A Change in Seasons

The seasons have been steadily changing. Here's a few pictures.

A Sunset captured from my apartment

Flying last week

And, this past week, snow came streaming down. Winter is here.

Flying

Well, as most of you know, winter has set in here. Ice is forming on the lakes and rivers, touches of snow glisten the ground and cold winds keep people indoors under blankets. It's a time of year that is bitter sweet to me as I have to put my motorcycle away for the year, but I can also look forward to ice fishing. Bittersweet.

Today, though, tempteratures are supposed to be up and the wind down, so I am going to take the opportunity and do a little flying and see God's creation from the air once again.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Tim

Paintings from above

Tonight I grilled. As I was doing so, the sun was setting and I am not going to begin trying to describe what it looked like because my descriptions would be completely inadequate. Let's just say that it was a sunset, not altogether uncommon, but one that brought out all colors of the spectrum, mixed in with streaks of light shimmering through clouds at different intervals. For any of you who take the time to watch sunsets (or sunrises for that matter), they are like paintings forever changing at any given second. One moment, they spread one collage of color down and a few seconds later, everything has shifted. As I watched the colors change, something hit me... I am the only one on planet earth seeing this exact sunset. Everyone might be looking at the same sun and maybe even the same clouds, but the angles are all different. For some, the sun sits lower in the sky, for some, higher. The clouds may be different shapes and the colors may be brighter or dimmer.

I am the only one on the entire planet seeing this sunset...

To go another step, God specifically created this sunset for me to watch and enjoy. He also created another sunset for someone else to watch and enjoy. The same sun, the same clouds (possibly), but a completely different result. Interesting.

Bring forth The Kingdom!!

The past couple weeks have given me some good thoughts to reflect on. Many of them have been about how God advances His kingdom in this world. I've seen 2 examples of this lately that made that picture more clear.

One person was a guy named Nic. I saw him on TV and he is a man with no arms and no legs, yet he can stand up and move around using twisting motions of his torso. The only time he does this though is when he is speaking to groups of people. Nic travels the world, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, telling his story of hope and waiting on God.

The other example in Brian “Head” Welch. Formerly the lead guitar for the almost satanic group, “Korn”, Welch was into the rock and roll life of drugs, alcohol, parties not to mention, being addicted to meth. Yet, Welch found himself searching and, long story short, he found Jesus. Since, he quit Korn, kicked drugs (cold turkey) and has been pursuing a solo career, writing “metal” songs about God, forgiveness and love instead of drugs and sex. God is using him to do some powerful things in an arena most of our churches could never reach.

The way of the world is to find a charismatic, fine-looking leader; one who is big and strong and knows all the right answers. We flock after people who can talk their way out of any jam and who hold power, but in God's kingdom he uses a man with no limbs and the last man I would have expected to see come to Christ. Why? Because it doesn't make sense. Nothing human can explain it! God can use whoever, whenever and often, he uses the last people we expect to bring forth his kingdom.

To you “last people,” weak, burdened, broken and hurting... shine on! God has big things for you!

Burning the Koran

Today, I saw a news report that tore the heart from my chest. The past few days, on the news, there has been a story about a pastor from Florida who is planning on burning copies of the Koran on September 11 to prove some kind of point to extreme Islam. This man claims to be a Christian. Now the good thing, from my perspective, is how different church faces, such as the pope and Franklin Graham have publicly denounced what this pastor is doing. Yet, the fact still remains is that a man that claims to be Christian is doing something so anti-Christ. What does he hope to accomplish?

The other thing that made me happy and yet extremely sad was how an Islamic church leader, went over to this man to offer him some explanations and support. He reached out to this “Christian extremist” in order to diffuse the situation. Thanks be to God for that! Yet, it makes me so angry because he is doing exactly what Christians should have been doing all along, ever since 9/11/01.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom. 12:21

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Proverbs 25:21-22

Why haven't the Christians stood up and embraced Muslims, especially those who live right next door? Where has the power of the gospel gone that one “Christian” man wants to repay evil with evil and where a Muslim embraces him in the love, fulfilling the very mandates in our own Bible? Stand up, Christians! Bring the Love of Christ to the world!

To you Muslims and others who have been hurt by Christians, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for “Christians” like this preacher from Florida. Our king, Jesus the Christ, does not teach what this man teaches. Jesus teaches a love that is so deep and so wide, we can't even express it in human words. The two passages above are a glimpse of what Jesus taught.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned.” John 3:14-18

Jesus, God's only Son, loved us so much, that he took all our sins, placed them on his shoulders, and became a sacrifice of atonement for everyone who believe in him. That is the love that Christians are supposed to be showing. We are supposed to give our very lives, in order to save our brothers and sisters around us.

Again, to those of you who have been hurt by the church and Christians, I apologize. Please forgive us.

Summer storms

Friday night, we had an incredible storm that knocked out the power. Here's a few pictures of the storm and having fun with a candle. I'll try post a video later...

Rolling Thunder

This past week, powerful thunderstorms flowed through our area. Many produced large amounts of rain, some hail, strong winds, dangerous lightening and some damaging tornadoes. One of those nights was Saturday night. That evening, some friends and I went and had supper for one of our friends birthday. While we enjoyed each others company, one of these storms roared through. Trees bent to the ground, their roots attempting to hold them down. Rain pelted the windows as if flowed through the sky in sheets, quickly forming rivers in place of streets. Deafening thunder and lightening powered its way through the sky. We hung tight until the storm had subsided.

