Live Your Story

The Gauntlet: Mosaic Dance Video

2007-12-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

We'll Miss You Sean Taylor

2007-11-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

Redskins safety Sean Taylor died this morning from a gunshot wound after his Miami home was broken into. What a tragedy! He was only 24-years-old. That's my age. On top of that, he has a one-year-old daughter. You can read the story here.

This makes me sad and angry. Here is a player and a person who was striving to be the best person he could be, and someone just comes in and ends his life. They're not sure if it was just a robbery gone wrong or an intentional revenge killing. Taylor was involved in altercations a few years ago that involved someone stealing his ATV and a confrontation with the suspected thieves. Either way, it's tragic. Sean's career was beginning to pick up and he was becoming a leader on his team. He had so much hope and promise not just as a player, but as a person. People talked about how since he became a father he was trying to be a good father and he was beginning to mature as a person and player. He was one of the players I was most excited to see on the field whenever I watched the game. I'll miss him. We all will miss him. Prayers go out to his family and close friends. We'll miss you Sean Taylor.

Original Life Dance

2007-11-26T12:57:00.000-05:00

The Lie

2007-11-15T17:09:00.001-05:00

Leadership

2007-11-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

our protege group is centering our learning labs on the topic of leadership, specifically what's called self-leadership. traditionally we think of leadership as "leading down" or leading people who are under you as you are their superior. we spend a little bit of time "leading up" to our own superiors. then horizontal leadership is leading those who are our organizational equals, or our peers. but often times self-leadership is ignored. 1 Timothy 4:14-16 is used for to illustrate this concept:

do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

i think self-leadership is incredibly important when it comes to being in a position to lead others. i think part of my self-leadership is not thinking of leading as a position or entitlement, but an opportunity and privilege to serve others. it's hard to resist that feeling of entitlement when you are feel responsible for it. but really my place here right now is to serve those around me, and whether i'm noticed for it or not doesn't matter. as a people-pleaser i want to get recognition for things, but that's not the model of leadership/servanthood that Jesus modeled. my role as a follower of Christ is to help others along their life journey in any way i can. my prayer is not for position or entitlement, but contentment and opportunities to contribute.

College Advance

2007-11-02T12:32:00.000-05:00

last weekend we had our first Mosaic College Advance. it's essentially a "conference"-type "getaway" for college students who live in/near the Los Angeles city/LA county area. Mosaic calls their retreats "Advances" because they believe that leaders don't retreat, but advance. i just call it a good time to hang out with friends and meet new people.

Friday
we rolled up into the mountains of california just north of los angeles. i had no clue that southern cal had a boony-type area. it seriously felt weird driving through the mountain range know that the only lights around were my headlights and the moon. i think i heard a banjo in the distance...anyways, when we got there we got our stuff in our cabin and hung out with people. i didnt get much sleep that night because anytime you get a room full of guys, somebody snores. dang it was loud.

Saturday
woke up after not much sleep to catch the tail-end of breakfast. then we had our morning session of the "advance" where Steve Saccone talked about perspective. he described 4 perspectives:
1) fearful to focused
- not knowing what to do and being paralyzed by fear to overcoming fear, understanding your calling, and living your convictions
2) reactive to reflective
- reactive to proactive
3) expressive to empowered
- not just expressing ourselves out of narcissism but doing something about it
4) entertained to engaged
- seizing the opportunities in front of us and not letting less important things dominate our lives

after Steve's talk we broke up into discussion groups and talked about different issues. one group did the ever-so-popular "dating/relationships" discussion. another facilitated a discussion on how to make an impact on your campus. the last group did a discussion on human sex trafficking awareness. the last group had a guest speaker named Charity from Mosaic who is working with a anti-human sex trafficking group called Nightlight.
when those broke we had lunch and some of us played football for 2 hours. then had our evening session. it was a Q&A with a guy from Ireland (my roommate), Australia, and Seattle. the point was mainly to have a conversation that is globally focused.

Sunday
we had breakfast and our morning session with Jason Jaggard about making an impact on our campuses by finding their needs. it was based around Erwin McManus' book Soul Cravings. we assessed the needs of our respective campuses based on the need for intimacy, destiny, and meaning.

overall it was a great experience. the college students were really able to connect well and most of them were able to go to Mosaic sunday night gatherings with more of a sense of community. plus i got to play football and burn Steve twice, both for touchdowns!

Halloween in Hollywood

2007-11-01T14:53:00.000-05:00

last night was Holloween as many of you know. some go trick-or-treating, some throw parties, i went to a Fall Festival in East LA at Iglesia Batista Unida with a few of my friends at FIDM. the guy running the show, Carlos Arce, asked me if i could face paint for the kids. i told him that i could put paint on kids' faces, but the likely result would be them crying. he retracted his request and had me watch the moon bounce. when my friends at FIDM showed up, they stormed the facepainting and succeeded where i was sure to bring devastation and misery.

afterwards a group of us made the long trek to west hollywood. legend has it there's a humungous party that goes on there that everyone goes to. it was very apparent that everyone goes to the party because we moved an average of 3 mile/hour the entire way there and spent a long time trying to find parking. we finally found parking at about 11 o'clock (about an hour and a half after we embarked on the journey) and had to walk a couple of miles just to find out that the party had just ended. darnit!!

it wasn't a total loss though. there were things happening all along the street on the way up to the party. we also got to see some pretty amazing costumes. this one guy was a bush and stood on the sidewalk, armed with an airhorn. when unsuspecting people walked by he would blast his airhorn and everyone would jump and scream. it was hilarious to watch!

as hyped up as it was, halloween in west hollywood is really not too terribly different than holloween anywhere else. some people had some incredibly creative ideas. one guy was a drivers license. another guy was a myspace page! i saw somebody dressed as some type of yeti. they actually incorporated small stilts into their costume to be taller! another guy was just himself but he had made a bear out of what looked like paper michet and it was chomping down on his head. it was great to see the innovation and artistry that people put into their costumes. i was a bandit of some sort. or maybe Hildalgo. i'm still not sure...

Fresh Start

2007-10-31T10:15:00.000-05:00

hey everyone!

i realize that it's been a while since my last significant post so i wanted to give you an update as to what's going on.

Transition

i've moved to downtown Los Angeles. my apartment is called the Medici. it's a rockin place where lots of college students live. i have a hot tub right outside my room. there's also a mini-gym next to my room as well. just lettin you know that i'm roughin it. it's a big step up from sleeping on people's couches. i love walking around downtown. the city is beautiful at night.

Protege

the protege program is keeping me very busy, but it's been an incredible experience. last week a cultural futurist (someone who sees cultural trends and predicts where they're going) named Leanord Sweet came to talk to us about cultural trends. it was really interesting. i'll post some stuff i learned from him in a later post. my Golden Gate classwork has been keeping me very busy. i'm actually taking a break right now from a 7-page (single spaced) take-home midterm that's due today. i have to squeeze in time for school work so when deadlines/exams come i'm starting to pull all-nighters to cram it all in. it's ok though. something i've been learning more about myself is that i thrive under pressure. i'm not saying that i love it, but i just do better when there's a sense of urgency.

Work

i'm still looking for a job. i applied to Apple but i forgot that the holidays are coming up and they have blackout periods where you can't ask for vacation time. this is rough because i already bought my tickets to go home for Thanksgiving and if i missed Christmas my parents and my fiance would probably kill me. now i'm starting to look for jobs that aren't affected by the holidays.

FIDM

FIDM stuff has been going AWESOME! what's great is that i know it's not because i've done some great job of planning or steering it. things just keep coming up that seem to be great ideas to do and people just start jumping on board. last week we had a bonfire and all these students showed up that i had never met before. i was worried that no one would come and all these people showed up and had a blast. we cooked s'mores around the bonfire at the beach and got to meet new people. afterwards everyone was having so much fun that we ended up going to In-N-Out for an hour before going home. tonight we're going to help with a Fall Festival for an outreach project in Boyle Heights. we'll be helping people throw a festival for the youth in the area with face painting, games, booths, and all sorts of fun. i think it'll be a great way for FIDM students to see the community in which they live and how a small act can make a big difference in the life of youth.

Wedding

my wonderful fiance just got back from Virginia where she was getting things taken care of for our wedding (isn't she the best!). her and her mother and grandmother worked together to knock off a ton of things that needed to get done way ahead of time. i'm really excited about having these wonderful people as my in-laws! they got the date taken care of, the place where we're getting married, the reception, the wedding dress, the bridesmaid dresses, the photographer and the honeymoon (i told you i have the most amazing fiance and in-laws!)! i'm waiting to get the website at theknot.com and in another post i'll tell you the date.

for now that's it. until next time!

This is an AMAZING Video!

2007-10-08T12:05:00.001-05:00

She Said YES!

2007-09-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

I'm officially engaged to Elizabeth!!! I proposed Monday, September 17 and she said YES!! I'm super stoked but unfortunately also super busy. I'll have the full story and pictures from the day. Hang tough!

Faith of Action

2007-09-05T01:47:00.000-05:00

today i read Luke 5:20. i'll give you the back story. so Jesus was in an unspecified city (or maybe i missed the name of the city. the text only says, "a certain city") and He had been performing all these miracles and doing these amazing things. this of course draws a large crowd of people wherever Jesus goes, which brings us to verses 18 and 19:

"Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus."

now i find this very endearing and a great illustration on true friendship. however, it's not the part that stuck out to me. the part that stuck out was verse 20:

"When He saw their faith, He said to him, 'Man, your sins are forgiven you.'"

if you think about it, faith is a very abstract concept. the word itself doesn't necessarily stick out in my mind as something that is concrete and tangible. faith is an idea of something that i always seem to need more of and wonder how the heck the people in Scriptures became known for. right now i'm going through a process of understanding what active faith really is. i think this is a really great illustration as to what active faith looks like when it's practiced. now i know that we can't go picking up our paralyzed friends and start climbing on rooftops, however, the essence of this is the friends' love and care for the plight of their friend in need. no, i can't solve all my friends' problems. i actually can't even solve some of them. however, i can help them as much as i can until it's no longer in my control, but it completely rests in God's control. a guy at Mosaic named Jason Jaggard once alluded to active faith as banking everything on the possibility that God exists and that He cares deeply for us.

Squirrel farting a fresh Air Explosion

2007-09-01T01:15:00.001-05:00

this is one of the funniest commercials i have ever seen. you must watch it with sound. i laughed so hard i cried. ask Elizabeth!

SO COOL!

