Archive for the 'Life' Category

As a Kid…and a whole lot more that got added in as I started writing

Published
by
Justin
on August 30, 2008
in Life, Posts That Even Make Me Mad and To Think About...
. 5 Comments

In my last post…a lot of people chimed in…I’m really glad about that and thanks for all of you who contributed…not all of us are coming from the same place or ending at the same place, but that’s ok and the dialogue will hopefully land us closer to Jesus in the end.

So, Jeremy made a comment about life when we were younger that got me thinking about my life as a kid. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on that…

I think that every generation thinks two things: 1. This is the evilist of all generations. And 2. If you are a follower of Jesus, that this world is sooo bad that He’s coming back in our time. Seriously, people from every generation since Christ have thought this…each one more certain than the last.

I think in our time we have more mediums for bad things to happen, but in an upside down world like ours, the potential for sin is just as great 1000 years ago as it is today. The reality is that we have always had to be wise, engaged, and involved in our kids lives. Sheltering our kids from the world is an illusion. Our power/witness/influence in this world won’t come from how well we shelter our kids from what’s not good, right, and true. It will come through teaching our kids how to find and choose Jesus while they navigate the pain in this world that is sure to come. Jesus never once promises us physical safety, physical protection, or physical comfort…it’s our ability to find these spiritual realities in an upside down physical world that will be our true sign to others that He is with us and there is a difference in our souls. Simply trying to avoid pain or what is ugly in this world (which may just be the opportunity to discern right from wrong) will not get us the results we hope for.

So…now on to what I intended to write…

When I was living in Indiana we lived on a street with some rough kids…they smoked, drank, listened to Beasie Boys, mooned my mom, talked about sex, had pornography, watched Nighmare on Elm Street, fought, cussed, flipped off my dad, and stole. And these are my memories from when I was 9. Sure, I got into some trouble with these guys…like throwing a log through a window and breaking into an unlocked mobile home to drink their 7-up. All growing up I went to public school with ‘all the sinners’…heard a bunch of stuff that kids shouldn’t be talking about, saw a bunch of things that I shouldn’t have seen…said and did a bunch of things I probably shouldn’t have said or did! Through all of this I think my parents did a bunch of things really well…What they didn’t do was try and remove me from the environment I was in. Looking back, I can see how they helped me navigate where I was and the issues I was facing…

1. They communicated to me very clearly what was right and wrong about what I was seeing.

2. They instilled in me a sense of self and encouraged me to be myself and to be an example, not a follow the crowd.

3. They stayed engaged in my world.

4. They knew my friends and welcomed them into our world.

5. They helped remind me that Jesus was more important to ‘impress’ than my friends.

Now, I screwed this up a lot…especially in college. But they gave me the tools to figure things out on my own instead of trying to manage my ‘life-experience’. I greatly appreciate them for this! (among other things!)

So, back to the ideas in my head…My hope in talking about this is that we’ll all wrestle with how our families will be the kingdom of God in our worlds. If we only change the places we go, the things we watch, the things we read, and miss out on figuring out how to love, trust, give grace, forgive, and be free, then we’ve missed the point. But if we do learn to trust Jesus, love others, forgive ourselves and others, be rich with grace and forgiveness, and experience the freedom we have in Jesus while living in this world, then we truly give honor to God and express gratitude for what He has done in and for us.

Ok…this post is long enough…

Ok…one more thing: Why does God keep us on this earth with it being as messed up as it is? What can we learn about His trust in us and purpose for us through this?

Observations at the Beach

Published
by
Justin
on August 15, 2008
in Life
. 1 Comment

Tonight Jen and I went down to the beach in Den Haag, it’s an area called Scheveningen. I didn’t really realize that Den Haag was so close to the beach…it was only about a 5 minute drive from the office. But it was quite nice down there. The reason for the trip (other than to hang out with friends) was to watch a firework competition out over the water. It was a great time…and here are some of my observations from the beach trip:

1. This part of Den Haag totally had a Santa Monica feel to it! When people had told me this before I thought, “Sure.” But it really does. I think we’re going to try and head back down before we settle back up in Amsterdam..

