::Theology and Students::

It blows my mind to think that I have been working with TCS (Trinity Chapel Students) for close to a year now.  I am in the midst of evaluating the past year and there will be a review blog posted in the future but suffice it to say that I have been amazed at what God has done in my life, in this ministry, and in the lives of the students.

Tonight's Life*Group caused me to really reflect on how far this aspect of our ministry has come from where we started.  It was only last semester that the students wanted to get rid of our small groups and just "hang out"... they have really grown.  We have been working through some key doctrine issues with them {Trinity, Sovereignty, Grace, Mercy} and tonight we discussed the Righteousness of God.  Their thoughts, observations from scripture, and questions blew me away...it is truly incredible to see the faithfulness of God at work.

There will be more to come over the next few weeks on lessons learned and mistakes made but I just want to say tonight that we worship a very big God.  We worship an incredibly righteous, holy, and gracious God and it blows my mind.  I constantly underestimate Him...and He constantly reminds me that I am missing it.  That's all for now.  See you out there.

B

...going green

Even though the concept of "going green" has now become nothing more than one more sales pitch for corporate America...I am on board.  I have been thinking about it for awhile but I am here to announce that...I am "going green".  I am not really sure what this will look like yet but I know that the first thing that I am going to do is set up the apartment that Julie and I are going to be living in with an energy provider that uses all renewable energy like Green Mountain Energy.  This will be a process...I drive a truck for example...but I am going to take steps such as walking to work from the new apartment.

I decided this because of Earth Day...I felt it was time.

More details to come...

Does anyone have good ideas about how to go "green"?  I would welcome your thoughts. 

...blogs, blogs, and more blogs

To all of my faithful readers...all 3 of you...

I am joining another blog as a contributer in the next few weeks.  Katy Budget Books has asked me to become a contributer on their new blog endeavor and I am very stoked about it.  I will be reviewing books (...mostly in the mystery, suspense, and religious sections) and giving my recommendations.  You should check it out for helpful reviews and advice from many people who have a passion for books and can always recommend just the right book for the moment.

 

Katy Budget Books is a 25 year old independent bookstore located in Katy, TX.  It boasts a huge selection of new and used books and there has never been a book that I wanted that they were not able to help me locate.  It is the perfect place for everyone who prefers to talk to a person who loves to read...rather than someone in a corporate chain who has never heard of Tom Clancy, Nora Roberts or Dr. Seuss...

Check out the new blog or Katy Budget Book's main site...I am confident that you will enjoy the experience...

BD

...a new game

I read an article once about a couple who were married for many years and they would go out into nature, on a walk, etc and they would play a game.  The game that they played has really stirred my affections for God and caused me to slow down and see Him at work all around me.

First, take a look at Romans 1:19-20, "They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God".

...This is where the game begins.  This is where the conversation starts.  The game is seeing the nature of God and how He is working continuously in the world around us.  The husband in the article would see a falcon and then ask his wife how the falcon reflected God's nature and she would reply "God's freedom because the falcon can not be contained".

...or the wife would see a line of worker ants and her husband would comment on God's faithfulness because just as the ants faithfully seek out food and supplies, so does God faithfully seek out, provide for, and redeem his chosen people.

Julie and I find ourselves playing this game as we drive through the flat Texas plains and are amazed at a sunset, and we both see the beauty of God.  Or maybe we see a perfectly clear sky where stars go on for miles and stand amazed and the unchangingness of God.  I found myself walking around TCU and slowing down long enough to actually see God's creation.  I write this not to make myself sound holy.  I continually fail to give God the glory that he deserves and I have missed seeing his characteristics in nature more times than I would ever care to remember.

I write this instead to encourage all of us to slow down, take a breath, and see the world as what it is...God's beautiful creation.  Sure, there are a lot of things that are messed up...but thats our fault, its not the way that God intended for it to happen.  But if you slow down, you can see God's amazing fingerprints everywhere.  Can you see them?  Look closely...what do you see?

Well, thats all I have for now.  I implore you to slow down.  It is worth it.  Thats my take.

-BD

...beginnings

I do not have enough time right now to adequately dive into what has been on my mind lately but I wanted to give a quick preview:

-Go check out Ephesians 2:1-10

Everyone has their "favorite verse" of the Bible, and if I am required to pick only one...this would be it.  I love the picture of the brokenness, sin, and wretchedness of man in light of God's amazing goodness.  I love the "but" is verse 4 because I think its the most beautiful word in scripture.  I love the fact that we are called God's workmanship (interestingly, the word workmanship is also the word for poetry in the original language...I think its cool).  I love the fact that we are saved by GRACE...

...there it is..its Grace.  Thats the thing that keeps me up at night, thats the thing that constantly races through my head like a llama escaping a lion, and thats the thing that keeps me thinking.  Grace.  What is it?  What is your view of grace?  Why is it so hard for me to get my head around it?

...I guess we will just have to explore that on another occasion.

...at first glimpse

So I am going to embark on this blogging journey without any idea of what I am going to write about on this thing.  At this point in my life, I have lots of questions but not very many answers and I am ok with that...or atleast trying really hard to be ok with it.

I pray that this can be a glimpse at my own journey as I seek to know and understand my wonderful savior deeply.  Things such as grace, mercy, the Trinity and Christ's sacrifice have been constantly running through my mind lately and I find myself continuously turning to scripture and begging God to help me to understand him better.  It is an exciting journey and I hope that my thoughts may encourage you to ponder the wonder and beauty of God for yourself.  I encourage you to go deep into scripture, seek out community, and ask lots of questions.  That is how we will begin to catch a glimpse of our beautiful savior...If you don't know Jesus, welcome and join into the conversation.

Well, thats it for now.  I will be back.

-BD

P.S.  I am also a huge cooking and movie buff so I will probably include some reviews of movies, restaurants, etc....just to spice things up (get it...spice...like cooking).  This will definitely be an electic assortment of thoughts and musings.  It should be fun.