Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

San Francisco, near Fisherman's Wharf

I locked my keys in my car last night, in the same exact time and place I did it a month ago. Last time I actually left them IN the ignition; this time they were on the front passenger side seat (where I had set them down while I gathered my purse and other belongings). Even better, the same exact tow guy came as last time. You'd think I wanted a date or something. As he left he said, "Am I going to see you again?" Uhhh....

I really think I am losing my mind.

Thanksgiving was great, aside from my fractured rib (just don't ask). I went with Ramesh & Janell up to Ramesh's uncle's house in Pleasanton, where we joined 30 of her closest relatives for My Big Fat Persian Thanksgiving. Basic Farsi skills would have helped immensely. :) Even though it wasn't my family, it felt like a big warm family holiday gathering (well, it WAS...) and we had a lot of fun, some great conversations, and I enjoyed the time with the girls. It was good to get away, from school work included, however now I am wondering what's going to happen with these two grandiose projects I have due in two weeks that I have yet to think about.

tulip

We had a long drive home from the Bay area today. For a little theological entertainment, we came up with the TULIP for the single person (a la the 5 points of Calvinism):

T - Total celibacy
U - Unconditional matchmaking

L - Limited options

I - Irresistable chase

P - Perseverance of the single

back in the saddle

Went for a ride today for the first time since I stabbed myself in the hand. It's still a little sore with pressure, but definitely good enough to ride if I hold the handlebars a certain way. :) It was SO good to be out there again, I've really missed it! I was enjoying the silence as I pedaled through the great outdoors of Fullerton ;) and noticed that my legs feel a bit more like jelly after those steep hills than they used to.

So imagine my surprise as I came around a corner about 45 minutes into my solo ride and found this: Janell had been at my apartment fixing her tires when I left and I didn't know she was going to go out for a ride after. Apparently she didn't make it very far. I rode back to the car and went to go get her and her flat tire.

So good to get out again!!

the perils of church hopping (Part 2) OR, why does this follow me everywhere I go?!?!

(This post is continued from the previous post below...)

This is just an old picture of me getting my hair done last year to trick you into thinking

that this post is not really just a lot of long rambling words and thoughts

and to start reading.)

I don't consider myself a church-hopper, actually. I am rooted...in two churches.

Church #1...I work in the office, I taught bible studies the last two years, I worked on the women's curriculum, I am starting lay counseling training in January, and I've been asked to be part of the high school leadership and a college girls small group leader in the New Year. (!) I've been at this church for 3 years and they have taught me how to teach, given me ministry opportunities, and taken care of me financially. I love the emphasis on Scripture and teaching, though there is a big hole community-wise for people my age and demographic (nothing in between college and young married/family groups). I plugged in through my bible studies and women's ministries. It has felt like home in the past, though not so much very recently because I have been around less.

Church #2...I've been attending for the last year, mostly the Sunday night services, but more recently Sunday mornings. This church feeds me differently, and is more in line with my family's ... uh ... worship style and tradition. The worship fits, I would go there for that alone. Except they are doing amazing things in the community, such as the human trafficking issue. And a few professors from Talbot are on staff, so the teaching is generally strong as well. I have done some prayer counseling (on the receiving end) there, and they have a ministry and prayer style and ministry opportunities that I really value.

Yesterday Janell and I attended the trafficking conference with ladies from Church #2. I'll just cut to the chase...the women's ministries director asked me if I would teach a study. Any day I want, morning or night, on any topic I want. She also asked if both Janell and I would want to teach workshops at the women's retreat in May.

SCRREEEEEEEEEEECH! (That's me slamming on the breaks. Like, "beep beep back the truck up!") How does this happen?!? Everywhere I go. My whole life I was asked to teach and always weaseled my way out of it because I didn't feel I knew how. At Whittier Hills I learned, and now I know how. And the moment I spend some time with church #2 leaders and they learn a little (tiny!) bit about me, it comes up again. It follows me. I cannot escape. Perhaps it is my CALLING. :) haha

I took this year off from teaching at church #1 so I could finish up school (and I just needed a break from stuff). So I'm not going to jump into anything. I told her the things that I like teaching, and that I'd pray about the workshop, etc. But here lies the problem with trying to be part of two churches. You can't be involved in both, not the way that I'd like. My Sundays could be Church #1 in the morning, Church #2 at night. I could fill 3-4 weeknights with high school group and bible study at church #1 and a women's study at church #2. Oh, and also the lay counseling training and another training I'm going to be doing at #2 for working with victims of trafficking. But WHY would I want to do that? HOW would I do that? WHAT DO I DO?!

