Friday Under The Stars...

If you don't like to read long blog entries... I encourage you to read on... this is some good stuff.

Never before tonight have I realized the truth of the verse in Isaiah that says the word of the Lord never returns void. Never before have I felt the importance of the intricate details and how God ordains it ALL.

Spending time with my homeless friends is the biggest blessing to my life. Now I know that we make an impact. I know that. By my standards, it was a little one. Never did I know the love that we poured out and the encouraging words that spilled from our hearts would go such a long way. He has proved once again that his words will not return void.

I ran into a good friend of mine tonight downtown, Taz is what they call him and I will use that name here. I didn't really recognize him at first and asked my friend Mary if I was right in thinking that was him. She thought so too... so I ran over to him with excitement flowing out of my eyes. Last time I saw Taz he was planning on catching a train and peacing out of Columbus. It was SUCH a surprise to see him back.

I yelled out his name as I walked up to him and without skipping a beat he threw open his arms for an embrace and yelled "I'm sober!" I didn't want to let go of his embrace because there was so much running through my head... I even thought I just wanted to cry. He will tell you himself... he was a drunk... constantly... but even so, he was awesome. He went on to tell me how he spent some time in rehab and has been clean for nearly 2 months. I don't know if this message can even convey the greatness of this unexpected blessing. It can't.... words can't... just know that I didn't expect this one bit... and its so beautiful.

He's in a sober house getting taken care of and encouraged by the other men in this ministry... and even working on getting his very best friends off the streets and to where he is now. What a witness. I couldn't help but watch him all night long amazed that this was the same creature I had known a few months ago. He has found a new God... and a new way... and he will tell anyone and everyone about it. He is a respected man... and a lover of people. He always has been... but now it seems to take on a whole new meaning. A new life is exactly what God promises... and a new life is exactly what God gives us. I am so so excited to see the wonderful things that will come from this.

Please please pray for the daily fight against my brother, Taz's, addiction. Please pray that he will stand strong today... and tomorrow pray the same thing. One day at time. He will give us what we need for today only... and for that I am so thankful.


Tonight was a night full of miracles... a night full of holy moments... they happen more than we realize... but God took of my blinders tonight.

He is providing and working without my knowledge... and before I even know what for.

From the start of my involvement with this ministry I have felt two kingdoms colliding in a grueling way. Any time there is that kind of collision there is bound to be conflict. But tonight I can proudly say that there was victory!

I am wealthy...

Hallelujah... I've learned again what it means to be rich!

i need a nap.

some say if the door does not open... it must not be meant to be...



i say if the door does not open...





go through the window.

Homelessness and the endless emotions...

I have recently been interested in homelessness. Most likely inspired from the beautiful souls I have been able to become friends with downtown Columbus. I have been looking for literature to get a better insight on the issue, in hopes to learn how to combat it, help it and not feed into it, all sorts of things I want to learn about it.

I started reading a book called "Under the Overpass" written by Mike Yankoski. I was really hesitant at first because it's the story of two college guys who decided to become homeless for a few months and their journey. What better way to learn about it than to become it huh? I was hesitatnt becuase I didn't know how much I would really learn about the issue.

I have learned a whole lot... especially about things I have not ever thought about... about how the dignity of a homeless person can so easily be destroyed...

Here is a little excerpt from the book... its a lesson this guy is learning that I learned my first day with my homeless friends... but he puts it into words so wonderfully...

"Sitting there with Sugar Man, I felt my carefull established definitions of a Christian crack and expand. Here was an admitted addict and user openly proclaiming Christ in his community and asking how he could serve us....

... What's worse? To not do dope or to not love your brother? Why do we kick drug users out of the church while quietly ignoring those who aren't dealing with other, equally destructive sins? Why do we reject the loving, self- sacrificing, giving, encouraging, Jesus- pursuing drug addict but recruit the clean, self interested, gossiping, loveless churchgoer?"

I know that exact feeling of cracking and expanding definitions of what a Christian is. I knew that feeling when I met a 15 year crack addict and HE talked to ME about the hunger and the thirst inside his soul for Jesus, and righteousness, and holiness. Talk about a destoryed definitions.

I'm bothered at the pressure to be
so
damn
perfect.

I wonder what this is like...

