Friday, December 30, 2005
what am i still missing?
...So Joshua said to the Israelites:"How long will you wait before you begin to take possessions of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?" (Joshua 18:3)
Sunday, December 25, 2005
something is bound to change very soon
For some time now (like the last 3-4 months, especially during the move) the following verse has been in my mind: The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." (Gen 12:1). God does actually say some more things after that, blessings etc., but just that verse has been on my mind.
When I look back it seems to be a lot like what I've just gone through. I've left my country, Switzerland, and even my people in Indiana, my father's and mother's and any other relative's household to move to San Diego.. not quite sure why.. God just kept saying "I'll show you when you get there, just go now, you'll see!"
Just in the last few days now I’ve been searching for God more intensely and I sort of stumbled across the passage in Joshua where God leads the Israelites into the promised land after wandering around in the desert for 40 years – funny, I just finished reading Rick Warren’s book “ the purpose driven life", a 40 day study.
Anyway, so they cross the Jordan, then God has all the men circumcised (whatever that could mean in my life) -> Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. <- (the whole story's in Joshua 3-5)
Then they celebrate Passover and the very next day they eat food made of the produce of the land and …there is no more manna. 40 years of eating manna every day, God’s miraculous provision in the desert, then they come to the land God promised them (Canaan) and switch to the food that's there.
So what does all this have to do with me?? I don’t know! But I do know that God is doing something very soon.. in fact He’s been doing a lot of great things lately.. but that’s just a foretaste, right? Can it be that God is leading me out of the desert i feel i've been wandering through and into one "flowing with milk and honey" ??
When I look back it seems to be a lot like what I've just gone through. I've left my country, Switzerland, and even my people in Indiana, my father's and mother's and any other relative's household to move to San Diego.. not quite sure why.. God just kept saying "I'll show you when you get there, just go now, you'll see!"
Just in the last few days now I’ve been searching for God more intensely and I sort of stumbled across the passage in Joshua where God leads the Israelites into the promised land after wandering around in the desert for 40 years – funny, I just finished reading Rick Warren’s book “ the purpose driven life", a 40 day study.
Anyway, so they cross the Jordan, then God has all the men circumcised (whatever that could mean in my life) -> Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. <- (the whole story's in Joshua 3-5)
Then they celebrate Passover and the very next day they eat food made of the produce of the land and …there is no more manna. 40 years of eating manna every day, God’s miraculous provision in the desert, then they come to the land God promised them (Canaan) and switch to the food that's there.
So what does all this have to do with me?? I don’t know! But I do know that God is doing something very soon.. in fact He’s been doing a lot of great things lately.. but that’s just a foretaste, right? Can it be that God is leading me out of the desert i feel i've been wandering through and into one "flowing with milk and honey" ??
Friday, December 02, 2005
i asked for that, didn't i?
finally, i have somewhat come to a decision for what i want to do in the future. lately i've been very occupied by figuring out what church i want to belong to, what kind of ministry to be a part of, and what career path to choose and get a college degree..and how in the world can i get enough work at Starbucks to pay for food, clothing and shelter (and a couple of other "add-ons").
i'm leaning very much towards going to college and becoming a teacher, preferably elementary school. so i need to talk to all kinds of advisors at all kinds of schools around here to figure out what my options are. another option would be to specialize my teaching in science where my advantage would be that i could (if it works out) work for a lab and at the same time take courses to teach science which might be reimbursed by that company too. and that kind of a job would most likely also pay enough to pay the rent and food.
church and ministry.. i've gone to the rock a few times and liked it a lot but to me it somehow seems too impersonal. although i'm well plugged into a small group and feel very at home there. but i don't feel it's the church where i will tithe and use my talents. i've been to South Coast Community Church in Pacific Beach a few times as well and i feel very much more at home there. it's much smaller than the rock and still has a close family kind of feel to it. plus they need a drummer and that's definitely my passion. and i've tried to contact the rock many times about drumming there and never heard back.
in the mean time i've hung out with one of the worship teams at SouthCoast and had lunch with the associate pastor. i feel like i've already known these people for a long time.
