CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL

An interview has appeared online at 3:AM Magazine between myself and Darran Anderson. Here’s the link. And here’s an extract:

“There were things that were constant. On the news every night someone would be killed and they’d read out their religion as if it were some debased version of the football results. And to this day, the Orange Order (made up largely of joyless bigots who think rock n’roll is the devil’s music and a smattering of neo-nazi scumbags) march in support of a bisexual Dutchman past my folk’s house every year. They’d be laughable if it wasn’t for the fact these people have actual power and influence. In the most simple terms, if you have a whole society that was set-up in apartheid in all but name, and where civil rights marches end with the British army going on killing sprees in your hometown then the Troubles is just the inevitable feedback. But then ask someone else from the North and they’ll probably tell you a whole different story…”

S-au implinit 40 de ani de la festivalul Woodstock ‘69, unul din cele mai importante festivaluri ale muzicii contemporane. Festivalul s-a tinut in Bethel, New York in perioada 15 – 18 august 1969 sub sloganul “3 zile de muzica si pace”, ca protest impotriva razboiului din Vietnam.

Au concertat 32 de artisti, ca Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Santana, Mountain, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, The Band, Jimi Hendrix etc. pe o scena outdoor situata pe un camp de 240 de hectare. Festivalul a fost organizat de Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Roseman si Artie Kornfeld. Pregatirea a durat 9 luni deoarece intentia initiala era de a face un festival mic, indoor.

Organizatorii se asteptau initial la un numar mult mai mic de oameni, aproximativ 50.000, care puteau intra la festival cu bilete ce valorau aproximativ 100 usd astazi. S-au vandut aproximativ 186.000 de bilete in avans, dar in scurt timp s-a recurs la intrare gratis, din cauza numarului mai mare de oameni care au rupt gardurile inainte de prima zi a festivalului. Organizatorii nu au avut destul timp pentru a se ocupa de aceasta parte si nu au vrut sa recurga la paznici, deoarece aceasta metoda ar fi starnit revolte intre oameni.

In total, au fost pe la 300.000 de oameni, lucru care a provocat blocarea strazilor si inchiderea autostrzii dinspre New York. In dimineata zilei de 17 august, guvernatorul New York-ului, Nelson Rockefeller l-a sunat pe organizatorul festivalului, John Roberts, propunandu-i sa trimita 10.000 de jandarmi. Dar acesta a reusit in cele din urma sa il refuze. Zona a fost in scurt timp declarata Zona de Dezastru. Desi festivalul s-a desfasurat intr-un mod cat se poate de pasnic, au avut loc doua decese, unul din cauza unei supradoze de heroina, iar al doilea in urma unui accident. In acelasi timp, au avut loc si doua nasteri.

Trupe si artisti ca The Beatles, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Bob Dylan etc. au refuzat participarea la concert pe diferite motive.

Festivalul a fost prezentat si intr-un documentar, numit Woodstock, care a fost lansat in anul 1970. Filmul a salvat Warner Bros de la faliment. In 2009 a fost relansat filmul, cu diferite secvente neprezentate pana acum, si la calitate Blu-ray.

Din ‘69 au mai avut loc doua Woodstock-uri, unul in 1994, iar unul in 1999, ultimul fiind cel mai nereusit dintre toate, motivul fiind selectia proasta a artistilor (Korn, Limp Bizkit, DMX, The Offspring, Insane Clown Posse, Bush, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Megadeth) care nu erau in armonie cu ideea festivalului, si anume ideea de pace si non-violenta.

My blog now snows. I miss snow. I want it to snow so badly. But since I’m heading home Friday & Saturday I do want it to hold off until then.

Thank-you for the encouragement yesterday. I got some e-mails and phone calls in addition to the comments. They really were helpful.

Bill & Beni Johnson from Bethel in Redding, California and John & Carol Arnott from Toronto are here. The Arnott’s have stewarded an outpouring similar to ours for the last 12 years, 6 nights a week. I’m not as familiar with the Johnsons, though I know Bethel has some similarities to IHOP but with different focuses. Last night they mostly observed though they did lead some parts of it. This morning we heard from Bill & Beni Johnson and it was just great. I am very excited to hear from the Arnotts in the morning.

Last night I just wept. So much. I was snot-nosed and messy. It doesn’t feel like manifesting, though I’m told it is, it just feels like pain. It was the night where I prayed for people the least, but it was probably good. I really have no idea what God is doing. One thing Bill said this morning that really caught my heart, “You’ll be constantly discouraged if you meditate on what God hasn’t done instead of what He has. If you can’t find what He is doing, find out what He has done.” This is very powerful for me and something I really need to work on. In this season where all I feel is pain, I see a lot of what I wish God would do, not a lot of what He is doing and I hardly look at what He has done. And it is disappointing and discouraging. So that’s my goal. To remember what He has done. And not just for me but for everyone. The Bible is FULL of what He has done. Right now I’m reminded of Psalm 78 where it outlines the goodness of God and the depravity of man. And God is still good to Israel. He still has plans for Israel. And if He will keep His promises to Israel, He will keep His promises to me.