" I am hungry, so I appreciate food and thank God for it whenever I find ice cream or other perishables in a condo I am cleaning. I appreciate friendship and don't need a tevevision to keep me company. I appreciate birds chirping, as there is no radio to seduce my ears. I appreciate God, because I live in the house He has made, as opposed to a house I have purchased by my own means."
D.M.

Sabbath thoughts...

It’s really discontenting that times of solitude, stillness, rest, and solid quietness can so quickly start to feel like loneliness.

More delicate and thoughtful words from Don Miller...

"Even if I want to run, it isn't really what I want- what I want is Him, even if I don't believe it. If He made all this exsistance, you would think He would know what He is doing, and you would think He could be trusted. Everything I want is just Him, to get lost in Him, to feel His love and more and more of this dazzling that He does. I wonder at His beautiful system and how it feels better than anything I could choose or invent for myself. I wonder as I gaze up at the night sky, this love letter from God to creation, this reminder that somewhere there is peace, somewhere there is order, and I think about how great His kingdom is, and is going to be, and I wonder, in this rare and beautiful moment, how I could ever want to walk away from it all."

Beautiful words...

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, like you way into the answers."

RAINER MARIA RILKE.

Thanksgiving...

... was such a wonderful time.

I don't know what was best... my mom learning the Soulja Boy dance, playing Scategories until 1 am, belting out Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, Don McLean, Beatles, and Billy Joel tunes with Laura(s) and the family, or every moment spent with my amazing sisters.

It was all so great.
As tradition holds at Laughlin family Thanksgivings, we had a stanger at the dinner table... (thank you mom). Usually mom is the one who finds these stangers with no place to go to join us. Usually they are a little weirded out by the family... but then they realize that they would have it no other way... and they become family. Nel joined us as our annual stanger... and she was wonderful. She fit right in. Now we just wait and see if she ever comes back :).

Also as tradition holds, we have our friends... which have become our family. We topped off at 13 people this Thanksgiving... which is rather low for us. It was perfect though. After dinner the music got flowing and we got loosened up on the dance floor (our living room). And oh did we sing. Usually we hold to the oldies, but Paige switched it up this year and put on some Soulja Boy which we were dancing to. Heather decided to learn it with us... and mom had to join in. Jan knows the Soulja boy. She's amazing at it. I know shes going to tell her friends at work... and I know she's going to get judged.

My sisters and I had a blast... late night movies, grocery store trips, and triple solitare make for a very good time. One for all... or all for none. Even though we bicker with eachother... there couldn't be two better friends that I could ask for.

I made some money over break Lifeguarding at Sawmill... and boy did I grieve the WAC. There was nothing like it. Nor will there ever be. I can't believe we used to call that work.

I got to spend some time with my homeless friends downtown. I got a beautiful gift from my buddy Jim. He is just so precious to me. He gave me a necklace that matches his, only he put a cross on mine. It's a friendship necklace. I am the luckiest friend in the world. They have so little... yet give so much to us every time we see them.
Heather came along... and we got to bring two old and dear friends of ours, Kevin and Kwabnea. I love to see Jesus move in people's hearts when they meet our friends downtown. It's remarkable.

I am so thankful for my friends down there. Tom and his perseverance, Jim and his hugs, Rob and his quiet heart, Bob and his precious spirit, Elmo and his voice, and Ernie and his honesty and his tears. They are so so beautiful.

Then we made a little unexpected visit to an old friends house... and man oh man did that bring back some memories. It's incredible how far God has brought me... and what a new creation I've become. I am so thankful that God makes us new, and give us second chances.

This entry is getting long... I'll post some Soulja Boy dancing pictures soon.

Peace.

Through Painted Deserts

"We drive around in a trance, salivating for Starbucks while that great heaven sits above us, and that beautiful sunrise is happening in the desert, and all those mountains out West are collecting snow on the limbs of their pines, and all those leaves are changing colors out East. God, it is so beautiful, it is so quiet, it is so perfect."
Don Miller.

family is such a gift...

I need help...

I am a chronic multitasker

and an anticipatory griever.

The good news...

The buckeye game was a great time...

number 1 !

I did my bulletin board on the Blood:Water Mission... its the best one I think I have done in all 3 years of being an RA. I hope people take notice... and care...

