begins with unloading the bags from the car
30 June 2006
29 June 2006
last night in Szeged
The last night in Szeged was a time for hanging out and goodbyes as our team prepared to train to Ukraine...
sharing their hearts on the steps...
after dinner the team met kids and hung out and sang and shared their hearts with their friends... this took place on the steps on the bank of the flooded Tisza river...
28 June 2006
A day in Szeged, Hungary for our team
The following posts are a day for our team! scroll down to see how the day starts!
Me and Kyle getting some pastries and coffee to start the day (0700) and talk about travelin through some doors!
then I left on the train for Budapest for a meeting
Vac is where the "travelin trio" is doing ministry... we took the train to Vac
I love Hungarian trains, they run on time!!!
on my way back to Szeged I hung out in the dining car to do some reading...enjoying Galatians!
"don't grow weary in well doing!"
27 June 2006
doors to walk through
ok, so maybe im not back yet... lack or regular scedule does in the bloggin intention...
but heres a thought...
as we travel we have life choices to make... doors open up for us... sometimes lots of doors... so how do we choose which one to walk through?
I vote lots of prayer....
advise from proven advisors who know how to keep their ajendas in check...
and more prayer...
your thoughts?
My friend Mark has his new and improved blog up and running... link on the right!
Our trip is going great... if I could get my palm to sync... id post some pix... aaaarrrrggggghhhhhhh
24 June 2006
the traveling trio
Kami, Catherine and Liz did a great job in traveling and supporting LOTS of CEO's partners... they modeled rule 1
23 June 2006
liz and the newell boys
one of the ministries of the traveling trio was being caretaker for the newell boys for a day... here's Liz on the balcony
urban life in Budapest
as i walked around in search of cappuccino yesterday morning i noticed this block of flats which has a garden with trees creating a shady space and it made me think of my new friend Atilla who lives and works in Budapest but travels to the country to enjoy nature as often as he can... some folks are unable to take that journey and so this outdoor space is all they have...
...down the street I saw this church which was beautiful on the inside while being kinda typical on the outside...
standing typical on the outside among the urban scheme while inside having the beauty of God... an image of what Jesus did... and called us too...
later on, I went in search of W... over at parlament they had the
place cordoned off...with portable fence and trams! The #2 tram was shut down and the had lined up the trams around parlament to place a barrier along with snipers and Hungarian secret service and police
later all was back to normal and at the end of the no 2 at Margit Hid I watched the usual break dancers...
1
2
3
22 June 2006
English Club
After English Club, the traveling trio and friends (L to R: Atilla, Kristof, Catherine, Tomislav, Kami and Mark, Liz is behind the camera) got a tour of Cornivus U.
Maybe I'm back - I don't yet know...
Folks who are looking for a trip update and pix of kids may wish to skip this post, it is a 'normal' blog post intended for the blogosphere
So, I've been absent awhile... the spring is a crushing time of year for me... hense, as one fellow blogger put it "In the last two months you have posted, maybe, three times"... true, so true... sad, oh so sad... so maybe I'll begin again... but please forgive if I don't, there is NO routine in my existance right now... here are a few thoughts I have this morning...
So... I am right now on a trip with a whole bunch of young people right now. Some of them high energy (which begins to approach mine) and others of them just drag... but it is a cool community... the best time for me is worshiping with them... they are a fun group...
On this year's journey (you knew that word HAD to be in this post, didn't you?)
I am seeing more than before among the people we have come to serve life what Thoreau described when he said... "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." Perhaps my eyes and ears are opened wider.
This is the view from the window of the flat I'm staying in for a couple of days in Budapest...
Once again God has taught me through my interactions with people what it is like to be him. To see suffering because of pride in and un-wise decisions... It is His heart to see His children do well, and it breaks his heart when their pride makes them do the unwise, the unnecessary... he wants them to come home, why won't they?
So, I've been absent awhile... the spring is a crushing time of year for me... hense, as one fellow blogger put it "In the last two months you have posted, maybe, three times"... true, so true... sad, oh so sad... so maybe I'll begin again... but please forgive if I don't, there is NO routine in my existance right now... here are a few thoughts I have this morning...
So... I am right now on a trip with a whole bunch of young people right now. Some of them high energy (which begins to approach mine) and others of them just drag... but it is a cool community... the best time for me is worshiping with them... they are a fun group...
On this year's journey (you knew that word HAD to be in this post, didn't you?)
