CHRONICLES OF NARNIA.

This last week, I finished up the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I have been reading quite a bit of C.S. Lewis lately: I read his Space Trilogy this last summer,his Screwtape Letters a few years ago, his novel Until We Have Faces last year, and the book A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Van Auken, an amazing book who had a personal relationship and letter correspondence with Lewis. Currently, I'm reading through Mere Christianity with one of my bible study boys. As I've read through his work, I've been struck by his warmth, the depth of his intelligence, and his desire to plainly and truthfully lay out the Christian life in all of its life and vigor.

This comes through in The Chronicles of Narnia - beautiful little books that tell stories rife with imagination and joy that are full of brilliant allusions to the Gospel story. They're kind of like a movie like Shrek or The Incredibles - light and simple enough for children to enjoy and understand, but full of clever nuances and deep lessons that satisfy the most mature adults. This is the great gift of C.S. Lewis - to make the Christian life simple and plain without watering it down, to explore the narrative of the Christian story with his brilliant imagination without being limiting. Word. See you soon.

SPRING BREAK.

Last Monday, I finished up my finals, and the next day I was headed back to Fremont for a time of rest and renewal. Things I've done:

• Read the Chronicles of Narnia (I'm halfway through The Magician's Nephew, Book 6 of 7)
  
• Watched The Prestige
• Watched Casino Royale
• Watched Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan
  
• Celebrated my Dad's birthday
• Celebrated my finacee's sister's birthday
• Slept in

Monica pointed out to me that this will be my last break as a college student. That was sobering. But I'm blessed with this chance to take a breath before I dive in to my last quarter at Davis. That's all for now - I'll write some more when I'm back to school. See you soon.

PACELINE.

I've written here several times about the joy that I get from cycling, and now I've got the chance to enjoy a lot of cycling - I am training to ride in a century bike ride around Lake Tahoe in June with a group called Team in Training. A century consists of 100 miles, which will probably take me about 7 hours, including stops for food and stuff. That's really far.

Since I couldn't just jump on a bike and ride for 100 miles, I get together with my 120 teammates and go on team rides every Saturday morning. Each successive Saturday they get longer and longer, and each time we learn a new cycling "skill." This saturday, we learned how to form a "paceline." (Mom, if you're reading this, skip over the next part. I'm wearing a helmet and I'm really careful. Don't worry!)

Basically, a paceline is formed when a group of cyclists travel 6-18 inches behind one another in a straight line. I ride with the fastest group of riders (which, by the way, includes women who have children my age), which means were averaging between 18-19 miles per hour. For someone who generally rides a bike alone, this is pretty unnerving. The point of the paceline is this: traveling close together makes it easier to pedal faster for longer, because it cuts down on the wind resistance. The person who is the lead rider "pulls" the paceline, and everyone takes turns being the lead rider by allowing the lead rider to drift to the back of the paceline.

The biggest problem is this: travelling so close behind at other cycles at high speeds leaves little reaction time should a big rock or pothole suddenly appear. This leads to the most important element of the paceline: communication. If there's something in the road up ahead, it's the lead rider's job to call it out: rock, car, tree, and so on. If there's is a car coming up from behind, it's the last rider's job to call it out, and it the job of all the riders in between to pass the messages along so that everyone is aware of what the haps are. The closer we get, the better the communication needs to be, or we risk some serious hurt.

I find this to be true in my spiritual life - the closer I get to others and to GOD, the better the communication needs to be. You can't have relationship without communication, and the closer those relationships are, how much more important it is that we are honest, open, encouraging, and truthful with one another. When I neglect this reality in my closest relationships, I can coast along for awhile like nothing is wrong, but it is not long before this lack of openness results in some serious hurt. Though this hurt is a serious possibility, I can't go it alone - I need people who can come close and know me intimately. But unless I'm willing to open up to those that I love and that love me, I'm asking for trouble.

