Prison and the working of Jesus

It is way too late and I am actually kind of sick, so I should be sleeping, but I wanted to blog a few thoughts.

This Friday, I went to the Sioux Falls State Penitentiary. There are some amazing things happening there and since I started going, it has been quite a changing experience. There are several guys that I know quite well by this point. One of them, was diagnosed with a heart condition where there is nothing doctors can do and they give him a couple months to live. He has become a leader in this church and continues to teach lessons there, which is awesome, yet he is very alone and yearns for companionship. His story really is amazing from where he was to where he is now and now what he has to face.

Another man, told me that he woke up earlier this week and said "coming to prison has been the best thing that happened to me." I have heard that a lot from several inmates because in that prison is where they found Christ. There are some great stories to here.

Now, there are a lot of problems with the prison system and they definitely don't do what most "conservatives" hope they do which is to deter people from crimes. That's a crock. But, they are places where an amazing missionary opportunity presents itself and a few brave Christians have gone there to start these types of things. Praise Jesus that he can be found behind prison walls!!

Yet, why is it that so many of these men were turned off to the church? Why didn't they find Jesus in our churches or more importantly, why didn't they find Jesus in our Christians? Don't look at that person on the other side of the aisle or in that other church, look at yourself. I have to look myself in the mirror every day and ask, could someone see Jesus in me every moment of every day or do I do things that turn people off towards Jesus.

Babysitting

This week, I am babysitting a dog, much like the one above. Today, I went out to feed him and was greeted at the door by a sniffing nose, longing eyes and a wagging rear end. He sniffed me to make sure I was safe and then wanted to go out to make sure that his territory was still marked. After attempting to mark my Blazer, he made his way to the tree and then back to me seeking attention. The whole time I was there, all the dog wanted was for me to pet him. He snuggled against my leg and shoved his nose into my coat wanting attention. As I stood by the door preparing to leave, he stood a couple feet back, looking at me with those sad brown eyes: no movement from the tail. Nothing like feeling loved.

As I sat petting the dog, I thought about Christmas and said to him, "Jesus came for you too." Does that sound weird? But he did. Sure, Christ came in a special way for humans because we were the ones who launched all of creation into death and decay and because we were also the ones set above creation to serve it and oversee it, but, he still did come for all of it. Often I think of Christ only coming to free me from my bondage to sin, but in reality, he came to free all of creation from it's bondage to decay. Tomorrow is a day of rejoicing for every created thing. All of creation, not just humans, will rejoice at the birth of the King!!

Fishing

Winter, despite the date, has officially set in. Saturday was a beautiful day and I took advantage, going ice fishing for the first time of the year. The motorcycles and swimming suits were put away and the short rods, heaters and augers were cleaned off and prepared. Sitting on the ice reminded me of how relaxing ice fishing is: no hammers, no music, no voices. It was a beautiful day of about 35 degrees and I didn't even use and ice house. A 5 gallon bucket to sit on was just fine and even though I was only out there an hour, I returned relaxed.

This weekend also held a trip with friends to Sioux Falls to see "Quantum of Solice," which, surprising enough, I found a very good movie. There was a lot more going on, like defining Bonds character, than you usualy Bond movie. I enjoyed it.

Saturday night, the weather made a turn for the worse. The wind blew about 30 mph and the temp dropped. Today, we are not working because it is supposed to be a high of -5 degrees with 20-30 mph winds, making the wind chill somewhere between -30 and -40. Not good when you are working outside. So, today, relaxation as well as getting some other things done.

God bless you all!

Tim

Saturday...

Saturday,
There is something beautiful about having a day where I don't have anything I NEED to do. Sure, there are plenty of things to get done and many of them do get done, but there is no schedule. It is something where I am not bound to the clock and where I can get things done in the time that it takes and not have to worry about it. I'm very thankful for Saturdays.

I made my first payments on my college loans. yay.

Tomorrow, I have to lead a lesson for the young people in my church. Hopefully, that goes well. The topic is going to be on getting out of our comfort zones and evangelism and what that means. We'll see what happens.

I was kind of down last night. Today, I was going to start my flying lessons. My words can't describe how excited I was to get started. Finally, after all these years, I am going to start the thing I wanted to do ever since I could remember! But, after work, I checked my email and was notified that today was not going to work... the excitement fell from my limbs. I have to wait another week? (sigh) Ok, I guess.

This week, we have been working about half an hour a way from home. On the way to and from work, we cross over I-90 and one day, I looked down at the cars running back and forth along the veins of the country and the trip was brought back to me. I do miss the feeling of the open road. I miss the wind, the destination and the trip: the smells, sights and sounds. My sight caught the horizon to the east and I thought of Boston and the Atlantic coast and then my gaze followed the asfalt to the west, and visions of the mountains and a sunset over the Pacific Ocean flooded into my memory.

Along with that, I "winterized" the Goldwing this week, at least partially. It hadn't run in almost 2 months, so I wanted to start it, warm the engine up and run some seafoam through it. After some messing around, exchanging batteries and jumpstarting, the engine fired. A cloud of blue smoke rolled out the tail pipes and then she purred like a kitten. Sound has a funny was of bringing back memories. Hearing that engine was like interacting with a friend you hadn't seen in years. The same familiar pur I had heard every day for 3 months and the life of the beast that had carried me around the country, now sprung through my ears once again. My eyes closed and I saw the mountains, winding roads, the ocean and deserts. The same smells, sights and sounds came to my ears as the sight of I-90. Off in the distance, the soft clanging of a buoy bell, bouncing on the ocean, could be heard over the slow crash of the waves...