I am seeing more than before among the people we have come to serve life what Thoreau described when he said... "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." Perhaps my eyes and ears are opened wider.This is the view from the window of the flat I'm staying in for a couple of days in Budapest...
Once again God has taught me through my interactions with people what it is like to be him. To see suffering because of pride in and un-wise decisions... It is His heart to see His children do well, and it breaks his heart when their pride makes them do the unwise, the unnecessary... he wants them to come home, why won't they?
streets
One of the things the students notice is difference in the street scenes...
Last Fri. a Hungarian university student told our new kids about the process of getting into Hungarian universities...
tonight the "traveling trio" and I will be visiting the English club that this young man organizes each week...
21 June 2006
the ever popular Hyun
So one member of our team is Hyun... and he is full of energy and makes EVERYONE laugh, we all love having Hyun around...
Kyle was teaching some lesson about who knows what and had the kids draw pictures of aliens on the board and a couple of them wanted to draw Hyun, so Kyle said okay, and here is one of the results, note the hair and the smile!
HYUN!!!!
Deak Ferenc High School
sorry for the fuzzy pic... this is where the team I am with spends there day with fifty-three Hungarian kids speaking English!
20 June 2006
Day 3: World Cup in Europe!
Quite a bit of our time is hanging out at the World Cup... it is a huge deal in Europe... This is a huge outdoor area covered with tables and a monster screen where we often gather to watch football games!
19 June 2006
no pix yet...
sorry, ive got some shots picked out and ready to post but the computer here in the internet cafe will not take my usb card.. i hope a few pix posted on TUESDAY!
Praises!
We are all here and safe... we are aclamating to the time zone and warmer climate
a great first day at camp!!! I was really proud of how hard the kids worked and for
hearts of flexability!
Please pray for:
strength and wellness of our team
our spiritual strength as well as physical strength
good connections with kids
Praises!
We are all here and safe... we are aclamating to the time zone and warmer climate
a great first day at camp!!! I was really proud of how hard the kids worked and for
hearts of flexability!
Please pray for:
strength and wellness of our team
our spiritual strength as well as physical strength
good connections with kids
18 June 2006
father's day
It's Father's Day and the team gathers after church in the main square of Szeged to call dads... Catherine and Alex look on as Liz tries to help Tomislav get on line... in the background mark is on the phone with his dad...
16 June 2006
first team dinner in Szeged
our arrival in Szeged with the new folks was met by dinner prepared by the already arrived veterans....
day 1-2
Upon arrival in Budapest, Mark, Hyun, Kami and Melanie head to Szeged in a van with the Luggage whilst the rest head into Budapest...
using public transportation... next morning Liz and Catherine head to Szegen on the train while the new kids get "Tom's One Day Tour of Budapest..."
We are posing for a group shot with the Hungarian Parliment behind us... I think need to clean the lens on mz Treo (that is really a y in "my", but the z and the y are reversed on the keyboards here, so if zou don't get something, just mentally switch the letters)
day 2 ended with a train ride to Szeged... and some tired students...
11 June 2006
meditaion
Meditation: notes in progress
- > Not designed to empty as Eastern mediation teaches… but to fill
- > Not to withdraw from the world… but to engage the world with the fullness of God
To be changed…the way boiling water is changed by a tea bag as the bag sits in the water…
As the bag sits in the water, so should we have the Word of God sit in us… to facilitate the Spirit’s work of changing our nature - slowly - as we sit…
cf Rom 12.1-2
and
Ps 119.15 (12-16)
Ps 119.48
Ps 46.10
and especially Jn 15.1ff abide
“…stillness is to Bible reading what preparing the soil is to good farming…” (p. 12) read the parable of the soil and rocks…
When drawn to a text “…there is no reason to read on. Instead, we should stop to reflect and to treasure the words, to turn them over and over in our minds, repeating them until the truth which they contain trickles from our head into our hearts.” (p. 12) From our head to our heart: a distance said my some to be the longest journey in the experience of modern man.
Imagination…
Meditation results in repentance and obedience.
Tidying the room… pastor Philip of Kyiv tells us that this is an important practice in keeping away the influence of the enemy.
God give me the desire, for without your desire it is just an exercise.
Ps 34.8
dwelling
How does the Practice of the Presence of God speak to this????
