Long overdue!

Take about your epic fails! My last post, well over a month ago was about how I was gonna get back on track with blogging. So much for that idea... I am gonna try again. Here's hoping I can commit to it. Blogging is a great outlet, and a fantastic way to share my thoughts with the world.

This post is gonna be about my job.

I really, really love it! Like a lot. There are so many reasons... For one thing, the people I work with are fantastic. They are so easy to get along with and are super understanding about my lack of knowledge (some of these people are ridiculously RIDICULOUSLY intelligent!) I have met some amazing people, chewed their minds and learned a lot about the animals at the aquarium (and am continuing to do so)

But outside of that, I need to talk about the philosophies behind it. Most people know that I've spent the vast majority of my (still young) adult life working in Children's Ministry in Church. If I had my way, I'd spend the rest of my life doing that... So, why all of a sudden am I so into working at the Vancouver Aquarium as an interpreter!?! Because I've suddenly got this incredible feeling of doing God's work OUTSIDE of church. Ok... I know we are supposed to embody Christ "and whatever you do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the father through him." - Colossians 3:17 (Thank you Randy Hein) So this idea of embodying Christ, and doing God's work in my everyday life ISN'T a new concept to me, per se... But it's been rekindled and - to coin a Christian word - reborn in me! I'm rediscovering what it means to bring Christ with me wherever I go. And It's an amazing feeling!

So how is working at the Vancouver Aquarium helping me bring Christ to the world? Stewardship. Plain and Simple. Black and White. One of my favorite things about church and why I love working and living and breathing in it, is the connection that we have with God and his Creation. God has given us this world to love and care for. He has entrusted us (his greatest creation) with one of his best creations! THE WORLD IS GOOD! He wants us to care for it and love it! And I do, or try to everyday! And my workplace is amazing for that very reason. There is a feeling of stewardship... Of owning up to our actions... Of actively Changing things. Without being a Christian organization, they are doing exactly what (I believe) Jesus would want. From arctic Climate Change programs, to research to save Dolphins from Fish nets, to a carbon neutral footprint by 2011... This place understands what it means to care for the planet and all the life on it!

Everyday that I bike in to work, a smile washes over my face... because I know that God is smiling down on these people. They may not know it, or believe it, or accept it... But I believe in the depths of my heart that God looks to my workplace and screams "This is GOOD!"

Although i am only there on a very casual contract which is very quickly coming to an end... I have learned so much thus far about the science of marine life and more importantly what it means to take care of a gift as precious as our planet. And that's something I'll always carry with me :)

I know that was a very cheesy entry, but I've been meaning to write about it for a while. It's been burning up inside me. There it is :)

Casimir Pulaski Day

Most people who read my blog will already know this song. But if you don't, you should.

This is my favourite song by one of my favourite artists, Sufjan Stevens. Casimir Pulaski Day tells a very tragic story. And addresses the struggle man can be faced with they don't understand what the heck God is doing. You knwo when, you just wanna shake him and scream in his face and tell him he's wrong? Yeah. Kinda touches on that. Beautiful piece of art.

There's a link to a youtube video witht he song on it HERE

You can follow the lyrics bellow


Golden rod and the 4-H stone
The things I brought you
When I found out you had cancer of the bone

Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car to the Navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry

In the morning through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
I could see what you were reading

Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth

Tuesday night at the bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens

I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse

In the morning at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared

Oh the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you

Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I find the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of your mother

On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom

In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing

Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications when I see his face
In the morning in the window

Oh the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes.

ChristianLife-Truth

I've had a lot of time lately to think about what exactly it means to live in a Christian community. It's a tough thing to ask yourself, mainly because so many people see it in different ways. I have had many different tastes of what one would call fellowship. Mostly good, but some negative. The negative ones seem to stick out in my mind more... not because I hang on to the negative, but they are the ones that i feel like I learned the most from.

