Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity

This book is freaking amazing! Mark Batterson explores the Lost Soul of Christianity, and breaks it down to it's core. The book gives a refreshing look at the Great Commandment and Commission. I really enjoyed this book, and have been quoting it in conversation since I started reading it. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to look into their relationship with Christ, and looking to be a part of the next Reformation.
Amo Dei.


This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah. Click the WaterBrook Link to purchase this book online now!

Conviction of Love

Love Chapter: NIV

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.5 It is not rude, it is not self‑seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:16

16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Love Chapter: NIV with a little description of Jesus, because He is fully God, and fully man.

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not Jesus, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not Jesus, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not Jesus, I gain nothing.
4 Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.5 He is not rude, He is not self‑seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs.6 Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Jesus never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and Jesus. But the greatest of these is Jesus.

Now here comes the conviction! Can you describe yourself like this? I can't, but it's something to strive for.

4 I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud.5 I am not rude, I am not self‑seeking, I am not easily angered, I keeps no record of wrongs.6 I do not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 I always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Looks like I have a few things to seek Jesus and work on. Do you?

Crap Work

Sometimes in life we have to do stuff we really don't like. We constantly have to do things that we don't want to do, but they help us either get to where we want to be, or help the things we do like to do.

Example of doing something that will help us later. Right now, I hate accounting. I hate the homework, and I really don't enjoy the learning of it. I have to take it to get into the Marketing Program at Iowa. I want to get a degree in Marketing, not because I'm so excited about marketing, but because I think it is somewhat interesting, and I think it will help me with eventually planting a church. Too many churches lack wisdom on the business side of things, and when I start a church, I don't want to be one of those churches, this is why I want to do Marketing. Unfortunately this means I have to do some stuff I really don't like to do, but it will help me get to be where I want to go.

This whole idea reminds me of worshiping God. While I was in Masters Commission I learned a lot about worship, and they taught me a lot about what it means to worship. There are two ways we worship God; when we want to, and when we don't. I am realizing, (even though I was taught it sometimes takes a living example to realize some things), that it is very important to worship God when we don't want to. Not that worship is about us, but it is much more beneficial to us when we worship even though we don't want to. It shows God our faithfulness, and it opens to door for him to change our heart to be more like His.

What are you doing that you don't like? Or what should you be doing that you are avoiding, and will help you get where you need to go?

Rescued

Psalm 118

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

I need him. I cannot do it by myself. This is a constant reminder everyday. He rescued me from myself, and by his power, not mine, do I change. I surrender to him. I am comforted by him.

Major Success

Our Love Wins Campaign yesterday rocked! I had hoped for about 6 or 7 volunteers to have two teams and hopefully touch about 60-70 homes. We had 17 people show up, and we hit about 250 homes! It was 34 degrees out and snowing. Pastor and I had decided to cancel, then all our volunteers started showing up, and said "why wouldn't we? It's Iowa, it'll just get colder, we can handle this" so we went. We met a lot of people, and helped out a few. Yesterday was really introductory, and just got to meet a lot of people. We ended up doing some work, as one family did not have running water working in their home, but we are getting it hooked up for them. Hopefully we'll get that project done tomorrow, as a few of us go back in the afternoon! I love this! Such a great day! Jesus is good. On our way to live this thing called church and love everyone!

Welcome to the Revolution: Love Wins Campaign

This weekend we will be starting our new outreach program for Life Church! It will be called the Love Wins Campaign. On Saturday October 10 at 9:15 am we will be meeting at the Coralville Rec Center to go over how everything will work, and to pray before we go out at 10:00 am. We will be done around 12:00pm.

We will be going into one of the trailer parks in North Liberty on Hwy 965. What we will be doing is knocking on doors and talking to the people in the trailer park. We will be offering to serve these people in many ways (yard work, house work, mowing, painting, raking leaves, cleaning, conversation, prayer, or anything else we can do on that morning). We really want to serve our way into these people's hearts. The whole goal of this campaign is to share the love of God, to be known in the community, to build relationships with the community, and to find out their needs so we can better serve them.

We will be going on 10/10, 10/24, 11/7, and on 11/21 to the same area. We are still working out details, but we will be doing a Thanksgiving activity on the last Saturday for the neighborhood, as it is the weekend before Thanksgiving. If you can come please try and come the following weeks as well, so we can build solid consistent relationships and share God's love for these people.