maybe with all these little situations God is sort of forcing me into the right direction..i asked for that, didn't i?
i'm leaning very much towards going to college and becoming a teacher, preferably elementary school. so i need to talk to all kinds of advisors at all kinds of schools around here to figure out what my options are. another option would be to specialize my teaching in science where my advantage would be that i could (if it works out) work for a lab and at the same time take courses to teach science which might be reimbursed by that company too. and that kind of a job would most likely also pay enough to pay the rent and food.
church and ministry.. i've gone to the rock a few times and liked it a lot but to me it somehow seems too impersonal. although i'm well plugged into a small group and feel very at home there. but i don't feel it's the church where i will tithe and use my talents. i've been to South Coast Community Church in Pacific Beach a few times as well and i feel very much more at home there. it's much smaller than the rock and still has a close family kind of feel to it. plus they need a drummer and that's definitely my passion. and i've tried to contact the rock many times about drumming there and never heard back.
in the mean time i've hung out with one of the worship teams at SouthCoast and had lunch with the associate pastor. i feel like i've already known these people for a long time.
maybe with all these little situations God is sort of forcing me into the right direction..i asked for that, didn't i?
Thursday, November 17, 2005
how true
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 8:2-3
- Deuteronomy 8:2-3
Monday, November 07, 2005
fraudulent charges on my credit card
going over my credit card statement I found that I've been charged for services i never ordered. The first time I didn't think much of it because I thought that it my have been for a book or something I bought at amazon.com and that was just the name of the seller and I didn't look into it in more detail.
Around the same time I was hardly using that credit card anymore and had all my bills directed to another card. I should have paid more attention and checked my balance more often!
Not only was I charged around $25 for this service for about 4 months but because of my balance being so close to my credit limit, I was also charged overdraft and late payment fees when the balance finally did go over the limit because of those charges!
I found out that it's a scam by reading endless reports about the same thing happening to people who reported it on
http://www.ripoffreport.com
so i wrote a report myself to let people who read about it know how i had been tricked and and hopefully they don't get fooled. i also talked to the fraud department at my bank and they were very helpful. the nice lady said that the fraudulent charges in question will be reversed and they will investigate this case. she also closed the account and advised me to cut up my credit card which i did. they'll be sending me a new one within 2-3 weeks.
i also emailed the customer service from which i was being charged and said that they've charged me for something i didn't want and asked nicely how i can get out of this mess.
the answer i got was something like "you ordered this service when you ordered something on another website and you agreed to pay the membership fees by the same payment method as as you used on this other website." so basically this other company gave this fraudulent service my credit information.
so now i hope by closing down my credit card, reversing the charges and an ongoing investigation i've finally put an end to this nonsense!
Around the same time I was hardly using that credit card anymore and had all my bills directed to another card. I should have paid more attention and checked my balance more often!
Not only was I charged around $25 for this service for about 4 months but because of my balance being so close to my credit limit, I was also charged overdraft and late payment fees when the balance finally did go over the limit because of those charges!
I found out that it's a scam by reading endless reports about the same thing happening to people who reported it on
http://www.ripoffreport.com
so i wrote a report myself to let people who read about it know how i had been tricked and and hopefully they don't get fooled. i also talked to the fraud department at my bank and they were very helpful. the nice lady said that the fraudulent charges in question will be reversed and they will investigate this case. she also closed the account and advised me to cut up my credit card which i did. they'll be sending me a new one within 2-3 weeks.
i also emailed the customer service from which i was being charged and said that they've charged me for something i didn't want and asked nicely how i can get out of this mess.
the answer i got was something like "you ordered this service when you ordered something on another website and you agreed to pay the membership fees by the same payment method as as you used on this other website." so basically this other company gave this fraudulent service my credit information.
so now i hope by closing down my credit card, reversing the charges and an ongoing investigation i've finally put an end to this nonsense!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
God's provision (continued)
ok, so here's what previously had been a scary situation for me: high medical bills, rent that appeared to be almost as high as my income and money that i owe people.