I'm not leaving church #1. But I also really love church #2 and it meets some different needs for me. I am praying about bringing some of this trafficking education to #1; I've already been asked to talk to the high school group about it, and I'd love to do more church-wide awareness stuff. I know there is no church that is going to have everything, but I feel the importance of finding a home and settling there. Both churches are good, strong, and doing great things. For now I am going to keep involvement at church #2 to a minimum, since I feel committed to #1. And I'll stop rambling now.........

discipleship by participation?

Have you seen the article in Christianity Today about Willow Creek? The one where they admit "We made a mistake"? Willow Creek is one of the most influential churches in America, one that so many churches have modeled their ministry after. Their model is business - churchgoers are customers and God is the product. So they ask, how do we best market God to the consumer? Getting people participating in activities and programs on a large scale is how they mark success. This kind of success, they thought, produces disciples of Christ.

But new research that they have been conducting in their church among the congregation and the community shows that this has NOT been successful. Bill Hybels admitted, "Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for."

Instead there is a very, very large congregation dependent upon programs and activities and unable to demonstrate that they are capable of being "disciples," let alone making disciples of their own. Hybels continues, "We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own."

That so many people have modeled their own churches and ministries after this large church has to be disturbing. I think we have created an American Christianity that is represented by people that do not know how to engage in spiritual disciplines, do not know much at all about theology or WHY they believe what they believe, could not defend their faith to anyone if asked and are timid to share about it because they don't know how. What about teaching people about prayer, fasting, and reading their Bible? Serving and loving others? Teaching by relationship and modeling leadership that way? Programs provide information, but without practical experience and leaders willing to be honest and vulnerable with their flock, we fail in these fundamental areas.

Greg Hawkins, another pastor at WC, doesn't believe that this church's reign of influence over the American church is over... "Our dream is that we fundamentally change the way we do church. That we take out a clean sheet of paper and we rethink all of our old assumptions. Replace it with new insights. Insights that are informed by research and rooted in Scripture. Our dream is really to discover what God is doing and how he’s asking us to transform this planet."

NO!!!!! (Sorry.) Research? Rethinking? New insights? It would seem that if they were really seeking to do "church" in a way that is rooted in Scripture, then all the research, thoughts, and insight they need would be found there (in Scripture!). It worked then. We really don't need to reinvent the wheel or change the fundamentals found there to produce solid, informed, intelligent disciples of Christ. I hope they really are able to discover what God is doing and "turn their ship around" so to speak in a way that is truly based in Scripture and able to produce the kind of ministry and disciples they are hoping for.

You can watch what Bill Hybels said here.

that is one MONSTER of an APPLE!!!!

meet my Israel roommate...

This is Kim...and this is what we do in our Israel preparation class...

before I die...

I want to ride in a sidecar. Aviator cap, large goggles, and scarf flying behind me. It must happen.

Maybe not so much like this...

Ever since Indiana Jones, the thrill and danger and ridiculousness has been so attractive. Where can I do this? You don't see them around much anymore. Perhaps I shall have to go to Germany. There's a lifelong dream to be fulfilled!

Am I now well-rounded?

We register for spring classes next week and I was just perusing the schedule of classes. I know what I want to take for my FINAL class. I only have to take one next semester. I just added up all my units again and double checked all the requirements (just to make sure I'm not destined for some colossal disappointment when meeting with a graduation counselor - think I'm supposed to meet with one this month) and I am SO CLOSE to being ALL DONE.

I just made a list of all the classes I've taken over this long road...it's kind of interesting to look at the list and try and remember what in the world I learned in each one (just kidding). But overall I think the program is pretty well-rounded for ministry and I loved my personal emphasis on Biblical Studies.

