July 2011
1 post
Phew!
Spring 1986: It was a late spring wednesday afternoon. Our new Youth Pastor @ Crossroads had been around a few months and he and I had started hangin’ out. We were eating at the Del Taco on Main St. Tony asked me a surprising question, as I chowed through my green burritos with sour cream… “Hey, why don’t you quit your job and come work at the church doing the Jr High...
to be continued...
Sundown over the Guatemala City Dump, 2nd largest landfill in the world.
I remember getting disappointed when I was a kid after watching a favorite show and at the end of the episode, in little yellow letters at the bottom of the screen, “to be continued…” The TV people didn’t seem to take into consideration that a 10 year old boy with ADD couldn’t possibly wait...
2nd Chances...
THIS IS EDNER… Edner is 13 years old. I first met him 3 years ago when I was fortunate enough to go to Mama Carmen’s, an orphanage in Guatemala City, run by none other than Mama Carmen (more about her in a moment. I asked Ed how long he had been at Mama’s. He said, “Siempre.” Always? “Si.” I asked someone later. It seems the Edner, and many of the other 47...
rubbish...
Trash seems to be a global issue. Al Gore would have a field day in Guatemala City. Air pollution, garbage, sewage… this place a cornucopia of issues for the tree huggin’ earth day green movement. Have you ever noticed what we consider garbage?
We throw away so many different things. Banana peels, shoes, clothing, kitchen trash, friendships, dreams, milk cartons, dull saw blades,...
PLAY...
La Limonada is a serious place. We live in a world (in the USA) that is not very serious. Even when we think things are very serious, they soon pass and we are able to relax. We feel stress at the littlest issues and, if you’re like me, we often don’t take things serious that we ought to.
We live n a great culture and a great country, but we might have life too easy. I think it...
jealousy...
I heard recently that Oprah Winfrey has decided to deny that the Judeo-Christian God does not exist and that she would not follow Him if He was real because of the fact that He is jealous. Someone needs to explain to Oprah that His jealousy is four our love for Him. He is not jealous of us, He is jealous for us… that is a big difference. It is one of those things that makes Him God and...
water...
If you’re like me, you may have noticed how often water is a key part of Biblical stories and or situations. You know, the Red Sea being parted, the rivers that mark the boundaries of Eden, Moses in the Nile… this could go on forever. Water brings with it many things.
Power.
Destruction.
Change.
Cleansing.
Safety.
Again, the list could go on for a while.
G10 has been in...
undone...
The scene opens with Isaiah, the Hebrew prophet, caught up in a vision. I don’t imagine that when he got out of be d that day that hew would experience what the Lord had planned. I won’t go into the description of what he saw in the vision (look up Isaiah 6). His initial impression of what he was going through is where I want to settle in for the night.
“I am...
Light...
I am not sure if we are ever truly aware of what the Lord is doing in the world. I don’t the far off places.. i mean the little sphere of world we walk and live in day-by-day. Yes, I know, we do see Him move through us at times or even through others, or even through what seam like just circumstances. I wonder what we would see if He pulled back the curtain for us to see exactly what He...
Green...
There has much speculation over the years as to the origin of the word “gringo.” It is the latino equivalent to the urban 70’s “honky.” Some say that it comes from a misunderstood song the Irish-American soldiers sang while fighting in the Mexican-American way (circa 1824). An earlier reference comes from the greek word griego which means any foreigner. Either...
March 2010
20 posts
Here Comes The Judge!
I vaguely remember a game we played in elementary school called, “Here Come The Judge.” I am not even sure what we did in the game, but I remember the whole class chanting 3 times, “Here come the judge…” It is funny what makes you think of things like that.
Am I graceful or judgmental? Do I perceive others as loved and valuable or do I evaluate them and then...
Me & Lew... The Gringo Princes - pt 8: Water...
How do you end a trip to a place and with people you love. Isn’t it strange when you have that paradox of being drawn home to family and fellowship and simultaneously wanting to continue in the sweet fellowship with brothers and sisters from a different culture? How do you leave well & right? How do you keep your heart in the place where God has placed it?
First, eat a lot of...
Me & Lew... The Gringo Princes - pt 7: A Short...
Sorry for this blog being a day late. We got home late last night and I was just too tired to come out and play.
It was an amazing day and sometimes you have an experience that can only be expressed in a few words. You know… you had to be there. My older sister, Lyndi, used to say AWM (Attendance Was Mandatory). Like the first time I Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite… words just...
Me & Lew... The Gringo Princes - pt 6; Gideon's...
Gangs are a confusing phenomena to me. Everyone tells me that people belong to gangs for various reasons that seem to contradict the reality of gang-life. Being in a gang brings safety (yet they are rife with violence); gang life is all about trust (yet you are always looking over your shoulder); gangs are a family (yet the family is based on deceit and brutality); there are other reasons i...
