From Tim Keller’s study on Galatians:
Gospel faith produces a certainty that we are holy and beautiful. The more conscious we are of this certainty, the less we will be subject to ups and downs and the more we will find our hearts melted with love.
Amen. Oh, how I need this Gospel. I need to become more conscious of this truth each day and allow it to settle deep, deep into my heart, soul and mind. May God, by His grace, do this in each of us!
OKAY! IT IS HARD TO BE IN THE STATES RIGHT NOW! I don’t know who made this video, but it rocks! I got so stoked to play this weekend in the Czech League Championship and then I realized, “I’m going to be in America.” Oh well… The Lions, the team I work with, have lost twice this season to the Panthers, so this is BIG! I wish I could be there with my guys! Here is a rough translation (if you want to correct me please do so if I’m wrong, I probably am.)
There you go. It’s a cool spot! GO LIONS GO!
That’s right only 44 days left! There is a ton that will come between then and now. I leave Colorado on Thursday and the adventure begins! Please pray that God would show up in the next 44 days. Show up in the “Good Byes”. Show up in the support that is needed to be raised. Show up in the details of moving internationally for the foreseeable future. And more! My soul is clinging to Him. So prayer would be appreciated and if you want to help in anyway please let me know. How can I be praying for you? Blessings….
The Prague Lions that is! I was excited to stumble across the sports section of the Prague Post. I actually heard about an article in the Dallas News entitled Forget big bucks, Czechs play for thrills and as I searched for it I realized that the author writes for the Post! So now all you hardcore Prague Lions fans here in the States can follow the team! But I thought it would be fun to post a link for the most recent article about the pending rematch between the Prague Lions, the team I work with and play for, and our arch rivals the Prague Panthers. The Panthers have had our number this year, but my coach, Martin, will come up with a great gameplan! I wish I could be there with you guys! Very soon! Here is the link for the story Makings of a rematch. GO LIONS GO!
Here are some high(low)lights from the last match up between the Lions and Panthers. I can’t wait to get back!
I know you have been dieing for another post in my Pink Tanks and Velvet Hangovers series, so as I sit and have some time off to do “other” work than attending meetings, seminars, sessions and etc. I thought I would hook you up. I love today’s post from Pink Tanks and Velvet Hangovers. “Why?” you ask. Well, I think this cultural insight will help you understand the Czech demeanor a bit.
Historically, I was not alone in my ignorance [that is an ignorance about Czech and it’s people]. As the Munich crisis was building to a head in 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was quoted saying: “How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches… because of a far away country between people [Czechs] of whom we know nothing.” Regardless of Chamberlain’s naiveté, he was savvy enough to note that most Westerners didn’t know much about Czechoslovakia or its people.
Chamberlain would have done well to read “At the Crossroads of Europe,” an essay from the 1920s by Czech writer Karel ÄŒapek. In it, ÄŒapek described his country this way: “In these few contradictions… it is a country old and yet new, great yet small, rich yet humble, highly cultivated and yet very primitive. Nature and history have imposed upon it the fate of being the heart of Europe, of being a crossroads and a link between nations and cultures.”
For the intro post to this series, click here, and then here 1 & 2. Blessings…
The quote of the week comes from a blog-friend in Sweden, Douglas Molgaard, who just put up an entry defining the word missional. This word (and the lifestyle/theology that it is as well) is getting a lot of play in church’s circles and I am afraid it is just becoming another buzz word and it isn’t packing the weight that it should! Anyway, check out Douglas’ full entry on what the heck missional means.
The heart of being missional is to participate in God’s mission (Missio Dei). God is a missionary God. The incarnate and resurrected Christ is the missio Dei. We then are to participate in what Christ is doing in the world (Participatio Christi ). We neither determine our own agenda, nor merely imitate His, but rather participate in His, according to His call and guidance. John 20:21, So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.â€
My friend Steve McCoy, did this rating thing with his blog and I thought it would be fun to see what would come up with mine. I agree with what Steve said about his rating:
Actually, I would rather rate it PG-13 at best. I write for an adult audience.
So I was really disappointed that mine got a G. Not that I write sketchy stuff, but I don’t right for children. I guess, it’s a good thing! Well, I have to jump in the shower and go to Athlete’s in Action’s 40th Birthday Party! Have a great night!
It’s true, Czechs are adventure junkies! They love “action sports”! Which is fun for me, because it means doing ministry with them while they do these sports! So yesterday, when I was getting lost in the world of YouTube, I found the QuikSilver ad you see below. I don’t know if its real or how they did, but its crazy even if its fake! There is a word used in the song that I don’t condone and I also don’t condone throwing dynamite into historic rivers (yes, I said dynamite!). It will give you a bead on how they market to Czechs though! Sorry for being on this Czech marketing kick with my last two posts! Enjoy the video!
I just got back from picking my good friends, the Garretts, up from the airport and I’m getting ready to go to bed, but I had some work to do (i.e. returning emails). In the process of returning these emails, I had to watch my main promo video on YouTube and I of course was sucked into the other videos they have links to and I found two videos about Czech and Prague. Czech them out and notice how differently the city of Prague is marketed between to the two videos! I find it very interesting how the same place can be marketed so differently. I hope this makes you want to come to Prague! I love to show off “my” city!
For an extra bonus here are some travel pieces about Prague! I can’t wait to get “HOME” come September 4th! Enjoy the videos!
I AM ALIVE and so are my buddies who went with me! But I have a new found appreciation for the wild creation that God made and also for kayakers (for instance, rolling a kayak when you are upside down is really, really hard! I maybe had 60+ attempts in the pond and only had 2 successful attempts!)! It is way harder than it looks and as I sit here today I am very, very sore! I don’t have to much to update you on yet, but if we were to give out awards from our group yesterday here are the awards I would have won:
But you know what? I loved it! It isn’t the cheapest sport, but I would love to look into getting into it a bit more. There are some good rivers in northern Czech too! I watched some fun kayaking videos on YouTube and I posted my favorite one below. Kayakers are nuts! I didn’t do anything like these guys, but it’s entertaining. Blessings…. Oh, and thanks again Mom and Dad for the great birthday present!
