We never did eat falafel... (and other news)

Several weekends ago, a group of us embarked to Santo Domingo in the hopes of seeing Juan Luis Guerra in concert. He is a famous Dominican musician, is a christian, one a latin grammy, and is Julie's favorite singer (other than her dad, of course). Unfortunately for us the concert had been sold out for weeks (we discovered *after* arriving in Santo Domingo.) Our group began to make other plans that included a craft fair hosted by the Peace Corp in Zona Colonial, supper at "El Rey de Falafel" (The Falafel King) and some quality hang out time in the Zona Colonial at night. The day started with a lovely meal at Dragon House, a restaurant with a full Chinese and Japanese menu. I had miso soup, followed by "Cerdo Agridulce" (Sweet/Sour Pork), accompanied with a couple sushi rolls. mmm.... We went to the crafts fair, where I ran into a friend of mine from Concordia, and his girlfriend. Imagine that, three Cobbers reuniting in the Zona Colonial, DR by chance. We left there and wandered around some ruins of a castle, taking pictures, chatting, enjoying dusk, etc. After that we went to Acropolis (a mall) to check out the movies, in hopes of seeing one before getting falafel. Fortunately (in hindsight) there were no good movies, so we opted for a dessert at Fridays, then headed to Zona Colonial for falafel. En route, we happened upon a scalper. Jason encouraged us to check it out. 1,000 RD per ticket for ones that cost 600 RD in the shops! Darn scalpers, but fortunately for us the concert was about to start, he was desperate, etc...so we got the tickets for 500RD each. Perfect timing, we walked into the concert moments before Juan Luis sang! It was a beautiful concert, his band played different solos, there were AWESOME fireworks, and it rained...I love rain at an outdoor concert.

So, needless to say, we didn't get falafel. Not that anyone minded, I think.


Other news -

things to ask me about/write later:
50 houses
holidays (Julie and I's first christmas, family fireworks, etc)
how blessed we are
Rovian's christmas party
new neighbors
vonage
easel
julie painting

if you are curious about any of these things, e-mail (peteyjulie@gmail.com) or call 701-526-3331.

time for a healthy breakfast!

Today for breakfast, I ate:

1 piece cold pizza (three cheese with pepperoni)
1 TollHouse cookie bar

considering making some coffee...

Thanksgiving

Things I am thankful for:

1. The fact that God loves me and is interested in a relationship with me.
2. My wife - her sense of humor and adventure that we have recently joined together in life
3. My family - my dad's wisdom, my mom's encouragement, the love and humor of my two crazy brothers
4. Nina - the street dog who through providence found a place in my life and heart
5. Freedom
6. Rivers of Life - a wonderful group of Christian brothers and sisters in Fargo-Moorhead
7. Good books - currently in the midst of graduate studies but am reading a book about the life of Claude Monet
8. Knowledge of the fact that God will do a good work through me "I am the vine, you are the branches; If a man remains in me, and I am him he will bear much fruit. Apart from me he can do nothing" - John 15:5
   

current projects and musings

poems and ideas I want to develop:

"love of a lifetime" - memoirs of an awkward teen
captures the memories of the high school dance, the awkwardness of that moment when the slow song comes on and people start forming alliances for the dance, for the song, not wanting to be the first one out but certainly not the last or the excuses made to avoid the song but to capture the tension the is reflective of the undercurrent of self-doubt and challenge that is adolescence.

"opener" - saw a concert in Minneapolis, and the opener (Davis, I believe) just thinking what that must be like to walk onto stage, playing for a crowd of strangers, hardly anyone knows your name, they don't know your lyrics, and it's your job to "warm up" the crowd? should be interesting, did some free writing about it today to capture ideas.

the cost of bread

So last night was the maiden voyage for our new breadmaker. It was part of a group item purchase from Colby & Rachelle Ernest, friends of ours who are leaving soon. When I lived in Kulm, my family had a breadmaker. I loved putting that thing on timer, and waking up in the morning to a fresh loaf, some butter and honey! Eager as I was to embark, I set it up in the living room (our kitchen plugs aren't on the inverter...a bad thing if the power goes out). I plugged the breadmaker into a uninteruptable power supply, filled it with the ingredients for raisen bread, set the timer, and went to bed. During the night, the aroma of dough began to fill our apartment, and I even had a dream that two loaves were made (one white bread, and another was a lemon cake with frosting). These sweet dreams of hot bread shared with the neighbors, butter melting over a freshly cut slice were interrupted by...

