Take off you shoes...the ground you stand on is holy.

Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. (Acts 7:33)

When God commanded Moses to lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt into the promised land (Canaan), God had declared, “I am the God who was worshiped by your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exod 3.1-6). When Moses asked what God’s name was, God replied, “tell them that the LORD, whose name is ‘I Am,’ has sent you (Exod 3.13-15).”

The Hebrew name Yahweh is most likely related to the Hebrew verb "to be" and so may mean “I am the one who is” or “I will be what I will be” or “I am the one who causes to be.” These possible meanings of the sacred name show that Yahweh is the God who is, will be, and causes to be. Yahweh, God, is the source of all that is and will fulfill his purpose for the people of God and for the whole creation.

When Jesus transfigured before the disciples on the Mount in Mark 9:1-29, we see a similar pattern of experience; an eclipsing revelation that both embodies and fulfills all that Moses ever experienced or foreshadowed. In the midst of that unveiling of the eternal Son, the Father commanded all generations hence forth to listen to...Him. It's really quite an extraordinary moment in light of the titles, duties, honor and historical realities of the Mt. Sinai story.

In John, Jesus uses the term “I am” to connect himself to these aspects of God's nature and to describe what God has given him to do for people. Jesus identifies himself as the one who supplies all needs (“I am the bread that gives life,” John 6.35) and who brings the knowledge about God to people (“I am the light of the world,” John 8.12). Jesus also uses this I am language to identify himself as the way for people to find God and become God's people (“I am the gate for the sheep,” John 10.7-16); and “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14.6). Using imagery from Isaiah, Jesus says “I am the true vine” and that his people are “the branches,” sharing in the common life of the new people of God (John 15.1,5; see also Isa 5.1-7). By making these comparisons to the Jewish Scriptures, Jesus shows that he has been in God’s plan from the beginning: “even before Abraham was, I was, and I am” (John 8.58). (American Bible Society)

Like Moses, I too find myself taking my shoes off and bowing low in reverence at the knowledge that Jesus is more than I could ever name...to embody the fullness of showing forth the Father is a mystery indeed. I AM, is a name that cant be boxed in. It stands above, beyond and around all attempts to name Him, to define Him, to control Him.

But in Jesus...we have Someone we can see, hear, touch and know. He is more than we ever could define, as the Mt. of Transfiguration mysteriously proclaims...but at the same time, it condenses eternity into finiteness, in a way that is touchable.

I take my shoes off, because THIS GROUND, is now holy...that is amazing. Heaven, I expect to be holy...this ground? On earth as it is in Heaven, is a statmement that most people fail to understand the magnitude of, when uttered.

Jesus manifests that mystery in so many more ways than we could ever yet fully comprehend.

Kissing with eyes open...

"Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly."
-Rose Franken

I pray the fire thats already there would create hot steam, that would lift us up and out of the ordinary. That together we can take more times up and out.

Not because what is normal isn’t good, but simply because we could use some new perspectives, new sights from new heights.

We need things that seem so big, to become small again.

It would do us good to see the sun rise or set, in a different place.

To taste morning and evening, somewhere else.

To make more lines in our face because we’ve laughed too much; instead of worrying, fretting and bearing loads to heavy for younger souls.

I want to grow jolly with you...not just older.

I want to see your eyes sparkle more...they’ve been eclipsed by too many clouds for too long....and I want it to be just our simple laughter that drives the storms away...on earth before it is in heaven.

I want to kiss you more and more this year, because your so damn cute...not just because you set me on fire.

I want to find us laughing together more than apart....more and more from each others arms.

You deserve something magical this year, something worth writing about, or singing songs to express the wonder of what happened.

A fairy-tale of your own...because no princess has ever lain down on any bed, of any castle...that is half the maiden you are.

I want a barrel of wine made just for you...something spicy and strong...but smooth and mild after the taste. Full of head spinning kick that leaves one slightly dizzy and off kilter...kind a like I feel after drinking the wine of your love.

Call the Jesters, summon the minstrels, arrange a feast more and more; for celebrating the joy of our love is simply to much of heaven crammed into a kiss to let quietly drift by...

But, a kiss, you will get...but this year...it’s with eyes open...because a giggle for half my kingdom...is all I can, or want to give.

I love you, Queen of my heart. -Eric

Mark Driscoll & Sex on CNN

Why you can't seem to be content...

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want...but the realization of how much you already have.

Paul hinted at the same idea above when he said: "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." -Philippians 4:11

I've been burdened with a certain sickness that is infecting more and more people that I love, know, some I observe from a distance and others that I pastor. It's hard to name, it's slippery and difficult to always pin down or diagnose. It often appears as an "angel of light"...it can appear to be nobel, godly, just, admirable and industrious. The good Puritan influence in our American religious heritage, often praises it as a work ethic that is maximizing talents or living up to ones potential. And sometimes I imagine those things are probably true.

But there's a darkside to this "angel" that finds its roots in our cultural brokenness and the fruit that is starting to grow is sometimes more sour to the taste than sweet. It's a identity crisis that stems from unloved childhoods. It's a hunger that begins to awaken in the unattended, unshaped, unguided latchkey lives. It's collateral damage in the worship of materialism. For some its a cancer that eats away a sanctuary of peace that was supposed to be built within their inner lives through a loving, attentive, instructive and accepting home and family.

It's a drive for meaning, purpose, identity that seeks to justify ones existence instead of reflect a peace that comes from knowing who one is apart from accomplishments. It's a childhood joy that is missing from so many hearts. A deep inward sense of just being loved, accepted and special that so many people I walk with are missing.

