My Thoughts and Prayer

boredom leads to creativity?

2008-06-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

So, I'm sitting here at home and decided that I would write on my blog. My parents (who, again, will probably be the only ones reading this) always get mad at me when I don't update in a long time, so I've decided to. Now, this blog is going to be pretty different from other ones as I am going to pretty much just ramble and make lists of what's on my mind. I hope you find it funny, informative, and life-changing.

DISCLAIMER: Being able to understand amazingly good quality sarcasm is necessary for reading this blog!

So, here goes:

One of the things that makes me the saddest about coming home is that I have to leave my beautiful iMac at school and use what was once mine, and now my mom's, Gateway laptop. It makes me really sad right now because a little box keeps popping up telling me to restart for some kind of update something another...this doesn't happen on Macs. I'm also sad because I don't have an automatic spell check, therefore mispelled words are not my fault.

I think I want to try my hand at stand up comedy. Good idea?

I am attempting to make money by selling original artwork online, more specifically on Craigslist. We'll see how this goes. If you're interested in purchasing some of my amazing art just let me know.

One thing that makes me happy about being at home is that we have the "planet green" channel on DirecTV. I am finally getting to watch more of "Greensburg," the show about the town in Kansas that was completely destroyed by a tornado last May, which is a pretty amazing show. I'm trying to decide who my favorite characters are...oh wait, it's a reality show, they're real aren't they? But I'm a fan of the high school kid who, I swear, is a 30 year-old man stuck in an 18 year-old's body. I also like the new mayor who carries around a drawing of what he wants the town's redesign to look like. I also really like the fact that Betty White has a show on "planet green," that completes my life.

My stomach itches, I hope I don't have an infection.

I am pretty envious of this guy (www.mycrazyroommate.com) who has a, well you guessed it, crazy roommate and keeps a blog about him. I kind of wish I had that or at least kept a blog on my somewhat crazy roommates.

I can't really think of anything else to add right now...

Not a Simpler Time, a Simpler PLACE

2008-05-17T10:21:00.003-05:00

This morning an old family friend called, Tim Leightner is his name, about coming over to the house to pick up an industrial mixer her let our family borrow a loooooong time ago. I remembered the crazy man and his cheerful wife but we had not seen them in goodness knows how long. Their kids have grown up, Matthew and I have grown older, they've moved, things have just changed. When they pulled up in the front yard it was like nothing had really changed: that the friendships from years ago were not broken, that everything was kind of normal.

They got out of the truck and we talked (my dad, brother and I with Tim, his wife, and oldest son) for a long time as my brother loaded the mixer and Tim strapped it down with strap after strap. He's a pretty eccentric little man always telling stories and talks about gadgets he has or things he wants to build. But, I digress.

The thing I was amazed about as we talked with them was their tales of the new life they've found at their new 100 acre ranch in Plains, Montana. They still have their home here in Brevard, but live most of the time out there in the wide-open country surrounded by open fields, rivers, mountains, trees, and deer. They talked about the small town they live near that has everything you need. Like the fact that everything you need can be found at the Conoco station down the road. And, if a place doesn't have what you're looking for, well then you'll just have to wait but they can have the next day. The talked about everyone knowing who you are, people remembering you, and people knowing when you're new to the area. He even told a story of something he learned about at the local small grocery store. Apparently one of the frequent customers had a habit of taking the money from the "Leave a Coin, Take a Coin" change jar to pay for his groceries. After being told multiple times on multiple days to stop it the clerk finally reached across the counter and slapped him and it hasn't been a problem since. When he told that it made me think "That's what community is about." No, not violence or hitting someone, but about taking care of one another. The idea, that Tim presented, of "If your momma didn't teach ya right, then by-God 'we' will."

It's amazing to think of a place in this world where community is still upheld. Where life is simple. Where neighbors care for and respect one another. Where the land is beautiful and as untainted as it can be. Now I'm not saying that we all need to move to Montana (although their stories made the state sound so amazing), I just think that we can try to live that simply, that lovingly, with that idea of community and respect for ourselves and others on a daily basis.

Who would of thought that a visit from some long lost family friends would teach me such a lesson?

New Layout!

2008-05-16T21:43:00.001-05:00

Well Hello Visitors (i.e. my mom and dad...haha)

I have a new layout!!! woohoo!

Although, it has required me to revert to the "Classic Template" of Blogger, so no fun widgets with my favorite websites and pictures and such...but I kind of like this simpler layout anyway, and it's fun!

I'll update more soon about what's going on in my life!!!

Human Rights, or the lack thereof, in Tibet

2008-03-17T18:29:00.007-05:00

I have had an interest in Tibet since I was in the 7th grade. We were assigned a project to learn more about a world religion and I chose Tibetan Buddhism. I don't remember much of that project, what I do remember is that I enjoyed learning about a beautiful culture of peace and prayer. I was able to share what I learned with others at a World Day event and through giving my presentation to groups through roughly the 10th grade. I learned so much about the country of Tibet, the oppression that was occurring and had occurred there under China's rule, and the fleeing of the nation's leader, the Dalai Lama, to Dharmsala, India where the nation now has an exile government. I even used this image in an original presentation in 2000 as people were then preparing to boycott the 2008 summer Olympics in response to China's oppression of Tibet.

It wasn't until last week that Tibet came back to mind as I read on CNN the stories of peaceful protests ending in the deaths of dozens of Tibetans at the hand of the Chinese. I was certainly appalled but also reminded of what I had learned of this nation so many years ago.

For those of you who are not aware, Tibet is located in the middle of Asia, scholars disagree on saying it's located in Central or Southern Asia, but it is located in the center of the continent. It is called the "roof of the world" and is home to the world's highest mountains, including Mount Everest which shares the Tibetan border with Nepal. The country has a rich history of culture and religion. In the 1600s the Dalai Lama figure, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, became the governmental leader of the nation as well. For many years the Dalai Lama has been chosen by the people of Tibet as the reincarnation of the previous Lama. There are numerous other religious and spiritual figures as well, including the Panchen Lama.

In 1949 tensions began to rise among China as the nation's new leader, Mao Zedong, ordered the so called "liberation" of the Tibetan people by the People's Liberation Army. Many nobles and working class people in Tibet cooperated with the People's Republic of China, but much turmoil took place over land reform and the Buddhist religion. Under mounting pressure and political distress the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual and religious leader, fled to India. The country is now considered part of China. The TAR, or Tibet Autonomous Region, is what the Chinese government (and most of the world for that matter) call Tibet. This region was created in 1965 for government reasons, but in all actuality comprises less than half of the historic Tibet. The United States and other industrialized nations recognize the TAR and China as the real Tibetan government and give no recognition the real Tibetan government in exile in Dharmsala.

Following the Chinese occupation rapid deforestation, mass killings, and destruction of the nation's rich culture and religion took place. Members of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) would go into Buddhist monasteries and nunneries and kill many. Hundreds upon hundreds within Tibet have been arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned for not agreeing with China's rule in Tibet. Many have died from torture, beatings, and harsh treatments; with some of the greatest numbers of death among Tibetan women. Orphans and illiteracy is rampant among the Tibetan population. The next Panchen Lama, one of the highest ranking Lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, was chosen by the Dalai Lama within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in 1990 following the 1989 death of the previous Lama. After his choosing the Chinese government denied the religion the use of this 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the real Lama and he and his family were jailed. The Chinese government search committee appointed their on Panchen Lama who is not recognized by followers of the religion. The Tibetan Government in Exile still believes that Nyima and his family are jailed. Some of the country's most valuable minerals, such as Borax and uranium, were ripped from the earth by the Chinese leaving broken and destroyed forests and country sides behind.

The Dalai Lama and his followers set up an exile government, as mentioned before, in Dharmsala, India just to the west of the Tibetan border. Here the Indian government have been kind enough to provide an area where Tibetans can escape religious and cultural persecution. Tibetan exiles can be found around the world, with a majority, 85,000 in India, 14,000 in Nepal, and 7,000 in Canada and the United States. The government also maintains International Offices of Tibet in Tokyo, Paris, London, New York, Zurich, and numerous other cities.

All of that is just a brief overview of the nation of Tibet without even explaining the rich culture of the country, the amazing traditions and beauty of Tibetan Buddhism, or offering more detail explanations of the human rights atrocities that have taken place in Tibet over the last four decades. All of this to say that the killings of many Buddhist monks the past several weeks is nothing new to the Tibetan people, but it is a reminder to those around the globe that China is still conducting evil practices in a nation that was wrongly occupied years ago. For those who don't know what occurred recently, on March 10, which is an official holiday of the Tibetan Government in Exile called Uprising Day, monks within Tibet began peaceful protests to China's occupation of the nation. These protest became volatile when Chinese soldiers tried to stop them with deadly force. As of today, the Tibetan Government in Exile has confirmed 80 deaths including many women and children that were killed as Chinese forces tried to end the protests. The protests became violent as Tibetan citizens began to through rocks and other debris at the Chinese. The Dalai Lama has called it a "cultural genocide" of his people. The protests and killings have negatively affected what the Chinese had hoped would be a smooth start up to this year's summer Olympics. Protests continue to break out across the nation as college and university students and other monks have began to fight against the Chinese occupation. The Dalai Lama has stated for years now that native Tibetans are seeking autonomy with the Chinese to preserve their "ancient cultural heritage" but with China's quick and deadly reaction, there culture, religion, and traditions are nearing extinction.

So why is this even important? Why do I find it necessary to take time to write something about Tibet? Because we must be aware of the denial of human rights that takes place in our world. Not just the killing of these peaceful protestors in Tibet, but the destruction of the Tibetan culture, the refusal to let Tibetan's practice their religion peacefully, and the blatant refusal to allow human rights by the nation of China. Not just Tibet, but genocide in Darfur and poverty in South America, hunger in the deepest parts of Africa, and sex trafficking in Eastern Europe and Russia.

I encourage you to look more into human rights and the lack of human rights around the world, especially in Tibet. I also encourage you to think about and learn more about the steps you can take to fight against the denial of human rights. From writing letters to your congressman, to donating money, to going and volunteering, to not buying Chinese products, to even boycotting this year's summer Olympics. We must stand up and say that all humans have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." And we must be aware that we can indirectly fund agents of human rights denial if we are not aware of where we spend our time and money.