THWACK!

THWACK!

*sigh* yes I had forgotten how loud the "knead" cycle is on those things. we couldn't shut our bedroom door because it would get too hot in there. So, from 3:30 a.m. (did I mention that I went to bed at 11:30?) to 4:00 a.m. I listened to:

THWACK!

THWACK!

Until falling blissfully asleep..until 5:00 A.M.

a long, shrill electronic noise pierced the air. It didn't stop. Julie and I both woke up, the UPS had tripped its breaker (it's a bad one, did it before with just a computer plugged in...don't ask me why I used it for the maiden voyage of the bread maker). Unfortunately, the power had cut on the UPS so we needed to reset the breadmaker. Fortunately it had made it through all the knead cycles (remember the THWACK!) and had risen...just needed to bake. There was a cycle that did 14 min of kneading, 20 rising, and 25 baking...perfect I thought. So I started it, waited 15 minutes for the knead to finish, then put the bread holder back in the machine, and went to bed for another blissful sleep (accompanied by some really weird dreams ranging from being kidnapped, to being at a leadership convention) ... until 5:55 a.m. yes folks, I brought my wristwatch in the bedroom which thankfully was still programed in housefather mode, and a "last minute" alarm of 5:55 to wake me up before getting the kids up at 6:00. Even more unfortunately I wasn't in the house and someone else was waking the kids up, therefore I had no business being up at 6:00, especially with how the night had gone. Shut it off, listened to Julie complain (rightfully so) and back to blissful sleep until...6:30 when the breadmaker beeped cheerfully to let me know it was done and warming. I didn't need to know this at that time. Fell back asleep blissfully until...7:00 a.m. until julie's alarm went off. THANK GOD I GOT OUT OF BED. otherwise it would have been a late morning.

I was in zombie bliss all day today.

next time, the bread maker is going in the spare bedroom..so the THWACK! minds its own darn biz.


until next time...

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST - My wife is sick

Greetings all,

Living in a third world country lends itself to exposure of bad food, parasites, etc. I am married to a native dominican, and she got parasites from some food we recently ate. (Interestingly I didn't get any, though we ate the same food).

She has been really sick for one week now. The doctors finally discovered what it was (parasites, amoebas - specifically). If she isn't better in a few days they are going to hospitalize her. I can't say enough how concerned I am for her well-being at this point in time.

There is no "right time" for an illness to occur, but within the last weeks of a semester only compounds the stress that I am experiencing.

Please pray specifically for:

1. Julie's recovery, that God heals her and provides comfort along the way.
2. That I may be patient, and God's love pours out through me into her life
3. That God gives Julie a renewed strength each day
4. That God lets me focus on schoolwork when needed, but to recognize my priority is my wife

I know we all come from unique experiences that bring different stress and joy. I thank you for your prayers and know that God will be glorified in all our trials! Praise be to Jesus, now and forever, Amen.

In Him,

Peter Schott

actually heard something profound on TV... (and another thought)

The other day I was watching "Dinner and a Movie" and the host made a comment that I felt was interesting, and had a lot of truth to it. He said, "Do you ever think that people watch TV to experience emotions they don't feel in their own lives?" How true this is! People living in fantasy, wanting to experience joy, sadness, or laughter but can't find those moments within their own lives. Praise God that he fills us in abundance with his love.

I saw a website the other day where a woman was selling her house, and herself with it as a bride! Again, how desperate are people to experience love, they will go to such great lengths to experience it. Yet the love of God is not an option for them. I find it interesting how there is such hard heartedness and resistance to God's love, it reminds me of Paul talking in Romans.

God's Grace, God's Love: Abundant, Overflowing, Invisible?

You may be confused by the title, and in theory, the concept of God's grace and love being invisible seems a bit far fetched. After all, God is, was, and will be now and forever. The Bible speaks many times of the depths of his love, and though I know it is there, my humanity cannot fathom a love that runs so deep to care about the dregs of humanity (myself included!)

I was reading Ephesians 3:14-21 the other day, and it is a refreshing promise. Yet how many times do I in my own life wallow in self-pity and misery to ignore his love!

