Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Compassion



This is Maverick David Lanza Zelaya. I sponsor him through Compassion International. How awesome is it that I get the chance to give.

David was born on Nov 6, 2003 in Honduras. Honduras is the poorest country in Central America. Eighty-seven percent of the people are peasants of Indian and Spanish ancestry and malnourishment is widespread.
My sponsorship allows the staff at Unidos por Dios Student Center to provide David with Bible teaching, health and nutrition education, medical checkups, group games, birthday parties, cultural activities, academic support, school supplies, uniforms and shoes. The center staff will also provide evangelism, parents' school and family recreational activities for the parents or guardians of David.

I am able to write to David. The letters I send are translated into his language. He can also send letters to me. What and awesome experience I have ahead of me! I can't wait to get to know David and all that he is.

Visit www.compassion.com to sponsor a child!

Who doesn't love video games?


When my girlfriend Sarah and I first got together, her views on Video Games were:

Our Children will never play video games
We will never have video games in our house
I think boys playing video games are soo unattractive


One year and Nine months later...

Sarah and I are walking through Costco as we pass by the Xbox 360 and Guitar Hero III display, Sarah says: "We should put those on our wedding registry!"
One extreme to the other wouldnt you say?!?!
Sarah's Favorite game is Guitar Hero. She loves to play..

(We are not engaged, Sarah just likes to plan ahead)


-Patrick John

Monday, November 12, 2007

Post Hillsong


The Hillsong United Conference was amazing! Its hard to write about. I took so much away from the conference that I've been thinking about. So far I don't have much of anything ready to share.
I've been thinking about my place in ministry, what my vision is, what I need to do to reach that vision, things like that. I've just been trying to apply the wisdom I took from Hillsong to my own life.
I feel like God has put me here to create. I think some people thrive on being placed in a position to maintain and manage something great, and some are creators of those great somethings. I thrive on Creation.
So thats about it so far. I'll be adding more within the next few days.

-Patrick John

Friday, November 9, 2007

Hillsong United 07'


Tonight Sarah and I will be at the Hillsong United Conference in Orlando, FL! I can't wait! I don't really know what to expect, but I've heard so much good news about it. I hope for this weekend to be a time of growth. Keep us in your prayers.
-Patrick John




Thursday, November 8, 2007

We All Have To Start Somewhere












"Thoughts On Spirituality And Life"

Life is Spirituality, Spirituality is Life. Many of us, including myself, fail to realize that every moment is Spiritual. We don't connect to our "spiritual" side only when we pray, meditate, or read scripture. Everything is spiritual.

We are spiritual beings, whether we believe in spirituality or not. In that way, everything we connect with is spiritual. Our connection with other people is spiritual, our connection with the earth is spiritual, our connection with the food we eat, the water we drink, the touch of a hand, the birth of a baby, the sound of a storm, all Spiritual.

It helps me to put things, such as the earth, in terms of its relation with God. When I look at the earth as just an object to be used and consumed, I feel no responsibility, no connection to it. But when I look at the earth as creation, created by God in all of His perfection and glory, then its something to be cherished, to be taken care of.

The Tree
(Psalm 96:9-13)

9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

12 let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

13 they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth.

This is talking about Christ's second coming. Isaiah and Romans also refer to this event when Creation will be restored. You see that nature will rejoice and praise!
Think about The Tree. The Tree is spiritual, but do you allow yourself to have a spiritual connection to the tree? In today's world, we stand disconnected most of the time from our resources.. trees, food,, ect... Imagine if you were in the forest standing with the trees you knew were going to become your house. Knowing that these trees are creation miracles, created for the glory of God. This is where your connection is made... You can smell the forest, touch the trees, see how tall they are, listen to the wind moving threw the leaves.. Now you can look at the tree.. connect "You Tree, you will become part of the structure of my house, you will provide me shelter, you may also become the table where I will eat, or maybe the desk where I will study and pray. Thank You God for this Tree. I pray that You are glorified in the way your tree is used."
Now when you walk into your new home, you see the wood that provides the structure, you see your new table, you sit at your new desk. This isn't just a house.. you remember The Tree, you remember the smell of the forest, touch of the tree, sound of the leaves.. you remember the connection with your Father's creation.

What I'm trying to say here is that we can find this Spiritual connection everywhere we look. The hard part is getting yourself to look.

"Thoughts on Spirituality and Life" is the subtitle to this blog. I find that the more spiritual connections I make, the deeper my realtionship with God, and more life I have. I encourage, even if I didn't make that much sense to you, that you would pray and think about Spirituality, stop and think about the things around you.. the people you see every day.. the hands you shake. Don't be afraid to make connections, and allow these new connections with people and creation to change you.

May you walk in the fullness of who God is and who He's created you to be.

- Patrick John