From Foster, Spiritual Classics, Harper San Francisco and his Celebration of Discipline
- > Not designed to empty as Eastern mediation teaches… but to fill
- > Not to withdraw from the world… but to engage the world with the fullness of God
To be changed…the way boiling water is changed by a tea bag as the bag sits in the water…
As the bag sits in the water, so should we have the Word of God sit in us… to facilitate the Spirit’s work of changing our nature - slowly - as we sit…
cf Rom 12.1-2
and
Ps 119.15 (12-16)
Ps 119.48
Ps 46.10
and especially Jn 15.1ff abide
“…stillness is to Bible reading what preparing the soil is to good farming…” (p. 12) read the parable of the soil and rocks…
When drawn to a text “…there is no reason to read on. Instead, we should stop to reflect and to treasure the words, to turn them over and over in our minds, repeating them until the truth which they contain trickles from our head into our hearts.” (p. 12) From our head to our heart: a distance said my some to be the longest journey in the experience of modern man.
Imagination…
Meditation results in repentance and obedience.
Tidying the room… pastor Philip of Kyiv tells us that this is an important practice in keeping away the influence of the enemy.
God give me the desire, for without your desire it is just an exercise.
Ps 34.8
dwelling
How does the Practice of the Presence of God speak to this????
From Foster, Spiritual Classics, Harper San Francisco and his Celebration of Discipline
10 June 2006
training is necessary
Disciplines of The Christian Life
The Need
We are by nature undisciplined… therefore as followers of Jesus we need to realize that the Spiritual disciplines are as important to us as training is to an athlete.
Pastor Phillip from Kyiv gave a great sermon on demons yesterday and I thought frequently during that sermon that the dscplines are part of the answer!!!!
Tozer said in The Pursuit of God: Receptivity is not a single thing; it is a compound rather, a blending of several elements within the soul. It is an affinity for, a bent toward, a sympathetic response to, a desire to have. From this it
may be gathered that it can be present in degrees, that we may have little or more or less, depending upon the individual. It may be increased by exercise or destroyed by neglect. It is not a sovereign and irresistible force which comes upon us as a seizure from above. It is a gift of God, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any other gift if it is to realize the purpose for which it was given. Failure to see this is the cause of a very serious breakdown in modern evangelicalism. The idea of cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast flowing dramatic action. A
generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit: these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep
and serious malady of the soul. [from chapter 5]
1. Solitude… Jesus practiced solitude… hermits abused
2. Silence… is more than just not talking, it’s not talking unnecessarily… Mat 5.37 yes be yes, no be no
3. Prayer… A C T S
A – adoration
C – confession – ask God to show us what we need to confess
T – In everything give thanks
S – supplication – pray for requests, “intelligent conversation about matters of mutual concern” – Willard, p. 194
4. Fasting… not to misuse it n the to two way most commonly misused… a. not fasting… the NT language assumes that fasting will take place… you don’t fast for fasting’s sake, you fast to bring physically to a point for worship… b. fasting for the wrong reasons… anything other than drawing us into the worship of God… c. don’t misuse fasting by displaying it…
5. Study -
The six questions… Read a text…
a. What do you like in this passage?
b. What bothers you in this passage?
c. What don’t you understand?
d. What do you learn about God?
e. What does God want you to do as a result?
f. What one phrase do you want to take with you to meditate on?
First of all make up your mind that you will put some time every day into the study of the Word of God. That is an easy resolution to make, and not a very difficult one to keep; if the one who makes it is in earnest. It is one of the most fruitful resolutions that any Christian ever made. The forming of that resolution and the holding faithfully to it, has been the turning point in many a life. Many a life that has been barren and unsatisfactory has become rich and useful through the introduction into it of regular, persevering, daily study of the Bible. This study may not be very interesting at first, the results may not be very encouraging; but, if one will keep pegging away, it will soon begin to count as nothing else has ever counted in the development of character, and in the enrichment of the whole life. Nothing short of absolute physical inability should be allowed to interfere with this daily study. –R.A.Torrey
Memorization of Scripture… the Word of God permeating our souls…
6. Meditation… use different methods to let the Scripture soak into your heart and mind in such a way that the Word of God permeates your soul and the Holy Spirit uses this process to change me like a tea bag soaking in water changes the water: its appearance, its smell, its flavor, and as some know, it is rapidly boiling water which has the greatest effect on a tea bag, thus changing the water… the more we meditate on Scripture the more the Scripture changes us.