2007-08-30T16:01:00.000-05:00

i'm on the internet!!! check this out:

http://college.mosaic.org/oncampus.html

Back to School

2007-08-29T12:13:00.000-05:00

last night i had my first class at Golden Gate. i have to admit, it was pretty awesome. i don't think i had a good attitude about it going into the class because A) it took up 2 1/2 hours of my evening, which was already packed with meetings and tasks; and B) i haven't heard the greatest things from other people about the classes. however, i loved the class. my professor wore this absurd shirt and had a weird pony tail, which is a good thing when it comes to having a professor. he was really challenging to the traditional thinking of the Scriptures (it was a New Testament intro class). i couldn't take notes fast enough. i'm really excited about the classes that i'm going to be taking this semester.

here's my course load:

New Testament Intro I
Old Testament Intro I
Mission of the Urban Church - taught by Eric Bryant
Foundations for Ministry - taught by Erwin McManus

Goodbye Skins' Games

2007-08-27T13:19:00.000-05:00

problems with living on the West Coast:

1) the only football games that are shown on TV are of the Raiders, 49ers, Chargers, and sometimes the Cardinals. i don't really care about any of these teams.

2) the Redskins' games are not aired on TV out here...suck

3) i work all day Sundays anyways so i won't be able to keep up with the NFL this year...suck. i'm still going to play fantasy football though. just not as much...

all this to say: i am sad that i will miss the Redskins games. if you happen to stumble on a game, please think of me and keep me posted. play-by-play is preferable (but only when they are doing well). Redskins, you will be missed.

Transitioning

2007-08-27T02:29:00.000-05:00

transitioning from the summer internship to the 2-year internship has been funky (that's right, i said 'funky'). i've been to Mosaic for a little while and i know people, but at the same time i'm starting something new and stepping into a lot of new uncertainties. things feel familiar but so different at the same time. it's really weird.

things have been awesome being close to Elizabeth. i get to see her a lot more often, which is a very nice feature of living in SoCal now. we're 98% closer (60 miles vs. 3,000 miles) now and it's wonderful!

update on support: going great! i'm at 50% at the moment with more commitments coming in! God has been so awesome at providing. i was basically like, "God, surprise me and show me how much i need you" and He did JUST THAT. He's also been basically surprising me with free meals and a great interim place to stay with awesome guys (thanks Gabriel, Andrew, and Jason...who i never see but i know that you're there).

FIDM

2007-08-16T17:23:00.000-05:00

one of my Protegé assignments for Mosaic is to work with college students at the Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising (FIDM). i'm really excited about this because i already know a lot of the students involved and they're wonderful people! i'm really excited because this group is AMAZING! they have such a passion to love and help people. i can't wait to see where God takes this group! last night we all got together and hung out at one of the guy's apartments downtown. we started talking about politics and voter apathy, which eventually led into a discussion about apathy in general in our generation and culture. this led to a discussion about passion for people and activism for those in need. i wish you could have been there because it was a great discussion. next week we're going to watch Invisible Children and have a discussion about it afterwards. you're invited!

Mobile LA Nomad

2007-08-15T18:20:00.000-05:00

i got my car!!!!

after going an entire summer in LA without a car, i finally have my car! it got shipped to me this morning in Pasadena. i'm so stoked! my awesome girlfriend Elizabeth helped drove me up at 6:30 IN THE MORNING to attempt to beat horrible traffic driving into LA. thank you Elizabeth!!!

so now i have my car. unfortunately i don't have a place to live so i've kind of been preparing myself to be an LA nomad. it's a pretty exciting life! this is definitely a time where i have to just trust that God will provides. this is the context in which trust becomes active. we'll see where this leads me!

Wrapping Things Up

2007-08-10T13:21:00.000-05:00

things are winding down as the summer internship is coming to a close. doesn't mean i'm less busy, it just means that i'm not juggling 10 things at once anymore. well...no i take that back. as of august 13th i'll be a nomad in los angeles so i'm trying to find a place to crash, i need to open a bank account out here, gotta find a way to get my car picked up, trying to raise support, cleaning the apartment and fixing up broken things, and a few more things. so yeah, i'm still busy :).

it's weird that everyone will be leaving in just a few days. i think i'd be a lot more sad about it but i know i'll be staying here. i'm definitely going to miss everybody but i guess at the same time i'm really excited about stepping into this next experience. it's really scary at the same time because there's so much uncertainty that surrounds everything for me. i believe everything will turn out ok, but i still have to admit it's kind of scary.

i'm really going to miss the other summer interns. i'm really hoping that the relationships we started here at Mosaic won't end here at Mosaic but will continue on. i realize that it'll be tough to keep in touch with everybody, but i connected especially with a few of them and i hope that we can continue to keep in contact at least. we've worked so hard together and i really believe we've established an amazing bond of friendships. i've had so much fun this summer!

Officially Moved!

2007-08-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

i've officially moved to los angeles! i have no pending flights back to virginia. very exciting and at the same time very scary. i know it'll work out, but i know that i'll have to bust my butt to seize opportunities so that i can live here.

i was just home for about a week. i was visiting family and friends and raising support. it's kind of sad that i won't see people again until thanksgiving and for some people perhaps longer! but i guess that's a part of growing up. gross.

so now i'm here in los angeles. i've got a few days left of this summer internship and then i start my 2-year internship with Mosaic. i'm really stoked about it! the next couple of days will be hectic. i've got to find a bank, open a bank account, find a job, and find a place to live for at least the next month. however, i should be getting my car in about a week and my computer around the same time so i'll be able to drive to different places as well as blog more! hooray!

Who Would I Be?

2007-08-06T10:54:00.000-05:00

i was tagged by Elizabeth with this so for the sake of keeping with tradition (plus it's fun), here goes:

1) PERSON FROM HISTORY: me now, but in the future when now is history!!!

2) CELEBRITY: Homer Simpson

3) ATHLETE: Harry Potter, Quidditch.

4) FAMOUS MUSICIAN: Bono

5) CHRISTIAN MOVER AND SHAKER: i aspire to become a mover and a shaker (i know i've used this picture before, but it's relevant to the question)

ok, so i guess i could either tag Annie but i know she's already been tagged. so i tag Annie AND Eric Bryant (one of these days he will read my blog and see that i've tagged him!)

LA BOUND

2007-07-20T15:32:00.000-05:00

i was accepted into the Protege program at Mosaic!

the Protege program is Mosaic's 2 year internship program where i will be getting a Masters in Theological Studies with a concentration in Global Leadership. i'm so excited!
here's the blurb for it:

http://www.mosaic.org/protege

so right now i'm planning a trip home for a little over a week (July 29th to August 8th)in order to get all my stuff together to move out to LA. i'll also be needing to stop by Richmond for 2 to 3 days (July 30-31st and maybe August 1st) to get some paperwork taken care of and such. Richmond here i come!

while i'm home i'll also be raising support for my time out there. i'm going to need to raise about $1,500 a month for 2 years. i have to admit, i'm really nervous about this. it's really expensive to live out here in Los Angeles and i only have a week to meet with people and raise support, but i trust that God made this happen so He'll open doors for my finances.
pray for me!

There's Just So Much...

2007-07-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

so i learned a valuable lesson the past 2 weeks: i can't do everything!

there's been so much that i've wanted to get involved in and i had to come to the realization that i can't do it all and i don't have time or energy to do it all either. but i also see that as part of the learning process in this internship experience. i'm learning more about myself, my strengths, and my weaknesses. in our learning lab we discussed how self-leadership is the most important aspect of leadership. most of my time and energy should be investing in self-leadership because in order to lead others i must lead myself well. much of this involves self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill; or otherwise known as the components of emotional intelligence. i'll get into that in another post. but as far as self-awareness goes, a survey of successful leaders stated that all great leaders know what they are great at. according to the study, there are 3 levels of self-awareness: knowing what you're weak at, knowing what you're good at, and knowing what you're great at. most americans know what they're weak at and focus on trying to improve their weaknesses. then there is the smaller group that knows what they are good at and lives that out. then there is the small percentage that knows what they are great at and live and act in their greatest strengths. when we are living in our strengths we are maximizing our potential on this earth for the good of others. check out 1 Timothy 4:14-16. it's a pretty tight verse. i'll probably elaborate on that in a later post as well!

4th of July and Transformers

2007-07-06T12:28:00.000-05:00

ok i finally have some time to put up a post. wow i've been busy. Mosaic had a huge 4th of July party this past week. we got up at 5am to reserve a big spot for us at the park. we had delicious food and played volleyball, ultimate frisbee, and soccer. it was a lot of fun to play soccer again.

i got to see Transformers! it exceeded my already high expectations! it was especially exciting to see because i got to see it 2 nights before it was supposed to come out. don't ask me how, a friend of mine was able to score tickets to an 11:30pm showing. it was an incredible movie! i'm going to have to see it a couple more times in the theaters. thank you Michael Bay for making that movie great.

afterwards we went to a Seven-Eleven that was dressed up like a Kwik-E-Mart from the Simpsons, one of my favorite TV shows of all time. i'm hoping to go back and get pictures but it was a great experience. they had a security guard letting people in a few at a time. apparently he used to work security for Mariah Carey! the Kwik-E-Mart had the pink donuts with sprinkles that they have in the show and the upcoming movie.

...i love Los Angeles!

Reminder: Little Kids Have Germs

2007-06-30T11:07:00.000-05:00

yesterday i went down to an elementary school in south central LA to hang out with some first graders. it was so much fun. i showed a bunch of the kids my camera and they had a blast looking at it and taking pictures (under supervision of course). i can't post any pictures because apparently a lot of these kids have fathers who are looking for them and their mosthers don't want them to be found. our hope with this group of students is to connect college students to the school through volunteering to just help with the classrooms and being positive influences and role models for these kids.

unfortunately when you have a bunch of kids wanting to hold your hand, give you high five, grab your arm, trying to climb on your back, you're bound to catch something. kids don't wash their hands much...i didn't when i was in first grade. so now i think i'm getting a cold. it probably also doesn't help that i haven't had a day off to relax and recharge in a long time. still, i'm loving what i'm doing every day and every day is a new adventure!

Living for Each Day

2007-06-26T11:27:00.000-05:00

i put up a post a while ago saying that i lived for thursdays with aletheia. since i've come out here, i've been living for each day i've been in. i've probably said this before, but i've been loving every minute of what i'm doing.

today a group of us are going down to Skid Row in downtown LA. Russell and Adrian, two guys from Mosaic, have planned an experience that should be pretty intense. i'm not quite sure what it's going to look like but i can guess that it will be very challenging, uncomfortable, and amazing.