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REFERENCES

The Government of Tibet in Exile http://www.tibet.com
"Dalai Lama: China causing 'cultural genocide'" http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/tibet.unrest/

A Vicious Cycle

2008-03-03T09:07:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel that life, my faith, the walk I have with Christ, Christianity in general (if you will) is a vicious cycle. It's a cycle of ups-and-downs, of running from and running to, of falling and getting back up. I feel so many times that it is easier to fall and stay down than to get back up and keep "fighting the good fight." I was talking last week with a good friend about how it is so easy to feel defeated; how the enemy beats us down and holds us to the floor and it is so easy for us to think "Forget you God...your way is too hard...I'm doing this on my own!" And, honestly, the last few weeks I have felt like that. It's a combination of being overwhelmed by struggle and commitments, being frustrated with my poor health and not knowing what is causing it, and just being down right sick of God and his "plan." It has been so easy for me to find comfort in other things that are temporary and not really comforting. It is so easy to run away from God for a little bit and find peace and happiness in life's "crap," but in the end you still feel beaten, defeated, and can never really find the happiness we can find in Christ. It's a funny thing isn't it?

As I was talking with this friend last week we talked about how we have to be intentional in our faith. We have to do things on purpose and with purpose to "keep the faith." We have to have a plan and we have to work to follow that plan. And we just have to live with purpose! We have to be open and honest with other brothers and sisters. We have to love like there is no tomorrow. We have to be true and genuine and work with others to advance and improve and grow.

I guess I have just gotten really sick of letting my struggles define me. Of letting what I struggle against and fight with make me who I am. I am tired of feeling like I have to be perfect and have to not fall, and feeling that every time I screw up that I have to restart my whole faith journey. Isn't is simply astonishing how the devil makes us feel that when we screw up we have lost forever? That everything we have done and are doing and plan to do for the Lord is completely negated by messing up with sin? Not that sin is ok and that we should just simply disregard it, but I think that we, or at least I, have to realize that my sin doesn't define me! I am the child of a living God. I am a prince, I have my name written in the Lamb's book of life, I am surrounded by angels that protect me and pick me up when I fall, I am prayed for by the saints gathered around the throne, I have been saved, redeemed, and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth! How amazing is that?!?! I have nothing to fear! At the sound of the name of Jesus demons flee! I have been given power through the spirit to do great things! HA! Booyah satan...you have NO power in my life! So you might as well just get up off of me and keep going your merry way, because "you can't touch this!" It's always nice to give the enemy a little kick in the face, isn't it?

Well...that's refreshing.

:-)

Edward Robert Stevenson

2008-03-01T21:58:00.003-05:00

Edward Robert Stevenson...there are only a few things I know about this guy:

1. he's short
2. he has blonde dreadlocks down to his butt
3. he's funny and talkative
4. he's my friend Cannan's soulmate

I never met Edward, but my friend Cannan tells me that I would have loved him and that he would have loved me.

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When I came home on Friday afternoon mom told me that there had been a wreck right around the curve from our house on Thursday night, that the guy was 24 years old and died instantly. It was kind of shocking to think that such a young person died right near my house. Today I was going out and around that very curve and there were 3 cars and some people wondering around, I looked up in the woods near the tree the car hit and saw a familiar bundle of brown dreadlocks tied up on a girl's head and thought "Is that Cannan?" She and I had graduated high school together in 2006 and had been in art classes together for a few years I hadn't seen her since graduation almost 2 years ago, I absolutely love that girl! Well, on my way back in I decided to stop and see if that was her. As I got out of my car Cannan was walking toward me and I said "Cannan, is that you?!?" She walked up and started crying and just hugged me. I asked her what had happened and she explained that her soulmate, the love of her life, was killed on Thursday night. We hugged and hugged. She told me a little bit about Edward, the little bit I posted above. She said he was a fun-loving guy who loved everyone. That he would talk your ear off in the line at a grocery store or in the line at the bathroom. She said that he and I would have gotten along.

She told me that I was sweet for stopping and just hugged me and wouldn't let go. It was so amazing to be there with her. We talked a little longer and she told me some things, she told me to remember these things and never forget them. She told me to love, love, love--everyone and everything. She said to not be mean or angry or selfish but to love others. She told me to tell other people how I feel and if I just want to go up and give another big brother a hug to just grab them and hug them and let them know that I love them--to not be afraid to show my feelings. She told me to remember that life is precious and not just the life of a person but of every living thing--animal, plant, people. To remember that life is not about the money you have or the debt you owe but it's about the people you love and help and touch. She told me she loved me. As I was leaving she said "Tyler McCall I think that our paths will cross again sooner than later."

Tonight as I was eating at the Mexican restaurant uptown with another friend, I looked across the room and there sat Cannan and her family...

Rest in Peace Edward Robert Stevenson. I didn't know you and never will, but I do know that your memory will live on forever in the hearts, actions, and love of your family and friends and your soulmate Cannan.

It's Almost March!

2008-02-27T18:50:00.001-05:00

I haven't written a blog in a little while. I've been so overwhelmed and stressed and kind of sad and just overwhelmed is the word I guess. There is so much going on in my life and the lives of those around me and I'm trying to figure all this crap out!

Hmm...life is pretty darn interesting isn't it?

The Vision

2008-01-29T19:04:00.000-05:00

So, there is this poem written by this man name Pete Greig who helped start 24-7 Prayer in England called The Vision. We have it posted on the wall in our prayer room this week so I just wanted to share it here!

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The Vision

So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this…
The vision?

The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.
What is the vision?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.

A million times a day its soldiers
choose to loose
that they might one day win
the great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing…
This is the sound of the underground

And the army is discipl(in)ed.

Young people who beat their bodies into submission.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts
"for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them?

And the generation prays
like a dying man
with groans beyond talking,
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and
with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.

Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive

inside.

On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood, sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,

they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.
Don't you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.
How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.

Struggling...

2008-01-27T10:49:00.000-05:00

I struggle with "stuff." You struggle with "stuff." I mean, we all struggle with something. Some of us struggle with things like pornography addiction, others with alcohol or drugs, some folks struggle with depression, others with cutting, some with eating disorders, for some people it's lust, some with greed, other people with anger. We all have different struggles that really affect who we are and our relationship with our Creator. But I came to the realization this past week that struggling is ok, struggling is good! I was hanging out with an old friend discussing my struggles and some breakthroughs I've had with my struggles and strongholds over the past month or so. I talked with him about how I feel that because I have struggles and because I've struggled in the past that I can't be effective in ministry. But, he helped me understand that I am fit for ministry! That because I have struggles that means I am doing the right thing.

My handy dandy Oxford American Dictionary widget defines the noun struggle as: "a forceful or violent effort to get free of restraint or resist attack."

When you struggle you are fighting against the temptation that the enemy is trying to get you caught in. When you struggle you are resisting tempting. When you struggled you are fighting to get free, you are fighting for holiness, you are fighting to get rid of something in your life that shouldn't be there. And you struggle because you are being obedient to God. God wants us to be holy and says that certain things are sin and that we must not do them, and if we are tempted by those things, if we find ourselves in those sins we have to struggle to be free from them!

So...all of that to say that struggling is good and that it is NOT wrong to struggle! We think that someone struggling with something is bad but it isn't. Because, if you're struggling you are doing the right thing...

Somethings God's Laid On My Heart

2008-01-06T18:52:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to share some scripture God has laid on my heart just within the past day. These are taken from the Amplified Bible which you may find a little hard to read at first because it uses a LOT of words and brackets and parentheses, but it provides a more in depth look into the scripture by giving you definitions and synonyms in the brackets and parentheses.

This first passage I really think God showed me last night. I picked up my Bible and turned to where my bookmark was and there was this passage! It is so appropriate for my life and for the lives of some of my friends right now. It is in Titus and it speaks of how God's grace has saved us from sin and calls us to deny the ungodly things of this world and be excited about Jesus' returning. I really like the last part of verse 14 where Paul writes that Jesus' sacrifice was to purify us as His own people who want to live a life that is full of doing good things and striving for holiness and purity.

" For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind. It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world, awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One), who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.
Titus 2:11-14 AMP

This next verse I actually saw on Facebook today because it was the verse of the day on several people's profiles. This one can be tied into the last one as it speaks of sin but also being unable to be justified by the law. This scripture is very convicting for me and I feel like it should convict all of us as believers. The law that we are to follow as Christians cannot justify us or get us into Heaven but it's also not legalistic to follow or expect others to follow this law. We are to follow this law because we recognize our sin and that God has put rules in place to help keep us from future sin. Also, by knowing the law and in turn recognizing our sin we actually become acquainted with sin to a point where we work toward repentance. And true repentance is the when we realize our sin and turn from that sin!

" For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character]. "
Romans 3:20 AMP

Alright...that was my attempt at teaching. HA!

No More Road Trip

2008-01-05T19:26:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I got in the car and headed up the road as I went home. I can't believe our little road trip is over! It's so crazy.

Well...how to recap this trip? I don't really know. I think I learned a lot. I think I also have a lot, A LOT, of questions now about who I am, what I believe, and what I want for this life. I feel like I was freed of a lot of stuff. I feel like a lot of struggles for me are gone now from the experiences of the trip and the onething conference. I also feel like it's not just a spiritual high but actual freedom from trouble and sin, which is really exciting. I was talking to Michael Scruggs earlier tonight about the conference and the trip. I told him that something I really appreciated was the honesty we experienced at onething and TheCall. I really appreciate the church being honest with one another about tough issues; about sexual sin and depression and pain. It was also great for myself and Ben, Ben, and Sarajane to build community among the four of us and to be able to be honest with each other.

I have realized that I'm not necessarily the person I thought I was before. Some of the personal attributes I thought I had, or more so wished I had, I really don't have. I now know that there is so much that I need to learn.

I don't know...that's enough rambling about the trip.

It's back to GWU in a few days! I think I'm kind of excited...but I'm not sure.

ROAD TRIP -- DAYS EIGHT AND NINE

2008-01-04T10:17:00.000-05:00

Well...today is day nine and the final day of our road trip. We had originally planned to stay until tomorrow, but have decided we should go ahead and head home today. So, after we do some cleaning here at the church, get packed up, and have lunch, we'll be on the road to North Carolina! I haven't been really sure about how I feel about going back. I don't really want to go back to school and at the same time I don't really want to be here, it's just really strange.

Yesterday we hung out around the church and talked more about community and living with one another. We also went to Caribou and had coffee and read and journaled and drew out what we want our community home to look like. We ate some lunch and then went to the Chicago Prayer Furnace for a couple of hours to just pray and spend time with God. Then we went to Giordano's for some famous Chicago style deep dish pizza. It is probably the best pizza I've ever had and I think we all really loved it.

Then we came back to the church and hung out with Ivan, Taylor, Dave and Amy. Amy told us funny stories about working in a women's clinic. Then we watched Transformers with Ivan and Taylor. It was a really great time.

This morning we're up and getting ready, or at least trying to. We'll be on the road in a few hours!

ROAD TRIP -- DAYS SIX AND SEVEN

2008-01-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

We got into Chicago on the night of January 1 and were greeted by FREEZING cold temperatures and wind. As we drove across Iowa on our way into Illinois the temperature dropped to 6 degrees and stayed around that temperature most of the drive. It was SO cold! We got to Chicago and our little home here at Chicagoland Community Church and got unpacked and settled in.

