I don’t much care for days without time for blogging…

Got a lot done today… but no time to write out these thoughts in my head.

Soon…

Today I was able to use my web designing skills and tools to help two people/organizations that have impacted the Campbell home in great and somewhat significant ways. That is so great! I can’t even really believe I get to do that! (And one of them is paying me!) 🙂

The God Journey – Wayne Jacobsen

We have hooked up with a guy who has gone through some similar thinking and experiences regarding this crazy relationship God has offered us with himself. We have really enjoyed his perspective offered through books and various audio recordings we have from him. They have helped us process some things God is working in us. Great stuff.

So, last week, with the advent of podcasting to the iTunes Music Store, I began thinking that it would be great to have The God Journey in among these other offerings. But I wasn’t sure if I should proceed that direction or not. Finally, last night Wayne posted a request for help in doing just that! Awesome! So, this morning I happily researched, and fairly quickly put together the feed that allows The God Journey to be an RSS 2.0 Podcast feed (accessible in RSS readers and other podcast software, such as the new iTunes 4.9)

It was so fun to be able to help out and give back in that way! Awesome!

Here’s a link to the RSS Feed (below). If you have iTunes 4.9, you can drag that link into the Podcast window, and any new podcasts will be automatically downloaded and put in the proper folder by iTunes. Pretty nifty.

The God Journey

EzzoTruth.com

Many of you know that we have used the principles taught in the Growing Kids God’s Way class from Growing Families International since before Ian was born. (Um, well… we knew them since then…) And some of you might have heard of all the slanderous junk thrown about on the internet about not only the curriculum, but the Ezzos (the authors) themselves. None of it is even based in stuff taught in the course! It’s quite sad.

So, I wanted to do some kind of website to counter the bad that is so prevalent out there. But, I gave up due to lack of time, and need to spend my time earning money to pay our bills.

Through a very cool and strange set of circumstances, I discovered a couple who are doing just that! But, they lacked the web design tools and expertise (and perhaps patience!) to actually get the site up and running. Through a few emails, they offered to pay me to do it!! Oh my!

So, I get to put together a site that I think is very valuable and needed, and I get paid for it too!

God is so amazing. I am thanking him today for letting me be part of the things he has used to bring us closer to him, and to help our family know him even more.

Stay tuned for links to the EzzoTruth site.

I was listening to the Drudge Report last night on our local AM Radio station. Interesting stuff, as usual, but one thing stuck out to me. He mentioned that IBM was partnering with someone to offer broadband internet over power lines. Crazy. But, kinda cool as it will make broadband even more available. Anyone with electricity can have high speed internet.

(Like, my parents who live in the middle of nowhere) 🙂

For more, click here:

HoustonChronicle.com – CenterPoint tests high-speed access via wall sockets

We were having a conversation with my sister and her husband yesterday during our kids’ nap times (there were 6 children 6 years old and under in our house that day… so nap time was a VERY welcome part of the day!) about some things Jen & I are processing at the moment.

I said, “We would still be the church if we did nothing that we do in those buildings.” They nodded in agreement, “It’s true.” And I thought afterward how silly it is that we cling so tightly to our religious services or community outreach programs as the identifying mark of who we are as “the church” when it has absolutely nothing to do with that. All of that is well and good, and helps people along the way, but if we stopped doing ALL of that right at this moment, we would not cease to be the church, we might even become more of who the church should be!

So, with that conversation fresh in my mind, I tackled some financial problems last night. We deposited a check this week that bounced which resulted in a processing fee for us, so now I am short more money than I thought I had deposited, and the bigger problem is, I already spent that money. So, I will probably be charged my OWN insufficient funds fee in the next few days. Argh!

Recently, due to various financial pressures, which I am certain many of us are facing, I have had the urge to just put my whole life on eBay and see what I might get. Pay off all our debt, and just move on with the clothes on our back. We’d probably have enough money for McDonald’s, (or even Skyline, if the bids are high enough) … and we’d be FREE of all our STUFF that only seems to generate headache after headache.

This has been a frustrating week with things electronic. Usually I am quite enamored with them. I love my wireless high speed internet, where I can access the world on a tiny machine from anywhere in my house, or even in my yard! I love the way my whole office network works together so that I can access and save and use files from any machine on the network, anywhere. I love all the neat little tricks built into Mac OS X that I can execute with the push of a button or two. Quite amazing.

But not this week.

And thankfully, it has nothing to do with my equipment this time. Those times are frustrating as well. When the world is just on the other side of a stubborn router who won’t connect. Or my computer is almost within site, if I could just get it to recognize the hard drive.

Those times are frustrating, too.

