becomeing the answers to our prayers

prayer for ordinary radicals (love that subtitle)
by shane claiborne and jonathan wilson-hartgrove

excited to say i finished book one on my summer reading list!

i would consider it an unorthodox book on prayer, but in reality it was not only a book on prayer but action, politics, community and gaining spiritual wisdom. a very unique read with some great stuff to offer, a book i would recommend.

here are some excerpts that stuck out:

• "Prayer is not so much about convincing God to do what we want God to do as it is about convincing ourselves to do what God wants us to do."
• "After seven years times seven--on the fiftieth year--[Israel] were to declare a Jubilee. Debts would be forgiven. Land that had been sold would be returned to its original owner. Prisoners would be set free. Once in every generations, the playing field would be leveled as a guard against injustice in the beloved community of God's people".
• "The love that makes a community, is the willingness to do someone else's dirty work".
• "Sometimes it is easier to wash the feet of prostitutes than it is to wash the feet of the people we live with each day--the people who get on our nerves, don't do their dishes and expect us to pick up on their passive aggression (and certainly we don't do any of those things). One of the most radical things we do is love the people we live with, day after day, mistake after mistake."
• "Communities that strive for perfection are always weeding out the imperfect people--until there's no one left".
• "We have to stop promising people life after death when what we are all really asking is if there is life before death".
• "One of the ironies we noted about the whole situation was that many evangelical churches that are passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus with all people were equally passionate about bombing Baghdad and eliminating Saddam Hussein. It seemed that we had to go be with the Iraqis if for no other reason than to show them by our presence that not all Christians wanted to bomb them."

also, being a book on prayer, the authors sprinkled different prayers throughout the book as side-notes, mostly by saints or some prayers offered in the bible, but this one as my wife noticed stuck out amongst them all.

• "Dear God, please make all the poor people rich. And the rich people poor. Then bring us back to a medium so we will take better care of each other. Amen".

- ten year old boy

a "year" in review

my life as a teacher moves in peaks and contractions as far as busyness. this last year seemed to be one long peak.

i just got back from our graduation marking the end of an eventful year (sidenote, tim bee was the keynote speaker and was very good). the following are some of what filled up the last nine months of my life:

• my first year teaching high school and prepping for three different classes
• coaching two different volleyball teams
• the birth of my son in august
• joining the elder board at my church which we planted in september
• staff sponsored a christian club at academy
  
• took over running small groups along with my wife in april (sign up here).
  

overall i would say a very difficult but successful year. i made it through teaching five classes five days a week, focusing most of my energy there in planning (about three hours a day), unfortunately this left very little energy for the actual students, maybe the one thing i will regret most about my teaching year. my varsity volleyball team went 20-5-1, missing state by two points in game five of regionals, something i believe may have turned out differently if i could have mustered more energy in that area of my life during the fall.

taking care of my son was maybe the most tiring part of my year but also most rewarding. he has yet to know what it is to sleep through the night.

being on board at revolution has been amazing over this last year, planting a church in september with twenty-some people after an extremely difficult period and watching it flourish into an authentic community that broke 100 in april has been truly rewarding.

with all that said, i laugh when people say, "it must be nice having the summer off". its true, it is nice having the summers off after squeezing 12 months of work into nine and only getting paid for nine. it is nice having summers off until you realize your salary only covers nine month and you need to work over your "vacation". it is nice to have summers off because if i choose i can take a breath, and with that breath this is what i hope to accomplish.

• a quiet time in the bible five days a week
  
• read at least six book
• finish painting the guest room that has been left undone for the last two years
• spend quality time with my son
• revamp my geography class
• be as prepared as i possibly can to take my volleyball team to state and lord-willing win some games
• coach somewhere between 4-9 camps
• take two weeks of real vacation with the family in michigan
  

i learned this year that i hit a max. i learned i want to be great at a few things, my relationship God, my family, my teaching, my coaching and my church leadership. i know five things is pushing it, but i consider myself a high-capacity person. i want to be a person that can be counted on and relied upon to do these things well.

longest process ever.

i applied for insurance for myself and for beniah when i lost my starbucks insurance. i applied with a company that i was formally insured through before i had him. and sadly, i have been on the phone w/the company EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. ridiculous. everyday i talk to them it seems like i will hear whether or not the application will go through in 1-2 business days. well its been almost a week and a half now…but not to worry- they’ve already charged me (“we will bill you during the application process”) even though my insurance will not be in effect until i’m approved and will not retroactively cover anything that happens between now and then. why am i paying them? i have no idea.