So 2 posts ago, we mentioned a bus.....
we went and saw it.
The bus is beautiful, except the inside. it needs alot of work, but we are willing to make it happen. We feel as if God has put it on our hearts to obtain a bus to use for his ministry.
when the idea first came up, from Howie, a friend of ours that has spent the last little while traveling with his parents on their bus, we got excited but knew we had to pray about it and needed to search after God's will in this situation. after we dreamed it up a little bit, we left the rainbow gathering on our friend's, Josh and Shallen, bus to head up towards Daytona, knowing that the bus was less than a half hour away. Josh ended up hooking us up with a pastor who was letting a group stay at the church, and we got to stay there too. In that time someone ended up donating one hundred dollars towards us getting a bus, without us asking for it. Thats when we started to think that we were being led towards actually getting this bus. We started talking about all the possibilities of a bus and all the things we could do on it, but we were still unsure and knew more prayer was needed. so we prayed. And started to feel like this was a call that we had to respond to. But we were still uncertain, and all day we discussed our hessitations but decided we would at least get down to New Smyrna to see the bus. But with all this hessitation and disscussion we ended up only walking about a mile down the road towards the highway we needed to take to go south in about 6 hours.
But as we were crossing the street, a man waiting at the light called out to us and asked where we were going:
"new smyrna"
"well, i'm going to church, but i can pick you guys up on the way back and give you guys a ride"
"well, we'll go to church"
"alright"
turns out he was really excited by our idea, and told us that God put him there at the right time to meet us, and help us. We agreed. So he let us spend the night at his house and in the morning we found out that the church we went to with him was a church that was led by a pastor who had helped Howie's family with their bus, and that we could go and talk to him about getting the money together.
We also found out:
- that the bus we are looking at is being sold by a guy who really wants to help ministries
and is actually selling the bus for alot less than he could get for it
-that the man who had picked us up actually got up at 6:30 this morning to call people, and we have been given even more towards this effort
and
-that the people we are staying with fully support us and are willing to help us
And now that we have seen the bus, and all these things have lined up helping us along, we've all decided to work for a common mission: To obtain a bus to use for God's glory and to minister to the poor and needy and to serve people and ministries as best we can through the use of this bus. We pray that we can utilize it to feed people, serve those needing transportation and to help us move and transport in order to serve in different places.
so we are pleading with people to please help with this effort. Please contact us if you would like to know more or how you could help if you feel called to and please look at our photo log to see the bus (http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh264/brontosaurous/)
Prayer is the most effective way to help.
John (719)640-3240
Marcus (719)640-3241
Bailey
Gary
2.21.2008
see pictures
we moved our picture log, for more space;
their not in order at all but they are all here:
http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh264/brontosaurous/
their not in order at all but they are all here:
http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh264/brontosaurous/
burn the rainbow
since either one of us last wrote we have gone to rainbow gathering and found out about some pretty awesome opportunities........
howie and amber, the kids we were staying with in clearwater, were going to go to the rainbow gathering, and after many attempts of making money (one night we made 70 something dollars off of just a few people while busking) and some good coonversations (including a conversation with a minister, who we helped do a feeding with, about how he is going to file a religious freedom lawsuit if he gets in trouble for feeding his homeless friends in st. pete and a few conversations with a minister named bruce about Christianity and social justice and anarchy) and times of breaking bread together, we finally made the trip out towards the rainbow gathering
(breif description of gathering:
a while back people decided that the world was corrupt, and that they needed to find truth in creation, outside of what they call "babylon", so they fled to the woods and decided no governing or heirarchy was allowed. good premise, and actually simillar to what the desert fathers did in olden days to relly on God. but of course, it has its faults.)
on the way to the gathering we picked up a couple of hitch hikers, one having "horse" and "shit" tattooed on his cheeks. then we soon made it too the first of the two gatherings (generally its all at one spot, but this year it was split up). when we first got there, we got our van stuck in the mud and ended up having a whole group of drunk hippies pushing a van for us. but then we got quickly settled in over by the jesus camp and first aid area. after settling in, we went and ventured through the gathering.
lots of drunk hippies, begging for ciggerrettes and drugs, and being very agressive. the kitchen line had a sign that said "vegans and vegetarians be ware". by the third day of being there we were all ready for a change. so we went to go to the main gathering. this gathering was much bigger and much better.
after we got through "A" camp ("alchohol" or "agressive", we don't know, but we know it was a bunch drunk people tellin us were to park) we again settle pretty close to the jesus kitchen.
the second gathering was a lot easier to get along in for a few reasons ( at least for me).
first and foremost, there were more people out there being respectful of each other, and not just out there to have a good trip or to get completely wasted. there were those people out there, but there was much more people out there that were generally trying to have good experiences and find some sort of truth.
secondly, at the Jesus kitchen, the kids felt welcome and appreciative. the words "Jesus kitchen kicks down phat" was heard many times, and the food we served was so good that the neighboring kitchens would come eat our food when they had food being served at the same time.This Jesus camp was actually a kitchen, unlike the first camp which was there to minister and to give first aid. The first Jesus camp didn't have as many people staying and hanging out so it seemed as if it was just a one time stop. This is mostly due to circumstances and is not meant to be criticism of their ministry, and i feel like a hypocrite if i say anything to put down their ministry. The problem I feel was that people didn't necessarily want to hang out all that much at that camp. Alot of this is due to the reason why people had chosen to stay at that gathering and not move to the main gathering. It seemed to me that alot of the people who stayed at that gathering were more about drinking and roudiness than the main gathering. The second camp served food and had much more space and volunteers and things going on which people wanted to be a part of, and therefore people kept coming back. I regret and apologize if I make anyone feel as if their ministry isn't adequate, and I am in full support of both ministries. In fact I feel like the first camp seemed to be effective in many ways- like helping a woman who had bronchitis, and if this kitchen had not been there she might not have been helped. I feel as if we have been blessed to visit both ministries, and to see them work in their own ways, because both were effective and necessary.
after being at the gathering i realized a few things, first that the gathering is abused as a place for people to do alot of drugs and other messed up stuff
secondly, the gathering does not have any problems that the world outside of it (Babylon) doesn't have, however it is more apparent to some people because inside the gathering you dont have to hide anything
thirdly, the gathering, even with all of its rediculousness, crude jokes, and intoxication, is a fairly mutually respectful place, and much more so than an everyday babylonian scene, and they are much more likely to help each other out, whether that be health wise or other wise (even as far as ciggerrettes go)
fourthly, (is that right? fourthly?) the gathering depends on places like the Jesus kitchens, and a few really dedicated and awesome people
and finally, the gathering has alot of confused and hurt people trying to mend their problems and find some better understanding of truth through community and life outside of the
corrupt world we live in, not a bunch of criminals
it seems that the rainbow gathering could teach the church a lot, and that the church really needs to make an effort to welcome these people into their communities
Towards the end of our time there we had to say goodbye to Howie and Amber, but before we did they told us that we ought to go and talk to this guy he knows in new smyrna about getting a school bus that is converted into a r.v.
we decided that weld think about it and then ended up getting a hundred dollars donated towards getting a bus. so now we have to figure out if thats what we need to be doing. it looks as if it is since we know that through the people we know, we can get this bus for less that half its worth, and we might be able to raise the money, and we already have money donated to do that, and we could serve alot more people if that happens.
But we know we must be intensional about the things we do and not try to do this without God's ok. So now we have to figure out what we are going to do.
We now also have two mice named Cinnamon and Pau d'arco and cinnamon is probably pregnant.
howie and amber, the kids we were staying with in clearwater, were going to go to the rainbow gathering, and after many attempts of making money (one night we made 70 something dollars off of just a few people while busking) and some good coonversations (including a conversation with a minister, who we helped do a feeding with, about how he is going to file a religious freedom lawsuit if he gets in trouble for feeding his homeless friends in st. pete and a few conversations with a minister named bruce about Christianity and social justice and anarchy) and times of breaking bread together, we finally made the trip out towards the rainbow gathering
(breif description of gathering:
a while back people decided that the world was corrupt, and that they needed to find truth in creation, outside of what they call "babylon", so they fled to the woods and decided no governing or heirarchy was allowed. good premise, and actually simillar to what the desert fathers did in olden days to relly on God. but of course, it has its faults.)
on the way to the gathering we picked up a couple of hitch hikers, one having "horse" and "shit" tattooed on his cheeks. then we soon made it too the first of the two gatherings (generally its all at one spot, but this year it was split up). when we first got there, we got our van stuck in the mud and ended up having a whole group of drunk hippies pushing a van for us. but then we got quickly settled in over by the jesus camp and first aid area. after settling in, we went and ventured through the gathering.
lots of drunk hippies, begging for ciggerrettes and drugs, and being very agressive. the kitchen line had a sign that said "vegans and vegetarians be ware". by the third day of being there we were all ready for a change. so we went to go to the main gathering. this gathering was much bigger and much better.
after we got through "A" camp ("alchohol" or "agressive", we don't know, but we know it was a bunch drunk people tellin us were to park) we again settle pretty close to the jesus kitchen.
the second gathering was a lot easier to get along in for a few reasons ( at least for me).