but just before i started to write this i was in the shower and thinking about the situation and i realized how much God had providing for me without me even noticing until now: my boss at Starbucks is making sure that i get to work 40 per week and with those numbers in mind i figured out that i'd be making more than 3x the amount i have to pay in rent!
the bills aren't gone yet and i still owe people money and will have to pay rent.. but now i can't imagine why i was afraid in this situation before.
i was also reminded of a statement i read on the door inside someones bathroom while i was in Switzerland: God provides for us by giving us work (as in a job that pays). God is just so providing for me this way right now!
but just before i started to write this i was in the shower and thinking about the situation and i realized how much God had providing for me without me even noticing until now: my boss at Starbucks is making sure that i get to work 40 per week and with those numbers in mind i figured out that i'd be making more than 3x the amount i have to pay in rent!
the bills aren't gone yet and i still owe people money and will have to pay rent.. but now i can't imagine why i was afraid in this situation before.
i was also reminded of a statement i read on the door inside someones bathroom while i was in Switzerland: God provides for us by giving us work (as in a job that pays). God is just so providing for me this way right now!
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
God's provision
yesterday i got my tips after working a pretty full week at Starbucks (33 hours). i was surprised that i got so much and at first thought somebody must have miscounted. got home there were letters and check cards from US Bank in the mail for my new bank account. i've been carrying checks from Indianapolis with to open the account and wasn't able to use them until now and my Bank One account in Indy is empty. Wow!
i was reminded of something Rob told me earlier that day: sometimes God just doesn't give you enough so that you can depend more on him and then in the end it always works out anyway. you see the big bills and the empty bank account and don't know what to do and ask him for help. then he'll surprise you..somehow..!
i was reminded of something Rob told me earlier that day: sometimes God just doesn't give you enough so that you can depend more on him and then in the end it always works out anyway. you see the big bills and the empty bank account and don't know what to do and ask him for help. then he'll surprise you..somehow..!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
now in San Diego
So here I am, after a 3 day trip from Indianapolis to San Diego, sitting on the sofa with my feet on a not-unpacked-yet box in our new apartment in Point Loma (San Diego). It’s really nice and it’s hard to believe that we’re here and already moved in and almost unpacked.
God has just soooo provided for us this whole time. My car is still up and running and it had unbelievably great mileage (around 30 miles/gallon) even though it was filled up with all my stuff, and it only (!) used 3 quarts of oil with the oil leak.
On Friday I’ll work my 1st shift at the Point Loma Starbucks. I already met the manager and some future colleagues and it seems to be a good place to work at.
Check out the new photo album on my website to see some photos of our 3 day trip and the new apartment and the area:
http://homepage.mac.com/danielgurtner/Archives/PhotoAlbum52.html
God has just soooo provided for us this whole time. My car is still up and running and it had unbelievably great mileage (around 30 miles/gallon) even though it was filled up with all my stuff, and it only (!) used 3 quarts of oil with the oil leak.
On Friday I’ll work my 1st shift at the Point Loma Starbucks. I already met the manager and some future colleagues and it seems to be a good place to work at.
Check out the new photo album on my website to see some photos of our 3 day trip and the new apartment and the area:
http://homepage.mac.com/danielgurtner/Archives/PhotoAlbum52.html
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Katrina the Storm
By now everyone knows about the Storm that hit the Gulf Area in the south USA.. it's terrible..! so i made this short video clip of some photos of the destruction down there. I used photos from Reuters and music by Martin Villiger and everyone who's seen it thinks i should send it to all the major news networks. so now i'm trying to find out all about getting the copyright/permission to actually use these media since none of it is made by me. it's just kinda crazy.. check it out if you haven't yet. click on the title of this entry to see a compressed version of it (approx. 2.5 MB, 2 min).
Thursday, September 01, 2005
gas-madness
so today i went to get gas.. it took more than 20 minutes to get less than 9 gallons of gas for more than $30! something seems to be seriously wrong. the cool thing is though that i had the chance to chat a little with people in the same situation at the gas station. so without knowing it this gas-madness might actually be a blessing..!
my new Starbucks store in San Diego
woohoo everybody!
i just got off the phone with my new Starbucks store manager in CA.
