"When I think about..."

I'm currently reading "Desire: The Journey We Must Take to Find the Life God Offers", by John Eldredge. Pretty good thus far in the reading (I just began reading it) but one thing he said caused me to stop reading and think about something he asked in the book. He writes, "Think with me for a moment. How has life turned out differently from the way you thought it would?" Hmmm... I haven't thought about that for a while now. So I figured I'd give it a shot.

Wow! It happens to me every time I think about how my life turned out. I realize that my life has not turned out like I thought it would (and for that I'm thankful!). Right after High School I immediately began college to focus on computer programming. Because I thought that's what I was supposed to do -- find a career with a high pay scale and that was in demand. That didn't pan out like I thought it would. I thought I was supposed to marry this one girl that I had dated for a number of years. Yet, again, that didn't go like I thought it would. When I secured a job at Lockheed I thought of what my life would look like - stable job, good career track, excellent retirement, etc. My life lasted there for 4.5 yrs and then God brought me to Illinois. I continued to think about how my life has turned out and to be honest, it's pretty good. Tarne is my best friend and wife, I have 4 girls that are making good choices in life (though there are the occasional bumps in the road) and my ministry is what I enjoy doing.

As I was thinking about all of this the song by Shane & Shane came to my head:

when i think about the Lord
how He saved, how He raised me
how He filled me with the Holy Ghost
how He healed me to the uttermost
when i think about the Lord
how he picked me up
turned me around
how He set my feet
on solid ground

I love the lines, "how he picked me up / turned me around". That pretty much sums up how my life has progressed. I'm going one way, going in the direction that I believe my life should be going and then -- BOOM! And then there's God picking me up, turning me around in the direction that He has set before me. Not the direction that I think I'm supposed to be going. Good thing too!

The the movie Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Ferris (played by Matthew Broderick ) says, " Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." I would have to agree but I would also add that if you don't stop and look around at what God has done in your life, you are missing out.

Take some time to think about that...

Are you Ready for This?

Recently Verizon just announced that it will be carrying the much anticipated iPhone. I have to admit that I was in the group of those people that were waiting for this to happen. Yes, I too am one of the millions that have desired to type effortlessly on a touch screen of the beloved iPhone. So when this announcement was made, I for one, was pleased - though I'll just have to wait until Feb of '12 to get one when my contract is up for renewal.

Here's what got me though. When I was on verizonwireless' website they have the iPhone announcement on the front page - pretty smart huh? If you go to the next page for the iPhone it has a section on the bottom entitled, "Getting Ready Guide." Seriously? I have to have a guide to tell me how to get ready for this bucket of technology? After a few seconds of thinking I clicked on the link, I figured, "might as well see how I need to get ready." I read though the list of items and it made sense. And I closed out of the site.

Later, that phrase, "Getting Ready Guide" kept gnawing at me. I couldn't figure out why either. Until I started thinking that for the past 3 years thousands of Verizon customers (perhaps, millions) have been anticipating the iPhone's 2nd coming to the cellular world - the 1st being with AT&T. That's when it hit me. I had paid attention to the new of the 2nd coming of the iPhone in great detail with excitment, anticipation and the hope that the iPhone would bring me. Wow, that sounds familiar doesn't it? I was thinking how much I was paying attention to the 2nd coming of the iPhone rather than keeping my eyes fixed on the author and perfecter of my faith. Jesus was pretty clear with his "Getting Ready Guide" and yet, at least for me, I haven't paid much attention to it. So this week, I'm realigning my focus...

Perhaps when February 2012 rolls around I'll look into an Android phone...

TSA & God

Yesterday I traveled down to Costa Rica to spend a few days with a ministry that we partner with and as I was in the security line at O'Hare I was watching people (not stalking them...just watching them, trying to figure out where they are going, are they on vacation, business, etc.) Anyway, as I watched this one couple as we moved like a heard through the security line they were reading the signs placed on the the posts. Signs that read: Please remove shoes and outer garments and place in tray. Please remove Laptops from bags and place in individual tray. Please remove all object from pockets, etc. I saw them studying the signs and I saw that they had coats on (it's getting cold in Chicago now again) and they each had carry ons.

When they got to the security screening they had know clue what to do. The TSA agent had to tell the husband, "Remove your belt and place it in the tray. Please remove your shoes and place them in the tray." The man did and then tried to go through the metal detector... no luck. "Do you have keys in your pocket?" Sure enough the man whipped out his keys. In the tray they went. Second try... no go. "Do you have a watch on?" Off came his wristwatch. Try number 3... success!! Now keep in mind that this guy's wife was witnessing this entire process. So she has already ditched the shoes, her purse, and anything else that she though would get her searched eventually. As I watched, I kept repeating, "Take off your coat, take off your coat." My esp was off that morning and she didn't hear me :) The TSA agent caught it before her first attempt and told her what she needed to do. Her first attempt through the detector was a success.

