Welcome back. You belong here.
So it happened around 1:30pm on the first day of our move to Colorado. It hit me as our four year old broke down in tears, seat belt on, his little Cars shoes on, wearing his “cool pants”, surrounded by what seemed to be our whole garage in the back of our Volvo Wagon saying, “I want to go home.”
And so I broke down. What little David sees in his head as “home” will never be. What he feels in his mind as the comfort of his room, the sound of his fan as he sleeps and the peace of his family in the kitchen will never be.
We are moving to Colorado. We are not going back home. Everyone misses their house.
It hit me even more as our nine year old who sat next to David also began to cry as I imagined her saying, “I know David, I also want to go home, I’m sorry David.”
We’re all just tired from what little David called, “driving for ten days.” Yes, driving from Long Beach, CA to Denver, CO feels like ten days. And being up since 4am on three hours of sleep doesn’t’ help either.
Things are better now. M&M’s and naps seem to help everyone. It is true we will not be going home any time soon, but what awaits us will soon become home again.
There may be more tears along the way, more arid Arizona mountains and more hours left in the car. But I have a feeling that just like sweets and naps have a way to help things through, Colorado and our new life will too.
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Theme Verse Dec-Feb
Welcome back. You belong here.
We've been "lacking wisdom" just about every day lately. So James 1 has helped us through:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
We've been "lacking wisdom" just about every day lately. So James 1 has helped us through:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
Thursday, February 21, 2008
On Simplicity
Welcome back. You belong here.
Simplicity deals with, well, I'm actually not sure how to word it because it's not an easy thing to describe.
There's a lady at school, here name is Anne who is simple. She wears older clothes, not fashionable, she would come with her baby in a sling, a hammock like pack.
Anne compresses her trash, she burns it in the back yard, she wears no makeup, she is a very simple person. She is not poor, she is not better than thou telling everyone how her "faith" is better than your faith. In fact, she has me "believing in her religion" just by her actions.
Her daughter and our daughter Isabela are friends, they are both in first grade. She is amazing, the girls are having a sleep over here this weekend.
Anne lives simply, no traps.
Simplicity can easily turn to ascetism, the despise of all material things which is not what Jesus taught. We are to enjoy a good beer, a nice haircut, a great piece of furniture. That's part of God's gifts to us.
For me, a simple life choice I've made is to turn off the data plan and text feature on my phone. The phone I have is complicated and trinketty enough as it is! My compulsion is checking email and being connected all day long. So a few months ago I called AT&T and asked them to turn off my data plan, which cuts down $20 off my bill, another choice towards simplicity. I feel FREE.
The other day, the data plan was back on. So for the last few days I've been compulsively checking email at the stop light, the library, the post office. It's horrible. I called the phone company again and they said the data plan is off on their records, I'm not being charged, it's just a tech error. So it's still on. I hate it, I don't know what to do. I am going to try to turn off the data feature on the phone and see if that works.
Simplify, declutter, degadgetize.
There are so many other aspects of simplicity - fast on blogging, computer time, focusing on creation, not shopping at Wal-Mart for their unjust work practices, etc.
One of the other choices we've made as a family is to go put our children at an elementary school in a "poor part of town". People ask me all the time, why not put them in the fancy, "best schools"? I said, I want to live differently, and make a difference in the lives of our children and others.
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
Simplicity deals with, well, I'm actually not sure how to word it because it's not an easy thing to describe.
There's a lady at school, here name is Anne who is simple. She wears older clothes, not fashionable, she would come with her baby in a sling, a hammock like pack.
Anne compresses her trash, she burns it in the back yard, she wears no makeup, she is a very simple person. She is not poor, she is not better than thou telling everyone how her "faith" is better than your faith. In fact, she has me "believing in her religion" just by her actions.
Her daughter and our daughter Isabela are friends, they are both in first grade. She is amazing, the girls are having a sleep over here this weekend.