I have been reminded this week that Jesus came to offer us life... and offer it to the fullest. That is good news. Life to the fullest. Unfourtanetly... I don't think most of us understand what that means... I don't think we grasp the fullness of that.

This worship team from Kenya came to my church in Akron and led us last week. It was one of the most meaningful worship experiences of my life. They were going back and forth between singing it in their language and ours and when they were sining in their language I felt like I had never heard something so beautiful. At one point they were singing the line "He will answer you" over and over... the spirit swpet me off my feet and took me out of reality for a few minutes. I just stood there... I was not even able to speak at the deep realization that
he
answers
us.
I felt like I couldn't move. It was almost as if God spoke it to me from his very lips. It was a realization that I have never had/felt before.
He
answers
us.
In his own way and in his own time... but he does it. I can rest in that so wonderfully.

Unspoken truth is spoken everywhere...

Everyone is around... but nobody's here...

If love is surrender... then who's war is it anyways?

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" James 5:16

that is one piece of truth we can cling to... and i do...

but i wonder how often we really feel like we are "righteous men"... if we felt that way all the time i think our prayer lives would be radically different... i know mine would be.

but check this out...

Romans 3:22
"...this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."

Romans 4:23-25

"23The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

we ARE righteous men... thanks be to Him...

we are righetous through Christ...

and the prayer of a righteous man are powerful and effective.

our prayers are powerful

our prayers are effective.

this should have an effect...

keep on praying brothers, God hears us... and he cares... and its effective.

what do we do Lord?

My beloved homeless friend Bob... who has literally changed my life.

God be the solution...

We'll be your hands and feet.

Open up our eyes, so blind
That we might find
The Mercy for the need...




It is not too far a cry
To much to try
To help the least of these
Politics will not decide
If we should rise
And be your hands and feet

still be my vision...
o ruler of all.

me too...

oy

i miss deepness in friendships

if that makes any sense

prayer is a new medicine

I am reading a book called "Healing Prayer" written by a doctor who dives into the idea of medicine and prayer and the effect that prayer has had on people's health.... its amazing.

"The most persuasive reason to believe that prayer works is the indisputable fact that everyone uses it, pagans and orthodox believers alike. If prayer is not efficacious, why would it be universal? A good question. If prayer didn't work, why wasn't is abandoned long ago?"

"Spiritual practices clearly are a complement to traditional medicine, and we should make every effort to incorporate our patients' spirituality to promote healing."

"Prayer has a supernatural component as God's healing anointing and power overcaome disease in the body, but it can also offer an individual a specific direction to take in the natural world that leads to healing."

thats some good stuff.

What I love is that nearly 50% of our medications are derived from plants... things like Digoxin and Morphine and many many others that are used daily in hundreds of patients... from a plant. A plant that God created.

I am encouraged at the fact that although we have diseases that seem endless in this world... God has provided... he has provided from the start, and is still providing now.

blessed.

I'm a mess inside my own head...

I think I just woke up to something... and I don't know where I have been for so long.

When did church become a show? Like when did it become so fake? It felt like a joke this morning and I felt like I was the only one who laughed. I was hoping others realized the joke.

All I know is that I need to reevaluate what I want in a church... in doing so, I have come to the sad realization that I don't know of a single one like it. Nor have I even heard one. NOR do I know how to start one.

When did people start dressing up for church? All I know about that is my homeless friends have said many a times they don't want picked up for church because they "can't go looking like this... and well this is all they got." Or they can't go because "they have not showered in weeks and people don't want them."

Is there a church that people don't dress up to go to? Where homeless people wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb? Where they would feel wanted? Where they will KNOW they are wanted? Where people don't even think twice if they have not showered in weeks? Where the confused and broken will not just find a message but help and healing and real solutions? Where hungry wanders can call home?

I'm sick of the kahkis and ties and whatever else. I want something real. I want to go where the homeless can go.I
t's discontentment in my spirit and I don't know what to do with it.

Jesus, we need a revival... and we need some restoration.

I'm sick of the apology campaigns... lets do something about it.

Can I just say that?

I honestly feel like being on the streets with "the least of these" is the best church I have ever had.

Worse than I thought...

Check out this article...