I thought about that incident for a while last night and this morning. Reason being is because I feel as if God is allowing me to see signs in my life to prepare me for what's coming ahead. Nothing bad or anything like that...just like, "Hey, Sean check this out and pay attention to it because it'll be of help to you in your life." Prov 8:33 says, "Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it."

So I have a choice... I can listen to what I hear God telling me and what He is showing me, or I can be like Mr. & Mrs. Clueless at the TSA checkpoint and ignore it until that moment in time in which I realized that I should have listened.

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. - Dr. Seuss

It's official... EC 2010 has come to a close.

Last night was our ending program at EC. We started off with our Camp Song ("Get Back Up" by TobMac). By the end of the week all the kids were singing along and doing the motions. It was interesting to watch students who flatly said to our faces, "I don't believe in God," and then we hear them sing the lines, "this is love calling, love calling out to the broken, this is love calling." Lisa pointed that out last night and I really believe that God can and will use something as simple as a camp song to continue to call out to those students!

We wrapped up our session with the question of, "Love is calling, how will you answer? Will you Stand to follow Jesus?" This question was one for them to think about internally and then discuss in their groups. Over dinner tonight at Radek's house, Tarne and I were asking Radek about any reports from the groups. Right now we can count four people that have made decisions to Stand to Follow Jesus, and Radek is excited about the conversations he has had with many more students on the fence during the week. Some students that came from quite a distance are even asking if they can attend Garaz572 at Radek's home! God used the students to show his love to the others students this week. If you are one of the parents of those students, thank you for allowing them this opportunity to exhibit Christ to others!

Today, we cleaned the camp in record time and then we hiked 2 miles into Chotebor to catch our train to Kurim. We boarded the crowded train and traveled about 20 minutes and then switched trains to one with private berths. We all clammored onto the train and occupied empty berths and then we enjoyed the hour long ride through the Czech country side. Dustin came up to me during the ride and said, "This is so cool." Even Kamryn is excited to tell her 2nd grade class that she road a train in the Czech Republic. Too bad the majority of 2nd graders don't know where that is :)

As I'm typing this all of the students (and Lisa) have been parceled out to host homes for the evening. I've heard that some of the students will be attending a birthday party in the community while others will be heading to Brno to do some shopping. Tarne, Kylie, Kamryn, Christa, and I are at Radek's house chilling with him and his wife, Laura, along with David (2) and Gracie (8 mo). We're having church tomorrow at the Garaz and then after having lunch with everyone we'll head back to Prague for the evening. I know that when that time to leave comes there will be many tears shed. But, like Dr. Seuss said, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." And I know that even if we don't crosss paths again with some of those that we became close to, we will smile one day when we see those very same faces praising our God in heaven one day with us!

This is Love Calling

Wow... it's kinda hard to imagine that tomorrow will be our last full day of English Camp 2010. It's been a great week (even though I can smell the septic system fumes waufting through my window right now...gimme a minute and I'll be used to it). Radek and I were talking tonight and we both have felt that overall it's been a great week. The only negative that we both could tell would be the facilities. This is a new place for all of us so we didn't know what to expect. The biggest issue is the water. It seems that they have a well pump system that suppliments their natural spring. And this week their spring is starting to dry up as there has not been a lot of rain. This and the fact that there are 87 of us here using water. We're figuring things out with the water and I'm sure that by the time we leave on Saturday afternoon we'll have it nailed down!

Yesterday was our hike. As in typical Czech fashion we hiked with really no agenda. This wreaks havoc with our North American brain as we always have to have a purpose for everything. And when we are told that we're going for a hike, we'd like to know our purpose... No purpose, just to hike. That doesn't quite compute for our North American culture... But it was a good hike. One American and one Czech had to return early but other than that we all had a great time.

Oh yea, I guess I should give the injury report. As with any trip we encounter the occassional scrape, fever, etc. Here's our injury report:

Jim -- didn't feel well, actually he was sick for most of the day. He's back to normal now and feeling good

Christa, Tayler, Brit & Kyrie -- Upset stomach most of the day. Thankfully nothing came from it.

Katrina -- Ankle issues

Kyrie -- Knee issues

Becca -- broken toe, same one she's broken multiple times. When she told me she was laughing a bit at the fact that once again it's broken. Our camp nurse has taken care of her and actually added extra bandaging to help her gain more sympathy. :)

Gabe & Tayler -- Today during games the were not there normal peppy selves. It's been a long week!

Sean, Tarne & Lisa -- lack of sleep syndrome...symptoms include occassional blank stares, falling asleep while talking and repeating what we just said and repeating what we just said and repeating what we just said.

As we wrap up our evening here I would ask that you pray specifically for the Czechs that are wrestling with God and the decision that has been placed before them. There are a number of them that are "on the fence" and we'd love to see them answer the Call. The message was pretty strong tonight and tomorrow night we'll be wrapping it up with a call to Stand to Follow Christ. So any and all prayers would be appreciated!

We're Not in Kansas Anymore...