This church is so amazing. It's this cool little building that is full of lots of history and funny stories. We are sleeping in the conference room, so we have to take all our stuff out and store it in a hallway during the day. We have a little kitchen and cool area to hang out, and of course a sanctuary to run around in. It's great. When we got here on the night of the 1st, Sarajane, who's second home is pretty much Chicago, took us to this awesome little cafe down the street called the "Pick Me Up." It is a cool place with great people working there, yummy food, good coffee, and awesome ice cream! We also went to the grocery store and got breakfast and lunch stuff for the time we're here. We went to the Pick Me Up last night too to eat dinner and just chill.

Yesterday we got up and ready and packed up and headed to Caribou Coffee for coffee and time to hang out with each other. We talked a lot about community and what we want to do with our lives. Then we spent the rest of the day trying not to freeze to death as we checked out downtown Chicago. We saw the sites and had lots of fun. We went up in hotels to try and get good views, went into empty conference rooms, and some of us even set of security alarms. We also went down to the waterfront, and it's cool because there are actually beaches in Chicago, and this time of year they are snow-covered beaches. We walked around and took pictures at the water's front, until a wave came up and broke on shore right where we were standing. Ben Perdue and I got pretty wet in our feet area and our pants were even frozen from where the water hit them, it was great.

Last night we hung out with Sarajane's friend Ivan from the summer before last. We talked about his life and his friend Taylor's life as well. It was an amazing experience that was very enlightening for me, but also left me tons of questions about community and loving people. I think I have a lot to figure out about what I am supposed to do in this life, but I think that is what part of this trip is for.

Today we are going to hang around the church, do some chores we've been assigned since we get to stay here for free, and probably head to the Chicago Prayer Furnace at some point today. Of course, not without a trip to Caribou Coffee after breakfast!

ROAD TRIP -- DAYS THREE THRU SIX

2008-01-01T09:46:00.000-05:00

WOW! That is all I can really say...

The last four days have been absolutely amazing. We just finished up with TheCall Kansas City at midnight last night. During the time of TheCall, from 12 noon to 12 midnight, we fasted and prayed for our nation. We prayed for abortion to end and for revival to come to America, we prayed for houses of prayer to spring up around the world, we prayed for Israel, we prayed for California, and we prayed to see God's glory and be set ablaze for Him.

Before TheCall we were a part of onething 2007. This was an amazing time of worship, teaching, and workshops that really filled us up with so much about God and helped teach us more about the importance or prayer and intimacy with Him. We went to teaching sessions on God's love and mercy. We were part of amazing times of worship with Misty Edwards, Jason Upton, and Justin Rizzo. We also went to workshops about prayer being the catalyst for our generation moving forward and one about how Jesus is the only one that can heal our broken hearts from sexual addiction.

This past weekend has been the most powerful time of my life. I really feel a lot of freedom and release from past things and I know that it's through the prayer and worship of this weekend. Things really broke in my life and it is AMAZING! I also feel very VERY renewed and ready to get back to school to start doing ministry (not really to go back to class).

Our little community has grown SO much the last couple of days as well. When the conference was over at about ten every night, we would drive back to our host home and spend the next three or four or five hours talking about what we learned and our lives and what we wanted to see God do in us. We would stay up until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning! Then get up at 7 to start going the next day...it was great! We have really formed an awesome community, the four of us, and I think it's one that is going to stay together for a long time.

Well...in a little bit we'll be leaving Kansas City on our way to Chicago for the next part of our little Road Trip. We'll drive through Iowa and then into Illinois, it should take about 8 hours or so. Once we're there we are going to just relax and enjoy our time in the city. We really don't have any plans which is exciting, we're just going to enjoy our time with one another and in Chicago!

ROAD TRIP - DAY TWO

2007-12-27T21:53:00.000-05:00

We're up this morning and getting ready to head out. We'll go grab some of the Thrifty Inn's yummy continental breakfast then pack up the van and head toward Kansas City!

----------

Wow! What a fun day! After we left the Thrifty Inn we were on our way to Kansas City. We made our way through Illinois and into Missouri right around lunch time. We decided to stop at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. It wa really neat to see the museum under the arch about the United States' westward expansion. We then paid $10 to get in a tiny white pod (that looked like a gas chamber/space ship escape pod) and rode to the top. Once there we were able to see the Mississippi River and St. Louis from 630 feet in the air! It was so amazing. After we were done there we went back to the van and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips and candy before we got back in the van and went on our way. As we drove across Missouri we began to see snow on the ground which was really cool and the temperature kept dropping.

We made it into Kansas City around six o'clock and made our way to our host home where we are now. We drove about 30 minutes north of the city to a town called Smithville, Missouri. Once we got here we had to turn around a few times as we looked for the house we would be staying at and we finally found it!

The family we're staying with is soooo amazingly nice. They are so caring and giving and are really hospitable. We have the upstairs of the house to ourselves and now we're just hanging out, playing UNO, the Ben's are using the metal tin from UNO to make tile shapes in the carpet and we're talking about our day!

Some quotes from day two of our adventure:

1. Ben Perdue - "Adult bookstore? What's the deal? There must be a lot of grown-ups here."

2. Tyler - "The elders of the Baptist church are dying out...well the elders of every church are dying out."

3. Ben Perdue - "That toilet sounded like a really wet fart."
Sarajane - "Are you sure you didn't just wet fart?"
Ben Perdue - "No, but I did fart. Did you hear it?"

4. Ben Humphrey - "It's like someone shook a bag of powder sugar all over Missouri."
Ben Perdue - "Powder sugar and porn!"

5. Ben Perdue - "Accidentagious!"

6. Ben Humphrey - "What's that on the woof?"

7. Sarajane - "I have a strong feeling she's infertile."

8. Sarajane & Tyler - "I'm at a slant! I can't think straight! Write that down..."

9. Ben Perdue - "Larry Flintz Hustler Club!!!"

10. Tyler - "I hope they have a porn table..."

Tomorrow we will get up and be on our into the city, about a 30 minutes drive, as we travel to Bartle Hall to check in for onething and start the conference!

Oh, and the BEST quote from the whole day from Ben Perdue:

~if one suffers we all suffer, it's community man~

2007-12-27T15:10:00.001-05:00

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri!

ROAD TRIP - DAY ONE

2007-12-26T23:52:00.000-05:00

Today was pretty hectic/exciting/nerve-racking as I prepared to leave home and head to Gardner-Webb so we could leave on our ROAD TRIP! Ben Perdue, Ben Humphrey, Sarajane and myself met up at Sarajane's house around 3 o'clock, loaded up the van, grabbed some groceries and we were off!

The first leg of our trip was not a horribly long one. We set out on our way to Tennesse and eventually Paducah, Kentucky, where I now sit in the Thrifty Inn writing this blog. We didn't make it very far to begin with until we had to get some food and we decided that a trip to Cracker Barrel was needed. And, it is Wednesday, so it was Broccoli Cheddar Chicken special night at Cracker Barrel which made the meal even more amazing! So, after we loaded up on the starchy goodness of Southern home cooking, it was into the van and off we went. Tennessee took about four hours and we didn't stop the whole time. It was really neat to drive through Nashville where we were this summer for TheCall Nashville! It brought back fun memories of the heat and sleeping on concrete and eating way too much food at Waffle House when everything was over. As we made our way through Tennessee it was raining and drizzling but not too cold.

Next was Kentucky, a state that we've only seen in the dark so far, but hopefully we'll see more if tomorrow morning. We stopped right over the Kentucky/Tennessee line in a little town called Oak Grove at the local Pilot gas station/rest stop/McDonald's/everything you could possibly cram into a convenience store. We stood at the back of the van for about thirty minutes and ate sugar-filled junk and chips and granola bars.

From the gas station it was about another hour and a half to Paducah. When we got here Ben ran in and checked in for us and we unloaded the car as we also froze! And it's only 36 degrees here now...it's going to be a lot colder in Chicago, but it'll be alright, we can make it.

So, here are some funny quotes from our adventure so far:

1. Ben Perdue - "She went to the door and looked through the pee hole."

2. Tyler McCall - "I forgot to tell you guys I have a black eye."
Ben Perdue - "I thought you said you had a black guy."
Sarajane - "Where is he?!?!"

3. Ben Perdue - "I can't believe I hit that tire!" X 5,000,000

4. Sarajane - "I forgot my coats! All this stuff is useless!"

5. Ben Humphrey - "We didn't have analogies on our SAT."
Sarajane - "Oh...I didn't even know, I thought those were ratios."

6. Ben Perdue - "Are we going to be in Western time?"

7. Ben Perdue - "I feel like Mr. Shuffle has something good for us!"
Sarajane - "Mr. Shellfish?"

8. Tyler McCall - "Lare-in-get-us?"
Ben Perdue - "Laryngitis?!?!"

Tomorrow we'll load up the van pretty early and head on to Kansas City. We plan on stopping in St. Louis to see the arch and then we'll be on our way! We should arrive in Kansas City around 5 or so tomorrow evening then we'll meet up with our host family and begin our time in Kansas City!

Avoiding Easter at Christmas

2007-12-23T15:53:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading a very interesting article from RELEVANT Magazine entitled "Avoiding Easter at Christmas." It seems like a strange concept, one that may not even make since, but something I now find myself in agreement with. Let me explain.

What is Christmas? No, it's not about the presents, or the food (although that is one of my favorite aspects), the time with family and friends or the winter weather. I know that many of us know that Christmas is about the "birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (that phrase in quotation marks needs to be said in a childish voice for you to get the full effect). It is our time to celebrate that birth, even though Christmas occurs in December and Jesus might have really been born in January, blah blah blah. But Christmas is our time as believers to recognize Christ's birth and to celebrate it.

What is Easter? Again, it's not about the silly bunny, Easter egg hunts (again, another of my favorite aspects), or the cute pastel outfits children wear to church on Easter Sunday. Easter is our time as believers to recognize the pain and suffering Christ was put through. To realize that our sin put him on the cross and that God used the cross as an example of how bad violence in that world, and now this world, is. Easter is our time to remember that Christ not only died, but rose again! And because of the blood he shed we are forgiven.

So, what happens when we put the two together? We FORGET about the life of Christ! We go straight from the manger to the cross. We think that Jesus was born, given some gold and frankincense, then carried his cross to Golgotha, died and rose again in about 17 minutes. We don't remember the signs and wonders, the miracles, the healings. We forget about Jesus loving the unlovable and ministering to the poor and needy. We forget that Christ lived a life that is the perfect example of how we are to live. And we also forget that Christ came to live among us and to learn what it was like to be human from first hand experience.

