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#SurpriseUsIn6 – Momentum – The Snow Ball

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“How can we pray for you guys?” Has been the number one question we have received while being back, and while we are trusting God to provide a good chunk of monthly support, we don’t start with that. I respond with this, “Please pray for momentum and then sustained momentum because there are forces that know if the ‘snow ball’ gets too big, it won’t be able to be stopped. What we experience in church, missional communities, football, anti-human trafficking and life in general in Prague is that when a series of positive events start building and we start seeing momentum, something, someone comes along and squashes that snowball. It’s a heartbreaking gut-wrenching experience that often sends us back to the beginning. Going through this for 15 years of ministry and life is tough.”

Would you pray with us for this as well?

While we understand this is life and life in ministry, we’ve had friends who have been with us for years in this, and they have said things like, “What you’ve experienced in a few years, is what some missionaries experience in a lifetime on the field.” When we’ve heard that we don’t know how we should feel. We aren’t interested in comparing ourselves to others, we long to be faithful and see Jesus made much of through our lives. So that means when the snowball has been crushed in the past, or maybe even today still, we start packing another snowball and start the process again, trusting that if we trust in Him nothing we do is in vain.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

Faithfulness. Being steadfast. Being immovable. Trusting in Him through it all.

Please pray that we would continue on in that and that Lord-willing, God would in the midst of this bring momentum, that then we would by His grace sustain.

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that inspiration again…

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Not long ago, I wrote about my old friend, Chris Jensen, and his friend, Mary. Well, above is the final portion in the story about the three of them, Chris, Chris’ wife, Tiffany, and Mary. So inspiring. Thanks Chris and Tiffany for being you and Mary for fighting when so many others would have stopped. Know you prayed for!

inspiration from an old friend…

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Every now and then, you hear, read about, or watch a story that just moves you and makes you say, “That person/people get(s) it! If more people did that what would our world look like?” I just had another one of those experiences, except this time it came from an old friend. A friend that happened to play left tackle next to me as I played TE my senior year of high school! This friend is no other than Chris Jensen and his awesome wife, Tiffany. They are just flat out loving in a very practical way and it’s being followed by a local news station. Check it out below! Chris and Tiffany I’m so proud of you two and I’m praying for all three of you as you run this weekend! Thank you for inspiring me across the ocean!



sometimes i wonder…

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…”what if? What if I were do this? What if I chose to do that? What if? What if? What if?” Welcome to my mind.

Saturday night after a gmail chat date with the lovely Rachel Baer (Yes she now has a blog! Click on her name and meet this amazing women via the blog world. We will see if she gets hooked now!;-)) I got bouncing around on the web. Which meant I went to bed way latter than desired, and I couldn’t sleep past 8 this morning! What’s the deal? Is this because I’m getting older? Anyway…..

I clicked on the link from a friend’s gmail status (Andy Wojtowski) and watched this…


As I watched this several times, I had a “What If” moment! Now don’t get me wrong I LOVE WHAT I DO! LOVE IT! But there are moments where I have inclinations to pursue things like shooting films, dropping rhymes, snapping pics, designing, writing and a ton of other creative things for a living. I do love that my job allows me to do some of these things, well not dropping rhymes or being part of that, but a boy can dream right?

So I thought I would share that thought and video with you, because I loved it…

I do have question for you – WHAT GIG (job) DO YOU WONDER ABOUT DOING IF YOU DIDN’T DO WHAT YOU DO?

DISCLAIMER: Just because I post a video, link, or etc. does not mean I endorse everything the person thinks, sings about or etc. I just thought I would add that. I would hope that those of us that read my blog, that say we are “Christ followers” would look for “God sightings” all around us – in nature, in people and in pop-culture and, thus, look for ways to point that out and work for redemption! I saw a spark of God’s creative impulse as I watched Nyle‘s vid. Thanks for stopping by!

you found me

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One of the reasons I was stoked to make it back to Prague, after our conference this week, was to download the newest album, from The Fray. It hasn’t disappointed! I chose to spend a couple more dollars, so that I could get the music videos and the making of vids too. Because I just love that stuff. I love watching how the creative process for others unfolds. It’s amazing. I wanted to post the video from the newest single, You Found Me, sure enough it’s on youtube, but sadly embedding it was disabled of the actual video, so I posted the acoustic version above, but click HERE to see the whole music video. Beautiful stuff and a song that really speaks to the ‘inbetween world’ we live in. So good….

a morning cup of kava with eugene

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That morning cup of coffee is with my new, dear friend, Eugene Peterson, and sadly it doesn’t mean I sit and have coffee with him in person, but through his writing. Last fall, I read The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, with my pastor, Phil, after good friends, in Athens, Greece, recommended it to me. I really enjoyed the book, but now it would seem that the words of Mr. Peterson are penetrating my heart in a way that they did not, when I read The Contemplative Pastor. My director (Billy) and I are reading are now reading A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society. I know another long title! I love long titles!