This week, it’s Time Warner Cable. I pay them a significant amount of money each month, each year, and I hope that their service is working most of the time, or when it’s not that they will be able (and willing!) to come fix it promptly. Such has not been my experience this week, although I did have a pleasant conversation last night with one of the phone answerers. We’ll see how it goes from there.

I am still offline at the moment. I will probably either post this from my laptop using a friend’s wireless internet, or… *GASP*… by DIAL UP!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

All of this has made me think again about what’s important. What really matters. Obviously none of this stuff does. I love it! It’s fun! It’s amazing! But it’s all absolutely nothing compared to “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Paul said it so well, so I just quoted him. He had tons of personal achievements, perhaps a bit of wealth, he had a great reputation… all worth absolutely nothing.

I get to know the creator of all life. The one who made everything that I see, and even me! The one who made the air that I breathe and the food that I eat (Well, the stuff that makes the food, at least!) The one who made that comet that we just slammed into! The one who gave me Jen, and my kids. I get to live with him. To know him. And to be known, and still loved.

If for whatever reason I ceased to own anything that he has given us… if we catastrophically lost everything in an instant, I would not instantly be less loved by him. My life would not be worth less. It might even be worth more.

The simplicity of life is definitely hard to find in our busy, technological American lives. We have so many places to go and people to see and things to do because we can. Our technology has made it possible (and even fun!) to do as much or more as time will allow. Again, it’s amazing… but also amazingly sad.

Love God with all you are and love the people around you. That’s what Jesus said life was all about. He didn’t mention anything about stuff. I think this is important. Because I don’t want to be misunderstood. Jesus did not say stuff was bad. He said don’t store up treasures here (where things are not permanent) because that’s bad for our hearts. But neither did he condemn all “stuff” as evil. He just cautioned us to keep it in its place. Don’t make it your treasure, or you’ll be disappointed.

That’s for sure!

So, I guess God is helping me get back to my real priorities in life. What really matters. We get so wrapped up in the worlds we have built, it’s easy to forget. It’s not about my stuff. It’s not about anything scheduled that happens in a church building. It’s just about knowing him, and loving people he has put us near. How can he teach me that so often and I still don’t really get it? I still get caught up in the little stuff. In the temporary. My treasure placing gets slightly misdirected. Usually only for a time, until he calls me back.

I trust him. He has never failed me, or anyone for that matter. I trust what he says, and what he will do.

Can’t wait to see what’s next.

I am not really sure what it is, but lately I have been thinking about moving. There’s nothing wrong with where we live. We couldn’t ask for better neighbors, we love our house, the town is great! We love Palmyra! It’s home.

But, there seems to be a restlessness in me.

We joke about moving, and having visited so many places, we have experienced many locations to choose from. I suppose the main thing that makes us want to move is the cost of living in NY. More than half of our monthly mortgage payments is our tax escrow payment. And it will only keep going up. Most of that is school tax, and we don’t even USE the schools. We only have to report everything we do, and then test in the schools… none of which I want to do. We opted out, so they should have no jurisdiction over us. I think. But, in NY… they do.

So, we’ve looked at the states that have the most lenient homeschool regulations as possibilities. We have looked at states that have nice weather (I mean cooler…) 🙂 We have looked near where we know family or friends are.

But, even with all of that, I don’t know if we will actually move. 🙂

I know that it is a bit of “the grass is greener on the other side” syndrome. Well, if we can just get out of these high taxes, things will be better. If we didn’t have the annoying regulations and laws of NY (not just homeschool… it’s the only state where it’s illegal to use a cell phone in your hand while driving, and more…) we’d be better off. If we didn’t have such high costs of gas and energy and sales tax and thruway tolls and on and on… we’d have more money.

I am not sure all of that is true. But it is what we’re thinking.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Do you remember when Jesus had to escape the clutches of his adoring fans? Great crowds of people were attracted to the greatness of this man, and enamored by all his care and loving attention to the downtrodden and otherwise societally ignored. His teaching was so amazingly true and authoritative. It seemed like he really knew what he was saying, far more than any of the other teachers of that day.

And so they wanted to help him succeed. They wanted to increase the scope of his influence. They wanted to make him King.

“Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him king, so he went higher into the hills alone.” – John 6:15

It had probably been a very exciting day. Crowds gathered to hear what he would say, and see what he would do on this day. What new teachings would be proclaimed today? What amazing healings might be performed this day? The crowd was abuzz with anticipation.

And Jesus did not disappoint.

There is no record of what he taught or really anything that he said on this occasion. It simply says that, “Jesus soon saw a great crowd of people climbing the hill, looking for him.” When he noticed the throngs, he did not stop to share some sage wisdom with them. He did not elevate himself above them and share words of encouragement or chastisement. He simply wanted to feed them.