Jesus, teach me to draw close to You and to others, and to go beyond surface relationship to the deep intimacy with your children that is possible only possible because of your great love and forgiveness. Help us to be One, as You and the Father are One - teach us to draw near to one another and lead us home. That's a paceline I'd ride in anytime. See you soon.

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23)

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)

CELEBRATION.

This weekend was an awesome time of celebration. On Saturday, Monica and I went to the wedding of some good friends, and we had the chance to hang out with good friends and take joy in the miracle of love. The next day I attended a baptism service at FBC and saw a bunch of the members of my college community publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ.

Seeing my brothers and sisters in Christ get baptized this weekend reminded me of the time that I was baptized - having a bucket of water dumped over my head in the snow 2 years ago this last month. It fills me with joy to be reminded of the great lovingkindness of GOD, and to see his hand working in this world, turning hearts to him and raising up disciples to follow him. Thank you Jesus, for so much to celebrate. See you soon.

"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 2Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate." (Luke 15:20-24)

TONGUE-TIED.

For the past month or so, I've had a case of "Blogger's Block." I haven't been sure what to write here and what to keep to myself. I keep from posting anything really personal here - I share stories and things, and I how I see GOD working in the little things of my life, but the big stuff I keep between GOD and I, in the pages of my journal and in my heart.

But for the past month, big stuff is all that has been going on - getting engaged, looking forward to graduating from college, interviewing for a job, preparing a senior recital, and getting my school on. I feel like I'm living in a dream; it is so surreal sometimes to see the rest of my life beginning to take shape, and so humbling and overwhelming to see how richly blessed I am. I'm struck my the truth that my life is not my own - to quote Justin McRoberts, "I feel like I'm living in a movie of my life." And it's too good. God is too good. I don't know what to say except, "Jesus, hold me close."

That's all for now - see you soon.

And I'll stand
With arms wide and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
And I'll stand
My soul, Lord, to you surrendered
All I am is yours
(Hillsong United, The Stand)

SPURGEON.

I follow Jesus. But as I have followed him, the words and wisdom of other men and women of GOD have guided me, convicted me, and inspired me to pursue Jesus with greater vigor, abandon, and zeal. Over the years, GOD has used different voices at different times: In my freshman year of college, some of the audio sermons of Tony Campolo filled me with a passion to follow Jesus more wholeheartedly. Later, the sermons of Jon Piper helped to shape and strengthen my faith.

Recently, one of the men of GOD that has really been helping me to grow has been Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I read a book about him in regards to spiritual leadership with the Teen Staff last summer, but with the advent of 2007 I picked up a devotional he penned called "Morning and Evening." The title is pretty self-explanatory - it has 2 readings for each day, one for the morning and one for the evening. What strikes me most powerfully about it is his passion and zeal for Jesus - every sentence reflects his deep love for GOD. Some passages that I've appreciated:

"The first thing for our soul's health, the first thing for His glory, and the first thing for our own usefulness, is to keep ourselves in perpetual communion with the Lord Jesus... " (Jan. 24th)

"Jesus' College is the only one in which God's truth can be really learned; other schools may teach us what is to be believed, but Christ's alone can show us how to believe it." (Jan. 19th)

"Go on seeking, for it is dangerous to be without thy Lord. Without Christ you are like a sheep without its shepherd; like a tree without water at its roots; like a sere leaf in the tempest - not bound to the tree of life. With thine whole heart seek Him, and He will be found of thee: only give thyself thoroughly up to the search, and verily, thou shalt yet discover him to thy joy and gladness." (Jan. 19th)

Thank you Jesus - thank you for those who have run the race of faith, and for those who are running it now, that their passion and zeal often ignites my own. Thank you for the church - it rocks. See you soon.

[Read "Morning and Evening" online]

THESE ARE PRICELESS.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

MLK.

This past monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day - a day that we stop to remember a man who had a compelling vision a passion to see GOD's kingdom manifested here and now in the form of the abolition of bigotry, greed, and selfishness.