He just asked me a few questions and then welcomed me to the team
and now i'm scheduled to work starting september 26th.
God did it again..! Thanks for praying!
i just got off the phone with my new Starbucks store manager in CA.
He just asked me a few questions and then welcomed me to the team
and now i'm scheduled to work starting september 26th.
God did it again..! Thanks for praying!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
the decision is made
after lots of prayer and evaluating and thinking I've finally decided to do it. i'll be moving to San Diego this mid-September!
I don't really know what I'm doing but i do know that it's the right thing. So now I've been looking at schools over there to get my teaching degree. and since i'll need 1 year to establish residency in CA i'll have a whole year to figure out all the hoops that i'll have to jump through before I can start going to school.
Working for Starbucks won't be a problem because I can get a transfer to a store there so I'll already have a job lined up.
But primarily it's all about starting that beach ministry there - sort of bringing the church to the beach/party people who don't normally go to church through house churches in the community.
this is definitely a step off the ledge for me but i am confident that God will provide for much more than i can ever imagine lacking and trust that he has revealed it to me as my next step.
I don't really know what I'm doing but i do know that it's the right thing. So now I've been looking at schools over there to get my teaching degree. and since i'll need 1 year to establish residency in CA i'll have a whole year to figure out all the hoops that i'll have to jump through before I can start going to school.
Working for Starbucks won't be a problem because I can get a transfer to a store there so I'll already have a job lined up.
But primarily it's all about starting that beach ministry there - sort of bringing the church to the beach/party people who don't normally go to church through house churches in the community.
this is definitely a step off the ledge for me but i am confident that God will provide for much more than i can ever imagine lacking and trust that he has revealed it to me as my next step.
Monday, August 01, 2005
it's not over yet
I've also just found out that at IUPUI I'm considered an international student because I haven't had my last 2 years of school in the US. As an international student my deadline for applying for the fall semester would have been on June 1st. but i can still apply for the spring 2006 semester and the deadline isn't until october 1st which gives me a little time to take the TOEFL (something like "test of english as a foreign language) which is required for international students. and i also need to take an SAT which is required from domestic students when they apply for financial aid and for that i'm considered an american citizen. so now basically i need to meet all the requirements of an inteernational student AS WELL as those of an american citizen. maybe after all that i'll finally get to go to school..!
A new possibility has just arisen to live in Evansville with my grandfather. It seems that the University of Southern Indiana (USI) has the same kind of programs and reputation as IUPUI. So there's a slight chance that i might be able to fit in there too.
At this point though San Diego seems to have come a little bit closer. I've also learned that since I've been working for Starbucks for more than a 1/2 year that it is possible to get a transfer to another city and that the pay there is adjusted to the cost of living. so the only other hurdle there is being a resident for more than 1 year.
well, i'll go back to some more thinking and talking to people and finding out new stuff..
A new possibility has just arisen to live in Evansville with my grandfather. It seems that the University of Southern Indiana (USI) has the same kind of programs and reputation as IUPUI. So there's a slight chance that i might be able to fit in there too.
At this point though San Diego seems to have come a little bit closer. I've also learned that since I've been working for Starbucks for more than a 1/2 year that it is possible to get a transfer to another city and that the pay there is adjusted to the cost of living. so the only other hurdle there is being a resident for more than 1 year.
well, i'll go back to some more thinking and talking to people and finding out new stuff..
Friday, July 29, 2005
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
it's a tough decision to make.. today i've been mostly leaning more towards San Diego just because of the opportunity of a whole new experience. and there really aren't any very logical reasons to take this kind of a step even into consideration but i still feel strangely attracted to the idea. and then there are lots of logical and great reasons to stay in Indianapolis but somehow they still don't seem good enough.
i'm just sooo confused right now..!