Now, we don't have a holiday that celebrates the life of Christ. We don't take a season or time of year to read the miracles and parables and reflect upon them. We don't have days out of school or off of work to think about what Jesus accomplished during his years of full blown ministry. Because we lack that type of holiday, what are we to do? Well, we should definitely reflect upon Christ's teachings everyday and that's one reason that we don't need a holiday. But we also must remember Christmas for what it is and Easter for what it is. And I think that we shouldn't put so much effort on trying to fit the two into one.

One of the interesting aspects of this article I read was the author's discussion about the term Messiah and the term Savior. Jesus was both of these. But, first and foremost he was the Messiah! He rescued us by simply arriving! He then becomes our Savior through his death on the cross. The author also discussed how the term Messiah is much more corporate than Savior. We say that Jesus is our "PERSONAL Savior" not that he's our "personal Messiah." By recognizing Jesus as our Messiah we are uniting ourselves under his arrival and celebrating that arrival.

So, there you have it, or at least I hope: what I mean about trying to avoid Easter at Christmas. I think it can be summed up in a pretty simple statement. Jesus did not come to simply die, but to live! And through this life we have the example, we have the prototype, we have the way that we are to live. When we don't live that way, when we screw up, well that's when the power of the cross and Jesus as our Savior comes into play.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! And, this year, don't worry about Easter until April! :-)

Another Personality Test...

2007-12-14T20:47:00.000-05:00

I took a personalDNA quiz, here's the link

My personalDNA Report

and here is a little chart that explains in an easy to view way what kind of person I am!

End of the Semester...

2007-12-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

Wow...I really can't believe that this semester is pretty much over! It seems like just the other day I was moving into the dorm and getting ready to start classes. My first semester of my sophomore year is over! In just a little over two weeks I'll be celebrating Christmas with my family, and in 17 days I will be getting in a care for 14 hours and going to Kansas City for onething 2007! AHHHHH! I'm so excited. I can't wait to spend some quality time with my family and I really can't wait to go to IHOP for onething.

I really don't know where I am in life right now... I feel like I'm growing a lot. I have felt myself lately not necessarily slipping away from God, but really not being as close as I should be. I think it will be really good to get away for Christmas vacation and not have to worry with classes or work or anything like that. I look forward to just spending time with my family and really soaking in God and letting him teach me and grow me. I know it's only about a month, but I know that he can accomplish a lot in a month and I'm excited about that. This morning in church Pastor James talked about faith and believing, he was talking more about receiving from God and being prosperous, but I think that being faithful is vital to growth too. And really just believing that God is going to grow you and teach you. You have to believe that so it can happen. So, I'm saying, God I am ready for you to teach me. I am believing that you are going to bring me revelation and new knowledge over the next month. I am going to learn more about you than ever before. I know that you have an amazing plan for my life and I am ready for you to begin to reveal that plan to me.

I'm excited...

Personality Test...

2007-11-07T14:32:00.000-05:00

So today in Psychology we learned more about personality and how to assess one's personality. I was curious about what type of personality I have and decided to find a personality test online based on the "16PF" (16 Personal Factors) model we discussed in class.

Here are the results:

Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results

Warmth	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	66%
Intellect	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	34%
Emotional Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Aggressiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	58%
Liveliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	22%
Dutifulness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	66%
Social Assertiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Sensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	46%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	38%
Abstractness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	58%
Introversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	38%
Anxiety	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	58%
Openmindedness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	58%
Independence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	54%
Perfectionism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	62%
Tension	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	38%

Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com

What an Ideal Situation!

2007-10-24T22:04:00.000-05:00

A few minutes ago I was helping a friend answer questions for an application to a Christian summer camp, at the same time we were discussing our "plan for salvation" for the application question with Shawn McDonald playing in the background. It was at that moment that I realized I am in such an ideal situation. I am truly right where I need to be at this point in my life and I praise God for that! I am at a school that proclaims the Gospel, with friends that love the Lord and are on fire for Him, I have a church family, a small group of guys on the hall that encourage and teach me, I have taken classes on the Old and New Testament and am now taking one about Christian perspectives toward violence, I work for an organization that is centered around Christ, we begin our meetings with prayer! I really believe that I am in an ideal situation. While I have homework and papers to do, books to read, finances to be concerned with, and so much more that appears to be going "wrong" in my life, I am not nearly as unlucky as those who have no food, those who have no shelter, those who have no HOPE because they don't know the mighty power of Jesus Christ. Well, that was a bit of a rant, but it was necessary.

Well, today was the GWU Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity. Being completely honest here, it was very VERY difficult for me. I actually cut my silence short by about five hours because it was so hard to remain silent. I also was a little concerned with why I was participating...for a little while I was actually concerned that I was not doing Silent Day for the right reasons, but I know now that I was. I'm not sure if I really impacted any lives directly, but I pray that I did. I actually prayed this morning that those women who had appointments today to have an abortion would be encountered by the Lord and would cancel those appointments. I truly hope that this prayer was fulfilled. I know that I want to do more and more for the pro-life movement and look forward to helping make others aware of the injustice that abortion is.

Losing my Voice...

2007-10-22T19:28:00.001-05:00

Well, tomorrow is the 4th Annual Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity. We at GWU won't be participating tomorrow, but will actually be taking part in the Day of Silence on Wednesday. But, tomorrow night is the Candlelight Vigil on campus. We're going to gather to pray about abortion and then start being silent for those who will never have a voice. This is the first time I've really participated in some "protest" type thing. At the same time...I don't really consider what we'll be doing tomorrow night and all day Wednesday as a protest. It's more of a way to make a statement so others know more about who I am and what I believe in. It is also a way for me to remain silent and prayerful about abortion, the lives lost, the mothers hurt, the doctors who perform the abortions, the lacking foster care and adoption system, and more.

I don't really know what else to say about Silent Day and the Candlelight Vigil. I guess my only question is: Will you lose your voice with us?

Check out the following websites to learn more:

www.silentday.org <-the site for Day of Silent Solidarity

www.standtrue.com <-the organization sponsoring Silent Day...they're all about Christ centered pro-life.

www.bound4life.com <-a grassroots prayer mobilzation movement targeting the end of abortion, the increase of adoptions and the reformation of government and society through spiritual awakening.

www.abort73.com <-Abort73.com exists to cut through the skewed rhetoric of a broadly “pro-choice” culture by presenting young people with the conclusive evidence that abortion is a massive injustice...

Broken and Heavy Hearted

2007-10-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

I spent most of today debating on whether or not I wanted to write this blog. I decided that I really needed to. So, here it goes.

I woke up this morning with a heavy and broken heart. Last night at the prayer room there was some discussion, even argument, about various things. I am not going to get into that here because I don't need to dwell on the past or talk about others or what was said, but it did create some really difficult feelings in me. Now, I think it's time for me to, not necessarily vent, but to share what I believe God was trying to teach me from last night's experience.

My heart is heavy and broken because what happened last night was a prime example of the brokenness of the body, the lack of unity among us, and our inability to die to ourselves and let God live through us. We argue about stupid things, about the furniture in a room, about who has control over what, we become legalistic and proud. As Christians we have a tendency to think that we are above God, that we know more than our Creator, and that we can make decisions about who He is and what He wants. We are wrong! I include myself in this completely, and that is what breaks my heart. Not only do I observe these things, but I do the same things. As it was last night, not only was their argument, but I actually took offense to a personal attack and retaliated, and that is what is so sad. I strive to practice peace and even nonviolence in my life, but I fail at it. Dang, that's pretty heartbreaking.

I was also saddened with the fact that we as Christians won't stand up for the oppressed and those that don't have a voice. This is revealed on the issue of abortion. I know that it is such a controversial and touchy subject, but it is something I feel so strongly about. It's an issue that we as Christians don't agree on, and those of us that do agree that we are pro-life tend to be so scared and afraid to offend others by displaying our beliefs. We must be bold and stand up for those who are oppressed, that are poor, that are hungry, and for those that will never have the opportunity to stand up for themselves. We have to pray without ceasing for the lives lost to abortion, the mothers that have abortions, the doctors that perform the abortion, and for our government to stop allowing murder.

Finally, the idea of dying to ourselves daily and taking up our cross to follow Christ is something that gets me going. We are called to dye to ourself and serve God. We are supposed to give up our life for Christ and do things for others. It is not at all about us, it never has been and never will be. God is all that matters and we must realize that. We are to forget about ourself and trust in the Lord. We must live our life as an example to others so they can come to know our savior through our actions and lifestyle.

So, while these topics really aren't new or revolutionary; they are things that I have not necessarily just come to a realization about, but are actually things that I have had a passion ignited in me about. These are topics that I feel very strongly about now and I am not going to back down on. And, you know what, I am really not on this earth to please people. What a strong statement, but I mean that I believe I am to follow a higher calling and that I must be bold and not back down on my convictions. It's definitely hard, but it's something I know I must do.

I just really pray for continued strength in my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ. That we will be open and honest with one another. That we strive to be more like Christ and work to unify the body. I pray for our University. For revival on our campus and for non-believers to know us for our love and because all that they can see in us is Christ. I pray for those that are struggling, that they realize the power they have over strongholds and temptation. I also pray that we remember their is always opportunity to learn in the face of struggle. I ask that God gently convict us in those areas of our lives where we may be wrong about Him or about others. I pray for peace. Not necessarily "world peace," (although I pray for that as well) but a peace within all of us, that peace that truly passes all understanding. I pray that we be filled with the peace and love of God our Savior. That we feel His presences and listen to His voice. I ask for passion and boldness, that the Lord makes us passionate about things and that we can boldly proclaim the Gospel.

Amen

About a Month

2007-10-10T23:05:00.000-05:00

It's been about a month since I last wrote. Life has become crazy, hectic, overwhelming, and busy to say the least. I find myself really tired and just overwhelmed with classes and the things I'm involved in. A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio for a YMCA conference, which was really good. But it also put me behind when it comes to classes and such. But, whatever.

Lately I've been feeling really confused and kind of inadequate. I'm not really sure why I have these feelings, but I think it's because I'm learning a lot about myself, various topics, and those around me. I spend a lot more time thinking about things than I think I did before. I don't know...I'm just ready for a break!

Speaking of break, fall break is next weekend and I am so excited! I can't wait to go home and see the mountains and leaves and feel the cool air and spend time with my family. I just want to hug my mom and dad and visit with my grandparents and soak in the love I have at home. I can't wait for this break...it's so needed!

With that said, I'm going to get in bed. I apologize that this entry isn't "deep" or "profound" by any means, but it was needed.

Hmm...