In truth, I didn't really know much about King at all until I took a class last quarter called, "African American Studies 165 - The Black Christian Church." It was over the course of that class that I developed a deep appreciation and fondness for the rich tradition of Christianity amongst the slaves, and how the abiding presence of Jesus brought them an indomitable hope and the strength to endure to most horrible of persecutions. It was not until the end of the class that we turned to study the Civil Rights Movement, which was in many respects the pinnacle of the African-Americans' struggle to be free of oppression and hatred.

In studying King, I came to see his passion for the justice of the Kingdom of God to be manifested here and now, and the beauty and power of his sermons and writings have spurred me on to say "Thy Kingdom Come" with renewed passion and zeal. My buddy Trevor re-delievered a few of his most powerful sermons (subscribe to his podcast here), and I wrote my final paper on King and his role as a "prophetic theologian." If that sounds intruiging, you can read my 12 page paper here. See you soon.

MESSY ROOM.

Back when I was a little kid, my mom would read to me from the "Berenstain Bears" book series. They're all beautifully illustrated, but the one that I remember most fondly is the one pictured above: "The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room." I remember being awestruck by the depictions of a neat, clean room with cool little receptacles for everything, mainly because my room was such a far cry from my sadly disheveled living space.

Though those idyllic scenes never compelled me to clean up my act in my youth, I think it was this childhood memory that spurred on the impulse buy pictured below, while waiting in line at Rite Aid to purchase safety pins:

Mom, if you're reading this, I want you to know that your labor of attempting to mold me into a responsible, cleanly individual has finally borne fruit. This project came out of the few days before classes began; part of my attempt to reverse the entropy of the past quarter and look to a new beginning, a fresh start. And so it begins - my prayer is that GOD will do in me what I've done to my room - to strip away all the junk and organize my priorities so that his honor and glory come before all else. Maybe mom was right: cleanliness is next to godliness. See you soon.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7)

SAINT PAUL.

I was reading through the news a few days ago, and I came across an article that stated that some archeologists had found a sarcophagus that is believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul. He wrote many of the epistles (letters) that make up the Word of GOD, so it's a pretty big deal.

After talking a little about some of the details, they quote the president of the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary: "One discovery we know will never be made and that is the uncovering of a sarcophagus containing the bones of Jesus Christ."

Word.

[Read article here]

[ht Claude Mariottini]

CHRISTMAS.

This last spring quarter, I played what is called a recital. Because I am a music major with an emphasis in Saxophone Performance, these concerts, given at the end of my 3rd and 4th years of college respectively, are really important. So I practiced and practiced, and one spring afternoon I played a concert consisting of really hard saxophone music, and they recorded it. As I was leaving to work at Camp-of-the-Woods, I told my Dad that the copy of my recital recording was in the car. My dad had been able to make it to the concert, but my mom couldn't, so he was going to snag it and play it for my mom.

Fast forward six months to today: my whole family is over, and my mom decides to play my recital for my family. She says that she has been playing it for all of their friends, and they've been amazed by it. As my family leans in and the music begins, my first thought is, "Wow, I sounded really good that day. Better than I thought." As the music progresses, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach: it's too good.

Here's what happened - in the week preceding my recital I had made a CD of all of the music that I would be playing on my concert, as performed by professional saxophonists. I would listen to it in my car to pick up on stylistic interpretation and other stuff, so that I could get a better idea of what the pieces were supposed to sound like. It was this CD that my dad took out of my car and thought to be the recording of me. So as my family listened, I had to stand up and tell them that it was not me to whom they were listening. Needless to say, I was a little embarassed.

But today we celebrated the birth of Jesus, the Immanuel that came to cover up our wretched little tunes with his beautiful melody. Thank you for your grace, for your presence, for your power and strength within us. Thank you that we can now come before GOD the Father and not be ashamed, for you have covered our sins with your perfect and spotless righteousness. Thank you for the most beautiful and perfect of promises: "GOD with us." See you soon.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight

ROAD TRIP.