The title alone seems so timely for myself and for the world you and we live in. I’m only a mere two chapters into the book and I’ve already have had so much to ponder, pray and meditate on. I wanted to share some quotes that made me go, “hmmmmm, that’s good!” Or, “ouch that stings a bit!” I hope these move you as well! Swing by a bookstore and pick this book up and enjoy a morning cup of kava with Eugene as well!

“Many claim to have been born again, but the evidence for mature Christian discipleship is slim. In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.”

“Meanwhile the world whispers, ‘Why bother? There is plenty to enjoy without involving yourself in all that. The past is a graveyard – ignore it; the future is a holocaust – avoid it. There is no payoff for discipleship, there is no destination for pilgrimage. Get God the quick way; buy instant charisma.’”

Ah, there is so much more, but we will leave it there for now. What hit you about those quotes? Any reactions? Here’s to setting forward on the long, rugged path of discipleship, that the world, and even much of the quick-fix, Evangelical church shuns!

late night procrastination…

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Oh my… So I am somewhat the media department for AIA||Czech Republic and that has meant that I’ve slowly acquired the tools to create quality pieces for us, as well as ways to express myself creatively, and much more. During my trip back to the States, I acquired another couple of pieces to add to those tools and I’m stoked to use them. I’m currently working on conceptualizing, shooting and editing a promo for the Czech Project, but in doing so I’m trying to learn how to use these tools while I’m in the process of creating. I’m thankful for the world we now live in that allows me to find and consume information and etc. so quickly but it could also lead to hours of sitting and “learning” (let’s just call it that, it makes me feel better, but in reality it’s procrastinating a little, I guess!). In that I stumbled upon the videos of a guy, named Ugurcan Kara, on vimeo and I love what he is doing! He is using something called the “Magic Bullet Look,” which I’m trying to figure out how to join in this look, but do it under a budget. Anyway, I wanted to share two of his videos that have served as inspiration and procrastination at the same time for me! I really want to do some projects like these, just beautiful work! Enjoy!


balon from ugurcan kara on Vimeo.


bittersweet from ugurcan kara on Vimeo.

inspiration in my ears…

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So write now I’m sitting here enjoying one of these:


Yummy… They just switched to the Christmas cups and I was compelled to enjoy one! I guess… So I’m in between my Czech class and doing some prep for a sermon I’m doing at church this weekend, and I thought I would blog some inspiration that has been in my ears over the last few days. I’m not procrastinating, I’m trying to catch my breath between things. It’s especially hard for me to transition to anything worthwhile after Czech class. In other words, Czech class kicks my butt, even when I have, the rare, good day like today! So here I am blogging wanting to share some inspiration with you. This inspiration comes in the form of 3 songs, here you go:

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not another blog…

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Okay, I’ve posted on what robs me of my time, productivity and staying on mission, and it would seem that in our day and age of immediate information this will be a battle I fight for the rest of my life. Well, this weekend I got to catch up with a friend who told me about marketing guru, Seth Godin, his blog and his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us; and in doing that, some of my time has been robbed. However, I think it was for the good. As I’ve read his blog and etc., I’ve had many “hmmm” moments and “what does that mean for me here” moments. Check it out! He also just put his ebook, The Tribes Q&A, up and I’ve been looking through it a bit. Here is his answer to the first question, Why do people join tribes?:

We all have a basic need to connect with other human beings. Making friends, connecting with others, sharing experiences, keeping up with popular culture, and keeping up with current trends and developments in your community all are ways and reasons for connecting with other people. When you connect with others in a fashion that allows you to develop a relationship that is especially useful, these long-term connections can be very helpful in guiding you through your life, as well as aid you in feeling happy.
The following are some of the types of more specific motivations for joining tribes:

    Purely Social: To feel less alone and to connect with people (near or far) to pursue shared interests.
    Values + Social: To connect with others who share the same values in a social setting.
    Cultural + Social: To share experiences with natives of the same country, to speak the shared language and observe cultural traditions together.
    Business + Social: To develop relationships with others in the same industry or expand network into other industries/markets.

Really, his thoughts are very intriguing to me. Why? Because I think this stuff applies to marketing, ministry, life and more. It’s interesting and has me thinking about things a lot. I really want to get my hands on his book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, for many reasons, but this quote from From Publishers Weekly, had me at hello!

The book’s helpful nuggets are buried beneath esoteric case studies and multiple reiterations: we can be leaders if we want, tribes are the way of the future and change is good. On that last note, the advice found in this book should be used with caution. Change isn’t made by asking permission, Godin says. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later. That may be true, but in this economy and in certain corporations, it may also be a good way to lose a job.

Okay, I need to get rolling and get some stuff taken care of, since “I find peace in productivity.”

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