It's a task master that drives people relentlessly and often there is a wake of discarded lives behind them as they ambitiously ascend to the highest of heavens with the zeal of Icarus. Friendships, relationships, marriages, churches, jobs, good works, ministries, hobbies and careers are flippantly discarded once the juice is drained. Nothing can satisfy because nothing outside can truly quench that thirst.

It's a medusa like spirit or mindset that turns to stone everything that it gazes upon...in time. One can't look to long at something or someone or some place until it slowly begins to fossilize, lose its luster, change from beauty to ugliness. lack of contentment is eating away at the very fabric of people lives and the God ordained means of discovering meaning and contentment become the very things that are consumed and abandoned.

Too many people long to be great because...too many people were never loved greatly.

They are still looking for that affirmation, consolation and validation through their conquering of one task, one person, one goal or plan after the next. But no matter what is built, it just seems to be washed away by the waves of the next idea, dream, fantasy or longing.

For some they are like extreme Megalomaniacs. And though this post is long, the below explanation perfectly deiscribes many peoples inner torture:

Megalomania is an unrealistic belief in one's superiority, grandiose abilities, and even omnipotence. It is characterized by a need for total power and control over others, and is marked by a lack of empathy for anything that is perceived as not feeding the self. Although megalomania is a term often ascribed to anyone who is power-hungry, the clinical definition is that of amental illness associated with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Narcissism is most simply defined as self-love. Though it is considered healthy to care about your own well-being and have a healthy self-esteem, when someone loves himself to the exclusion of all else and others become objectified to be used only to serve the self, this is no longer considered healthy or normal. Megalomania is also sometimes associated with bipolar disorder; a depressive illness that is characterized by mood swings from extreme lows to extreme highs. During the latter cycle, people often suffer delusions of grandeur and feelings of infinite capability. They talk about unrealistic plans and goals as if these plans and goals are within their grasp.

That simply describes the hell many people are living within and subjecting those they love, to endure.

But true freedom of spirit can be found in the simple way of Jesus, who taught us that:

...the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great. -Jesus (Lk 9:48)

and...unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. And whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. -Jesus (Matt. 18:2-6).

It's ok to just be you in the Kingdom of God. In fact life in the kingdom is characterized by a wild, carefee, grace accepted abandonment that often seems childish but is actualy the most liberating wisdom.

Accepting our own smallness and all that comes with that revelation; is a life transforming grace.

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
- Mother Teresa

Once that discovery truly begins to happen, everything takes on a new found peace and one learns to be content in every moment because they have new eyes to see, and new ears to hear...and a recreated heart that is finally full. This enables them to learn to find God, life, joy and meaning all around them. Not some deceptive mirage that is only found in accumulating accomplishments; but in uncovering what has already been given by grace and nature.

Poets best retell this, so I will end with this familiar yet regrettably unlived invitation:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

In the None Zone...Religion in the Pacific Northwest

This is an interesting article about faith, church and spirituality in the Pacific North West. Here are two of my favorite quotes from the article:

"Killen had some advice for church leaders in the region: Don't let others (including the denomination leaders "back East") define what it means to thrive, since a thriving religious community in the Pacific Northwest will likely exist on a small scale. Integrity and authenticity matter more than any inherited office or formal title, and people want to know what God and any church has to do with their neighborhood and their everyday life."

"And she wonders about spiritual maturity. "You can't be a grown-up in any tradition until you can endure frustration, negotiate conflict and get to the other side of disillusionment with the capacity to hope."

Darwin turns 200

How faithlessness stalked me

And here is a little video from a Norwegian whose various little videos I have enjoyed.

Chad Vader...season 2

Chad Vader after Dentist....

Chad After Dentist | Viral | SPIKE.com

If you have not seen this viral video of the kid back from the Dentist...then you do not know what you are watching...and if you want more Chad Vader..go here.

Absolute perfection...

The practical upshot is this. On the one hand, God’s demand for perfection need not discourage you in the least in your present attempts to be good, or even in your present failures. Each time you fall He will pick you up again. And He knows perfectly well that your own efforts are never going to bring you anywhere near perfection. On the other hand, you must realize from the outset that the goal towards which He is beginning to guide you is absolute perfection; and no power in the whole universe, except you yourself, can prevent Him from taking you to that goal. That is what you are in for. -From C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity:

sound wisdom...

Rich Mullins...on loneliness.

In the 1980s Rich Mullins moved to Nashville, Tennessee to begin his professional recording career. Mullins was engaged sometime between the late '70's and early '80's and had written the song Doubly Good To You (recorded by Amy Grant on her album Straight Ahead) for the wedding. However, his fiancée broke off the engagement, at which time Mullins wroteDamascus Road. Years later Rich shared thoughts about his relationships and personal life in a radio interview with Rick Tarrant:

"I would always be frustrated with all those relationships even when I was engaged. I had a ten year thing with this girl and I would often wonder why, even in those most intimate moments of our relationship, I would still feel really lonely. And it was just a few years ago that I finally realized that friendship is not a remedy for loneliness. Loneliness is a part of our experience and if we are looking for relief from loneliness in friendship, we are only going to frustrate the friendship. Friendship, camaraderie, intimacy, all those things, and loneliness live together in the same experience... I have no interest in anybody else and she is married to someone else so that's the way it goes and I don't mind that. Right now I cannot imagine that life could be happier married than it is single so I'm not in a panic about getting married. And I think, you know, maybe God wanted me to be celibate and the way that he accomplished that was to break my heart. So that's the way it goes." (Info is from Here)
And here is one of my favorite songs of his.

