George Harrison
well, one of the Beatles past away 5 years ago today,
talking to my sister Abbey helped me connect with her (even though it was shorter than I'd like)
and she and I talked about George's song My Sweet Lord and how there was a bit
of controversy with it sounding like another song.
Here's my short and sweet spiel about George;

George was a very good musician,
in his days as a Beatle and his solo career.
I love his music and while it has an Eastern religious flair to it,
I sing My Sweet Lord and Give me Love as if they were praise and worship songs.
I don't know your heart, God does,
but while you were here, you made good tunes.

(Feel free to download these songs by George Harrison)

Here comes the Sun

Something

My Sweet Lord

Give me Love (Give me Peace on Earth)


[n][v]

Okay, something short before I go back to doing homework...

Anyway;
Thanksgiving was spent with my mom and some relatives, we went to visit them in the town outside of Chicago known as Berwyn. Berwyn holds a little bit of my heart because this was the town my mom grew up, it was the town in which I would visit my grandparents (who lived in Berwyn before we took care of them in their later years) and I enjoyed going to visit my grandparents, especially my grandfather. He was a professional drummer and sometimes his friends/bandmates/etc. would come together and have little jam sessions, it was neat.
Going to Berwyn was nice, visiting my relatives was nice, them bickering and arguing about stupid crap...not so nice. I talked to my cousin Julie for a long time, ate some Thanksgiving dinner (limited for me the vegetarian) and watched An Inconvienient Truth with Al Gore as the main person in it, it was good, but it made me realize how screwed the world is if we don't start fixing this world...


Speaking of fixing,
God's been working, fixing and healing my heart these days, I am going to have to take it slow on several areas, and I know that by taking it slow I will be honoring God, honoring myself and honoring the other people involved. Simply put, I will take it s-l-o-w, though it is not in my nature to go at something slow (thankfully I am not a surgeon) and I am willing to go slow...

Where was I?

Oh yes...

The rest of my Thanksgiving break was good, though I did not spend as much time on my homework, this evening and possibly tomorrow (outside of the classroom), but I enjoyed the time with my mom.
I was home to visit the rest of the fam. sans Abbey (she was working), but I hung out and chilled+talked to my sisters Hannah and Charity; they're good, stressed and whatnot, but they were glad to be on a break and soon it'll be Christmas break (yet Finals must come prior...*sigh*).
Back to the homework, but to end this back-to-blogging blogpost, I want to say this:

Life is full of uncertainty,
Yet regardless of what life might throw at you, know that God is in control 100% of the time,
He's watching over you and He's watching over me,
and that makes life better... (In His hands, it's all in His hands)

[n][v]

This is just to say...

That the events of this evening were not how I planned,
The experience in itself is a new one to me,
The consequences of the evening are not in full sight,
The events may alter the lives of some people I know and have become friends with
The friendship will remain, but in some ways it might change

***

And through it all, God has all the pieces in His hands,
nothing has been lost in this night that can be fixed by God;
piece by piece, this could be a turning point in the lives of some people for the better.

Regardless,
it is all in God's hands.

[n][v]

What a good movie, and I got to see all of it to its entirety!

The movie is Missionary Positions and it was put out by www.xxxchurch.com - the number one Christian porn site! I own their shirt Jesus loves porn stars and I've heard good things about this movie via their website, so if you can view it, do it!

[n][v]

Staring into the mirror of self:

   I am not questioning God, nor myself, but sometimes I wonder... How much further do I have to go? I question myself in light of a shattered mirror...

source

   What can I say besides the fact that I am a fallen human being that gazes to Heaven calling out to his Father - out of desperation, out of total depravity, out of the many questions that I have...
   I am tired/wired, torn/worn, giving over and NOT giving up... I am not a completed work of art, but I am a progression, I am an Imago Dei, I have more worth than I realize, I am defined by who I am (a son of God) and not what I do...

I cannot rewind, so I must press forward,
I cannot change others, only God can do that,
I lack strength, but God gives me His and it sustains me,
I have no breath, only God's,
I have nothing... God is my all...

going on by God's strength alone - n:v

Young Life insights

My Young Life blogpost...

Hi!
To those of you who aided by giving me your ideas/insights to Young Life from a what do you like/what do you dislike perspective,
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Here's my thoughts about Young Life:

I have been involved with Young Life in the St. Charles IL area for a little more than a year. I am a college student who is pursuing a Youth Ministry degree at Judson College. Prior to coming to Judson I wasn't that interested in pursuing a Youth Ministry degree outside of the church, for my prior Youth Ministry experience was inside my home church involving middle schoolers, so when I came to Judson College I was rather certain that I'd pursue a church version of Youth Ministry because I knew what it looked like and I had a feel for it...

Two thoughts I had about Youth Ministry prior to Judson/Young Life:
1) Youth Ministry in a church setting is where the most amount of kids are reached
and
2) High Schoolers scare me! (ah, the naïveté I had!)