The biggest negative experiences I have had with Christian life have usually revolved around lifestyle choices that people have not approved of. Mainly Shawna and I living under the same roof. That was, without a doubt, one of the hardest parts of my life in a Christian community. Mainly because most people didn't seem to care about how our life was being lived. Instead, they were concerned about the illusion that it conveyed. I say most, not all. Some people whom I have a deep respect and love for (who may very well read this) came to me out of love and told me they disagreed. And that's fine. In fact, that's great! More and more, I am believing that God speaks subjective truths to individuals. I was confused when someone whom I respect came to me and said "I disagree. Here is my argument." and I said "Well, I am not of the same opinion. Here is my argument." We both made valid, solid points, and yet we left the conversation completely unconvinced of each other's opinion. It was interesting because he said something along the lines of "I don't know how to feel. Becasue either the Lord is speaking through me and I'm right, or he's speaking through you and you're right." At face value I wasn't sure how to take that comment. The more I thought about it, wresttled with it and prayed about it the more I relized that I disagreed. Maybe God is speaking through both of us. Maybe that the truths that God has are so profound that they seem contradictory to our feeble minds. I mean, think about the amount of blatant contradictions in the books of the law. Obviously, God isn't worried about his 'rules' being lived in contrasting ways. We can all agree on the ten rules that govern our life, (The commandments) but other than that it's open to interpretation. I'm reading "The Year of Living Biblically" right now and he touches on that so much. The amount of people that interpret the law in completely different ways. They can't all be right, can they? I would say yes. If we, as believers, can find a way that the law and God's word can speak truth and Holliness into our lives, why should we stop it? God's truth is eternal... now I don't know about you guys, but I can't grasp the concept of eternal truth. Don't you think that the Lord is gonna dumb it down for my feeble insgnifigant mind in order to make me understand it on a personal RELATIONAL level!?! Why not? This is the God who holds the cosmos in his hands people! Why wouldn't he? He would REJOICE at being able to relate with us on such a subjective level!

Even Jesus did it. I mean When the disciples got mad at Mary for annointing him with oils instead of selling them to feed the poor, he said "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me." (Matthew 26) In contrast, when asked how he could get into heaven, he told the rich man "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your posessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me." (Matthew 19) Isn't it interesting how God can speak two completely different messages to people who are in completely different places in life and in their relationship with him!?! I love it.

I don't have any answers. Just my thoughts on truth and how the eternal truth relates to us on individual levels. I think it's gloriously quasi-contradictory. I love it!

Psalms

Seems like a common theme in my life these days is Anger at God. People in my life (Myself included) seem to be angry at God for one reason or another. Be it finances, family matters, or just general disgust with the state of the world. What's worse, is most people run from this anger. We avoid it. We are embarrassed by it. We refuse to bring that anger to God. Why? Why why why? Do we think we can fool God? It's like we're so pissed at him, but we're afraid to let him know so we hide it. But, if you open your bible to Psalm 139, you'll see Verses 1-4 say:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

So what can we possibly hide from God? We can't hide anything. So we come to him. In tears, in laughter and even in Anger. Is that bad? NO. No it isn't. God wants us to come to him as we are. Don't hide how you feel so that you can give him the reverence he requires. If you're pissed, be pissed. I discovered a while back, that if you do that you will often find a certain amount of peace. Now I'm not saying you should come to him with the intention of being a pissed of Jerk. Not at all. But, it's so easy to be afraid to show our true feelings to the almighty. So easy. And I do it all the time. If I have strong feelings or thoughts that I deem 'ungodly' I try to convince God (and myself) that every thing is okay and that it's something I need to deal with on my own. And that's dangerous. Dangerous stuff!

So what are we to do? Well, the obvious Christian answer is: Look to Jesus. He will show you how to deal with it. So, can we think of a time when Jesus was pissed? (the temple. (Matt 21:12-13) A time when he was unsure? (Gethsemane. (Matt 26: 39-45)

How about anger with God? (The cross) Now I'm not saying that it wasn't his will. He willfully went to the cross. No doubt. But the words "Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani?" (The little bit of Aramaic I remember from Catholic school.) speak Volumes. God why have you forsaken me? So when Jesus was angry with God he quoted a Psalm. (His words are the opening lines of Psalm 22) So, I decided to read through psalm 22 and it seems to hit home how I and a lot of people around me are feeling. Crying out to God with no answer. Then getting more and more angry with him because he isn't answering. Sending us on a vicious cycle of sorts. Ps 22 is a prayer. It doesn't give any answers. It ends with King David asking God to not be far away and begging him to stay close. I guess a prayer we can all ask when we are feeling lonely.

But what about answers? Well, we've established we can't hide our feeligns from God. Maybe we can run from him?

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Ps 139:7-8)

Damn. So much for that idea. As I read on through 139, I found a lot of hope. Hope in a place I never used to find it. In the fear of God. I always felt that had a negative connotation to it. But I really don't feel as though it does anymore. Fear doesn't mean threatened into submission (That's not how God rolls.) No, instead I would translate fear as awe, wonder, amazement or - dare I say - being blessed. Yes. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am, because I count myself blessed that God looks after me. Unworthy as I may feel, he has proved that I am worthy. (Gen 1:31) Everything I have - every blessing in my life - I owe to God. So I come to him in fear. I come to him in anger. I come to him in sadness. I come to him as me. He is creator and King who has given me life. The least i can do, is be myself.

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Today's Piece of Worke
Bernard Madoff and his 150 Year Jail Sentence