...in Christ’s sweetness

“Strive to make prayer, and reading, and holy conference, your delight; and when delight cometh in, you shall, little by little, find the sweetness of Christ, till at length your soul be over head and ears in Christ’s sweetness. Then shall you be taken up to the top of the mountain with the Lord, to know the delights of spiritual love, and the glory and excellency of a seen, revealed, felt, and embraced Christ; and then you shall not be able to loose yourself off from Christ, and to bind your soul to old lovers; then, and never till then, are all the paces, motions, and wheels of your soul in a right tune and spiritual temper. But if this world and the lusts thereof be your delight, I know not what Christ can make of you; you cannot be metal for a vessel of glory and mercy. My desire is that that Lord would give me broader and deeper thoughts to feed myself with wondering at his love. I would I could weigh it, but I have no balance for it. When I have worn my tongue to the stump in praising Christ, I have done nothing to Him. What remaineth then, but that my debt to the love of Christ lie unpaid for all eternity!” -Samuel Rutherford

Is being fatter really what's a matter?

Motivations in pursuing health and fitness are often more elusive than the pursuant is aware.

For many, the body is threatening that it's going to shut down all kinds of systems if you don't start taking care of it properly. The warning dash light is on and its time to get in shape. For some people they are choosing life but wrestle with the battle of also trying to unravel and get free from self-hate or body-image bondage. They are trying to fight off the cultural deification of thinness as defined by the ever unattainable pixies. In fact, most of the health and fitness industry really is just madness; it's consumeristic, capitalistic oppression, blatant self worship and flat out lust.

It can easily breed body idolatry.

Coming to accept the natural results of aging, sickness and disease, life change or birthing children; is part of accepting God's design for our bodies and lives at different seasons. I say good job for anyone who can shed little tears or mental energy over it. It's rare, especially for women, but men face it too.

I think there is a danger in embracing a spiritualized apathy or lack of discipline that attempts to turn our vices into virtues. I see it when people embrace the "grace of God message" and turn it into a license to sin. The flesh is a tricky combatant. In the end being overweight can kill you. Suicide isn't a godly virtue...and many of us are killing ourselves with our forks and couches.

In the end we are all imperfectly seeking to walk out what it means to "worship God" with all of our lives...and for many, their bodies are more a testimony to fleshly lack of control instead of the fruit of the Spirit called "self control". The church is praying more and more for healing and yet being conformed to death in her values, choices, lifestyles and mentalities. It's a subtle victory for death to get us to pray for supernatural means while continually undermining the end result through natural means. Death is our enemy, the very last one that Jesus will bring under His feet. Fighting against death is to resist the enemy of God. Life is what Jesus brings, not death...in fact, Jesus expanded the idea more by calling for "abundant life".(Jn 10:10).

Of course the world would love to define that "abundance" for us and focus on designer clothes, breast size, hot or not labels, a certain age, a number on a scale, or a look...etc.

But being healthy is much different than being a certain number on the scale...or being able to wear a tucked in shirt or a thong. Beauty can be found in the breast cancer survivor or among the Eskimo women of the north. True joy isn't on a rack of jeans or in the amount of hair on your scalp. Confidence isn't rooted most securely in the changing outer life. If it is...your going need a lot more than a wonder bra after those babies take out their hunger on your chest! No pill from some smiling Bob is going to turn any man into a better lover...if anything it will make a bad night...just longer. You can reach a certain "ideal weight" through starving yourself, taking diet pills, smoking or vomiting up your last meal...but in the end you are still out of control....and ugly.

For me losing 30-50 pounds is about quality of life and the desire to live longer, more productive, with more energy and in a way that honors God with what He has given me to steward. I fail at this so much...but His grace is present, His power is available and wisdom is gained through the journey. Legalism is alive and well in the health and fitness world. Its a cruel master that can exert a power that is as much slavery...as the undisciplined life.

My prayer is that: "We would prosper and be in good health, just as our souls prosper." (3 John 1:2) and achieve it in a God honoring way with grace, patience, wisdom and joy.

Lord Save Us from Your Followers....

9 of us from Jacob's Well attended the showing of "Lord Save Us From Your Followers" last night at the Garland Theater. After watching the movie and then hearing a bit from the Portland, Oregon director who was also present; we headed to Shari's resturant for some bad coffee and serivce and a chance to unpack the movie in conversation.

I didnt jive with the whole SDA (Why You Quit Church) sponsor thing...it felt agenda driven, gracious but with a possible hidden purpose...not sure why that rubbed me wrong, but it did and does. No slam on them, just being honest about perceptions today, even among us jaded postmodern christians. I guess I long to move beyond using things, messages and people for a desired end. There is a Jesus reality of the not letting the "left hand know what the right is doing" that I long to authentically work out in our community.

That aside...great message, but wow, practically embodying that is another thing. Finding practical ways for Christians and Churches to really put flesh on "loving people"; has to happen to really move the ball down the playing field. It's dangerously easy for a nice bumper sticker mentality of "Love People" to replace the hard work of building meaningful friendships with people who are not Christians...out of unconditional love...not agenda. It's not as easy to engage difficult people, conflicting agendas, offensive political opponents or enemies...no matter how "right" it may seem. And to do it authentically with true trust in the Sovereign work of God to draw people to Himself in the midst of our living, telling and praying...is a true discipline of surrender. To trust Him to work perfectly through my imperfect works is true faith.

I would be interested in how the church could practically wash the feet of...the GLT community?

I mean practically?

Goal

This was me at 218lbs in Feb 2006. Now 3 years later...255lbs.
That number is going to change. I've made some major changes since
August of 2008 and Lord willing, I will see some more by spring.