Back in the Digital Sandbox

2007-06-22T00:24:00.000-05:00

"The Digital Sandbox" was a term my video editing professor used to refer to playing around with post-production programs. recently i've found myself actually using my college degree here at Mosaic! just today i spent a couple of hours working in mosaic's video editing lab. right now i'm working on a baptism promotional video and helping out with a few other things. it's pretty exciting to be able to use something i've spent the last four years studying.

tomorrow i'll be going to an elementary school in Watts. i'm going to be participating in a literacy fair at an elementary school. i'll be rep'in JMU and promoting education. i'm pretty stoked! i'll let you know how that goes.

Listening Through Love

2007-06-18T01:08:00.000-05:00

"you can listen to someone because you're a good listener or you can listen to someone because you care more about them than you care about yourself" ~ adrian

a leader a Mosaic said this and it really struck me. it makes me think: "do i really listen with love? do i really care about this person?" part of loving people is listening to them without an agenda. i'm learning how to be a better empathic listener (mainly due to God working through my girlfriend. i am very thankful for her with this). i feel like part of loving somebody is to care about them and to find out what that person cares about. something that Jesus would ask people is "what do you want?" i feel like sometimes people in the church have a hard time asking that question of people because we don't know what their answer is going to be. Jason Jaggard, staff member at Mosaic talked about this last week in our intern learning lab. he talked about how it's scary to ask that question to someone you are investing in because you they might say the wrong thing, they might WANT the "wrong" thing. but Jason continued by reminding us that you can't make anyone do anything and we have to respect everyone's journey. we have to be open to what God is already doing in that person's life and see where we can play a supplementary role to what He is doing. Erwin McManus said, "it's more impartant to change what people care about than it is to change what they believe." if i can live a powerful and dynamic life that genuinely reveals Christ in it, then my life will be a compelling part of the greater story of God and humanity.

Exorcism on a Printer

2007-06-15T18:31:00.000-05:00

i'm currently trying to make booklets for something that Mosaic is doing with college students at UCLA and USC. unfortunately the printer is demon possessed. it's a 21 page booklet (front and back) and i need 50 of them. so far i've had problems finding a printer that worked, then the yellow ink ran out on the one that worked, then all the extra yellow ink cartridges didn't work, then we found one but the printer only printed out the first 5 pages of each booklet. at that point i blessed the water fountain and started flicking water on the printer in an attempt to cast the demon out. my next method of exorcism is a jump kick so this printer better get it's act together!

Elements

2007-06-12T02:02:00.001-05:00

this past week Mosaic put on this event called Elements. Elements is an event to commission people in the community to become volunteer staff. i love how they do that here. instead of being a "member" to the church like you're a "member" of Cosco or a club, you are a missionary from the church. membership for Mosaic is simply showing up and partaking in the events. being commissioned means that you want to be involved, you want to make a difference. i also love how they esteem volunteers. i met this guy named Keith who i thought worked for the church as paid staff. it turns out that he works as a consultant during the week so that he can serve as volunteer staff in his free time. another guy named CJ works 60 hours a week so that he can serve with Mosaic in his spare time. Mosaic really redefines what a community of friends looks like and what serving side-by-side with friends and strangers means. i'm really loving it!

Serve LA

2007-06-08T21:43:00.001-05:00

i just got assigned to ServeLA. i'm really excited. we had our first meeting and the guy running it, Adrian, is phenomenal. he's really inspiring just to be around and everything he says is so challenging but at the same time so motivating and encouraging.

i went down to Skid Row with a few of the other interns to just check out the area where we are trying to make an imact. 55 city blocks of poverty and homelessness. Skid Row is home to the highest concentration of homelessness in the country. depending on who you ask, anywhere between 11,000 and 17,000 homeless people live in Skid Row. Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the nation. over 250,000 people are living on the streets of LA in a given year and over 80,000 are homeless on any given day. and it gets worse, the average age of a homeless person in the United States is 9-years-old. Skid Row inhabitants has a dramatic increase of single mothers with children and no place to stay. that was shocking to me because i didn't see any. all i saw was a community of pitched tents on the sidewalks. but then i remembered, these women wouldn't be on the streets. they'd be at their other jobs trying to get off of the streets. i have no clue how i can make a difference in the entirety of the problem and really i don't believe that i can. but i know that God cares about those people dearly and so do i. i have to do something.

6 Random Facts

2007-06-08T01:46:00.001-05:00

apparently i got tagged an unfortunately i think this game will die with me because i don't have too many blog friends. so here goes:

1) i love movies. when i was in middle school my friend derek and i went to the movies so many times that later on we went to blockbuster and had seen all the movies (worth seeing).

2) i'm a control freak when it comes to driving. i'm getting better, but i still feel more comfortable when i'm the one who is driving. not that i don't believe in you as a driver, it's just kind of how i am.

3) i'm lactose intolerant.

4) i played tennis for one summer and hated it.

5) i'm not flexible at all. i can't touch my tows and never could.

6) i love lacrosse

i tag Eric Bryant!

Belief

2007-06-06T12:44:00.000-05:00

i think this is a loaded word that desperately needs to be redefined in our cultural context. for instance, i believe in Jesus, who He is and what He did. that is so much different than "believing" that a certain political party has it right. we're a culture so flippant with our use of the word that it takes away the value and weight that it once had. Erwin McManus said, "people can tell what you believe in by what you're willing to die for." to believe in something is to live that belief out and to embody that belief. it's so much more than strongly agreeing with something or having a strong opinion about something. it's embodiment. we as a culture have made a word meant to be used with weight and passion an ordinary word. nowadays, a "belief" might be nothing more than an expressed idea that hasn't been thoroughly examined or embodied by the person expressing it. it's merely another word they use in their vocabulary where others have died when they assiated that word with something they stood for with their lives in the past. but that's just my opinion.

Service Areas

2007-06-05T12:17:00.000-05:00

so yesterday i found out the service areas in which i will be involved. i found out that i'm going to be working with college students at UCLA and working with starting up a new venue in the South Bay area of California. at other points i'll also be working with Serve LA and working with homeless people as well as teaming up with Habitat for Humanity. i'm going to be mad busy, but i'm really excited to get started and get involved.

yesterday we helped clean out the Mott auditorium at William Carey University. it was a lot of hard work but we got a lot done and cleared out hundreds of heavy auditorium chairs and a ton of other things. i was way tired by the end of the day and slept like a baby (one of the quiet ones that sleeps really well...).

today we're having an apartment meeting for lunch to brainstorm ideas for keeping a four bedroom apartment with ten guys semi-clean. i can't promise anything. later tonight i'll be going to a meeting to plan things for the summer at UCLA. i'm super pumped!

LA BLITZ BLOG!

2007-06-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

wow! so much has happened and i haven't had time to sit down, let alone post on this blog. my apologies. i'm bummed that i don't have any photos to post right now! i will when i can so check back on these posts for pictures later on. LA has been amazing! the other interns are really great and so different. people are here from all over the world and all over different parts of life! i'm learning so much just from interacting with them and engaging in life with them! so here's a quick blitz post on what's happened at mosaic.

sunday morning i helped out at beverly hills high school. it's not at all like the one on 90210. after that i went with a few interns to explore some of los angeles. we checked out a few malls, one of which was called The Grove. WOW! talk about a disney land mall! the water fountains sprayed to music and the place was crowded. then we went to the Mayan for the last mosaic sunday gathering. the Mayan is a nightclub in downtown los angeles. beforehand our driver russell showed us around Skid Row, the downtown LA slums. it's basically where a lot of the homeless people in LA sleep. it was so heartbreaking to see so many tents pitched on the sidewalk and so many people in need. i'm hoping to get involved with Serve LA at mosaic. maybe i can help in some way.

the Mayan was cool. eric bryant spoke about his new book and Party Theology (refer to past post called Party Theology). then we went to a chinese restaurant for dinner and packed the place with a lot of people and celebrated an early birthday. overall this has been an amazing experience. i'll try to post as often as i can! in the mean time: love, live, give!

My New Haircutter

2007-05-30T15:20:00.000-05:00

i have to use this blog to say that my friend annie is great at cutting hair. not only did i get a free haircut, i got a GOOD free haircut. so thank you annie! you are the bomb.com!

California Driving

2007-05-29T13:29:00.001-05:00

drivers in california are crazy! i grew up in northern virginia and traffic there is probably some of the worst in the country. however, drivers there still know how to drive. out here they are much more liberal with their car horns and more conservative with their blinkers. i guess it's because they make multiple lane changes too quickly for their blinkers to keep up. however, when they honk it's fun to smile and wave like we're friends.

I Heart Lacrosse

2007-05-28T13:42:00.000-05:00

last night elizabeth took me to go see the los angeles riptide play the new jersey pride. i've never seen a pro lacrosse game before and it was an awesome experience. lacrosse used to be only big on the east coast so it was really cool seeing so many people come out to see the game in california. los angeles won (15-9) their very first game as an expansion team against a team with some big names on it.

the day before that i watched the ncaa lacrosse semifinals. johns hopkins whooped up on delaware and duke won a close game against cornell. right now i'm watching duke come back against johns hopkins. duke is said to be the fan favorite because they're being considered a comeback team. their entire program was suspended last season because of the whole fiasco that was in the news. i think that it's great that they've recovered as a program but i can't really favor them just because of that. overall i just want it to be a good game and it's looking to be just that.

it was so great to see a lacrosse game again. i miss the sport a lot. elizabeth got me the tickets as a late birthday present. she was in california on my actual birthday so we celebrated it together. i couldn't have asked for a better present.

California

2007-05-22T13:12:00.000-05:00

i arrived in california safe and sound. the weather here isn't as i had expected. i arrived to find out that this time of year is when it gets cloudy and a little drizzly in the morning and then sunny by the afternoon. however, it's still around 70 degrees so it's nice regardless of the clouds.

saturday night and all day sunday i got to help serve at the wildside services. wildside is saddleback's junior high ministry. it was pretty sweet. i don't know how their team does that every weekend! 5 services in a weekend, 4 on sundays. i've got a lot of respect for that team and all the hard work they put into serving junior high students and showing them love. i also spent a whole lot of time reading.

yesterday i spent the whole day relaxing and recovering from sunday with elizabeth. for the most part i think i'm adjusting to the 3 hour time change fairly well. i still struggle from time to time but i'm getting used to it. it's hard for me to remember that dinner time here is fairly late in virginia. it takes some getting used to but i'll be here for a while to get fully adjusted.