Picture a bright, sunny day, sitting on the beach. Standing there, you look at your companion who is shivering and whimpering. You ask them why they are crying and shivering. They reply, "the wind is freezing, and the clouds are covering the sun! Look how foggy it is!" It doesn't make much sense, as the sun is out, blazing, and there is no wind. Yet how many times in our own lives to we convince ourselves that we are freezing, when the sun is so hot our feet burn in the sun! I know in my own life, I tend to do this. Yet God's love is so powerful that to be fully exposed to it would overwhelm us.

¹⁴For this reason I ^(A)bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, ¹⁶that He would grant you, according to ^(B)the riches of His glory, to be ^(C)strengthened with power through His Spirit in ^(D)the inner man, ¹⁷so that ^(E)Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being ^(F)rooted and ^(G)grounded in love, ¹⁸may be able to comprehend with ^(H)all the saints what is ^(I)the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know ^(J)the love of Christ which ^(K)surpasses knowledge, that you may be ^(L)filled up to all the ^(M)fullness of God. ^20(N)Now to Him who is ^(O)able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, ^(P)according to the power that works within us, ^21(Q)to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NASB)

culture shock

About two weeks ago, I returned to the Dominican Republic from a vacation in the U.S.A. A funny aside - never thought I'd be taking vacations from the Caribbean to the USA, always thought it was the other way around...

At any rate, the culture shock, conflicting worlds, collided several days ago. Julie and I went to supper at a Dominican couple's house. It was a lovely supper, aside from their child throwing up because of the pasta sauce, but that's another story.

My estimation is that less than 50 words were spoken in English the entire night. Now I'm by no means fluent in Spanish, but I do OK conversationally in most situations. However that night, I threw in the towel and became a casual - albeit frustrated observer. It was the straw that broke Pete's back. *sigh* The last time I truly felt this way was 2 weeks after getting married, and the time before that was August of 2003. There are many "things" that factor into this:

• seperation from family
• no matter where you go, you are different than everyone else
• having even a simple conversation is laborious and draining of your mental/emotional energy
• island life is nice, but for a guy who grew up in the Plains it can make one feel claustrophobic and trapped at times.
• little things become so frustrating - going to the store to buy a green pepper and you can't remember the name (aji, in case you were wondering), using sign language and saying "pimento verde" when I know that pimiento refers to the pepper in the shaker, it's just that I don't know another word...

But I must say "PTL" (Praise the Lord) for inverters! This little beauty converts 12V battery power to the 110 for our electrical system. So when the juice turns on and off at random or inconveniece, we hardly notice. Whereas before, we would groan, scramble for matches by the light of cell phone to ignite the kerosene lantern. Really put a damper on studying or any movie, cooking, etc that we might have been doing.

In other news, trip the states was great. Had some amazing food, and wonderful quality time with family. I'm so blessed to be a part of the family that God put me in.

expanse

So in America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river
pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw
land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coast, and all
that road going, all the people dreaming in the immensity of it...

--Jack Kerouac, On The Road, courtesy of: Wikiquote

Flying over North Dakota was a surreal experience. Once again seeing all that farm land, the unending jigsaw puzzle of square fields and road made me feel overwhelmed.

Today I was standing in a corn field with my dad, brother and several others. The wind blew across the Plains in a quiet rage, never ceasing. I stood amoung the rows for a moment of reflection, listening to the rustling leaves of the corn plants rubbing against each other in the wind. The stalks were so tall that my head could not be seen if I walked in far enough. For a brief moment I thought about "Children of the Corn" but then reminded myself about reality.

more to come later...

Driving

If you thought driving in the DR was bad, check this out.

http://media.putfile.com/survive-saigon-short-movie

oddities...

Things I have seen and experienced lately that remind me of the many differences to be found in DR living:

1. Majarete - Corn flavored ice cream. Yes, you read that correctly Corn flavored ice cream! I guess it has been around for awhile, but Friday was my first (and possibly last) experience with this culinary wonder. Surprisingly, the taste wasn't revolting but nothing I will want in my mouth again. Picture biting into a fresh piece of sweet corn, melted butter, except it is freezing cold and has the texture of ice cream.
2. Homeless, or night-shift security? The other day, I was taking an early morning walk. I came across a construction site with a Bobcat skid-steer loader. (I think I spelled that properly). To my surprise, a loud noise came from the cab once I was near. A man was wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping in the seat! If you have ever seen this equipment before, the cab is very small, and the seat is rigid, not very comfortable for sitting, let alone an entire night's sleep! Though I have noticed that construction workers here tend to spend a significant amount of time in the houses/building they are working on.
3. I'll try to get a picture of it, but I swear that the other day a dog was walking beside me who was a cross between a chiuaua and a black lab!