I know this may be a little nerve wracking and stretching, but please take the step out of your comfort zone and to share God's love for these people. Before we go out I will be going through details on what to say, and coaching on what we'll be doing. If you have any questions please contact me.

Let's go BE the Church.

Matthew 25:33 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

Extraordinary

I am currently reading Extraordinary by John Bevere. It's a book about living life for God, pleasing God, and living an extraordinary life. I personally am not a huge fan of it. It's pretty deep, and well honestly I'm not a huge fan of so much "Christian" language. I think you'd enjoy this book if you've been a Christian for some time, but if you're anywhere near the beginning of your walk I wouldn't recommend it.

Here is the summary from the publisher:

There's a question that troubles many believers: "Why am I not experiencing more joy, more hope, more satisfaction, more intimacy, more power, more everything in my Christian life--didn't Jesus promise that?"

He did promise an abundant life, but too many people are trapped by the curse of "the ordinary." They have accepted the wrong idea that following God means losing individuality, creativity, and a passion for achieving lofty goals.

Nothing could be further from the truth! John Bevere builds a convincing case, straight from Scripture, for a way of living marked by extraordinary experiences and accomplishments-the life God always intended for his children.

Here is a guide to understanding God's incredible plans, and how to enjoy a life where he adds the "extra" to "ordinary."

If you're interested in the book you can order it from this link: Extraordinary

Just a Son

Well I've decided to try and recommit to the blog. I've been logging in lately and just staring at the page, not liking my background, then not posting anything so here goes.

I've got a new background, yeah it's a little dark, but I like it better. I've renamed the blog from Extreme Days to Just a Son. I've chosen Just a Son based off of, well the saying I post everywhere for my Bio and short descriptions of myself. I am not big on titles or positions. I try and be a servant and a leader in every position I am. I know who I am in God, and know that he has made me much more than JUST his son, but no other name can describe it like this.

I like Galatians 4:6&7. "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

I know God has blessed me with so much, and will continue to bless me. My life isn't about the blessings, but about Him. I strive to live in such a way that people can see my Father's image through me. This is why Just a Son.

Answered!

Well a few weeks ago I posted a prayer request about my dad's face and my grandma Roller's cancer. Well my dad is done with his treatments, and his face is looking a lot better, he went to the doctor the last week of treatments, and the doctor said it looks good and come visit me in December. Praise God! My grandma had a complete hysterectomy last Monday, and is now staying with my parents until she is back to complete mobilization again. She is cancer free! Praise God!

Thank you so much for your prayers I really appreciate it, and thank you God for answering these prayers. All the Glory and Honor to Him.

Prayer Request

I have a few prayer requests that if you take the time to read this blog, please take a moment to pray for my family. My dad has pre-cancer cells on his face and is currently going through a process to have them taken care of, but it's hard on him. Please pray for him, and that it gets all taken care of. Also, please pray for my mom's mother. We just found out on Monday that she has uterine cancer. They are going in for more tests to see how bad it is and what not, but please prayer for her.

I really appreciate the prayers. Thank you.

Visiting.

This past weekend I visited Dallas. It was a great time to visit my friends down there. I love those people so much. I went to Relevant Church and it was really great to be with Frontline Worship again for the weekend, and heard John Alcala speak. He is the Invictus USA, college ministry, pastor at Relevant. Saturday I went to my kids' house. When I say kids I mean the kids I picked up every Sunday and took to church, which they are still going to church Praise Jesus. While I was at their apartment, which is 7 people in a two bedroom, the one boy, Giovanni, took me into their bedroom and showed me inside his wardrobe. In the wardrobe was a picture of me with Giovanni and his brother Alex. It was the only picture glued in the wardrobe. On the other door was my cross necklace that I gave to Giovanni for his birthday. I thought he lost it, because he never wore it, but he really just didn't want to lose it. I love these kids so much. It was such a blessing to me to see them again this weekend. It was a great trip and I'm so glad I got to see my friends, but I'm happy here in Iowa for the time being.

Parts to the Plan

Well I'm back in Iowa for now. I'm am going to be helping out at Life Church in Iowa City as much as possible. I am also enrolling Kirkwood Community College as well do their Pre-Business Transfer program with a plan of transferring to the University of Iowa next fall to study Marketing. Not sure how I'm going to, but I want to move to Iowa City soon, I'm currently living back home with my parents for now in North English.