Break

2007-05-16T15:04:00.000-05:00

i've been using the last couple of days to see family and friends. this has also been a good week for me to finish up on my support raising and finish my application for grad school in los angeles. i've been able to catch up on a little bit of sleep but i've got a lot more to do. i've decided not to get a haircut until after i get out to california. i kind of like it shaggy. people have said i look like one of the Beatles. my hair isn't quite that long but give it some time.

Weekend: Lot's of Driving and Eating

2007-05-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

Friday was my last day at the Virginia State Bar. it was great. i didn't have any work to do really (except clean out my office area), so i just watched a lot of YouTube. at three o'clock i got tricked into going into the board room where the office had set up a surprise farewell party. so many people showed up! they all signed a couple of cards, had a huge cake as well as lots of other food, and they even wrote me a cool farewell poem (one of the ladies in the office has a talent for humorous poetry). i was really touched. i'm really going to miss those wonderful people. i feel so blessed to have been a part of that community for this past year. i don't think too many people can call their workplace a community. i'm among the honored few. after work Elizabeth's parents took me out to dinner at Tara Tai, my favorite Tai restaurant. it was a great time to enjoy the people who have taken such great care of me and welcomed me into their warm and loving home. i'm so thankful for them and all that they've done for me.

Saturday i spent the day packing and getting everything in my car. originally i was planning on leaving friday night but two of my Aletheia comissionaries, Sam and Jordan, were celebrating their birthdays on saturday so i wanted to stay and celebrate with them one last time. we had a blast. we ended up going to Chili's with a bunch of other people. unfortunately, one of our friends had some sort of seizure during dinner. i had to hold his head to make sure he didn't hurt himself (someone else told me to do that). there was an ambulance and a firetruck later. he turned out to be just fine but it was slightly scary. i had never experienced that before. afterwards we all went back to the apartment and played foosball. i spent some quality time with Sam and Jordan. we prayed for each other and then i split for northern virginia to see my family. i ended up getting back at 2:00am (i know, i should have left earlier) because i hit a spot of heavy rain so i had to drive really slow for a bit. when i got to my bed i crashed hard on my pillow.

Today was Mother's Day and i surprised her in the morning by just being home. it was a pleasant surprise. i took her out to breakfast for some good quality time with my mom. later that day, my parents and i drove out to my grandparents' place in the countryside to have some tai food for a mother's day dinner. it was really great because we were able to take our dog with us and play with her out in the field. my cousins dog tried to jump on my brother's leg. THAT was hilarious (perhaps innappropriate for a blog, but i'm posting it anyways. it was that funny!). when we got home i finished my seminary application and prepared it to be shipped out tomorrow. i'm actually kind of nervous about it. i hope everything is in order!

overall, this weekend was an A+. even though it was really busy, i got to say goodbye to everyone. i'm really excited about what's in store for the future. this next week will consist of laundry, reading, packing, taking care of my passport, spending time with family and friends, catching up on sleep, trying to get a head start on a california time zone sleep schedule, and perhaps some more blogging!

oh! i almost forgot: i sincerely apologize if any of you have come to the conclusion that my blog is merely a scheme to promote Erwin McManus' books and get you to buy them. they have impacted my journey in a tremendous way. i am merely sharing the insight and challenges that i have found in the books that he authors. take it or leave it. :)

Heart to Words: Creativity and Movement

2007-05-11T09:19:00.000-05:00

another thought came to mind (see last post): God is incredibly innovative and creative. His very speech has the power to create. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God's "workmanship." other translations say, "masterpiece." the greek word poeima, which is where we get our word "poem". being made in God's likeness, we have been given gifts of creativity and innovation. now we don't all have to be poets or painters to be creative but we all have the ability to express our hearts in some way or another to communicate our hearts to others. Genesis 11 is a great illustration of our creative ability...gone wrong. we think of the Tower of Babel as when humanity tried to compete with God. but before they plotted to build the tower, they said, "come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." who would have thought to take a glop of mud and cook it? that's innovation!

humanity's expressive capabilities turned bad when innovation was used for prideful purposes instead of serving God and the rest of humanity. let's look past the huge fault in trying to compete with God for just a second. how much time, energy, resources, and man-power were used to build the tower. they could have used those assets to help those in need. ok, that's from a primarily humanitarian perspective. now let's look at the spiritual side of it. after the tower was built, God said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them." at first, that's an odd thing to read. i read this with the first thought that it was as if God was afraid of man's capabilities. but there had to be a different explanation. God can't be afraid of man. that's like in Star Trek when the omnipotent aliens called the Q were afraid of humans because of the human potential to surpass them in power (i know, i'm a nerd!).

perhaps God was afraid on our behalf. when a group of people is united in cause and purpose, it is capable of making an incredible impact. but God knew the capabilities of a humanity whose hearts are disconnected from Him. God knew the unlimited amount of destruction that humanity could bring if united. we see this illustrated in mobs and riots and violent revolutions throughout history and across the globe.

but a community of people who are connected with God through a relationship with Him have the potential to change the world and impact the future. the book Unstoppable Force discusses this extensively. know what's up. read the book.

Heart to Words: Creation and Influence

2007-05-10T22:15:00.001-05:00

ok, this one might not make sense. i was reading a book last night and one of the topics was "the Word of God" and how that is used in different ways in the bible. one of the ways is when it is actually referring to God's words and how they have the power to create. God said, "let there be light" and then there was light. God spoke into existence and created the universe. i find it kind of interesting that aspects of our universe were created by God speaking. this got me thinking. if we as human beings are in fact created in God's likeness, then our words should have some influence in the context we're in, right? we have the ability to influence an ethos with our speech. have you ever been in a group of people and gradually you began talking like them? i was born and raised in northern virginia so there wasn't much of an accent for me to learn. however, i've spent the past five years now in harrisonburg and richmond, virginia and i've caught myself from time to time saying a word or two in a southern accent! thankfully i'm moving to lost angeles soon so i might be able to get rid of that. no offense to those with southern accents, but i'm not much of a southern bell. but i digress. i got to thinking about the words i use and how i say things. i regularly have a choice when i interact with others. sometimes it's a choice of building someone up or tearing someone down. sometimes it's the choice between being positive or negative. my words can have such a bigger impact than i can immediately see. the way i say things can have an impact on the context i'm in. but as the Scriptures point out, it's not so much the words but the heart behind them. in matthew 15:18-19, Jesus unwraps this eloquently: "but those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. these are the things which defile a man..."

it's a heart issue. the Scriptures continually point to the heart condition as an influence of who we are to the core. if God is love, then the words i choose to use are a reflection of how close my heart is to a loving God. words have power and influence and if i am in fact a genuine follower of Christ, then i must be actively pursuing to speak God's love to the rest of humanity, no matter what the context. if i am to do this, then God must be first and foremose in my pursuits. i have to treasure my relationship with Him. "for where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." i think it's kind of cool how if we seek God a relationship with honest hearts, God promises to change our hearts by the way of Christ. a relationship with Jesus Christ seems to be the means to the end of this journey as well as the end Himself.

Randomness

2007-05-09T12:03:00.000-05:00

-- i only have 2 days left at the Virginia State Bar. i'm excited to get out from the desk, but i'm sad to leave the people. they are amazing!

-- Countdown till California: 10 days

-- i haven't had a haircut in about 3 months. it's grown over the tops of my ears and it goes into my eyes. i'll have to get it trimmed a little but i think i'm going to keep going with it.

-- i love YouTube

-- and finally, some pictures i think are funny:

Latin Class: Seeing Potential in Others

2007-05-07T08:22:00.000-05:00

when Jesus saw Levi in Luke 5, he saw Levi for his potential. He saw Levi for who he could become. i like what Eric Bryant says about about that specific dynamic and how it plays into a Party Theology. i think i can definitely learn from this and make a choice not to look at people for their shortcomings, but for their potential for greatness. my latin teacher in high school would get so frustrated with me because i would ace her tests but i would never do my homework. for some reason i got latin. if i knew the vocabulary, i could sight read a sentence in latin with the correct declinations and grammar. one day after school i had to take a latin make-up exam and i didn't do well at all. when i turned it in she looked it over and said, "Justin, i know that you're capable of so much more than this. what's wrong?" i was going through a rough period then and without going into detail, she threw the exam away and told me to come in the next day after school and retake it. she knew i was capable of better. now i didn't bomb the exam, but she knew i could do better. she didn't have to let me retake it, but she saw my potential and gave me A LOT of grace. i aced that exam the next day after a night of focus and solid studying. i think a lot of times i withhold that grace from others when they fall short of my imperfect expectations. i think part of having grace involves looking past that particular instance or shortcoming and seeing the person's potential. perhaps that's all they need, someone to believe in them. we're all flawed but we all have potential for great things. some people believe that and some people can't see it because nobody else in their life sees it in them. when i first got my car, i thought it was black, but for months after i got it everybody was telling me that it's dark purple or dark blue! after enough people said that it wasn't black, i started to question my perception of color! if enough people tell someone that they are mediocre, i'm sure that person will struggle with the idea that they have been designed for greatness. i think that's one reason why Jesus died on the cross to wipe our criminal records clean: He created us for so much more than the lives we were choosing to live! we have that much value to Him.

it's difficult to look past the superficial and into a person's soul to see their God-given potential. i think a big part of this is that we ourselves don't have the character to do that. it's hard to take an honest look at another person when we can't take an honest look at ourselves. i really like how Erwin McManus discusses this subject in his book Uprising. he takes us through what he calls the character matrix in order to unleash the potential that is found in a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.

i'm learning a lot about seeing the potential that God has created in others. i really desire for that to be what i see. i see Jesus as an optimist. He didn't walk around thinking, "man, this sucks" or "this guy is such a loser." He saw what could be. He saw the possibilities of a free life. if i am truly trying to follow Christ, then i need to have that same perspective with others.