Anne lives simply, no traps.
Simplicity can easily turn to ascetism, the despise of all material things which is not what Jesus taught. We are to enjoy a good beer, a nice haircut, a great piece of furniture. That's part of God's gifts to us.
For me, a simple life choice I've made is to turn off the data plan and text feature on my phone. The phone I have is complicated and trinketty enough as it is! My compulsion is checking email and being connected all day long. So a few months ago I called AT&T and asked them to turn off my data plan, which cuts down $20 off my bill, another choice towards simplicity. I feel FREE.
The other day, the data plan was back on. So for the last few days I've been compulsively checking email at the stop light, the library, the post office. It's horrible. I called the phone company again and they said the data plan is off on their records, I'm not being charged, it's just a tech error. So it's still on. I hate it, I don't know what to do. I am going to try to turn off the data feature on the phone and see if that works.
Simplify, declutter, degadgetize.
There are so many other aspects of simplicity - fast on blogging, computer time, focusing on creation, not shopping at Wal-Mart for their unjust work practices, etc.
One of the other choices we've made as a family is to go put our children at an elementary school in a "poor part of town". People ask me all the time, why not put them in the fancy, "best schools"? I said, I want to live differently, and make a difference in the lives of our children and others.
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
How to Begin
Welcome back. You belong here.
The tension between starting and ending seems like a swinging bridge
It tilts forward and backwards, not knowing which way to swing
The hope of a new beginning, mixed with the sorrow of broken promises
The anticipation of a great start and the ability to move as one
People that serve and lead and love and learn
Those are people to die for and dream with for the rest of your life
To not put on a thing called church
But to hang out with people in my living room
Worshiping God
Reading the Scriptures
Praying for one another in authentic community
We call it "family council"
And every day talking to people without Jesus
To Robert the mail man
Who has 100's of illegal DVD's and war stories to tell
It's what he does to pass his time
He needs something more
To Gil the real estate guy who came by my house
Big smile, firm handshake
His face all over my neighborhood store
He sat in my living room
Would never set foot in my cool church
We spoke of homes, moving and faith
It felt like the most genuine church I've had in years
To not fight wars of old
But to go to a hilltop and be transformed
By authentic relationships
With a few guys that love one another
Over beers and smokes, sin and grace
Theology and cheesy 80's music
That's what transforms
I've tasted of that sweet wine and had plenty of drink from that wonderful spout
It's transformed me
It's forever changed me
I have been transformed by church maybe once or twice in my life
Church doesn't transform, Jesus does
Jesus, relationship, authenticity
People that live differently than I do
I love Jesus but not the church
But if the church could only change....Can it?
To hang out with people that challenge me to serve the poor
(I don't need to amass more stuff)
To go to Africa, Latin American and serve the poor, the children
Is what transforms
To do beautiful music, to write passionate lyrics
With a close group of friends
To create and dream, to paint and see beauty
To inspire others and push the boundaries
To dream and inspire, to live in the ideal of beauty and truth
To recyle, eat healthy and save the earth
To work for a great tomorrow and a happy ending to our planet
With my wife and children living passionate lives
To create experiences together with them
To live from their air
To breathe into them
To see young people believe
To help them see that God forgives
To help them see the value of discipline and hard work
To hear their dreams to change the world
And actually see them do it
And to come along
That's what transforms
That's what I am here to do
On this earth
Until I see you face to face
It's Jesus in me
The Spirit in me
The Father in me
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
The tension between starting and ending seems like a swinging bridge
It tilts forward and backwards, not knowing which way to swing
The hope of a new beginning, mixed with the sorrow of broken promises
The anticipation of a great start and the ability to move as one
People that serve and lead and love and learn
Those are people to die for and dream with for the rest of your life
To not put on a thing called church
But to hang out with people in my living room
Worshiping God
Reading the Scriptures
Praying for one another in authentic community
We call it "family council"
And every day talking to people without Jesus
To Robert the mail man
Who has 100's of illegal DVD's and war stories to tell
It's what he does to pass his time
He needs something more
To Gil the real estate guy who came by my house
Big smile, firm handshake
His face all over my neighborhood store
He sat in my living room
Would never set foot in my cool church
We spoke of homes, moving and faith
It felt like the most genuine church I've had in years
To not fight wars of old
But to go to a hilltop and be transformed
By authentic relationships
With a few guys that love one another
Over beers and smokes, sin and grace
Theology and cheesy 80's music
That's what transforms
I've tasted of that sweet wine and had plenty of drink from that wonderful spout
It's transformed me
It's forever changed me
I have been transformed by church maybe once or twice in my life
Church doesn't transform, Jesus does
Jesus, relationship, authenticity
People that live differently than I do
I love Jesus but not the church
But if the church could only change....Can it?