Currently I am working with my Grandpa doing random odd jobs and I love it. The work is fun, and pays well, but it's not consistent which makes things hard. I may work one day, then not the next. I have a lot of time, and am finding it a constant struggle to keep on task and keep my eyes on my dreams. Not a lot of people dream in North English, and it's kind of hard to not get pulled down by that lack. I'm just trying to keep my head up and eyes ahead, and not get pulled away from what I know is right.

Happy Birthday America. I love this country.

Testing out this mobile blogger thing.

Trust

I continue to pray small prayers, and God continues to blow me away. I pray for him to provide a way to fund Sleeping Life, and he gives abundantly. I pray for an answer, the one I want to hear or even the one I don't, and he give the answer I wanted. I don't know why I continue to ask small. I think He's waiting for me to pray risky prayers, and expect big answers, but lately, I haven't been praying too risky. Today I begin to pray and dream bigger than I ever have. I may not know where I'll be in two weeks, or what I'm doing this fall, but I trust Him who is worthy of being trusted with my future. As you read this I encourage you to trust God more today, and pray a risky prayer!

Life is Great

Well the last few weeks I have been all over the place. I've slept in North English, Iowa, Winter Park, Colorado, Taft, California, Phoenix, AZ, on top of my car just south of the Grand Canyon, Page, AZ, in my jeep at the base of Humphrey's Peak near Flagstaff, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, and near Rio Chiquito, NM. God is taking me all over the place with Sleeping Life.

We have done four services(2 in Taft, one in Phoenix, and one in Page). The services have been going better than I could ever have expected. I guess God is showing me to expect more. He is taking care of us financially as well. We have been tremendously blessed, and I am incredibly thankful for it. I am so thankful for the doors that have been opening for us, and things that have been happening. At the services God has really been using us to minister to the people we encounter, and I am so humbled to be able to be used by God.

Life is so good right now, and I'm really living. I've been able to do a lot of cool things as well. I went boogeyboarding in Cali, hiking in Phoenix, wakeboarding, skiing, kneeboarding, and tubing in Page, hiking in Winter Park, hiked up Humphreys Peak in AZ which is the highest point in AZ abovt 12,600 feet, seen the Grand Canyon, slept outside, and just had some amazing experiences. This is what I call living! This is the Extreme life we are called to live, and I am living it and loving it!

Sleeping Life

Waking people up to realize how important and powerful their life is.

Sleeping Life is what my next 5 weeks will consist of. James Yeley, a roommate from MCUSA in Dallas, and I will be traveling and speaking at youth groups and churches from California to Arkansas. Our main focus is to be proactive in the fight against suicide and depression. We are by far not counselors, but definitely good at being a friend. We want to help people realize how important they are, not only to God, but to other people as well, and to help them live their life to the maximum potential.

Our vision is to bring a message of hope and value to people across the country. We want to help a culture plagued with depression and suicidal thoughts and bring new perspective on their purpose in life.

We will be starting this adventure June 1, 2009 and concluding July 12, 2009. For booking please contact us at: sleepinglifetour@gmail.com

This will be a new season for me, since MC is done. More to come on the end of that, and the transisition to the new!

MMTR

Last week I got registered to participate in the 2009 Mountain Masochist Trail Run. It will be on November 7, 2009. No lie, I'm a little scared about it. This race is about 52 miles in length, and I will be running it with my brother, Aron, and my cousins Travis and Alyssa Wildeboer! I'm really nervous, but excited to do it at the same time. Time for some more running! This is gonna' be a challenge!

Ambiguity!

Ambiguity is being put on by Masters Commission USA. Masters Commission USA has classes of drama, ministry development, dance, and music. The drama final project was to create a full stage production including: writing the script, finding the venue, action, creating props, makeup, set design, costume design and creation, fundraising, marketing, lighting, sound, musical creation, directing, and all else that goes into a stage production. This is our production. We are not charging anything to see our show, but we will be taking up a free-will offering at the end of the show to raise money for a ministry in our Church called 2 Your Soul.

