true sports fans

you can't say you're a true sports fan until you pull a stunt like this one:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/09/21/fake.emergency.ap/index.html

i think this just might cross over the line to "extreme infatuation" and/or perhaps mental instability.

:)

keep it real, and keep the planes flyin'.
~jen~

the emergent mystery

i thought the title was a nice play on words. the whole emergent church movement embraces mystery (the mystery of God, the mystery of the Bible, etc), yet the movement itself remains a great mystery to me.

i'm listening through the messages given at the 1-day conference that Grand Rapids Theological Seminary held last week. one of the speakers covers the topic of "hell" and says the emergent church movement does not believe in a literal hell, that it was just a teaching tool Jesus and the disciples used. then brian mclaren, a big leader in the movement, spoke again later that day and said he can't speak for all the emergent churches, but he for one does indeed believe in a literal hell, the sacrifice of God's son, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. which raises the following questions - what does the "emerging church" movement believe exactly, and why don't all the churches in the movement believe the same things? because if all the churches within a certain "movement" don't all agree on basic doctrine...how can you classify them all under the same movement? and if they do differ in doctrine, is it possible then that some emergent churches are truly great churches, while other emergent churches have crossed the line to being unbiblical?

on that issue of hell that was raised, it's ridiculous to say there's no literal hell. because if there's no hell, that would mean Christ's death and resurrection was for no reason, that would mean that the "Great Commission" has no application, and then why even live your life for God? because if everyone gets to go to heaven, what's the difference between someone living their life for God and someone living their life for themself? and if there is no difference, shoot - i'm going to drop everything and go live la vida loca. :P there's no justifiable way to say there's no literal hell.

well, time for theology class with dr. caner. yessssssss :D

keep it real.
~jen~

my friend gabe

due to massive amounts of requests from 1 person, i would like to dedicate this post to my friend gabe. we've gone to the same church since i moved to michigan in 5th grade. but it wasn't until my junior year of high school that gabe came up to me and asked, "are you new here?" ouch.

gabe's a good friend. he lets me think that someday i'll get to ride his dirtbike. and he has a really cool old jeep that's painted like a zebra that he promises i'll never get to drive. but i got to ride in it this past summer and that was cool.

now he's engaged and getting married in april. then he's moving into a house near my house so when i'm home from school, i can go ride my skateboard to see him and beka and their house every day.

the end.

what is the "emerging church"?

that's a good question and a hard one to answer. i've been attempting to study it for almost a year now, but it wasn't until this summer that i finally started finding hardcore information on it. sometimes the emerging church will come up in conversation or people will read my blog and ask, "wait...the emerging church? what's that?" and i fumble over words, trying to think of a way to explain it because i'm still trying to understand what the movement is, and to know it's weaknesses/strong points.

anyway, cornerstone university (err...maybe it was the seminary there...i'm not sure) held a one-day conference thing last week and brought in brian mclaren (a big name in the movement), mike wittmer (props to the man), and ed dobson (ahh-amazing). each had a time to present their thoughts...views...stuff and then there was a Q&A time at the end (i'm just going off of what the website says, i haven't listened to the mp3's yet).

ANYWAY (again), if you're interested in listening in on the "conversations", GRTS (grand rapids theological seminary - oh...so yeah, i guess it was the seminary that put it on) has posted all the audio in mp3 format at this site: http://grts.cornerstone.edu/resources/tpoints

if anyone gives it a listen, i'd love to hear what you think about it all and what your views are. post a comment on here and/or shoot me an email.

keep it real.
~jen~

my views on Velvet Elvis

ha - fooled ya :) i've decided i'm not going to give my views on Velvet Elvis on here and this is why. i thought the book was excellent. and i came across paragraphs in there that people have pulled out and pointed their fingers at, and i realized that if they had actually read the rest of the book, even just the chapter, they would realize they totally pulled the paragraph out of context. that's how rob bell speaks/writes. he'll be sarcastic. he'll think out of the box. he'll give a "what if..." but then come back to it and explain why that "what if..." could never be true. i think that's one reason he's so often misquoted and misunderstood.