Okay... I'm fine with the cultural exchange between us and the Czechs. I'm even okay with the differences we have with hygiene. But there are just some things that remind me that I'm not in Kansas...(or Orland Park/Mokena/Frankfort)

Yesterday as we were finishing up our dinner a tractor pulled to the rear of the building and it was trailering a tank of somesort. I knew what it was and sure enough he backed the tank up to the septic tank and began to empty it out. That didn't phase me. I've been in Mexico and other places when they've done that so I figured as soon as his tank was full, he'd be on his merry way. After about 10 minutes he left. Wow, that wasn't bad at all, I thought. Then surprisingly he returns about 10 minutes later... hmmm that's odd. He fills up again and leaves...He does this about 3 more times until we finally watch him travel about 200 yards from the camp to a field to where he proceeds to mimic the scene in Christmas Vacation when Cousin Eddie is emptying his RV sewage system in front of Clark's home. The only thing missing here was the tuba music playing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer". I was shocked (and so was a few other Czech leaders who assured me that what I was seeing was very illegal). But I'm not in Kansas anymore...

more about non-Kansas later :)

Other than cousin eddie we're all doing very well!!

English Camp @ Chata Doubravka

We're in the middle of Day 3 here at EC 2010. We just finished with our activity time which usually consists of 2 hours of some type of running / relay games. Today one of the games they played was called "průjem", which is Czech for Diarrhea. Yea, sounds like loads of fun huh? There are four different kinds of průjem chasing you (I'll spare you the details of those four types) and you have to make it to the base in order to score a point. If you get caught by any of the four types of průjem then you have to give up one of your four squares of toilet paper. But if you're running low on TP (heaven forbid!) you can try to catch constipation (are you thoroughly grossed out yet?) to get more squares of TP. Sounds gross but for some reason it works.

This morning was spent in the typical fashion here at English Camp (which if you want to look it up as to where we are at you can check out: http://www.chatadoubravka.cz/). Morning devotions followed by breakfast. Breakfast is the main meal in which if you like fresh veggies you want to stock up. Cucumber, tomatoes, green & red peppers are served along with an array of rye bread, hoska bread, meats and cheeses. There's also cereal :) This morning's English Classes went really well. One of the groups decided to take a short hike around the camp and the stream that I can hear through my window at night. They used the time to talk through English and teach words such as "needles", "bark" and other words that they may not typically learn in a school setting.

The American students are forming some tight bonds with the Czech (no worries... we haven't had any proposals yet) and it's really cool to watch all of our students being able to connect with them. Brit is always smiling! Even this morning when I was nursing my first cup of coffee, she was smiling. Emily has picked up with friendships that she made last year and has made a lot of new ones. (I hope that the Trokey family continues to like Czech visitors in their home!! :) ). Christa is a beast when it comes to the activities! I think she's outlasting some of the guys!! Katrina is gathering facebook info on all her roommates (and I've already told her our house is way too small for multiple visitors!). Kyrie is the social butterfly right now and has really stepped it up. Tayler...let's see, what can I say about her? There are so many things :) But she is quite possibly the most energetic in our group. And she is constantly carrying Kylie or Kamryn during the games -- and she does it all with a smile! Paige is a great asset to the group. Her quiet spirit has been a blessing to the Czechs. There's one Czech girl, Lenka, that in the past 4 yrs that I have been participating in English Camp have only heard probably a dozen words from her. Paige has broken through whatever was holding Lenka back and she is now freely talking with the Americans! It's great!! Amanda has taken the role of adult leader to heart. This afternoon during lunch she was serving along side some of the Czech in clearing the tables and just being a servant all around. Becca has helped out with worship and is invaluable when it comes to the E classes! Lisa Cooper is adjusting to being in a room with 5 other Czech girls and is thankful for Ambien -- she also realizes why God did not give her and Ken all girls :) The boys... the boys are always loved here. Not sure why. Perhaps it's because the Czech girls really don't know them yet :) Jim, as we guessed, is a big hit with the guys in sports. His boundless energy is great to have here! Jim lead the morning devotional on Monday morning and did an awesome job out of Ecc. 4:12. Dustin is a great teacher and has played in the worship band with the jimbe and keyboard already. On Friday he will be leading in the morning devotional. Gabe strangely enough hangs out mostly with girls. Smart boy :) Seriously though, he's constantly running around and doing crazy things... and if you haven't guessed it by now, the painted nails in the picture are Gabe's (now his mom is seriously embarrassed :) ). Last but not least, Tarne -- she's been great to have here again at EC! She helps keep things grounded and is always looking out for the best interests of the team as well as the Czechs. Without her it would be tough to do this trip. All the things that she does behind the scenes helps this team out so much!

Keep praying for the American Team and the Czech Team! Satan is working overtime here and there to destroy our unity and witness here. We're doing fine, but we can feel it and see it sometimes in action. But the same God who conquered sin and death is the same God who's got our backs. So we're good!

Oh yea, Happy Birthday to my Mom!!