Ice Cream Social: Embodying a Party Theology

2007-05-06T08:28:00.001-05:00

last night Aletheia threw an international ice cream social for the international students at VCU. right now the students are in the middle of the finals period, where they are stressing out about their last finals while at the same time trying to get everything together to pack and get ready to go home or graduate. so we figured we could provide a venue for them to take a break and socialize would be good for their morale. plus ice cream never hurt anyone (unless you're lactose intolerant, but i came prepared with my pills...i'm such a dweeb). the event was definitely a hit with the students. i didn't get to comb the crowd and talk to everyone i wanted to, mainly because i was in an intense game of chess with my friend Komail from India. but sometimes i think it's good to just hang out with a few people and go deep with them. i also utilized that time to say goodbye to people, since i'm moving to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks and probably won't see some of them again. i was in a conversation with my friend Majed from Saudi Arabia and we were discussing my move. he was excited for me, but expressed his sadness because i was his first American. i didn't even know that! i realize more and more how much it means to others when i take my time to invest my life into theirs.

it reminds me of Eric Bryant's upcoming book, peppermint-filled piñatas:breaking through tolerance and embracing love. in it, he outlines what he calls a "Party Theology". i know a little about this because i heard him talk about it on a podcast once. by the way, Eric Bryant is one of the leaders at Mosaic, the community of faith that i will be serving with over this summer. in his book, Eric Bryant talks about how Jesus would invest in other people's lives. you look at his life in the Scriptures and you see that a lot of his ministry involved going to parties and feasts. Luke 5 illustrates this when Jesus sees Levi the tax collector. when no one else would hang out with Levi because he was a tax collector, Jesus invited him to follow Him. Jesus didn't lay out some proposal for Levi or outline the "Roman road" to salvation. He simply took time out of His day to party with Levi when no one else would.

too many times we at Aletheia have asked the international students if they had made any American friends and they replied, "no". relationships take work, especially if the other person isn't familiar with your language or culture. in our culture of consumerism that promotes the individual, i think we put ourselves in a bubble with those who are like us. unfortunately, many people don't ever have a hope of getting inside the bubble so they are left outside of it alone and perhaps even hurt or afraid. i must confess that i was tired last night and i really didn't feel like going to an ice cream social. i mean, come on! i'm lactose intolerant. how much fun can i possibly have? but i had made a decision to be a follower of Christ and to accept as many invitations that came my way to spend with other people as possible. i ended up going to the party and i had a blast (also because i had to since i work with Aletheia...seems kind of strange for me to not want to go to an event that i was supposed to help put on...now THAT'S hypocrisy!). not only that, but i realize that i actually feel more energized when i'm investing my energy into another person. is that what Jesus meant when He talked about losing your life to find it? i do know that when we actively pursue to engage life with others, we have no clue the kind of impact that are making. we have no idea where that person is at in their journey through life and maybe all they need is for someone to say, "i would like to spend time with you because you are valuable." i look back and see all the times i've failed to do this and then it hits me, if people hadn't been willing to reach out to me, my life might look a lot different.

Spiderman 3: the Awesome

2007-05-05T14:58:00.000-05:00

last night i went to go see Spiderman 3 with a group of friends. it was phenomenal! could have shown more Venom and less Sandman. Venom was super sweet. Sandman is lame. what a lame bad guy to have. so he can turn into kitty litter. spectacular. i think the movie would have been better if it didn't have him and just focused on what they had already. i think there were too many conflicts to keep track of. it takes away from the depth. then again, maybe i'm just really biased because i believe sand belongs on the beach, not in villains.

that being said, i loved the movie and i'm going to see it at least two more times. this one was definitely funnier that the other ones, but it needed the humor due to the darker theme. PLUS there was a super sweet trailer for Harry Potter 5! go see Spiderman 3. i love that movie with my whole body.

Baptism: Diversity in Community

2007-05-03T19:30:00.000-05:00

today my friends Tank and Allyn got baptized! it was a really exciting day. we all headed down to the James River after our weekly thursday Bible study and dunked the two Aletheians in the cold running water. Allyn is from Roanoke and she's been really involved with Aletheia. Tank is from China and is going back next week. he just became a believer three months ago and is really excited about the beginning of his journey with Christ. he's been such a blessing to know and be friends with. i'm going to miss him.

a huge group of almost thirty people came out to support the baptisms. it was amazing to see the community come together to the river with such enthusiasm and excitement. i noticed something while i was there: diversity. something a lot of communities lack is diversity. not just racial diversity, but diversity of life backgrounds as well. we had people from thailand, china, texas, california, alabama, south carolina, missouri, and richmond natives. walking back i saw two people that you will never see having a conversation anywhere else. one of them is an avid british enthusiast. he had "Sir" legally added as a surname. he also speaks with a british accent, even though he's from richmond. the second was a guy who just got out of prison not too long ago after spending two years away from the rest of society. where else are you going to find that? that's not a combination of people you see hanging out all the time, and yet isn't that how it should be in a community of faith? God has brought people through so many different journeys. how can i be so critical about someone who is different than me? how can i deny them the community of love that Christ offers? just because the guy has some quirks, or looks different than me, or is a Cowboys fan doesn't mean that they're not worthy of friends...or love.

Leviticus 19:33-34 - "And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

if i am a genuine follower of Christ, then i should be known by my love because i know God's love for me. that love should extend beyond myself to those who are different than me. that's the beauty of community of faith that is centralized in Christ. people who are so different come together over a common cause: love. we've all been strangers somewhere foreign to us. do we see that person sitting all by themself and think, "i would say hi, but i don't need anymore friends"? we naturally gravitate towards the safe and comfortable. getting to know people takes risk, effort and action. so smile! say hello! ask questions! we might just be surprised about how much we learn about life through this stranger and how exciting it is to engage in another person's journey!

The Law: Reaching for the Lowest Standard

2007-05-01T07:43:00.000-05:00

Romans 3:31 - "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."

paul here is referring to mosaic law of course and where faith plays a part in it. this is where justification by faith comes in. the problem with the law is that it doesn't make us perfect. instead it actually reveals our imperfection, our disconnection from God (Romans 3:20). in the days of Jesus, the Pharisees became prideful for seemingly not breaking any of the laws. unfortunately that's what we do. we become prideful and self-righteousness. i know because i was like that. i was a straight-edge kid in high school and became very arrogant about it to the point where i would actually despise the people who took part in drunken debauchery. this of course changed when i hit college and started participating in it. i would become arrogant about my unblemished driving record. that fell apart the day i got my first speeding ticket. these are just two examples of all the things i prided myself in NOT doing but actually violated later on. i'm a hypocrite. the epistle of James tells us that one who breaks part of the law is guilty of the whole law. but obeying the rules and NOT doing bad things was my flawed standard for a "good person".

people who followed mosaic law strived for perfection in the law, the ten commandments. but what paul is saying here and throughout Romans is that Christ died for us and set us free from the law. that doesnt make the law null and void. instead, it establishes the law as the LOWEST standard for being truly human. it's something established instead of something we strive for. instead we can focus on living lives of excellence, humility, servitude, faith, and love. instead of worrying about violating the values of God, we can focus on embodying the character of God through Christ and serving others.

there's so much more to this law/sin-Christ/freedom dynamic. i can't explain it as well as paul does. read through Romans.

Berlitz Ad -Learn English

2007-04-30T09:48:00.001-05:00

this ad is hilarious

LAUNCH!

2007-04-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

this morning i woke up with the satisfaction that the night before we had filled the Commons Theater with almost 100 people for aletheia's first sunday gathering. it was so awesome to be a part of this movement to impact the city of richmond and the campus of the state's largest school. all i can really say about this past year is, "wow". the year had ups and downs, mostly as i was battling parts of myself to give to God to help me become the person He intended me to be. it's been quite a ride and the people i've met along the way i will always keep near and dear to my heart. i don't think i'll fully grasp everything i've learned here for years to come. it's really sad to have to leave everyone, but i know that the momentum will continue without me. i am grateful that i was able to witness the start of something amazing. from eight people meeting in our apartment to almost 100 in a theater room, i know that God has used this community to catalyze a movement to reach a city in need with the love of Christ.

24

2007-04-29T22:47:00.000-05:00

today rocked my face off! today is my birthday. i spent the day yesterday in harrisonburg with some of my old school buds at a cookout, tossin the football and frisbee and eating hotdogs on a beautiful sunny day. then we went out to eat some steaks (got a filet mignon!) and ended the night with video games and relaxing. this morning i came back to richmond and started prepping for aletheia's first sunday service!! our team has been preparing this for over a year now and after so much prayer and laboring we were finally able to launch a weekend preview gathering for the upcoming fall! that was a birthday celebration in and of itself. it was so wonderful to see people from all over the world come together tonight and rock out together and then get into the Scriptures. a large group of us then went out to eat some chinese food for my birthday dinner afterwards. i love chinese food. not as much as a good filet, but i love chinese food. all-in-all it was an amazing birthday. oh yeah. i'm 24.

NFL Draft

2007-04-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

the NFL draft is tomorrow! it's a pretty exciting time because it allows most of the fans to look towards the future and dream about what could become out of these young prospects. unfortunately i'm a Washington Redskins fan. the Skins have traded away all of their first-day picks (which are the good ones) with the exception of their first-round pick. last season they didn't even have a first-round pick because they traded that one away as well. last years draft class went on to produce some of the best rookies the NFL had seen. my heart boils with rage over this. hopefully they'll make the right choice. the team struggled last season and they have one first-day pick (other teams usually have 3 or sometimes 4) to make a difference.

i am definitely a die-hard Redskins fan. sunday is a day for football (and church). so is monday night, sometimes saturday, and occassionally thursday. win or lose, i have to cheer on my home team. i was born and raised around Washington D.C. and that's who the Skins fight for. sure, your team is probably better than mine. but you know what? i don't care.

Starbucks

2007-04-26T18:32:00.000-05:00

i really hate to admit this, but i've become a customer at starbucks. i'm not a huge coffee drinker, but it's tough working a job and a ministry. this past week i've gotten an average of six hours of sleep each night, maybe less. for some of you that may not sound that bad, but i'm more of an eight to nine hour a night kind of guy. it's hard for me to function on that little bit of sleep so i needed a tiny extra boost at certain times. starbucks seems to be a decent alternative until i can catch up on sleep. yes, i am deeply ashamed of this. but this is the way it is! i was going to put a picture of the starbucks logo on here, but i don't endorse the drinking of coffee. it's gross and i can never finish whatever it is i'm drinking for fear of vomiting. instead, here's a picture of a gorilla.

