Horsing Around

Yeah, I went with obvious and bad pun. This is Sweet-N-Low. Really we should call her piggy because she tries to stop on the trail and eat the grass all the time. She was the horse I rode last week on my weekly horse ride. I like to visit the horse barn once a week to say hi, take a ride, help with saddles and grooming or whatever needs done. Last week I learned how to pick a horses huff and how to make sure it is not foundering. I would not say I am an expert my any means, but I think I now know more then the average person.

I am looking forward to hosting mom, dad, Liz and grandma this weekend. Word on the street is that some great games of cards and Jenga are sure to go down as well as some wineries. Stay tuned for an update next week.

Keep up the fight

The Voice in the Wilderness

Today the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. What an amazing man he was. Just read what his father Zechariah had to say about him at his birth.

"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has come to His people and set them free. He has raised up for us a might savior, born of the house of His servant David. Through His holy prophets God promised of old to save us from the hand of our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant. This was the oath that he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies. Free to worship his without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

And you my child shall be called profit of the most high, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way. To give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the Dawn from on high shall break upon us. To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet on the road of peace."

I think most of us know the "locust and wild honey" or the "I am not fit to loosen the straps of his sandals" John, but today we focus on his birth. When I was reflecting on this what came to mind was his name. In the bible the use of a name often marks an event where God changes the person. God changes Abram (father of many) to Abraham (father of great many) and then Abraham laughs at him and God tells him to name his son Issac (laughter). Jacob changed to Israel after wrestling with God. Saul to Paul after being knocked to the ground (by the way the bible never says he was on a horse).

The reason his name struck me was because John was supposed to be called Zechariah after his father, but God worked in Zechariah's heart before John was even born and changed his name. God changed John from the very beginning to give his life a new purpose, a new vocation, to be a voice in the wilderness calling out to prepare the way of the Lord.

From the very beginning John lived his life directing people to Christ. Living a life of humble service always pointing to one who was greater then him. Never stopping to accept praise and glory for himself, but always for God. In the end it was jealousy, lust, corruption and greed that took John's life. What a necessary evil it was to have such a man who lived in the desert and sat amongst Kings to be martyred by the same sins that today also drive us away from Christ.

Keep up the fight

Tits on a Boar

I got the ok from my landlord to paint my apartment. I will be less then helpful in this process, but I know that my mother is great at picking out colours, my father is great at painting, my sister is a pro at opening a cold beer after a long day of hard work and grandma is a wonderfully critical supervisor, so I have no doubt they will do a great job painting when the visit in a few weeks.

In other news, we just got the Internet back at camp. It had been out since last Friday and I am sorry for the disruption it has caused in your lives. I know there are countless (5ish) readers who daily log onto A Cage of Words to get the latest news from Nashville and around the world.

I also had a good meeting with my spiritual director today and he had a good line about prayer I thought I would share with you all. We don't pray to inform God of our needs, we pray to humble ourselves in asking for what we need. Interesting....

Well I am off to go find something for dinner. All the groups are out at cookouts tonight so I dig through leftovers and go home early.

Keep up the fight

Sprout it out loud

What is going on with my water jar? Did I leave it under my bed for to long? Is this some kind of experiment? Why is Andy drinking out of an old salsa jar when he has a very nice set of glasses? Well these are all valid questions.

I did not leave it under my bed to long, it is an experiment and I am afraid I will break the good glasses so I use old salsa jars.

I have started growing my own Alfalfa Sprouts. A friend of mine, Renee, told me she always wanted to do it so it stole her idea and am doing it myself. If you like sprouts you should look into growing them yourself. It is much cheaper and kind of fun also.

In other news we are on day 2 of summer camp 2009. Yesterdays check-in went a bit to smooth. There is a real mellow feel in camp right now. Don't get me wrong it is good, but you are always afraid of what is coming up next.

Keep up the fight

Monday Monday Monday

So we are in the middle of pre-camp right now. I ducked out to catch up on some paper work and I wanted to drop you all a line so you didn't feel neglected. The sad thing is that there is really little news to report.

I have been staying at camp for the last few nights. I think it helps builds relationships with the staff and I enjoy spending time with the guys. I wish I could bring in my own mattress though. I had forgotten how rough camp beds can be. It is really like sleeping on a ream of paper.

Tomorrow is my big day in training because the nurses are coming in for their training. I am ready and excited, but also a bit nervous. You all know how I like things to go just perfect and get nervous when they don't.

Well I better get back to paperwork and the staff.

Keep up the fight