7. Service – our service should be done because we want to do it. Not because we feel we have to do it. We should not be bound by duty, rather, we should be driven for the love of the ministry. Our feeling should be less I have to do it, and more I can not - not do it.
attitudes
Eph 6:6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
Ge 39:3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
It must be done for the right reason… not for the eyes of men, but for the love of God…
Tozer prayed in The Pursuit of God: O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me.
Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake. Amen.
O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake. Amen. [ch 5]
THE book on the disciplines is The Celebration of Discipline by Foster, I reccomend it!!!
The Need
We are by nature undisciplined… therefore as followers of Jesus we need to realize that the Spiritual disciplines are as important to us as training is to an athlete.
Pastor Phillip from Kyiv gave a great sermon on demons yesterday and I thought frequently during that sermon that the dscplines are part of the answer!!!!
Tozer said in The Pursuit of God: Receptivity is not a single thing; it is a compound rather, a blending of several elements within the soul. It is an affinity for, a bent toward, a sympathetic response to, a desire to have. From this it
may be gathered that it can be present in degrees, that we may have little or more or less, depending upon the individual. It may be increased by exercise or destroyed by neglect. It is not a sovereign and irresistible force which comes upon us as a seizure from above. It is a gift of God, indeed, but one which must be recognized and cultivated as any other gift if it is to realize the purpose for which it was given. Failure to see this is the cause of a very serious breakdown in modern evangelicalism. The idea of cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast flowing dramatic action. A
generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit: these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep
and serious malady of the soul. [from chapter 5]
1. Solitude… Jesus practiced solitude… hermits abused
2. Silence… is more than just not talking, it’s not talking unnecessarily… Mat 5.37 yes be yes, no be no
3. Prayer… A C T S
A – adoration
C – confession – ask God to show us what we need to confess
T – In everything give thanks
S – supplication – pray for requests, “intelligent conversation about matters of mutual concern” – Willard, p. 194
4. Fasting… not to misuse it n the to two way most commonly misused… a. not fasting… the NT language assumes that fasting will take place… you don’t fast for fasting’s sake, you fast to bring physically to a point for worship… b. fasting for the wrong reasons… anything other than drawing us into the worship of God… c. don’t misuse fasting by displaying it…
5. Study -
The six questions… Read a text…
a. What do you like in this passage?
b. What bothers you in this passage?
c. What don’t you understand?
d. What do you learn about God?
e. What does God want you to do as a result?
f. What one phrase do you want to take with you to meditate on?
First of all make up your mind that you will put some time every day into the study of the Word of God. That is an easy resolution to make, and not a very difficult one to keep; if the one who makes it is in earnest. It is one of the most fruitful resolutions that any Christian ever made. The forming of that resolution and the holding faithfully to it, has been the turning point in many a life. Many a life that has been barren and unsatisfactory has become rich and useful through the introduction into it of regular, persevering, daily study of the Bible. This study may not be very interesting at first, the results may not be very encouraging; but, if one will keep pegging away, it will soon begin to count as nothing else has ever counted in the development of character, and in the enrichment of the whole life. Nothing short of absolute physical inability should be allowed to interfere with this daily study. –R.A.Torrey
Memorization of Scripture… the Word of God permeating our souls…
6. Meditation… use different methods to let the Scripture soak into your heart and mind in such a way that the Word of God permeates your soul and the Holy Spirit uses this process to change me like a tea bag soaking in water changes the water: its appearance, its smell, its flavor, and as some know, it is rapidly boiling water which has the greatest effect on a tea bag, thus changing the water… the more we meditate on Scripture the more the Scripture changes us.
7. Service – our service should be done because we want to do it. Not because we feel we have to do it. We should not be bound by duty, rather, we should be driven for the love of the ministry. Our feeling should be less I have to do it, and more I can not - not do it.
attitudes
Eph 6:6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
Ge 39:3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,
It must be done for the right reason… not for the eyes of men, but for the love of God…
Tozer prayed in The Pursuit of God: O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me.
Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake. Amen.
O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake. Amen. [ch 5]
THE book on the disciplines is The Celebration of Discipline by Foster, I reccomend it!!!
08 June 2006
07 June 2006
Aprehending God
Praise God! I found a website that I can just link to for our reading...
Go there and read and come back and comment!
Go there and read and come back and comment!
fitting in
Whilst in London I took this shot of a Smart car backed into a half of a parking place... talk about being flexible...
04 June 2006
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