Restroom signs

I thought you guys might enjoy these. Creativity at it's finest... right here
http://www.nuacco.com/2007/08/13/which-door-should-i-choose/

q

ok, i'll just come out and say it, "YOU GO!" you went to atlanta a couple of years ago because you were passionate about impacting the lives of students. you went up this past weekend because you're passionate about impacting the lives of students.

yeah, things are crappy right now. but there will always be something not going right. you can't let that stop you from doing the work God has put before you. paul was flogged, beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, imprisoned numerous times, and even had a 'thorn in his flesh' that God wouldn't remove. but he knew that nothing other than forwarding the kingdom of God mattered.

where is that boat going???

so im sitting here in my coffee shop working on saturday at the lofts, which basically means that over the course of my 7.5 hour shift, i will probably have somewhere between 15-20 customers. this of course is great for blogging, not so great for the shop though.

i got back from atlanta wednesday afternoon and immediately started doing a bunch of just stuff. i have a pretty large life decision that needs to be made by jan 1, and im totally avoiding making it or even really thinking about it. i guess i kinda dont know what to do, or how to decide, but i have come to this conclusion, if i wanna do youth ministry then im gonna move to atlanta, and if i dont wanna do youth ministry, then im gonna stay in ft lauderdale and try and go to EMT and firefighting school, all the while mastering the fine art of being a barista...

i kinda feel like whichever one i choose i will wonder about the other one, i want to be confident, i remember that i used to be confident, i dont know what happened. well maybe i know what happened, but i dont know how to undo what has been done to my confidence. im pretty terrified to move to atlanta, i dont know if i can really hack it as a youth pastor, but at the same time im kinda afraid to stay here bc i dont know what the future holds. i dont wanna just sit, im so sick of just sitting and waiting, and all that nonsense, now is a time for action. i just dont know what action...

Slicker than a penny in the rain

I pretty much feel the way Josh does. I've been to Hell and back in the past, but things right now couldn't be any better--well, actually, a million dollars would be nice. And so I avoid posting, because I don't want to simply say, "I understand. Jesus loves you. God is in control." And like Tim said, I don't know exactly what ya'll are going through, but I can empathize with the pain.

I've been trying to read straight through the Bible for like the past 2 years and I'm finally in the minor prophets. Man, I love the minor prophets! I just read Habakkuk the other day and two things stuck out to me. 2:1, "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me and what answer I am to give to this complaint." Habakkuk has just laid out his questions and complaints before God and is like, "what the deuce?" But God's answer here--just like his answer in Job--does not try to explain his reasoning. He simply tells him who he is and why he's the one in charge. God is God. And we can question him all we want, but be prepared to receive an answer. And most likely be prepared to receive and answer you didn't want to hear and doesn't necessarily fix your problem.

The second thing is in 3:17-18, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." He's not saying that he will necessarily be happy with where he is in life. He's simply saying that he will rejoice and be happy in God. My life might suck right now, but praise God for filling my lungs with air and my body with the energy to wake up this morning. I may not have wanted to get up, but God wanted me to--praise God for wanting me to live today!

I leave you now with two of my favorite recent quotes to ponder over. The first is by musician Eric Peters. The second is from the movie The Darjeeling Limited:

"It is an odd series of days, I am realizing, when you question your own faith more than you question your own doubt."

"We haven't located where we are yet."

my Father's Eyes

I bought TWO Amy Grant albums today!

love

i just wanna say thats its really good for my heart to read what you guys write. i dont know why, but it just is...i love you guys

I am Happy- a confession

I don't really know what I'm about to write about, but I haven't written about anything in a while, so I'll write about that- about nothing maybe (how is that for the {over}use of about).
I was reading your blogs and I began to feel sad in a way- well helpless is more like it. You guys are GREAT friends. I know this time is hard for you, and there is nothing much I can do. But know I pray for you.
(I almost stopped there. Something about "misery loves company" is true. I didn't want to post because I felt kinda of guilty for not being miserable)
But you know what. I am not going to be miserable. Lord knows I have been miserable before (Dan, I'm pretty sure nobody has ever seen me cry [cry might be somewhat of an understatement] like you have), but now is not my time. I'm sorry. I can try if you want to, but it's not where I am right now. Life has seasons. I am in one, and so are you. You KNOW this. It is in your core. When you start your stream of consciousness it always comes out. After you have laid your guts out on the table of frustration, you always come back to some sort of "God is good". And I LOVE that. That is what David did. He threw it out there and said "God this F'n sucks" (pardon my Hebrew), but when he was done, as hard as it might have been, God was still God.
So I am happy. Life is freaking good. Granted, I sit in front of a small computer screen all day long, and by the time my wife gets home it is dark- but really every second of my day is awesome. There are no great moments. There is nothing I can tell you that made me feel this way. It just is. I just am- happy.
Utah is amazing. I really love the whole adventure and feel of it all. There is still a ton unknown, but I really have nothing to complain about ( I could try, but it would be futile).
An FCA speaker (in the new Densch) said something about how when you are up, prepare, because there is NO DOUBT that you will be going down soon, but if you are down, just hold on, because you won't be there long- I promise.
So I will prepare. You hold on. We'll do this life thing together. And when I am down, maybe you will know a better way to bring me up to join you.