first and foremost, there were more people out there being respectful of each other, and not just out there to have a good trip or to get completely wasted. there were those people out there, but there was much more people out there that were generally trying to have good experiences and find some sort of truth.
secondly, at the Jesus kitchen, the kids felt welcome and appreciative. the words "Jesus kitchen kicks down phat" was heard many times, and the food we served was so good that the neighboring kitchens would come eat our food when they had food being served at the same time.This Jesus camp was actually a kitchen, unlike the first camp which was there to minister and to give first aid. The first Jesus camp didn't have as many people staying and hanging out so it seemed as if it was just a one time stop. This is mostly due to circumstances and is not meant to be criticism of their ministry, and i feel like a hypocrite if i say anything to put down their ministry. The problem I feel was that people didn't necessarily want to hang out all that much at that camp. Alot of this is due to the reason why people had chosen to stay at that gathering and not move to the main gathering. It seemed to me that alot of the people who stayed at that gathering were more about drinking and roudiness than the main gathering. The second camp served food and had much more space and volunteers and things going on which people wanted to be a part of, and therefore people kept coming back. I regret and apologize if I make anyone feel as if their ministry isn't adequate, and I am in full support of both ministries. In fact I feel like the first camp seemed to be effective in many ways- like helping a woman who had bronchitis, and if this kitchen had not been there she might not have been helped. I feel as if we have been blessed to visit both ministries, and to see them work in their own ways, because both were effective and necessary.
after being at the gathering i realized a few things, first that the gathering is abused as a place for people to do alot of drugs and other messed up stuff
secondly, the gathering does not have any problems that the world outside of it (Babylon) doesn't have, however it is more apparent to some people because inside the gathering you dont have to hide anything
thirdly, the gathering, even with all of its rediculousness, crude jokes, and intoxication, is a fairly mutually respectful place, and much more so than an everyday babylonian scene, and they are much more likely to help each other out, whether that be health wise or other wise (even as far as ciggerrettes go)
fourthly, (is that right? fourthly?) the gathering depends on places like the Jesus kitchens, and a few really dedicated and awesome people
and finally, the gathering has alot of confused and hurt people trying to mend their problems and find some better understanding of truth through community and life outside of the
corrupt world we live in, not a bunch of criminals
it seems that the rainbow gathering could teach the church a lot, and that the church really needs to make an effort to welcome these people into their communities
Towards the end of our time there we had to say goodbye to Howie and Amber, but before we did they told us that we ought to go and talk to this guy he knows in new smyrna about getting a school bus that is converted into a r.v.
we decided that weld think about it and then ended up getting a hundred dollars donated towards getting a bus. so now we have to figure out if thats what we need to be doing. it looks as if it is since we know that through the people we know, we can get this bus for less that half its worth, and we might be able to raise the money, and we already have money donated to do that, and we could serve alot more people if that happens.
But we know we must be intensional about the things we do and not try to do this without God's ok. So now we have to figure out what we are going to do.
We now also have two mice named Cinnamon and Pau d'arco and cinnamon is probably pregnant.
2.13.2008
moving and staying moving and staying.....
In the past week or so we've made it from Ft.Myers FL to Clearwater FL, and the Lord has kept us put.
We came to Clearwater to meet up with two friends that we had met in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer. It was Howie's birthday on the 6th and so we made a point to make it there by then.
Although it was never really a desire of mine to make it to a Rainbow Gathering we decided we would attempt to make the trek to Ocala and help out at the Jesus Camp kitchen set up there. However, for the time being the Lord has kept us put.
While we're still planning to move that way, we've been spending our time between the most wonderful host's house and Clearwater beach. We've been spending a number of days busking (playing music) and had a couple of cool opportunities to meet new people. Last Friday we had the opportunity to celebrate the beginning of the sabbath with a Messianic Jewish congregation. And then on Saturday we had the opportunity to serve with the Church of the Beatitudes in St. Petersburg, feeding the homeless. And shortly after we met a man named Bruce at Kathrine's Dinner and for the first time in a long time it felt like we got to meet someone new who spoke a similar language.
We talked with Bruce for a while about the usual idealism all of us struggle with and then we decided to meet again before we left town. Tonight we will met with Bruce again, only for more of a bible centered conversation.
Here is something you may want to check out; www.JesusforPresident.org.
And if you would like to be praying here is how you could be praying....
It is easy in a search with two potential outcomes to just choose one end and settle rather than remaining in a place that truly looks at the criticism of both sides to reform the all around views. This is an attitude I would like to flee from and it is definitely something that needs prayer.
Also it is hard to listen to the voice of G-d and when He's telling you to stay or to go.
I think we're all learning little by little how to listen more and how to heed our own advice before we dish it out.
May the Lord continue to guide our footsteps in the direction of ascension.
We came to Clearwater to meet up with two friends that we had met in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer. It was Howie's birthday on the 6th and so we made a point to make it there by then.
Although it was never really a desire of mine to make it to a Rainbow Gathering we decided we would attempt to make the trek to Ocala and help out at the Jesus Camp kitchen set up there. However, for the time being the Lord has kept us put.
While we're still planning to move that way, we've been spending our time between the most wonderful host's house and Clearwater beach. We've been spending a number of days busking (playing music) and had a couple of cool opportunities to meet new people. Last Friday we had the opportunity to celebrate the beginning of the sabbath with a Messianic Jewish congregation. And then on Saturday we had the opportunity to serve with the Church of the Beatitudes in St. Petersburg, feeding the homeless. And shortly after we met a man named Bruce at Kathrine's Dinner and for the first time in a long time it felt like we got to meet someone new who spoke a similar language.
We talked with Bruce for a while about the usual idealism all of us struggle with and then we decided to meet again before we left town. Tonight we will met with Bruce again, only for more of a bible centered conversation.
Here is something you may want to check out; www.JesusforPresident.org.
And if you would like to be praying here is how you could be praying....
It is easy in a search with two potential outcomes to just choose one end and settle rather than remaining in a place that truly looks at the criticism of both sides to reform the all around views. This is an attitude I would like to flee from and it is definitely something that needs prayer.
Also it is hard to listen to the voice of G-d and when He's telling you to stay or to go.
I think we're all learning little by little how to listen more and how to heed our own advice before we dish it out.
May the Lord continue to guide our footsteps in the direction of ascension.
2.05.2008
haikus
i had a dog once
his name was not spot or lucy
but Eukaryote
if i were a plane
ild crash into your heart girl
im a terrorist
tourists and police
vacation means fanny packs
carchoal posioning.
i wrote a song once
it went a little like this
"i dont trust your face"
like salt in my wounds
like salt in my underwear
bathing in the sea
i have a picture
it is from my camera
i'm tourist marcus
his name was not spot or lucy
but Eukaryote
if i were a plane
ild crash into your heart girl
im a terrorist
tourists and police
vacation means fanny packs
carchoal posioning.
i wrote a song once
it went a little like this
"i dont trust your face"
like salt in my wounds
like salt in my underwear
bathing in the sea
i have a picture
it is from my camera
i'm tourist marcus
I've been feeling like a hundred dollar bill these days, these days....
Since the last post Marcus, Gary, our new freind Baily, and I decided to go even further south from fort myers to see what we could find. Baily had been thinking about traveling with Gary and given the option to head south and come back to Fort myers with us before we headed north she decised to give it a try for a few days before decided.
So last thursday the 31st, we began a race. Gary and Marcus against Baily and myself. Who would make it to the southern most point of the continental united states (Key West, FL) first? And by night fall, an overheated car, an alligator or two on the alligator expressway through the everglades, and a number of wonderful people later we found ourselves being picked up by a wonderfully nice lady named Gabrielle. Gabrielle owns an organic farm named Paradice Farms in the last town before you hit the 130 miles of highway one that takes you over the keys into the last "key." And after a 20 minute ride she offered to let us spend the night on the farm and eat of her Organic Vegan Chef's food. And then she even offered to go and pick up Gary and Marcus so they could come too.
We fell asleep to the smell of starfruit and the tour of a young Hari-Krishna man named Billy's voice, telling us about how to use the composting toilet and so forth. And in the morning after eating as much starfruit as possible and spending a few hours tending to the farm with the other volunteers Gabrielle gave us a ride to U.S. Highway 1. And by night fall we were all in Key West fixing our bedding for a long night's sleep on Smarthers Beach.
We spent the day checking out the Island's beautiful water and colorful jellyfish. And then before we were told we had to have a "permit" to play our mondolin and banjo on the street we were playing an old song from our Pete Seeger book called Study War No More. And just as we got to the chorus a group of old men walked up and began singing with us...
"I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
I Ain't gonna study war no more...."
When it got dark found ourselves in the midst of a large group of different people that considered themselves transients but looked nothing like it. And within a few moments they taught us a song on their Yukelali (I don't know if that's spelled right) and then offered us a place to sleep with them in a house with a pool.
And in the morning we woke up humming
"I've been feeling like a hundered dollar bill these days, these days,
I've been feeling like a hundred dollar bill these days, these days,
I've been *something* and fightin', cursing and writing,
I've been feeling like a hundred dollar bill these days, these days."
By then it was time to leave Key West and we found a ride all the way from Key West to Miami.