Sometimes I can't help but smile at how wonderfully diverse our world is! And to think that God knows each of us intimately, the complexity of that information simply blows a fuse in my mind.

Hymns are so beautiful

A quote from Charles Wesley, heard on a broadcast by Ravi Zacharias:

O Thou who camest from above, the pure celestial fire to impart, kindle the flame of sacred love on the mean altar of my heart; and there let it for Thy glory burn with un-extinguishable blaze, and trembling to its source, return in humble prayer and fervent praise. Jesus confirmed my heart’s desire to work and speak for Thee, still let me guard the holy fire, and still stir up Thy gifts in me. Ready for all Thy perfect will, my acts of faith and love repeat, til death Thy endless mercy seal and make my sacrifice complete.

Isaac Watts, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

William Cowper, There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood:

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

I'm famous! (Well, relatively speaking)...

I've found my fame on the Presurfer. For those of you scratching your head, and something to the effect of:

"Huh?"

coming out of your mouth, no worries. Presurfer is a blog that collects interesting links, news bits, etc for the interested viewer. A recent post reminded me of a favorite site, Too Much Coffee Man, an internet based comic that is social, political, sarcastic and somewhat dark. (My type of humor)

Anyhoo I passed the link on to Señor Presurfer who liked and put it on his site. It may not be much to you, but means a lot to a fan. Here is the post:

----
Too Much Coffee Man (can there ever be too much coffee?) is a comic by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler. Presurfer reader Peter pointed me to the Coffee Man site after my post about INeedCoffee.

According to the author, Too Much Coffee Man started as a joke in 1992. Beginning as a weekly cartoon in the Austin American-Statesman, he now has been seen in such diverse locations as TV Guide, MTV, and an animated Converse shoe commercial. Too Much Coffee Man is about a manic-depressive,obsessive-compulsive, coffee-cup-headed anti-hero. It's not all about coffee, he likes to move into social and political areas as well.

Check out Too Much Coffee Man and take delight in his wisdom: If you can't be happy naturally, be unnaturally happy. Oh, and you don't have to be a coffee addict to enjoy Wheeler's comic.

(Thanks Peter)
----

Article can be found at: http://presurfer.meepzorp.com/archive/2005_07_01_archive.html#112280639751862410

*sigh*

I remember the day I walked out of Old Main on Corncobia's (Concordia's) campus. Having turned in my last assignment of my undergraduate college career, a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders! The air was crisp that December day, the buildings and trees were blanketed by a gentle layer of fog. I stood for a moment in the courtyard, gazed upon the "Ole & Lena" statue as my lungs filled themselves of that clean, crisp air. "I'm done." I thought to myself as a smile creeped slowly upon my face. Four and one-half years work resulting in this very moment.

It was a good moment.

A great feeling.

But I'm ready for more. Starting on August 8th, 2005, I will be joining Joshua Redding for a "Distance Learning Adventure" courtesy of Liberty University. We will be pursuing a M.A. in Professional Counseling.

And the world would never be the same.

neverland

Sitting on the porch last night, I was watching two girls race on bikes and one boy popping wheelies on his "training wheels" bike. It inspired me to write a poem, I'll leave the interpretation to you. Feel free to share comments about it!

neverland

the dog's head peaks up for a momentary glimpse
then disappearing back into the tall grass
children race back and forth across the parking lot
on their bicycles
a young boy practicing "popping wheelies"
a fascination that will undoubtably continue past training wheels
to his future pasola or motorcycle

it is dusk and again there is no power
the horizon is marked by the silhouette of palm trees
pine trees and mountains - a pink sky dotted with
lazy grey clouds compose the backdrop
there are white horses in a neighboring field
they whinny, perhaps in conversation with
each other

llego la luz!
our fair town has power again
and so the people celebrate with a laugh and shout
several return inside from their porchesto their business -
others continue their conversation
talking excitedly over the click-clack
of dominoes
the precious few with inverters continue as though nothing happened

the faint rhythm of merengue
pulses in the distance

dusk grows deeper
the boy falls again - running home, though he will not cry
in town there are many boys dressed as men
who also refuse to cry but do not return
home

--11 July 05, Jarabacoa

a simple prayer and a simple poem

The poem was written several years ago, the prayer yesterday. I think their
simplicity speaks volumes and will leave it for your interpretation/comment.

