Thirsty

God, creation, sin, redemption, creation. Mental note.. read more of the bible daily!

I grew up in the Muncie branch of the People of Praise . A fixture in that branch and my life has always been the Schenkels. Rosanne was the office secretary at St. Mary Elementary through my years there, and Jim has just always been around poking me in the ribs and never giving me a chance to see his face without a smile on it. While I don't see much of them these days, each time I do it's richer and richer, as I'm coming to appreciate what they've chosen for their lives more and more. I work with Jeremy , and when Jim was in visiting for a recent leaders conference, and he discovered that Jeremy had written the first website for the People of Praise, he instantly went down on one knee and made the sign of the cross to Jeremy. :) I felt honored to be witness to that honoring. :) I just got a blog comment from Jim telling me that he had linked to me and wanted to pass a meme along to me. As a viral form of blogging, I don't participate in them that muc...

However vast the divine milieu may be, it is in reality a centre . It therefore has the properties of a centre, and above all the absolute and final power to unite (and consequently to complete) all beings within its breast. In the divine milieu all the elements of the universe touch each other by that which is most inward and ultimate in them. There they concentrate, little by little, all that is purest and most attractive in them without loss and without danger of subsequent corruption. There they shed, in their meeting, the mutual externality and the incoherences which form the basic pain of human relationships. Let those seek refuge there who are saddened by the separations, the meannesses and the wastefulnesses of the world. In the external spheres of the world, man is always torn by the separations which set distance between bodies, which set the impossibility of mutual understanding between souls, which set death between lives. Moreover at every minute he must lament t...

"Only you -- human soul -- were made to be the image of nature that surpasses every intellect, likeness of incorruptible beauty, mark of true divinity, vessel of blessed life, image of the true light, that when you look upon it you become that which he his, because through the reflected ray coming from your purity you imitate he who shines within you. Nothing that exists can measure up to your greatness." - Gregory of Nyssa

Little update from Angola, IN , my family's lake cabin. They were all here this past week, and I opted to work this week and work Thurs & Fri here so that I could at least be with everyone for a portion of the week. There is a cable internet connection coming into an upstairs bedroom that overlooks the main room, front room, and lake, so this is a mighty distracting place to be working from. Actually fortunately Thurs & Fri were both kinda dreary so it seems that was more of a blessing for me than everyone else. Nonetheless, I'm returning to South Bend in an hour with my fair share of sunburn, and sore muscles. My shoulders and arms are dead from skiing and jet-skiing. With the jet-ski, I have perfected a technique of drenching people in water - be they in a boat, canoe, or kayak - without exactly blasting their heads off or running over them. With skiing, it's been great to discover that I am finally able to slalom - ski with only 1 ski. I got up on my firs...

I just had the 100,000 mile full checkup on my vehicle. Here's the lineup... Differential Pinion Seal Spark Plugs Ignition Wires Air Filter Cooling System Power Chemical Flush Auto Transmission Power Chemical Flush Front Disc Brake Rotors Rear Disc Brake Rotors Left Rear Axle Seal More that needs done in the next 6 months.. Rear Main Seal Fuel Filter Brake Fluid Flush Power Steering Flush Not that any of you cared, this is partly just a reminder that this is my blog where I record important things. :-P Good day!

I suffer from a form of techno-lust. Thankfully it's end-result has not been purchases; my preference for fewer personal belongings still wins out in general. But I still frequently daydream about technology and it's various uses. Sometimes for the sake of drawing people together online, sometimes for the sake of organizing my life, sometimes for relaxation via music or movies, sometimes for education. Those are all good things, but it qualifies as lust because I indecisively think about it more often than I act on it. When I'm not posting on here, I might be too busy with life. But I might just be too busy daydreaming about what to write.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. &mdash 1Cor13 Nothing original in this post, just some truths. Three things to remember as light-bearers, from Nick : Be abhorred by sin. Weep with and for people who are suffering. Be ever in awe of God. Therefore, as has often been said, missionary commitment remains the first service that the Church owes to humanity today to guide and evangelize the cultural, social and ethical transformations; to offer Christ's salvation to the people of our time in so many parts of the world who are humiliated and oppressed by endemic poverty, violence and the systematic denial of human rights. &mdash JPII

"Only when charitable activity takes the form of Christ-like self-giving does it become a gesture truly worthy of the human person created in God’s image and likeness." - Benedict XVI Bring it!

One of the reasons I don't post very much is because there is both so much going on, so much waiting to go on, and so much that has gone on, that I don't know where to start, or if I even really have time to start. In some sense, it's somewhere between me being too lazy to post, and me bumping this down on my list of priorities. Meh. Sorry for that random rationalizing. Meticulously ridiculous. :) I ingeniously came up with that two-word pairing on Friday evening with some of the branch young adults as we sat outside relishing the temperature, after a relaxing meal and some prayer & praise. I think I was pretty quiet that evening.. usually when I'm quiet, it's through some lack of effort on my part, which is inadequate. But sometimes it's because I'm just comfortable, and content to share time and space with friends, and giving the conversational portion of my brain a much-needed break. This last year has been an assortment of changes, which look...

This morning was my second Saturday with the kindergarten and first grade boys soccer group for the South Bend branch of the People of Praise. I spent an hour and a half with them, playing a soccer game occasionally even with just one soccer ball, and playing assorted other exercises and games. These boys are great.. I'm still very much learning how one must lead a group this age. They each insist on individual attention, but if I give it to one boy, the rest turns to chaos. Some are on the verge of tears at one point, and at the height of elation at other points. They are all eager to love me and spend time with me whenever they see me. Youth are so transparent, we have so much to learn from them! It's also a testament to the tireless work their parents put in to forming them. At the very least, our community is a collection of passionate parents. More likely, we stand out for our interest in sharing this experience with not only our own flesh and blood. Immediately a...