Going to these meetings & while doing a fast I find myself very sensitive to my flesh and other peoples’ flesh. I find that bitterness rises very quickly in my heart when I feel like people have acted offensively toward me… And they are acting offensively. It really does make me sad. I see people steal spots, moving others’ stuff. Last night someone cut in line to get on the shuttle ahead of us. When the doors open people shove to get in. It’s a lot of unkindness. I want to brush it off but I feel so affected by it. The spots one is especially hard because while I think it’s rude for someone to steal a spot, I think it’s even more rude to keep your stuff on a spot and not use it. I’m trying to figure out what I actually should feel about this. What is the right answer in all of this when both sides seem wrong?

Well, I’m going to go hang out in Hebrews 12 for a little bit before I get to the meeting. Love love

Chloe

PS
Yesterday I had a record for the most visitors in one day – 62. Not sure how that happened! As a result I finally did something I’ve been meaning to do for a while… Added a list of some of the blogs I read regularly on the left. So check them out. That list will probably evolve based on when people update their blogs but it’s a good list of who has something pretty current that I liked.

Wow. Its been a few weeks since I last wrote anything, and so much has happened I dont quite know where to begin. I spent my Thanksgiving break in Canada with my friends from Streams School of Ministry, which I attended last year. It was so good to see them. Too bad the trip took about 13 hours each way… but it was well worth it.

Life’s been pretty hectic since being back, but amazing as ever. We (me and 5 others in my team) went on an outreach to downtown Redding last Thursday. Ill try to share a super-condensed version of what happened. It was incredible. So, Im in the prophetic arts outreach, which is kind of like an open forum for trying new things on an outreach… literally anything goes, and the more creative, the better. My team decided to take about 15 minutes to “soak” and just wait on God to give us pictures. He did, and we drew them out onto pieces of paper. I wont go into too much detail, but long story short, we ended up downtown, and ran into these 2 homeless guys. Our picture were dead on, describing very small and specific details of their lives!! (think details of their lives, not their physical appearance) after sharing our pictures with them, one of the guys started crying, and told us he was going to frame  the picture! He couldn’t believe God knew such intimate details of his life. Then we started to get words of knowledge about physical things like arthritis, and knee pain. After asking if we could pray for these things, the one guy got healed, and was so excited he asked us to pray for his liver as well. We got to talk with them a bit more, and gave them each a hug before leaving and will be staying in touch with both of them. God is just WAITING to encounter people.

Okay, well… I have much to say, and not nearly the time to say it. Im off to work. Peace.

At Bethel Church in Redding I had the opportunity to experience a new level of worship that they have regularly in Redding. As amazing as it was, I was quite surprised at the fairly youthful nature of the team. At first I thought to myself, “Well these guys just have more experience than most churches.” But then it dawned on me, how much experience could they really have? After all, some of these leaders are in their early 20s. So what’s the x-factor that they have that other churches are missing?

To first overstate the obvious, this is first and foremost, passionate praise. I think that’s what draws me to it so intensely. Be honest, does your worship team sing songs or do they truly worship? And when they worship, do they do so with passion? Where is this sort of passion in the rest of the church for worship? I would think that if you were a musician, you would be deeply passionate about music.

I have attended many sporting events in my life. What I go, I see deeply passionate fans of their teams and the sport. Likewise, I have attended dozens of churches, but rarely have I ever seen the same passion for praise and worship as is expressed in the everyday sporting event. Is it just me, or do you desire to see much more passion expressed through worship.

Second, there has to be a culture of freedom for expression in a church where this sort of praise can occur. Without freedom, much would not happen and it takes secure leadership to recognize where more freedom needs to be released so an outpouring of the Holy Spirit can occur through whatever means.

I believe we need more of this sort of worship in church. I understand some churches are far more conservative than this, but then again, many churches are also more lifeless than others as well.

If we want business as usual in church and want to continue to go each week without having an experience with the Holy Spirit, then by all means, we shouldn’t change a thing. But I personally believe there is much, much more and we can either go for it, or stay where we’re at and remain unchanged as a body of believers.

Isn’t it time we upgrade our worship?

Give a listen to these clips. I hope they stir your spirit as much as they stir mine.

Look who's coming to breakfast...

No, not Clarence Clemens, famous E. Street Band saxophonist. The other big man… Santa Claus himself. When the Cute Potatoes’ mama was a little girl growing up in N.J., it was a family tradition to have breakfast with Santa. It was a fun, family outing made even better by good food and the appearance of the man behind the beard. Okay, enough of that.

Fortunately, there are several towns in Maine where Santa plans on enjoying breakfast this year. And each location has its own unique spin on the event—kids can write letters to Santa, have their photo taken with him, visit with Mrs. Claus and the elves, create fun holiday crafts, sing, listen to holiday stories or pig out on bake sale food. And what, we ask you, could be better than that?

