To my faithful readers, to explain why I have been so infrequent in my blogging: please click here.

Curua, Brazil

Grace, me, Debbie, and Hannah working in the cement...ahh...good times

Is There Anybody Out There?

Sometimes while I'm driving
Trying to find my song
Looking for the answers
And where I do belong
Finally the children are
Bringin' me back home

Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there
Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
Or are they deaf and dumb like me

Sometimes when I'm drivin'
Lookin' for my song
Lookin' for the answers
And where I do belong
Finally the children are
Bringin' me back home

Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there
Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
Or are they deaf and dumb like me

Sometimes when I'm drivin'
Still lookin' for my song
Lookin' for the answers
And where I do belong
Finally sweet Jesus is
Bringin' me back home

Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there
Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
Or are they deaf and dumb like me

Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody out there
Does anybody care
Are the people really there
Ooooooooh Ooooooooh Ooooooooh
Is there anybody seeking
Does anybody see
That he died upon a tree

~Burlap To Cashmere

Israelology

I'm reading a book by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum titled, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology.

It is very interesting. The definition of Israelology is:

A subdivision of Systematic Theology incorporating all theological doctrines concerning the people of Israel.

Basically it takes on both dispensationalism and covenant theology to look at the significance of Israelology.

Fruchtenbaum is very much into how Israelology relates to end times.

There are some subtle theological differences between his doctrinal worldview and mine which makes it a bit more interesting in studying this new "missing link" in systematic theology.

If any of you have some spare time (like I do...NOT!), pick this up, give it a gander, and see what I'm talking about.

Amazon River, Para, Brazil

Mmmm...














Beautiful, eh?

4 of my favorite things

Well, I've been tagged. Adam from Proclaiming the Sovereignty of God blog has tagged me to do the 4 things list. So, here goes.

THE 4 THINGS LIST

4 Jobs I've Had in My Life

Babysitting (informal; for families in my church)
Christian bookstore (formal; great experience)
Grocery shopping (formal; Shop-4-You, my own business)
Powerpoint person (formal; worship set for church)

4 Movies I Could Watch Many Times in a Row

Wild Hearts Can't be Broken
Emma
Pride and Prejuduce
Braveheart

4 Places I Have Lived

Yorba Linda, Orange County, CA
Corvallis, OR
???????, OR
Santarem, Brazil

1 TV Show I Like to Watch sometimes :)

Lost

4 Places I've Been on Vacation

Disneyland, CA
Brookings, OR
Alter Da Chao, Brazil
Washington DC

4 Websites I Visit Daily

www.juno.com
www.mtashland.com
www.weather.com
www.gmail.com

4 of My Favorite Foods

Mexican (Si Casa Flores, Casa Ramos, Senor Sams)
Italian (Olive Garden, home!)
Mongolian BBQ
Guacamole :)

4 Singers/Singing-Groups I Can't Live Without

Matt Redmen
Simon & Garfunkel
America
Caedmon's Call (good call, Adam)

4 Places I'd Rather be than Here

Cabasa Donca, Brazil
Jase's
Oceanside, CA (Grandma's)
Portador Da Luz, Amazon

4 People I'm Tagging

Jason (from All For His Glory)
Ana (from Singing Grace)
Brian (from Reformed Centurion)
Stephen (from ????????)

Kitten Cannon

Kitten Cannon

Who is the "Simon Cowel of evangelicalism?"

Calvinist Gadfly writer and musician, Steve Camp. Read more here.

It is my duty

Get your position here

We're going to the chapel...

While visiting The Master's College in Santa Clarita this past weekend, I listened to Dr. Varner speak in chapel. He is the first in line of some faculty doing a series on the Church. He introduced us to some major ways postmodernism is showing up in the Church today, the tensions which are in question, and the biblical metaphers patterned for us in the book of Ephesians.

Postmodernism in the Church:

• The ME Church
• The EM Church

There are tensions in Church life:

1. The tension between Contemporary and Traditional
2. The tension between Performance and Participation
3. The tension between Teaching and Exhortation
4. The tension between Honesty and Hypocracy

Three Metaphers for the Church in Ephesians:

• A Building (2:19-22)
• A Body (2:16; 3:6; 4:4; 4:12; 4:16)
• A Bride (5:25-32)

At one point during Dr. Varner's speech, he said this, "Accept everything that happens to you as good, because everything comes from God."

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dr. Varner both in chapel and in his Old Testament Survey class.

His Glory Fills the Sky

On the Arapiuns River, butterflies flutter by
They dance over the waters, and fill the sky
In the village of Sao Miguel, they radiate God's glory
They surround us as we listen, to the pastor's story

An illness left him paralyzed, for over a year
God humbled him and sent, an angel near
He touched the man's legs, and they were healed
Then a butterfly annointed him, and with the Spirit he was sealed

His glory fills the sky
His presence in this place (2x)

His glory fills the sky
May you receive God's grace

As a caterpillar is transformed, into a beautiful butterfly
We are reminded, of how You change our lives
Glory to Your name, for the work You've done
We pray that You will renew, more lives in the Amazon

His glory fills the sky
His presence in this place (2x)

His glory fills the sky
May you receive God's grace...

Found this prayer I wrote to God while going through my collection of theological articles.

March 25, 2003

"Oh Lord God, how great You are!
Your knowledge is immediate and simultaneous,
Your comprehension is always complete,
Your decree is simply one comprehensive plan, embracing all that comes to pass,
In this I rejoice!
You, God, have in Yourself all possible causes and results,
You chose what You wanted to bring to realization, and thus formed Your eternal purpose,
What is there that You do noot know?
Does anything surprise You?
No, there cannot be anything that comes to pass that You have not ordained.
To You be glory evermore, Amen."

(Much of this was inspired and taken from Berkhof's Systematic Theology; The Doctrine of God: The Divine Decrees in General, pg. 102)

After reading this, I picked up Berkhof and flipped through it. I forgot what it felt like to be immersed in such rich theological language. It is like getting high on God's glory. We should be intoxicated by it. It is always profitable to the soul to read on God's attributes.

Soli Deo Gloria

This is for you, Jason and Brian.

:)

It's huge!!! Very cool...thanks to whoever was so clever to leave this on my car. It will forever bring a smile to my face. Good times, good times...


:~)

This is worth my life, that is, the Gospel

It's becoming so clear for me. I know my purpose in life. I must go back to Brazil. It has been fuzzy for some time now. However, God has just been pounding it into my head and heart....Brazil is where God wants me. This is my fulfillment in life. This is not something I could have planned or wanted to. Honestly, when I first got back from my three-month stay on the Amazon, I wasn't sure if I could go back emotionally, and physically. Now, though, it is clear that I can't not go back. As I write this, my body is full of shivers. Not shallow shivers, but ones full of the realization of God's providence in ordaining all this to come to pass in my life. I posted a quote from John Piper a couple days ago. He said, "Do what is right, given what you can see to do, and let the chips fall where they will, and God will make a life for you and it will be wonderful." So, given what I see to do, this has got to be it. I don't know if I've felt this strongly about anything else before. While I was driving, God put these words into my head, "Find something worth dying for and start living for it." The truth of the Gospel is it. It is so worth dying for it, that it is what I want to live for. May God be merciful to me. May His will be done in my life. May I do His will only, not mine. Purge from me any selfish ambitions, Father!