Day one

This is the first day since we started our Fit4Life health & fitness
class at church; that I've got my exercise in. Me and Kona got outside
today for a brisk 45 minute walk. She needs it too, she tipped the
scales at 99lbs at the vet. So both of us got some work to do.

Left Behind, eschatological bad humor....

SNB665
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

I guess according to some we should give this to VP Biden.

Invisible

Shame on the church...

I took this pic at a local coffee shop. Sad but often it's true. The
church should aim to change this perception.

A law of nature...

New Songs: Red Rider of War & Me and my Memories

The two new studio recorded songs are up and playing at RAW NERVE'S website.

Next Show:
Finals of the 2009 RAWK Final Four
Date: Saturday, February 21st, 2009
Bands: Death By Adam, Green Light Go, Raw Nerve, Olaf Olaf Olaf, Bodhi Drip
Venue: The Service Station
Address: 9315 N. Nevada
City: Spokane, WA
Time: 6:00 PM
Cost: $8 adv from bands, $10 door

Capturing light in dark places....

Picture: Sandy Puc' / Courtesy of NILMDTS

I met a young man this week who was grieving the loss of his first child. His wife had a miscarriage of a 12 week old baby. He shared with my, with tears in his broken eyes...that he had held the little baby in his hands. I couldn't imagine holding a child in my hands like that. It was so heartbreaking to hear him share his pain. My prayers go out to him and his wife. I ran across this article today and it made me think of them.

These artists are a perfect example of those who have touched the heart of God with their talents. "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" is a organization that has blended the art of photography into a healing tool for grieving parents who have lost a child. You can read the Newsweek article here.

Another ministry that reaches out to parents who have lost little babies is "Heavenly Angels in Need". Mary who is a relative of mine, runs this ministry of love and grace. She has a huge heart and a strong passion to spread God's love to those who have experienced such a tragedy. She has round up an army of knitters and seamstresses and craftsmen who make clothes, burial items and little caskets for babies that have died. They also support various projects with their beautiful hand made items; our refugees are blessed to be wearing and using their scarves, hats and blankets. Good work, good people and worthy of your support.


Artists are the healers of the world...the earth is more beautiful because they have lived.

Evolution of Dance

I've never seen this before even though its so popular...the middle and the end is the best I think.

Trying to fix ourselves...

"Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat denial of the gospel of grace."
-Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

In the studio...

Raw Nerve was in the studio yesterday, working on their first cd. I heard a rough cut of their first two songs (Red Rider of War & Me & My Memories) and all I can say is....WOW!!!

I was stunned, this cd is going to blow plaster off the walls. I am seriously starting to grow a massive late 80's mullet just thinking about how good this is going to be. I know I'm dad; but the studio really did a fantastic job of mic'n out the instruments, allowed Christian to focus on the vocals, and mixed the whole into one chunky stew of delicious metal sound that goes all the way to 11!

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Our family was treated to our first traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony by our host LemLem Dailey. LemLem is one of the adopted girls, our friends Dan and Melissa Dailey recently adopted. Here she is washing the green coffee beans they brought from Ethiopia. Here she is roasting them, and then she grinds them and then makes coffee with them.Then we were served and enjoyed the traditional three cups of coffee...of course LeeElla got four cups, I guess she is extra special.
It was a precious honor, she is a gift and we are blessed to get the privilege of being part of her and Sara's new life here in Spokane and the Dailey's home. I think Micah got the best treatment...as we were leaving, he got the traditional three kisses on the cheeks from LemLem...of course, he was all smiles.

The 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2008

Have you seen them?

Explode or implode....

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who live outside-in and those who live inside-out. The outside-in folks allow the world to saturate their thinking. They are sponges, absorbing the agendas of this world without a filter. Like the Roman Empire, they are destroyed from within. in contrast, those who live inside-out change the world with what’s inside them… It’s the difference between a black hole and a burning star. It’s more beautiful to explode in light than implode in darkness. And we all know that there are enough black holes in this world already.” -”Godology: Because Knowing God Changes Everything” by Christian George (lifted from http://www.joethorn.net/)

Sex & Jesus....?

Nightline's report "Sermons with an Edge" Sex & Jesus; about Mark Driscoll and the church Mars Hill in Seattle.

Good morning master....

There I am making French Toast for my lovely wife on her day off and in comes the 99 pound family beast, named Kona, our black lab. She looks at me at the stove, makes a retching sound...I in slow motion shout at her to get outside...she scrambles, left, right...pause....puke. A big pile of eggs, water and half eaten dog food, right on my linoleum kitchen floor.

Whew...at least she didn't hit the carpet...I yell again: "GET OUT" but instead of going to the door which was two feet in front of her, she spins around and heads to the dinning room...NOOOOOOOO!!!! I scream....Wretch....gurgle and....puke. A big pile of vomit, right on....the carpet.

I'm yelling mild, almost child friendly obscenities at the 1/2 lbs of emptied bile juice and table scraps that my blasted Canis Lupus Familiaris offered up for her master to enjoy.

Animals...you got to love em, especially the ones you allow to live inside your home....

Oh, and then LeeElla cleaned it up...you got to love marriage. :)

Where will you carry your light...?

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.  “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” - Luke 10:17-20

The first visible sign I saw of the Kingdom of God advancing in power in this East Central neighborhood was when another brother and I, drove out a demon from a tormented woman and mother. The demon had visited her son at his window. The boy would tell her that he saw him. Then one day it possessed him. In her motherly concern and fright, she told the spirit to enter her instead...it did. When we entered the room, she was against the wall and visibly not in her right mind. We ushered out some of the family that had gathered, closed the door and in the name of Jesus told that demon to leave her. Instantly she slumped to the floor and came into her right mind. After ministering to the gathered family, we left. The healed family started attending the church we were ministering within. It was an amazing moment and story of the power over devils that is available in Jesus.