Here they are, in the order I took them over the last four glorious years (humor me):

Hermeneutics
New Testament Survey
Old Testament Survey
Theo 1: Revelation & Nature of God
Personal Foundations of Ministry
Theo 2: Works of God, Angels, Man, Sin
Evangelism & Follow-Up
Theological Research Methods
Exposition of Genesis
Elementary Principles of Biblical Languages
Spiritual Mentoring Group
Theo 3: Christ, Salvation, Spirit
Arranged Course: Matthew (My Bible Study curriculum)
Theo 4: Church & Last Things
Life of Christ
Arranged Course: Joshua (Bible Study curriculum)
Exposition of Daniel & Revelation
Historical Theology Survey
Educational Ministry in the Church (Christian Education)
The Church & Society (Ethics)
Biblical Theology of Leadership & Community
Apologetics
Bible Lands Trip (Israel, leaving December 27!)

In the spring I hope to take a seminar on spiritual warfare and then I'll be peacing out. Oh if only it were already May... :)

bye bye

Helped moved Ramesh & Janell out of their apartment today (this is them waving goodbye from the old living room) and into a new place. It's a good and needed change! Thankfully (for me!) they only moved down the street. They aren't next door anymore, so I'll actually have to drive, but they're still close.

TGIF

Thinking about my sister and her husband today, who are in the midst of some tough career and financial stuff. Feels like my family is going through the ringer right now, from all sides. I have a hard time not carrying other people's burdens too heavily myself too...

Thank God it's the weekend, I think I'll be sleeping for about 24 straight hours.

Memorial

My grandma said that she never heard my grandpa say anything bad about ANYONE, as long as she knew him. They were married 62 years. I'm not sure I can even get through a week (a day...).

A charicature done by someone at the nursing home last year...looks just like him!

Tonight after the service we went through a big box of old pictures of my grandparents and their family (my mom's family) from the last 60+ years. I snagged a few to take home with me. It's been good to piece together different puzzle pieces of his life over the last few days.

tired

What a loooooooong day. We gallavanted around Seattle all day long like tourists. It's fun to see cousins we haven't seen in a few years. Tomorrow is the memorial service; we spent some time today talking with each other about our memories of our grandpa, realizing how we got to know this strong man in the weakest time of his life, when his illness had taken over his body. But such character and grace that he showed even at the end of his life was cultivated over a lifetime. I'm looking forward to hearing from those who his life touched tomorrow.

my widdo bwudder

Travis turned 23 today...SO OLD! (Maybe in another 7-8 years you'll catch up to how old you actually look.) :)

embracing my blackness

Enjoying the fall colors here that we don't have in Cali...

off for clearer skies

Heading up to Seattle tonight, YAAAAY. It's been about 5 months, not long in normal life, but seems like ages with everything that's been going on with family. The memorial service is on Tuesday, and Mom gets home from England on Monday, but in the meantime there will catching up with cousins we haven't seen in years, shopping with my sister, my brother's birthday, etc. etc. I'm sighing contended and anticipatory sighs today. :)

rockabilly

Shoot, I didn't really want black...and I wanted my bangs BELOW my eyebrows...but hair grows and color fades and I guess this is me for now!

On Fire

Another day of smokey air and ash...between the crazy wind and the thick brown air, it's hard to be outside! It smells like a giant burning junkyard. This is what it looks like from space (from this site). Seems worse this year than normal? With so many houses and other landmarks burning, we know people who have been evacuated this time and people who have been affected by homes or other buildings that have burned. Not good.

I saw the sign

(and it opened up my eyes...)

Body knows best... It occurs to me that last year about this time I tweaked my knee and couldn't run for a couple weeks. I remember becoming close with the stationary bike it the gym (eww). My roommate remembers too; when I mentioned last night that I think I've done it again, she recalled that I did this to myself last fall too. This time I can think of the moment I did it. I was simply standing with my foot planted and turned weird and it just...tweaked. That was several days ago, and I've been running on it, but last night it said STOP! And today walking is an issue.

Why does it always take me an injury or an illness or some sort of major something to slow me down? Here again, I've found myself physically on the brink of a cold, emotionally on the brink of something resembling hysteria, sleepless, behind, and since those obviously have not been enough, now I am apparently being forced to chill. My human trafficking event thing was canceled for tomorrow, giving me an entirely free day. So I guess I just need to heed all the signs and STOP for a bit. Blah.