2007-09-19T21:06:00.000-05:00

Well...it has been a couple of weeks since I wrote a blog entry. I have had so much going on in my life lately and my head has been full of thoughts, feelings, and ideas. First of all, last week wasn't the greatest week of my life. I felt that I was at a point in my life where I was really going the right things for God and was growing and impacting the lives of others. The CMU retreat the weekend before taught me so much about evangelism and loving others and I was prepared to come back to school and put those practices into action. Then, at the beginning of last week all "h-e-double hell" broke loose in my life. Spiritual warfare was truly taking place in my life last week, and I think in the lives of others as well. I experienced and lot of depression, sadness, stress, and other negative feelings. It was a hard week...but I prevailed, as we always usually do.

This week has been rather amazing so far. Let me tell you about it. Sunday night I was able to participate in a few random/impromptu times of worship, which were truly amazing. It was so good to be able to be "refilled" if you will after such a spiritually draining and trying week. Also on Sunday night I was able to talk for a long time to my good friend Caitlin about politics and God and more. Monday night brought the first meeting of the "Living Club" which is going to be an amazing group on our campus discussing what it means to live a life of service, and I'm pretty excited. Tuesday morning we had Bart Campolo, son of Tony Campolo, come and talk about his work in urban ministry (what I want to do with my life). It was sooooo awesome for me to hear about urban/inner city ministry from a real person, and not just from Shane Claiborne's book The Irresistible Revolution. Tuesday night was Death and Dying which was pretty cool, and here we are today on Wednesday. It's been a relatively quiet/lazy day which is nice to have every now and then.

I've been thinking a lot more lately about what I want to do with my life. Who I want to impact, where I'm going to go after graduation, what I'll do when I leave Gardner-Webb, all that kind of stuff. It's kind of scary, but really exciting. I have an idea about what I want to do with my life, but I'm not really sure how I'll go about doing that. It's going to be a pretty wild ride this life of mine! And, I'm excited about that...

Aww September

2007-09-01T09:27:00.000-05:00

Well, it's the 1st of another month already. When I think about September the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, September 11. I've been reading a book lately for one of my classes and the author has written a lot about 9/11 and the aftermath, more specifically all of the anger towards Muslims and such. It is pretty hard to believe that this year will mark the 6th year anniversary of that horrible event. Well...enough of that.

Last night Sarajane, Matt, April, and Anna and myself spent some time together just hanging out and talking in my room. It was nice. Then, we found out about this little worship service thing going on at the spring and we went down and joined in. What was so amazing is that the people at the spring playing guitar and singing were all freshman! It was so good to see freshman building community among themselves and to see them worshipping on there own without someone else leading it or organizing it. This is just another reason I am so excited about this freshman class! I really love them. I can't wait to see what God is going to do in them and through them this year here at GWU...

oneThing 2007

2007-08-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

So...we began talking today and hopefully...HOPEFULLY we're going to go to oneThing 2007 in Kansas City, Missouri

Well, Tomorrow is the Day

2007-08-21T14:41:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow at 10 AM I will begin my sophomore year. Isn't that hard to believe? Well, at least I think it is. The past few days have been completely crazy. Last Wednesday we started our training for Big Brother/Big Sister...I also got really bad news last Wednesday. For those of you who don't know, my aunt passed away last week. Talk about being pretty down and depressed for the last week or so. Orientation started on Friday and we "worked the corner" as we yelled and waved signs at the incoming Freshman. Then more orientation stuff on Saturday...the fun night and first worship service of the year. And then Sunday morning we had the GWU Family Worship service and I went home. We had visitation on Sunday night and the funeral yesterday afternoon. Then it was back to GWU...and now here I am. I can't believe the last week has just flown by and now we are getting ready to start classes!

So, let me just say that I am so excited about this incoming class of Freshman. First of all, they are the first group of Freshman that are coming in with me not being a Freshman. I got to be a Big Sibling which was totally amazing. Also, I have met so many of these students who genuinely love the Lord and are really on fire for Him. It's so exciting to see Freshman who want to be involved in CMU and want to live for God and being about change on our campus. Wow...what a group of students. I am so pumped about living on L3 and the guys that are living up here. I think it is a perfect group...we can grow with one another and we have guys that we can reach out to. We're not all the same and we all bring different things to the table which is very exciting.

It's been really good to see people and hug necks of those who have been gone all summer. It's so nice for people to be back at GWU...well, I really don't know what else to write. I'll write more throughout the semester.

"How He Loves"

2007-08-18T23:50:00.001-05:00

Check him out...this guy has been blessed by God and his music is raw and real.

Tomorrow

2007-08-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

So...tomorrow the Big Brothers/Big Sisters for this year will be moving in. It's soooo exciting that there will be signs of life here at GWU other than the lovely folks I've spent my summer with. I can't believe that my Sophomore year will begin in a few days and that the Freshman for this year will be moving in this weekend! Wow, time sure does fly...

A New Year Means MORE to Me!

2007-08-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

Well...this time last year I was finishing up my summer job and preparing to move to the little town of Boiling Springs to begin my journey through higher education and my own life as an adult. I was ready to get out of the little town I grew up in, I hated God, I longed for an escape from the crappy life I was living, and wanted so much more out of life. Wow, what a difference a year can make! I mean, I am still glad to be out of Brevard (although the town is quant and beautiful, I just feel that it isn't the place for me right now), I am still trying to escape the life full of lies and sin I lived over a year ago when I was finishing up high school, and I still want so much more out of life! I want to impact and change my world for the better...I want to help others.

But, the biggest change that has occurred in my life is the whole God thing. And it's not that I've found religion or learned more about Christianity, I've actually found a God that loves me even though I screw up every minute of every day. I've found at community of people here at GWU that love the Lord and that love me even though I can be mean, rude, and hypocritical. I know that my parents love me no matter what because they are people who love God and want me to love Him too. I have come to realize that I can accomplish so much more with God on my side. I know that my relationship with Him is the only thing that can fulfill me and that without that relationship I am nothing. And, something else I've learned, well not really learned but remembered, is that I am a hippie...HA! What I mean is that during my high school days I was such a little activist and wanted to see this world change; I was a proponent for tolerance and accepting others, I wanted to see peace all across the globe, all these things. Last fall when God came back into my life (well, more of me acknowledging that He was always there and that I needed Him), I think that that part of me died. I struggled for months with the idea of being an "activist" per se and a Christian. I don't know why it was so difficult for me to deal with this issue...but it was. I thought that I couldn't love God and fight for ending of poverty or stopping world hunger; but, I've learned that I can. Sarajane helped me realize it last night when we were talking about some of my high school activist activities and she said "Tyler, you were a little activist weren't you..." And the first thought that popped into my mind was "BUT WAIT, I STILL AM!" YAY! I still am...but now I feel like I have so much more power to actually affect change because I have God on my side. But there is more to it than that. Not only is it that I have the One and Only Most High Lord behind me, it's the fact that I'm not doing these things for myself. I don't want to protest abortion or help the homeless for me, for Tyler McCall...I want to, and more so HAVE to, do these things for God! Ha...what a realization. It's not because of me, what I am capable of, what I believe is right or wrong. It's what I'm called to do and what I have to do!

So...in a year my life has turned around. A 180 degree turn. Well, most of the time, sometimes I revert to the 90 degree or 45 degree or...even...1 degree mark, but my life has changed.

Now, I guess the question is "What does one do with a new year?" (Remember, I'm talking school years here...being a student you're forced to operate on two separate calendars...heck, being on a college campus you're forced to operate in another universe pretty much). And what's my answer to that question? Well, the one word I can think of, or maybe it was given to me, is "MORE." I have to love God and love others MORE. I must strive to live a life that is MORE pure and holy than before. I have to work harder and MORE often to impact those around me. I need to realize that God wants MORE (well, pretty much everything I have) from me than ever before. I am compelled to be MORE of a role model for those around me (especially my younger brother back home and the new guys moving on the hall). According to Dictionary.com, "more" can mean "in greater quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number," as well as "something of greater importance," and "in or to a greater extent or degree." How appropriate...I have to do all these things in a greater quantity and to a greater extent or degree. And, these things are of greater importance! WOW!

So...this year, I must give, do, help, appreciate, work, lead, and simply, live MORE!

Turning my Blog into Notes

2007-07-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

A few months back before I got rid of Facebook I had my posts from my blog here on Blogger.com imported as Notes into my Facebook. When I finished up my Facebook fast and went back to the lovely online networking tool I realized that my blogs were no longer imported. I didn't really do anything about it; but, I decided to this morning. As I was doing my normal morning Facebook stalking I found that my good friend and roommate Joseph had posted a Note about deciding to start posting Notes and that motivated me to reimport all of my blogs and let people have the opportunity to read what I write on my blog. At first I was a little concerned about people being able to read what I write, but then, I decided I didn't care...because it's just me and I hope people can accept that. So...here it is, my Blogs are going to start turning into Notes!

God is Moving...

2007-07-25T09:06:00.001-05:00

Wow...that's all I can really say. God is moving in mighty ways in my life right now. With my intership/with relationships/with my feelings towards others/with what I'm learning about social injustice/with so many different aspects of what I'm going through. Our God is such an awesome God...I'll update more lata!

Summer

2007-07-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

I really have no reason to post an entry right now other than I want to...

So, we are getting towards the end of summer; the days are long, the afternoons are hot and usually accompanied by a thunderstorm. Orientation will begin in about 5 weeks and classes in less than six. People that have graduated and been living here this summer will be leaving and I'll be heading back to Lutz for another year...

I don't know how I feel about next year. I mean, I'm excited about the incoming Freshman and about getting to know them and, hopefully, be a part of their lives. I'm excited about seeing everyone again and about hanging out on the hall and in the Caf and on the quad. I'm even kind of excited about homework and classes starting again...

I can't believe it's already July 12!

Facebook

2007-07-11T15:45:00.000-05:00

So, I decided to get Facebook back after fasting from it for 40 days. I didn't get Myspace back and I don't plan on it. It felt really good not to have Facebook or Myspace to worry about while I got rid of it...at the same time, I feel like I need Facebook to keep in touch with others and for the things I'm involved in on campus. So, I guess I'll have it again, but I'm going to make a effort to not let it get in the way of my work or spiritual life, and if it does, I'll get rid of it again...

TheCall Nashville: Recap

2007-07-09T19:58:00.000-05:00

Where do I even begin? I'll just tell you about the whole weekend...

Friday at about 12:15, Sarajane, Ben and I left Gardner-Webb to head to Nashville for TheCall...and I was sooooo excited! We stopped in Hendersonville to get lunch and window chalk to write all over they car and then we were off. We got into Nashville at about 7 Friday night and checked into our very nice Holiday Inn Express. We headed out for downtown Nashville and at dinner at Hard Rock (which was amazing I might add) and then walked around downtown. We went back to the hotel and got in the bed since we knew the next day would be an early one.

