Wow... yep.

Read this article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9096004/

Unbelievable! Let's get some discussion going on this one... wow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYs!

Many people have/are celebrating their birthdays this week, so I wanted to give a shout out to them. :-)

Okay, in a very particular, chronological order:

Tuesday, August 23 - Missy (the BIG 2-4)
Wednesday, August 24 - Pete (26, I think)
Thrusday, August 25 - Doug (23)
Friday, August 26 - Jill from work (the BIG 2-4)
................................ - and Megan (19), pictured above.

Happy Birthday to all my wonderful friends who are celebrating this week!

I'll let you know about my trip soon, but I have to get caught up at work and life first. It was definately a needed trip and it was really good.

Off to KC

Hey there. I just wanted to let you know that I am taking my first vacation in six months of working! Yes! That reminds me, I had my six month review a couple weeks ago and it went pretty darn well. I even got a raise. Praise God!

Anyway, so I'm taking three days off (Monday through Wednesday) and heading down to Kansas City to visit my friend Brigitte and spend time at the International House of Prayer http://www.ihop.org/. I'm hoping it will be refreshing and I'm really looking forward to getting away a little bit. :-) I won't be posting, e-mailing, etc. though, so be notified.

Lately I've been stuck in the part of acts where it talks about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:9-19) So think about that for a bit. Then it goes on in a little bit to talk about all the disciples (and not just the 12 apostles, we're talking all who were following Jesus) were walking in signs and wonders and that they were accompanying the gospel that they preached.

I want the fullness of God in my life, including the miraculous gifts. Is there something wrong when we're not walking in that? I find myself hungry for it. I want to understand what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is and why Peter had to go back to the people who had already accepted Christ and pray it over them. I want the gifts in operation again, even in my own life. I want to see the healings, the miracles. I want to see it because I think that it in itself is a testimony to the heart of God. There are some who say that the gifts have ceased, but I do not find this to be Biblical and I have been witness to them in operation on a small degree in my own life, so I disagree. Anyway, I am starting to feel like receiving this kind of power would be such a humbling experience. I believe it that either it could make one boast in their own vanity or, in a heart submitted to the Lordship of Christ, could produce greater humility, service, and the fasted lifestyle of being dead to oneself. I want to know what it means to lay down my life to the point where the Lord can use me to preach like Stephen (Acts 6-7), cast out demons, or place my hands on sick people and see them healed in any moment. I want that kind of intimacy with Christ and I want to know his voice apart from all others in the midst of miracles. I believe that a lifestyle like that is obedience. I realize it is nuts. I realize it could make me look like a fool, but is our treasure not on Earth, but in Heaven? Are we not called to live before and audience of one?

Oh, my heart is burning within me. Acts had this affect on me the last time I read it, too. Halleluiah!

Anyway, these are the kinds of things I hope to be praying through at IHOP and also just normal emotional/life type of stuff because that's real, too. Pray for me while I'm gone if you feel like it. Be back soon...

Tornados!

As many of you probably know, since it hit national news, somewhere between 18 and 24ish tornados touched ground in Southern Wisconsin yesterday. It was crazy! We don't usually get very big tornados in this part of the country, but we might as well have lived in Oklahoma yesterday.

What you probably won't read about in the national news is that it all started yesterday morning, as most of southern Wisconsin was experiencing thunderstorms. What they call "walls of wind" (which I guess is a kind of tornado or winds associated with a tornado) hit Southwest Wisconsin destroying 20 barns and damaging many others in the Gratiot, South Wayne, and Shullsburg area in the morning. All day there were thunderstorms, etc.

Tornados started somewhere east of here (Madison) in the afternoon and we started getting reports of them in Spring Green, Lodi, Dodgeville, then moving onto Fitchburg, McFarland, Fort Atkinson (Missy and her grandma went to the basement and they are fine) and the BIG one finally in Stoughton around 6:30 or so last night. (See link below) They think it might have been an F5, but I don't know if that's confirmed yet.

Tornado And here. I think the articles say that they are not sure how the man died, but our local news said that he was in his basement with his wife and the chimney collapsed on him.

My aunt, uncle, and 4 cousins live in Stoughton. Luckily it was north of town and their home is south of town, so their home is fine and so are they. Actually it's Eathan's family, my cousin mentioned in the previous post. Apparently my cousin Adam (20) was out at the golf course and actually saw the funnel cloud (sweet) coming, but was able to seek shelter and is unharmed. Thank God.