A few days after finals ended, me and some buddies from Davis took a little road trip. We left Saturday afternoon, drove down to the AGO house @ USC, spent the night, then spent all day Sunday at Magic Mountain. We stopped in to worship at Risen, then headed to Vegas on monday and headed home on Tuesday. They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - well, nothing happened. We walked around in the freezing cold, had a blast goofing off, and then came home.

It was a good time to hang with some bros - now, I'm home and getting ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus with family and good friends. I'll post a rundown on some of the books that I've been chewing on in the next week. Peace be with y'all. See you soon.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:8-14)

DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY.

Yesterday, I took my final for HIS 131B - History of the Renaissance and Reformation. I wrote more for that final than I've written for any final in my college career; my final essay took up 10 [blue book] pages. It was a good class, and it was largely due to my professor.

On the last day of class, we talked for a few minutes about new material, and then my professor took a few minutes to tie of the things that we had been learning together regarding the happenings of Early Modern Europe from 1450-1650. She recapped on a few of the common themes that we had seen in studying the history, and then she talked for a little bit about her own motivations in regards to her study of history. Her area of expertise is Spain; she could tell you anything you wanted to know about he the country came about, what the politics were like, who ruled when, and everything in between. At this point, she said something that really struck me: "I find that in studying the past, I better understand the present. You might not find these things particularly fascinating, but these things fill me with joy. This why I have chosen to dedicate my life to this."

At that, I could sense everybody in the room perk up - when people talk about the things that they are passionate about, it is compelling. It is a bold statement to say that you have dedicated your life to something; there's a finality about it, a commitment that is irreversible. Here was a woman who had dedicated herself to the study of the subject of Early modern Spain - the truth is that you really dedicate yourself to something, it shows. And this was apparent in her teaching - her passion came through in her thorough knowledge of the subjects and her excitement about us getting our learn on.

A speaker came to our Christian fellowship a few years ago, and he said this: "If you light yourself on fire, the world will come to watch you burn." The world takes notice of those who are willing to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to anything, and I think that this is our calling as Christians - to boldly proclaim with our lives the joy and excitement that comes from dedicating and laying down our lives to follow Jesus. You can't understand something until you love it; but when you do get to that place of dedication, the world will know. I don't know much about history, but I do know Jesus - I pray that my life would be wholeheartedly dedicated to knowing God intimately more and more every day. That's something worth learning about. See you soon.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

THIS AMERICAN LIFE.

I subscribe to quite a few podcasts - weekly sermons, Strongbad emails, and various other radio programs. But far and away the one that I've enjoyed most is the one pictured above: This American Life.

They release one every week on mondays, and it's the only podcast that I faithfully listen to. The name pretty much says it: each hour-long show is a quirky aspect of the American life. Each one is unique, and really entertaining - it reminds me of my late Uncle Jack. It's very cleverly written, and entertainment of this caliber that is clean and fun is hard to find. If you're a podcast consumer and you're looking for some wholesome listening, check it out. What are the podcasts that you faithfully enjoy? Be heard in the comments. See you soon.

(Subscribe to This American Life here.)

AND SO IT GOES.

This song is beautiful.

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
(And So It Goes, Billy Joel)

CROWS.

Well, now that we are past Thanksgiving, it is officially winter here in Davis. 4 years ago, if you had asked me if I preferred hot weather or cold, I wouldv'e said hot every time, hands down. But after 4 years of going through the seasons in Davis, I have come to appreciate bundling up, wearing a ski cap, and sitting down with a warm cup of peppermint tea or peppermint mocha. The crisp air makes me feel alive.

One thing that I find to be odd about Davis is seen in the picture above: crows. Every year, during the winter months, thousands and thousands of the things congregate in Davis. They fill every tree, and are constantly whirling around in the sky, making loud cackling noises. If they wanted to take us all out Birds-style, they could. That's all for now - see you soon.