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
San Diego or Indianapolis?
it's a tough decision to make.. today i've been mostly leaning more towards San Diego just because of the opportunity of a whole new experience. and there really aren't any very logical reasons to take this kind of a step even into consideration but i still feel strangely attracted to the idea. and then there are lots of logical and great reasons to stay in Indianapolis but somehow they still don't seem good enough.
i'm just sooo confused right now..!
a crazy week
ok, last friday i got the evaluation of my swiss transcripts
back. they say that since i haven't taken any classes at the university level my diploma is officially the equivalent of a high school diploma in the united states. so in order to get a degree i would have to "start from scratch" and do a whole 4 years of college. sad news.. on the other hand all my options are open to go off and do anything anywhere. it's a great opportunity.
I've been considering the option of moving to San Diego with some friends and help start their new ministry since i'm not bound by anything here right now. The downside in that is that i'd have to live there for at least a year before being able to go to school because it costs so much more for non-residents. and then i'd also be real far away from my family (the part that lives in the us). i can't make up my mind on what to do next and there are a lot of logical reasons for staying in indianapolis and a lot of not-so-logical reason for going to san diego.
THEN this week my car caught on fire - flames coming out of the alternator! i put it out with a bottle of water i happened to have handy. when i called aaa it took them about 2 hours to get me to a place to get it looked at. but luckily i was stuck at a Starbucks during that time. that was on monday.
on thursday i got the car back, new alternator, no cost to me because i had just gotten it put in in october by the same garage. after driving home i went out to get something at the hardware store and as i drove back i smelled the same smell as on monday so i did the same thing all over again. today, friday, i got it back and it seems to all be normal again..
back. they say that since i haven't taken any classes at the university level my diploma is officially the equivalent of a high school diploma in the united states. so in order to get a degree i would have to "start from scratch" and do a whole 4 years of college. sad news.. on the other hand all my options are open to go off and do anything anywhere. it's a great opportunity.
I've been considering the option of moving to San Diego with some friends and help start their new ministry since i'm not bound by anything here right now. The downside in that is that i'd have to live there for at least a year before being able to go to school because it costs so much more for non-residents. and then i'd also be real far away from my family (the part that lives in the us). i can't make up my mind on what to do next and there are a lot of logical reasons for staying in indianapolis and a lot of not-so-logical reason for going to san diego.
THEN this week my car caught on fire - flames coming out of the alternator! i put it out with a bottle of water i happened to have handy. when i called aaa it took them about 2 hours to get me to a place to get it looked at. but luckily i was stuck at a Starbucks during that time. that was on monday.
on thursday i got the car back, new alternator, no cost to me because i had just gotten it put in in october by the same garage. after driving home i went out to get something at the hardware store and as i drove back i smelled the same smell as on monday so i did the same thing all over again. today, friday, i got it back and it seems to all be normal again..
Thursday, July 14, 2005
one of those God things
here's a crazy little story about how God has been working in my life and providing for me in these last couple of days..
It actually all started when I was making plans to go to a friends' going away party. At Starbucks we have to write it into the calendar 2-3 weeks ahead of time when we’re unavailable on any given day.
So I forgot to do that on the day of the party. Last week I got my schedule for this week and saw that I was working on Saturday morning and Sunday night. That was just perfect for my plans on the weekend since I was also going to play drums on Sunday morning. Now for some reason I thought that Sunday was the 16th and the party was on Sunday and so I found someone to cover my shift on Sunday afternoon.
Then another girl at our store also needed someone to cover her shift on Saturday afternoon and since I had no plans (I thought) we switched our shifts so she could work that morning and I could work in the afternoon.
Great. So I get home after work. And go to my computer to make the changes in my calendar and realized that I got everything backwards and that it all would have worked out fine, hadn’t I just made a complete mess of it all! So I prayed that God would help me get back out of that mess (turning to prayer as a first resort for a change.. as I had just learned at church :-) )
Now, the girl who switched shifts with me couldn’t switch back because she already had plans. So I found someone else to switch with and now I’m working Saturday morning as planned.
Now what’s really cool is that I was scheduled to play drums at church on Sunday morning and rehearsal is Thursday night. But I got an email from our worship leader asking if I could play on Sunday night instead (then rehearsal is on Sunday afternoon before the service). And as you can recall I have someone covering my shift Sunday night. That just worked out perfectly!