The U.S. Census Bureau released today statistics concerning the results of the 2006 American Community Survey, including income, poverty, and earnings data for states and metropolitan areas, counties, cities, and American Indian/Alaska Native areas and all congressional districts. One thing that this year's survey included that wasn't in the past was populations in group quarters, such as prisons, college dorms, military barracks, and nursing homes.



Topping this year's list as the nation's poorest big city is our neighbor to the north, Detroit, Michigan. Cleveland can breathe a sign of relief as they have now dropped out from the number one spot down to just the fourth poorest big city. It's still nothing to write home about, but hey, at least we're not the worst. However, Ohio as a whole didn't fare to well, with two of its largest cities ranking amongst the top five poorest cities.



For large cities with populations of 250,000 or more, the highest poverty rates were seen in Detroit, MI; Buffalo, NY; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Miami, FL; and St. Louis, MO. The lowest poverty rate was found in Plano, TX.
Cleveland and Ohio's high poverty rates are matched by equally low levels of income. For large cities, Cleveland had the lowest median household income. Following Cleveland on the list were Miami, Buffalo, and Detroit. The highest median household incomes were seen in Plano, TX and San Jose, CA.



For smaller cities (65,000 to 249,000), Ohio also found one of its cities on the top of the lowest income list. The lowest median household incomes in smaller cities were found in Youngstown, OH; Muncie, IN; Camden, NJ; Brownsville, TX; Syracuse, NY; College Station, TX; and Lawrence, MA. Yorba Linda, CA had the highest median household income.

Don't lose the saltiness...

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks...



"You are the salt of the earth.



But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?"


(Matthew 5:13)



Heavy. And so very true.

The Curse of both...

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."
Mother Teresa





what about my beautiful friends downtown columbus who lack both of the above? how do you even begin to tap into a solution to this?




i guess prayer is a good place to start.

Where are you Jeffrey?

Love must be sincere...

(Romans 12:9)

"Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves"

Romans 14:22

You know how you read some verses that just grab you by the throat and you think... uh oh... I am going to need to put this into play realll soon.

These two verses have been grabbing me... and the one in Romans 14 I am not sure I have ever read till now. All of Romans 14 is like a big slap in the face but this... this one right here is killer. It is NOT our job to approve. Foolishly, we always think it is.

It got put to the test and I love how God prepares us in that way by HIS word so we can react as HIS people and not as our own.

Jeremiah 3: 21-22

21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,

the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,

because they have perverted their ways

and have forgotten the LORD their God.

22 "Return, faithless people;

I will cure you of backsliding."

"Yes, we will come to you,

for you are the LORD our God.

This verse came to mind today and I was reminded of how faithful God is to us... the people of Israel turned their backs on God countless times, yet he remains faithful... and tells them he will cure them of backsliding. What a God we have.

Thats all I got.

What a beautiful God.

"our neighborhood"

That right there is my new staff... they are great.

I was going to update... but i'm not feeling so good so I don't think I am going to anymore.

"That better not be mine."

Back in Kent for my final round of Resident Assistant training. I'm in a new building... with an all new team... new boss... new everything. It just reminds me of the fact that I like change and love new people.

It has been exhausting... and frustrating at times.

Talking about "privilege" with a bunch of middle to upper class liberal college students is whats really frustrating.

They think they sit on the unprivileged side of life because they have things like stress, and loans, and they pay for college all alone. Ignorant kids... any one of my 50 homeless friends downtown who are going tonight without a bed, without a shower, without food will all tell you that somehow they sit on the privileged side of life. How does that work?

I can't wait till Jesus restores this world... and opens our eyes.

The hardest part about being here is that I miss my sweet precious friends on the streets of columbus. I miss them terribly and my heart longs and literally aches to see them. They have incredible stories that have become part of my story and I can't wait to see where thats going to go.

My grandma from NZ who is in the country while my gramps has chemo is just so beautiful. She gave me the best advice tonight when she said, and with a british accent... "There are no such things a bad days"

When she expanded it really made some sense in my heart. We are living and breathing and what else do we want? We get to see the sun rise everyday and look at the beauty of the earth created by the hand of God himself and we complain about bad days. God woke us up today. He is sustaining our lives with every breath. Every breath we breathe in is Him breathing life into us.... and for that I am thankful.

I am guilty of having an ungrateful heart. HE made the sun come up today... not me.

"I'm exsisting... not living."

Far is near to You...
Dark is light to You...
Lost is found to You...
Addiction is freedom to You...