The Stranger: Absurd

2007-04-23T07:59:00.000-05:00

i was reading Albert Camus' novel The Stranger on the bus to work today. i found it a disturbing read. in it, Camus basically illustrates his conclusion that life is absurd and because life is absurd a person is given three choices: you can confess that life is absurd and kill yourself, you can be illogical and deny that life is absurd and that there is no truth in the universe and believe that truth can be known, or you can make your own meaning in the universe and create your own meaning in life. i honestly this that this conclusion is absurd. here's why: his basic assumption is that there is no God and life has no meaning. just because he doesn't think life has meaning, doesn't mean it's true. get over yourself. i like how Erwin McManus unwraps Psalm 53:1.

Psalm 53:1 - "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good."

McManus basically says that you can't be 100% certain that there is no God. one has to come to the conclusion that it is possible for God to exist. to straight up say there is no God is foolish because it is still in the realm of possibility. he talks about how we think we've become too scienfically/philisophically advanced to believe in God and so therefore there's no need for Him anymore, thus God doesn't exist. but this psalm indicates that there were atheists back then too, so clearly atheism isn't a result of advancement in science or philisophical thought. it' s impossible to know that there is no God and to say that there is no God is foolishness because it's something that is impossible to know. but if there is a God and He created us to have a relationship with Him and we can know Him if we humble ourselves, then i could be right. i could know God and have a relationship with God. McManus then shifts gears and says that to say there is no God is not a statement of intellect or philosophical advancement. it's a statement of ethics. if God exists, there are moral implications on my life. it means that He has a right to be invasive and intrusive and engaged in our lives. it's so much easier to say that God doesn't exist because if there is no God then nothing matters. McManus says, "if there is no God, then every moral and ethical conversation is subjectively based and is a waste of time. it is every man for himself, it is every nation for himself."

if God exists and He cares about us, then He cares about how we live our lives. if He cares about how we live our lives and is just, then we are going to be held accountable for our lives. a lot of people don't like that part. we want our cake and to eat it too. also, if God cares about our lives, then there must be a reason or purpose for it. thus, it can be safe to conclude that life does have meaning and purpose, but that's for another post. McManus further expands on our search for meaning in his book Soul Cravings. awesome book. really good insight on our soul's desire for intimacy, purpose, and meaning.

Busy Weekend

2007-04-22T19:58:00.000-05:00

wow, i need a weekend from my weekend!

friday i spent the day at work, left work, packed, and then drove up to northern virginia to see my parents and have dinner with them. i love seeing my parents because i miss them and don't get to talk to them much. also, they get me thai food and i love thai food. i also like going home because i get to see my dog, zoey. my dog is the best dog in the world. she is a border collie-beagle mix. sure she doesn't do any tricks other than "sit" and "go poo", but she gives me the best "welcome home!" ever! sometimes she gets so excited she pees on the floor!!! i feel loved.

saturday went to see the rest of my family for my brother nate's birthday AND my niece's birthday! nate is a rockstar. he's in a band called welbilt and i have to admit, they rock. if they sucked, i wouldn't acknowledge their existence on the internet. i have have to keep my street rep. he actually had a gig that night so he couldn't stay long. in the biz, a "job" is called a "gig" or a "show". also, the "biz" refers to show business. funny coincidence: nate was born on the same day as my niece, emma! and no, she is not his child. she is the daughter of my other older brother, chris. chris is a virginia state trooper, a racecar driver, loves guns, and runs a higher end mustang website called the corral. emma turned four and she's just precious.

today i drove back to richmond with no a/c in my car. that sucked because it got hot as the dickens! i arrived just in time to change really quick and go over to help park cars at a church party. my girlfriend's wonderful grandparents were throwing the party for the volunteers at their church and gave me the opportunity to serve by parking cars for their guests. for some people that doesn't sound like much fun but some of these people had really nice cars! more importantly, i got to eat delicious free food! on a personal note: caviar is good but i don't know what the hubub is about.

This is why Lacrosse is the Best Sport in the World (Part 3)

2007-04-20T13:47:00.001-05:00

...more to come later

This is why Lacrosse is the Best Sport in the World (Part 2)

2007-04-20T13:27:00.001-05:00

This is why Lacrosse is the Best Sport in the World (Part 1)

2007-04-20T13:25:00.001-05:00

THURSDAYS

2007-04-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

yesterday i got off work to go down to VCU and help staff a table to represent aletheia in partnership with World Vision raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS problem. 6,000 people die every day of AIDS in the world. we were representing the 1 in 20 children in sub-saharan africa who were orphaned because of AIDS. it was really great to see students want to get informed and involved by helping out financially as well as wearing a brith orange t-shirt that said "ORPHAN" on it (i got a sweet t-shirt from helping out with that gig!).

i love thursdays. thursdays are the days where i get off from my office job and spend the day on VCU campus to help with aletheia. most weeks i get to walk around campus and talk to students about God. i love talking to students about spiritual journeys and discussing their thoughts about it. college is such a crucial time to seek these things because it's a time when we're making major decisions about what we want to do and more importantly, who we want to become (a lot of times unknowingly). at first it seems like a terrifying experience to walk up to a stranger and start talking to them about God, but after a little while i was surprised to find that most students are interested or at least open to talking about faith and God. sometimes i even come across students who are really looking for God and desire to connect with Him. they just don't know how! it provides as a continual reminder for me as to why i do what i do. sometimes we need to overcome our fear of interrupting somebody else's life or intruding on their personal space to reach out and tell someone, "hey, i care enough about you to talk to you and let you know that you are valuable." who knows, that person may desperately need a friend. if they aren't interested, then i can wish them a wonderful day and move on. don't get me wrong, i'm still terrified to do it. but i know that there are people out there who just really want someone to talk to them and someone to talk to. there are people who really want to know that God is out there and that He loves them.

Reflection

2007-04-18T08:20:00.000-05:00

from my college ministry director whose daughter was at Virginia Tech (but is alright):

'I cannot answer the “why” question (Why did God allow this?). As I’ve read the Bible for decades now, I’ve done significant study of God’s Word re: suffering/trials/pain. In fact, of the 27 New Testament books, I’ve discovered 22 of them have direct references to suffering as the normal experience of a Christian. But answering the “why” question is a fool’s errand (i.e. it won’t get you anywhere, like running on a treadmill). It is better to know the answer to the “How” question: “How does God feel about this tragedy?” Does He care? This question, I think I can answer.... as I look at the person of Jesus. Philip Yancey says in his book, The Bible Jesus Read, “Jesus gives God a face, and that face is streaked with tears.” In other words, “He cares...The Cross reminds us that God the Father cares so much about us that he would be willing to let His One and Only Son suffer wrath for rebels like us. That’s love. He feels our pain. Many of our friends & classmates are hurting and without hope. We can hug them a little tighter and tell them Jesus cares.

Yours in our Risen Savior,

Dan'

**************************

some lyrics from a song by
Mat Kearney, Girl America

"...She's part of a generation longing for reconciliation
And this future that they're facing and this poison that they're tasting
My girl, I know this love you're chasing...

...My girl America, stop can't you see
It's not the circumstances that determine who you're gonna be
But how you deal with these problems and pains that come your way
It's for you that I pray with hope for a brighter day
And so I say, your deliverance is coming

Faith like a child from your first birth
You left it in the dirt on your worst hurt
And I see each tear and every scar
The hands that have held you where you are
And I can see we've strayed so far
A king born under that morning star
As a crown of thorns was placed to erase
Each tear that's touched your face
And his palms and sides were pierced with spears
He hung in love just to draw you near
My girl, out of this whole world
Can't you see this is where we started?"

Monday, April 16, 2007

2007-04-16T19:38:00.000-05:00

how do you make sense of the mayhem and inhumanity that's taken place today? i've been feverishly reading the reports and listening to the news broadcasts. there's so much to take it and yet there's so much that's unknown. it seems that we're going to have to be patient to get the full story as they work out the "who", "what", and "how". they've already established the "when" and the "where". then after we get enough of the story, we have the great task of figuring out the "why". i feel like it's important to figure out the "why". this truly is heartbreaking. there will be a lot of reflection on this as the students who were involved with this incident at virginia tech find healing and reconciliation along with the rest of our country.

Scrubs

2007-04-13T15:11:00.000-05:00

Scrubs is one of my favorite television shows. i've been watching that show for years now and i think it's probably one of the funniest shows on television. watching it makes my heart happy.

Confession

2007-04-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

"It is through the miracle of confesssion, which is beyond all our understanding, that all hitherto existing community is shown to have been an illusion and is abolished, destroyed, and broken asunder, and that here and now the new congregation of the resurrection world is created."
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Thy Kingdom Come" (1932)

when i read this it blew my mind. something as simple and apparent in Scripture as this, yet it has the potential of revolutionizing God's community called the church. somehow i feel like the church today has missed it...or maybe it was just me. it makes me wonder, is that how God transforms us into a true community of Christ-like integrity? there would be no more falseness, no more hypocrisy. a truly resurrected community is born! throughout the Scriptures it is the key to a communal relationship with God. 1 John talks about walking in the light and not in darkness. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin...If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7,9). "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16).

this is truly engaging community. not only is it terrifying to know that i am being vulnerable to other people, but it also implies that i am responsible for the well-being of those around me. it means i must bear the burdens of others (Galatians 6:1-2). it's not merely listening to each other's problems and struggles, but actively participating in each others' lives. i feel like that's another aspect of truly loving each other, the community itself being engaged within itself and bearing the burdens of each other's shortcomings together for the health of the entire organism.

maybe i'm being too idealistic. maybe this looks good in theory but not in practicality (see episode, Conflict Resolution of The Office season two). what do you think?

Identity

2007-04-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

it's funny when we meet people for the first time. in the professional world people introduce themselves by name and then ask the question, "what do you do?" when talking to college students, people ask, "what's your major?" or "what are you studying?" there's a hint of awkwardness if the person is unemployed if they're thirty and i always find myself reassuring students that's it's ok if they're "undeclared" in their major. we are such a career driven culture that we engulf our identity in how we make money. we unknowingly (or knowingly) assign value to our careers or academic focuses. to computer science majors we perceive them automatically, without question that they are very intelligent. same thing with engineers and physics majors. pre-meds, nursing, and pre-law majors are hardworking. education majors love kids. math majors are socially awkward. art and theater majors are weirdos. philosphy majors are full of themselves. psychology majors had to pick something to get rid of the "undeclared" major but still don't know what to do with life. these of course are all stereotypes, most of which aren't true. but even so, i often find myself assigning some sort of value to people as i meet them and find out about their majors or career aspirations. but for me it wasn't until senior year in college when i realized that my major wasn't the career that i wanted to go into and i'm STILL not entirely sure of what is it that i want to do.

when i turn to the Scriptures with this issue i look at the apostle's letters and it strikes me how they introduces themselves. Paul introduces himself as "a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle"; "servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ"; "the servant of Jesus Christ." Peter introduces himself as "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ" and James, Jesus' brother, introduces himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." their vocation was contingent upon their identity in Christ, not the other way around. they were Christ's "servants" first. whenever they mention their apostleship, they follow it with mentioning that it is in submission to God's will. in fact, the word "apostle" literally means "sent one". in order to be "sent", someone must do the "sending". however, all this falls apart if they are not first and foremost identifying themselves completely in the service of God throughout life. i think a lot of times i have problems with figuring out a career path and serving God at the same time because i get this flipped around. i try to choose something and then try to serve God. but i think if i change it and identify myself as Jesus' servant first, then and only then will i find out the path i am made to continue on in His service. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." i was created specifically to serve God and others. but i can only do that by first giving my entire life, all my hopes, all my dreams, to God and follow Christ with everything i've got. maybe that's what Jesus meant when He said, "love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."

