at the gym...

Running on a treadmill at the gym is an interesting thing. Most people I see run on a treadmill do it as just a warm up for their workout - they run for 15 or 20 minutes just to get blood flowing and all. Since it's been so nice and warm here in San Diego lately :) , I've resorted to doing my daily run in the cool climate controlled YMCA. I love the warm weather of SoCal... I'm just not exactly adjusted to it after being in the cool of Siegen.

Ok, so back to the point. Most people run for 15, maybe 20 minutes, I'm doing my full hour +, which gets pretty boring on a treadmill. Thus the modern gym has installed TV's to watch with wonderful CC (thats closed captioning) to try to decipher while bobbling up and down on a running machine. While cruising along at about 7 miles/hour and getting nowhere, the television 12 feet in front of me caught my attention... Dr. Phil !

Dr. Phil was speaking with an unmarried couple who were living together, and therefore sleeping together. The guy was upset because his fiance, 20 year old Elisa, would feel 'dirty' and filled with guilt every time they had sex or just before, thus she just didn't want to do it any more. She basically said, "If I don't cry during, I usually cry afterward." I thought to myself, "I wonder what old Dr. Phil will say to this one," so I gave the reading of the captions slightly more of my attention for the next few minutes.

Phil's observation (and this is from his website) "You have what we call automatic thoughts. You've been programmed by powerful people in your life: parents, clergy, teachers, role-models, different people have programmed you with certain things."

The Doctor's orders!!!

"Elisa write those thoughts down, challenge them and then replace them with rational, accurate thoughts You are an adult now. You get to choose what you think, feel, believe and value. You gave your power away to people in your past. They're not here anymore, but yet they're running your relationship because they programmed you. It's like you've been brainwashed so you have to deprogram yourself." (italics and bold; mine)

Phil recommends she give herself the "Litmus Test for Logic" - There are 4 questions she should ask herself about her guilty thoughts: Is it a true fact? Does it serve her best interest? Does it protect and prolong her health? Does it get her what she wants?

OR ~ maybe Elisa should consider that what her parents and clergy taught her about premarital sex is right and that the guilt she is feeling is the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Hello Again

It has been a couple of weeks since I have written here ~ sorry I've been so absent of recent. For some reason it has been more difficult to write on my blog every day. Weird because it really is not a hard thing to update - I mean that is very much the point of a blog (the ease of updates). So, I'm without any real excuse, which is probably a good thing, I try to keep my excuses to a minimum.

I've been teaching Monday nights at a home bible-study and working a few nights a week at our Coffee Shop... The rest of the time has been spent with friends, family and reading in my office at the church. Over the next couple of weeks though, things are going to begin to pickup into a little bit more of a focused and purposeful schedule, I think the change will be good --> maybe it will help me to be a bit more focused with my website too.

Home Study

Last evening I taught at a home fellowship that some of the members of our church have each week... it was the first opportunity I have had to teach since I returned to the states, and (for myself anyway) it was a blessing. I guess they were at least a little blessed too, cause the leader of the fellowship asked me to continue teaching it for the next month.

I am beginning to feel as though I have a purpose again here at home, which is very good, for I have always felt a strong need for purpose in what I am doing. It is also interesting to see the little oppositions and obstacles that popup along the way. I guess, if anything, such hinderances are proof that I am on the right path (at least they are to me).

My family, although going through difficult trails, are doing very well. I think maybe they wouldn't say so, but from what I've observed I see the Lord doing good things, thus His work is my barometer.

I guess I do not really have a whole lot to say, but I wanted to at the very least to fill you (anyone reading this) in on the happenings of my little world ~ all-in-all... God is Good!

Sheep

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - First one sheep jumped to its death. Then Stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 other followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.

In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, which ironically cushioned the fall of the other 1,110 sheep.

I have always wondered if such stories (often spoken of from the pulpit) were really true... I guess sheep truly are dumb.