So...5 AM Saturday morning the alarm clock went off and the day was on. We got up and showered and downed some Gatorade and water to start preparing for the day of fasting. We arrived at LP Field at about 6:15 or so to a line outside of the gates. We hung out, read some of the Bible, and then the gates finally opened a little after 8 o'clock. It took us a little while to get through because of security, but we finally got in and made our way to the field. It was so amazing from the start. They had a time of early worship until about 10. At first, we were somewhat tense; those around us were worshipping and dancing and having a blast, but it took us a little bit to get into it.

At about 10 Lou Engle came onto the stage along with some folks with shofars and began the day. The shofars were blown one after another and then in unison as Engle read the scripture from Joel 2...it was so powerful. Then, different representatives from different ethnic groups came forward and prayed for the day and for the participants from that group; Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino, Jewish, and worshippers of at non-denominational, inter-denominational, denominational churches came forward and prayed. What so so amazing is that the Native American prayed in English and his language, and the Latino pastor prayed in Spanish and the man that was born Jewish prayed in Hebrew. After that U.S. Senator and Republican Presidential candidate Sam Brownback came on stage and asked for forgiveness from the Native American, African American, and Latino for the way our government has treated them. What a powerful part of the day! Michael W. Smith read a letter sent from President Bush and then the day started. We began by praying for our president and those in leadership roles in government; we asked for forgiveness for the negative comments we've made about our president and prayed for him.

From there, we moved on and prayed about more and more issues. We spent time listening to statistics related to sexual immorality, pornography, sexual transmitted diseases, and abortion. We prayed for an end to the sexual revolution and for God to bring revival. We prayed for freedom from pain and thoughts of suicide and cutting. We learned more about the spirit of Baal that has come over the church and the toleration of Jezebeel in the church. We officially divorced Baal.

We prayed for abortion to end. We listened as a woman who was once an employee of planned parenthood and who performed abortions wept and asked for forgiveness for the children she killed. We listened as a young girl who had an abortion asked for forgiveness. We listened as a man who paid to have his child aborted asked for forgiveness. We heard stories of children being adopted by families and an entire community at Justice House of Prayer in San Francisco. Lou Engle read from a Dr. Seuss book, "Horton Hears a Who!," that is the story of abortion and was so moving. We prayed for an end to abortion and decided that as Christians we have to be willing to step up and adopt children and have to improve foster care and training for mothers. We received LIFE bracelets (they can be found at www.bound4life.com) and a piece of red LIFE tape that we put over our mouths and prayed for an end to abortion for 10 minutes. In case you're wondering, Bound4Life is a group related to TheCall that silently protests in front of abortion clinics and court houses by placing red tape with the word LIFE written on it and praying for an end to abortion.

Three couples got married during the day as a symbol of us as a people remarrying ourselves to God, and then the crowd took communion. The day continued with more worship and more prayer. Michael W. Smith led the crowd in song, as well as John Mark McMillan, and Jeff Deo. We sang and danced to the Lord.

At about 8:30, something amazing happened. They had 300 men, the number of Gideon's army, march down the center aisle with shofars. When they got to the front, Ricky Skaggs (yes, the musician Ricky Skaggs) let out 7 blasts on his shofar and on the 7th, all the other men joined in and the crowd went wild! For close to 15 minutes people screamed and danced and jumped up and down and the shofars kept blowing. The idea was that every great moment in history has a sound that accompanies it and, since TheCall was a great moment, that was our sound.

The day was completely amazing! My friend Sarajane and I both felt that a word that kept coming over us was freedom. FREEDOM! From sin and the things of this earth and inhibitions...freedom to love God and worship Him. The day was also full of repentance and there was a spirit of forgiveness about the whole event. We spent time asking for forgiveness and being open and honest about our wrongs; which was so amazing.

So...what's next? Well, right now, I can't stop talking about Saturday. I feel so free and fresh and full of joy and can't wait for more Calls. We plan to head to Las Vegas in September and then to Kansas City in December, Atlanta in January, maybe Berkeley in February...all leading up to TheCall DC II on 08.08.08. It's so exciting!

God is so amazing and I love him so much!

2007-07-07T07:35:00.000-05:00

TheCall Nashville

Getting Ready to Leave

2007-07-06T00:32:00.000-05:00

So...we'll heading out for Nashville at about noon today. I'm super excited! I was just reading a blog that said so far 71,000 have registered so they're expecting about 250,000. They've put huge jumbotrons on the outside of the stadium so people can see it from outside.

I feel so full of excitement and joy that I can't stand it. I really feel like this week has been full of God and that he is definitely DEFINITELY moving to prepare hearts and minds for what 07-07-07 will bring to many people and our nation.

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"Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
Who knows? He may turn and have pity
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?' "

"And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
among the survivors
whom the LORD calls.

JOEL 2: 12-17 and 28-32

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We want to return to God and want our nation to return to God as well...we can hear the sound of rain coming to America again!

By the way, I'll be updating my blog by cell phone on Saturday. Expect to see pictures from the event posted throughout the day!

Almost Here

2007-07-05T10:38:00.000-05:00

I've spent the last week at home with family and friends and it has been great; but I'm definately ready to go back to Gardner-Webb. I came home last Friday and we rearranged and added carpet and new beds to my brother and I's room. Then Sunday we had a big church picnic. Monday through today has been pretty boring. I got my hair cut pretty short and go red highlights...I like it a lot. We had a big family and friend picnic yesterday. It was good to see everyone and to meet a bunch of counselors from the camp my younger brother has been working at.

This afternoon it is back to Gardner-Webb and we'll be leaving tomorrow at about noont to head to TheCall. I'm soooooooo excited about this weekend! I can't stand myself. I've become a blog junky and have been reading that 50,000 have registered and for every one that has registered you can expect five more...that's 300,000 people! How exciting! I just can't wait to get onto LP Field on Saturday and spend all day praying and singing to God.

Here we go...

Here We Go!

2007-06-30T08:44:00.000-05:00

Well...it's Saturday, June 30...one week from TheCall Nashville. This time next week we'll be getting ready to worship all day!

I'll write more later...

WOW...What A Week!

2007-06-28T21:46:00.000-05:00

So...this week has been fun/amazing/and just full of God. Last week at my weekly lunch meeting with my good friend Aaron we talked about quiet times (and my lack of one) and about wanting to fix that. Well...I started reading through the book of Isaiah on Sunday night and also made a list of goals and objectives for the week. Let me share a few with you:

~ Do quiet time every day
~ Fast one meal this week
~ Go to prayer room once
~ Update blog twice
~ Starting reading Irresistible Revolution

And, what have I accomplished? Well, I did my quiet time 3 out of 5 nights so far this week, I didn't fast a meal, I didn't go to the prayer room, and this is the first time I've updated my blog. I did start the book and am on page 30...which I think is pretty exciting!

This week was the first week of Crossroads Worldwide Summer Camp here at GWU. Everyday they have morning worship and workshops along with afternoon activities and evening worship for tons of youth that are here. Well, one awesome part is that the community is invited to evening worship and we went twice this week! Tuesday night and tonight...it was really REALLY awesome; what a great ministry Crossroads is and Carl Cartee (who is leading worship). It is just so amazing to be able to go to these services! Tuesday Clayton King talked about living a life of purity and how it is a process, tonight he talked about generosity and being generous to others because God has been generous to us. Talk about convicting stuff, it is so amazing and I am so fortunate to be able to go.

Just a little over a week until TheCall Nashville...I'm getting really pumped! We are taking my car with hopefully 4 people (right now just 3) and are staying in a hotel in Nashville Friday night and going to TheCall all day Saturday and coming back Saturday night. It is going to be amazing!

Pray for me and the others as we prepare for TheCall; pray for the kids and counselors with Crossroads as they are truly experiencing God these few weeks they are here; pray for me to be more disciplined when it comes to doing my quiet time and meeting goals I set for myself.

Pray for Chad

2007-06-23T19:17:00.001-05:00

Just thought I'd post a picture of Chad and I from earlier this semester...pray for him as he is spending his summer in Uganda.

Come Thou Fount

2007-06-23T19:01:00.000-05:00

Well...it has been awhile since my last post. This month has been completely crazy! I thought I would post the lyrics to an old hymn that I have fallen in love with. We sang it at Broad River Community Church a few weeks ago and then I listened to the covered version by David Crowder Band the other day. Here it is:

COME THOU FOUNT (OF EVERY BLESSING)

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

PS: The 4th verse is my favorite.

So...I haven't at all been growing in my faith this summer (I actually feel that, if anything, I have been falling further and further behind). Temptation, stress, and just pure laziness has taken a hold of me and I haven't been reading my Bible or working hard to overcome struggles and destroy strongholds.

On Thursday night Joseph and Sarajane and I sat out under the stars for a few hours and talked about God and our childhoods and stuff like that...it was so amazing. We decided that we want to try to make our dinners together a time of sharing what God is teaching us, that way we are holding one another accountable for spending time with God. Joe and I also decided that we needed to stop enabling one another and hopefully this will help us grow more in our faith. We talked about how the Bible is supposed to be read in a community and that we can work together to understand God's teaching. It was just an awesome night in general and was so refreshing...I guess we'll see where I go from here.

Please pray from me as I confront temptation and strongholds and try to know and love God more and more...

Home

2007-06-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

You know...whenever I go home to visit during the year it always take me so much motivation to get packed and ready to go and then so much motivation once I'm there to get packed and come back to GWU. At times I find myself frustrated with my family or just sick of being around my friends at home and really like being able to come back to GWU, a place that I truly love. At the same time I can always escape to the mountains if I need to get away from school.

I guess I didn't go home to terribly much my first year of college; I went home for breaks and some weekends and even for a Sunday afternoon once. I spent a good bit of time at home when my great aunt died first semester, but tried to stay at GWU as much as I could.

When I decided to apply for my internship that I'm doing right now I consulted my parents to make sure they were ok with me staying in Boiling Springs all summer...although it was hard for them at first, they understood and were very supportive. So, classes and exams ended and I went home for a few days...then it was back to GWU to go to Chicago. Once I was back from that trip my parents came down, moved me into my apartment, and that has been it.

So, I've been in the A-P-T for what? Almost a month and haven't really gone home...and I'm starting to miss it. I feel like it's immature or silly to be homesick, but I am starting to get to that point. I get The Transylvania Times (my hometown newspaper) and read it and miss that community so much. I go out to eat at a Mexican place in Shelby with friends here and it makes me miss Celito Lindo in downtown Brevard and eating there with my friends. While it is hard at home (I feel like I fall in my faith a lot more easily, I slip up and say and do things I shouldn't, and a lot of my friends aren't Christians-or don't profess their faith as I do) I really do love it. I love my friends in Brevard and even though I said at one point that I really didn't want to deal with them this summer I want to deal with them. I want to be annoyed by Sarah's wining and Brooke's mom not letting her do things. I want to get frustrated with Chris and Alex because they are such jerks all the time. I want to hang out with loud mouth Jeanette and hear her talk dirty about tons of guys. I want to hug Kati and spend time with her and hear about what is going on in her life. I want to harass Lori and try to steal Justin from her. I want to get mad at my mom or dad for being annoying or threaten my little brother's life for messing up something of mine. I want to get upset with my grandmother's nagging and bad attitude. I want to go to the mall and Barnes & Noble and Cheeseburger in Paradise and see a movie and go in the forest and lay in my hammock and walk around downtown and spend time with some amazing people that have been and will always be an important part of my life.