To hang out with people that challenge me to serve the poor
(I don't need to amass more stuff)
To go to Africa, Latin American and serve the poor, the children
Is what transforms
To do beautiful music, to write passionate lyrics
With a close group of friends
To create and dream, to paint and see beauty
To inspire others and push the boundaries
To dream and inspire, to live in the ideal of beauty and truth
To recyle, eat healthy and save the earth
To work for a great tomorrow and a happy ending to our planet
With my wife and children living passionate lives
To create experiences together with them
To live from their air
To breathe into them
To see young people believe
To help them see that God forgives
To help them see the value of discipline and hard work
To hear their dreams to change the world
And actually see them do it
And to come along
That's what transforms
That's what I am here to do
On this earth
Until I see you face to face
It's Jesus in me
The Spirit in me
The Father in me
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Why Do I Wait?
Welcome back. You belong here.
Why do I wait for a song to come after these sad moments?
Sometimes, the moment is but that, something you feel and it goes away
The stress of it all, it overwhelms me
I battle between the ok and the it's not ok
When nothing gets done, every room is undone
Every corner seems endless, nothing feels settled
And that moment is nothing special
It's just that, a moment of feeling like you can't keep up with it all
And in fact you can't
But then, you do
I just want to finish something
A room to be complete
A project to be done
I wish I had 10 hands and 2 heads
Maybe I do
It'll get done
Not sure how
Not sure when or who
And tomorrow more gets on the list
More new things
I want the list to go away
I don't want to see it ever again
To trust, to pray, to stress out
All are mixed into one
Wait, here it comes again
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
Why do I wait for a song to come after these sad moments?
Sometimes, the moment is but that, something you feel and it goes away
The stress of it all, it overwhelms me
I battle between the ok and the it's not ok
When nothing gets done, every room is undone
Every corner seems endless, nothing feels settled
And that moment is nothing special
It's just that, a moment of feeling like you can't keep up with it all
And in fact you can't
But then, you do
I just want to finish something
A room to be complete
A project to be done
I wish I had 10 hands and 2 heads
Maybe I do
It'll get done
Not sure how
Not sure when or who
And tomorrow more gets on the list
More new things
I want the list to go away
I don't want to see it ever again
To trust, to pray, to stress out
All are mixed into one
Wait, here it comes again
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Letters to the Zanders
Welcome back. You belong here.
How many of us church people have been influenced by Dieter Zander? I have. From New Song Church to Willow Creek, Axis, Young Leader Network, BayMarin Church, ReIMAGINE, leading worship, books, tapes, etc.
Dieter had a heart attack a few weeks ago and is in recovery. Updates at Dieter Zander Update
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
How many of us church people have been influenced by Dieter Zander? I have. From New Song Church to Willow Creek, Axis, Young Leader Network, BayMarin Church, ReIMAGINE, leading worship, books, tapes, etc.
Dieter had a heart attack a few weeks ago and is in recovery. Updates at Dieter Zander Update
Have a great day,
Into the future,
davidT
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