Saturday, December 5:

Maniax Café
8 Market Place Drive, York
8 a.m.-10 p.m.
Free
Juice, muffins and more
Added info.

Wilhelm Reich Museum
Dodge Pond Road
Rangeley
8 a.m.-11 a.m.
$5.00 per person
Blueberry, M&M and chocolate chip and plain pancakes, sausag
Added info.

Crescent Park Elementary School
Crescent Lane
Bethel
9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Free
Added info.

Hamden Academy
One Main Road North
Hamden
8 a.m.-10 a.m.
$3.00 per person
Added info.

Molly Ockett School
25 Molly Ockett Drive
Fryeburg
8 a.m.-10 p.m.
$4.00 per person
Pancakes, sausage
Added info.

Sunday, December 6:

Greely Middle School
351 Tuttle Road
Cumberland
7 a.m.-10 a.m.
Kids: $3.00
Adults: $10.00
All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast

Saturday, December 12:
(not quite breakfast, but….)
Farmers Fare
Route 90 and Cross Street
Rockport
Noon- 3:00 p.m.
Free
Cookies and cider
Bring your own camera

Sunday, December 13:

Nonantum Resort
95 Ocean Avenue
Kennebunkport
8 a.m.-noon
Kids: $10.00
Adults: 20.00
Holiday brunch

My sister-in-law Savanna and Cecelia playing in the snow!

Happy December from Ugashik!!  (Yes it’s December already, only 23 days left until Christmas!) 

Well if y’all will recall from my PREVIOUS POST I mentioned that there were individuals that couldn’t afford to adopt a family on their own and wanted to know if they co-adopt a family. 

Here is a story of just such a group of Adoptees…. 

THE ADOPTION

Once upon a time there were 5 ladies, struggling with lives full of problems and challenges (aren’t we all?). They took the time to read about the plight of residents in Nunam Iqua, Alaska and wanted to help, but in light of their problems, couldn’t even think of taking on such a big job as adopting a whole family all by themselves. Each one, in her own time, asked the question, could a group of us gather together and take on the needs of a family? Ann thought about it (for about a nanosecond) and said, “Hey, let’s try it!” 

Thus, with an e-mail, she introduced the ladies to one another and left them to sort themselves out. Within a few hours, the new group began the halting steps to organize themselves. Each one thought hard and realistically about what she could afford to do and the group chose one person to be a recording secretary and another to keep Ann in the loop and to ask her questions as time revealed them.  

Ideas began to germinate among them about how to best manage the job. Those with more experience, shared what had worked well previously, and the group “googled” their collective heads off, finding cost effective ways to purchase, pack and ship sorely needed items. 

In the process of doing all of this, a mysterious thing began to happen. Five women, totally absorbed in surviving unemployment, income reduction, illness and other struggles, found themselves reaching out to one another.  

They shared their stories, their problems, their histories and their battles with depression and loss. A funny thing began to happen. They began to feel better. They laughed together over shopping trips and the bargains they found, about the Post office reaction to 5 crazy ladies lugging in boxes that risked herniating any postal clerk who tried to lift them, about many other things.  

In the process, their burdens consumed less of their time, their depression began to lift and they got to know one another better. Even when one of the ladies lost an elderly parent right in the middle of all this, she had the comfort and care of new friends to help her bear her loss, and their prayers and thoughts held her up. All she could think of was, “Please don’t give up on me! I still want to be part of the group!” As if the group would ever abandon her! 

The story is ongoing, but in less than a week, this little group has managed to forge new friendships, gather others to help, and boxes are flying out of post offices from all over the country to help fellow citizens. You have to love that! 

Quyana Cakneq Ladies!!!  Kudos for a job well done!!  Not only have y’all managed to bring help to a needy family in Nunam Iqua but also you have made new friends and provided inspiration for the rest of us.  Y’all are proof that when you want to help no matter what you situation is you can always find a way!! 

Quyana for taking time away from your shopping and emails to share your story with us!!  Thanks to your efforts a family of eight in Nunam Iqua will have help with food and a little less to worry about this holiday season! 

Quyana Cakneq VFW AK Post 10041

This morning I received a call from “Buck” Bukowski with VFW Alaska Post 10041.  He called to tell me that they had heard about the plight of Nunam Iqua and had discussed it at a meeting (I think he said last night) and voted to send a donation of $1,000 to help the people of Nunam Iqua!!  

After we talked, which was not an easy feat due to I was using Skype and having internet issues and Buck was having Cell phone issues, I gave him information and the address and contact information to send the donation to our SPAN Alaska Sales donation account.   When the check is deposited in that account I’ll order grocery staples and supplies to be delivered to Nunam Iqua for distribution. 

Quyana VFW Bethel Post 10041 your generosity will be of great help to the residents of Nunam Iqua!! 

