August 25th, 2008
Since this is the week before I leave for Uganda, I wanted to be reminded of how the war has affected the Acholi people. Tonight, Leah and I watched the documentary, War Dance. I really like this film because it gives you a good feel for the pain caused by the war yet still gives a glimpse of hope for the Acholi people.
I should probably watch Invisible Children again too.
Categories: Uganda | 4 Comments
August 24th, 2008
What is the role of forgiveness in a Christian’s life?
Forgiveness is giving up your right to pay somebody back for something they’ve done to you.
Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. john20:21-22
The Holy Spirit was given to us to help us live love. We love others by extending forgiveness. When we don’t forgive, we deny Jesus his role as judge by deeming ourselves worthy to judge another.
When a Christian gives up his right to judge, forgiveness has happened.
Categories: Kingdom Intentions | 1 Comment
August 24th, 2008
Malaria pills: chloroquine side effects
Nausea, vomiting, stomach upset, cramps, loss of appetite, diarrhea, tiredness, weakness or headache may occur….
blurred vision, trouble seeing at night or problems focusing clearly, ringing in the ears, difficulty hearing…
seizures, mental/mood changes.
fainting, irregular heartbeat, persistent sore throat or fever, easy bleeding or bruising…
I took my first pill yesterday!!!
Categories: Uganda | 3 Comments
August 23rd, 2008
Seven days from today, I am going to Gulu, Uganda!!!
I’m almost sure it’s going to be an awesome trip. It’s for sure going to be eye-opening. My emotions are all over the place. Some days I’m scared. Others I’m really excited and can’t wait for it to come. This will be a week full of prep.
One of the coolest things is that I’m going to be meeting in person the people that I am serving as part of Favor of Gods’ staff. I have heard stories. I’ve seen all the info – the facts. But now I will be able to put faces to the stories…to have context for everything…to learn…to experience the emotion of people taking another step closer to God.
There is so much I can’t even start to wonder what this trip is going to be.
So I wait in expectation, conscious of ways in which the west have hurt Uganda and praying that God would open my eyes to see Him there.
Categories: Kingdom Intentions, Uganda | 4 Comments
August 21st, 2008
I affectionately named my “extra” belly Chubby Charlie. My thought was that if I named it, it wouldn’t seem like part of me and I would want to get rid of it. It hasn’t worked flawlessly as quite often I think of Chubby Charlie as a friend, and I feed him. Mmmmm.
Leah named her extra belly Fatty Frieda.
The other day we were making a decision of whether to have Abel get his shots this week while he had a cold or wait until he was over the cold. [we decided to wait..but that's not the fun part of the story]
As part of the process of deciding, I asked Leah, “What’s your gut on this one?” We both thought to ourselves what our gut response would be.
I said, “You go first.”
She said, “Let’s wait.”
Naturally, I said we should just get them.
We sat back for a second and Leah said, “Did Frieda and Charlie just get in a fight?”
Categories: Family | 2 Comments
June 24th, 2008
I left the main session just for a second and look who I got to meet….
Mr. Doyle Dykes
I’m hoping that me putting my arm around him transfered his guitar skills to me…It probably happened!
Categories: Meet and Greet | 2 Comments
June 24th, 2008
I’m at a the Saddleback worship conference right now. It started last night and it’s pretty cool so far. Leeland played last night and it was awesome. That group has such an annointing on them…God truly has blessed them.
My cool God-moment came during Leeland’s set. I went to the back of the building and just sat and watched 3 or 4 thousand people unified, worshipping God. It’s a pretty powerful experience. Here’s the scene: there is amazing music being played…amazing lights…everything in the room is pro but more importantly..everybody’s heart was focused on God.
My mind shifted…
I thought about Africa. I thought about Uganda and the staff at Favor of God. I thought of spiritual atmosphere there…a spirit Lies and Confusion are all over the land because Joseph Kony has brought that on the land. I thought and prayed that God would take the praises of the 4,000 people in the room to activate his angels to fight for truth in northern Uganda. It was very clear in my mind. I could picture it. I had a moment of understanding how God uses the prayers of his people to fight the spiritual battle before us. He can do it sovereignly but he wants to use his people.
For the first time I feel like I had an experiential knowledge of intercessory worship. I hope that God continues to teach me what intercession is.
I love the fact that no matter what country your in…we all have the same God.
Worship in America
Worship in northern Uganda
Categories: Kingdom Intentions, Uganda | No Comments
May 17th, 2008
Yesterday, Leah and I were trying to get Abel to sleep. He wasn’t having it for awhile. He just wanted to wiggle around and kick his legs…maybe swing his arms a bit. That happened for about 20min and then he randomly rolled onto his stomach, farted…and life was good again. He fell llseep immediately!. That’s my boy!!!
May 7th, 2008
Today was Leah and my 4 year anniversary. We were going to go to Balba Island, but we got “stuck” at Sammy’s Camera. After Sammy’s, we went to The Lab. It was good times eating at the Cuban restaurant Habana and taking some pics.
THE BOYS
THE WIFE
THE WALL
THE ART (Invisible Children)
Categories: Family, Uganda | 4 Comments
April 26th, 2008
This morning and last night were quite relaxing for me. I feel like I haven’t had too many of those nights the last couple of months. Last night, Leah and I just put on Ocean’s 13 and did random stuff on the computer. It was nice.
I finally got NetNewsWire back on my computer. It sure makes life easier for keeping up on people (at least as far as people who blog go. I think I’ve just been getting jealous that my son’s blog is more popular than mine. Blogging is a popularity contest!!!!….right??? Just kidding.
Here’s the latest flyer I made for Favor of God. We are starting a Missions Training Course in Northern Uganda. It’s going to be a “study abroad” style class because it is the same length as a college semester. It’s a 14-week course that will focus on spiritual formation, character development, training to reach the unreached people groups in the 10/40 window, and training to be sent out as servants to raise up indigenous leaders. I think it’s going to be an AMAZING course. If you know any one that would be interested, just let me know.
Here’s the flyer:
Categories: Family, Uganda | 2 Comments