Now we're back to Fort Myers and Baily has decided to join us until we get to North Carolina. There she'll most likely stay with a friend for a while and maybe take a bus back home. By friday we'll be in Clearwater with a couple of kids we met in Kansas City.
For now though the most memorable thing we heard in Key West was a man's remarks on giving money. He said,
"The only real vote you've got left is the Dollar Bill. How you spend it, is how you vote."
May the Lord bless all of the people that we've encountered so far and prepare our hearts for the people we will meet. Because among those people we will find Christ and I pray that we might treat him the way he deserves.
May the Lord forgive us for all of the ways that we misrepresent His perfect love and may we continue to have the mindset of less of us and more of Him.
So last thursday the 31st, we began a race. Gary and Marcus against Baily and myself. Who would make it to the southern most point of the continental united states (Key West, FL) first? And by night fall, an overheated car, an alligator or two on the alligator expressway through the everglades, and a number of wonderful people later we found ourselves being picked up by a wonderfully nice lady named Gabrielle. Gabrielle owns an organic farm named Paradice Farms in the last town before you hit the 130 miles of highway one that takes you over the keys into the last "key." And after a 20 minute ride she offered to let us spend the night on the farm and eat of her Organic Vegan Chef's food. And then she even offered to go and pick up Gary and Marcus so they could come too.
We fell asleep to the smell of starfruit and the tour of a young Hari-Krishna man named Billy's voice, telling us about how to use the composting toilet and so forth. And in the morning after eating as much starfruit as possible and spending a few hours tending to the farm with the other volunteers Gabrielle gave us a ride to U.S. Highway 1. And by night fall we were all in Key West fixing our bedding for a long night's sleep on Smarthers Beach.
We spent the day checking out the Island's beautiful water and colorful jellyfish. And then before we were told we had to have a "permit" to play our mondolin and banjo on the street we were playing an old song from our Pete Seeger book called Study War No More. And just as we got to the chorus a group of old men walked up and began singing with us...
"I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside,
I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield,
Down by the riverside,
I Ain't gonna study war no more...."
When it got dark found ourselves in the midst of a large group of different people that considered themselves transients but looked nothing like it. And within a few moments they taught us a song on their Yukelali (I don't know if that's spelled right) and then offered us a place to sleep with them in a house with a pool.
And in the morning we woke up humming
"I've been feeling like a hundered dollar bill these days, these days,
I've been feeling like a hundred dollar bill these days, these days,
I've been *something* and fightin', cursing and writing,
I've been feeling like a hundred dollar bill these days, these days."
By then it was time to leave Key West and we found a ride all the way from Key West to Miami.
Now we're back to Fort Myers and Baily has decided to join us until we get to North Carolina. There she'll most likely stay with a friend for a while and maybe take a bus back home. By friday we'll be in Clearwater with a couple of kids we met in Kansas City.
For now though the most memorable thing we heard in Key West was a man's remarks on giving money. He said,
"The only real vote you've got left is the Dollar Bill. How you spend it, is how you vote."
May the Lord bless all of the people that we've encountered so far and prepare our hearts for the people we will meet. Because among those people we will find Christ and I pray that we might treat him the way he deserves.
May the Lord forgive us for all of the ways that we misrepresent His perfect love and may we continue to have the mindset of less of us and more of Him.
1.29.2008
shmollitics
the whole time thus far, we have found many a political opinion concerning the elections this upcoming year.
i keep finding it more interesting to think about stuff like "how big can a pelican's neck really get, and how have people tested to find this out......"
but really there is something interesting about it. many people i've met, that i think are reasonable, most of the time God fearing, and most of the time somewhat concious human beings all seem to have their opinions. And much to my surprise, most of them are gonna vote, and more surprising yet almost all of them have their own candidate, and no one really agrees.
i've heard people be dead set on hillary, ron paul, obama, and some republicans i cant remember the names of
i used to be pretty dead set on convincing people that voting didnt work, based on bush being a president after loosing
and i used to think that zapatistas had the right idea with "the other" campaign, which basically said "since our government wont listen to its people through elections, and since our votes arent even being counted, but rather millions of ballads found uncounted, we must find another avenue to create the change we see as neccessary"
now as i differ from the zaptistas' accepting of violence, i dont think theyve got it figured out and i dont think anyone else does either really....
(but i do think that the zapatistas' ideas are alot more in line with the values i see in the beatitudes than alot of politicians)
i saw the jay leno show at truck stop recently and there was a republican candidate on there
i tried not to laugh at first, and then i tried to laugh instead of getting angry...
things i liked about the guy:
he jogged and he talked nice about his wife, and he a good taste in breakfast foods
things i didnt like:
the whole time he was on the show, instead of talking about the need for clean water and getting people to a place where they can have neccessary medications without forfitting everything else
he talked about giving companies more power and how unfair china is and how the war on terrorism (some abstraction) was of utmost importance but we need to have a strong economy so that we can still fight
it just came out like he had taken a laxative given to him by some other politician who had all the same caracteristics
it even showed him yelling at a news reporter and threatening him after the guy said something about his cheif advisor being a lobbiest......."thats pretty funny, huh jay?"
i hated it, because its all so detached and not even real. its like looking at person in an old folks home talk about a pegasus and how this pegasus has to be put down or the world will callapse.
Its hard to take something like that serious when its so far behind the thinking of so many people's thoughts and sentiments i've read that were put out hundreds of years ago.
Isaiah 40:15,17 tells us that the nations, or man's power is pretty meaningless and not what we need to search for
then i read I Sam. 8:1-22 which tells me that God only reluctantly gave people a king, after noting that they didnt trust in him enough, and thats why they wanted a king
and so as far as my ideals go..... governments are pretty counter productive and dumb, set up through a system of human dumbness and i dont like em one bit, especially since i cant justify the use of force
but then i am shown Rom. 13:1-5 and am reminded that God uses governments for good too....
but Greg Boyd (senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church) points this out also:
"But this doesn’t mean that God approves of them. Often in the Old Testament God used a wicked nation (e.g. Assyria) to punish Israel, only to turn around and punish the nation he used for being wicked (e.g. Isa 10). God uses what he does not approve. That’s God’s attitude toward governments. They are under the influence of Satan (Lk 4:5-7) and are inherently corrupt, but God nevertheless uses them to achieve his objectives, so far as this is possible."
i think thats pretty dead on. And i think the thing i like about these discussions about politics is that people are still trying to find new ways of making change, and some people are trying to find old ways, and some people are finding ways outside of the system to create change.
and many people are rethinking the idea of christians all voting one way, and ive not heard many christians talk about abortion, homosexuality, the congress needing to be christian, this christian nation (not real), our christian fore-fathers (not real), and i've only heard one person talk about iraqis or a religious jihad that people need to be afraid of, and ive not heard anyone talk about "under god" and only one person has asked me about what i thought of obama having muslim roots, the same guy that thought it was rediculous to have a woman president.
so this election seems a little more reasonable than last.... but its still just as confusing, and detatched and fragmented and not real, its over complicated and i dont think any of it is about love for your enemy or even your neighbor, or the old people or the crackheads (and the words still are thrown in my face: "lesser of 2 evils", how do you support that? "evils"? only "2"?)
i dont think there is any answer found inside voting, but i could see why someone would attempt to affect something, but i find it draining and inspiring at the same time ( i think the inspiring part is so many people with different ideas openly talking)
this morning i woke up (went downstairs to a pool, next to a lake, about 20 minutes from the beach, in warm weather, in January-----haha suckers ) and read two prayers and both i thought were better than any candidate in this election.
here they are in full:
St. Benedict of Nursia, one of the Fathers of western monastic movements prayed this:
O Lord,
I place myself in Your hands and dedicate myself to You.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
to love the Lord God with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength.
to discipline the body, to maintain balance in all things,
to love fasting, to relieve the poor, To clothe the naked,
to visit the sick, to help in trouble,
to honor all persons, to love my enemies.
to bear patiently any injury done to me.
to prefer nothing to the love of Christ.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
not to kill, not to steal, not to covet, Not to bear false witness,
not to do to another what I should not want done to myself.
not to give way to anger, not to foster a desire for revenge.
not to entertain deceit in the heart, not to make a false peace.
not to be proud, not to forsake charity, not to seek after pleasures
not to desire to be thought holy, but to seek holiness.
never to forget that You see me everywhere.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
to fulfill the commandments of God by good works.
to avoid idle talk,
to speak the truth with heart and tongue.
to pray often, and to seek ways to amend my life.
to love chastity, to hate no one, To honor the aged, to pray for my enemies,
to make peace after a quarrel, before the setting of the sun.
to bless those who curse me, to love my enemies.
to call upon Christ for defense against evil thoughts that arise in my heart.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
not to swear, lest I swear falsely, not to return evil for evil,
not to be given to intoxicating drink, not to be an overeater,
not to be lazy, not to be slothful, not to be a detractor.
not to be jealous or envious of anyone.
not to engage my tongue in evil speech,
not to speak of matters that are trivial,
never to despair of your mercy, O God of mercy.
