Stre-e-e-e-tch

My mind was racing on the way to work this morning. I thought of a couple different things I wanted to write about. The first one was about how we all try to be in control of things and tend to not want to give God room to work in our lives and in the lives of others. We hear of a someone we know possibly going down the wrong road, or about to make a wrong choice and we instinctively think it's all on our shoulders to make sure they don't - that we are God's divine messenger and if we don't get to the person in time all is lost. Sometimes we can be God's divine messenger - but we don't know that. I don't believe God would want us to get so worried about that person that all of a sudden we're not trusting in God that He can't work in that person's life some other way than by us convincing them that they're making a wrong choice. Our job is to do our best, pray, and leave it up to God.

My other thought comes from the book I'm reading - "Velvet Elvis". As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, it's really making me think. I have been blessed over the last 3 or 4 years by listening to several pastors on the Christian radio station that I work for. Two of them: Todd Friel and Greg Boyd have VERY different ways of evangelizing and theologizing. Now, the book I'm reading is showing me a different brand of Christian theology and it's having me think through another lens. Here's what I'm thinking: stretch yourself by exposing yourself to God loving pastors that have different theology. For me, I used to listen to Greg Boyd, or listen to Todd Friel and think that they have it all together theologically. Now, there are things that they each say that I'm not sold on, because I've heard opposing viewpoints. For me, this has brought me closer to God because it's reminding me that God is really BIG. It keeps me humble because I might have an opinion on an ancillary theological issue one day, but then hear an opposing viewpoint and question my original opinion. I don't claim now to think I'm "right" in an argument because I'm not God. I think a definition of "narrow minded" would be one who has an opinion that is very limited because they're only seen one viewpoint and never challenged it - I've been guilty of this. My passion is for people to seek -- and seek hard! If you seek, you'll find, if you don't, you won't (nice rhyme huh?). My job is to love God and love others - this doesn't mean having everything all philosophically or theologically worked out in my mind, and making sure everyone agrees with me!

Have a blessed day!

Still here!

Hello people who may have accidentaly came across my blog - I won't assume anyone is actually reading my blog INTENTIONALLY!

Why the long abscence? I've been getting ready for our missions trip, trying to keep my sales up and focus at my job, and all the other stuff that keeps us all so busy. I've not given up on my blog, but I don't want to fill it with boring posts either!

Have you seen www.mychurch.org? Pretty cool website if you're in to the social networking thing, and you're a Christian! Get you church to sign up!

Speaking of churches, Gina and I are still working on finding a new church home. We love Woodland Hills, the church we've been going to for almost 4 years, but it's pretty far away from our new home in Hastings, MN. We've been visiting Hastings United Methodist church now. We checked it out on a referral that they have a great youth group. I like it a lot so far - they have a wonderful pastor and they're very active in the community. The Methodist church has a neat history too, which we've been learning about. The website is .

Reading a good book now - Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell. I'm not sure if I sign off on everything he says, but he definitely is getting me to think.

James 1:27

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Gina, Madelynn and I have an opportunity on January 12-22 to travel to Puebla, Mexico to serve at an orphanage. We will be part of a team from Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota that will be helping children that are living at Living Hope International’s youth home called Esperaenza Viva.

Esperaenza Viva is a home for youth who come from a number of different tragic circumstances. Some of the children’s parents are serving life sentences in prison, some children were abandoned and living on the streets, and some come from abusive homes. At Esperaenza Viva they can experience the love of God, overcome hopelessness and rejection, and receive education and medical care. Our team will be assisting the staff in caring for the 85 or so children who live there by: doing work projects, teaching, playing games, craft projects or just spending time showing love to the kids. The cost for the three of us that includes transportation, room & board, and project money is roughly $3,400.

Over the past several years the three of us have been humbled by the people and children in poor circumstances in our own back yard literally, when we lived on the East Side of St. Paul. We love reaching out to the broken and those in need. That is why this trip has a special spot in our hearts.