In the land of Piccadilly there lives a race of beings called Piccas. Piccas posses markings of different colors on their skin according to their age, gender, and temperament. Long ago a certain Picca was strolling through the land of Piccadilly when a colossal book fell from the sky onto the path before him opening to the word "chief". This Picca then deduced that he was now the chief of all the Piccas. He also concluded that every Picca should consult this book for their new identity. He named it "The Ginormous Book Of Words". So it came to pass that when Piccas reach the age of 216 moons (18 years old) they are bestowed a name from "The Ginormous Book Of Words". Our story begins with a teenage Picca named Zoe. Life for Zoe is what one would consider ideal. She has everything a young teenage Picca could ever hope for, loving parents, social status, impeccable boyfriend, ravishing features and a devoted best friend. Life is going swell for our young Picca friend, but as the day of the naming ceremony nears, little does she know, her whole world is about to be flipped upside down.

I'm really excited for this play. I got to help write the script, and have an amazing one line in it! We've put a lot of work into it, and everyone should come check it out next week in Coppell!

Emotions

I'm not a person that wears their emotions very much. I can think of two times this year in MC that I've cried, it rare that I actually laugh out loud, and I've been told multiple times I look like a sad person or mad person.

Most of the times when people ask if I'm sad or mad, I'm not. I don't know why I don't wear my emotions at all. Tonight I was not in a good mood, felt frustrated and stressed in my head, when a friend looks at me and says, "Dude, do you worry about anything?" In reality I was worrying about a million things, but on my face I don't let people know. Is this weird? As a leader I think it's good not to wear your emotion too much, so the people you lead don't become worried, but then should leaders worry?

I think leaders should worry, but not fear. They should worry enough to feel the weight on their shoulders, but not scared enough where they can't move on.

A lot is going through my head, just wanted to throw something out there. So much stuff going on, but I love life. I'm ready to see my family.

Mass Chaos!

Right now I feel like mass chaos in my mind. We're starting finals, so that means Ministry Development final (40 minute service including 4 speakers, human video, promo video, and more), Dance final (10-15 minute presentation, 2 speakers, full choreographed dance and step, props, costumes, theme), Scripture final (Test over 350 scriptures), Drama final (Full stage production called Ambiguity), and we are having an outreach on Saturday without our outreach director! Plus other dramatic stuff in life going on, but seems insane right now. Can't wait to tell stories of how great God is through the middle of all of it!

WOW!

So much stuff has been happening lately. I feel like I've fallen off the blogosphere for a little while, but I'm working on getting back again. Since my last post I went to Puerto Rico and got back. It was a life changing experience, and I loved it! God showed up in so many ways, and rocked my world. I made some lasting relationships, and miss the people greatly! I'm still in the process of figuring out my plans for next year, but it's coming along. Not sure where I'll be yet, but I know that no matter where I am, it will be amazing!

Puerto Rico!

I'm heading out to Puerto Rico tomorrow morning! It's my first mission trip and I'm really excited! Here is our schedule, which I stole from the message my director sent me!

MC USA Woven Missions Trip

Monday, March 30 th
3:00 pm - Vans leave to airport
3:15 pm – MC USA missions team arrives to Puerto Rico
4:00 pm - Take them to lodging quarters
4:30 pm – Begin to settle in lodging quarters
5:30 pm – MC USA welcome party
9:00 pm- Practice for services,
Walgreens or Walmart run for necessities

Tuesday, March 31st
7:20 am - Breakfast
7:50 am - Pick up MC USA at lodging quarters
8:00 am - Morning Prayer
8:40 am – Pastor Lloyd shares his heart
9:15 am - Orientation and mission strategy (All Rescate & PG )
10:30 am - Prepare for Rescate Hambrientos (Rescue the Hungry)
11:30 am - Lunch
12:30 pm – 4:00 - Rescate Hambrientos in Santurce, La Perla y
Bayamon
4:30 pm - Practice
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Leave to Iglesia Monte Sinai (Ben and half of the
team)
7:00 pm - Leave to Iglesia Sierra Bayamon (Pastor Lloyd and
half of the team)
7:30 pm - Service w/ Monte Sinai- MC USA
7:30 pm - Service w/ NDG- MC USA


Wednesday, April 1st
7:20 am - Breakfast
7:50 am - Pick up MC USA at lodging quarters
8:00 am – Morning Prayer
9:00 am – School Assembly practice
9:30 am - Load up and leave to school
10:00 am – Arrive and set up at Robinson School
10:30 am – Robinson School Assembly
12:30 pm – Lunch
2:00 pm – PG prep time
3:00 pm- Rescate chase Barbosa & Catano (in groups)
3:15 pm – Leave for Alhahmbra
4:00 pm- PG at Alhambra projects
5:30 pm- Shower and change
7:00 pm - Dinner at mama Cuka’s
8:30 pm - Practice for services