Prayer (10 July 2005) -

Lord, I want peace in my life...
...Lord, I really don't know what I want for my life
...Lord, I want you.

Poem (29 January 2001) -

a billowy cloud of white unfurling itself across the darkened
landscape
covers my fears and burdens in a blanket of white
lifting them
to the heavens,
burdens are mine no more!

rest child for I am with
you always.
--grace

running to humans...

...is what I tend to do when I am stressed or faced with a problem. I am trying my darndest to do that in this situation as well, so I will leave the specifics unspoken. You may or may not have any clue how hard this is for me. I so desperately want to divulge every cry of my heart to any ear that will listen.

But God, in a still, quiet whisper speaks into my ear, "Turn to me, find your strength in me, let me guide you through."

Pray that I have the strength and humility to do this. Even now as I am about to publish the post I am thinking of who I can call to talk to about this situation.

Photos from our apartment...will take you to another site.

Here are a few photos I took the other day, in my attempts to:

1. Give people an idea of what our living space looks like
2. Capture the beauty of the mountains outside
3. Be artistic and take some evening shots.

Here are the results, they will take you to my photo gallery:


<-Inside apartment ||Mountain View ->

Nina...

Yes, this is our dog. We "adopted" her (read: rescued) from our previous neighbor who was poking hard at her, when the dog had the misfortune of walking into her yard. Julie rescued her, we gave her food/water, and left to a friends house. When we returned that night, the dog had left, but was roaming in the yard below (rebellious dog... *wink*)

The next morning was our day off. I got up, started to make some coffee and thought to myself, "I'll bet that dog is sitting right outside our door." I opened it up and sure enough, she was lying down on a 5 inch concrete ledge between the wall and stairs. It took a tremendous amount of coaxing (and fresh meat) to lure her from her refuge. She quickly warmed up to Julie and I and thus began our mutual arrangement. We provided house, home, food, shelter, and love for the dog, and in return she was her happy self and stayed loyal to us.

Nina adjusted to the move into our new apartment quite well. It's been amazing to see her transformed from a battered, scared little thing who would run tail-tucked every time someone new came into the house to a confident (well, not all the times but she's improving) upbeat puppy who likes to play with others!

Nina has this hilarious new habit. She will run back and forth outside, find a seemingly random spot in the sand (maybe it's purposeful for her, but it sure seems random) and proceed to dig down about 4 inches. Once that is finished she sticks her nose in it as far as she possibly can, and with all the breath she can muster, sniffs the hole. This is only made more humorous when, after checking the hole for strange smells, she sprawls out on the ground, lifts her head up and looks at you with this big smile, tongue dangling, and her nose/chin splotched with sand.

Sound intrigued?

Come visit us and see for yourself.

random thought for the day

What if people got as excited about Jesus as they did alcohol? Now I realize that the entire world isn't filled with boozehounds, and I'm not saying Christians are alcoholics. Just picture this scene:

Friday afternoon on a college campus. People are walking out of their last class, a buzz of excitement is in the air, two days of freedom! You hear people talking as the walk - face to face, on their phones, text messenging their plans.

Imagine thousands of people gearing up to spend a night talking about Jesus, praising him or hitting the streets to share him with others.

What if instead of bars, there were mini-churches or places for Christians to meet and spend the night talking about what God is doing in their lives?

It sounds hokey, but think about it. We expend so much energy into things that hurt us, gloss over insecurity, and only compound our problems, yet we don't want to have the full struggle of true faith and giving our lives over to Jesus.

It's like we're grasping onto razor wire with our bare hands, and we're resisting Jesus's outstretched arms. Our hands, our fingers get sliced up and we cry out in pain. We become angry for the scars and ask "Where is God?"

Sounds silly, but I can count many of the ways I have clung to the razor wire in my own life.

Be careful what you ask for...

...you just may get it.

Recently I was reading a book called "Prayer" by Richard Foster. It was all I could do to make it through the first two chapters, I got so convicted. One of the excerpts from the chapter on Simple Prayer was a cry to God to help me want what I need.

Lord, help me want what I need.

The ironic piece of this puzzle is that when we ask for things in good faith, we receive them - though not in the way or time we expect. I recall times when I would pray that God would make me more patient, or teach me to be a more patient person. Did God open the heavens, shine a warm light down into my heart, and presto! patience is mine? Unfortunately, no. He put me in situations where my patience would be tested. I was given the opportunity to choose to learn patience or practice impatience.