Grant O Gracious
O Holy Father
Upon me to Bestow:
Intellect to understand You
Perceptions to Perceive You,
Reason to discren You,
Diligence to seek You,
Wisdom to find YOu,
A spirit to know You
and St. Anthony of Padua, who loves animals (which means he's pretty cool), prayed this:
Lord Jesus, bind us to you and to our neighbor with love.
May our hearts not be turned away from you.
May our soulds not be deviebed nor our talents or minds enticed by allurements of error, so that we may never distance ourselves from your love.
Thus may we love our neighbor as ourselves with strength, wisdom and gentleness. With your help, you who are blessed thoughout all ages.
Behold the Cross of the Lord! Begone you enemy powers!
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah
The Root of David, has conquered.
Alleluia
-marcus
i keep finding it more interesting to think about stuff like "how big can a pelican's neck really get, and how have people tested to find this out......"
but really there is something interesting about it. many people i've met, that i think are reasonable, most of the time God fearing, and most of the time somewhat concious human beings all seem to have their opinions. And much to my surprise, most of them are gonna vote, and more surprising yet almost all of them have their own candidate, and no one really agrees.
i've heard people be dead set on hillary, ron paul, obama, and some republicans i cant remember the names of
i used to be pretty dead set on convincing people that voting didnt work, based on bush being a president after loosing
and i used to think that zapatistas had the right idea with "the other" campaign, which basically said "since our government wont listen to its people through elections, and since our votes arent even being counted, but rather millions of ballads found uncounted, we must find another avenue to create the change we see as neccessary"
now as i differ from the zaptistas' accepting of violence, i dont think theyve got it figured out and i dont think anyone else does either really....
(but i do think that the zapatistas' ideas are alot more in line with the values i see in the beatitudes than alot of politicians)
i saw the jay leno show at truck stop recently and there was a republican candidate on there
i tried not to laugh at first, and then i tried to laugh instead of getting angry...
things i liked about the guy:
he jogged and he talked nice about his wife, and he a good taste in breakfast foods
things i didnt like:
the whole time he was on the show, instead of talking about the need for clean water and getting people to a place where they can have neccessary medications without forfitting everything else
he talked about giving companies more power and how unfair china is and how the war on terrorism (some abstraction) was of utmost importance but we need to have a strong economy so that we can still fight
it just came out like he had taken a laxative given to him by some other politician who had all the same caracteristics
it even showed him yelling at a news reporter and threatening him after the guy said something about his cheif advisor being a lobbiest......."thats pretty funny, huh jay?"
i hated it, because its all so detached and not even real. its like looking at person in an old folks home talk about a pegasus and how this pegasus has to be put down or the world will callapse.
Its hard to take something like that serious when its so far behind the thinking of so many people's thoughts and sentiments i've read that were put out hundreds of years ago.
Isaiah 40:15,17 tells us that the nations, or man's power is pretty meaningless and not what we need to search for
then i read I Sam. 8:1-22 which tells me that God only reluctantly gave people a king, after noting that they didnt trust in him enough, and thats why they wanted a king
and so as far as my ideals go..... governments are pretty counter productive and dumb, set up through a system of human dumbness and i dont like em one bit, especially since i cant justify the use of force
but then i am shown Rom. 13:1-5 and am reminded that God uses governments for good too....
but Greg Boyd (senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church) points this out also:
"But this doesn’t mean that God approves of them. Often in the Old Testament God used a wicked nation (e.g. Assyria) to punish Israel, only to turn around and punish the nation he used for being wicked (e.g. Isa 10). God uses what he does not approve. That’s God’s attitude toward governments. They are under the influence of Satan (Lk 4:5-7) and are inherently corrupt, but God nevertheless uses them to achieve his objectives, so far as this is possible."
i think thats pretty dead on. And i think the thing i like about these discussions about politics is that people are still trying to find new ways of making change, and some people are trying to find old ways, and some people are finding ways outside of the system to create change.
and many people are rethinking the idea of christians all voting one way, and ive not heard many christians talk about abortion, homosexuality, the congress needing to be christian, this christian nation (not real), our christian fore-fathers (not real), and i've only heard one person talk about iraqis or a religious jihad that people need to be afraid of, and ive not heard anyone talk about "under god" and only one person has asked me about what i thought of obama having muslim roots, the same guy that thought it was rediculous to have a woman president.
so this election seems a little more reasonable than last.... but its still just as confusing, and detatched and fragmented and not real, its over complicated and i dont think any of it is about love for your enemy or even your neighbor, or the old people or the crackheads (and the words still are thrown in my face: "lesser of 2 evils", how do you support that? "evils"? only "2"?)
i dont think there is any answer found inside voting, but i could see why someone would attempt to affect something, but i find it draining and inspiring at the same time ( i think the inspiring part is so many people with different ideas openly talking)
this morning i woke up (went downstairs to a pool, next to a lake, about 20 minutes from the beach, in warm weather, in January-----haha suckers ) and read two prayers and both i thought were better than any candidate in this election.
here they are in full:
St. Benedict of Nursia, one of the Fathers of western monastic movements prayed this:
O Lord,
I place myself in Your hands and dedicate myself to You.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
to love the Lord God with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength.
to discipline the body, to maintain balance in all things,
to love fasting, to relieve the poor, To clothe the naked,
to visit the sick, to help in trouble,
to honor all persons, to love my enemies.
to bear patiently any injury done to me.
to prefer nothing to the love of Christ.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
not to kill, not to steal, not to covet, Not to bear false witness,
not to do to another what I should not want done to myself.
not to give way to anger, not to foster a desire for revenge.
not to entertain deceit in the heart, not to make a false peace.
not to be proud, not to forsake charity, not to seek after pleasures
not to desire to be thought holy, but to seek holiness.
never to forget that You see me everywhere.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
to fulfill the commandments of God by good works.
to avoid idle talk,
to speak the truth with heart and tongue.
to pray often, and to seek ways to amend my life.
to love chastity, to hate no one, To honor the aged, to pray for my enemies,
to make peace after a quarrel, before the setting of the sun.
to bless those who curse me, to love my enemies.
to call upon Christ for defense against evil thoughts that arise in my heart.
I pledge myself to do Your will in all things--
not to swear, lest I swear falsely, not to return evil for evil,
not to be given to intoxicating drink, not to be an overeater,
not to be lazy, not to be slothful, not to be a detractor.
not to be jealous or envious of anyone.
not to engage my tongue in evil speech,
not to speak of matters that are trivial,
never to despair of your mercy, O God of mercy.
Grant O Gracious
O Holy Father
Upon me to Bestow:
Intellect to understand You
Perceptions to Perceive You,
Reason to discren You,
Diligence to seek You,
Wisdom to find YOu,
A spirit to know You
and St. Anthony of Padua, who loves animals (which means he's pretty cool), prayed this:
Lord Jesus, bind us to you and to our neighbor with love.
May our hearts not be turned away from you.
May our soulds not be deviebed nor our talents or minds enticed by allurements of error, so that we may never distance ourselves from your love.
Thus may we love our neighbor as ourselves with strength, wisdom and gentleness. With your help, you who are blessed thoughout all ages.
Behold the Cross of the Lord! Begone you enemy powers!
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah
The Root of David, has conquered.
Alleluia
-marcus
pelicans
yesterday we were all standing on the dock of the ft. meyer's beach in florida and there was this real snotty kid who kept complaining about the pelicans while he was fishin with his dad
"get away...."
"eeeeehhhhh..... pelicans"
you know one of those kids that if you we his age yould probably wanna throw dodge balls at cause he was always complaining and then always showing you the cool crap his parents bought him at hockey games and stuff
"get away..."
....like he has to sneeze any minute, gross little kid voice...
"GET! AWAY"
then all the sudden the kid catches something, but he cant reel it in, so the dads tryin to help him and ends up just grabing the line with his hands and pulling it up by hand.
..the kids gettin really excited...
and then one of the pelicans (probably over half the size of the kid) comes flappin from like ten feet behind and lands on the kid's head and then shoots off towards the dad after knockin the kid's hat bill into his nose, and gets the fish without the hook and gives us all a show as he easily lets the thing turn around in his neck as he swallows it hole.
it was glorious!
and the kids all "Ouch!"
and the other tourists are yellin "you gotta learn ya lesson huh" while eyeballing the pelican
i say the pelicans won, and snotty kids and snotty tourists need more eplicans boppin them on the head.
-marcus
"get away...."
"eeeeehhhhh..... pelicans"
you know one of those kids that if you we his age yould probably wanna throw dodge balls at cause he was always complaining and then always showing you the cool crap his parents bought him at hockey games and stuff
"get away..."
....like he has to sneeze any minute, gross little kid voice...
"GET! AWAY"
then all the sudden the kid catches something, but he cant reel it in, so the dads tryin to help him and ends up just grabing the line with his hands and pulling it up by hand.
..the kids gettin really excited...
and then one of the pelicans (probably over half the size of the kid) comes flappin from like ten feet behind and lands on the kid's head and then shoots off towards the dad after knockin the kid's hat bill into his nose, and gets the fish without the hook and gives us all a show as he easily lets the thing turn around in his neck as he swallows it hole.
it was glorious!
and the kids all "Ouch!"
and the other tourists are yellin "you gotta learn ya lesson huh" while eyeballing the pelican
i say the pelicans won, and snotty kids and snotty tourists need more eplicans boppin them on the head.