If you feel led to help us financially, please make a check payable to: Woodland Hills Church and send it to my work addres: Salem Communications, ATTN: Kevin Norman, 2110 Cliff Road, Eagan, MN 55122. (In the memo please put “Puebla Mission Trip” but do not put our name on the check or the gift will not be tax deductible). We need the funds by December 12.

Even if you may not be able to support us financially on this trip, please pray for our family, the rest of our team, and the Esperaenza Viva orphanage as this trip is approaching and during the trip. Thank you very much!

It's November 7, Don't Forget to Pray

I voted today, but more importantly, I prayed.

When so many people are sweating bullets about whether their candidates get in, just don't forget -- God is in control! And if you cast your heavenly ballot by praying (please forgive the cheesy analogy), you are making a postitive kingdom difference. If you talk to him, he hears you. If you ask for his will to be done, you are covered by him!! Talk to God and ask him what is best -- tell him what you want, but don't be presumptuous to think that you know what is best. God knows what is best for us! Just ask him to do his thing! I'm guilty of trying to "steer" God to do what I want, but sometimes I do remember that like a old, very wise person (to use a very bad analogy, because unlike an old wise person, he actually CREATED me!), he knows better than me!

It's gray out there...

Someone recently asked me about what I think about the death penalty -- I haven't thought about the death penalty for a while, but I think there are at least a few reasons why I have not been totally opposed to it 1) People that get the death penalty know beforehand that their crime is a crime that will be punished - if death is the punishment, and they commited the crime knowing that they could be sentence to death... 2) Death row inmantes have time to repent (they have a lot of time on death row to get right with God). 3) I've heard that places that have the death penalty have a much lower crime rate... if the citizens know that they could be sentenced to death for their crimes, and as a result they do crime less, that seems like a pretty smart system to me.

However, because our judges aren't omniscient like the True Judge (God), I'm not crazy about the idea that there are innocent people who get sentenced to death sometimes. SO, I'm not crazy about it, but not against it either...

I have a feeling that if you brought this issue up with Jesus, just like the issue of war and any other gray area, he'd tell us to not divide over this issue, but come together on spreading the good news!

I've decided not to sell the AK

I think I'm done ruminating on war vs. peace. I just did a Google fight (www.googlefight.com) between war & peace and war won - by a landslide. I'm done sweating this one because I don't want this topic to get in the way of more important questions in my head like do I eat at 11:30 today, or do I eat at noon...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me on this one -- I think I still lean toward more of a MacGyver viewpoint instead of an A-Team viewpoint on war, but please don't hold it against me if you don't - because I want you on my side if we go to war.

Have a happy November 2nd!

THAT IS IT. I'm selling my AK-47...

So I can't get off the subject of whether Christians should engage in war. Here's a passage in the bible I just remembered, that I think it has motivated me to sell all of my assault rifles:

This is Jesus speaking to his apostles before he sends them out:

"...take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep." Notice he didn't mention to bring a sword - even though Jesus later in the chapter said they would face some serious haters.

he also says:

"...When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another." Again, says nothing about fighting back. He takes a more passive approach. Would Jesus have organized an army if force was going to help, or if it was important to protect the apostles if they started getting oppressed?

and one last thing in the same chapter that's strengthening my opinion that Jesus is not a fan of war or force:

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. "

So the argument that terrorists may come to America if we don't fight them overseas seems to be "being afraid of those that kill the body". Seems to me that we have bigger fish to fry -- caring about people's souls vs. people's safety.

Again, just talking this out. I used to be a big fan of fighting "just wars" and I thought I wouldn't change my opinion then, so even though I'm strongly leaning towards a "love not war" stance on things, I could change my mind if there is a theme in the bible I'm missing.

Love you reply posts on this one!

Have a safe October 31st!