Me & Lew... The Gringo Princes - pt 5; Court to...
Have you ever woke up in the morning and felt like someone had been punching you all night long? That’s how I felt this morning. The remedies came flying… “You want me to walk on your back?” Offered Lorin. ”Do you want to cuddle tonight?” Invited my bff Lew. I quickly declined each offer, knowing that both would injure me in different manners. So tonight I...
Me & Lew... The Gringo Princes - pt 4; Lemonade, a...
A good night’s sleep, great time reading Judges 6-8 as the sun came up over SETECA (the seminary we stay at) with a fresh brewed cup of Guatemalan coffee (Thank You Erin)… What a great way to start a day, refreshed. Have you ever noticed that when a day starts out right, it has a tendency to stay right even if bad things, or difficult things happen? You know, you can start with the...
Me & LEW... The Gringo Princes - pt 3... In the...
We got to sleep in today, which was good because the large Nazarene Church 1 block away had revival services until approx 2:30 AM! So, I needed the beauty sleep. The good news is that my room mates who are both notorious for snoring have been sleeping quietly and soundly (if that makes sense. So as I woke to the sound of the city on a Sunday morning I had a great anticipation for what the day...
ME & LEW... The Gringo Princes - pt 2
Some days are diamonds. You know like winning a sweet door prize at a BINGO night! Or finding out that Uncle Sam s giving you back a bunch of taxes (rare)… or, you get to go to a country far away from home and you are greeted by people you know and love. We spent the whole day with our friends from La Limonada (Tita, Monik, Gracie, Nathan, Kate, Ina, and a whole bunch of others)!
Not...
Me & Lew... The Gringo Princes - pt 1
I was telling my friend Big Jim, that it is more work to leave work than it is to stay and work at work… wow how very cryptic. I digress… My BFF Butch Loveall asked me last nigh if my mind was already in Guatemala. ”No, not yet.” I replied. I told him I was too excited about getting to baptize Trevor Hole just a few minutes from then… FFWD —-> 8:15PM on...
December 2009
8 posts
a stable life?
it is 20˚ outside and the frozen rain is slowly turning to snow. we are supposed to have 7-10 inches of the fluff by morning… we’re excited. the kids are all playing or watching Star Wars: Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back (my favorite of the saga). we have a fire in the fireplace, all is good. I have a friend who found out this week that she has breast cancer. another friend was...
cuddle...
Gracie, my daughter, and I cuddled on our big recliner yesterday and talked about Christmas and watched football… It was great! A little slice of heaven. I mean really, who doesn’t like a little cuddle? A warm blanket, sweet discussion, a tickle… Sweet.
Some time ago a student asked ne to pray for his parents’ marriage. It was obvious that his Dad & Mom were becoming...
gifted
it is 23℉ (which is the high for today in Carthage). I am sitting a few feet from our fireplace - warm, the Huelat clan just devoured a gourmet dinner of tater-tot casserole & green beans & apple sauce (commonly referred to as the “Lunch Lady Special”). Full. Comforted. Fortunate. Blessed. GIFTED!
Have you ever counted the everyday as sublime… the ordinary as...
greatness seasoned...
Christmas comes and goes every year and we engage in a bunch of stuff, busyness takes over, parties, shopping, cooking, eating, cards, family, crisis, loneliness, joy, peace, happiness… what a great holiday season! I mean it. What other time in our lives comes every year when we run such avast range of emotions and experiences? When else and where else do we live life so truly raw? We...
November 2009
12 posts
q and a: church music
what is mike d saying in the open and ouro of church music?
grace
how much has been written on the topic of grace? Yet, how poorly we, as Christ Followers, actually understand it. Oh, don’t misunderstand (again), we have read, listened and discussed the endless facets of grace. It’s theological origins and doctrinal implications have been dissected like a 10th grade biology frog. It is my assertion that we don’t understand it well as...
dreamin'
so, what happens when you trust enough to close your eyes and let the dreams come? I mean really, would ever have imagined and conjured up some of your most transforming moments? My guess is probably not. It’s kinda like having a question answered before you ever ask it.
So you feel like you know what’s next in life… you think you understand your little slice of the world....
repent... once
I don’t have any quirky, round-about story, or a snaky illustration, or a rant about small irritations (like when someone stops while getting on the freeway here in SW Missouri). I simply have a questions that you can respond to, if you feel you want to add to the mish-mash.
If the whole idea behind a person repenting is that they make a u turn away form the way they tried living and...
AW Tozer @ McDonald's
“I am ashamed of my lack of desire.O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing,I thirst to be made more thirsty still.
Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me.Say to my soul, “Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.”
Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this...