2. Bonfires are strictly forbidden on the beach. A group of people started one and within minutes a ‘beach patrol’/police truck was there and made them put it out. It’s really too bad because it’s cold and a beach bonfire would have been perfect tonight!

3. Being the Netherlands, some people nearby thought that they would enjoy the show more if they smoked some pot. So they did perfectly legally while sitting next to us and the other families. It’s crazy, you can’t do a bonfire, but you can smoke a joint.

4. The fireworks were not too bad…tonight’s competitors were South Korea and Ireland…and Ireland smoked South Korea…no pun intended in regards to the pot or the fire…or the fireworks.There was no music or anything to the fireworks, but it was cool to just listen to them. If it weren’t for the girl constantly talking very loudly behind us (Sophie said she was just talking about nothing…) we would have only heard the sound of the fireworks. It was really interesting how thousands of us just sat there silently watching and listening.

5. I got to see the sun set over the North Sea…England was out there somewhere…but this was the first time I’ve seen the sun set over a body of water that wasn’t the Pacific. Also, we could see the big dipper…It’s crazy to think that thousands of miles away in California I could see it there too.

Ok..it’s late and I’m exhausted. goodnight….

7 Years…

Published
by
Justin
on August 10, 2008
in Life
. 6 Comments

Today is Jen and I’s seven year anniversary! They say that the hardest years of marriage are the first, seventh, and twentieth. So far, we are on par with the first two! Most of the time the seventh is rough because people have had kids and this changes everything…but our seventh was difficult for so many other things. Here is the short list that kept us on edge for lucky year number 7: We lived out of suitcases for all but 8 weeks of the year. We both went through significant identity (re)formation periods. We we’re both fighting for different things for a while. We both questioned what we (and the other) were doing with our lives. Our finances were going downhill. Blah Blah Blah…This year sucked in so many ways…but in a number of other ways, it was the best year of our lives. 

At our conference the other week we went to a marriage seminar by our psychologist friends Mike and Mary, who work with Christian Associates. One of the things that they said was the strongest factors in lasting marriages is friendship. I can honestly say to all 6 of you who read my blog that Jen is my best-friend. Our friendship was the core of what kept us talking, trusting, playing, and laughing together during a really hard year. We’re certainly not perfect (our environment is not….well…lacking emotion or opinion), but I can always count on the fact that Jen and I are for each other and we are both willing to sacrifice for the other when the chips are down. Somehow, by the grace of God, we have come out of this year stronger, more together, more honest, more of a team, more gracious, and more proud of each other than when we started. 

We are entering year 8 of our marriage in another crazy season of life. Living out of suitcases. On the move. And I’m sure lots more learning to do. I certainly hope that we don’t have to repeat a year like this past one, but even if we did, I’d be going through it with my best friend, knowing that somehow and in someway, if I just trusted, God would bring us closer together. And to be closer to my wife, to know her more, to trust her more, to encourage her more…is worth anything to me. So, who knows how different life will be a year from now? Who knows what challenges we’ll face? Who knows what twits and turns will be on our road? I know that God has gifted me with the chance to do it all with my best friend….

Here’s to seven years…they’ve gone by so fast, but I can barely imagine life before them or without them…and wouldn’t have it any other way. 

I could write on and on about this, but I won’t for two reasons. One: I’m tired and need to sleep. Two: I don’t think that I could ever really communicate the depth of gratitude I have for my wife. I’m not that good of a writer! So I’ll stop now….go to bed…and wake up in the morning with my best friend to get on with the journey of life…

Greg Boyd on CAI

Published
by
Justin
on August 9, 2008
in Life
. 0 Comments

The speaker at this years Connect was Greg Boyd. He’s written a lot of books and is really smart…and can be somewhat controversial…which adds to the fun. His most well known book may be ‘Letters from a Sceptic‘. He did a great job communicating aspects of the Kingdom was a real encouragement to us. Specifically, his last talk…which was the least theological in nature…really impacted us as he shared about his past and how he’s learned to invite Jesus into his memories and imagination. You can find it here and it’s called Waking Up to a Revolting Beauty. 