And feed them he did. We know the story. Two fish and five barley loaves fed 5000 people with 12 baskets to spare! Amazing! Inconceivable! But, it happened. Showing God’s care for our stomachs as well as our souls. It showed that he also provides in huge abundance, not just “what we need”. Everyone had their fill and there were twelve baskets left over!!! Amazing.

But the thing I noticed was what happened afterward.

Though Jesus had made no attempt to bring attention to himself or his healings or his teachings or anything of the sort, that is what the crowd wanted to do. They did not see a loving God caring for and providing for them, they saw a marketing opportunity. And they jumped on it. Probably almost literally.

Jesus noticed that they were ready to “take him by force”. What in the world??! What would possess them to do such a thing? This great teacher who was so gentle and understanding to even the most down and out soul in the crowd, and they felt they needed to use coercive force to make him see things their way?

Crazy. But, we are definitely a little crazy.

They knew Jesus was a “sure thing”, so they were willing to do whatever they could – maybe even whatever it takes – to promote him to the masses. To take him to the next level.

Problem is, he wanted no part of that. None. He left quick when he caught wind of their little scheme.

What was so wrong with it? If someone in the crowd had the power or connections to take him to the next level, why would he not want that? And this was not an isolated event. There is another time or two where the crowd wanted to “make him king” and he quietly slipped away. Why would Jesus not want such a position?

Only thing I can think is the timing, or the motivation.

Recently, a friend of ours had a great idea. She is a linguist, and offered to translate a great book into Spanish. The response she got puzzled me a bit. The author replied, “You should check to see if this is something God is leading you to do, or just a good idea you have.” I wasn’t sure what to think of that. I understand on the surface, and know that it’s great to make sure God is leading. But, who’s to say the great idea was not from God?

So, after wrestling with that a bit, I found myself having a different great idea for that same author. He is now an acquaintance of ours, and just a great, smart guy. I have some expertise in the web design and even audio avenues, and I might be able to take him to the next level. And while I was making these grandiose plans for him, I was stopped by the thought of what he had told my friend.

“Is this from God or just a good idea you have?”

I do not know our author friend’s reasoning behind that question, but when I applied it to my situation, I thought of Jesus escaping the well-intentioned (I think?) crowds who wanted to make him king. Perhaps that was my motivation?

It reminded me of something I had written recently regarding our strange desire to constantly build bigger and better. Not sure the full ramifications of these ideas, but they appear to be linked, and also to not be completely in synch with the heart of God. God destroyed the Babel tower, and Jesus left quick when they tried to make him king.

What is God’s aversion to our plans? Why do our attempts to climb the ladder of success make him cringe? I am very sorry, but I do not have an answer. I am intrigued by the thoughts God has been leading me to, but I still need some wisdom from him.

Until then, I will continue to listen for his voice, and follow his leading in my life. If he asks me to do something big and crazy, then I know it will be great. If I have a great idea, I want to make sure it is his leading, and not just my own crazy idea. It will never work if that’s the case.

What an awesome thing to know that he will lead. That we can listen for his voice and know that the outcome will be great. I am learning that it’s easier than I think. I have always thought that silence meant I was not good at hearing his voice. I think I am learning that sometimes God does not speak. Sometimes he just wants us to wait, and trust. When he speaks, I have always known it. It’s in the silent times that I get restless, and wonder where he is leading.

I will continue to seek his guidance, and I am going to try and rest in his answer, or his silence. I love him, and I know he loves me. So, when my ideas are met with apparent silence, I will wait for his better timing or ideas. I will not try to take him by force and make him king. Nor anyone or anything else that I might feel the urge to increase the scope of their influence.

He doesn’t really need my help with that.

Well, I am not a coffee drinker, but I did have a bit of a coffee break today. I am currently sitting in an oversized, really comfortable couch with my feet propped up on a foot stool… sipping chai and enjoying some smooth jazz in the background.

And all of this while connected to friends and my work on the internet!

So, needless to say, I am having a nice little break, and getting work done. How is that possible?!?

I highly recommend this place!

Astrologer Sues NASA Over Comet Collision

I am definitely fascinated by this stuff, so I must share a few more images. And, a movie.

Just before impact

Impact!

The large plume after impact

Click Here to view a movie of the approach to the comet, all the way till the very last second! Very cool!

NASA – Deep Impact

I just finished watching the coverage of the Deep Impact collision with a comet. Fascinating. Can’t wait to read more tomorrow. Click the link above for lots of cool information about a fascinating space mission.