Lord, help me want what I need.

Know what happens the moment I ask this? All the things I think that I need surface. I am surrounded with a montage of thoughts, images, and experiences that I want. Do I necessarily need them? The obvious answer is no. I don't necessarily need a car. Having extra support money isn't a need, I could manage quite fine on my current budget.

As I type this entry, KFNW is playing through my computer speakers. I love listening to familiar voices, radio format, and songs while away from my home. Stephen Curtis Chapman just got done singing "My Redeemer Is Faithful and True." A fair number of you have probably never heard it...the lyrics are something like this:

As I look back, on this road I travel, I see so many times he's carried me through. If there's one thing that I've learned in my life, is my Redeemer is faithful and true. My Redeemer is faithful and true, everything he has said, he will do.

There's more to it, a beautiful song with comforting message. Reminds me of my mother who first showed it to me so many years ago.

Throughout this pain and challenge, I have realized several things:

1. I am a selfish person.
2. There are many times I lack perseverance.
3. I become so consumed with my own desires! They take over my thought life and I am surrounded by fantasy of what things could be like that I lose track of what I ought to be doing.
4. Poor listening skills and selfishness interfere with me making a true heart connection with people.
5. I am very demanding of myself and of others, oftentimes in unreasonable ways.
6. My first impulse is to run to people for answers rather than God.
   

I had a real "jerk moment" this week. Another staff member in our department announced that she, her husband and their new daughter would be leaving in September to start a new ministry. My first thoughts - to be honest they were not of the family, but of myself. I began to think of myself in the husband's role here at NHYM, how I am fit for the job, etc. I began writing a note to my boss in my head asking her about the role.

Petty.
Selfish.

Fortunately for me I exhibited some self-control and did not send any message. I have been spending time in prayer about the subject, and asking forgiveness for being so selfish. My first thoughts should have been on the couple. They are entering into a new ministry, what an exciting and scary time!

If you are reading this, I want to extend my deepest and most sincere apologies. It is so awesome that you are following God's call in this way. It will be my prayer that your transition is showered with God's blessing and peace.

Lord, help me want what I need.

Malachi - More to Come

We've all heard of it, Malachi. Mah la CHI as some may say. It's that last little book in the Old Testament, just a few short pages and chapters, words of a prophet then -

SILENCE

nothing more for 400 years until the New Testament came along, brought Jesus with it, and our lives would never be the same again.

Malachi is a great chapter for me to be reading right now, because it strikes me at my greatest and most profound sin - mediocracy. Being settled, comfortable with where I'm at brings with it a certain amount of pain and some joy, too. It's not the easiest, nor the best, but hey- it's comfortable.

What then becomes of me is a sluggard, a spiritual couch potato. Picture fat middle aged man sitting on a couch, wearing the A-Frame (read: wife beater undershirt). He's unshaven, potato chip crumbs on his chest while he slouches, remote control in hand with his arm draped over the side of the couch. The man flips through the channels, time passes. Admittedly he does become bored at times. He knows he *could* go for a walk, call a friend, or perhaps take a trip out of town, the man chooses not to.

Spiritually, I am that man right now. I confess it, in all the ugliness it entails. I need to become more spiritually disciplined, and intend to do so through the following:

1. Regular quiet time: I intend to get up at (don't laugh) 5:00 a.m. each day to pray, read the Bible, and do devotions. I successfully did this for the first time, this morning!
2. Re-think prayer: I am reading the book "Prayer" by Richard Foster in order to grow in this area.
3. Bible Study: I will be meeting with several men to go through the book "The Complete Husband" by Lou Priolo to gain more understanding of how to love and honor my wife.
4. Scripture Memorization: I want to go through the scripture memorization list that our students go through, in order. I will start with 1 John 1:5-10 (NIV).

Anyways, back to Malachi. There are eight questions we ask of God, and he gives his response. As I learn more of them, I will outline them here in the blog. The eight questions are:

1. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' (1:2)
2. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' (1:6)
3. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' (1:7)
4. You ask, "Why?" (2:14)
5. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. (2:17)
6. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' (3:7)
7. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' (3:8)
8. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' (3:13)

More to come soon. Read the book of Malachi for more information until then. Leave comments if you would like!