Trust

2007-04-11T08:07:00.000-05:00

last week when i was on campus at VCU i bumped into a girl named Christina. we started talking and our conversation eventually led to our spiritual journeys. she was on a journey that sounded pretty frustrating. we talked about religion and spirituality, and even buddhism. we discussed God and how to connect with Him. we analyzed whether or not performance or philosophy or even religion could establish that connection. then she asked me an amazing and challenging question: is Jesus the only way?

now at first glance this is a really easy question for me to answer. yes. but behind her question was a series of other implied, deeper questions that required the thoughtful answer she deserved. she had actually asked this question to other people and found no sufficient answer from them. sure they gave her the intellectual answer, but this girl was asking a different question than the one presented: can i trust Jesus with my life?

"When we are searching for truth, what we're really trying to do is figure out who can be trusted." ~ Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings

it's a big question and i could have answered her with the standard apologetic answer. but i saw in her eyes she was wanting more than that. she was basically saying, "i couldn't give my life to someone or something that doesn't care about everyone." the question launched an amazing conversation that required me to squash any pride or arrogance i had (a lot). i let her know that her question was an incredibly valid one and that she deserved an answer. i encouraged her to keep asking her questions until she finds an answer if mine didn't answer her question fully. but i left her with this: it's not about the good things we do. it's not about our talents and our abilities. it's about who we are. buddhism says that human suffering is caused by our selfish desires and so it comes to the conclusion that to end suffering one needs to eliminate desires. but Jesus offers us a different way. He offers to transform our character if we recognize that we are powerless to connect to Him through our performance and just place our trust in Him because He already performed on our behalf. He offers to transform our very core of our being, our hearts, from which our selfish desires come from. with our transformed hearts we will no longer step on others to fulfill our desires, but our desires will be changed to give ourselves up for the good of others. Jesus is the only one who offers this and He is the only one who cared enough to give His life up so that we could truly Live.

Lactose Intolerance

2007-04-10T17:17:00.000-05:00

yes, i AM lactose intolerant. DO NOT PITY ME! just because i can't have ice cream doesn't mean my quality of life is any less. the reason you pity me is because you are enslaved to ice cream and you are just trying to make me feel like i'm not a part of the "cool crowd" just because i can't eat your delicious ice cream. i heard that they cook babies in ice cream. that makes you a baby eater. you're sick.

ok, so maybe i went a little overboard there. i apologize. it's funny though because i seem to get the same response from everyone when i inform them that i'm lactose intolerant. they can't help but let out an, "awww" and look at me like my dog just died. then i have to be like, "yeah, it's ok" and nod my head. i can get through life just fine though, but thanks for your concern. don't feel bad for me because my tummy can't handle that spicy milk (thanks Jim Gaffigan).

remember, lactose intolerance isn't an allergy...it's an attitude

Displace Me: Washington DC

2007-04-08T18:39:00.001-05:00

i'm thinking about doing this in Washington D.C. i know D.C. pretty well (it's near my hometown in Fairfax County). Invisible Children is an amazing movement started by college students to raise awareness of the violence and suffering in Uganda. they made a documentary a while ago that launched into a movement for reconciliation in Uganda. check out their website at www.invisiblechildren.com and if you can get a hold of it, watch the documentary Invisible Children. it'll move you to move.

Snow

2007-04-07T15:46:00.000-05:00

last night it snowed. it's april. why does virginia have snow in april? virginia has manic weather. earlier this week it was 85 degrees and sunny. now it's cold, windy, and it snowed. i'm sick of virginia's indecisiveness. just pick one and commit to it!

Impact

2007-04-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

John 11:11 - "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up"

Jesus was presented with a situation. someone asked for His help and both they and He knew that He was the only one who was capable of helping. the disciples were nervous about going back because last time they were in town people tried to kill Jesus.

sometimes we are presented with daunting tasks. maybe its someone who needs you or maybe its that whisper or gentle tug on our hearts and souls that that we are all too quick to ignore because we don't think that God would ask us to do such a thing or make THAT much of a sacrifice, but it's really because it's inconvenient to our routine or our own plans. maybe there is someone who needs more than just a superficial relationship. maybe they need a friend. i think about all the people in my life that have come and gone and i've failed to see that. they've asked me subtly, but not so subtly. i've let relationships slip by where the people were crying for my help, my intervention, my friendship! when no one else would love them like i know how and i am capable of because i have the love of God in me...but for whatever reason i turned them away, probably because of my fear. i was afraid of what this was going to cost me. i was afraid of what i was going to have to sacrifice. looking back, it was a mere inconvenience for the health and vitality, and perhaps even the salvation of somone's spirit.

truly loving and serving others is not glamorous. it's not going to exalt me in ministry or as a leader or some super evengelist. and even if it does, that aspect is inconsequential. Philippians 2 talks about how Christ humbled Himself and died for us for no gain of His own, but for the gain of others so that through them He might be known. if i'm the only person who can reach a certain person, i have to do what i can. what i do now might be too little, too late but failure now would be to not try. success is God's, i am to love and show Christ in my life and share that with others.

Circles 8 part 3

2007-04-04T06:22:00.001-05:00

the winning crew of Circles 8

Circles 8 continued

2007-04-03T23:10:00.001-05:00

these were the judges

Circles 8

2007-04-03T23:09:00.001-05:00

wait for the guy in the white a-shirt. he's sick!

CIRCLES

2007-04-03T14:11:00.000-05:00

this past weekend i took a trip back to JMU to attend CIRCLES 8! Circles is a breakdancing competition that is held at JMU every year. crews from all over the east coast come to battle it out for 1st place. there was also a bonnie and clyde tournament (teams of one guy and one girl) and an mc battle (like 8 Mile only real and with more suck). it was wicked sweet! i was able to bring my camera so i'll be posting some video soon!

(photos and videos pending)

Virginia State Bar

2007-03-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

for the past year i've been working at the Virginia State Bar in downtown Richmond, VA as a temp. it's a really nice cushy office job and i get to work with some of the greatest, kindest, most friendly people i've ever known. i'm so thankful that i've been able to work here for as long as i have. even though i'm not interested in becoming a lawyer, i've still enjoyed working at the VSB. as a temp i've been tossed around as a floater to whatever area needs help. it's been an awesome way to serve others and make a little money while doing it. it's also been a great experience with great people. i started out working for the Clerk's Office, which is full of women my mother's age with children my age so they feed me a lot. i guess they see me, a young unmarried guy, and their wonderful maternal impulses kick in and they feel compelled to give me food. gotta love that! i've also been able to work in the mail room and the Ethics Department. it's pretty interesting to learn about all the intricate rules and regulations that lawyers have to abide by (suckers). that further deters me from considering a profession in law (i don't need your rules! i'm a rebel without a cause!!) but it increases my respect for those who have chosen that profession.

i must admit that i'm really going to miss the people when i leave. they've been so wonderful and have always treated me like i've always worked there. they've never treated me like i was "just a temp". they've always made me feel like i was a part of the community on the 15th floor. i love this place and i love the people.

i actually got my own office! ok, so it's temporary because they are renovating the area where my desk is and the person who was in this office moved to a bigger and better one upstairs. but i still have my own office and that's more than a lot of people my age can say! if you look closely, you can also see i have my own desk, chair, phone, computer, boxes with crap in them, drawers, and sprite can and cup (with sprite in it!). ah, the corporate life...

Televangelist Rap

2007-03-28T13:11:00.001-05:00

werrd up

Mosaic

2007-03-28T12:01:00.001-05:00

this is the church i'm interning with this summer

Filet Mignon

2007-03-27T07:57:00.000-05:00

filet mignon is wonderful! it's definitely my favorite food of all time. i truly believe that if there is going to be food in heaven, filet mignon will be the main course in every meal and i will never get tired of it because a) it's filet mignon and b) it'll be heaven so everything nothing will be boring!

this morning i was super excited because i had a leftover filet mignon ready for me to take to work and eat for lunch. but to my dismay someone had eaten half of it, leaving me the leftover half. i hope they enjoyed it but next time i wish that they would ask for permission to eat my filet. i would have gladly said, "there's no chance in this lifetime or the next that you will ever be able to have my filet mignon. get your own. if i find some of it missing i'm coming after you and i'm bringing a rusty cleaver." the end

Bollywood!

2007-03-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

this past weekend i went to an international event called Bollywood. it was so much fun! for those of you who aren't in the know, Bollywood "is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindustani language film industry in India" (wikipedia). basically the night consisted of students from India performing narrative songs and dances from popular Indian films for four straight hours. apparently, Indian films commonly have narrative songs and dances performed by the characters in them. i wish life were more like that. like if i could walk into the grocery store and all of the people in the store were singing a song to a well choreographed dance involving common things in the store, i wouldn't ever think twice about shopping. i hate it when i go to the store looking for something and i don't find it. i feel like i just wasted time and energy. but with song and dance, every trip would be worth it! interpersonal conflict wouldn't be as bad if we argued in song and dance. i would probably get over a heated argument faster if the person had fought with me via the wonderful medium of song. riding on the bus to work would probably be a lot more pleasant with background music as well. but i digress...

i had never been exposed to Bollywood before (except for the Simpsons episode when Apu had to live with the Simpsons family and perhaps their 138th episode as well. i'll have to double check that one and get back to you.) so this was a new and awesome experience for me. my friend Amit invited me and the rest of my friends at Aletheia. he performed one of the dances. he was REALLY GOOD. if i could dance like him, i would probably be in better shape. the students performed theatrical pieces from Bollywood movies, dances, songs, and an Indian band came up and played. they sounded a little indie acoustic rock style (indie Hindi music-smileface emoticon). at about 10pm they served dinner. by then i was starving. Indian food is really spicy so if you haven't tried it yet, have a bathroom readily accessible after you do. also, if you are presented with a drink that looks like it has dirt in it and smells and tastes like fireworks, politely decline. my friends Connor and Timmy gave it a swig and they either immediately spit it back into their cup or ran to the bathroom to spit it out. my other friend, Carrie, was told by an Indian student not to drink it! the night ended with dancing and fun. it was a blast!