Family Adoptions Update:

I have managed to reach nearly every family in Nunam Iqua.  There are 37 households (I missed 1in my initial count)  I have reached 34 and out of those 34 households 29 households report that they need help with food this winter.  Now out of those 29 household I have so far been able to adopt 19 families out to families across the US and Canada to help get them food. 

So if you do the math then you’ll realize that there are still 10 families that need to be adopted.  If you’d like to adopt a family or co-adopt a family please email me at nunamiquayouth@yahoo.com 

Anonymous Bloggers have been hard at work trying to get the word out and bring help to these families.  I have been interviewed by:  

The Alaska Dispatch:  Hungry on the Edge of the Continent  by Jill Burke 

APRN: Internet Helping Nunam Iqua Prepare for Winter by: Dave Donaldson 

and an Impromptu interview with Nicholas Tucker Sr. on Native America Calling (starts at about 32:45) 

Quyana everyone for helping get the word out.  If you’d like to print a flyer out to pass out at church or meetings or at school etc please feel free to email me, we have one made as a Word Document. 

Quyana Cakneq everyone for your efforts!!!  It’s thanks to wonderful magnanimous individuals like y’all my people and village will be getting the help they need.  

Quyana, 

Ann Strongheart  

writing in forever loving memory of my beloved Segundo!

The holidays remind us to stop  and make time to get together with family -some we don’t see often,  and some that we swish by  everyday not always having the time to  spend together.  What a great time to  have  family photo taken. Any mom would appreciate the task of coordinating time on a  holiday weekend to get everyone together….at the same time …and yes…in the same place! Well it was well worth the effort. We go so  many great images! Creating images with this family was so much fun and the kids had some great ideas!! As an added bonus….we  photographed three generations – a treasure for sure!

* Get 10 people to comment on the blog and receive a complimentary 5×7! *

Can you imagine….a moment to hug your honey!!

..and her is sweet “Gram”

and meet  Bocci – possibly the most spoiled member of the family. Can’t imagine why…

Happy Birthday to the Mom of these four great kids!  For her birthday, she wanted to capture some images of her children. We’re so good about taking photos when are children are small  but often forget to capture the beauty of them growing and becoming adults.  What a great gift! I enjoyed talking with them and  finding out a little about each one. Their parents should be very proud!! Get 10 people to comment and receive a complimentary 5×7!!

Sunday River’s New Campaign

Newry, ME — With every new ski season comes a new campaign to generate interest in the sport and its respected resorts. This year Sunday River will promote their resort with an intricately designed image on their websites, clothing, stickers, etc. Sunday River wanted to stay away from the current fad of bright and loud patterns that are reminiscent of the eighties, and go in a totally new direction. The resort wanted their new campaign to be prominently featured amongst complex, intricate designs created by the Native Americans. So, Sunday River went out and hired a group of Native American artisans, the Aryan Nation.

“Listen,” begins a distressed Sunday River executive, “we totally fucked up and we know it. We wanted to hire some Native Americans, but who the hell knows even knows an actual Native American person? We needed to find out how to locate some, so we went online to search them. Originally, we all agreed that Cherokees were pretty badass and that we should contact them, but every time we Googled them, we kept getting results for websites about jeeps. After that didn’t work, we then typed in ‘true Americans’, and that’s how we found the Aryan Nation’s website. We just assumed that ‘true Americans’ meant ‘Native Americans’, and you’ve got to admit that Aryan Nation does sound like a Native American reservation. Honestly, we didn’t know that we were hiring ignorant assholes. We just thought that we were getting some Indians.”

On the behalf of the Aryan Nation, Roger Whiteback, chief propaganda designer, states his brotherhood’s side of the story. “First of all, me and my partner, Stan Whiteface, were super-duper excited to do the Sunday River project. What they did was send us a rough sketch of what they wanted. Their original sketch was this picture of a weird image that had about four arms extended from the center, and within that image were the words ‘We Support White Powder’. So, I went to work on the background image first. I couldn’t make out what the hell that thing was supposed to be, but when I started to squint at it, it made sense. It was just a poorly drawn swastika. Well, I beefed it up a bit, and made it into one of the best swastikas I’ve ever designed. They got mad about that because later on, after we finished the project, they told me it was actually a snowflake and not a swastika. Then there was the incident with their slogan in the forefront of their sketch: ‘We Support White Powder’. They got all pissed when I took the letter ‘d’ out of ‘Powder’. Seriously? They hired the Aryan Nation, of course we’re gonna think ‘We Support White Powder’ is a typo, ya know?”

After experiencing a rough economic patch, Boyne has admitted that they’re unable to financially support a new campaign, and if they want to continue to promote their ski resort, then the Aryan’s finished product will have to suffice.

