i don't know what has been going on in the life of Dom lately. i mean, obviously i am a pretty intimate part of my life so i know what events are going on...but i mean spiritually, what has been happening spiritually? have i been close to the Lord or havent i? i know ive been talking and He listens, but have i been listening? have i been diligent and focused in prayer, sincere in my heart? prayer is everything, is it not? i've had tons of time to reflect and slowly put things together. not having a job has truly been a blessing, though i'm equally blessed to have gotten one recently.

Here's a small part of what goes on in Dom's head over the course of weeks:

as i've said in an earlier post, i'm not keen on the "call" or "Lord's will" lingo people tend to sling around the bible belt. i think we're all called to the same general areas of missions, discipleship, love, and obedience to the Lord. and we have certainly each been given gifts and desires for serving the Lord through one another. maybe those desires are calls on our lives, places we genuinely want to share love with others and from which the rest of our life will flow. perhaps i'm calling a shoe a sneaker, or however the saying goes. but, we scrutinize the "Lord's will for our lives" so closely sometimes that we hinder movement. there is immense freedom under the umbrella of God's will.
i think i know what needs to be done to have vision in ministry. here is my philosophy, right now; get out and serve asap anywhere, do not think about the future too intensely, do not worry about being in a conventional church ministry. i've made steps in that direction and i feel positive about it. i am thankful to the lord for seminary because it is has taught me the futility of my education without heart. i may as well have no heart if i'm not giving it away to others. what good is heart if we keep it to ourselves?

Joel 2:12-14
"Yet even now," declares the Lord, "Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments." now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil. 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, even a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?

is this what we need to do for our country? should we fast, weep, mourn, and rend our hearts in prayer for ourselves and in intercession for those that do not for themselves?

i started a post, and then i got side tracked. now i'm tired. why am i even bothering with this post you ask? i dont know, maybe i feel somewhat committed since the window is already open.

God of Earth and Outer Space

God of earth and outer space

God of love and God of grace

Bless the astronauts who fly

As they soar beyond the sky

God who flung the stars in space,

God who sets the sun ablaze

Fling the spacecraft thro' the air

Let man know your presence there

God of atmosphere and air,

God of life and planets bare

Use man's courageand his skill

As he seeks your holy will.

God of depth and God of height

God of darkness, God of light,

As man walks in outer space

Teach him how to walk in grace

This was out of the Baptist Hymnal, page twenty, written circa 1975. I didn't have time to copy it all down, there are two more verses about God blessing the astronauts and space ships. And hey, they need blessing too right? This author was hitting an area of society that we neglect in our prayers, the space travelers. My friend Todd read this aloud to my New Testament class today for edification, haha. Seriously, this is the kind of theological joking I deal with everyday at school.

tu vuoi un cafe?

Oh yes, this will be the first of many blogs on that most wondrous of all topics: COFFEE.
"Just what is it about coffee?" A question many people ask, not so much out loud but in their minds, I'm pretty sure. Well, at least people that don't already know what it is about coffee. Why does coffee provide so much comfort to those that love it? How can a single cup produce such feelings of euphoria? "You're addicted," would be the typical response, and I might agree that I am addicted. But, the word addiction implies a lack of will in being subservient to a substance. And, I may exhibit a lack of will in the sense that I need coffee to function properly, but the difference is that I want it and I like it. A lot. And as far as I'm concerned it only improves my quality of life. Enough justifying my coffee intake.

Coffee is so much more than that bitter brown liquid that makes your breath smell bad. Coffee begins with the earth and it ends with community. After Jesus, coffee just might be the answer we're looking for. There is both art and science involved in creating a good cup of coffee. If you want an absolutely unique cup of coffee, that tastes good too, you can have it and you only need creativity and a little knowledge. Now, I am not the most knowledgable coffee connousieur, however, even with an elementary level acquaintance I am able to appreciate its many dimensions.

As I said earlier, coffee begins with the earth and ends with community. Hundreds of years of tradition lie behind the growing of coffee by those native farmers. They know their land, their family has known their land for generations. Entire communities in all those beautiful parts of the world depend on the consumption of coffee. Beautiful communites, you've seen the pictures! You cannot simply grow a coffee bean in your backyard. Well, you might get lucky but it won't be great. A lot goes into a good coffee bean just as a lot goes into a good grape and a good glass of wine. Speaking of alcohol in reference to Southwestern's policy of abstinence specifically, I will quote my friend Todd, "coffee is my new beer." Indeed, coffee embodies all those vices I'd like to partake in as a true appreciater, because unlike those others it won't get me kicked out of school.

Believe me friends, I have only begun my dissertation on coffee and its magnificence. The earth is only the first of many steps towards community through coffee. Stay tuned as I attempt to unravel the transcendent qualities of the perfect cup.

By the way, I have no tv so writing has become my new outlet. A bit more constructive, no? The only issue is that it robs study time, though the study time probably needs robbing.

put up or shut up

Harsh yet profound words. Put up or shut up.
The five words bouncing around inside my skull all day. No one has spoken them to me, they are my own challenge. I talk a lot, a lot of us talk a lot. We talk a lot about loving the unloved, and meeting needs, and fighting injustice. And these are all good things that need a lot of talking about. But they need more doing. So, I talk a lot. I'd like to talk less and do much much more, but here I am talking more about what I'd like to do. So I'm asking whoever reads this to hold me accountable to my words. What good are wasted words? I have sought avenues to help... some have not panned-out and some have yet to answer, so I'm not lazy. But when those which have yet to answer do answer, and perhaps if their answer is no, then will I move forward or continue to stall? And while waiting, why wait?