It was the first encounter with snakes and scorpions that I had in this area and when we moved here to plant a church, I didnt expect it to be our last.


Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." (Mark 16:15-18).

The church is called to move into the dens of scorpions and serpents. To exercise the dominion of the resurrected and triumphant Lord of glory who "...disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross."-Colossians 2:15.

We are not to fear darkness but expose it with light, bind it, drive it out and crush it by the living and ever powerful One who lives within us. We are living out the prophetic words of our Lord who said: "Now judgement is upon this world; now the rule of this world will be cast out and I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. (John 12:31-32). He spoke of a day of plunder after the "strongman would be bound": “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. “If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! “But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. (Mark 3:24-27).With such marching orders, can we do less than dare to enter the strong man's house too? Isn't the ache to see those men and women drawn to Jesus motivation enough to put oneself in harms way? Is there danger? Yes. The odds are against us, the willing are few, the audacity of our God inspired and awakened faith is lamb like in comparison to the foe's that we face.

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. "Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves." (Luke 10:1-3).

We more than likely will die in the war but even death has been conquered...and what better way to die than standing in dark places...among snakes, scorpions and overwhelming odds?



I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than a land flooded with light.
-John Falconer

so true...

"The word 'no' is the way you keep your commitment to the people you have already said 'yes' to."
- Phil Schroeder

What gender does your blog lean towards...?

We guess http://www.fcb4.blogspot.com is written by a woman (60%), however it's quite gender neutral. So says Gender Analyzer.

Frozen dinners....

This is cold.

I Love Jesus, But I Drink A Little...

RAW NERVE....Wins & heads to the final 4 competition

Raw Nerve won their round of competition in the metal category and now head to the Rawk Final 4 competition at the Service Station on February 21st.

Obama is the Anti-Christ...?

In response to the "Obama is the Anti-Christ" people...don't you know that Bush IS the Anti-Christ? It's proven right here.

Notice the 3 upside down stars above the elephant...The 5-pointed star is a symbol for man, and the points were originally associated with spirit and the four elements – earth, water, fire, and air. When the point or head of the star is facing up it’s symbolic of spirit ruling over matter, and when down, it symbolizes humanity overcome by our most destructive instincts like greed and violence. Facing up towards the heavens we are under God’s authority, and when reversed, under the devil’s rule. As you can see the stars in the Republican Elephant are pointed down...proving that we've just went through the administration of the Anti-Christ and though his "headship" has been slain though political change...he will most assuredly rise again to political life...so...Obama is probably the mouth piece of the dragon and will usher in a return to power of Bush.“Symbologists (like that idiot Robert Langdon in “The DaVinci Code”) agree that the five pointed star, or pentagram, is an ancient symbol for the number “6”. Let me spell this out. Three pentagrams (on the Republican elephant) equals 666. This is the symbol for our arch-enemy, Satan, or his minion, the Anti-Christ. Why in the world would the Republican symbol have the emblem of Satan on it?”

So you see Bush is the Anti-Christ, the Hitler of our era, because that is what we have been constantly told in the alternative media and through the deep teachings of our internet prophets...

Or....you can see that the scripture foretell a cyclical reality: 1 John 2:18: "many antichrists have made their appearance."

History reveals that..."the (anti-christ) concept has evolved bewilderingly throughout biblical history. As definitively explained in Bernard McGinn's Antichrist: 2,000 Years of the Human Fascination With Evil and Robert Fuller's Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession, the character can be traced to Old Testament authors' horrified response to the oppression of ancient colonizers. When Alexander the Great's conquests led to a statue of Zeus in the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews envisioned a final conflict story wherein the Syrian Greek tyrant Antiochus, reimagined as a beast, got burned in God's "fiery stream" on Judgment Day.

Early Christians grafted the Roman Emperor Nero onto the tradition as the Beast from the Abyss in the Apocalypse, known to current Christians as the book of Revelation, the Bible's astonishing finale about the final days. Nero dressed in animal skins to ravage men's and women's genitals, burned Christians in ghastly dramas, demanded to be worshiped as a god, and was rumored to have disappeared to the East, threatening to return one day to rule the world from Rome, or Jerusalem. Actually, he killed himself, but he lives on in beastly legend. To this day, the word for Antichrist in Armenian is "Nero."

Though the story of the Beast and various other biblical verses are associated with the Antichrist, the word itself, "Antichrist," only appears four times in the Bible, in the letters of John.

Christians have eternally argued about the Antichrist.

Revelation was nearly banned from the Bible, and permitted strictly on condition it should never be used as it is by fundies today.

Church father Augustine ordered Christians to quit reading apocalyptic Left Behind–style scenarios into scripture and think of the Antichrist as anyone who denies Christ—and he said the first place to hunt for him is in your own heart."


But I could be wrong...becasue:

Obama hails from Chicago whose zipcode is: 60606 (do you see the three sixes ?

...(remove tongue from cheek...here.)

Russian mission fields....

These pictures are tragic...they show me that the gospel is needed wherever humanity dwells.

9

This looks amazing. You can watch the trailer here and watch the film short below, which is also amazing...but the short is with no dialogue but sets up the trailer a bit, even though the trailer has more action.

More abortions on the way...

"President Obama not long ago told the American people that he would support policies to reduce abortions, but today he is effectively guaranteeing more abortions by funding groups that promote abortion as a method of population control," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee."

Well now that the good feelings are over...the reality sets in...reducing abortions seems to be a great vote getter but not going to be actual policy. Read the article here.