A Boyne spokesperson further explains their company’s stance. “We’re in the middle of a financial dilemma here and a racial controversy, but we’re just going to have to lean on the old proverb that ‘All publicity is good publicity’. Yes we accidentally employed the Aryan Nation, but it was for a very brief moment in time. We’re willing to admit that we had a brief exchange, but we don’t want people to think we’ve been rubbing elbows so hard with the Aryans that their lynching arms are bruised.”

To help put Sunday River back into the good graces of its loyal guests, and also distance themselves from white supremacy, Boyne employed a Jewish publicist to put a positive spin on the “We Support White Power” campaign, and prove that if a Jew could work for Sunday River, then their logo can’t possibly stem back to the days of the Nazis.

“Alright,” begins the Jewish publicist, Sal Steinberg, finally, after fifteens minutes of pleading for someone to turn the heat up at Sunday River’s press conference. “You’ll notice the words ‘We Support White Powder’ in the middle of this here sticker. Last winter was pretty tough financially, and there wasn’t enough money to put into a second campaign, but we did have enough money for a case of Whiteout. If you put your face a few inches away you’ll clearly notice that each sticker has squeezed in a Whiteout letter ‘d’ to make the word ‘Powder’. This makes each one unique and a collector’s item. Now, let’s talk about that background symbol. Since when did a windmill-esque image, on an axis, with four arms that eventually bend at a ninety degree angle, automatically mean it’s a swastika? We just thought it’d be fun to stray away from the traditional idea that a snowflake is a fancy, doily-looking object. We just took a simple, stripped down image to use instead. Everyone uses the fancy snowflake image, and as everyone knows, no two snowflakes are the same. So, we believe a snowflake like ours could definitely exist.” He’s right, it did exist. In East Germany.

Later that night, a waitress at the Matterhorn Ski Bar overheard the Jewish publicist, in a nasally voice, saying the following (right before he left a meager eight percent tip), “I’m so nauseous right now. I can’t believe I said those things for money. I feel like one of those prostitutes, you know? The ones with the ungodly clothing and diseases. I hate myself. I’m going to have nightmares for weeks now about Moses chasing me with a pitchfork. My poor mother would never forgive me for getting involved with those Nazi lovers. I just want to go back to my condo in Miami.”

After dumping the body of the young woman who overheard the publicist, Boyne and Sunday River executives were hoping that the explanation of the logo would help the controversy blow over, but certain groups took notice. One of those groups, the Ku Klux Klan, overheard the conference, and one of their leaders had this to say, “As you’ve probably guessed, we are ecstatic that Sunday River surfaced their true feelings and beliefs. We finally have a safe place to go on a skiing vacation now. A place where we’ll be accepted in our hood and robes. It’s not easy going out in public when you dress like us. You have no idea how painful it is to be constantly judged and ostracized everywhere you go, just because of who you are. It doesn’t matter now though, because in Bethel, they tell it like it is. White Power all the way! Hell, they even support the Confederacy. I mean, they must support the Confederacy if they put a statue of a faggy Union soldier, on Bethel’s Main St., smack-dab between a homo flower store and a God damn taco shop! I love it! Reminds me of the good ol’ days in Montgomery, Alabama.”

After a private meeting, executives of Boyne and Sunday River held another press conference. “We have finally come up with a way to prove that we aren’t racist, and that we don’t support White Power,” exclaims a representative of Sunday River, who regularly quotes the movie Blazing Saddles. “Our superiors at Boyne Realty are currently installing a border length wall to stop racist people like the Aryan Nation and the KKK from entering Maine. We originally had the idea to build the wall years ago to keep out Massholes, and now it’s finally about to become a reality. Aside from those three groups, other people wishing to come to Bethel are still more than welcome and may enter from New Hampshire, because Canada will obviously be completely walled off. However, due to the wall being several miles wide, it was incidentally built on top of Gorham, New Hampshire, so people will instead have to go through the wall’s border patrol located in Berlin. Now, I know some people are worried, but as long as people have their papers in order, they’ll be fine. Everyone’s really friendly at the Berlin Wall.”

_____________

**DISCLAIMER** This is a FAKE story. It is written purely for entertainment purposes. None of the events in the above story are true.

Here’s a steal! Sunday River is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season with all kinds of deals (including $50 lift tix on many days). Most are midweek, but through Dec. 19, the Rivah is offering a lodging package (Snow Cap Inn), lift ticket, and 90-minute lesson for $50 per person/per day, based on maximum occupancy. On most days, you can’t even puchase a lift ticket alone for that, folks. The big birthday bash is Dec. 19, so plan now if you want to snag the deal then as lodging is limited.

2 Kings 2:2
Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

Genesis 28:17
And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
—

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” It sounds so profound, and there is no doubt it is a well-written and concise statement, and yet it really is just common sense. The simple truth is that every journey has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Every journey also has a goal, a place we are trying to reach. The goal may be far or it may be near, but we have to start somewhere if we are to get there.