After the evening of fun, we drove home. At this point, the storm that has passed over us several hours earlier was off to the southeast and as we drove, lightening could still be seen, flashing through the clouds, maybe a hundred miles away. With every flash, we could see the cauliflower shape of the clouds as they towered above the earth. Experiencing the storms the past weeks and watching that light show got me thinking about how amazing God is. Just think about the amount of power in those storms. Lightening flashes hold thousands of joules of energy that man would love to replicate, but we can't. All we can do is imitate God's power. God created lightening, we make electricity by burning fossil fuels. God made the sun, a self-sufficient source, and moon for light. We made light bulbs. All we can really do is try to imitate the things that God has already created for us.

Setting all the damage and loss of life aside, part of me thinks that God brings those thunderstorms to say, “Look, I'm God. You still can't do this! Try as you might, you can't even come close to making what I have already made.”

To A Land Up North, Eh?

Well, the rubber will be hitting the road, once again in a short while. The road before me is a long one and at the other end lies the celebration of a friends wedding. The wedding is in Alberta, Canada so it will be quite a drive (1,300 miles one way, roughly) and should be a good time. Really, at this point, I don't have a lot to say about it except that I am excited to see some college friends again and I am excited to do a little more travelling to places I've never been before.
Peace.

Lake Michigan

It has been quite some time since I have blogged. That seems to be a regular theme. It's not that I'm neglecting the blog, it's just the fact that not a whole lot of interesting things happen in my life and, on top of that, often I don't have much to say. There are far wiser words to read. Maybe sometime in the future, there will be more interesting times to write about, but, who knows?

This past weekend, I went on a “short” trek out to Calvin Sem and Chicago to visit friends. Maybe “short” isn't the right word. “Quick” would be a better word. My parents asked if they could ride along, since they have relatives and friends out there to visit so I said, “sure” and welcomed the company.

Overall, it was a great trip filled with good conversations, frisbee, hiking, food, baseball, bags, trains, movies and many miles. The basic overview of the trip had us leaving at 5:30, Thursday morning and driving all the way to Grand Rapids, Michigan, staying there through Friday, then driving back to Chicago Saturday morning and then home on Sunday. All in all a great trip filled with great friends.

For those of you wondering, No, I'm not going to seminary.

Yearning for a Call

Have you ever been waiting for a phone call or a letter or an email? Have you ever been waiting and yearning for someone to come and talk with you? Maybe you've waited for a call from that special someone or from the doctor. In waiting, maybe you wondered, “do they even like me anymore? What did I say to tick them off? Why don't they call me and talk with me?”

This subject was in my mind tonight and for devotions, I read Amos. Amos is a book with some very strong language, both positive and negative. But, the parts that got me were the parts where God called out for Israel to “Seek the Lord and live... yet you have not returned to me.” There is a deep yearning by God for the love of his people. He wants their (our) hearts to call out to him so bad, it is indescribable. Imagine a Father, looking at his rebellious, sinful, dirty son. The father has outstretched arms and tears in his eyes and he says, “Come to me. My strong arms will love and uphold you. Come to me and live.” A tear slowly rolls down his cheek as the son turns his head to the side, still not willing to give in to the father's love. So often, I am that son.

Spring

By my calender, spring is now here. Today, the weather rose to beautiful clarity and temperatures. With that, my motorcycle made it's exit from the garage making it officially spring in my book. The time has come to put the ice fishing supplies away and enjoy the wind and the smells of the open road.

By no means was it hot today, but with a coat and some gloves, riding was very comfortable. Riding the roads of Minnesota with snow melting in the ditches and flocks of geese cruising overhead calmed me. Not that I was uptight or stressed, but feeling the wind, hearing the engine and singing on the road possess a way of relaxing me. In the cool air, I traveled about 50 miles, more than I planned, but something that felt great.

Upon arriving home, I noticed more signs of spring. Kids played outside, adults walked along the streets and birds chirped in the trees. I love winter, but spring brings great joy as temperatures rise and snow melts. To spring!

Olympics!!!

A little while back, I had the honor of attending the Olympics games in Vancouver, British Columbia. All in all, it was an awesome experience and the only way it could have been better would have been to stay another week. Here's some pictures and a link to some more pictures! Enjoy!

Oh Yeah!

Snow falls lightly outside blanketing everything in a fresh, clean layer. Large flakes flutter slowly towards the earth in a peaceful, quiet manner uncommon to this area of the world. Watching the scene quiets the soul and soothes muscles.
A Root Beer sits next to me, sizzling slightly as my brain slowly covers all the items needed for the trip. Come morning, my Blazer will carry me to the airport where an airplane will take me to Seattle and eventually, the Olympics in Vancouver.
I love the Olympics. They rise above the self glorification seen in the NBA and NFL to a celebration of the human capability, rising on a world stage. There is national pride and yet, even bigger, world pride.
In a few short hours, I will be enjoying the atmosphere of friends and the worlds greatest games!

Ice Fishing

A few pictures from the annual fishing trip... I'll maybe write some "literature" about the trip later...

Setting up to fish

Sunrise 3rd day

Sunrise 2nd day

Nearing sunset 1st day

Perch caught 3rd day