Thank you Jesus for seeing things higher than we do...

Thank you for never sleeping.

a beautiful weekend it was...

This weekend was SO much fun!

Aaron came up and Heather came home and man oh man was it a party.
Friday night Aaron, Heather, Kory, Laura and I hung out... we went to Old Bag and well... I will just leave it at that.

"6 PPICKLES"

Then we went to see pirates... boooo. Heather and Laura slept... and I made faces the whole time. Those faces are the new thing. Everyone is doin it.

On Saturday we had the cookout of all cookouts. Seriously. There was so much food and so many recipes and so much love and so much laughing. The family seperated into committee groups for the day. Grandpa was on the Management Committee. Dad was on the Puzzle Committee. Aaron and I were on the Fruit Salad Committee and we made a killer fruit salad. Life is so much more fun when you are on committees.

Then after the cookout we all went down to Fruit of the Vine and experienced some incredibly holy moments. The take off your shoes kind of holy moments. It's beautiful to see spirits and souls with such different stories come together as one in prayer. It's beautiful that those friends of ours who have all they own in a backpack give gifts to us. We got a puzzle from a man and the thing is he has no idea the blessing that the puzzle has brought to this house hold. Team work, laughing, fighting, bossing, loving, time with eachother. All because of a puzzle he Heather and I to have. That is beautiful. It is beautiful to hear them encourage one another when their own lives are not the slightest bit encouraging. It's beautiful to hear them offer their few belongings and their "home" to their brothers and sisters in need. You want to talk about Acts chapter 2 type living? Go down and see how the homeless live. It's beautiful... its holy... its Christ.

We had some good talks after... God is moving.

I just got the absolute best present I have ever recieved in my lifetime. It was an early birthday gift from Kim and she donated money on my behalf to one thing I am extremely passionate about... HIV/AIDS in Africa. There is no present that will ever come close to that. There is nothing else that I would have wanted. Your so thoughtful.

Once again I feel that beauty and be crushing sometimes. This is one of those times.

You are everything that is bright and clean, the antonym of me...

It is an absolute honor to be a servant of God...

to be a servant... of our beautiful God... is a privilage.

In the past week I have been blessed with the opportunities to hold the hands of the homeless, feed the mouths of the hungry, pray with the souls that are broken, love the people who are in desperate need of love, and give free healthcare to the sick.

My life... in one word... is changed.

My desires and passions are changed.

My thoughts and prayer life are changed.

My view of Jesus is changed.

There is a need... a huge need... and we gotta start living bigger... and start living to give...

I love to see what God is up to in the hearts and lives of the people in Columbus. It is something big. It is something real big. And this generation is doing some incredible things.

This life is so much more than "us" and I fail to recognize that a lot.

I love in Isaiah 40 how it says that God's understanding no one can fathom. It couldn't be put better.

This summer is going to be stretching...



"Beauty can be crushing at times, can't it?"

The beautiful days of summer

We are coming at you live from the basement of the MVNU library. Kim and I came up today to visit Laura Lynn and Aaron. We suprised Aaron at work with some homemade cookies and cream ice cream.

Summer is just wonderful. I've been making good use of the WAC before it closes down for good... and I have also been making good use of my new bicycle and the bike path by my house.

1 Thessalonians 2: 3- 12

3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.

10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Do you want to talk about witnessing? This is the way that Paul did it... they shared their lives with these people... and treated them gently, like a mother cares for her children. Then again it says they dealt with them as a father deals with his children, encouraging and comforting.

Where on earth have we gone wrong? Where in the bible does it say to hand out tracks and hold signs outside events condeming people? I don't see where people get that. This is the way to go. This is the way to be effective.

This is powerful stuff...
"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."
1 Corinthians 1:17

Lets not let the cross be emptied of its power anymore...

"God has us connected"

God

is

not

american

... or white.

The Fellowship of the Believers

Acts 2:42-47

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

What does this look like today? And why don't we see this more?

the wise words of David...

Psalm 51

1Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make
Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

I love how David dared to say that a broken spirit is the kind of sacrifice that will not be despised by our Lord. Because sometimes, thats literally all we have to give Him.

oy

It's funny how one phone call has the power to change your world, your worries, your prayer life, your faith, and your understanding of God.