Check out what Greg had this to say about CAI here on his blog. It’s cool (and encouraging) to hear an outsiders (who is now an insider) perspective on CA. I do believe that Christian Associates is a unique movement and we are the front edge of missional thinking on a movement level. We make a lot of mistakes along the way, but as scripture says, “Love covers a multitude of sins…”! And love is something that we are not often short on in CA. I would take love, family, freedom, grace, a development ethos, and humility in an organization over a lot of other things…We’re blessed to have been on the journey with CA for 4 and half years now. I see good, Kingdom things on the horizon.

Big

Published
by
Justin
on August 8, 2008
in Life
. 1 Comment

Today we were eating a late lunch and I turned on the tv to see what was up with the Olympics and the opening ceremonies. I caught the very end of the performance aspect (which was spectacular) and I began to watch as the different countries who are participating in the game were being announced. 

I consider myself good at geography and could recognize most flags, but I didn’t even recognize some of the names of the countries! The introductions seemed to carry on and on. I wanted to see the U.S. be introduced but I wasn’t sure if I had the time to wait. Finally the US came out (wearing dorky golf-like caps that most athletes tried to play off by wearing them cockeyed or something) and I was surprised at how many athletes we put in these game…more than 5 or 6 other countries combined! But that’s not the point. 

The point is…as I was watching these people be announced, country after country, I got this rare sense of how big the world really is. I’ve travelled a bit, so understand the distance. But not always the breadth of diversity. I was humbled to be a human while watching this. There are so many of us and each of us are unique with dreams, pain, hopes, hurts, and desires. The people of the world that I saw briefly on the television today represent cultures, people groups, and the bigness of the human race. It hit me deeper than I expected. I found myself admiring God for his immense creativity and ability to express beauty in so many different ways. Literally…red, yellow, black, and white…He paints equally well with all the colors.

Even if just for a moment on the TV and for a sporting event, I felt a glimpse of the Kingdom when all is said and done. People come in with their tribes, much celebration and dancing, but in the end become as one…In the real story, we get to be as one in a perfection the doesn’t commence competition, pain, disappointment, frustration, and rivalry, but instead ends all these things into the true fulfillment of humanities purpose: to be in harmony with God and each other forever. 

I’m definitely going to be watching the games…I love the Olympics. But I hope that I catch myself stopping, and appreciating just the fact that I get to see the people of the world in one camera shot. We live in amazing times. Let us see the world as big as it is…and love God all the stronger as Lord and Lover of it all.

Posts that should have been written throughout the week

Published
by
Justin
on August 3, 2008
in Leadership and Life
. 4 Comments

Don’t worry…nothing’s wrong and everything is great…I just haven’t had it in me to write on here with all the people around. My extravert tendencies were in full force being back around CAI folks this past week and if I weren’t around people I was sleeping…and I wasn’t sleeping much. Jen did a great job putting up pictures on her blog and others from CAI have been writing as well if you want to follow the links. You can even listen to the talks from some of the sessions here or go to iTunes and do a podcast search for “Christian Associates”. If you really really want to have your mind given something to chew on listen to Deb’s talk on obstacle to the Kingdom. 

So in as best order as I can remember, here are the highlights from since I’ve last written…this could get long and I’m sure I’ll still leave out some good stuff…

We were able to have dinner with our good friends Ken and Nancy Hendren in our overnight layover in Denver. They are always encouraging and ask great questions. It is sad that we only got about 1.5 hours with them, but we’ll take what we can get!

Our overnight flight from Denver to London was as good as a flight this long can be. We gave Maisie benedryl which only seemed to make her mad until she was too drugged to fight it. We slept a little bit, but not enough to prepare us to be sane for what was to come. 