But now I’m low on working hours (I need to work 20 or more hours a week to get benefits) so I called and asked other Starbucks’ in the area if they needed any shifts covered this week. I just got one on Thursday night that would bump my hours back over the 20 hours I need.. and since I’m playing drums Sunday night instead of morning I don’t have a rehearsal on Thursday night which means I can work that shift.
So God made 3 things work out perfectly at the same time!
And here's my short word of encouragement (before I shut up) to all of you who are wondering what God's doing in your life:
God is saying "I know what I'm doing, I know in which direction we're heading and I know which exit to take. Trust me!"
Y'all have a great rest of the week!
See ya on Sunday (or was it Saturday?)
Daniel
It actually all started when I was making plans to go to a friends' going away party. At Starbucks we have to write it into the calendar 2-3 weeks ahead of time when we’re unavailable on any given day.
So I forgot to do that on the day of the party. Last week I got my schedule for this week and saw that I was working on Saturday morning and Sunday night. That was just perfect for my plans on the weekend since I was also going to play drums on Sunday morning. Now for some reason I thought that Sunday was the 16th and the party was on Sunday and so I found someone to cover my shift on Sunday afternoon.
Then another girl at our store also needed someone to cover her shift on Saturday afternoon and since I had no plans (I thought) we switched our shifts so she could work that morning and I could work in the afternoon.
Great. So I get home after work. And go to my computer to make the changes in my calendar and realized that I got everything backwards and that it all would have worked out fine, hadn’t I just made a complete mess of it all! So I prayed that God would help me get back out of that mess (turning to prayer as a first resort for a change.. as I had just learned at church :-) )
Now, the girl who switched shifts with me couldn’t switch back because she already had plans. So I found someone else to switch with and now I’m working Saturday morning as planned.
Now what’s really cool is that I was scheduled to play drums at church on Sunday morning and rehearsal is Thursday night. But I got an email from our worship leader asking if I could play on Sunday night instead (then rehearsal is on Sunday afternoon before the service). And as you can recall I have someone covering my shift Sunday night. That just worked out perfectly!
But now I’m low on working hours (I need to work 20 or more hours a week to get benefits) so I called and asked other Starbucks’ in the area if they needed any shifts covered this week. I just got one on Thursday night that would bump my hours back over the 20 hours I need.. and since I’m playing drums Sunday night instead of morning I don’t have a rehearsal on Thursday night which means I can work that shift.
So God made 3 things work out perfectly at the same time!
And here's my short word of encouragement (before I shut up) to all of you who are wondering what God's doing in your life:
God is saying "I know what I'm doing, I know in which direction we're heading and I know which exit to take. Trust me!"
Y'all have a great rest of the week!
See ya on Sunday (or was it Saturday?)
Daniel
Friday, July 01, 2005
attacks in many areas
sorry this is going to be such short one.. i'll explain in more details later.. please pray for me! i feel i'm being attacked in many different areas of my life. i've been making a lot of progress in the areas i've previously wrote about and at the same time i starting to have even more difficulties. thanks for all your prayers!
Saturday, June 04, 2005
things are changing
yeah, it's taken me a while to figure this one out..
since my last entry i've gotten a better vision of what i'm doing over here in the US. i've decided to go through with my plan to do the "transition to teach" program at IUPUI until something drastic comes inbetween and makes me decide otherwise.
i've come to realize that coming over here was necessary for me to get to know better who i am and where i want to go.
now that i've also been to a specialist for one of my many interesting medical conditions and gotten new medicine and lots of eye openers, i feel that a lot of things are about to change as i also get more "established" in Indianapolis.
let's see what happens next..
since my last entry i've gotten a better vision of what i'm doing over here in the US. i've decided to go through with my plan to do the "transition to teach" program at IUPUI until something drastic comes inbetween and makes me decide otherwise.
i've come to realize that coming over here was necessary for me to get to know better who i am and where i want to go.
now that i've also been to a specialist for one of my many interesting medical conditions and gotten new medicine and lots of eye openers, i feel that a lot of things are about to change as i also get more "established" in Indianapolis.
let's see what happens next..