Insert Random disclaimer: I know this is kind of a boring post, but I wanted to ask you to join me in prayer for the communities affected by the storms yesterday and just to give you a little report from someone in the area.

If a storm can have that much power and can do that much damage, think about the very real and physical power of God. I mean, with one word God can calm a storm. Crazy. The destruction that these storms caused is very sad, but it's also pretty amazing. Just thinking about the magnitude of wind, etc. I don't know... it's kind of cool and exciting, but definitely devastating all the same.

I got stranded at work until about 7:30 because we were under tornado warnings till then. When I drove home I was traveling (and looking) East, either just after or during the Stoughton tornado. I've never seen such huge, interesting clouds in my life. I wished I had camera. They showed them on the news, but it didn't do them justice. The chief meteorologist on my news station estimated them to be about 5,000 feet high, which I believe since I don't think I've ever seen clouds that high in my life.

At the top, they were so white that it hurt my eyes to look at them because they were so brightly reflecting the sun setting behind me. Most of it looked pretty "crunchy", I guess. It's kind of hard to explain... It wasn't like cotton balls, more like hand dipped ice cream, from top to bottom. As you moved down from the bright white part on the top, the middle looked like explosions of gray and gold, almost like footage of mushroom clouds, now that I think about it. It got darker and darker as it got closer to the horizon and it was very dark gray at that bottom. Toward the outskirts of the mass, although I couldn't see movement, it appeared to kind of be swirling, or moving, although it was frozen in time. It was really like this huge mass of this beautiful, enormous,... uh, clouds. It was BRIGHT white, dark gray, gold, kind of grayish-green in some spots, with a gorgeous blue sky behind it. I've never seen anything like it, and I don't think I'll ever forget it.

Can it be 4:45 already?

Wow, the end of another day that seemed to pass so quickly. The later you get up in the morning, the faster your day goes, I'm pretty sure. I guess that's good if you're wishing your days away, but I'm not... I usually feel like I'm trying to get caught up.

Last night I took my cousins fishing. They are 12 and 13, both boys, named Malcom and Eathan, respectively. Doug came and furnished many of the needed supplies. It was fun. I could sit and think of a gazillion things to say about 13ish-year old boys and their behavior, but I got a kick out of them! I especially got a kick out of Eathan's stories about spying on his 3 older brothers with their girlfriends while they were in high school. No, nothing X-rated, but still! What a 'stinker'! Malcom has a broken arm, so he had a hard time casting with his cast on, no pun intended this time. Apparently he still climbed rocks better than Eathan, though. (Hey, that's a big deal when you're 13! You can't be outclimbed by a cripple!) Anyway... the coolest thing was (Doug) catching a 27" northern pike that we had to throw back because they're catch and release at Yellowstone State Park. Bummer... We had to rip the pike's mouth apart a bit to get the hooks out. I felt really bad. Apparently that's normal and the fish recover quite well, but I still felt bad.

People in Sioux Falls, SD think northern pikes are snakes and refuse to keep them due to the fact that they don't want to take the extra time to clean them. I won't try to understand South Dakotans. (Comments, Chris? Hello? are you reading this? Is anyone out there, 'cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe.)

Oh, where's my guitar?

My allergies have finally begun. I was starting to wonder if I had been healed. Oh, and I found out that Ragweed has been observed in all lower 48, which means pretty much anywhere I go, I'm in trouble. (Chris, you were wrong... woah, maybe I should just be e-mailing Chris... anyway... there is ragweed in SD)



P R A Y

Verse of the week last week:

Isaiah 30:18

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.

God spoke to me in this verse and I felt led to share it with someone, too. I think it's awesome. It's the longing part that gets me. Longing is a word that describes a certain level of passion. Imagine the heart of the Father longing to be gracious to you, etc. The fact that a being like that would long to love on humankind... pretty incredible. Then "how blessed are all those who long for him." Oh, what a beautiful savior! Discussion, anyone?

This Just in on Sushi

As many of you know, I LOVE sushi, a taste I've acquired since moving to Madison. Today I had the rare opportunity to get sushi out for lunch, but I did not. I had a craving for Noodles & Company, so I went with the Pesto Cavatapi, another taste I've acquired since my move to Madison.

