the average temps are in the 40s and in the summer the 70s with very little rain. I think I will love the outdoor opportunities that abound in the Greater Northwest.

We had canceled our rental car just days before our trip, so we were at the mercy of public transportation during our stint in Seattle. It worked out great though. We saved a ton of money and were able to ride all over Seattle with ease. We were very impressed and plan on only having one vehicle when we live there, while taking the bus nearly everywhere.

We were able to relax and enjoy the city as well. We ate fresh seafood (including the best Clam Chowder I've ever had) in Pike Place Market. We surveyed Seattle from the summit of the Space Needle. We took a ferry across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island. I climbed the 65' climbing wall at REI. We went to church at Mark Driscoll's church, Mars Hill Bible Church. Mandy and I loved the time we spent with each other, enjoying the city and discussing our future.

Mars Hill:
The point of our trip to Seattle was to visit a seminary there called Mars Hill Graduate School. Mars Hill is a cutting edge seminary that seeks to prepare students to deal with their own stories so they are able to minister to others, regardless of the culture they find themselves in.

The school was perfect. It is located in one building, an old, four-story luggage factory in downtown Seattle. It is one block away from Puget Sound and is sandwiched between a ritzy hotel and a low-income employment agency. The school has sought to preserve the warehouse feel, keeping its wood floors, vaulted ceilings, and garage doors for classroom walls. The building is full of art from the nearby Seattle Art Institute and student projects.

Our time at the school was filled with great information to help us make our decision. On Friday morning I went through the interview process. On Friday afternoon and Saturday was the actual Campus Visit Weekend. We got to hear lectures from current faculty, staff, and students, get information about academic programs and financial aid, meet other prospective students, and ask tons of questions we all had.

It was a great weekend and Mandy and I really feel called to go to seminary at Mars Hill. The question for us is when? Please be praying for us that we would sense God's timing about when to move on to the next season of our lives.

Last Minute Change of Plans

For who have been reading here in the last few months, you know that Mandy and I have huge plans this coming week as we are traveling to Seattle tomorrow morning to visit Mars Hill Graduate School. We will be flying out of Seattle on Monday where we will have to change planes in Denver. Rather than completing the rest of our trip we are going to stay in Denver and catch a cab downtown just in time to watch the Denver Broncos play live on Monday Night Football. We will then spend the Thanksgiving week at my aunt and uncle's condo in Breckenridge.

We found out this morning, though, that if we check any bags in Seattle on the return trip, they cannot be taken off the plane in Denver, but will simply be shipped on to Sioux Falls. So, we have to carry on all our luggage rather than checking any bags. I am actually quite proud of us for fitting clothes for 9 days into our carry-on luggage. Pray for us that this is the biggest surprise we face on our trip, although I doubt it will be.

The MAT

For those who read my blog, you know that Mandy and I are flying out to Seattle on Thursday morning to visit a graduate school that we think God is calling us to attend sometime in the near future. I had not thought very seriously about applying because Mandy and I are not sure yet when we would want to go out there for school. One of the pieces of the application process is an interview so I assumed that I would have to fly out to Seattle again after my application was in so I could meet with the interview committee. I found out last week, however, that if you have applied already you can interview this weekend during the Experience Mars Hill Weekend.

So this last week I quickly put together my application and overnighted it to Seattle for $16 so it would be in the hands of admissions this morning and hopefully I will be able to interview on Friday morning rather than having to make another costly trip in the spring.

The last part of the application process that I have not completed yet, though, is the taking of a test called the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Many grad. schools use this as their GRE in order to test your ability to think critically and analytically. I take this 120-question test tomorrow morning, pray that my head will be clear and focused and I am able to think deeply. Each question is in the format of something:something else::something:something else. I have looked at some practice questions and some are quite easy but others might as well say jflasjfla:jfalsjlf::_________:_________. Again pray for me. I'll let you know how it goes.