Getting a Head

Do you ever wonder what people mean when they say “I’m just trying to get a little ahead.”

What are they trying to get ahead of? debt collectors? neighbors? themselves?

What if “getting ahead” looked more like giving than getting? Economically speaking, when resources are shared rather than horded everybody has a net gain. Everyone becomes richer when they share what they have. Perhaps this is why the first “church” was able to grow so well. The resources of the people were given freely and were not bound to individuals in the church as they are today. Perhaps I could get a head rather than get ahead.

The House of Power

Lately I’ve been pondering the things of God and Christ centered relationship with him. I heard a song lyric where they were saying something about the father living in them. I had to take a second to think about this idea because it sounded like possession which is not cool. In my thoughts I discovered that God isn’t interested in possession at all as a demon spirit would be. Rather, he simply wants to take up residence within us much like you would a house. The Bible tells us about the journey that God took to get to where he could live in us.

In the beginning, after God created man, God walked with us. He was beside us and spoke directly to us. Then, man sinned (aka. disobeying God) and God could no long be in the same place as man. In fact, he was too holy and man would perish by being in his presence. When God made his next major move into the world, he picked a small race of people to call his own and instructed them to make for him a temple. Within this temple he had them construct several barriers with each zone or space closer to him being more and more holy. Finally there was the inner sanctum, the Holy of Holies in which God dwelt directly. This place was filled with such immense power that only the highest priest could enter and only once a year at that. Not only was he limited to once a year but he also had to undergo strict cleansing rituals beforehand and have a rope tied to him before he entered the holiest place. This rope was only there because sometimes the chief priest wasn’t cleansed properly and because of this God’s presence overtook him and he died because of the immensity of God’s own power. If the priest died in the inner sanctum then he was dragged out by the rope.

During my puzzling about God, I realized that this holy place is no longer a physical place we can go to visit but more likely it exists within us. This house of power is in our bodies. We who have been chosen are now the dwelling place of a great deity and are thus houses of power. My only question is how can I find this place within myself where I know that God exists in all his holiness. After I find it, can I enter in?

Hiking to the Pinnacle

I should probably include photos some time on this site…

This last weekend I got some man time with a 4 hour trip up a mountain. My buddy Mike and I decided we needed a good spring workout and some outdoor time so we headed up to Table Rock St. Park and treaded on their Pinnacle Mountain Trail. This is a moderate to very difficult trail but also very beautiful and even more awesome if you go when the water is in flood stage. We went about 5 hours after a storm passed and the little streams formed by the draining mountaintop added a bunch of waterfalls to our trail and plenty of opportunity to get wet.

The trail was moderately hard for the first 2.5 miles. It also happened to be the most beautiful overall stretch of the trail. The following 1.5 miles took us up a great portion of the mountain with rather steep trails and mostly limited views. Plus, all the waterfalls were behind us so the peaceful sound of rushing water was long gone. Around 3.8 miles into the hike we broke out onto one of the many rock faces and got to see one of the most spectacular views of South Carolina. Most of the states is rather flat and gently slopes down to the ocean across the expanse from the blue ridge down to the beach. With the exception of the few river valleys the main altitude shifts occur in the upstate. We could see so many of these from the rock face! and the edge was dizzying as you looked over into the dazzling green forests coming fresh to life after a hard winter.

 

Just past this point the trail rises slightly and remains flat for about a quarter of a mile until you come to the place where the palmetto trail and the Pinnacle Mountain trail split. It’s also the point at which you begin to consider turning back. There’s still 2 tenths of a mile left and the only direction is up. I decided that I had come too far to back out so I took a slow pace up that last portion resting frequently and even crawling at a few places  (I know it sounds pitiful, give me a break, I’ve been inside all winter) but gradually I made it to the top and claimed victory over Pinnacle Mountain.

The hike down was a breeze compared to the hike up and we flew through that portion. Then we jumped into my trusty Escape and drove home to a fresh cooked meal (Thanks Nicole, Chels, and Abby) of fish, salad, shrimp pasta, hummus and pita, oranges, and chicken.

Days like make you realize how wonderful it is to have friends in your life that care about you and want to live it with you.

Powerless

A wave of severe storms came across the southeastern US all the way up into DC. Weather.com had it up as a huge banner on their website for the last few days as a “huge multiday storm event.” I don’t know the extent of the damage but power has been lost here for a couple of hours. The awesome thing is that the fridge was still cold and the hot water was still hot. I got to take a nice, although quick, shower and I’m drinking the last of my milk so it doesn’t go bad. You pay a lot for organic cow milk.

