Recently I’ve had quite a preoccupation baking bread. It started a couple years ago when I decided I wanted to make homemade pizza crust. Since then it has become some kind of delicious monster. I’ve even gotten some sourdough starter from my mom and have been using it to make sourdough bread, using only the starter and no yeast. Its pretty tricky, but when the bread turns out, it sure is delicious. Here’s a rather poor shot (because I was using my phone) of some sourdough I made today.
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Tags: food
22 “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22
It seems very clear to me that we live in a time where the vast majority of Christians live a life filled with thorns. Surely, many have heard the word. Many believe the word. Many claim to walk in the word to learn and grow. It is interesting that the verse does not say that they wither away and die. They are not unknowledgeable about the word. But, they have no fruit.
I would be so bold as to say that the life of the modern evangelical believer looks almost no different from the life of a non-believer. Do they still know the truth? Yes. Are they growing and walking the narrow path that Christ demands? Maybe not. The deception of wealth and the worries of this life are so pervasive. The believer today still approaches education, finding a job, and standard of living the same way that everyone else does. They are concerned with their protection and well-being, which doesn’t seem like something all that bad. But the reality is that those things are the “worries of this life.” They are all passing away, and have no eternal value. How many are so deceived in thinking that they are living the “Christian Life” but are in fact simply living for themselves, with no fruit whatsoever? Or maybe they claim to have fruit, but it is fruit that comes from the efforts of this life and again has no value.
Let us let go of the things of this world. To hear the word, the amazing and beautiful gospel of the Kingdom, but to allow the simple things of this world to distract us is a tragedy. Let us live for Christ Jesus, our King and our Lord.
Tags: The Spiritual Life
The Lord prompted me to share this tonight:
God is concerned about the condition of our heart. He has taught me this so clearly recently. In all things he desires that our heart is directed fully and completely to Him.
Praise God for his amazing patience, faithfulness and mercy upon me! Oh how tender is he even in teaching me obedience, whether in prayer, with money or my time. Lord, do not ever stop teaching me! Do not lift your hand from my life.
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7
Tags: The Spiritual Life
This past Friday I was given the opportunity to go up to Lubbock, Texas for some fellowship with some brothers and sisters in Christ. The circumstances came together in an interesting way, with some friends and brothers here receiving invitations to come up from several sources independently of one another. Regardless, it was clear that the Lord wanted us to experience this time of fellowship and revelation. One of the verses that comes to mind in relationship to the whole trip is this:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Ephesians 3:10
The Lord really taught me a lot on this trip. It was a wonderful time and I met some really wonderful brothers that I know I will be connected to from this point forward, even though I have seen them for just but a few hours. Bless the Lord! He is so good!
Here is a song that seemed to be thematic or at least resting on my mind having to do with the trip as well. It is called “Spirit Fall” by Phil Wickham.
Tags: The Spiritual Life
Howdy all, its been a little while since I made an entry. On Sunday, June 29, Mission: Possible! took about 30 campers with us down to H.E. Butt Foundation camp near Leakey, Texas for the annual “Road Trip” outing. It was a less structured time than Camp Nikos, with an emphasis on “family time” and relationships with some of the older kids. We were there for three full days, coming back to Austin on the 3rd of July.
Everyone seemed to have a great time. We slept in primitive cabins with no AC, but the Lord blessed us with incredibly cool weather for this time of year. We even got a few showers some days. The foundation is on the Frio river, and our particular campsite was on a beautiful stretch of river surrounded by cliffs with a swimming area called The Bluehole. It was so picturesque and incredibly fun. We spent a lot of time swimming, hiking, and hanging out playing volleyball and basketball. We also took one day to do a float down the Frio River in inner tubes. The water was lower than normal for the float, but it was still a good time.
The purpose of the time was to build relationships with the kids and allow them to see and hear about Christ living in our lives. Tim Jr. was able to share many mysteries of the gospel and of God’s purposes for mankind. Many of the kids really engaged and asked some great questions. Its my prayer that they will continue to seek the Lord and that He would reveal himself to them wherever they are.
Tags: Nikos Camps
So this past Saturday, after we returned from camp, Cheryl and I picked up our puppy from her parents’ house! Her name is Penny, and she’s a golden retriever. She is 9 weeks old or so, and thus still very much a baby. We have to take her out just about every hour to prevent accidents, and even with our diligence, we are often down on the floor scrubbing. 
But, being just a puppy still, its hard to get too upset with her.
She seems to be on a slightly different sleep schedule than Cheryl and I, meaning very early mornings so far. This morning especially
I took her out at about 5:45a.m. for a potty break, and then she simply wouldn’t go back to sleep. We tried to get back to sleep, but she wouldn’t settle down, so I got up and took her for a walk. I just got a new phone the other day, so I messed around with audio options as we walked, and took a couple photos. Penny and I stopped at a little playground area after about 20 minutes or so and I tested out my camera.
