Recent Thought Provoking Reads

I've come across several articles lately that still have me thinking...you know it's a good article when several day's later you're still thinking about it and have to go back to read it over again.

- Should Churches Abandon Travel-Intensive Short Term Missions in Favor of Local Projects
- When Are We Going to Grow Up? The Juvenilization of American Christianity
- Why Women Still Can't Have It All
- Lost in Suburbia: Increasing Suburban Poor

New York Video Shoot

Just in case you didn't see it yet, here's one of Matt's newer videos. I think it's one of my favorites so far. It's a video promotional for InterVarsity's Urban Projects and it highlights in part the kinds of people that college students might interact with while participating on the project. This was filmed in New York.

Adventures in Gardening - Heat

Unlike the past three years of gardening, this year has been really hot and dry. Normally I don't have to go out and water very much (maybe once a week or every other week). But this year it has felt like I've been out every 3 or 4 days.

Yesterday in particular as I was giving the garden a good soak I found myself praying for rain and realizing once again how dependent we are on God. With all our technology, weather information, and specialized garden gear, we still can't control the weather. I guess that's probably a good thing.

I was also reminded of a verse in Amos which says "I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up." I don't think I ever understood that verse before moving to the Midwest.

Case in point, about 4 to 6 weeks ago we did get a strong rain storm. I was driving back from a doctor's appointment and was stopped at a stop light. There was no rain falling where I was stopped, but not more than 10 feet in front of me was a line of heavily falling rain. Rain really can just fall on one "field" and not one less than a mile or half a mile away.

Now, we're still probably getting more rain than California...but it sure would be nice not to have to water so often. And it would have been nice for my spinach and bok choi not to have bolted and gone to seed so soon. But I'm probably just being selfish.

The only plus side of this heat so far is that the tomatoes are loving it. They are looking quite happy. And I'm hoping they stay that way.

Salvador

Back in college, I was introduced to some worship music by Salvador (specifically, Montana). I remember how foreign it felt to sing in a different language initially...even a language like Spanish which was not necessarily uncommon in Southern California.

However, I think I enjoyed it more than even I realized back then. The other day I found some of Salvador's music on my computer and I instantly realized how much I have missed singing in Spanish (that doesn't happen much in the Midwest). It was like their music awakened a part of my soul which I had forgotten about.

I know there are a lot of different opinions out there about whether or not churches should introduce worship songs in different languages. And for those churches/ministries who do, it's not an easy road. But personally, I think worshiping in other languages has given me a fuller vision of what heaven will be like - with millions of people glorifying/praising God in their own tongues.And sometimes, it's just fun! :)

And if anything it makes me miss California and it's Spanish influence.