1 Thessalonians 5:16-18



"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."



John 11:35



"Jesus wept."

Invisible Children

I want to be best friends with these guys.

Should we really be suprised?

As awful as this current US situation is...

this stuff happens daily in other countries. Hundreds if not thousands of people, innocent people, are maliciously killed every day.

check this news article out...
"BAGHDAD - Suspected Sunni insurgents penetrated the Baghdad security net Wednesday, hitting Shiite targets with four bomb attacks that killed 183 people — the bloodiest day since the U.S. troop increase began nine weeks ago."

innocent death like that is foreign to the states... but not to everyone else.

bottom line... this world is a scary place... and people are sick.

all these people are so desperate for something that they resort to killing becuase they dont know what else to do.

i was working in the hospital today... in the ER and a young man brough himself into the hospital becuase he is suicidal and having awful thoughts and is seeking to get help. want to know what they did?

sent him home. a boy who was asking for help from himself talked to a counsler and was sent back home. you would think that people would take these cases a little more seriously seeing what has just happened.

all i know is that i didn't make the sunrise today...

like it or not... we are not in control.

Yoke... and not the kind you find in eggs.

What a week...

So i've been thinking a lot about the Yoke of Jesus. Becuase he said that is yoke is easy and his burden is light...

Ever just wonder what exactly a yoke is? Thanks to Aaron and Rob Bell... its not at all what I once thought it was. Check this out...

"Different rabbis had different sets of rules, which were really different lists of what they forbade and what they permitted. A rabbi's set of rules and lists, which was really that rabbi's interpretation of how to live the Torah, was called that rabbi's yoke. When you followed a certain rabbi, you were following him becuase you believed that rabbi's set of interpretations were the closest to what God intended through the Scriptures. And when you followed that rabbi, you were taking up that rabbi's yoke.
One rabbi even said his yoke was easy."

Thats some good stuff... but it gets better...

Isaiah 58 has a little something to say about yokes as well...

58:6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and to break every yoke?"

58: 9-10 "... If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like noonday."

This whole chapter is explaining that fasting, trying to meet with God, trying to get fixed by God... is a lot more than just fasting. This passage shows the giving part of it... the pouring out will refill you and help you meet with God, and will help you 'get fixed'.

I like the yoke parts specifically... untie the cords of the yoke... starting living... and start loving.
I'm all about it.

I've also been doing a little thinking about John the Baptist (thanks to Louie)... what a guy...

"Behold, the Lamb of God!" ... my favorite thing that he says. I can picture it... he has the crowd, the attention, all eyes on him... and Jesus shows up... and I can hear him just joyfully shouting this, pointing all the eyes that were just on him... onto Jesus. He passed all his fame to the "Lamb of God." He was willing to be nothing... for Jesus to be everything.

such challenging stuff...

In other news...
This stuff with VT is enough to make you sick... what an awful awful situation. I don't even know what I should be praying for...

I have to know Lord... did you cover your eyes?

Packin my bags...

I skipped nursing today because I am on crutches and am acting like a baby. Then I find out my psych teacher has the flu so I won't have that class today either! Best news of the day right there.

Library... lunch with kim... and genetics is going to be my day!

Check this out...

Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it will be said:
"Build up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."
15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 I will not accuse forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me—
the breath of man that I have created.
17 I was enraged by his sinful greed;
I punished him, and hid my face in anger,
yet he kept on in his willful ways.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will guide him and restore comfort to him,
19 creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel.
Peace, peace, to those far and near,"
says the LORD. "And I will heal them."
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire and mud.
21 "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

I love how this shows multiple sides of God... he who lives in a lofty place... is with us who are lowly in spirit... to REVIVE us.
And he will not always be angry... because if he was we would grow weary... his own breath would grow weary...
Then i love how it says he was enraged with "him" then says he will guide him and restore comfort to him.

that is good news.

man.

It's only as awkward as you make it

This is my bulletin board that kelly kim and i (mostly kelly) made for my floor. hahaha. we had nothing and kim thought of the famous quote from laura lynn about awkwardness. I wonder if i will get in trouble for making this my bulletin?

Take a look at my boyfriend... what a stud.

And heather and i with the scot in a kilt.

scots fo life

And the wonderful and beautiful central park with our cousin.

more to come......