It seems to work decently as far as quality goes, but it also has a few other options which are kinda neat. It will shoot in a burst of 4 shots at a time, and I managed to take a weird panoramic shot as well. Strange to think you could do such a think with a phone, but hey, it kinda worked. Anyway, after all that fuss and walking around for probably an hour or so, she’s now sleeping on the tile, and I’m wide awake. Go figure.
Tags: penny
The last two days of camp seemed to go by very quickly. The campers and leaders really got accustomed to the daily schedule and things seemed to go very smoothly. Each day starts with breakfast, and then an activity rotation. After lunch and two more activities, the whole camp gathers below the dining hall for a time that the campers can display a “talent” or goof around. It is very encouraging for the kids to get recognition and applause for something they can do. After dinner and a time of group games, the night service is the last event before bedtime.
As I have mentioned before, we have been showing videos with leader interviews about our theme for the day. I hope to be able to link to them or post them at some point. Also during the night service is a slide show which goes through pictures of the kids at their various activities during the day. The campers love to see their faces up on the screen and yell and cheer for their friends. There is also a time where our “light lady” recognizes campers that did an exceptional job during the week. They get to be drawn on with highlighter and then “shine” under black lights. The basis for light lady is for the kids have their light shine, from Matthew 5:16. Tim Jr. talks briefly to the campers before they finally go to bed. I really felt that the campers were able to connect to the words that Tim spoke, and it was clear that many were thinking about the topics as evidence from their conversations with leaders and their prayer requests.
The interesting thing about Camp Nikos is that is it a revealing time for all who participate. I know the Lord taught me many things over the week. I pray that He will continue to reveal himself to me so that I will know Him intimately, just as we spoke to the campers about the very same thing. I pray that I will be able to hear His voice. And I pray that I will be able to trust Him in everything.
Other than a few wasp stings, and one little boy that had an infected cut, there were very few medical issues all week long. Lots of kids were able to catch some big fish during their fishing time, and the new archery slot was by and large a big success. The waterfront is home to three activities, being fishing, canoeing and swimming. In the swimming area is also a blob, which is a lot of fun to launch people off of into the water. On Friday I helped “double blob” a few leaders with Sean, the youth pastor from Hope in the City. It was good stuff.
The interesting thing about Camp Nikos is that is it a revealing time for all who participate. I know the Lord taught me many things over the week. I pray that He will continue to reveal himself to me so that I will know Him intimately, just as we spoke to the campers about the very same thing. I pray that I will be able to hear His voice. And I pray that I will be able to trust Him in everything.
Praise our King! For He is real and wants to be known! He can be heard, and can be trusted!
Tags: Nikos Camps
First of all I want to apologize for the lack of posts and pictures over the last two days and yesterday. The internet connection was less than reliable, and things were really busy as well. Over all, the camp went extremely smoothly and was a lot of fun. I’ll try to make a more detailed couple of posts later today and/or tomorrow with details!
Tags: Nikos Camps
Yesterday we talked about how God can be and wants to be known by his people. The theme verse was James 4:8. The campers and leaders are starting to form some meaningful relationships as they discuss the theme and participate together through daily activities. It’s great to see them walking down trails together, singing verses and clearly becoming comfortable as good pals. Most of the guys really enjoy fishing, swimming, and ropes. It was really hot, but everyone is being careful to drink a lot of water and stay in the shade when possible.
During the dinner service, some of the leaders performed a skit to a Lifehouse song called “Everything.” You can find it on youtube, and I’ll try to make a link later as well. It is a powerful representation of the role of Christ in a believer’s life, even through their struggles in a lost and sin-filled world. The campers watched very attentively, and hopefully the explanation of the skit spoke to them on a deeper level.
Continue to pray for meaningful and eternal conversations among the leaders and campers. Pray that the leaders would not simply get through the week on their own power and will, but that they would surrender all to Christ. Pray that as they begin to tire and lose strength that they would seek the Lord and learn from Him, even amidst the trials and joys of this week. Also pray for one little boy named Erik. He struggles with some anger issues, but it looks like he might be turning around today. Also, the girls have been having some drama within different cabins, so pray that the Lord would do a mighty work and bring His children to Him.
Tags: Nikos Camps
Fishing out on the dock
Tetherball!
Francisco, Will, Daniel, Zach, Jonathan, and Vernon from Tent 2
Zach and Russell chillin’ on the dock
Tags: Nikos Camps
Ben’s Posterous Posts
- Oswald Chamber, August 19th August 19, 2010
- enemy June 6, 2010
- Ben and Hannah March 22, 2010
- Gmail is so awesome. February 25, 2010
- fawm January 31, 2010
- Hannah tells a story December 23, 2009