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...

Somewhat of an update

It has been a long time since I have blogged. Maybe, there's not a lot going on, or maybe I just don't feel like sharing it or maybe, I'm just too lazy to write it all out... choose your verdict or create your own. :)

Currently, I am sitting by our kitchen on the bar stools, waiting for the wax to dry on my Blazer. The day has been spent doing many odd jobs around the house from cleaning to fixing to relaxing to waxing. It has been a nice day of tasks to accomplish.

By the way, for those of you who didn't make it to the presentation, it went pretty good. I got a lot of good feedback from people, so that is good. Afterward, I watched my dad's recording of it, and I was kind of bored watching the first part... what does that mean when I am bored watching my own presentation? Anyway, it went well and people seemed to enjoy it.

Thanksgiving... honestly... right now, I have many thoughts, but I need to get some wax off the Blazer. Stay tuned!

A Presentation

For those of you who are still reading, and who care and who can make it, I will be doing a presentation on my trip at 8:15ish P.M. in 1st CRC, Edgerton, MN. There will be pictures and stories and quite a bit of time for questions. Come and listen and think of questions!

Tim

Sunset, fear and faith

Today, it was cold. We worked in the snow and when we were driving home, the thermometer showed 24 degrees. It was a good day.
One wonderful thing about this time of year, is, as I have mentioned before, the ability to see the sun come up and the sun go down. Today, I was standing on the roof of a house watching the sun make it's last push to the horizon. The flames burned the sky, scorching clouds in reds and oranges. After cleaning up our tools and piling in the pickup, the drive home came. The sun, still in it's course below the horizon, continued to put on a show causing windmills and farmhouses to be silhouetted against it's dying brilliance. As I sat there, with the hum of the tires, the blowing warm air and the sound of country music in the background, I wondered how beauty like this could be orchestrated every day and yet not be the same as previous days. How could people believe it happens by accident? How could a world so steeped in brokenness, pain and destruction continually create breath-taking scenes? In my 3 months on the road this summer, I never stopped contemplating this point. Just in our small section of the world, there is unbelievable beauty, even in snow flakes gathering in the frozen mud of a farmplace.

Fear and Faith. This is another of many questions floating through the matter in my brain. I have heard many opinions about fear and faith and how the two fit together. My own opinions can only be based upon what I read in the Bible and what I have experienced in my own life. Some people will say that if you fear, then you have no faith, or at least, very little. I don't agree.

In the instances where God has asked me to do something, there is usually fear. This usually occurs because God asks me to do things outside my comfort zone and naturally, that produces fear in me. The times I obey, I feel like I was in the right, fear or not. To me, fear is something that makes me rely on God that much more because some of the things he has called me to do, there is no way I could have or would have ever done them. In this way, I know that it is only through God that I did those things. Otherwise, I could have made an argument that it was through MY will or MY power that I did them, but because of my fear, I know it was not I, but HIM.

Did David fear when he saw Goliath? Did Moses fear when he first stood before Pharoah? Did Elijah fear when he challenged the prophets of Baal on Mt. Caramel? Did Peter fear when imprisoned? Did Paul fear when he was being stoned?

I can't say for sure, but I know that they were all human, as we all are. Humans have fear and I believe it is something that drives us and makes us more reliant on God. We cannot deny something that is part of our makup as human beings. I will say this, as Christians, fear cannot be something that rules our lives, but it should be a motivator, a driving force to call on God, because when we do that, miracles happen, God works.

I get a picture of "Batman Begins." In the movie, Bruce Wayne is afraid of bats and there is a scene in the movie where he embraces that fear and chooses to push it on his enemies. He is in the soon to be "bat cave," and scares the bats with a light. The start fluttering and squealing and he falls to the ground in fear. But, he falls on what he has learned about himself and slowly begins to stand up in defiance and in absorbing his own fear. It is something he recognizes, acknowledges, and uses as a driving force to battle evil.

Maybe as James says "I'll show you my faith by what I do," I should say, "I'll show you my faith through my fear." Maybe that doesn't make sense. Heresy? Ah, there need to be a few heretics to liven things up... right?