I must say this about sushi, however: I'm not in a sushi mood today, happens sometimes. I'm not concerned though, being in love with sushi isn't all about feelings, it's also about committment. I'm commited to sushi and the way I feel today is not going to change the fact that I want to eat it for the rest of my life. Sometimes I lust after sushi and sometimes I want to take my time and just look at it. But all in all, I love sushi, and there's nothing that could change that.

Close Encounters of the Celebrity Kind

In related Random news, I watched an Entertainment Tonight (or something like that) show about Jessica Simpson yesterday for like 20 min., then had the following dream last night:

So I was in Platteville, hanging out at my dad's fancy resturaunt (which doesn't exist in real life) and in walks Jessica Simpson, her mom, and her (female) driver. I was so excited that I joined them at their booth. I sat there and talked with Jessica about everything under the sun and she kept looking at me like I was a psycho super-fan. I even remember telling her that it must be really hard getting all of that false tabloid press about Nick and her all the time and that I didn't believe it. I also told her that I was praying for them, that they wouldn't get a divorce, and that they would make it through the tabloid stuff really well, etc.

So after dinner, they dropped me off at home (my folk's old house we lived in like 8 years ago), but I couldn't find my purse. Oddly enough, Jessica rides around in a navy blue, 2-door, compact car, by the way. Ashlee Simpson was mysteriously riding in the front seat with us at this point. So anyway, Jessica and her mom had to get out of the car so that I could look for my purse better, only to find out 30 sec. later that it had fallen out on the ground. Now Jessica and her mom were missing, so I asked Ashlee where they were and she said "oh, they started to walk back to the hotel. They're really impatient."

Then, I woke up.

So yeah, I guess Jessica Simpson and I are totally friends. :-) Thought you'd like to know.

Leaplets of Faith

From an e-mail I wrote to a friend last week. I edited it a bit, but it's something I've been thinking about lately...

I think it could be easy to live a mediocre Christian existence, but I don't want to. I want to live a radical Christian existence. Now, I don't mean giving up reason, humility, wisdom, love, etc. for the sake of being radical (being radical just to be radical), but I want to be renewed in the joy of my salvation often. I want authentic passion, lordship, and love like the apostles display in Acts.

I have been feeling led to read about the kings of Israel when I get done with Acts. I think the Lord might have something to show me about how you live your life... that it does determine the depth of influence you have and the riches of intimacy you have with him still on this earth. I am becoming more convinced that the Lord wants a relationship with us and that he's not just going to take over everything in our lives. He wants our participation in our destiny, you know? Our partnership through submission.

From what little I know of the kings of Israel, I know that their actions, attitudes, and choices had a lot to do with what happened to them and to Israel in that time. So basically, I am getting convicted about "waiting around" for God to do something big in my life as opposed to me trusting the little leadings in my heart and confidently exploring some of those leadings. I just have to continuously supplicate for his guidance and his confirmation. Does that make sense? It can basically be summed up like this: "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." (James 4:17) Rather than being a passive Christian because "God is in control", I want to be an active participant with what He wants to do in my life and in the world, yet not becoming my own Lord.

Think about it like this: we are engaged to the Lord. Would you want a parnter who was never excited enough about what you were doing to take an interest in it? Or would you want someone who wanted to be an active participant in the things that matter most to you? Sometimes I think we miss out a lot on seeing what the Lord is up to when we don't take chances and put ourselves out on the front line like that. Don't misunderstand me here, I want God's sovereignty, but I am convinced he also wants our participation.

Getting out of the boat is a beautiful proposal. I guess I just don't want to miss walking on water because I am too comfortable in the boat.

Hot Tamales

Here's (left to right) Missy, Rose, me, and Heidi at Abby's wedding, July 16, 2005.

Above are the bridesmaids with Abby in the middle (obviously). That's my favorite picture so far, I think.

It was a wonderful day!

Token fine print: Abby's mom, Barb, made all of the dresses. They were (and we were) beautiful.

A New Adventure

Well, today is the beginning of a new adventure: my blog.

I am kind of scared to write in it, wondering who, if anyone will read it, what they will think, how random it will be, etc.? Quite the public display of... expression. :-)

Right now, my intent is to invite my close friends and family to visit it - to read what I'm up to and what I'm thinking about. My hope is that it will help keep me close with those I do not see as often and also be a good place to seek the Lord with my friends through posting thoughts and questions. I do not want, however, for it to become a place where debate is constant or where arguing takes place.

Ideally, this is my virtual student center afternoon talk spot. :-) ENJOY WITH ME!