Kassie Kicks Monsters Ass

This video is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I can watch it over and over again and it does not stop being funny. Watch her facial expressions/ hand movements. Classic. You kick that monsters ass kid.

Tetrology of Fallot

East coast what.

Back from it... we had an amazing time... I just adore it out there... its ocean but not florida type ocean... its a little chilly but not crisp... it has boats and lighthouses and its that kind of ocean.
... and connecticut is more then polo games, Yale, boat shoes and sweater vests in case you are wondering.

Stratford and Bridgeport showed us a good time. Connecticut is full of these adorable quaint little towns... we were right along the shore... and just the feeling of it all. It's perfect... it was cool but the kind that flip flops are still acceptable... there are trains to take you places... and just a short ride from the NYC.

And the Scottish pride my family has is enough to shame any culture. Scots fo life. Do or die. My grandpa said they used to feel nessy on the way to school. Ha.

We watched a lot of Celtic games... learned about Jimmy Johnstone (the best celtic player)... and talked about the cou's (aka cows), the gettles (girls), and the bohys (boys).

I love the family... pictures to come.

We made it into the city for a day... shopped and acted like tourists... went to the museum of natural history... saw a crab walking the street in china town (he escaped from the fish markets)... rode the subways, made friends, ate cheesecake and had bubble tea, probably bought stolen/ illegal items... you know, all the fun stuff.

Thats all for now... stay tuned.

1 2 3 lift off

Have the world... but give me Jesus.

I'm taking off to the beautiful east coast any minute now... that is if i don't miss my plane. ha.

its vacation time...5 days... with my big sister...

ready...
set...
GO!

Starrfadu / Kleenex US Advert

This is a brilliant commercial. This is the kind of thing Christians need to be doing. Stop doing the talking... and sit and listen to people.

who's with me?

Silica Gel and bff's

This so called nice girl Kim... is not so nice...

look at the note and gift she left me at Starbucks in Akron...

Yeah right.

You can just call me Zachariah...

It's days like today that I realize there is nothing else in the world I would rather be doing then taking care of sick people...

and believe this or not... there is nothing else I would rather do then take care of sick kids.

Yes... I said kids.

And it's days like today that I realize that God has created me, in my inner most places to do this work.
Let me tell you a little bit about my day.

I got to go to the Oncology/ Hematology floor at the Children's hospital. Oncology floors in case you don't know are for cancer patients. Not just patients, they are children. Children with cancer. Cancer is devastating period... but cancer in children is more devastating then you can imagine. I was just writing an email and was saying that it hurts my heart in a way that nothing else does.

My first patient was a 12 year old boy that reminded me of Brock... which made me love him instantly. He was in such awful pain... but every time we went to move him or position him he would reach up and put his hand on our backs or elbows and tap his hand real fast just so you knew he liked you. It touched me in a deep way. We got to play xbox... baseball... I chose to be the Cubs (because of our talk Kelly Belly)... I got 2 homeruns!!!!!! I lost... but still... it was a beautiful game. The best part about this kid was that he became an uncle (yes, at 12) a few days ago and his family brought in his new nephew. Watching him hold this little life and smile like life was everything that it was meant to be for him forced me to leave the room before anyone saw me tearing.

Then I went into the other patient I had... a 4 year old... who had lots of crazy little siblings that welcomed me with hugs and kisses and embraces around the legs like they had known me for years. The patient... in his cute cute tigger scrubs wanted me to hold him... and the first thing he did was take my badge and put it on himself... and when he learned to say my name he decided that he wanted to be Ashley... and that I was to be Zachariah. Then he took my stethoscope from around my neck... put it in his ears and said "we need to listen to the hearts" and so we listened to the hearts... and after his assessment he took the stethoscope out of his ears and wrapped it around his neck. He was the nurse now... I was the patient.... and what a fine nurse he was.
My soul just cried out for these children... and the nurses told me that there is no way to not know God on a floor like that... and thats what I love. Jesus is there... Jesus is them... and in the same way at the same time I am Jesus to them. At the end of life... and in the deep illness and raw pain... God there... God is alive... and God is making himself known to the patients, the families, the nurses, and anyone else who spent 2 seconds on that floor.

The nurse told me "we walk with the angels here"... I know what she means...

Thats one place to see God alive.

its overwhelming.