-marcus
1.27.2008
A Good reminder
Friday morning Marcus and I set out to leave New Orleans and head to Florida.We made it to Alabama and once again got stuck at a truck stop for 8 hours. The next morning we got a ride into Florida and meet a wonderful you man named Sunny.
Sunny was a political refugee from Vietnam and had lived in Germany for 16 years, just outside of Hamburg. He ended up giving us a ride all the way from the pan handle to just outside Orlando, and made plenty use of my shody German skills. Since he had only been in the U.S. for two months my German was apparently better than his English.
I pray that the Lord blesses this man and all of the others who have and haven't brought us thus far.
And at 3 am Gary came and picked us up from the local TA station and blessed us with a ride down to Fort Myers with a wonderful young lady named Baily in the car.
In the car ride down to Fort Myers we spent a good amount of time catching up and then found ourselves in great conversation. Just the perfect way for G-d to bring me a reminder of alot of things I had completely lost focus of.
We had the usual conversation of the difference between those who choose to travel and those who choose to stay put. As well as the biblical calls and places for both in the body of Christ. However, in conversation I found myself making arguments for both sides in these conversation, both for those in school and those who choose not to go to school. And after a few moments of feeling the drain of having similar conversations over and over again it dawned on me, what I believe G-d really has instore for my process right now, and what my place should be in these conversations.
It is not by chance, I believe, that I always seem to find a way to play devil's advocate in these conversations. And many times the arguments even come for a view I would not choose to side with. And this is because I have forgotten that I don't believe that the answers to things come very easily.
I want to believe that my views, very likely, are just as skewed and biased and off-based as anyone else's.
And the reason this is ok is because none of us can hold the answers by ourselves. As a WHOLE, and only as a whole does the Body of Christ even begin to take upon itself the full role as the bride of Christ.
I want to believe whole heartedly that I will probably never have all of the answers. Let alone, a few of them.
However, I want to believe that since G-d surpasses our understanding by so much, if we are willing to hold whatever opinions we have in an open hand we may take legitimate steps towards fulfilling the role that we have the potential to fill.
I want to believe that in holding our opinions in an open hand rather than a closed hand, we leave room for G-d to move in them and change them. And, if we hold them to tightly we loose sight of the fact that ALL people are created in the image of G-d and therefore ALL people hold a piece of the truth inside of them.
I pray that I might be able to take this stance more often and learn to take the opositions views to reform my own, and not just attempt to reform the other.
Lord, take my will and transform it to be more like yours and less like mine.
Thanks for your time.
Sunny was a political refugee from Vietnam and had lived in Germany for 16 years, just outside of Hamburg. He ended up giving us a ride all the way from the pan handle to just outside Orlando, and made plenty use of my shody German skills. Since he had only been in the U.S. for two months my German was apparently better than his English.
I pray that the Lord blesses this man and all of the others who have and haven't brought us thus far.
And at 3 am Gary came and picked us up from the local TA station and blessed us with a ride down to Fort Myers with a wonderful young lady named Baily in the car.
In the car ride down to Fort Myers we spent a good amount of time catching up and then found ourselves in great conversation. Just the perfect way for G-d to bring me a reminder of alot of things I had completely lost focus of.
We had the usual conversation of the difference between those who choose to travel and those who choose to stay put. As well as the biblical calls and places for both in the body of Christ. However, in conversation I found myself making arguments for both sides in these conversation, both for those in school and those who choose not to go to school. And after a few moments of feeling the drain of having similar conversations over and over again it dawned on me, what I believe G-d really has instore for my process right now, and what my place should be in these conversations.
It is not by chance, I believe, that I always seem to find a way to play devil's advocate in these conversations. And many times the arguments even come for a view I would not choose to side with. And this is because I have forgotten that I don't believe that the answers to things come very easily.
I want to believe that my views, very likely, are just as skewed and biased and off-based as anyone else's.
And the reason this is ok is because none of us can hold the answers by ourselves. As a WHOLE, and only as a whole does the Body of Christ even begin to take upon itself the full role as the bride of Christ.
I want to believe whole heartedly that I will probably never have all of the answers. Let alone, a few of them.
However, I want to believe that since G-d surpasses our understanding by so much, if we are willing to hold whatever opinions we have in an open hand we may take legitimate steps towards fulfilling the role that we have the potential to fill.
I want to believe that in holding our opinions in an open hand rather than a closed hand, we leave room for G-d to move in them and change them. And, if we hold them to tightly we loose sight of the fact that ALL people are created in the image of G-d and therefore ALL people hold a piece of the truth inside of them.
I pray that I might be able to take this stance more often and learn to take the opositions views to reform my own, and not just attempt to reform the other.
Lord, take my will and transform it to be more like yours and less like mine.
Thanks for your time.
1.24.2008
work for two things at once?
To be completely honest I've had some troubles posting some of my thoughts here because I've been in a place where I feel as if my thoughts haven't progressed very much. But since having talked to one of my dearest friends on the phone for a moment she gave me just the right encouragement to post some of these thoughts and continuing my process by writing some of these ideas out.
At the Perkins center in Jackson, Mississippi our first few moments on the center grounds we were met with sincere hospitality and warm love. But after a cup of hot soup and a few friendly "hellos", we stepped into the office of John Perkin's daughter Elizabeth who now "runs" the place.
And after a long conversation filled with attempts to justify why Marcus and I were so dirty and yet wanting to help, the statement was made that if we were black and looked like this the story would be very different. If we'd been black and dirty we probably wouldn't have had the same reception and this was hard for Elizabeth and hard for us as well.
She told us that part of the reason they want volunteers and staff to look clean at the Perkins center, was because they work alot with kids in their after school program and want to establish a sense of dignity and self respect in the children, and sometimes this has to come in the sense of physical appearance.
This is when I realized a good way to wrap up a lot of my struggling.
We always say that G-d can meet us wherever we are, and then in turn we say that the gospel is ment to be available to all people where ever they are. Therefore this should be our position as well.
Yet my disposition comes from the fact that I believe that I am supposed to be the change I want to see. And so I am supposed to live as kingdom-like as possible, And there are times when these to ideas conflict.
For instance how do I teach little black children-or I should say set the example- to learn how to love and learn from people no matter what they look like. But despite the fact that all people are created in the image of G-d and therefore should be loved by us, there is a need in these kids to see the example of having a dignity the defeats the years of thinking that says a black person is less that a white person.
How do you make these two words collide?
How do you do both?
And yet this same principle applies all over the board.
How do I see the immediate need and work to provide for it, yet see the larger need down the road and not work against it by working for the immediate need?
I mean you're not necessarily serving two masters at once. or are you?
Because Jesus worked for people's salvation and yet he fed them too.
Lord, teach me to follow in these footsteps.
These are some of my thoughts for now.
More to come, and thanks for taking the time to read this.
At the Perkins center in Jackson, Mississippi our first few moments on the center grounds we were met with sincere hospitality and warm love. But after a cup of hot soup and a few friendly "hellos", we stepped into the office of John Perkin's daughter Elizabeth who now "runs" the place.
And after a long conversation filled with attempts to justify why Marcus and I were so dirty and yet wanting to help, the statement was made that if we were black and looked like this the story would be very different. If we'd been black and dirty we probably wouldn't have had the same reception and this was hard for Elizabeth and hard for us as well.
She told us that part of the reason they want volunteers and staff to look clean at the Perkins center, was because they work alot with kids in their after school program and want to establish a sense of dignity and self respect in the children, and sometimes this has to come in the sense of physical appearance.
This is when I realized a good way to wrap up a lot of my struggling.
We always say that G-d can meet us wherever we are, and then in turn we say that the gospel is ment to be available to all people where ever they are. Therefore this should be our position as well.
Yet my disposition comes from the fact that I believe that I am supposed to be the change I want to see. And so I am supposed to live as kingdom-like as possible, And there are times when these to ideas conflict.
For instance how do I teach little black children-or I should say set the example- to learn how to love and learn from people no matter what they look like. But despite the fact that all people are created in the image of G-d and therefore should be loved by us, there is a need in these kids to see the example of having a dignity the defeats the years of thinking that says a black person is less that a white person.
How do you make these two words collide?
How do you do both?
And yet this same principle applies all over the board.
How do I see the immediate need and work to provide for it, yet see the larger need down the road and not work against it by working for the immediate need?
I mean you're not necessarily serving two masters at once. or are you?
Because Jesus worked for people's salvation and yet he fed them too.
Lord, teach me to follow in these footsteps.
These are some of my thoughts for now.
More to come, and thanks for taking the time to read this.
The Modern Day Saint
(Just some good words from a brother named Burton in his book
Lyrics of Brotherhood)
No monkish garb he wears, no beads he tells,
Nor is immured in walls remote from strife.
But from his heart deep mercy ever wells;
He looks humanely forth on human life.
In place of missals or of altar dreams,
He cons the passioned book of deeds and days;
Striving to cast the comforting sweet beams
Of charity on dark and noisome ways.