Hi family, friends and enemies -- Happy Halloween! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays - I think because I like tricks, treats and scary stuff. I'm not one of the Christians that believe we shouldn't "celebrate" Halloween because of the pagan roots. I'm not summoning spirits or celebrating paganism. We're in a world that is fallen, and if you try to avoid everything that has connection to pagans you're going to paint yourself into the corner of a small room and NEVER be the salt of the earth that Jesus wants us to be. I think it's a dangerous thing for Christians to create a little Christian bubble that isolates them from non-Christians. Especially when participating in something as innocent as going door to door in a Sponge Bob Square pants costume collecting candy. If I wasn't a Christian and someone invited me to learn about their faith - where they don't participate in Halloween -- I'd think that they have a pretty legalistic faith that is ridiculous. Personally, I can't see Jesus telling kids to stay home and don't have fun trick-or-treating. I can see him saying to stay away from occult activities - but I think trick-or-treating is a bit different. If you really, really feel that participating in Halloween is a bad thing, then don't do it (you shouldn't, or else it is a sin for you) -- this is just my humble opinion and you have a right to yours as much as I do to mine. My only fear is that by drawing a circle around yourself so big that you're not participating in innocent holidays that are not even an echo of whatever their pagan roots may have been, you are creating a perception of a faith that is bit like that of the Pharisees. Have a safe October 31st!

Happy Friday

Hi friends, family, and people who accidentaly came across my blog. I just want to wish you a happy Friday. I don't have much to say today. I'm just avoiding making some cold sales calls for as long as I can....

Here's your wisdom for the day:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

War, huh, Good God Y'all, What is it Good For?

...I'm not sure?? I've been thinking about it lately and even though I have my opinion on most modern day issues for Christians, the war thing is something I still don't have figured out. Is any war "just?" What would Jesus do with situations like Hitler Germany, Rwanda, and now Darfur? Should people there not fight back? Should they turn the other cheek? Should we help them with guns and warfare? Or is there another approach that would help? I know that God hates injustice, but does he ever want us to be his "hands & feet" of justice in a violent way? Doesn't Jesus want us more concerned with the souls of people than with how comfortable they are on earth (even in oppression - I mean look at the apostles - they never fought back)? I think a lot of wars come about because people are concerned about our very temporary life here on planet Earth. I have a wife and a daughter and I hate the idea of potentially being blown up by a madman, but as a Christian I believe I should be concerned more about the eternal destination of my family and that madman - more than being concerned about killing him in his lost state.

Jesus says to turn the other cheek. Jesus saved humanity by hanging on the cross instead of by violence. This says to me that there has to be a way to help these oppressed people with ways other than violence. I'm aware that a lot of people would say this may be next to impossible with certain cultures, but most people would say the way that Jesus lived his life was pretty crazy. Also, if you want a case study that shows violence in a culture can be changed without war, check out End of The Spear (movie or book), a true story about how some missionaries went into one of the world's deadliest, most violent African tribes and -- you guessed it -- the tribe changed it's violent ways in a major way, because of a change in their heart.

I'm not claiming to have a perfect plan for solving the world's conflicts, but from what I read in the Bible it seems to me there could be a better way to start to solve them - the way of self sacrificial love that Jesus modeled. And war never changes the heart of anyone - but sacrifice does.

Please share what you think about this - I'm seeking the truth. I'm seeking to learn why in this age most Christian's think that war is fine, when it seems to me that Jesus modeled change by sacrifice. Please feel free to share with me any different insight you may have on this.

Christian music????

Gina, Mads and I went to one of our new favorite hangouts, Augustana Care Center on Friday night to bring some cheer to the oldies there. We went up and down the hallway recruiting people to come listen to some music with us. We rounded up about 15 oldies in the gathering area and we sang karoke to songs from the 50's and 60's ranging from Elivs to Franki Valie to Richie Vallens (sp?), The Who and Aretha Franklin. We weren't winning any best singer awards, but I think we entertained them at least (or at least some of them - we had a few grouches).