I want to go home...

40 Days for 40 Years

2007-05-28T09:56:00.000-05:00

Preparing for TheCall Nashville 7.7.07

On Friday evening my younger brother Matthew made his way to my apartment in Boiling Springs to spend the weekend with me, a weekend that I was very excited about and didn't know would possibly change my life. Around 1 on Saturday afternoon, we left my apartment and started making our way to Fort Mill, South Carolina to MorningStar Fellowship church at Heritage International Ministries (H.I.M.). I had been reading a lot about MorningStar and H.I.M. for awhile now and was very excited about going. We got there rather early and just hung around and "toured" the facilities. We then rode around upstate South Carolina for a few hours (not to exciting) and ate dinner. We arrived back at MorningStar at about 6:30 to begin to prepare ourselves for TheCall Prayer Cast that would be taking place at 8.

Just in case you didn't know, TheCall Nashville is something I have been very passionate and excited about this semester; it is a day long time of fasting and prayer that is going to be held in Titan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on July 7 of this year. The premise is that we as a nation have been turned away from God for the past 40 years and now is the time for us to return to him. The gathering is marked by numerous prophecies, generational landmark discussions, and much more.

The Prayer Cast we went to began at 8 and lasted until about 10:30. It was a time of great prayer and worship, and when I say great I mean GREAT! We were doing a simulcast with others in California, Las Vegas, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Missouri. They joined in at different times to pray and worship. What was also amazing is that we were being broadcast on GodTV, TBN, and two other television stations all around the world. Talk about an amazing experience!

So, why the Prayer Cast? Well, today marks the beginning of a 40 day countdown, a 40 day fast for TheCall. The Prayer Cast acted as a way to get people excited, motivated, and spiritually charged for the fast and for TheCall. I decided to participate in the fast, but not in a traditional way: I have deactivated my Facebook, deleted my MySpace, gotten rid of AIM on my computer, and shut off my personal e-mail. For the next 40 days I will use my computer for work purposes and to read and write about TheCall. I also plan on fasting from food at different points during the 40 days.

So, why did I find it necessary to write about this? Well, first of all so any of you who have come to this page from my Facebook know why I deactivated my account. Second, because I want and need your prayers! I want this 40 day period as I prepare for TheCall to be the most amazing spiritual time in my life. I want to grow closer to God and deal harshly with sin that is holding me back. I need your support.

In the coming days expect to see a few things on this blog: first of all, my personal testimony (I want to write it out and do it right for all of you to read); second is updates on what I am reading in scripture, in Christian literature, and what God is revealing to me; finally, expect to find stories of success and failure during this 40 day period as I prepare.

Feel free to leave me comments here, I look forward to them!

Preparing The Way of The Lord,
Tyler

It's Been a Few Days

2007-04-20T18:15:00.000-05:00

So...it has been a few days since the tragedy at Virginia Tech. I feel better about going about my daily life, but I still have strange feelings of despair, sorrow, and fear. I know that life will quickly return to normal, exams will be here soon, CCY in Chicago (although that will be difficult, meeting students from VT and missing those from the VT Student YMCA who were supposed to be with us), doing my summer internship work, then it will be time for a new semester. But, I know that I will not forget what happened this past Monday; the images, the feelings, the event will never leave my mind. I know that for the next three years while I'm here at GWU anytime I hear sirens, see UP acting as if they are in a hurry, or hear a loud noise or scream I will be startled and frightened.

Today at noon the university had a prayer service in Dover Chapel. I went and it was nice. They had an American flag on the left side of the stage and a GWU flag and VT flag on the right side. Tracy Jessup opened the service and Dr. Bonner offered a few remarks followed by a time of prayer and a song. It was good to be with others as we prayed for Virginia Tech and what took place there. As I was walking across The Quad this afternoon seeing the VT flag hanging on our flag pole with the GWU flag brought a sense of comfort and warmth to me. At first I wanted to cry, but now when I see it (for however long it remains on our Quad) I will feel a sense of safety and security inside.

This week has been so tough, probably one of the hardest weeks in my life thus far. I know that there will be more difficult times in the future, but I know that God is faithful; I find it important to remember that God never leaves us nor forsakes us, He is always there. Also, today during the prayer service, I prayed that God would take my burdens. It is so amazing how we are taught that God can take our burdens and we can take his yoke for it is easy to bare, yet we continue to carry so much on our heart and weigh ourselves down...

So Many Lost...

2007-04-19T00:36:00.000-05:00

As I sit here early on Thursday morning, a little over two days after the horrific shooting that took over 30 lives at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia I am shocked, upset, and scared. For me, I really have no direct connections to VT, anyone who was shot or injured, or the shooter, Cho Seung-Hui; but I feel as if I am in a state of shock at what has happened, that so many could die in so short a period of time, I feel deep sorrow for those who were killed, for their friends and family, I feel fear for me, my classmates at Gardner-Webb, and, really, my "classmates" all over the world.

I spoke with my mother and father earlier today about the whole ordeal at VT and also about the University Police here at GWU finding an unloaded handgun in a student's car last night. While UP decided that the student was not going to cause harm and was an avid target shooter, when I read the news on MyWEBB my heart sunk. Why, only one day after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history did our campus not go overboard and lock down. I know it might have been a little much, but I think I might have felt safer. I called my parents to let them know that I am safe, but shaken; that I am doing fine, but filled with sadness; that I am still here, but having troubles. As I said earlier, I don't know why I am so upset about this incident, but I just am and I can't explain it. I have thought: maybe this is God's way of showing me this is what I should do with my life, work with others in crisis intervention; or, maybe this is God's way of showing me to stay away from crisis intervention. My mom told me that I just have a heart for people, that I always have and always will, and that I just can't help it that I grieve with others, that I feel for others in their loss.

I have made myself stop watching the news, I just can't see it anymore. The images of the dead students, the discussions of what took place, the experts giving their opinions on why Seung-Hui did what he did, and, today, the release of newly recovered pictures of Cho Seung-Hui holding guns and knives. One picture, the one that I actually found myself looking at when I visited CNN.com, is of Seung-Hui holding a handgun and pointing at the camera; honestly, I don't believe I will ever be able to forget this image.

While I feel so upset, shaken, and full of so many other concerns and issues, I also find hope, especially in the speech given by Nikki Giovanni during the convocation held at Virginia Tech yesterday afternoon. From what I understand, Giovanni's speech encouraged all in attendance. She said:

"We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness."

Wow, how amazing; while I am talking about feeling upset, shaken, shocked, and scared, this lady is saying that "we are strong, brave, and innocent, and unafraid." Now, while I know she is talking to the VT community, I find she is sharing this hope with the whole world. I think it's important to remember that there is hope.

Expect more in the coming days...

My Redeemer Lives

2007-04-08T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Crucifixion

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son[e] of God!"

Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

The Burial of Jesus

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

The Resurrection

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Matthew 27-28

40 to 400: A Covenant Nation

2007-04-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

So, as part of The Call taking place later this year there has been a huge discussion of 2007 being a year of generational landmarks. In case you didn't know, a generation is 40 years and generations are used throughout the Bible. This year, 2007, marks the 40 year (a generational landmark) for a few things: first is the 40 year anniversary of the beginning of the Jesus Movement, next is the 40 year landmark of the beginning of the sexual revolution in America (a time when American youth began heavily using LSD and experimenting with sexual practices), and finally, 2007 is the 40 anniversary of Jerusalem being recognized as a part of the state of Israel. These three things are very important when it comes to The Call, what the gathering is all about, and the background behind it (if you don't know what The Call is all about read the last entry, a letter from The Call founder Lou Engle about the event).

Tonight I was watching "The 700 Club" (I know it may not be the most appropriate show for a 19 year old guy to be watching, but after seeing a recent documentary about Tammy Faye Baker and her husband's influence on the show, I wanted to see what it was all about). As I was watching the show a segment called "A Covenant Nation" came on. The first thing I recognized is the fact that they were talking about 2007 as the 400 year anniversary of the first American settlement in Jamestown, Virginia (40 years to 400 years...do you understand now?). I got chill bumps. The fact that I have been intrigued by the idea of the generational landmark made me appreciate this 400 year landmark so much more. I am not going to spend time explaining the whole story, but I will include a link at the end of this post for you to visit the CBN website and read more about it. But, I do want to include a quote:

"It is literally impossible to properly understand American history if you do not understand this word, 'covenant.' America was and is a covenant nation. God has not chucked that out. The symbolism of the cross at Cape Henry and the prayer of dedication, I mean, God takes that kind of thing seriously. It is desperately important, it is of paramount importance to the future of this nation, that we recover the original American covenant." ~Author and Historian, Rev. Peter Marshall

You can read the article here: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/132346.aspx

TheCall Nashville 07.07.07

2007-03-27T20:10:00.000-05:00

God Is Calling Us To Fasting And Prayer
And To Answer The Call On 7-07-07 In Nashville And Where You Live!

We are in a Crisis

The Church and the nation are in a crisis! In no uncertain terms, the elections of 2006 showed us that there is no clear moral foundation upon which the nation votes. In this present historic moment, the Church was paralyzed. Tens-of-thousands stayed home and could not vote as if they were drunk with disillusionment.

Only one week before the elections, a major Christian leader was exposed in immorality. Before that, a high-ranking Republican Representative was exposed. After considering these scandals, the ongoing exposures of these Christian leaders, and seeing the outcome of the elections, I felt God shouting that the Church is in danger of losing its moral authority to turn a nation.

"Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord...he who has clean hands and a pure heart," Psalm 24:3-4. The hill of Lord is the place of the throne, and the place of spiritual authority. Only those who have clean hands and a pure heart can stand on that hill and exercise that authority. He is sifting the Republican Party for its refusal to stand for moral principle and for playing political games with its constituents, who in 2004, voted on moral issues.

One of our young women in the Justice House of Prayer in Washington, D.C., had a dream on November 4, 2006, the Sunday before the elections: I was at the house on the farm and made a kind of agreement with a man who was the head of the GOP. In my dream, this GOP man broke the agreement. I went and confronted him, and he got in my face and started yelling at me. He then backed up and I pointed at him and said, "Our God is neither Republican nor Democrat, He will only honor those who are morally righteous and just." He left, slamming the door.