Not hedged by sacer dotal rule,
He walks a fellow of the scarred and weak
Liberal and wise his gifts; he goes to school
To justice; and he turns the other cheek.
He looks not holy, simple is his belief;
His creed for mystic visions do not scan;
His face shows lines cut there by other's greif,
And in his eyes is love of brother-man.
Not self, nor self-salvation is his care;
He yearns to make the world a sunnier clime
To live in; and his mission everywhere
Is strangely like to Christ's in olden time.
No mediaeval mystery, no crowned,
Dim figure, halo -ringed, uncanny bright.
A modern saint; a man who treads earth's ground,
And ministers to men with all his might.
Lyrics of Brotherhood)
No monkish garb he wears, no beads he tells,
Nor is immured in walls remote from strife.
But from his heart deep mercy ever wells;
He looks humanely forth on human life.
In place of missals or of altar dreams,
He cons the passioned book of deeds and days;
Striving to cast the comforting sweet beams
Of charity on dark and noisome ways.
Not hedged by sacer dotal rule,
He walks a fellow of the scarred and weak
Liberal and wise his gifts; he goes to school
To justice; and he turns the other cheek.
He looks not holy, simple is his belief;
His creed for mystic visions do not scan;
His face shows lines cut there by other's greif,
And in his eyes is love of brother-man.
Not self, nor self-salvation is his care;
He yearns to make the world a sunnier clime
To live in; and his mission everywhere
Is strangely like to Christ's in olden time.
No mediaeval mystery, no crowned,
Dim figure, halo -ringed, uncanny bright.
A modern saint; a man who treads earth's ground,
And ministers to men with all his might.
1.22.2008
On the Bayau...
So we spent over a week at the perkins center with this construction crew from seattle, an old married couple, grandma perkins, some of the perkins kids, some real little kids (who liked to ask questions like "why you got a whole in your pants" "why you dirty" "why you wear that" "why you got a bandana on" A: "to pick boogas") and a hand full of other adults
it was good to be able to serve, and to be surrounded by a community of people trying to work towards having a more christ centered lifestyle. It was hard however to try to relate to and assure some of the workers that we were there too serve and learn, not anything else, when they just saw us as two dirty kids comin in off the street, one of which having weird eating habits.
Wayne, one of the Perkins, had called his friend when we first showed up sayin' "come over here and check these two out, you gots ta see this"
overall it was a good experience, dispite their apprehensions.
we ended up over at two of the old employees' artists space/now-living quarters and heard another perspective on the place. and after thinking it over, all places have their faults and their funny little things that make it somewhat weird but this place is making an effort to try to build a good community that supports itself through christ.
it was especially good to see the crew from seattle (some of them were almost like christian frat boys) and eugene (this 82 year old man that pastors two churches and comes down to the perkins center once a month for a week to do carpentry for the houses in the zekariah 8 community)
these people proved to me that if given the opportunity, people which you wouldnt expect, can do amazing things for a community, or in a community.
after viewing the arts district and walking through what the crew change says are "sketchy neighbor hoods", we caught a hot shot to new orleans. about 5 hours, a giant bayau, and 3 yards later we were stopped in the CN yard for new orleans, thinking we had another 20 miles before we had to get off. So we jump out of the 53, after passing by a tower that probably should have seen us, and after realizing that we were in the yard where they take inter-modules off the trains and put them on semis, and run behind some semis towards a white building and through a ditch and down to another ditch, over a bridge, through a satelite manufacturing area , through some shrubberry, under an overpass and then up on to a bridge with no side walk just to get out of the yard.
talked to a cop, realized we could ride the bus into downtown new orleans, got some free tea and honey buns, talked to some late night gas station-dwellers, passed out under a bridge, rode the bus and now were in new orleans trying to find my friends, hawk and ditto, or plan b bike shop.
after years of being neglected and poverty stricken, i hope new orleans has something good in store for us, and i hope we can find a way to serve it
-marcus
it was good to be able to serve, and to be surrounded by a community of people trying to work towards having a more christ centered lifestyle. It was hard however to try to relate to and assure some of the workers that we were there too serve and learn, not anything else, when they just saw us as two dirty kids comin in off the street, one of which having weird eating habits.
Wayne, one of the Perkins, had called his friend when we first showed up sayin' "come over here and check these two out, you gots ta see this"
overall it was a good experience, dispite their apprehensions.
we ended up over at two of the old employees' artists space/now-living quarters and heard another perspective on the place. and after thinking it over, all places have their faults and their funny little things that make it somewhat weird but this place is making an effort to try to build a good community that supports itself through christ.
it was especially good to see the crew from seattle (some of them were almost like christian frat boys) and eugene (this 82 year old man that pastors two churches and comes down to the perkins center once a month for a week to do carpentry for the houses in the zekariah 8 community)
these people proved to me that if given the opportunity, people which you wouldnt expect, can do amazing things for a community, or in a community.
after viewing the arts district and walking through what the crew change says are "sketchy neighbor hoods", we caught a hot shot to new orleans. about 5 hours, a giant bayau, and 3 yards later we were stopped in the CN yard for new orleans, thinking we had another 20 miles before we had to get off. So we jump out of the 53, after passing by a tower that probably should have seen us, and after realizing that we were in the yard where they take inter-modules off the trains and put them on semis, and run behind some semis towards a white building and through a ditch and down to another ditch, over a bridge, through a satelite manufacturing area , through some shrubberry, under an overpass and then up on to a bridge with no side walk just to get out of the yard.
talked to a cop, realized we could ride the bus into downtown new orleans, got some free tea and honey buns, talked to some late night gas station-dwellers, passed out under a bridge, rode the bus and now were in new orleans trying to find my friends, hawk and ditto, or plan b bike shop.
after years of being neglected and poverty stricken, i hope new orleans has something good in store for us, and i hope we can find a way to serve it
-marcus
1.12.2008
The North may have won, but like the yeast in bread, the south will rise again.
It took us 12hours (mainly at the Waffle House), and three I.D. checks from the police to get a ride out of Cullmann.
And about an hour later and 50 miles south we went from being in the birth place of the KKK to being in the city with the worlds largest Civil Rights Movement Exhibit, and officially being the minority as a white person.
We spent $1.50 to ride the bus for an hour to the edge of town, and passed out in the trees behind a Walmart, since we hadn't slept for 26 hours.
A little while later we found a ride to a truck-stop where we were told we would surely find a ride.
About 3 pitchers of Sweet Tea, 8hours, a rude awakening by rain, 3honey buns, and 8 cups of coffee later a man named Billy sat down to play some music with me while Marcus sat by the trucker entrance trying to find us a ride.
"She maybe an ugly dog, but she's no trouble at all."
"I'm just a lookin at you"
"Rock me mama like a wagon wheel, Rock me mama any way you feel. Hey Hey Mama Rock Me."
so the music went
And soon Billy started talking a little something like this:
"I' tell you one thing; and that is I don't know much, but I know one thing, and that's this; things ain't the way they's supposed t'be. Y' know Gensis says that He created male and female in His image. In His image He created 'em. Police, Government, male, female... He created 'em. And I' tell ya' 'nother thing; we shouldn' hav' ta, but I 'rekkon it's time we start buildin' houses underground."
Billy talked to us for 3hours before he decided he would give us a ride. But not before taking us by his property first to show us around.
I wish I had pictures to show you. To put it plainly there was so much stuff on this twenty acres..... this man had piles and piles of stuff on his twenty acres of half way dug underground houses, broken-down cars, and the likes.
And after parting with Ed and "Dog" (his dog), Billy and Anytime (his other dog, named after his tree service business) gave us a ride to Bessemer.
A tornado warning, a handful of middle fingers, a run to the waffle house, countless dirty looks, and a gas station front for a big drug-op later we got a ride two exits down the road.
And thank the LORD. Within half an hour we found a ride all of the way to the Arts district in Jackson, Mississippi from two young vegan, art majors from Birmingham.
The next morning we woke up to the nudge of a police officer's boot, behind the organic foods co-op in Jackson. After about an hour at Cups Coffee and Espresso we found a young man named Johnny who had just finished working for 2 years at the Perkins center and he gave us a ride across town.
We are currently staying in the Antioch house at the Perkins Center, helping with landscaping. We live with a young Westmont Grad, a former Sociology Prof. from Spring Arbor, Michigan and his wife.
The Lord has blessed us in so many ways.
More to come soon.
Whatever you do, steer clear of Alabama.
Tuesday morning the 8th began with a prayer for the house in nashville and was soon followed by one hugely failed attempt at hopping a train out of nashville. So the bright idea we had was to just hitch-hike. WRONG!
Our plan was to just hitch-hike the few hour drive to Birmingham, AL and the cut over to Jackson, Mississippi. This may have been one of the worst decisions we've ever made.
Although our trip started of well with a ride from a local skateboard shop owner named andrew and 15dollars, the next man that gave us a ride should have told us of the dangers of what we were about to encounter. Soon after getting in the car with Mister D he told us that we were lucky we weren't N*****s, because he wouldn't have picked us up if we had been. And since then, the one rule so far on this trip is, that even if we must get out in the middle of nowhere, neither Marcus nor I will stand for such a thing.