When we got to London a number of things sent me to the edge…If it wasn’t for the ‘lovely’ british accents and phenomenal customer service of British Air, I would have been forced to pull what little hair I have left out! First, American Airlines didn’t put any of the strollers that were gate checked in Chicago on the plane. So there were a number of us who waited for 30-40 minutes for our strollers just to learn that they were still on the other side of the ocean. Second, American Airlines’ incompetency continued as we learned that they didn’t issue Maisie a ticket all the way to Vienna, just to London. What were they thinking? That we wanted to drop Maisie off by herself in London so we could continue on for a little vacation without her? So we had to pay 70 pounds ($143) for Maisie to join us on our flight to Vienna…I’m not looking forward to the call that I have to make to American Airlines. This will most likely be the last time we fly them…these two things pale in comparison to the ways in which AA have been frustrating to deal with. Other than the stoller not arriving on time, we did get all 5 of our 50 pound suitcases! It was pretty funny to have that much stuff at a conference that only lasts a week. I think most people knew we were moving, and if they didn’t then they should have just guessed…see Jen’s blog for a picture of it all when we arrived at the Grafs.  

So we made it to Connect! It was so great to see so many of our friends. This was our fifth conference, but it was different to have not come from or be returning to Paris. It was the same conference, but the circumstances of our past year of life were very different than normal…whatever normal is. I guess the biggest difference from this year to last year is us. We’re just very different people than we were a year ago. We had some great conversations with leaders in CAI and we’ve gotten better understanding of what the future will hold. We feel very encouraged and empowered to discern what the future will look like. I could talk on and on about the content of the week, but I’ll do that in a different post. 

Thursday was a really fun day for me…I got to lead worship for the morning session with some of my favorite CA’ers. Bob Gerken, Richard Wilson, and Hilary Rivera led along with me and we had a great time…and played really well considering we only practiced that morning. (different subject but still Thursday) We had run out of diapers…not a good thing. So I got to borrow a friend’s car and drive into town. I’ve decided that one of my favorite things to do is drive in foreign countries. I think I love the adventure of not knowing a city and hoping that you don’t get lost. Also, going grocery shopping is difficult when you can’t read the labels….just a heads up on that. 

A bit of a miracle took place yesterday. Remember that we were traveling with 5 suitcases? That normally isn’t a good idea when flying in Europe. We not only had the suitcases, but we had two carry-ons, a diaper bag, and a guitar. So we were at full capacity. When we got to the airport we learned that we were only allowed 50 kilograms total (110 lbs). Seeing as two of our 5 bags weighed about that much, things weren’t looking good. I told Laina back at the conference that we had a luggage issue and she said, “pray for a nice lady that is understanding of your situation”. So I did. And we got a really nice lady that we very understanding. She let us check FOUR of our bags that easily doubled our weigh restriction! Our friends, the Johnsons, checked our fifth bag for us so we were able to make it paying absolutely zero for all of our stuff! I was stoked to say the least…because it meant we could afford a taxi into Amsterdam because not even Tenzing Norgay could have carried our stuff on the train and to the Grafs. 

Ok…that’s enough for now and Jen is wanting to get on the computer. I have to get ready to leave the house. We’re going to head into the city center for a bit today. I’ll write more tonight….It will probably be my favorite ’sound bites’ from the conference speakers. 

Joseph Arthur…an artist

Published
by
Justin
on July 22, 2008
in Life
. 2 Comments

Joseph Arthur is an artist that inspires me to be more creative…check this out. He makes this look easy…

He has a way about his lyrics (most of the time) that I don’t think many song writers do. He is abstract enough to interpret, but concrete enough to make you think you know what he’s talking about. His music is genius and beautiful, haunting and magnetic…I was this close to getting to see him in Portland this week…hopefully he’ll tour Europe soon! 

 

Just Busy

Published
by
Justin
on July 20, 2008
in Life
. 4 Comments

Sorry, for all 4 of my loyal readers, that I haven’t been posting much lately. It’s not because I don’t have anything profound or insightful to say…it’s just that I’m busy! 

This may come as a shocker (or not) but we’ve our tickets to go back to Europe in 5 days…this means that we get to live under the gun for awhile as we get our life ready to move to another continent…again. 

So forgive me…I’m sure I’ll post something soon that will blow your mind.