so i've decided i won't go into much discussion about the book with people unless they have read it in it's entirety. if you've read it, awesome - i'd love to discuss it with you, even if you thought it was a horrible book. actually, i welcome those kinds of discussions. i know my mind is finite and i have an extreme lack of knowledge :) that's why i want people to read the book so i can get other's views on it. i'm more than open to discussing problems people have with the book that i may have overlooked or not caught on to - as long as they've read the book in it's entirety. and i don't know if i'm spelling that word right, but it looks good enough.

i will say this. the book has challenged me to look at how i live my life and who i'm living it for. it's challenged me to know my Savior more, to be like Him, to live my life as close to His as possible. now if there's something wrong about that, i would have to whole heartedly disagree with you. violently. haha okay just kidding on the violently part :)

keep it real.
~jen~

oh yes, and i would like to give a shout out to my favorite brother because it's his birthday and i love him so much! i doubt you'll ever see this, bro, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!

who are you? part 2

i continued reading the end of Job today. it's such a humbling read. it reminds me just how small i am and how NOT in control i am. and how often i get in the mindset of "oh i have everything under control, life's going great" or the opposite where i worry worry worry about life's trials. i fail to acknowledge that God knows infinitely more than i do, He knows what's going on, and there's not 1 single thing i can fully control. i love also how God points out animals to Job and says "look at how much time and care i put into them - and they're animals. how much more do i care for you!"

on another topic, i love this song by Shane & Shane called "I Miss You". it's a song about those times when you don't set aside time to spend with the Lord and you feel farther away from Him. the song's about yearning for the Lord, to be close to Him again. a few of the lines go like this:

"Oh - i miss You so...it feels like forever.

Oh - the taste i know...it hurts to remember.

i had a fleeting thought this morning. and i mentioned You today.

it breaks my heart, just to know You in part.

not to be with You, where You are..."

good song. :)

keep it real.

~jen~

who are you?

i read job 38 tonight. i absolutely love the end of job where the Lord responds to Job. there's just something extra like...powerful when you read something that's straight from God (like i know the whole Bible is God's Word, but you know what i mean :) ). i love how God just like...puts Job in his place. "Who are you to question me? Were you there when I created the earth and commanded the ocean and created it's limits?" and He goes on and on, totally putting Job in his place. and it opens your eyes to a glimpse of just how powerful and mighty our God is. and it's just a tiny glimpse. so often i fail to acknowledge God's hand in His creation around me.

time to hand the computer over to k-1o and t so they can practice hip hop moves :)

keep it real.
~jen~

a quick update

i am almost completely over my cold! i accidently OD'ed (minorly) thursday night on cold medicine. i took dayquil at like, 9pm while i was at jodi and benton's house, went home and took tylenol flu/cold nightime 3 hours later at midnight (mistake #1 - i think you're supposed to wait like, 6 hours after taking dayquil before you take something more). woke up around 3:45am and popped in a couple tylenol flu/cold daytime pills, woke up at 6:50 for class and could barely walk straight :) whoops. friday morning is such a fog to me. benton drove me to class, met me after class & we got coffee and she sat me outside in the sun while she ran into her work for a minute. then she dropped me back off at the hotel where i crawled back into bed and slept a couple hours. by mid-afternoon i was over the medicine hangover and had an awesome time with my girls friday night at laura's. SO great to be back at school with them!

i think i might have pinkeye now in my left eye. and i have some odd knots on the side of my head beneath my ear...which i'm hoping is just like, swollen glands saying "hey, we're knocking that cold out for ya, so take it easy". so the left side of my head kinda feels like it's falling apart. that's okay, i always liked my right side better. just kidding. :)

our house has a couple kitchen cabinets put in and the walls have been primed. kristen said last night they were starting to paint, so i'm going to stop by after my theology class tonight and see what's been done. pray that we'll be able to move in this weekend!

i've been going to a hip hop dance aerobics class monday, tuesday, and thursday nights here on campus - it's free! and the girls are having a hip hop dance instructor (she's a freshman in college, but she's amazing) choreograph a dance for them to try out for the variety show and i decided i'd atleast go to the practices and learn some things (i don't plan on doing the show, but who knows). so we have that sunday afternoons for a couple hours and wednesday nights after church.