A weeping thirst....

Thy mind, my Master, I will dare explore;
What we are told, that we are meant to know.
Into Thy soul I search more and more,
Led by the lamp of my desire and woe.
If Thee, my Lord, I may not understand,
I am a wanderer in a houseless land,
a weeping thirst by hot winds ever fanned.

-George MacDonald (Diary of an old soul)

Wash you hands after going to the...

"It is unclear how the peanut products were contaminated with salmonella, which is carried by animal feces. Foods can also become contaminated by infected food handlers who do not wash their hands with soap after using the bathroom.""Major-label peanut butter is not suspected to be contaminated with salmonella and is considered safe to eat, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Several major brands, including Peter Pan, Jif and Smuckers, are worried that panicky consumers will stop buying their products and have been taking pains to point out that their peanut butters are not part of the outbreak. Salmonella bacteria can cause an infection that often produces diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days. While most people recover without treatment, infants, elderly people and those with compromised immune systems can develop severe illness that can result in death if not promptly treated with antibiotics." The Washington Post

Ummm..."not suspected" wow...it makes me feel so confident....bye bye peanut butter.

No damsels in distress here....

Wired magazine wrote this article about the butt kicking, strong female characters in Battlestar Galactica. It's one of the reasons I dig Science Fiction, you can break the molds, the stereotypes, explore alternative paths of human existence and extrapolate on current cultural taboos or stress points. Religion, power, war, race, gender, sex, greed, ecology, ethics, morality all get a through exam in this series...which makes for some controversial and explosive story lines. I hope this season delivers. I'm sure hardline complementarians would have a hard time with these ladies but I sure think its more dignifying than a lot of the belittling eye-candy roles most women get in tv/films...I find this refreshing. Warning: show is for mature audiences only.

Tip of the hat....

No, no, no...Mr. President...You're THE man! Great speech, I will be praying that you will succeed in living out those ideals and that this nation will rally together and live up to the standard you called us to live. God bless you and your family and the days ahead.

I missed Warren's prayer but I thought the best part of the ceremony was the Rev. Joseph Lowery's benediction prayer. That was a work of art, faith, passion, love and history....Dr. King would have been proud. Rev. Joseph Lowery is considered to be the dean of the civil rights movement. Lowery began his work with civil rights in the early 1950s in Mobile, Alabama, where he headed the Alabama Civic Affairs Association. In 1957, Lowery and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

I was also thrilled to see the poet Elizabeth Alexander, getting to be part of the ceremony, with her poem: "Praise Song For The Day" Elizabeth is only the fourth poet to read at an inauguration, following Robert Frost in 1961, Maya Angelou in 1993 and Miller Williams in 1997. Her poem was average in my humble opinion, but I was still grateful for the act of including poetry into the historic event.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

What a moment...wish I could be there.

Click on the link below and watch this short video where MLK JR gets prophetic about the future possibility of a Black American President.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/world_news_america/7838851.stmAmazing.

Snatching them out of the fire...

"Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. -Jude 1:21-25

Living on the edge of mission is going to be more dangerous than living in the center.

You can and more than likely will get burned, if you choose to live close to the fires of hell instead of the comforts of heaven. You will smell of smoke; and many won't like it, in fact they may even mistake you for one in need of being saved. But you will learn to strip away much of what one would normally choose to wear for daily life...because of the mission, you choose to let it go. That includes praise, understanding, sometimes a reputation and often that warm glow of appreciation and approval.

But all of that is forgotten, when you are able to grasp that soul who is clothed in polluted garments in an embrace of redemption. Yes, you hate the vileness that they are stained by, the smell, the sin, the corruption...the flesh; but in all the uncleanness of it; you are overwhelmed not by the stench of falleness...but the object of the Son's love.

Love is often blinded by what personal religion, hardened indifference, numbing, self righteous complacency can so vividly observe with such harsh judgment.

Relgion often shouts; "Unclean!!! Unclean!!!....but Jesus, my savior...says: "I am willing...be clean"

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. -Mark 1:40-45

Filled with compassion...oh that is my desperate prayer for myself and our church....so desperate, I am willing to embrace the stigma of leading and journeying down such smoldering paths.

Put your hand to the plow...

"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." -Jesus (Lk 9:62)

Sunday's are days of miracles for those who have eyes, hands and hearts to see....I watched a man weep as the Holy Spirit embraced him in gentle resurrection power...I knew he had recently attempted suicide and failed....because God is saving Him. I watched tears roll down cheeks of friends who are parting ways, as life sends them in different journeys but know that love will reunite them again. I heard adopted daughters laughter, from lips that had undoubtedly prayed desperate prayers for a family to be part of and now are within. Music was made, reviving prayers were said, words burned, love won out, honey was tasted, heavenly wine for those who are willing to drink. Grace overtaking the creeping darkness....the Kingdom coming on Earth.

"We sense that something magnificent is afoot. We are intrigued by the chaos. We are willing to risk significant change in order to create local expressions of the kingdom of God that are burning with missional passion and practice. We want to explore the meaning of the chaos, the vision of a preferred future, the challenge of being "church."- John Frye

I think back to moments when in church planting you collapse on the dry, hard ground...feeling the heat of reality bearing down on your vision bearing head and wonder if the labor is going to destroy you. Your hands and hearts are blistered by forces that do not release their hold easily. You are tired of the grunts and disapproving groans of the oxen that don't see the purpose of going around and around the same field. The voices that murmur all around you and tell you that the way you plow, the plow you use, the field you have chosen...are all wrong; can if you let it, undermine your confidence. But you press on...you know, what is to come, even if it seems like you are chasing a mirage. You wrestle with the natures and the knowing that greater powers are at work and that you cannot control the outcome of your labors. You are at the mercy of the unknown...you truly plow in hope and faith.