THANKSGIVING.

One 2-hour rainy drive later, I am back in Davis. Thanksgiving this year was a blessing - we grubbed down at my parents' place with 20 members of my extended family. I talked with my cousin who's now a freshman at UCSC, I hung out with my cousin who is now a freshman at Irvington High School, and I went on a bunch of bike rides with my dad on gorgeous, sunny days. I'm crazy blessed.

It was also a good time to see a bunch of people from the past - I saw my junior high saxophone teacher at Chipotle, and Monica and I grabbed a cup of coffee at Bay Street Coffee with Nick, the trombone player from Minus Vince (I used to sleep over at his house from seventh to ninth grade, watching MST3K and drinking mocha Frappuchinos.)

I've been reading in the book of Philippians recently: what has struck me so deeply is Paul's heart of thankfulness, even in the midst of great suffering and personal discouragement. The faith of his friends, the strength of commitment to Christ brought him hope when he was afflicted. I think I can relate - the gift of men and women of God who pray for me, encourage me, and challenge me with their lives of radical discipleship and selfless love is second only to the love of Jesus on my "greatest gifts that GOD has hooked it up with" list. I have so much to be thankful for - I pray GOD would give me a heart of thankfulness, a heart that overflows into the loving relationships that mean so much to me.

I'm writing a paper on Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Church - I'll tell you about it. See you soon.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-5)

HOUSE.

This past week, it came to light that Ted Haggard, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals and Senior Pastor of New Life Church of Colorado Springs, CO had engaged in immoral and illicit behavior. (read here) He initially denied the charges, but in a letter that was read to his congregation, he said this:

"I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I’ve been warring against it all of my adult life. For extended periods of time, I would enjoy victory and rejoice in freedom. Then, from time to time, the dirt that I thought was gone would resurface, and I would find myself thinking thoughts and experiencing desires that were contrary to everything I believe and teach. Through the years, I’ve sought assistance in a variety of ways, with none of them proving to be effective in me. Then, because of pride, I began deceiving those I love the most because I didn’t want to hurt or disappoint them." (full text here)

An article, commenting on Ted Haggard's fall, cut to the heart of why we see this kind of gross failure:

"I have come to believe that there is a deeper person in many of us who is not unlike an assassin ... This deeper person... can be the source of attitudes and behaviors we normally stand against in our conscious being. But it seeks to destroy us and masses energies that—unrestrained—tempt us to do the very things we 'believe against.' ... there is something within that, left unguarded, will go on the rampage."

This past tuesday, I dressed up as Hugh Laurie from the TV show, "House." It's a show that I find to be very well-conceived and clever, but on a deeper level I relate to a doctor who can heal everybody but himself. He is a genius, to be sure, but his wounds run so deep that it's no secret that he's a man who lives with great pain; some forced upon him, and the rest which he has heaped upon himself.

In his book The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen talks about what it means to be a minister. One of his ideas is this: as ministers of the Gospel, we are all wounded by sin; we must be honest and aware of the depths of our sinfulness and depravitiy. When we forget this reality, it is then that pride becomes justifiable, even logical - we cannot see past our own giftedness to see that we are dying on the inside. In response to the article I quoted above, one reader left this comment: "The church doesn’t value character, it values personality, just like the rest of society." I think that personality is so alluring because it is a means by which we can hide our faults, and make ourselves likeable. Character isn't apparent to the naked eye, and so we often gloss it over in favor of putting on a mask that makes it appear as though we have no problems, no sins. And if we wear that mask for long enough, I think that we start to believe it. This is greatest lie we could ever believe.

But this is not where it ends: the end of Nouwen's idea is that though we be aware of sinfulness, we must not be overwhelmed by it. Rather than falling into endless despair, we must lead others, in the midst of our brokenness, into the eternal, everlasting hope of GOD.

Jesus, who sees the depths of my heart and loves me the same - you are my only hope. Remind me every day. See you soon.