His Place

I 'officially' started working at our church coffee shop (His Place) tonight. I've helped out there on and off since they opened, but it is different actually having somewhat of a job there. It is kind of nice actually having a 'productive' job where you feel like you are really doing something ~ at the same time it is tiring.

Anyway, I wanted to post something up here cause I feel as though I have been falling behind on my site. I am enjoying being back home in the States, but I am so much more busy all of a sudden. God is definitely doing some cool things and I am beginning to feel as though I am getting in step with what is going on around here.

I went through a lot of pictures today from the last year in Germany (and traveling around Europe). I picked about a hundred that I really like, so I'll have some of them up on here in the next several days. One of my second moms has told me that I should sell some of my work :) ~ anyone looking to buy some art??? ;)

Gifts & Callings

I found the quote (posted below) from Zacharias to be an interesting one, especially as you consider (sadly) the many people who begin the race with the Lord so very well, but ultimately fall by the wayside. Such is sometimes the case in ministry as well; a person is brought up quickly as a result of their call and or gifts, but in time they focus upon their giftedness thinking that they are in fact the gift.

Gifts and callings are both of God, but we err when we begin to think that the gift is of us and the calling from God a result of our gift. The scriptures tell us that we are "God's workmanship created for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) We have been specifically gifted by God to do good works, which He specifically prepared for us before the world began that we should fulfill them.

I know for me there was a time when I became focused upon my gift as a teacher, but lost sight of my calling to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. I think, perhaps Moses, before his 40 year exile in Midian, became enamored with his giftedness. He lost sight of his calling until he again met the Lord at the burning bush, where he would confess, "Who am I that I should go... and that I should bring forth the children of Israel?" (Exodus 3:11) After the brokenness of the desert Moses had lost sight of the gift, although it was there, and now only saw the calling in the light of himself.

a thought to ponder...

"A lot of people go into the ministry with the combination of the gift and the calling, and it doesn't take long till they forget their calling and get all enamored with the gift."

- Ravi Zacharias

What are your thoughts? Click "comments" and talk back...

* enamored: to be in love with.

Jr. High

I taught the Jr. High group at my church today for the first time in a long time ~ it was strange to be back there, but I enjoyed it. It is amazing to me that it has been more than 2 years since I taught our youth group here at Escondido. I taught on the character traits of a Christian out of Colossians 3, a message that turned out about 500x better than I had expected :) It sure is nice to be able to just rely on the Lord and His word.

Tisha B'Av

I was looking around the new PodCast section of iTunes yesterday and found this Jewish radio program, so I thought I'd listen to it. The broadcaster was talking about the 12 spies of Numbers 13 and made mention of Tisha B'Av or the 9th day of Av on the Jewish calendar, which is the "Saddest day in Israel." After listening to the guy's take on it I did a little research of my own... it's a pretty interesting day.

From what I have found by just a little google search the 9th of Av was the day the 10 spies delivered their discouraging report. The end of that day is recorded for us in Numbers 14:1...

"And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night."

- Numbers 14:1

That night they mourned for lack of faith... A few of the sites I researched went on to say of this day, "Ever since God has given the nation of Israel a real reason to mourn in correction of this lack of faith." Truly the 9th of Av would prove to be the saddest day for Israel, for on this day would the first and the second Temples be destroyed (586 BC by the Babylonians and AD 70 by the Romans), then on the 9th of Av in 1492 the Jews would be expelled from Spain. Latter in the 1800's the Pogroms against the Jews in Russia began on the 9th of Av. World War I and II also occurred on this momentous day.

Pretty interesting how God singles out specific dates... equally as interesting, one of the Jewish sites I found says,

"In the future this day of mourning will completely turn into a day of rejoicing as the true Moshiach (Messiah) will be born on this day removing the yoke of the nations around us."

Very interesting...

Oh wait, maybe one more little interesting thought. Tisha B'Av falls on August 14th this year. Will something sad happen in Isreal on that day? Well, as it stands right now 9,000 Jewish settlers will have to begin leaving their homes in the Gaza Strip on August 14th of this year. What could be more sad than being expelled from your home in your own country?