In our journey of faith, we begin with… faith itself. Before we come to knowledge of our Savior and the gospel of the kingdom of God, we don’t know (at least, not with any certainty) that there is a God who loves us, and we don’t seek His face. We stay where we are, complacent and mired in sin, unaware that we could be going somewhere else. When the Holy Spirit moves in us and plows the ground of our hearts to receive the gospel, we suddenly know – in the way that faith is “evidence of things not seen” – that somewhere Christ is waiting for us to step out in faith for Him. And so we take that first step of a thousand-mile journey.

The last days of Elijah on this earth are a beautiful and simple outline of our journey of faith, a way of tracing our spiritual growth as we go from simply knowing the presence of God, to knowing the power of His Spirit, to crossing into the fulfillment of His promises, and on into eternal life. The first stop Elijah makes is at Bethel.

If you remember, Bethel is the place where Jacob had a vision of God, where God Himself visited with Jacob and made His covenant with him. The Hebrew word “Bethel” means “house of God,” and as we can see from today’s verse from Genesis, Jacob was sure that God dwelled in that very place. When we first encounter the reality of God moving in our lives, we might think His power and presence are concentrated on one spot. The temptation might be to venerate that place, to stay right there and worship God and never move. We might say to ourselves, “If this is the place and this is my condition when I found God, then this is where I want to be.” But God never intends that we should stay in one place.

—
Jeremiah 29:10-13
10 “For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.
11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
—

We can and will return to that place where we were first with the Lord, because He himself will call us there. His plan is a “future and a hope” that leads us elsewhere, to other places where we may call upon Him and find Him. The glorious thing about our Lord God is that He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, to always go with us wherever we go. And more than that, He plans to use us.

—
Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
—

We cannot truly walk in faith and stand still. When we step out in faith from our Bethel, we may travel a thousand miles or more in our journey of faith. But we cannot stay where we are, and precious few will travel that same road. Elijah tried to leave his disciple Elisha behind at each step of his final journey, but Elisha refused to stay behind. Elisha wanted to travel the same road in faith as his master, just as the apostles swore to follow Jesus wherever He would go. But everyone’s journey is meant to be different, just as every believer’s spiritual gifts and ministries are different, because all have different roles to fulfill in the body of Christ. After Elijah was taken up to God, Elisha returned from that journey to travel his own road in faith.

Recognize the Bethel where your journey of faith began, but do not stay there. Nor should you try to follow exactly in others’ steps. Take the first step of your own journey, and be ready to travel in faith wherever the Lord will lead you. You will be challenged, and you will face persecution, but with your eyes upon Christ you will finish in His glory.

Heavenly Father, I praise You for your promises, for the faith You have in us and the mercy You show us. Such great love deserves great faith, and so, Lord God, I wish to step out in faith for You. It may be a little step, made timidly and in some fear, but I know, Father, You will give me courage for greater and bolder steps in the future. Give me the courage of David to step out into battle for You, precious Lord, so I may someday hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.

These three girls were a charm!!  I enjoyed photographing these three lovely ladies!   I haven’t seen them in quite some time and my … they’re all grown up. We got so many  great images today  that I LOVE – it’ll be difficult to choose.  Their Mom always hand makes all their holiday cards every year and they are always incredible!. I’m honored that she selected me to take their special photo for this year’s card. Although I can’t show you THE image, I can show you a peek of the other images we took today. Take a look at these beauties!!

Mom, have 10 people leave a comment and you’ll receive a complimentary 5×7!

Always have to play around with photoshop….so much fun!!

I recently attended the Leadership Advance Conference at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. to see some of the things going there and find out for myself what I thought and discerned from the experience.

My wife went to Bethel on a visit recently and came back describing of an amazing spiritual experience, prayer ministry like few she had ever seen and profoundly powerful worship. I was moved by her description of the happenings in Redding and vowed to go soon.  When my pastor called me up and asked my attend Leadership Advance with him, I jumped at the opportunity.

I have often said, you cannot “think” an experience from God, you can only have one. As uncomfortable as some experiences in churches can be for some people, it is true you can’t “think” an experience. The pendulum between faith and reason has swung almost entirely over to the thinking, soul realm in many churches today to the point that having certain kinds of spiritual experience tends to be met with a suspicion and fear. I personally find it hard to believe that the absence of spiritual expression in church is God. All too often, churches have little if any spiritual expression in church. How can a God, who describes himself as “Jealous” be anything other than emotional. And while I don’t think that can be God, I also find it hard to believe that and anything goes, off the charts experiential affair is as well – although I will always allow God the room to stretch my personal tent whatever direction he chooses to go.

A great word from Bethel’s children’s education director was mentioned in a workshop that I attended. He said, “If you can do something on your own [in ministry] without the Holy Spirit, it’s not big enough. How true! We wonder in church why there is no power? Well perhaps it’s because we’re trying to do too much on our own power instead of using God’s power?  It stands to reason that God’s power is probably hard to bring to the body unless we are tapping into something other than our own abilities. Therefore, we must become intimate with the Father and able to share an deeper level of personal experience with him. When we do this, I believe it opens up our expressions in so many other ways; as in more devout prayer, heart-felt worship, obedience and revelation.