"This process is like the old analogy about an ancient plow pulled by oxen: on the first pass over the field the plow just barley makes a line in the dirt. But as the ox is carefully steered so that the plow passes over the exact same line, there is after the second pass, a slight rut. After several additional passes there is a clear groove. Finally, after many passes the soil is fully ready for seed that will bear fruit." -Todd Hunter "Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others" from NextWave

The triumph and brutality of mission...

"God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy..." -Psalms 68"6

I have some friends in our church, who just returned from Africa and this video appears to capture some of the tough stuff they are processing. I see it in the stare, the slow talking, the anguish of two worlds crashing together.

I can feel the unstable emotional equilibrium. I can sense the rage, the powerlessness, the hopeless hope and the mustard seed faith...all kicking and screaming like a baby born...but unable to care for itself...like spiritual mother's who are so exhausted from the birthing, they have no strength...bleeding in heart and soul.

Idealism gets raped by reality in mission.

As a pastor with hands and heart engaged in mission; i've witnessed and experienced this re-entry malaise and mission fatigue. I know God uses it...but I've also seen the enemy use it too. I long to work at building better mission runways for take off and for landing within the local church context, especially the American cultural context. I think people process too much of these conflicting juxtapositions alone....here enters the power of love, community, prayer and journeying together.

I would love to hear more ideas, or helps from anyone else reading this, that could offer some wisdom on this work of aftercare. I plan to use this video in our future aftercare processing.

On another note...it was a beautiful thing, looking into the crowd Sunday and see "Sarah and LemLem" their Africa teenage daughters huge smiles, sitting there with us for the first time. Getting to embrace in love, the girls we all prayed for, helped our friends fight for and now get the chance to walk with.

God is good.

Love truly...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things...Love never fails. (1 Cor. 13:7)

Love....as I have loved you.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:12-13

My 16 year old son, Christian produced this video in November and posted it on his youtube page (http://www.youtube.com/user/CCGBAOcomedy)...I didn't know about until today. I've been looking for a video to use in my message on 1 Corinthians 13...I think I found it.

Yep...me too.

ET...and the Dukes...

Aftermath...

This is a shot from my son Micah's school where I drop him off in the morning. You can see the piles of snow that have slid off the roof, creating a landscape of dirty snow...kinda like a ghetto version of Superman's Ice Castle...but not.

Starwars as a girl remembers it...

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo. From BoingBoing

RAW NERVE....Jan 24th, 6PM @ The Big Dipper

Raw Nerve - The Day I Die from christian blauer on Vimeo.

"Raw Nerve" (www.myspace.com/rawnerve) is the band my son Christian does vocals and plays one of the guitars in. They are competing in a citywide battle of the bands and their first show is January 24th at The Big Dipper. Cost is $8 if you buy the tickets from them, $10 at the door; starts at 6PM.

I just feel safer....

...now that Jack is back.

’seeing through’ things...

“You cannot go on ’seeing through’ things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden, too? It is no use trying to ’see through’ first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ’see through’ all things is the same as not to see.” -C.S. Lewis "The Abolition of Man"

Thou art my refuge...

"That man is perfect in faith who can come to God in the utter dearth of his feelings and desires, without a glow or an aspiration, with the weight of low thoughts, failures, neglects, and wandering forgetfulness, and say to Him, “Thou art my refuge.”
-George McDonald

God will soon crush satan....under your feet.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet -Romans 16:20

In William Gurnall's classic book "The Christian in Complete Armour", he gives much practical advice to Christians. This little snippet is encouragement for us when our peace is robbed.

"When Satan comes to take away your peace, if you do not understand the full significance of your justification in Christ you will be easily overcome. A saint without assurance of salvation is as unprotected as the rabbit that darts into a thicket to escape a fox, but is easily followed by the print of her own feet and the scent she leaves behind. In Christ you have a hiding place where the enemy dare not come: 'the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs' (Song of Sol. 2:14). While the devil may be in hot pursuit of your soul, the very scent of Christ's blood, by which you are justified, is noxious to him and will stop him in his tracks. Run straight into this tower of the gospel covenant, and roll this truth on the head of Satan, as the woman cast the stone on the head of Abimelech: 'To him....that....believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness' Rom. 4:5

Lifted from my Fahdur's blog

New Worlds....

The New World

It begins with a journey.
You must cross an ocean.
Can you imagine...can you feel what it is to cross an ocean?
For weeks you see nothing but the horizon.
All round you, perfect, and empty.
Your ship is small, tiny...a speck in such immensity.

You live with fear, in the grip of fear...fear of storms, fear of sickness on board,
fear of the immensity. What if you never escape? How can you escape?
There's nowhere to go.

So you must drive your fear down, deep into your belly, and study your charts, and watch your compass, and pray for a fair wind...and hope.
Pure naked fragile hope, when all your senses scream at you, Lost!
Lost! Imagine it. Day after day, staring west, the rising sun on your back,
The setting sun in your eyes, hoping, hoping...
At first it's no more than a haze on the horizon,
The ghost of a haze, the pure line corrupted.
But clouds do that, and storms.
So you watch...you watch.

Then it's a smudge, a shadow on the far water.
For a day, for another day, the stain slowly spreads along the horizon,
and takes form...until on the third day you let yourself believe.
You dare to whisper the word...land!

Land. Life. Resurrection. The true adventure.
Coming out of the vast unknown, out of the immensity,
into safe harbor at last.

That...that...is the New World.

-Sir Walter Raleigh in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Picture by Marcin Jakubowski

The Chicken of Depression...

Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. -Psalms 139:12

A common mistake I find in sharing ones journey; is attaching too much judgment or explanation to the phases of our temperaments. Dark is purposeful...imagine a world without the nuances of shadow.
Could one endure the brightness of constant light?
We need the moon to balance the Sun.
We need our sleep life to counterbalance our awake life.
Could you truly appreciate much of anything without the multiplicity of opposites?
Is a walk underneath moonlight to be eclipsed by a stroll in evening colors?
Could the world ever bloom with only sunlight and no spring drenching showers?
I think the problem comes when the winter refuses to give way her hold to the advances of spring.
These are the seasons when we need a savior, an Aslan, a doctor, a rescue.
But it all makes up our story...no chapter should be left unwritten, if it has been lived.
The church is weaker because she pretends to presently live in a city without a Moon...but that day hasn't arrived yet.

Depression is a subject that many Christians have a hard time understanding or even talking about. I've walked in shadows a lot of my life...at times into darkness that I needed help recovering from. In the past prayer has helped, diet has had an impact and listening to my life and understanding what my body was saying to me was essential.

For some medications are part of the path towards health. The mind needs a lift, an extra push, a piggy-back to catch it's breath. Sometimes it's in need of a little refill bio-chemically. It's nothing to feel bad or unspiritual about, all our bodies get drained and sometimes need medication to help our own immune system catch up or extra punch to fight off whatever is attacking.

Faith people are often the wrong people to go to for health wisdom...have you looked in the pews? The church is full of sick, unhealthy, mental, angry, supressed, overweight people...God loves them, but don't look for too much wisdom on self-care from them. I say that as a loving pastor. Get help from doctors...not patients.

Remember "darkness" is often the souls cry for light. It's shouting or moaning about deep issues that need healing or need change. Greyness, numbness are often signs that one is walking in a unhealthy lie of some kind. "hope deferred, makes the heart sick". Treatment should help you catch you breath long enough to unpack the heart or mind issues.
Medications are like a life preserver, it won't propell you but it will keep you from drowning.

I thank God for the moon and the sun...I've been able to accept, understand and enjoy who and I am and who God is, more because of it.

Abraham...

Hearing voices, gazing into the heavens,
Grasping hopes beyond reality,
Kissing lips that laugh at possibilities,
Walking paths that smoke, smolder and bleed,

Embracing alternatives, making love out of fear,

Feeding visitors, entertaining angels unawares...
Encountering the future in the present,
And making deals with sovereignty,
Hoping your hand is the better deal.

Putting a knife to your deepest loves,
Obeying more than receiving,
Giving all...without a hesitation.

Leaving your home...for the unknown,
Living day to day in transition...just walking.

Seeing the crying of promise, the tears of hope,
The trembling joy of mystery.

Burying it all in the tomb of finiteness...with old hands but a young heart.

This is faith.

(1.09.09 Eric Blauer)

As part of my new year goals, I've started reading "The Book of God" by Walter Wangerin, Jr. as a devotional tool for my own spiritual life and I think I am going to use it with my family too. It's the Bible written as novel, so the "story" comes through more than a study of the bible. I long to understand the truths of the word of God within the context of the story of the Word of God. Our culture loves stories but rarely endures lectures. I desire to be a better storyteller this year. This poem came out of my time in the story of Abraham. I often take the written word and after it has "spoken" to me, I re-speak it in prayer, song, prose or poetry...and some of these moments find their way into proclamation.

But the best stuff is reserved for God, angels and devils....the first cut into the orange, its the freshest...and the first bite, the juiciest.

African "WILD" life...?

So a couple friends of ours are in Africa right now...and they send me wildlife pictures, but there seems to be something a little askew about this one..

The best wedding dance ever....

Wanda Nevada...an estrogen induced lycanthropy...

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Oh my...somehow I fought the urge to leave when this came on last night...one of the dangers of leaving the remote available for anyone to get ahold of...but I'm glad that I didn't leave, because this was one crazy weird flick. I rarely laugh outloud...for awhile...I did in this movie; the line that Peter Fonda made about the dog...stunned me. At times in this movie, I wasn't sure where it was going to go...a 13 year old hooking up with a 20 year older man...it was odd, even though nothing took place....the whole theme got odd...not counting the creepy chicken necking dude with the thin mustache, the old man who gets his throat cut, the gun fight that goes on forever but nobody gets shot, the rotoscope indian with his lightening throwing powers and smoking arrows, the fact that Peter Fonda keeps putting cigarettes in his mouth but never smokes them, the glowing skull, the angry shopkeeper...and the sassy Brooke who perfectly captures that strange gangly place that a girl starts awkwardly changing into a woman...not quite girl, not yet ladyThe whole transition is kinda like an estrogen induced lycanthropy...one that she perfectly pulled off, brilliantly acted. It reminded me of the countless moments as a youth pastor that I got to see this bizarre unfolding take place...poor creatures, some manage it better than others for sure. I think girls have it way more tough as far as becoming adults go. It's laughable and tragic all at the same time.

I'm so jealous....

Here is Jon Foreman, frontman for Switchfoot, playing a little post show, on the street impromptu set for some fans; in fact, he's playing my two favorite songs off of his solo cd "Fall". I know its a crappy video but the rawness of it all is cool. If you don't own his solo stuff, you are missing out. He's a great song writer, has a moving voice and he plays some melodic harmonica on "Southbound Train", not on this version through.

This is weird...but I like it.

Everyone's a suspect here.

Where I wish I was...

With all this snow, sore muscles from clearing it, and the post stress of the holiday season...I wish I was right where these dudes are.