Thursday, April 2nd
7:20 am – Breakfast
7:50 am - Pick up MC USA at lodging quarters
8:00 am - Morning prayer
8:30 am - Prep for Retiro at Colegio & prep time for His Hands
9:00 am- Retiro de Colegio A/D (in groups)
9:00 am- Load up and leave to His Hands
10:00 am –“His Hands” at shooting galleries in La Perla and
Santurce (in groups)
12:00 pm – Lunch (in groups, some lunch will be served on site)
2:00 pm – PG prep time
3:00 pm- Rescate chase Jeanie & Alegria (in groups)
3:15 pm – Leave for Catano y Barbosa
4:00 pm- PG at Juana Matos projects & Barbosa projects
6:30 pm- Dinner
10:00 pm- Rescate chase Cenicienta (Rescue Cinderella)


Friday, April 3rd
7:20 am – Breakfast
7:50 am- Pick up MC USA at lodging quarters
8:00 am- Work day (help paint mc building)
12:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm – Continue with work day
3:00 pm - Begin clean up of work day
3:00 pm- Rescate chase La Perla (Rescue the Pearl) (in groups)
3:30 pm – Leave for Alegria y El Jeanie (in groups)
4:00 pm- PG at El Jeanie projects & Alegria projects
6:30 pm- Dinner
8:00 pm – Pepe Millo for MC USA (optional)
9:30 pm- Leave to the streets for prostitute outreach
11:00 pm- Rescate Cenicienta Café outreach


Saturday, April 4th
10:00 am - Breakfast
Rest time
1:00 pm - Lunch
2:00 pm – Leave to La Perla (The Pearl)
2:00 pm - Practice for night meeting
3:00 pm - PG at La Perla
6:30 pm - Dinner
7:30 pm - Youth event w/ Pastor Lloyd & MC USA


Sunday, April 5th
8:30 am - Breakfast
9:30 am - Morning service at Tabernaculo A/D w/ Pastor Lloyd
& MC USA (Assembly of God District Service)
12:00 pm – Lunch
1:30 pm – Visit Old San Juan
2:00 pm – Site seeing and fellowship time
8:00 pm - Travel back to lodging quarters


Monday, April 6th
8:00 am - Breakfast
8:30 am- Leave to El Yunke
10:00 am – Visit El Yunke (the rain forest) and swim in a nearby
river
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:30 pm – Leave El Yunke and head out to Luquillo beach
2:00 pm - Relax and enjoy Luquillo beach
5:30 pm - Leave and travel back to lodging quarters
7:00 pm - Dinner


Tuesday, April 7th
9:00 am – Breakfast
10:30 am - Pack van for airport and clean up lodging quarters
12:00 pm – Lunch
1:30 pm – Leave to airport
2:00 pm – Arrive to airport and Good Bye’s
4:00 pm- Fly out to TX

Unsure.

Well my plans were to go back to Iowa State University this fall, but I'm unsure now. Masters Commission is changing a lot in the next year, and I want to be a part, but I'm not exactly sure that this is what God wants me to do. I have a dream of being a Lead Pastor and to plant a church someday. Where or when this will take place? I have no idea. I want to work toward that goal, but not exactly sure where God wants me to go with my next step. I will continue to pray about it and keep my options open. With time I'll know, and I'll keep everyone that reads this posted.

Cafe Brazil

So over the past two days I've spent over 12 hours at Cafe Brazil. I love it! I've gotten a lot of work done as we finished our play, "Ambiguity", and I've gotten a few places booked to speak at this summer. I'm really excited about where God is taking me lately, and how much I've grown closer to him. Next Monday I get to head to Puerto Rico for my official first Missions Trip! I'm really excited and expecting a lot. I'm looking forward to the experience and just life in general.

Nuevo Mexico!

Had an amazing trip to New Mexico last week. This was our team. We did three services and had a wonderful time. I got to help lead one service and speak at the end of it. I am very thankful for the opportunity to speak and just be on the trip altogether. I made some awesome friends out in New Mexico and am really looking forward to seeing them again! So much stuff happened on the trip I can't begin to write about it all!