Anyway, I was sitting here thinking and I said to God, “you know, you’ve given us a lot of nice stuff. Too bad none of it works when there’s no Juice going to it.” And it’s true, I’m typing on my laptop only because I remembered to charge it up a couple days ago. Other than this post, I can think of little to do with it since our internet is down. We really do run on electricity and are entirely dependent upon it. Has electricity become our God? It is the invisible hand that makes things work and most of us don’t even think twice about it. Perhaps I ought to spend a few more nights without the use of electricity and see what those are like. It may be that I could get used to not having it, just like the peoples of about 200 years ago. Anyway, I will continue praying to El Roi, The God Who Hears Me; to Emanuel, God with us; YHWH, a god so great and mighty that a whole people won’t even say his name out of deferent fear.  This is a god that I can trust in, one who isn’t taken out by a passing wind or a bolt of lightning, but the one who created the wind and the lightning and made electricity available to us. I will pray to the God who has seen my sin and knows my disgrace but sent his son to claim those from me so that I may enter his house.

I once heard it said that when we “get saved” it’s not that we suddenly become better but that Christ gets worse. I was a little confused by this so they went on to explain that Christ “bore our sins” on the Cross. He also pointed out that the bible says, “Anyone hung from a tree is surely cursed.” So, when Christ saves me, he literally takes my sin upon himself and becomes a curse while I become clean. What God would do such a thing? I must follow him, to the ends of the earth if I have to.

Sirens are going off in the distance, it seems that someone has gone and hurt themselves in this lack of electricity. I will pray for them too.

Life of an intern

This is probably the worst part of the day. It happens everyday.

You know you want to leave and go do something important with your time. You know, something like read a book, put together your classes for next semester, make dinner, talk on the phone… All seem to be much more inviting that whatever it is that you’re doing now. This time I’m talking about is the part of the day when you have one or two things left and you have to wait on someone else to get done with what they are doing before you can get to it.

Today, I sit here waiting to use the cutting table. Everyone else from the office is gone except for one other guy. Of course he’s using the table…

Nevertheless, I must wait and do my job before going home.

Now my thoughts move toward what I could or should be doing with this time. I could be playing on the internet or reading the bible and praying. Instead, I write to you. I want you to know that despite the troubles of your day, or the world around you, there’s always hope for the future. There’s always the stillness of time when you know that God is with you and you can feel at home with Him.

As for me and the rest of my day, I will persevere in waiting. Perhaps I can learn from this event. I recall a certain passage in scripture that states, “Be still and wait upon the Lord,” and a second like it, “Be still and know that I am God.” Perhaps if I can patiently wait for work, I can learn to patiently wait upon the Lord. Maybe I will even be able to find that stillness within all the hustle of the world and work and people. Were it possible to find it though, would I be so willing to take hold of it and enter in?

Thoughts of an intern as he waits for his time to leave the office.

What to do on a night like tonight?

I’ve come home after a long day of making displays and realize it’s friday and I’m not going to clemson for the weekend. What am I going to do?

As it turns out Keith and his friends are out to dinner and off to see a movie. He invite us as well. I had just eaten and was planning on spending very little money this weekend so naturally I skipped out on both. Dave and Sarina are going to go to the movie so I’ve decided to spend my evening working out, learning scales on my uke, and reading. With 2 of the 3 accomplished and a lot of night left, I’m going to make my first steps toward mastering the otherwise ignored and made fun of instrument known as the ukulele. With a trusty tuner and a book of scales I’m bound to learn something when I get to it.

I miss Nicole and will be missing her for the next week. I can’t wait for the coming weekend when we get to see eachother again and we can go outside and enjoy some warmer weather 🙂 I’m thinking Chacos

What time is it?

I woke up this morning to the most unusual sensation. It was like the vibration from a phone except it was in the middle of my bed. My phone was neither in the middle of my bed nor was it on vibrate. As I was pondering this, I reached out grabbed my phone and noticed that it was 6:48. That’s 48 minutes later than I had planned to wake up!

I jumped out of bed, into the shower and made it back out and done in 9 minutes.

Today, I think I will go to work. This sounds like a good plan

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
———

I’ve been reading through the psalms lately for the first time just to see what can be seen and hear what praises were lifted to God in the old days. Psalm 63 has blessed me because David did not simply sit at home and wait for God to come to him. He went out into the desert, the wilderness, and waited upon the Lord there where nothing could fulfill him but the Lord. I long to take a similar trip into the wilderness to seek the Lord. Soon I will spend a short period of time in the wilderness here which is abundant with water and meat but also with dangerous beasts, poisonous plants, and potentially undrinkable water.

My desire is to meet with God and to think about him day and night. May this be my prayer and my action.

What is the place?!

I’m looking for a place to drop tidbits of my life, especially the fun adventures I undertake or have already travel.

1) I love the outdoors

2) I’m almost never entirely prepared for what I do, but it still gets done

3) The wilderness has a way of bringing people closer to people and people closer to God

4) I love the outdoors

Most of the adventures I post will not be specifically about the great outdoors but more about life as I travel through it.