Ninjas are SO COOL

2007-03-23T18:44:00.001-05:00

ninjas are SO AWESOME! ever since i was little i was in love with ninjas. i loved to play ninja games, dress up as a ninja, and watch tv shows and movies about ninjas. ninja tv shows and movies included, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (show and movies), 3 Ninjas Kickback, Surf Ninjas, GI Joe, Beverly Hills Ninja, and the list goes on and includes a bunch of obscure ninja movies that a 6-year-old would think are cool. my favorite ninja website is called Real Ultimate Power. now i don't officially endorse this website because the kid is a weirdo. i do think it's really funny:

"Facts:
1. Ninjas are mammals.
2. Ninjas fight ALL the time.
3. The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people.

Testimonial: Ninjas can kill anyone they want! Ninjas cut off heads ALL the time and don't even think twice about it. These guys are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this ninja who was eating at a diner. And when some dude dropped a spoon the ninja killed the whole town. My friend Mark said that he saw a ninja totally uppercut some kid just because the kid opened a window. Ninjas are sooooooooooo sweet that I want to crap my pants. I can't believe it sometimes, but I feel it inside my heart. These guys are totally awesome and that's a fact. Ninjas are fast, smooth, cool, strong, powerful, and sweet."
~ REAL Ultimate Power

ninjas also apparently hate pirates because i have a t-shirt that says so. it also informs me that it is a fact. i also recently discovered that you can actually look it up on wikipedia! so i had to tell my girlfriend that if she ever became a pirate, we would have to break up.

Barbarian Project

2007-03-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

so on my most recent trip to California, i traveled up to Los Angeles for a day for an interview. i've been in the process of applying for a summer internship with a church located in los angeles called Mosaic. a few days after the interview i found out that i got the internship! so this summer i'll be living in LA, serving with Mosaic.

"Mosaic is an international congregation who is effectively reaching the next generation for Christ. they are represented by over 80 nationalities, and have 5 different weekend gatherings all over the city. their lead pastor, Erwin McManus, has global influence with leaders and churches all over the world."

as part of this experience, i’m going to learn what it means to create a community who lives by faith, is known by love, and who can become a voice of hope to the emerging generation. the internship strives to develop my leadership skills, my character, my relational skills, and it will help me grow in areas of creativity and innovation as well."

that was the basic internship description. i'm super stoked to do this internship! it's something that i've been praying about for about a year now. i visited the church in it's downtown location where they meet in a nightclub and got to meet a lot of people from the community. they were really kind, welcoming, fun, and dedicated to serving God and serving the community. i can't wait to get there and get involved. i'm especially excited about the opportunity to serve, learn, and grow.

Humility

2007-03-18T14:05:00.000-05:00

something i've definitely been learning through my time with Aletheia (and throughout all aspects of life) is humility. i know this is definitely a life-long process and each person's wrestle with pride is unique to themselves. i've recently been made aware of this when reading through Erwin McManus' book Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul. it's really been challenging to me and i highly recommend it to everyone. in it, he talks about Philippians 2:3-5: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Look not to your own interests, but also the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ.” now of course when i first looked at this passage i immediately see, don't be selfish but be humble. seems simple enough. but throughout this journey i've realized that pride can be so sneaky! it can slip itself into any aspect of who we are and the attitudes that we hold. for me especially it has snuck into my insecurities of post-college graduation uncertainty. so much of me wants to take the reigns of life and steer my own course and create my own opportunities. unfortunately my "selfish ambition" leads to me stomping on the lives, feelings, and opportunities of others. ultimately, i have to submit to God and recognize that God Himself will provide for me. i don't need to try to snatch anything from Him.

my "vain conceit" has been poisoning me to no end. it's the classic "people-pleaser" syndrome: i want others to think highly of me. but i guess the question is, do i seem like more than i am or am i more than i appear to be. one leads to people overestimating your capabilities and the other leads to people underestimating who you are, and isn't it the one who is underestimated the most dangerous? like Yoda. he's this really short, old, green alien with a walking stick. nobody would figure that dude could do a flip over you and slice your head off with a lightsaber! or even like the Transformers: "More than meets the eye!" you thought you were throwing rocks at someone's truck, but then it turns into a gigantic robot with a laser rifle and completely obliterates you with it's superior firepower (of course this wouldn't ACTUALLY happen...Optimus Prime is a good guy). deep down in my soul there is that part of me that desires greatness. the awesome thing about Jesus is that He completely redefined "greatness".

in Matthew 18, His followers come to Him and say, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" then He turned to a child and basically said that whoever changes and humbles themselves is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. in essence Jesus was saying that true greatness is connecting to God by recognizing that our own way is marked with pride, selfish ambition and vain conceit, desiring to change, and humbling ourselves to God through belief in Jesus and who He said He was. it takes a great deal of humility to recognize and admit that we are wrong and we need help. have you noticed that? it takes so much effort to truly ask for forgiveness from someone because that means that we are admitting that we are guilty of wrong doing and let's be honest, we all would like to think that we're perfect (or at least closer to that side of perfect) and always right. look at how much energy and emotion people invest in "being right". it's so much easier for me to turn a blind eye to my own actions, attitudes, and motivations, especially when they're rooted in my selfish ambition and vain conceit. it's so much easier to play the blame game and point my finger at someone else, even for when i'm clearly in the wrong. at the same time, i can do good for people and never actually BE good. i'm talking about my character and integrity. because of this, i can easily be an in-authentic performer for others. by the way, Jesus called those types of people hypocrites and people in the church are by no means exempted from this label.

i am a hypocrite in transition. i'm not who i want to be, but thank God i'm not who i used to be. that's why ultimately it's not about the good that i do, but it's the core of who i am, who i am becoming on my journey with Christ. i use this word "journey" a lot. what i am referring to is the journey of becoming a person whose character is transformed by the character of Christ in me. only through this journey can i achieve God defined greatness, characterized by humility, integrity, courage, faith, hope, and above all else, love.

Wild Animal Park!

2007-03-17T23:24:00.000-05:00

last week i flew out to California to visit my girlfriend, Elizabeth, for our one year anniversery. we drove down to San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. we got to go on one of their safaris and feed giraffes, get courted by an ostrich, and hear a rhino fart. all makes for a good day in sunny San Diego. we also went to Laguna Beach and Los Angeles.

later we went to the Melting Pot. it's a delicious fondu restaurant where we ate so much that we had a hard time moving afterwards. the night started with cheese fondu with bread and vegetable dippers and salads. the main course consisted of filet mignon, steak, chicken, tuna, and shrimp with some sparkling cider. desert was chocolate s'mores fondu with graham cracker crumbs. we had strawberries, pineapples, bananas, and marshmellows as our dippers. it was glorious. it was really nice to see Elizabeth. one year of long distance is challenging, but she's totally worth it.

Aletheia

2007-03-17T14:54:00.000-05:00

i'm currently interning with aletheia, a non-denominational church in richmond, va. it just started so right now is an exciting time to intern with them and help out with getting the church up and running. it originally started at jmu and has been a great community for the college students in the area since it has a rock band and is a lot edgier than most churches, is fun and energetic, and has great teaching. the pastor saw a need in richmond and wanted to start another aletheia there. i saw an opportunity to help out so i signed up for an internship, moved to richmond and have been helping out for almost a year now. i didn't have a clue what i was doing, but thankfully i've been able to help out with my media arts and design degree. even though my concentration was in video, i've been able to use my limited graphics experience to make flyers and other things to get the word out about us. it's still kind of challenging because even in the area of graphics i'm still extremely limited in skill and training. i've also been able to help in various other capacities, all of which have been challenging and stretching me as a person and grown me closer in my relationship with God. it's been wonderful to get to know the college students at virginia commonwealth university. vcu is so diverse, being in a city, and when i am in a room filled with students from all over the world i get a sense that the scope of God's kingdom is so much bigger than i could ever have imagined. i love hanging out with people so this has been a good fit for me in that respect.

my journey with aletheia has taught me a lot. God brought me through this experience to show me and teach me things that i'll definitely be sharing in blogs to come. i've learned so much from the aletheia team in richmond and i know it will stick with me for the rest of my life. i love and respect each person that is a part of this community. through the ups and the downs i've learned what a true community is supposed to be. i've learned so much more about the character of God through the person of Jesus Christ and through Scriptures. i've learned a lot about myself and where i fit in the grand scheme of things in my service to God and to others. i've learned to stop banking on a label of religion and start engaging in what it truly means to have a relationship with God and be a follower of Christ. i'm excited to seeing how all of these experiences will play out in the future and how this journey will unfold.

BLOG!

2007-03-16T15:18:00.000-05:00

ok, so i've been pretty late in creating a blog. not too many people bothered me about it so i guess we'll see who reads it.

a little about me:

my name is Justin (if you couldn't guess that by the title, you deserve a wet finger in your ear) and i'm 23. i currently live in Richmond, VA where i'm working at the Virginia State Bar (law offices...i'm not a lawyer nor do i aspire to be one) and i'm also interning with a church called Aletheia. it's a non-denominational church here in Richmond, VA that focuses on college students at VCU as well as the surrounding area. i'll also divulge in this topic later if you're lucky. i'm learning a lot from this experience and it's moved me to explore the arena of ministry further, but more on that later. i went to James Madison University and majored in Media Arts and Design with a concentration in Digital Video Editing. everybody thinks that i'm a graphics design major, but i'm not! i also minored in Religion. i grew up in Northern Virginia. It's completely different than southern Virginia ("southern" doesn't even get a CAPS). there's a lot more traffic and people. i guess that's all i'll put about myself for right now. this blog is mainly to share my experiences and journey with God to anyone who wishes to read through my crazy thoughts and parenthetical statements. Life is a journey and journeys are meant to be shared and experienced with others. in fact, i believe it's impossible to go on a journey through Life and never encounter and engage the journey of another person. this is my journey. i hope that it intersects with yours.