the house of uncomfortable seating

I've been hanging out at a friends house a little more lately just for some variety in my unemployment. I have to say that I have discovered the house in south Minneapolis with the most uncomfortable seating. Anyway, it keeps me moving on which might actually assist in me accomplishing more. Thanks for your support.

Freed or Impeded

I’m looking at my calendar for the week or even the coming weeks and I have very little on it. It’s great to have discretionary time that I can use as I please. And don’t get me wrong; I have a million things to get done. I have tons of projects I would like to get done things around the house (that I’m not in) and things for others. I need to get some medical things taken care of before I go; shots, etc. There’s also packing and support raising and so on. But now I have no set schedule for getting to them, I have to make the schedule. It’s an odd feeling of being able to really feel free from everything and at the same time it seems harder to actually get anything done. I might say I am more productive when having to fit things around a work schedule for example. It’s just one more way of feeling like I’m floating.

Weather Follow-up

Today the weather evened out. It’s just 3 degrees difference in the projected high and the forecast looks to be the same for both, sunny with a chance of rain.

Weather Watching

For the past few weeks I have been looking at the temps in Nairobi and Minneapolis and comparing the two. Last week or before we started this cool streak here in Minneapolis it was consistently warmer here than in Nairobi. They must have been still getting the rain there and that was cooling it down in that part of East Africa.

I found it mildly comical that Nairobi should be in the low 70's While we were in the upper 80's or even 90. Now they have reversed in just a week's time. Wednesday's forecast for MPS is 66 and NBO is 86. That seems more normal for both places.

Giving Thanks

Wow things are moving along. Today is my first "free" day in a while and so I'm cooking a turkey. It's not that I love turkey so much that I need to make one whenever I'm free. It's not that you can't get turkeys in Kenya. It's not that the weather here in Minneapolis has finally turned a little cooler (which it has). It's just that I moved out of my house last weekend and there was a turkey in the freezer that didn't fit in the freezer where I'm staying.

But the task of cooking a turkey is a good reminder of everything that goes with Thanksgiving. It's given me pause to reflect that I am thankful for everything moving along in the preparations for going to Kenya. My support is creeping upwards, I have the best renters I could have imagined for my house... God is good, even when transition can be challenging.

I'm thankful.

Floating

There is an odd place you get to when in an international transition. I describe it as a floating feeling. Maybe it only happens to the sentimental types, or maybe it’s just me. I know it has happened in past transitions. I love being a part of community. I function best with some semblance of routine. But here I am floating. I have a job for only a short time more. I am mostly out of my house and another family lives there. I have no real responsibility to anyone. Sure I make it church and small group, but I am not grounded to anything or anyone right now and it’s an uncomfortable feeling of disconnection with everything that matters. To add to the odd feelings there are some folks that start to check out early. Interactions get a little cool. I work extra hard not to take that personally. Maybe I should be taking it personally. Then there is the emptiness of having no parents. They seem to be the ones who track with you on things, when they are not around there seems to be no one really tracking. Of course that isn’t exactly true. I do have community. And there are interested folks at work and church. Maybe it’s just a different kind of tracking.

Anyway I’m floating. I’m somewhere between here and there. I’d rather be grounded in one place than floating between them. But for now I’m floating.

Labels

They are useful – but sometimes too confining.

If I tell you I’m a Baptist (and you aren’t - or maybe you are) that might conjure up all kinds of other baggage that you (and I) might not think too favorable. And quite honestly, I’m probably not all those things that come to mind. I do believe that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for our sins. And that I must personally accept him; trust in him to receive salvation. Additionally I believe that once a person has received Christ he or she will want to be baptized as an outward symbol of proclamation of that. That is about the extent of what I mean to describe about myself by saying I’m Baptist. But in America saying I’m Baptist can connote a bunch of political beliefs as well. Being a christian affects what I believe, but it doesn't mean I am following a particular political agenda.

Please don’t put me in that box.

Welcome to my Blog

I thought I would start this blog with some reasoning as to why I am moving my life and work half way across the world...

What motivates a person to care for creation? Generally when I talk to folks there are two basic arguments that can be made for why we should care; why recycle, why not use paper plates for every meal, why turn off lights or combine errand trips.

1) What kind of place will the world be for your kids and grandchildren?
2) What does our behavior in this area say about the glory of God?

There are tons or little arguments along the path in either direction. Doing simple things like turning off lights and combining trips can save you money. Some other ecologically friendly tasks might cost more initially but save in the long run, things like changing light bulbs to the florescent energy saving bulbs or starting recycling at work, church or home if there is no system for it now. While in some ways I am motivated by doing better for the next generation, I am more motivated by wanting to bring glory to God in all I do.

Way back in 1986 my pastor wrote an article about “How to Drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God” (http://www.desiringgod.org/) focusing on 1 Corinthians 10:31. It begs the question, “How do we do anything we do to the glory of God?” In my mind the answer includes sorting garbage for recycling, conserving energy to enable us to put our money to use for his kingdom and stewarding nature in a way that continues to speak to the glory of His Name. Not to mention saving lives in the two-thirds world.

The task is overwhelming and it seems like it’s not worth the effort. But it is if God’s glory is a stake. It is worth doing even if the small amount we do seems insignificant. A lot of little parts make an impact for positive change. But one small act for God’s precious name is something that He will always notice. It would be like saying, I shared the gospel with 12 people this year and not one of them became a Christian. It’s not really worth my effort. Does God get the glory for those conversations? Even if no one became a Christian?

You’ll tell me it’s not the same as sharing the gospel. But in a very real sense it is! Our obedience is important. It reflects God’s glory in a way that speaks volumes to people that would otherwise not listen. And no act of obedience to God goes unnoticed by Him.

That is why I am going to Kenya to help the people of Kenya understand how to live their lives to the glory of God in everyway, in everyday chores, in all aspects of their life.