The next ride was from a wonderful 40 year old named Stephanie who said she would take us most of the way, but lived a ways of the interstate, so she would drop us off at the nearest town. Turns out the towns name was Cullmann and we never should have gotten out.
Three most memorable quotes from Cullmann:
"We don't go to Birmingham. There's Brown People, Drugs, And Violence."
"This is where the KKK was started."
"Well what do you want to know about this place? The cops are terrible, the people are worse. This place is G-d-forsaken."
From the Midwest to the Bible belt.
Saturday the 5th Gary, Marcus, and I headed out from Kansas City, after having been blessed by the company of so, so many wonderful people. We made it to Columbia, MO before we were blessed by a young lady at Uprise Bakery (Anarchist Collective Bakery) gave us one huge bag of day old breads. And that evening we made it to St. Louis, and found our way to the playground of a museum that the City museum is. And after running ourselves to the point of exhaustion we began fixin' to sleep under the St. Louis Arch. And as we walked back G-d blessed us with a big box of canned foods and once again provided us with dinner.
And it wasn't long before we had started eating our food beneath the arch, when we encountered quite the friendly police officers on bikes. And to put it short our plans were foiled.
So instead we spent the night next to the Mississippi right near the train tracks.
And the next day we made it to Nashville, TN after a number of 49cent honey bun specials at Pilot truck stops.
We made it into town found a good coffee shop and met Johno, Michael Perkins, Luke, and a number of other wonderful kids living together in Nashville.
After visiting the Anchor (church) we spent some time playing music with Timbre and some of the other kids at the house. And it was great to be around kids who used the words prophecy, generation, and intercession far less frequently than IHOPpers.
We gave it two days of failed attempts of dumpster diving and busking, before we decided that despite the generosity of the few great kids in Nashville, that it was time to move on.
And so Gary parted ways with us after attempting to find us a ride out, before he headed further east towards Florida.
May the Lord Bless all the wonderful people, who showed us so much generosity and so much hospitality. And we thank you father for the many ways in which you have provided for us in terms of food, people, and occasionally the necessary blind eye.
1.03.2008
i have a word for you
this is marcus writing now
ive never really been fond of blogs or the intronet so yall might not see alot of my writn
as john mentioned we've been in kansas city the last little while and are headin to nashville soon, i think and hope and pray.
Being here has been alot about killing the ego, for me at least.
when i first stepped into "IHOP" at some ungodly hour, i had just been woken up by the car screeching to a hault in front of a house of prayer, supped up with a "higher grounds" cafe, bookstore, apartment complex for interns and the like, and a realty office.
Sitting there in the prayer room i found it next to impossible to focus my attention with the same song repeated for sometimes close to 45 minutes and cameras and a "support team" in yellow vests waltzing around with uneasy faces on. I decided to lay down and look at something less distracting than bright colors and overly zelous faces, the ceiling.
as my sleepy body started to get comforatble in praying and being surrounded with other souls calling out to god, i was approached by the yellow vest brigade and was told "you can't lay down here"
"are you serious"
"i think so"
after a little while john and i decided to go to the higher grounds cafe and drink tea and converse
i found myself asking "how can we get the church to stop being so annoying?"
As we went through the conference days, spending nights with fellow christians in their homes and conversatin with "ihoppers" i was bombarded with words such as , "i have a word for you",fire, prophetic, do you speak in tongues, generation, abortion, and so on
a couple days into it i couldnt find comfort in these situations, there would be glimpses of good stuff, like playing music with people, group prayer, moments to reflect on things and community but questions aroused everywhere
"why do i feel uncomforatble in my home, the church"
"why is there some much ephasis on certain verses, and why is there less of wholistic view of christ and his teaching"
"does everyone who speaks in tongues in the same city right now, and is it appropriate to try to edify the spirit using this means in such a corprate setting?"
"why is abortion the number one issue and why is the church prayer for certain laws to be passed"
"why isnt there more ephasis on aiding the poor"
"why is there never silence, and why cant i think straight"
on sunday we stepped outside of our regular routine and went with our friend rainbow to an orthodox church on the other side of town
(they eat lunch together after the service, and this week it was all vegan, yeah!)
after walking back to rainbows apartment we reflected on the service, with its whole liturgy and everything and i told rainbow that she had alot more patience than i did, and that in order to be as active in the orthodox church as she is that i would need alot more disciplin in my life and much more consistency and patience.
i told her that because of my own internal nonsense i didn't feel completely comforatble in the setting of that orthodox church
she reminded me that that is probably a good thing
the following day, onething had ended and in place was "the call" (they were 2 parts to the same conference, one thing focusing on the prophetic, end times and intercessory prayer, the call being more about this generation and abortion)
as i sat there trying to have the patience to endure lou engle talk about changing laws and the sort i started to be touched by the actual sentiment which had started such movements, the call to uplift and preserve life.
they then had to do what would knock me off my high-horse, and that was play one of my favorite songs as a prayer to god:"nothing but the blood of jesus"
as i sat there i started to understand that just as i had seen resentment and hate and a lack of love in the anti-abortion movement, and just as i had found the whole conference unerving, i started to see my own disposition as just as gross as theres.
the fact is that i grew up in a certain church, and i have my own individual opinions, burdens, and calls, but so does every other christian in the church today. Just because i choose to see things one way and focus on certain aspects of christ, does not make me any more or less of a christian, and it doesnt make any one else different either. If i sit and criticize one thing, and instead of look past it to see the same jesus as the people i am criticizing, then i am just as bad as the people who, instead of choosing to be more inclusive, choose to take on one singular issue, such as abortion, are.
the question shouldnt be "how can i make the church less annoying, or fit to my standards?" but "how can i respect the many different ways people carry out faith, and still find it in me, through christ, to uplift the good in that?"
I started to become very happy that i was put into a situation where i felt uneasy because it meant that i had to seek to find something in that tension.
That being said i am looking forward to spending more time in silence before god, and having a more guided worship time where instead of asking god to do something, i will be asking him what i should be doing.
I am also looking forward to understanding different aspects of faith, and the different ways they are carried out, not just how presbyterians, scumbodies, or ihoppers carry them out.
shalom.
ive never really been fond of blogs or the intronet so yall might not see alot of my writn
as john mentioned we've been in kansas city the last little while and are headin to nashville soon, i think and hope and pray.
Being here has been alot about killing the ego, for me at least.
when i first stepped into "IHOP" at some ungodly hour, i had just been woken up by the car screeching to a hault in front of a house of prayer, supped up with a "higher grounds" cafe, bookstore, apartment complex for interns and the like, and a realty office.
Sitting there in the prayer room i found it next to impossible to focus my attention with the same song repeated for sometimes close to 45 minutes and cameras and a "support team" in yellow vests waltzing around with uneasy faces on. I decided to lay down and look at something less distracting than bright colors and overly zelous faces, the ceiling.
as my sleepy body started to get comforatble in praying and being surrounded with other souls calling out to god, i was approached by the yellow vest brigade and was told "you can't lay down here"
"are you serious"
"i think so"
after a little while john and i decided to go to the higher grounds cafe and drink tea and converse
i found myself asking "how can we get the church to stop being so annoying?"
As we went through the conference days, spending nights with fellow christians in their homes and conversatin with "ihoppers" i was bombarded with words such as , "i have a word for you",fire, prophetic, do you speak in tongues, generation, abortion, and so on
a couple days into it i couldnt find comfort in these situations, there would be glimpses of good stuff, like playing music with people, group prayer, moments to reflect on things and community but questions aroused everywhere
"why do i feel uncomforatble in my home, the church"
"why is there some much ephasis on certain verses, and why is there less of wholistic view of christ and his teaching"
"does everyone who speaks in tongues in the same city right now, and is it appropriate to try to edify the spirit using this means in such a corprate setting?"
"why is abortion the number one issue and why is the church prayer for certain laws to be passed"
"why isnt there more ephasis on aiding the poor"
"why is there never silence, and why cant i think straight"
on sunday we stepped outside of our regular routine and went with our friend rainbow to an orthodox church on the other side of town
(they eat lunch together after the service, and this week it was all vegan, yeah!)
after walking back to rainbows apartment we reflected on the service, with its whole liturgy and everything and i told rainbow that she had alot more patience than i did, and that in order to be as active in the orthodox church as she is that i would need alot more disciplin in my life and much more consistency and patience.
i told her that because of my own internal nonsense i didn't feel completely comforatble in the setting of that orthodox church
she reminded me that that is probably a good thing
the following day, onething had ended and in place was "the call" (they were 2 parts to the same conference, one thing focusing on the prophetic, end times and intercessory prayer, the call being more about this generation and abortion)
as i sat there trying to have the patience to endure lou engle talk about changing laws and the sort i started to be touched by the actual sentiment which had started such movements, the call to uplift and preserve life.
they then had to do what would knock me off my high-horse, and that was play one of my favorite songs as a prayer to god:"nothing but the blood of jesus"
as i sat there i started to understand that just as i had seen resentment and hate and a lack of love in the anti-abortion movement, and just as i had found the whole conference unerving, i started to see my own disposition as just as gross as theres.
the fact is that i grew up in a certain church, and i have my own individual opinions, burdens, and calls, but so does every other christian in the church today. Just because i choose to see things one way and focus on certain aspects of christ, does not make me any more or less of a christian, and it doesnt make any one else different either. If i sit and criticize one thing, and instead of look past it to see the same jesus as the people i am criticizing, then i am just as bad as the people who, instead of choosing to be more inclusive, choose to take on one singular issue, such as abortion, are.
the question shouldnt be "how can i make the church less annoying, or fit to my standards?" but "how can i respect the many different ways people carry out faith, and still find it in me, through christ, to uplift the good in that?"