Last night was the fusion conference at Irving Bible Church. It is the largest church I have ever set foot in, except for Joel Osteen's, but that was when the building was still known as the Compaq center and the only worship was of the Houston Rockets. So, IBC is a big church, a nice church, an artsy church. I was a bit skeptical of the conference; I was really attending with the intention of investigating just what happens at these hip 20-something Christian shindigs.

Believe me when I tell you that I was blown away.

It is a blessing for me to see that a ministry like the fusion conference exists. It challenges the division of faith and everyday life. Fusion confronts the distraction of pop culture and mainstream consumerism, and contrasts what they offer with the needs and pain in our world. Images of pop culture were used only as far as they are relevant to calling attention to the misguidance of our generation. I feel that their method had integrity and strength. I almost got straight charismatic a few times! I wanted to shout with all my strength that these people were speaking the truth we have been thinking for so long. Amen! Knowin that this message is getting out encourages me with such hope.

After all the talking and all the music, they gave us the opportunity to act immediately. There were organizations present, both local, national, and international. Informationals were available for dozens of ministries; if a person wanted to get plugged in but didn't know how, it was provided. If anybody reads this and they aren't sure how to find organizations all they need to do is check out this website: www.rightnow.org

More to come.

Oh Gnat.

oh gnat, why must you

buzz around me

as i try to read?

we could be friends

i could tell you my name

but you don't speak english

and i don't speak gnat

i would explain to you

our social norms

and our concept of

"personal space"

only if you understood me

then i would not have to

violently slam you

between my hands

trying to keep up

Ever feel like you're simply trying to keep up with life? Like there are more and more heavier and heavier things being tossed at your face and you've already caught so many that your hands are full? I feel a little bit like that right now. My problem is that I keep trying to catch those things falling towards my face, without thinking to put down the less important things already in my arms.
All figures of speech aside, I need to choose more wisely where I'm spending my time and what I will hold as priorities. Ok, so school work is important but there is a point at which it is ridiculous and I'm just beating myself up over getting it all done. It doesn't ALL need to get done in reality because only so much of it actually matters. By the way, school is great and I'm really glad I'm here, despite my occasional plot to run to Colorado Springs.

I was asked to apply and interview for a youth pastor position at Trinity Hills Baptist. I've become friends with the pastor, Larry. He seems to think I can pull it off so I'm willing to entertain the idea. I was honest with him; I don't feel "called" to youth ministry. I actually don't feel "called" specifically to any ministry. I don't even know if I like using the word "called" anyways. If I am called anywhere it's simply to ministry, to pouring out Christ's love, teaching His Word out of the Bible expositionally, and just being there when I'm needed. That's what it's all about, and if I'm meant to be there for high school kids for the next three years then so be it. I can commit to that and pour myself out there. I simply desire to minister.

Wow, blogging feels a bit self centered...but I guess it is about me. Haha.

So, I'm going to a CONFERENCE this weekend. It's the FUSION CONFERENCE, and people like DONALD MILLER will be there. It should be fascinating, one of the guys speaking is an author of a book on the emergent church. I'm not terribly familiar and so I really have no opinion on the movement, so I will be fascinated listening to him. And there will be spoken word, how cool is that? I think I could get into spoken word. So I'll update you all, whoever you all is after this weekend. I've never been to a conference, apparently they're a big deal and people do it lots, especially youth groups. Guess I'll get familiar with them if I take a youth pastor role. Is that even acceptable these days? A youth pastor that has never been to a CONFERENCE! I think so, it just means I don't get caught up in them. I'm down to earth.

first of many, hopefully...

Well, this is my first official blog ever. For those of you that read it, hello. This whole blogspot thing is kind of an experiment for me, we'll see if I like it and how long it lasts. I hope this becomes a place I can talk about what's going on in my head and in my heart, and what life in seminary is like. I guess I should start with tonight.

Tonight I had Bible study with a few friends down the street. They're all students at southwestern and it's led by Willis, a good friend of mine from College Station. He's the pastor of a small church in town that I will most likely be attending called Bethel, more about that later on down the line. We're studying 1 John by the way and it has proven to be pretty challenging. John gets up in your grill, and if the reader doesn't balance out some of the harsher verses with others in the text it would be easy to get carried away. Lately a theme in my circles has been salvation. Probably not a shock to many considering salvation is an important feature of the Christian faith. More specifically, what is evidence of salvation in a person's life? Can we judge the salvation of others? By the way, my answer is no, John is not telling us to do so but he is saying we should examine our own lives. These questions lead down long, winding roads only made easier by further study of other areas of scripture. My own knowledge is lacking, but I appreciate the challenge. So, that's tonight. Oh yea, I've started an accountability group with my roommate Joe and our friend Jeremy. I won't be going into details, but our focus will be growing in the word and truth towards a stronger relationship with God. It's my theory that dealing with that first and foremost will bring everything else along with it.

Alright, good first blog, I'm hitting the sack.