Messed Up!

I have been messed up ever since I taught through the book of Revelation, and read 'the Mark of the Lion' series. I thought that my thoughts of impending doom would dissipate, but they only seem to get stronger. Track with me a second...

1) Revelation: (our future) things get really bad because people will not repent of their sin, so they abandon God and his ways. Satan deceives the world into following him, fights God, God wins. But it gets ugly for Christians in the process.

2) 'Mark of the Lion': (the past) Story takes place in the 1st century as the church is being established for the 1st time. People who are followers of Jesus are followers of Jesus.. They regularly die for him in the Arenas, are looked upon as vermin and anarchists. The people are united with each other, and their hearts are not divided -because they can't be. Christians are living like Christians. God is pleased with his followers.

3) Constantine: (years later) This emperor basically nationalizes Christianity, persecution stops, corruption begins. The world is filled with "Christians" who no longer die for Christ, but rob, steal, and murder in his name. God is grieved with those who do these things in the name of Jesus Christ.

4) Today: God longs for authentic followers again. We are returning to conditions like those in the 1st century because it's what we need in order to have undivided hearts.

So welcome to my mind... I haven't been talking to people about this stuff, it's just thoughts that I have that I can't shake. I expect things like prop 8 to pass, people who obviously don't love God to be elected, and for the church to finally have to take unpopular and (depending on what happens) illegal stands for what God says in His word. The Church needs persecution! I think God is tired of the way we are "following" Him. I think that a time is coming where we'll have to weather the storm and be found faithful to our Savior, or abandon Him for something else.

Death of a dream...

So I've always had these secret aspirations of being a Chef. I love cooking almost as much I love eating, and that is saying a lot! Natalie and I don't own a house, we don't spend much on clothes or gifts for each other, we go out to eat. Anniversaries, birthdays, special occasions, and non-occasions are filled with food. Our vacation routes are determined by what restaurants we would like to experience on that trip, and the restaurants that we go to are often the highlight of the trip.

My dreams of being a chef stemmed from the food my mom would cook for us. The way she shows love us is by cooking for us, and the way we show love back to her is by reveling in her creations. I am very good at showing her love! As I worked as a waiter in various establishments I paid attention to what was happening in the kitchen, asked lots of questions, and started to get a feel for cooking.

This, along with the inherited ability to create tasty dishes brought forth the desire to someday have a little place that would serve delicious satisfying meals. I always knew that this lifestyle would take work, but I never realized how much until I read my most recent book. "The seasoning of a Chef" by Doug Psaltis. It was a great read and thoroughly entertaining (for foodies at least).

Reading this book brought by dream to an end. If I want to be a Chef I need to be single, no way around it. 12-15 hr days 6 days a week don't scare me, but my marriage would disinigrate and my life would be all about food. I love food, but I need my life to be about people. So I will continue to eat, and leave the cooking to those who truly love it.

Cheesy girl books

So I decided not to watch T.V. late at night anymore... (despite my secret obsession with Steven Colbert- sorry Conan, you've been replaced) And so I've been reading before I go to bed. Since I'm not a fantasy geek like Wakeling, I've been reading a series that my wife owns, called: "The Mark of the Lion" by Francine Rivers. (Sorry Eric, but it's true)

What I'm really surprised by is how encouraging these books have been to me. They take place around 40 years after Jesus' death and follow the lives a Jewish girl, a family from Rome, and a German gladiator. Anyway, I don't know how historically accurate Rivers is in her writing -it seems like she's done her homework, but for the first time I feel like I've been given an inside view of what life must have been like for the early church (at least in Rome and Ephesus.)

Accurate or not, reading this series has made me think about, and want to love Jesus more. For that it's been worth my while. I'm not a big fiction reader, but this in case, it's been fun.

Any good books i need to add to my list? -let me know