i re-applied at j crew yesterday (finally). that felt good to finally do it, even though it's not my 1st choice for work. they called me back today and i go in thursday to take an assessment test to see if i need to go thru training again. kristen passed it, so i'm hoping i pass. :) i think i'll like my work schedule a lot more this year because every time i work i'll be done by 5 or 6 at the latest, which leaves all my nights free (for working out & footba...i mean...homework, of course). i'll probably be working 4 hours on tuesday, 8 on thursday and 8 on friday.

and after your 1st year at LU, you have to do 20 hours of christian community service each semester. i finally found one that fits with my schedule! :::drum roll please::: i'll be helping out at the LU boy's hockey team games! hahaha :) LU's building an ice rink here on campus for them, but for now they're still playing at like...11:45pm on saturday nights in roanoke, which is about a 45 minute drive. most people don't get home 'til 3 or 4 in the morning :) but hey, benton's doing it too and it works in my schedule, so i think it'll be fun.

i think that's all to update people on for now. however, if there is a specific topic of interest that i did not cover, please submit your questions in the comment area.

HA

keep it real.
~jen~

delay of posting

you guys who read this are the best :) ya'll responded to my last post even though it didn't have a lot of meat to it, but you still read it and responded - aww :) there's more coming, but i got hit hard by a stupid cold that is taking over our campus :P watch for some posts on tuesday.

keep it real.
~jen~

the heart

please open your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 8, verses 4-15.

hahaha okay just kidding, i just wanted to see how it felt to sound "authoritative" like speakers do :) i'm done now, i've got it out of my system.

today we'll be talking about the heart.

HA - okay, for real, i'm done. on to just being real ---

i'm sure most anyone who reads this is familiar with the passage in Luke 8 where Luke relays the parable Jesus told about the sower. a farmer scatters his seed and the seeds fall on 4 different types of soil? if you're not trekkin' with me yet, go get your Bible and skim thru the passage again.

the seeds fall on 4 different types of soil/terrain and it represents 4 different types of hearts that hear the Gospel.

Heart #1 - the hard heart.
this is the 1st type of heart, mentioned in verse 12. they hear the Word but the devil comes and takes the Word away from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. the hard heart is typically easy to identify in people. a lot of times it's because they've become calloused to the Word thru certain situations (parents professing to be Christians yet are abusive and/or hypocrites; witnessing a church splitting; hurt by relationships).

Heart #2 - the shallow heart.
comes from verse 13. those who hear the Gospel and receive it excitedly at first, but quickly fade away when a time of testing comes because their faith is not rooted in the Word. clayton king (the speaker) brought up a very real point - "rededication" of hearts has become a cure-all pill for sin. some people rededicate their lives time after time because they don't actually repent of their sins. i agree with him on that, but he also made it clear (and i want to, to) that rededication isn't necessarily bad - it can be a very real, very life-changing thing ---> as long as it is coupled with repentance of sin and turning from the sin. it seems that the shallow heart would most oftened be found in people who have an emotionally-based faith. they get all pumped up for awhile, but then the excitement fades and they drift away. the truth is - it's human nature to let the excitement fade. if you're not eagerly seeking after God, if you're not making a whole-hearted attempt to be nearer to God, when that excitement fades, it's going to be hard to keep going. our faith needs to be authentic, it needs to be real, it needs to be deep.

Heart #3 - the crowded heart.
found in verse 14 (and the vice is squeezing harder on my head right now, so if it seems like i'm wrapping this up quick and not explaining myself, i'm sorry and i'll come back and edit this if i need to:) oh the not so-joys of getting sick). this is the heart that accepts the Word and goes along great for awhile, but then finds itself crowded with things. it essence, it's being too busy for Jesus. packing our day-to-day lives so full of activities (including the danger of doing too many ministries) that we don't make time to spend with our Savior each day, getting to know Him more. if you find yourself often late, rushing around, and/or constantly trying to please people, this might be you. the clincher - Jesus doesn't want to be 1 god out of many in your heart. He wants to be the ONLY God.