God has a word to say to the Republican Party: "Line up with moral issues--Marriage Amendment and Abortion--and show compassion to the poor and the oppressed--show Justice--or I will remove your lamp stand."

This is precisely what happened to the Whig party in the United States. The issue of slavery divided the party and its anti-slavery constituents formed the anti-slavery Republican Party out of which Abraham Lincoln was elected. The Whig party was no more! If the Churches vote radically PRO-life, then any political party, REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT--could be no more.

An Awakening to the Church

But the voice of God is shouting even louder to the Church!

Revelation 2:18-23 and 26 says, "And to the angel of the Church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: "I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

And I gave her time to repent of her immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the Churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works."

Verse 26, "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations". It is only when the Church is found faithful in moral purity to her bridegroom, God, that she can gain spiritual authority over nations.

In a season of personal temptation, when God was searching my own heart and mind for inward toleration of Jezebel's influence, and during the time of Bill Clinton's moral failure, I received a dream from God. In this dream, a pastor I know was a high-ranking senator. He had gathered major governmental leaders together to deliver a message. Bill Clinton was in the meeting but was sleeping in bed. I was in the meeting but was clothed only in my underwear and I was lying in the same bed as Bill Clinton. The pastor's message was weak and carried no authority. Then he asked me to pray for Bill Clinton, who was still asleep. I prayed a pitiful token prayer and then suddenly threw off the covers and ran to get clothed.

I awoke from the dream in shock! The Holy Spirit spoke clearly to my heart, saying, "Neither you nor the Church of America has any power to awaken this nation or Bill Clinton because it sleeps in the same bed!"

The dream and the Scripture confirm each other. The Church cannot bind the spirit of Jezebel dominating the nation if the spirit of Jezebel binds the Church. Only to those who have overcome this spirit, the Scripture says, will be given authority over the nations.

This truth makes the present moment with fallen leaders more profound and pronounced. I am not pointing the finger at a fallen brother. I mourn for any of them and for my generation that has been assaulted with the spirit of Jezebel and lives under the shame of their bondage, which defiles imaginations and causes nightmarish inward moral battles. Maybe all our leaders who have fallen are a sign and a symbol of the whole Church of the nation. From the head to the feet we are sick, bruised, and beaten up, and we are being exposed publicly.

Hosea 2:10 says, "Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers..." We are like eunuchs in Jezebel's palace whimpering our prayers, and even with our great churches and powerful spiritual programs, the nation remains unchanged. More than all this, we have crushed the Lord's heart with our spiritual adultery, we have left our first Love, and have gone after our Baals as in the time of Jezebel. But I believe that God wants to allure us into the wilderness and speak tenderly to us and make this Valley of Achor (the place of exposure of hidden sin) a door of hope. "In that day...you will call Me 'My Husband,' and no longer call Me, 'My Master'" (see Hosea 2:14-16).

I believe that in this moment in time, if we respond in repentance, we could release the greatest revival of confession of sin and a cleansing by the blood of Jesus that could draw us back into marital faithfulness with our Bridegroom, God. I believe a great spiritual awakening could be at hand which could even affect the elections of 2008 and overthrow Jezebel's death-march in this nation.

God's Holy Prescription--Fasting and Prayer

What must we do? God's holy prescription for our diseased state in times of national crisis and moral collapse is in Joel 2, verses 12-13, 15-16, 18 & 28, which is a solemn assembly of untied fasting and prayer:

"Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.

Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from His chamber, and the bride from her dressing room.

Then the Lord will be zealous for His land...And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."

Seven years ago, we called for a massive Joel 2 gathering of fasting and prayer in Washington, D.C. It was named, "The Call," and 400,000 young men and women with parents and leaders gathered together...not for a feast, nor a festival, but to a fast, believing that God would respond and show mercy to our nation. Seven "Calls" took place, the final being in the Cotton Bowl in November of 2003. We believe God is still answering those prayers.

At that time, a prophet gave me a word that, "The Call" would die, but in three years, a crisis would come and then it would be resurrected. Three years have passed since that word; the time is now, and the Church and America are in crisis. God is blowing the Joel 2 trumpet again--on 07-07-07, The Call Nashville!

TheCall Nashville!

In 1993, Bob Jones prophesied, "The Houston Oilers would move to Nashville, and Nashville would build God a stadium. And 100,000 people, particularly youth, would gather for a great mobilization of the army of God." With this prophecy in effect, I was praying about holding The Call in Titan Stadium in Nashville on 07-07-07.

While in a prophets gathering, I received a profound confirmation. Sharon Stone, a prophetic voice from England, who knew nothing that was on my heart, stood and began to speak forth this word over me, "There is coming a fresh recruitment on 07-07-07. I heard the day very clearly, and on that day, a stand will be taken, and it will bring forth a great shift." Could it be that The Call in Nashville is that day of recruitment and that day of shifting? Yet, I still needed more confirmation.

Then a few days later, I received a phone call from a woman I had only met one time. She said, "I have written you a check. What are you doing?" I told her about The Call Nashville, and to my amazement she said, "The check is for 100,000 dollars." She had no idea that the first Call was launched by another woman that I did not know, who gave me 100,000 dollars as well.

I experienced the Divine endorsement of God pour over me just as it did seven years before, and I knew this wasn't my Call, it was God's Call, and it was time to blow the trumpet again. If Heaven is releasing, "The Call" again, then there is still hope for America, for that is the very reason a solemn assembly is called. In times of crisis, when there is no hope and no remedy, God says, "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and call a fast."

Previous Historical Gathering

In 1967, 100,000 young people, ages 15-25, flocked to San Francisco to experience the hippie movement. This mass convergence was sparked by the hit song in San Francisco called, "Wear a Flower in Your Hair." Once there, they experimented with LSD, pot, immorality, and Eastern mysticism, in what became known as the "Summer of Love." When these newly recruited, "Flower Children," returned home at the end of summer, they brought with them new styles and ideas, flooding the cities of the U.S. and Europe with a message that opposed authority and scorned conservative morals. This counterculture rebellion was fueled by music and art, and it rapidly shifted global culture.

A great divorce from God and His ways of kindness occurred in this turbulent time, and the effects of the, "Summer of Love," are still with us today. The Church is obviously saturated with those effects.

Renewing Our Vows to The Lord

On the 40th-year anniversary of the "Summer of Love" that occurred in 1967 (really a summer of divorce), we are calling multi-generations to Nashville, Tennessee. We are calling you on 07-07-07--the number of covenant renewal, marriage, and the fullness of time--for a day of national repentance, fasting, and prayer for our 40-year generational rebellion. We are calling elders, pastors, mothers, fathers, college students, children, every race, every denomination, and every age to come and divorce Baal, and remarry the Lord.

The book of Hosea is clear--God uses wedding vows as a symbol of renewing covenant with His people. Hosea 2:19, says, "I will betroth you to Me forever, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness." We are coming to renew our vows. We will cry out to God for a release of Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (paraphrased), "Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death, the vehement flame of God, as unrelenting as Sheol, loves flames are fiery flames, the fiercest of all, many waters cannot extinguish love, and rivers cannot sweep it away."

Our only hope for an idolatrous people is the fiery love of God that is stronger than the passions of this world. We have got to get an awakening that is stronger than the hellish addictions of our culture. Oh God, marry us again!!!

Newspapers and websites across America are saying that on 07-07-07, more marriages are occurring then ever in history. Wedding Chapels and churches are booked across the land. But could we be in a time, a Joel 2 time, where our marriage to Jesus is of higher priority than our natural marriages? What if God would really test us on the urgency of this hour, and in particular the Biblical Joel 2 mandate? Let the Bridegroom come out of His chamber and the bride out of her dressing room (see Joel 2).

We have received the following report that a pastor said to a couple, "I cannot marry you on 07-07-07, even though the day is set. I must go to Nashville on 07-07-07--it is the highest priority." The couple was understandably upset by the decision of the pastor, but the following week a special guest speaker spoke on Joel 2 at the Church declaring, "Let the Bridegroom come out of His chamber..." With tender hearts toward God, the couple publicly asked forgiveness for their response to the pastor and said, "We are going to Nashville and will postpone our marriage."

We are receiving many reports now of couples changing their marriage dates because they have heard, The Call. I believe that pastors must make hard decisions, for it was the priests who were to weep between the porch and the altar, crying out, "Spare your people, Oh God." Also, the elders have been affected with internet immorality and compromise. We must gather and bear the reproach before the Lord. Who knows, He may turn and pour out His Spirit as promised in Joel 2:28, "And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh..."

The Number 40 is Significant

Recently while in Nashville, my friend and godly statesman, Don Finto, spoke a word to me that lit my fires of faith. He said, "I have a 1971 Time Magazine article that states three times, that the Jesus Movement began in 1967, and that Jerusalem was taken back by Israel in 1967."

After a 40-year judgment, could we be in a season in which a great spiritual awakening could occur in America, and the Jewish people would return to Yeshua? God administrates His Kingdom through prophetic time periods, and the period of 40 years is one of the most significant. When Jesus fasted 40 days, He was tempted in the wilderness just as Israel was tested in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus confronted the temptations of satan, quoting the very Scriptures in Deuteronomy that pertained to the 40-year failure of a past generation.

In Ezekiel 4, Ezekiel is given a prophetic prayer assignment; He is told to bear the iniquity of the house of Judah for 40 days, a day for each year of their iniquity (verse 6). Here again, we see an intercessor bearing the 40-year failure of a past generation in a 40-day prayer assignment. I believe now, with all of my heart, God is calling us to fast and pray for 40 days--from May 29 to 07-07-07, and bear in intercession the 40-year failure of the 60's generation, and then gather on 07-07-07 to call on God for the promised rains of revival.

Hosea 2:16, 21-23, "'And it shall be, in that day,' says the Lord, 'that you will call Me 'My Husband,' and no longer call you my Baal.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will answer, I will answer the Heavens and they shall answer the earth, the earth shall answer with grain, with new wine, and with oil, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy. Then I will say to those who were not My people, you are My people, and they shall say you are my God."

Let a great Jesus movement come forth in America, and out of Nashville may music come forth that will reap the harvest and carry revival more powerfully than the Beatles carried the rebellion. If the Church repents in Nashville, the culture could be transformed in San Francisco. Nashville is the gateway to the Church, and San Francisco is the gateway to the culture.

The trumpet is clear and the nation is summoned, from the pastors to the bridal chamber, and from the elders to the little children. Forty days of fasting, prayer, media turn-off, and intimacy with God--May 29th to 07-07-07 to return to the Lord. A Joel 2 solemn assembly. A day to take a stand and to shape history. May those hearts who are stirred, come and return to the Lord.

Lou Engle
at TheCall.com