Bethel Church has done something that other churches should notice, which is embraced intimacy with the Father resulting in great revival and unimaginable growth the last few years. More than anything, they want the presence of God – not big facilities, not big tithes or just bigger congregations and buildings. Yes, those are all nice, but they are byproducts of a deeper, more intimate affair with the Father and Bethel seems to have it. By tapping into the presence of God, Bethel experiences more joy, freedom and love than any church I have ever been to. All the religion in the world cannot compete with God’s presence and Bethel seems to have embraced that fact for which they are openly criticized simply because they are different and some of the things happening there unexplainable.

Perhaps Bethel can say it best. I want to share this paragraph from Kris Vallotten, the prophetic leader at Bethel who writes in his book, Developing a Supernatural Lifestyle, that life in church shouldn’t be business as usual anymore, “I am convinced that religion is the father of genetic cloning. Religion invented cloning long before the world ever thought of it. Religion has a way of sucking the most powerful people on the planet into a spiritual look-alike contest and calling it discipleship. True discipleship is meant to empower people to be transformed into the image of their creator, but religion redefines the terms, conforming people into replicas of their leaders. Religion takes God’s mighty men and makes them artifacts in a museum.”

So I implore you to be different. Don’t let church become the sterile environment it is in so many places around our country. Dare to be different. Dare to expect great things like visions, miracles, signs and wonders. Hold your leaders accountable to that expectation if it’s not happening in your church. God hasn’t stopped working in those things, we just don’t know how to bring them to body. Dare to expect a visitation from the Father, that hopefully will become a co-habitation through your continued obedience and cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

Below follows my impressions of Bethel:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
My first impressions of Bethel were everything from original and unique to spiritual. Driving in the entrance of Bethel, entering cars were met with 500 cheering, flag waving, students welcoming leaders as they arrived. When was the last time you came to a church or conference where you were met with more honor than that. Everywhere you walk at Bethel, people in service pray and bless the visitors. Smiling faces greet you no matter where you go and others visiting were incredibly courteous.  

TEACHINGS
In three days of teachings from the likes of Bill Johnson, Danny Silk or Kris Vallotten, I didn’t hear one thing that contradicted or even loosely challenged the word of God. Never did any of the men and women of Bethel Church ever say one thing that professed anything other than scripture. One of the things taught at Bethel was about the proper alignment of governance in church in which Danny Silk explained how church today follows a pastor-led model instead of an Apostle/Prophet led model. Silk says, that is why the church resembles the world more than ever before, because it has broken away from God’s proper order explained in 1 Cor. 12:27-28 and until it accepts that fact, it will never reach its potential. Other teachings were superb as well, presented as smaller workshops or breakout sessions where attendees could interact with Bill Johnson’s staff.

SPIRITUALITY
People are not comfortable with open manifestations of the spirit will not be comfortable with Bethel. For some reason, if you show no emotion, or act like nothing is happening on the inside of you, that’s God. But if you openly express the impact on your life as they do at Bethel, that’s not God. I’m not sure where these rules came from, but clearly, Bethel’s most loyal walk in the spirit, are sometimes slain in the spirit, or are struck with joy. Just about any response they have comes under scrutiny because they are open to the possibilities of God rather than closed.

Bethel is also home of the School of the Supernatural. The very idea of this is probably offensive to those who hold to more traditional expressions for the Christian faith, but at least Bethel is trying. From what I saw, they offer a dramatic amount of material and teaching of a responsible spiritual walk through their school without squelching spiritual expression altogether as seems to exist in many other Christian Churches.

BILL JOHNSON
Bill Johnson believes in a church that is actually transformed in  the presence of God. As I observe around the world, I see amazing creativity. God created all of it. But in the church, is see no such creativity. Churches typically are systems made by men who want to build “kingdoms” more than they want to the presence of God. I watched Bill Johnson wait on God several times during my visit and was amazed by his patient, still spirit. Always discerning what is going on around him, Bill Johnson’s spiritual sensitivities should be envy of every leader. In the words of Graham Cooke, “If we are a church unchanged by the God we serve, we are nothing more than the Rotary Club with tongues.” 
I was thoroughly impressed by Bill Johnson and had a brief opportunity to meet and speak with him. He was nothing less than honoring and nothing more than humble. Would you want anything more from your pastor?

FACILITIES
The reason I am writing about this is because there are often assumptions made based upon the way a facility looks. Bethel is large – after all it hosts conferences and guests from all over the world, but it is far from extravagant. The children’s ministry area clunked loudly every time the air came on. The auditorium seats about 800 people and is a far cry short of many churches.  There are various rooms where smaller groups can meet at Bethel which also offers a coffee shop and bookstore, stocked full of both Bethel and non-Bethel materials.