Heart #4 - the open heart.
the heart we should all be aiming to have. verse 15. it's the heart that hears the Word, retains it, and produces a crop (share the Word with others). it's the heart that desires to be immediately obedient to Christ. it's the heart that posseses true brokeness & humility before the Lord.

so now it's inventory time. figure out what kinda of heart you have. personally, i feel like certain parts of my heart go into different categories, if that's possible. my goal then, is to have my whole heart in that 4th category. it's not an easy thing to do because of my human nature, but it IS possible.

a multi-posting day

i think today should be a multi-posting day :) i want to recap/summarize the messages that clayton king gave over the past few days of our "spiritual emphasis" week here at school. but i know if i do 1 super-long post, attention spans quickly fade away :) so i'm going to do a few posts i think (that's the plan - who knows what'll really get done today) and you just come read a post at a time when you get the urge.

i woke up today with my throat a little sore and my head feeling like a big ball of lead. i had some coffee and that cleared it up a little but the thickness is starting to come back again. sad. i hate getting sick, and what's even worse is when you're at the very beginning stages of getting sick and you know that when you go to bed tonight, you're going to wake up tomorrow feeling even worse. maybe i'll just stay up all night. oh yeah, now THAT would fix it :P

i attempted to make coffee a couple nights ago here in the hotel with the coffee maker they give you. it didn't work. like, it did...eventually, once i turned the stupid thing off. it was the slowest coffee maker i've ever seen, so i finally decided to just pull the plug on it and go to starbucks. i come home later that night, and see the coffee decided to brew itself while it was turned off. it's still sitting in the pot. it's being punished.

i spent the night last night with tara down on the 2nd floor in her & kristen's room 'cause kristen was gone for the night. sadly, i left my cell phone in their room and both of the girls are at class. i've always admitted that without my phone, i feel lost. and today, that's just how i feel. lost. out of touch. unable to communicate with fellow offsprings.

i love my girls i get to live with this year! i loved my girls last year, too! man, God gives me so many blessings i don't deserve, and great girls for roommates is one of them. i CAN'T WAIT to move into our house and settle in and get to all live together...all on the same floor :) and we'll get to have a huge living room and a kitchen and a yard and a deck and a front porch - all instead of inviting each other to come hang out with us in our hotel rooms :)

living in the hotel isn't SO bad. i just get discouraged 'cause i have a lot of down time right now and if i had my computer set up, i could be editing wedding videos and getting those done. so it's like...i have stuff i need to do, i just can't right now.

i'm talking to 2 guys online from back home that i used to be really good friends with and both of them strayed for the Lord for a couple years but are now turning their lives around. it's so encouraging to talk to them and hear what God's doing in the lives! they're both guys i had been praying for, and to see God answer prayer so clearly - it's awesome :D

"filled with wonder. awe-struck wonder. at the mention of Your name. Jesus, Your name is power - breath, and living water. such a marvelous mystery!

Holy, Holy, Holy! is the Lord, God Almighty. Who was and is and is to come. with all creation i'll sing. praise to the King of Kings! You are my everything - and i will adore You!"

- from a song, but i don't know the name of it. it's so beautiful though.

keep it real.

jen

strangeness in the night

another random story.

ah-hem.

last night (this morning?) at 2am i woke up to an earpiercing "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" my first thought was "man, my alarm's going off already? that was a short night of sleep" - then i quickly remembered i don't have an alarm that goes BEEP BEEP BEEP. then i realized it was the fire alarm going off. now, if you're anything like me, when you hear a fire alarm you think "great, another drill." so i got out of bed and looked out the eye hole in the door to see if people were actually evacuating. sadly, they were. so i grabbed my phone, purse, and room key and headed outside and found kristen and tara. we had to wait outside until the firemen got there and inspected everything. and what do ya know, nothing was wrong. i know fire alarms have saved people's lives, but they sure are annoying when they go off for no reason.

about 20 minutes later, we got to go back in and get back to our horizontal state.

and so concludes my excitement for the night.

living on the edge

i took a step over the edge today. i went against all my parents (well...okay, just my mom) taught me over and over growing up. i rebelled today. i gave in to temptation.


yes. i drank straight out of the orange juice carton.


(the crowd gasps)