Monday, May 02, 2005
more thoughts and visions
since last sunday when i heard Joel Vestal's preaching at Common Ground i've been in a constant battle in my mind. i realized that i am lacking a vision for my life and am starting to wonder about what God has in mind for my life. what's really been on my mind lately is missions.
what also really struck me was at the Sonicflood concert when they were making a call for sponsering a child through world vision and the bassist was telling us that a recent study has revealed that if you have access to a computer that you belong to the wealthiest 2% of people in the world. so i'm really starting to think that i need to use all these things God gave me to really really use them for his purposes.
another thing also has been on my mind since Gina told me that there is a program with YWAM (youth with a mission) were you can get a degree in child education. i checked it out on the website and found it and now i'm getting really interested. of course the prerequisite of going to the UofN (University of the Nations) is that you do a DTS (Discipleship Training School) which consists of a 12 week classroom course and a 12 week outreach in another country. I know many people who've done one and they've come back so changed that it has always been something that i'd want to do too.
The only problem is that i don't have any money to go there (costs about $7000 all in all). So if God will provide me with it or with an idea of how to get it i'll do it (most likely).
what also really struck me was at the Sonicflood concert when they were making a call for sponsering a child through world vision and the bassist was telling us that a recent study has revealed that if you have access to a computer that you belong to the wealthiest 2% of people in the world. so i'm really starting to think that i need to use all these things God gave me to really really use them for his purposes.
another thing also has been on my mind since Gina told me that there is a program with YWAM (youth with a mission) were you can get a degree in child education. i checked it out on the website and found it and now i'm getting really interested. of course the prerequisite of going to the UofN (University of the Nations) is that you do a DTS (Discipleship Training School) which consists of a 12 week classroom course and a 12 week outreach in another country. I know many people who've done one and they've come back so changed that it has always been something that i'd want to do too.
The only problem is that i don't have any money to go there (costs about $7000 all in all). So if God will provide me with it or with an idea of how to get it i'll do it (most likely).
i'm impressed
this morning i brought my 1986 Ford Tempo to Ford to get my 60000 mile check-up. since i had to wait around for 4 hours last time i brought my iBook along too so i'd have something to do. little did i know that they have a hotspot in the waiting room (wireless LAN with internet access). i'm impressed!
oh, i think this is worth mentioning.. on saturday night some people from our house church and i were at the Sonicflood concert at Orchard Park (Westfield/106th Street in Indianapolis). it was really good and fun and the tickets were only $8 and we also got a free CD. there was also this guy, Mike Lewis, who painted pictures of Jesus to some of the music. he's very talented.
other than that i did almost nothing all weekend.
oh, i think this is worth mentioning.. on saturday night some people from our house church and i were at the Sonicflood concert at Orchard Park (Westfield/106th Street in Indianapolis). it was really good and fun and the tickets were only $8 and we also got a free CD. there was also this guy, Mike Lewis, who painted pictures of Jesus to some of the music. he's very talented.
other than that i did almost nothing all weekend.
Monday, April 25, 2005
today's thoughts
In these last few weeks I feel God has been touching and changing me a lot. A lot of things have sort of been going wrong or are a great challenge to my patience lately and I’m just trusting that it’s all part of God’s plan.
Yesterday when I saw the Sudan video at the beginning of the service at Common Ground I was very moved and was close to tears during most of the service and still am right now without being able to explain why. It seems like God has put a passion in my heart to help others more than I’ve ever felt before and at the same time I’m so confused about where to start and where he might be leading me in the future that it seems to have caused this sudden sadness.
Well anyway, I don’t know if any of this makes much sense to anyone..
Yesterday when I saw the Sudan video at the beginning of the service at Common Ground I was very moved and was close to tears during most of the service and still am right now without being able to explain why. It seems like God has put a passion in my heart to help others more than I’ve ever felt before and at the same time I’m so confused about where to start and where he might be leading me in the future that it seems to have caused this sudden sadness.
Well anyway, I don’t know if any of this makes much sense to anyone..
Sunday, April 24, 2005
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