Bethel also owns a second location that seats about 250 about 2 miles away from its main campus for its School of the Supernatural. Again, nothing too extravagant for a body that large.

Finally, Bethel fashions an amazing House of Prayer with rooms to pray, rest and meditate on the Lord. The main soaking room has an unassuming fountain with music creating an ambiance for prayer that is quite unique and moving. A table sits by the door with a book of written words that people have left for Bethel. A drawing book with pictures, some drawn by children, is also there for people to look through. Finally the grounds around the Prayer house are nicely landscaped with stone paths and benches where people can go outside to spend their time with God if the would rather.

SUMMARY
There is no doubt going to be people who are uncomfortable with the freedom that Bethel enjoys. However, we serve a supernatural God and yet, when we see a supernatural occurrence, we want to curse it. We don’t recognize the very God we serve. We might as well be saying, “Please God, come. Please come, please come, please come – just don’t manifest.”  Clearly, we don’t know him like Bethel does. They are not afraid, even if they don’t always understand what is happening around them.  As one pastor said to me while we were there, “Why can you cry your eyes out after having an experience with God and receive all the pats on the back of understanding you could conjure up, but when Joy comes on you and you feel laughter, happiness and excitement, they want to cast it out of you?”  So I ask doubters…what does AMAZING joy feel like, act like, look like to you?  If we are supposed to experience joy, where exactly is that being modeled.

All too often, I believe, that the lack of a healthy model is the reasons for problems that plague our society. For instance, no fathers in the home results in many social ills. The same goes for the Church. If no one models joy, freedom, spirituality, or fatherhood instead of always talking about it like it’s something sterile in a medical book that we’re completely removed from, how will we ever have more of it in our natural world.

I understand that we are not always going to agree on doctrines, but I truly do not understand why reasonable people cannot agree that God is 1) Supernatural, 2) Unpredictable, 3) Consistent, 4) Dynamic, 5) Alive and 6) Personal. If he is these things, he is not boring or boorish, heavy handed, but a loving Father who wants to see his kids get free.

Bethel is one church that has found its place. It is a church that is growing. It is one place where people can actually become more than pew fodder for pastors. Pastors should follow Bill Johnson’s example in that he seems to want a big people over a big church. If you go there, you’ll notice that Bill Johnson has both. Think about that for a while.

BETHEL UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL POSTGAME SOUND

November 21, 2009

Bethel Unable to Overcome Stout Defense

Arden Hills, Minn.- Bethel University reached the final game of the Tip Off Tournament for the ninth consecutive year on their home court but fell short tonight against the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  The Royals could not overcome a six-point deficit at the half en route to the narrow loss, 78-73 in front of 253 fans.  The Royals had previously won eight Tip Off Tournaments in a row.

Bethel wasn’t able to completely get warm from the field, just shooting 43.5% from the field and was even cooler from three-point range (7-of-22) and the free throw line (12-of-22).

Coach Jeff Westlund’s team still seems to be finding its’ identity with the loss of three premier players in Tim Madson, Mike Moberg and Cory Laugen.  Though, this year’s team will still be a threat in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Guiding the effort for the Royals was Chris Vavra (Sr., Cambridge, Minn.) with 20 points, three assists and three steals.  Rob Lang (Sr., Johnston, Iowa) contributed 13 points on 3-of-3 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line in his starting role.  Also in double figures was Daniel Baah (So., Lakeville, Minn.), scoring 11 points in his role off the bench.

Mahlon Thomas (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led the University of Wisconsin-Stout, contributing 20 points and seven rebounds in the victory.  Jerrell Enerson-Matthews (Sr., Anoka, Minn.) finished with 13 points as did teammate Eric Hostetter (Jr., Stillwater, Minn.) including nine in the second half.

Bethel, now 1-1 overall will be on the road for the next three games, starting out with Bethany Lutheran College on November 24^th down in Mankato, Minnesota.

November 20, 2009

Royals Dominant in Season Opener

Arden Hills, Minn.- Bethel University took the season opener against Nebraska Christian as an opportunity to run and hide.  The Royals used a 66 point first half to take a commanding 54-point lead before the half all while cruising to a 93-21 victory.

JD Robinson (So., Plymouth, Minn.) led the running for the Royals with 19 points on 8-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line.  Greg Meyer (Fr., Brooklyn Center, Minn.) put 12 points through the nylon as well as his freshman teammate, Chris Breuer (Fr., Eden Prairie, Minn.).

The hiding was done by the Bethel starters as all five logged only eight to ten minutes each, all in the first half.  Transfer, Taylor Hall, (So., Spring Lake Park, Minn.) who came in from Bemidji State chipped in nine points and a block.

As a team, the Royals shot 63.5 % from the field while getting 14 players six or more minutes of action.

Bethel University will host University of Wisconsin-Stout tomorrow night at 8 p.m. in the Robertson Center for the Championship game of the Tip Off Tournament.