The Lost and Found

Moments ago I was pondering a few things. You see, right now I am at a computer, pushing buttons. Words become sentences and paragraphs. An hour ago, I was at work. Helping old people put 32 inch tvs into their Ford Festivas. This is how I make a living. TVs into Festivas. Pretty glamerous.

But I really don't want "glamerous." It's not my goal to go out there and make my life some amazing explosion of glory everyday. But there exhists in me some amount of anguish expelling onto the floor. My self description on this blog speaks to this situation. This is a season of preperation, my friends.

I always seem to have a great idea as to what it is I am being prepared for. Its kinda like we , or I , have been given a Mad Lib book from God:

" Jason, this is Jesus. I just wanted to let you know that the reason you work in a warehouse with a bad knee and a history of hernias is that I am preparing you to travel to ( the most amazing place ever) and once you are there I will bless you."

Fall of 2004 I moved from Des Moines, Iowa to Dallas, Texas. I made the trip south because a friend of mine needed a room mate, and there were high prospects of the both of us eventually moving to Austin, and attending film school. The move was a smart choice because I already had a few friends there, and the rent was super cheap. But to be honest, what really drew me to Dallas was not the film school, not the rent, and not my friend who needed a room mate ( although I really love this guy). The real draw was the adventure. I was lacking adventure.
I have been to a lot of places in my short time on this mortal coil. Some places have been beautiful and some not so great, but with each adventure my addiction grown. Superbowl sunday, about four or five years ago, some of my closest friends asked me to go California with them. It would'nt cost me anything, which worked out because I had around twenty bucks, and I did'nt have to drive. The only catch was that I had to drop out of school and leave with them that next friday. I said I would think about it. three days later I had quit my job, quit school, and explained to my parents and my band that I was leaving.
That trip was amazing. We lived on penut butter and bread for a total of two or three weeks, and were graciously fed by a family that we knew in Pasadena for the remainder of the trip. We vividly witnessed God provide us with food and shelter. We saw the cliffs over the ocean along highway one. We saw the sun rise over the desert in New Mexico. We played music at a bar in Flagstaff, Arizona in order to make enough money for a hotel room for the night (but only because the overnight temps were suposed to dip down below freezing that night). We did'nt shower for spans of weeks. We were free.
Those are the moments that I look forward to. The adventures.

sitting still was never enough. But should it be? I mean I know a few people in my life who have a family and a mortgage and are content. I have an oppertunity to engage in a well paying career, but it would require me to settle down for the next four years or so. I have never thought four years ahed ever.
I don't want to be that person who tells God what to do, so now, I am waiting. maybe thats the answer.

God Is A Being, Not A Product.

I just finished reading another book by Donald Miller. Man this guy really puts out some great stuff. He covers a lot of ground in this one. This book seems to finish my own sentences.
For so long its seemed as though there were only pockets of people in and around my life that see these relational truths about Christ and His church, and even less people writing books about it. But come to find out, there are others. Check out http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/. I have yet to read other authors from this group, but I am excited to do so, and will probably post my reactions – good or bad.
Another book that I was just thinking about is Enter the Worship Circle, by Ben Paisley. I was introduced to the author at a small coffee shop in Des Moines, where he and his wife were playing some music. After reading Paisley's book, I realized that God was now, and always had been passionately persuing me. I haven’t read through it in a few years, but I was reminded about it when I started reading Miller’s work. Give them both a shot.