I did not grasp the holistic picture of Youth Ministry, that is, I saw ministry as a church thing and (perhaps in the back of my mind) I thought that is where it was solely based... Shortly before finding a place to call my Practicum for Youth Ministry I was challenged by a professor in the program (who has a 'little' experience in Young Life, little is the understatement of the hour.) who said in regards to practicums do something that makes you feel uncomfortable, something that you're not used to - and it really stuck! I mean, going from a church setting with middle schoolers to a parachurch setting with high schoolers... yeah, it's been quite a jump!
My good friend Jeremy was already involved with Young Life prior to going to Judson and he mentioned it to me, so I decided to 'try' it out... In all honesty, it was a bit overwhelming at first, especially since Young Life is a high school ministry (oh the horrors! ) and being in an environment that is not always controlled (compared to the church environment) was terrifying for the first, second and third time I was there.
Somewhere in this chaos and confusion and the question of where-am-I-going-to-do-my-Practicum I felt God calling, persisting, badgering me and guiding me towards Young Life. In my heart and mind I knew that I could either pull a Jonah and head off away from where I was being called to or give in to "the call" and make my way back to Young Life and make 'the best of it.'

Well, you know what?
I went back to Young Life (a duh moment, since I'm writing about it) and it wasn't a going-back-because-I-have-to, but a series of fortunate events that solidified my calling to parachurch Youth Ministry, which I was working with teens who are (gasp!) high schoolers!
I admit, it hasn't been all peaches and cream, and sometimes it has been downright painful on a mental/spiritual/etc. level. I have been tried and torn, I've be wearied and worn, I've felt the pain of others and being REAL and HONEST with my fellow leaders have made me sick of myself and I've wanted to just go to the door and walk away from the problems that bother me...

But I haven't left,
I'm an unfinished being,
I'm still here because of God.

---

Some thoughts I'd like to pass on Young Life leaders everywhere:

• May God bless you in your pursuit to be personal, real and intentional with high schoolers! It's a difficult job, but God has you (and them) and he can aid you on your journey.


• This job should not be treated as a job per se, it should be treated as a responsibility that should not be taken lightly; sure, have fun with your teens, but remember the WHY question in regards to the ministry of Young Life.


• Be yourself! Teens rather see&be with who you really are, not the super-hero-kind-of-leader/save-the-day-and-everyone person, but who you really are.


• Pray: Prayer is a very valuable asset and it is a thing that should not be a last resort method, but a first! From a personal perspective, I enjoy praying to my Father in Heaven, and there are times where the teens share some things that they'd like to have prayed for (though not always mentioned as such, but still...) and it's a good idea to pray for those things and follow up with the teens in regards to those prayer requests as they were.


• Read the Bible and seek Godly advice: This may seem like a duh statement, but sometimes even I get sidelined in these areas. I'm getting better at it, and it has been very beneficial to my life.


• For those you work along side with, be REAL with them! My site supervisor is amazing at doing this, even though at times he is in tears because it tears at his heart, I... I'm glad to be working underneath someone who is intimate to us leaders on such a level.
  

  ---

  
  
  
  I hope you who are reading this (whether you're involved with Young Life or not) enjoyed it; not for my honor and glory, but God's. Carry on the good work that is set before you and may God bless you richly.
  
  Going on by God's strength alone,
  Nathanael

Okay...So I'm kind of borrowing this idea from my friend Romanos, in which He (a Greek Orthodox) put together a synopsis of sorts of his patron saints name. I'm doing this because it it All Saints Day and instead of waiting till 'his day' (August 24th) of sorts, I've decided to do it because it is ASD. Enjoy!

Βαρθολομαίος = Bartholomew/Nathanael



From what I know about St. Nathanael, I don't know much besides what I've read in the Bible (so it's expanded via www.wikipedia.com)

Nathanael was one of Jesus' disciples, he was the one who questioned if the Messiah had really come, when his good friend Philip came to tell him the good news. When approaching Jesus, Jesus told Nathanael the scenario he was in prior to coming to him, this caused Nathanael to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and that the Messiah had come.
From Wikipedia: "Tradition has it that after the ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew.

Bartholomew, along with Saint Jude Thaddeus is reputed to have brought the new religion of Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Thus the Armenian Church is called the Armenian "Apostolic" Church, as both saints are considered to be the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

In works of art he is often represented with a large knife, or, as in Michelangelo's Last Judgment, with his own skin (Michaelangelo's) hanging over his arm, tradition holds that in Armenia he was flayed alive and then crucified with his head upside down. This fate has led to him being adopted as the patron saint of tanners."

Yes, the one who I share a name with suffered for the name of Christ, suffered in a very painful way. I don't know if I will ever suffer for the name of Christ in such a way, but if so, I am willing to suffer for what I believe as a follower of Christ. He who suffered for me before I knew him, before I was born, before the foundation of the world... I would be His.

n:v:-11/1/2006