... so instead of uselessly rolling around, I'm going to write the small post I'd been meaning to sometime this weekend. During the previous two days, Friday and Saturday, I was concerned for my physical safety more than I typically am. In all, this was a pretty full weekend. But I just want to write down the two safety related stories. Friday late afternoon, I stood at the top of a steep hill with my mountain bike, peering down the path as it went directly under a fallen tree and back up a similarly steep hill. Subconsciously calculating the angles, like say 80 degrees, it appeared quite certain that if I tried such a thing, I would surely have my first ever experience of a broken bone. But with my pride on the line, and Sean and Jeremy acting like this was no big deal, I took the plunge. Never have I been more certain that what I was about to do would result in bodily harm. Lo and behold, the trust exercise succeeded, and I was rewarded with a small stipend of adrenal...

Below is what I've hammered out in very brief spurts, one before we went out to Dankunku, and one this morning on Greg's laptop in the apartment. It is extremely disjointed because I just wanted to get stuff down, and flesh it out later. Enjoy! We fly out of here tomorrow, Friday, at 11pm, and are back in Indy Saturday early evening. Hopefully I will find some time to post on Sunday. God bless you. 15 - Thursday Left at 7am to walk a couple kilometers to Rebecca's school, the Banjul-American Embassy School. Good discussion with the headmaster about the school being an oasis in many ways, about teaching children to care for others at a young age, and about the state children are in when they arrive... some incredibly intelligent, some no english at all, some with discipline problems, etc. After using their internet, Greg & I walked down the road to Bakau, looking for a small bean sandwhich shop but instead got a bit of a walkthru of Bakau by a local lifeguard who is...

I'm writing this from the computer lab at the Banjul American Embassy School where Rebecca is teaching Kindergarten, she has 9 kids at the moment... none appear to be of African descent, but that's the only commonality amongst them. Two of them are fast readers and very expressive facially. Another has a lazy eye, is from England, and goes "bonkers" when he sits in the wrong person's seat. Another couple speak very little English and much more Arabic. Another wears glasses and likes to throws his hands up and grasp his head or hit it whenever he makes a mistake. Another has a bouncy voice and is a little mischevious. Another is the "little prince" who is led by his own (short) attention span, though he can't seem to help it. One of the boys isn't here today. ( note : Sorry for the edit, names in this context are inappropriate. Also, 3 of them are in fact of African descent!) When more of the grade levels all lined up this morning, and then we a...

.. except we won't be going on a safari this time either. It's another journey to The Gambia to visit my sister Rebecca. This time I'm going with my brother Greg . When I went last year , it was with my parents. (see all our pictures !) Now Rebecca is out of the Peace Corps and in a two-year teaching contract with the Banjul American Embassy School. Very much looking forward to the time with Greg, the time with Rebecca, and the fresh taste of a hugely different life experience for people. Perhaps this time I will provide a better journaling of it than I did last year.. follow justinw at http://twitter.com

This past summer, I moved out of the big windy city and into the college town. One of the things I gave up was the running scene... I really miss it. I'm still in contact with various friends I ran with, and there is no shortage of temptations to return for races. My somewhat radical lifestyle change included squeezing my running kind've out of the picture to make room for new relationships and more work in other areas. I haven't done nearly as much as I was doing in Chicago.. I think I ran in about 20 races over the two and a half years I was there, with countless training and fun runs with friends and larger groups. It was a blast, and a fitness challenge. Chuck keeps goading me though. Reminding me. Taunting me. This weekend I snagged a new pair of shoes so that I don't have any more excuses. There has been sporadic talk amongst folks around here, about going out for the Sunburst Races , on Saturday, June 2. That's a mere 3 months away, but depending o...

This morning I sat down with the guys from 9of.us to make a list of all the people in the PoP that we know about who have blogs. A post that Jeremy wrote up about it can be found here: People of Praise blogs . I just met Rus this summer, and he's living in Indy now with a couple other guys, Nick & John, but after clicking through that list to his blog, I found a full circle connection. He posted a letter by Mary Gaffney , whom I haven't exactly met yet, but whose brother Pete I just lived with for 6 months. To know him is almost to know her, they sound similarly passionate. He recently moved in with his aunt, but at the time of Mary's accident, he was still living with us, and we were kept abreast of the news, and thus an opportunity for us to join in prayer. Which makes her story all the more relevant! But I had no idea of the details behind the situation until I read her letter. It's incredible, and it's an incredible witness.. The driver of the c...

Your actions do not elicit God's love. You do.

.. but I pretty much agree with them. Via Ego , I just read The 'Following Jesus' Manifesto . It may surprise you.

So right now there is way too much for me to blog. At least it seems like too much in my head, maybe it will be more "whelming" once I get it out. Got a call from my Dad, regarding his brother Mike who has been undergoing chemotherapy for some stage 4 cancer in his liver and colon. Last week's CAT scan showed another decrease the nodes in his liver, and... they can't find any trace of it in his colon. Gone. woohoo! God is good, thank you big man! The task is not complete, so continued prayers are in order, but we do we see that statistics are only statistics. Spent the last ~2 days in Chicago, which I am very glad happened. On the train ride home, it occurred to me how odd my enjoyment of this visit may appear to many people I know. All I did was visit people, in the midst of pretty normal activities for them. I did some volunteer work with the HNC young adults, and got to see a few that I know and meet a few others. I showed up at the apartment Chris is st...