I started to become very happy that i was put into a situation where i felt uneasy because it meant that i had to seek to find something in that tension.
That being said i am looking forward to spending more time in silence before god, and having a more guided worship time where instead of asking god to do something, i will be asking him what i should be doing.
I am also looking forward to understanding different aspects of faith, and the different ways they are carried out, not just how presbyterians, scumbodies, or ihoppers carry them out.
shalom.
Destination IHOP
Gary, Marcus, and I made it to the International House of Prayer (IHOP) at 4:30 in the morning after driving through the thickest fog I've ever seen. We walked into the building and were greeted by a ministry that believes its mission to be a house of prayer 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. And we were soon welcomed into the house of our dear friend Chelsea "Cheese" Davidson.
After spending a day with some infamous people in these circles like Mando, Rich, Ian, and rainbow, we awoke the next morning to the beginning of the One Thing conference.
To put it short the word I would use to describe the conference was intense.
But rather than focusing on the over-use of the words prophecy, generation, and intercession the attempt was made to uplift was was good in the conference rather than where it seemed to fall short.
Although it is hard to be a part of a part of the body that seems never to take time to let G-d speak through silence and stillness, you could tell that G-d was stirring in people's hearts. Never before had I been around so many "radicals" that had such a conservative theology, but the prayer of St. Francis reminds me to seek to understand rather than to be understood.
If I am having a hard time with letting G-d speak to me through this, what changes do I need to make so that I make room to listen to G-d.
The funny thing was that the most calm and relaxing place to be at times was the Twelve tribes bus outside the conference that waited patiently to convert people to their beliefs of "unity" rather than the "house of prayer."
As of now we know we will head to Nashville, TN in the next day or so and despite the hardships found here enough love was found that we dare not shake the dust off of our feet in this place.
more to come soon. perhaps from marcus!
After spending a day with some infamous people in these circles like Mando, Rich, Ian, and rainbow, we awoke the next morning to the beginning of the One Thing conference.
To put it short the word I would use to describe the conference was intense.
But rather than focusing on the over-use of the words prophecy, generation, and intercession the attempt was made to uplift was was good in the conference rather than where it seemed to fall short.
Although it is hard to be a part of a part of the body that seems never to take time to let G-d speak through silence and stillness, you could tell that G-d was stirring in people's hearts. Never before had I been around so many "radicals" that had such a conservative theology, but the prayer of St. Francis reminds me to seek to understand rather than to be understood.
If I am having a hard time with letting G-d speak to me through this, what changes do I need to make so that I make room to listen to G-d.
The funny thing was that the most calm and relaxing place to be at times was the Twelve tribes bus outside the conference that waited patiently to convert people to their beliefs of "unity" rather than the "house of prayer."
As of now we know we will head to Nashville, TN in the next day or so and despite the hardships found here enough love was found that we dare not shake the dust off of our feet in this place.
more to come soon. perhaps from marcus!
The first legs
Beginning with Christmas Eve spending the evening with my father leading a couple of bible studies in the Edgar County Jail, the trip has been filled with an uncanny sort of patience that hasn't left yet. In the jail that evening I had the opportunity to share with some of the inmates about my trip and a young man named Jason handed me a cross he had braided, and told me that this is all he had, but he wanted me to keep it close on my travels to remember to pray.
The next day I woke up to fighting in my mothers house, and asked some friends to pray with me for my family, and by the time my brother and I finished reading the christmas story the house was at peace again.
These words stuck: "If you don't realize that you need just as much forgiveness and grace for that moment as the other person in that situation things will never be resolved."
The power of prayer astounds me.
The next day I woke up to fighting in my mothers house, and asked some friends to pray with me for my family, and by the time my brother and I finished reading the christmas story the house was at peace again.
These words stuck: "If you don't realize that you need just as much forgiveness and grace for that moment as the other person in that situation things will never be resolved."
The power of prayer astounds me.
12.20.2007
The New Deal
Since this blog has been created to keep people posted on my current plans and thoughts, and since I'd already posted once on some of my thoughts, I thought I'd post what my current state is when it comes to plans.
Last week at Scum of the Earth Denver I meet two young fellows named Ben and Gary who had travel to Denver form Florida to spend some time living homeless in Denver. It just so turns out that both of them will be driving to Kansas City for a free conference called 1-thing at the International House of Prayer (IHOP), and they invited Marcus and I along. And after we asked them what their plans were for Christmas they said they didn't have any yet. So long story short, the two young men will be spending Christmas with my family in Colorado Springs, and then we will head East to Kansas City.
We've heard that lots of people come to this conference from all over the country, and that if we hold up a sign with our destination on it, we will be sure to get a ride to whatever destination we need.
So these are the plans.
Blessings
John
12.17.2007
finding G-d outside the church (hopefully a trend that will continue)
This last sunday a good friend of mine and I took a few minutes to grab a cup of coffee between the sunday morning college group at First Pres. Colorado Springs, and "big church." We took a minute to enjoy the sunshine in Acacia Park will enjoying our cups of coffee and found a small group of people from a hispanic church handing out free pizza and free jackets for the snowy winters in Colorado.
We sat for a minute watching the group of teens attempt to share the "good news" of freedom in the gospel through miming, and had a familiar conversation of how we had wished that our understanding of "church" was more holistic. Perhaps church could be more than just the collective worshiping happening inside sanctuaries all over the world that morning, and perhaps it could be more than the few people out "serving" in the community. "Why can't church be defined equally as sitting here sharing coffee and maybe even a cigarette?"
"HERETICS!" we joked. "If you don't have your MDiv, or preach inside a sanctuary you better dare not joke that you could be spreading the gospel!"
Not that our life-long struggle of redefining our understanding of G-d hadn't brought us to this place before, but it was a good reminder of the necessity to continue to question these stereotypes.
But obviously G-d decided that this message needed to be reiterated this morning because the story kept going.
A few minutes later a 52 year old black guy came up to us and asked us if we wanted some pizza.
"Maybe in a minute, but thanks," we replied.
"It's alright. We all just out here sharing, you know."
"Alright."
"You know I'm just a street poet and a creekside preacher, and I'm just tryin to share the wealth. Everyday I walk from here to Denver, and down to Pueblo, preaching the good news."
"Can we hear one of your pieces?"
"Sure! Hold on just a sec."
He went and grabbed his bag of belongings, along with the jacket and pants he had just received from the Mimes. And pulled out a notebook.
"This is my friends Eulogy. He died from a heroin overdose a little while ago. And while this is about addiction, it doesn't matter if it's heroin or peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches, you'll get this." He went on to share.
When he finished we took a minute to take it in and thanked him for sharing.
"You know," he replied,"the reason this is the good news, is because it reaches you where you're at. That how everything we preach should be. It should reach people where they're at. Don't share down. Don't share up. Share with people on their level."
Preach it!
"I share the good news through everything I do. Even if those guys I drank a fifth with last night down by the creek, don't remember a single word I read to them from the bible, the truth is they all got up this morning and thanked me for sharing with them. That's the Gospel. That's the good news."
For some reason I guess my friend and I were supposed to listen to this guy that morning instead of being there for the first few minutes of church. It was good to be in the presence of someone speaking on my level.
He left us saying his name was Ghost. And if we ever encountered a Ghost, that we wouldn't have to be afraid anymore, because we had just met one and understood him.
more to come soon
the beginnings of a long journey
I returned to Colorado Springs about a week and-a-half ago after finishing my last few days in Seattle for a while.
I've decided to take a little bit of time away from "higher education" in order to further my education in another facet.
This is a potentially temporal step taken after having wrestled with a number of questions for quite some time now.
I've decided to take a break in light of having sought for direction from G-d in what my next steps should be. After having asked my self questions like "has my time here (in school) come to an end?" and "how do I be sure to live in light of what I believe G-d is calling me to, rather than what seems most natural?" I have come to an understanding of an uncanny peace in making this decision.
After having spent countless amounts of time in prayer with the community surrounding me I have found that this step is the best step for me to take, in my search for living in light of G-d's will.
I want to begin this blog by saying that I want to hold all of the steps and decisions in such a way as to acknowledge my fallibility and my ability to completely misunderstand what G-d is trying to tell me. Also I want to say that in my struggle to understand my place, I want to hold all of my decisions and steps in such a way that I leave room for G-d to use all of these steps to further His kingdom. This comes from the understanding that even when I take a step in the wrong direction, G-d has the ability to redeem even my smallest mistakes and short-comings.
Throughout the entirety of this blog I pray that all of my words and actions might be a reflection of where I have come in my attempts to "Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven."
thanks for taking the time to read this, and there will be more to come soon.
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