Used Bookstore or Cultural Commentary?

Monk?

Yesterday I was bored and had a lot of energy (probably because of the Iced Venti Coffee unsweetened with 2 add shots of espresso), so I went up to this random monastery in Trabuco Canyon.  I don't know what kind of monastery it is: Buddhist, Hindu, New Age... however, it was NOT Christian, which made it kind of strange.

To get there, I ascended a windy road. It was beautiful because it reminded me of how much I love being in nature.

It was so quaint and so not-OC!

There was a library you could go to and read. They had all kinds of religious texts, but what made me so happy (and even helps me justify going to a pagan monastery) is the HUGE collection they had of early Christian literature, church fathers, commentaries, and spiritual formation!  I picked up a book I have been wanting to read again for a long time, "Practice the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. 

All in all, my experience was interesting.  I'm not crazy about the idea of a pagan monastery, but I LOVE the books.  So, I might go back on Friday to finish the second half of my book!

Monday Update

So I have decided to do a monday update every monday. We'll see how long it lasts.  I think it will be good to keep in reflection mode and challenge me to process the things I don't care to blog about.  Here we go...

Where am I now?  I am currently at home sitting on the couch in our front living room.  I took Monday off this week because I worked 6 days last week.  I still haven't got dressed for the day. 

How was last week?  Last week was a roller coaster for me.  Last Sunday was encouraging because of Youth Sunday.  I felt filled and encouraged all the way until Wednesday night, then discouragement came.  Thursday morning I was encouraged and filled again, but the filling and encouraging kept coming and coming all the way through Sunday. (I still feel encouraged and filled for the record).

What is God teaching me right now?  I think God is challenging me with being joyful, since I am preaching through Philippians and the book is about joy.  Also, there has been a common theme of outreach and evangelism that I feel God's Spirit pushing me into. 

What am I excited for this week?  "4 Your Friends"- an outreach event on Wednesday night at our Youth Group. 

What is something random from the last week?  Kaitlin and I went on a walk to the middle school across from our house (where we both attended) and discovered that they have playground workout equipment! It's so funny and awesome!

What music have I been enjoying recently?  A random mix CD I have in my car that I titled, "Awesome LIVING!"

What books am I reading?  What books aren't I reading?!?! I really am bad a finishing books, so I am "skimming" a few: "Speaking to Teenagers," "The Vision and the Vow," "The Epic of Eden," "Sacred Marriage," and "Praying Through the Tabernacle." 

What am I reading in God's Word?  Philippians 

How can I reach others this week?  Joy conversations, lunch at Irvine high school, and pursuing reconciliation and rebuilding with someone. 

Idea Camp

I went to a conference called the Idea Camp last Friday.  It was an awesome conference on creativity, ministry, ideas, and social justice.  The coolest part about it was that is was FREE!!!  The two workshops I attended had to do with the identity of the Church and reaching the :hard to reach." I feel like I grew a lot from it and was really inspired by the speakers in the main sessions.  Adri's blog does a much better job describing the conference. Check it out!

Youth Sunday: "Crazy Love"

Last Sunday I preached on "Crazy Love."  The title and idea was not my own, but came from Francis Chan's book. The Youth Group took over the service and ran everything from sound, offering, greeting, worship, announcements, and artistic scenery.  You can listen to the sermon recording here.  I also showed a video, so you may want to watch it here so you know what's going on.

Productivity!!!

Today I accomplished so much and feel very good about it!

1. Scheduled out the new Phillipians series for Youth Group
2. Sent out my weekly parent letter
3. Contacted our Student Leadership team for our Sunday meeting
4. Prepared "Guy Talk/Girl Talk" small group curriculum
5. Studied, outlined, and prepared Wednesday's message on Phillipians 1:1-11
6. Started planning "4 Your Friends," our friendship outreach for March 4th. 

Woo Hoo for productivity!

My Favorite Facebook Ads...

I honestly don't understand these, especially the preaching one! I have a feeling that they just insert whatever your occupation in this ad.  Does anyone else get this crazy buff-bald preacher on their Facebook ads?  Also, the baby is freaky! I like the Asian lady ad better. She makes me laugh more than the baby.  Anyway, enjoy!

josh, unplugged.

So yesterday was a day off for President's Day, so I thought it would be a fantastic oppurtunity to take a much-needed Sabbath.  My dear wife was sick, so most of the day was spent with her.  It was nice to do very little.  I didn't even go outside all day!  Here was my Sabbath:

1. Woke up at 10:30am, showered, and got dressed in comfy clothes.
2. Read the first chapter of Philippians and journaled.
3. Made oatmeal and fruit.
4. Read some more.
5. Acted british: Made tea in a cup and saucer with cream and sugar, read poetry
6. Made lunch for Kaitlin and I
7. Watched Bringing Up Boys by  Dr. Dobson with Kaitlin for her class
8. Made Spaghetti for dinner
9. Watched some TV and talked with Kaitlin
10. Bedtime

The entire day was computer-less, Facebook-less, and cell phone-less. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next Sabbath I have!

What God Said

God said, "Listen."

Why?

1. To "Be still and know that He is God" (Psalm 46:10).
2. To avoid being "conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of my mind" (Romans 12:2).
3. To discover "the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). 

My ears and heart are attentive...

hello blog that i once loved so much!

so i have not updated for a while.  kaitlin and i are trying to figure out our life schedules.  it is working out pretty, though it seems a lot tougher for her then for me.  she goes to school twice a week and works the other three days. on top of that, she helps me in youth group and leads a girls discipleship groups after a 7 hour school day.  yeah, she's awesome! i love her so much!!!  

what else?... well, we seemed to be settled into our condo quite nicely.  it is the perfect size to feel cozy and have room to stretch.  oh ya!...our bed arrived about a week ago.  we were each used to sleeping in a full before we were married. then the honeymoon tricked us with king size beds the whole time.  i say tricked because when we got home, we had to share a full! CRAZY!!! kaitlin's parents were awesome enough to buy us a bed for our wedding gift.  we ended up with a king size sleep number bed!! *heaven* 

i love cooking! i do it all the time. tonight it homemade enchiladas! mmmmmm!  i like making my own recipes, or variation on ones i read in cookbooks.

so as of right now, my beautiful wife and i are sipping tea while she works on her homework and i catch up on blogging and facebook.  i'm still trying to maintain a loose connectedness to social networking.  i find myself not obsessed, but not completely removed.  it seems appropriate. 

oh ya... GOD IS AWESOME!  more on that later.