One really neat story was of a lady we met named Ruth Bartholemew (can a name be any cooler?) who was visiting her husband that evening. Both she and her husband were probably in their late 60's and her husbad had a stroke earlier in the year and was in very bad shape - he had no control of his body and his face was frozen in expressions beyond his control - very sad. When I went into their room so see if they wanted to go, I actually thought that Ruth was the person in the room, but when I peaked around the corner I saw she was the visitor. I asked if she wanted to come before I realized that, but then she very sweetly let me know probably not because her husband clearly was not mobile (he was in bed). Anyways, we started our singing without them and about 15 minutes into it Ruth came down and was watching us. I can't remember how it happened, but we found out that she was a singer, and she ended up singing a song from our CD. THEN about 10 minutes later, the nurses came rolling Ruth's husband in! He told them that he wanted to hear her sing! She ended up singing a song and after we called it a night we visited with her for a while and she told us he was dying and then we found out she goes to a church we are considering joining (United Methodist Church in Hastings). She told us she has done karoke for a long time (she has a beautiful voice) and now I think she's going to bring her karaoke songs and sing for everyone, including her husand. What an amazing blessing! Gina and I believe God used us to answer a prayer for Ruth and her husband!

Anyways, it was a wonderful night - again, there's probably nothing that we could have done that we would have blessed us more. We pretty much know most of them by name now, and they ask us when we will be back.

control yourself

I think most people would agree that we are creatures of habit -- we are largely programmed by this world to think the way it does (more is better, look out for yourself, someone hits you, you hit them back, etc). However, most would also agree that we do have free will to make choices we want - but how much free will do we have vs. how much of what we do is because we're responding to what we've been programmed by the world to think?

If you've ever struggled with these types of questions, you will probably enjoy Greg Boyd's books and sermon's. A book that changed the way I think about these things is his book, Letters from a Skeptic - a book of letters between Greg Boyd and his ivy league, atheist dad.

If you're an intellectual, or if you know someone who is and you're struggling with questions like how could a loving God allow natural disasters and all sorts of evil, this book is for you. Also, if you're interested in how religion should or should not mix with politics, Greg Boyd was just featured on the front of the New York times for his new book Myth of a Christian Nation - the article can be read here. Lastly, Greg was recently interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS along with Rick Warren. You can view that interview here.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 (taken from a letter from the apostle Paul to the church in Rome)

www.dakotacity.org

Hey Minnesota friends,

Just found out about this one from my friend & co-worker Kevin Cash. It's an re-created old village with original buildings. It's only open occassionally throughout the year, and it's going to be open this weekend for Grand History Days. Check it out! www.dakotacity.org

chillin with the oldies

I feel so bad for me - all these postings but nobody is reading them. It's kind of like talking to myself. Ha. Anyways, Gina and I went to Augustana Care Center tonight and hung out with the old folks and chatted with them. It was a lot of fun. We brought some games but the game table was being used. They were pretty funny. If you ever want to feel appreciated, go hang out with the old folks. They are lonely and love to feel appreciated -- kind of neat how it's a two way street. They love to laugh and have fun -- so we actually went out and bought a cheap karoke machine to bring next time for some fun. Stay tuned...

think small

I have many stereotypes of people groups in my mind -- conservatives, liberals, arabs, african americans, hispanics, Christians, non-Christians -- the list goes on and on. If you are a living, breathing human, you do too. Some are good stereotypes, some are bad stereotypes.

Have you ever judged someone based on a group they belong to and end up completely "surprised" that they weren't the type of person you thought they were? I know I have. When that happens it may be God reminding you that you're not an all-knowing God, and it's good to get to know someone before you draw assumptions about them.

The thought I had on the way to work today was -- "think small." Always look at people as individuals and don't judge them on a group they belong too - regardless if you've had a negative experience with someone from a particular group. I know I would'nt like someone sterotyping me with a negative stereotype they have of Christians, salesmen, or of middle-class-white-guys. I guess this is long way of saying what Jesus said summed up perfectly: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Dogs are Better Than Cats: New Evidence

Cat starts house fire, dog saves owner Associated Press For article click here

My Photo

It's weird - so many people have told me I look like a camel in this photo.

Tigers

What a great story - it's not exactly the typical Good News that you'll read about on my blog ... more on that later, but it goes to show you that even in sports when you're down and out (119 losses in the 2003 season) that our God given spirit is very resilient if you don't give up! www.tigers.com