Confuddled

*sigh*

My life is at a crossroads...or is it? Everyday I am faced with choices big and small - do I practice what I preach? In all honesty, the answer to that question is no. I encourage my students to seek discipleship and ask God for direction. Yet when I myself face problems or challenges, I oftentimes internalize them and make it about me and what I want rather than what God wants.

Recently I gave up something to God that was very important, and I am relieved to finally take the burden off my shoulders. From the day I arrived in the Dominican Republic, I carried the mind set that I would someday leave here for other things. You may find yourself asking what is wrong with that, as I myself have often done. The problem lies in when I try to put God on a timeline.
"Yes, I'll finish my two year contract then move back to the States."
"Well, this new position opened up, maybe I'll extend my contract for a year, start working on my Masters, and leave to finish it in the USA."
"Perhaps I'll finish my Masters here, then go back to the States and work."

AAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!

It is so stressful always having an end in sight, and for me it makes me lose track of the day to day in the meantime. I wrote a poem about it once, someday when I find the journal that it's written in, I will publish it here. As I was walking to the Supermercado several weeks ago, I realized what awful stress I was placing on my shoulders. Yes, I am the king of carrying imagined burdens. I told God that it didn't matter to me anymore when I left. Whether it was one year, five years, five weeks, or never, I would trust the decision to him. God would let me know in his own special way when it was time for me to move on. *phew*

Another thing that concerns me is the direction for my life. I am struggling with what I should be doing, am I following God's will, or simply doing what is falling into place. When I think about my passions, they are to group work/interaction, policy and internal action, and cooking. I've heard that you should turn your hobby into a career since that is what you love to do. Well, I enjoy cooking with a passion, should I enter into that career? Would it be a bold move towards my calling, or something I would regret in later years?

I don't see myself as being a counselor for my entire career. Is this just a stepping stone to something greater, and if so should I just persevere during this training time? I've always wanted to do something with teaching or social action. like community organizing. Is this where I'm headed? I feel so overwhelmed.

Psalm 131 comes to mind:

1 O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve
myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. 2 Surely I
have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child {rests} against his
mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me. 3 O Israel, hope in
the LORD From this time forth and forever.

Please pray that I seek God's will, not mine in this situation. I so desperately need him in this hour for strength, assurance, and mercy.

Yea, I know...It's about time.

Well, we finally made it back from that house trip, you see what happened was there was this bridge that had collapsed and we were forced to find another route to our destination, little did we know that a wormhole in the space-time continuum would send us on another adventure, much too wild and exotic for this story, it shall remain for another day. *sigh*

Well, all of that is true except for the wormhole part, I must confess. We did reroute our trip due to a bridge collapse, but made it to Santo Domingo on a beautiful, yet uneventful trip. I do like my alternative version much better though.

So many things happening, happened, and yet to happen that I do not know where to begin. Since my last post I have traveled the continents, waited for a plane delayed by "weather" (when other planes took off and landed during that time), spend a night in New York (well...Jamaica, NY 1/2 mile from JFK), experienced sub-zero weather, hit by a snowball, fireworks on New Years, my first wedding registry, laughed, cried, slept the occasional hour.

March 5th fast approaches, changing my life forever as for some reason I'm about to let someone else share it with me, let alone that they would consider spending it with a person like myself is beyond all reasonable boundaries of sanity. I guess if they are that crazy then by gosh I'll let them along for the ride and God only knows what will happen.

So many fantastic things to write about...

Please pray for the following: (pretty please, with sugar on top)
1. Graduate School: that the application process goes well, and that the financial aid comes together. I am planning on attending Asbury Theological Seminary for a dual degree Master of Counseling and a Master of Social Work.

2. Marriage: Yes folks, on March 5th I will become a husband. Please pray for Julie as she adjusts to my warped personality and way of life. Also that we can grow closer together spiritually, keeping God as the focus and reason for being.

3. Wedding: Yes similar to #2 but not a repeat, pray that the wedding goes smoothly, guest arrivals/departures, itinerary of the wedding, etc. It is a difficult time because Julie's mom/dad is taking next to no interest/involvement in the plans. In fact, we are uncertain as to whether or not her father will even attend.

4. Job transition: I am transitioning into a Counselor position, pray that all those adjustments are made through God's will and strength, not my own.

And as that feisty king from "The King and I" would say, "Et cetera, Et cetera...."

With that for now, I will close. Hope this day finds you singing, smiling, and knowing that, yes, God loves us in spite of ourselves.