"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:21-25)

"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known." (Luke 12:1b-2)

ONE PIECE AT A TIME.

In my HIS 131B class, we have been talking about 15th and 16th century Europe, particularly the events that led up to and transpired during the period that we learned about in 9th grade history called The Renaissance. As we've been getting our study on, one idea in particular stuck out - the idea of the "Renaissance Man."

In my mind, I had never connected the idea of The Renaissance with the idea of the Renaissance Man, but now I understand how they intersect. A "Renaissance Man" was someone who was the perfectly well-rounded person - excellent in phyical prowess, intellectual accomplishment, and anything else you could think of. For the humanist thinkers of the time, the "Renaissance Man" was the goal to which all men should seek to aspire.

This struck me profoundly because I realized that this is the way I think about becoming "perfect in Christ." I have a picture in my mind's eye of a me who is multilingual, healthy and athletic, a good juggler, well-read, universally trivia-knowledgeable, and an excellent cook. And I think that I could become that someone if only I would try harder. Often, soak in my own frustrations over why I make mistakes, or agonize over why I continue to do things that I know are wrong. What struck me so deeply was the realization that I often confuse the things that I do with the person that I'm becoming in Jesus. It is at those times that I base my worth on how much I'm improving, and it's then that my back breaks under the burden of trying to perform well.

But this is not so - I've been thinking on what it means to be perfect in Jesus, and I think that that means being conformed to his image - a perfect servant. Perfectly selfless. Perfectly loving. Perfectly wise. Perfectly compassionate. Perfectly just.

It is after this perfection that I desire to strive. I am far from perfect, though my prideful heart often would like to think otherwise - sometimes I move forward in great strides, sometimes I strain against the heavy winds, and sometimes there is nowhere I can go but down to my knees. But I have begun this walk with Jesus - I've come far from where I've started, but I have a ways yet to go. With the sun on my face, I will not turn to the left or to the right - there is no place I would rather be. Jesus, I am not perfect, but You are - make me more like you, one piece at a time. See you soon.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

Well, I left Kentucky back in '49
An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on cadillacs

Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry
ways wanted me one that was long and black.

One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.

I'd get it one piece at a time
And it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round.

So the very next day when I punched in
With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends
I left that day with a lunch box full of gears
Now, I never considered myself a thief
GM wouldn't miss just one little piece
Especially if I strung it out over several years.

The first day I got me a fuel pump
And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk
Then I got me a transmission and all of the chrome
The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home.

Now, up to now my plan went all right
'Til we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong.

The transmission was a '53
And the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone.

So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit of help with an A-daptor kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song
Now the headlight' was another sight
We had two on the left and one on the right
But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on.

The back end looked kinda funny too
But we put it together and when we got thru
Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin
About that time my wife walked out
And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts
But she opened the door and said "Honey, take me for a spin."

So we drove up town just to get the tags
And I headed her right on down main drag
I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around
But up there at the court house they didn't laugh
'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff
And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds.

I got it one piece at a time
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around.
(One Piece At A Time, Johnny Cash)

IN THE BEGINNING.

I took this picture on my bike ride yesterday - I thought this picture of the sun shining on all these sunflowers was gorgeous.

School has begun - I'm super stoked about the awesome stuff that GOD has placed me in the midst of this quarter, but part of me knows that I need to be honest about myself about where I end and where GOD begins. I'm just a little tiny piece of the body - my desire is to shine for GOD's glory without burning up and burning out.

I'm stoked about my classes: courses in the Black Christian Church, the Hebrew Bible, and the historical period of the Renaissance and Reformation. I'm up to my neck in books, but the truth is that I'm up to my neck in books all the time anyway. One thing that don't envy about no longer being a lower classman is that I don't have to take any more "general education" classes - all of my reading is really interesting, and I'm stoked about seeing the GOD's glory in all history, among all peoples, and in places that I hadn't thought about before.

That's all for now - so it begins. See you soon.