Greg Comes Clean Regarding the Chapter Camp Chicken

Like The Fox: The Chicken Story: " It started, brainstorming in the guys' dorm. 'What if we put a live chicken in their room?' said someone. 'And then what?' 'And then there'..."

Nothing Cute

Hey all, I miss the fellowship tons and I started out the summer super excited about this blog but I haven't contributed because I haven't had anything nice or encouraging to say; no revelations, no metaphores, just a lot of frustration and isolation etc. But God is so good, you know? He really does provide, and in a dry and weary land, he is the water. Think about this: it's guarenteed that there will come seasons/situations that look devoid of God, like he is tots MIA, or at least doesn't know what he's doing. There is no gaurentee that these seasons will be short (40 years is a familiar number, yeah?) But God is sovereign. Over everything, every one at every moment. Do you actually beleive that? Because he says it's true. You don't know what he's doing? Don't sweat it; he does. No really: don't sweat it. I think one thing I'm finding is that this whole "I just wish I knew what God was doing" attitude is moot, because if I actually trust that he IS doing something, than who cares?

2 Corinthians 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight"

Cheers and Love. Consider this a virtual hug <3

SCF T-shirt!

Hey guys!

I'm thinking that SCF should have t-shirts for Orientation this year. That way, anyone can identify a member of SCF should they have a question about SCF or something that they want to ask one of us, and we will also appear more legitimate at our first few meetings. I'm very willing to design a t-shirt and order a batch, although they will cost between $12-$15 each.

So, how's that sound? T-shirts yay or nay? What do you guys want them to say/look like? What color?

P.S. Sorry, Erik, but I've had a thing against iron-ons since my Vacation Bible School days ;P

P.P.S. And yes, if anyone else wants to design a t-shirt (someone who can actually draw, unlike me?), that would be great, too!

Kite strings

I was thinking today about the beautiful sermon my mom's Anglican priest gave this Sunday. Sunday was, of course, July fourth, so in honor of the day he talked about freedom, and the greatness of a nation that allows it - freedom of religion, of speech, of assembly. We can gather into large groups in order to scream about how much we hate our country, our government, our military, our president and said country, government, military and president sit by and let us do it. In that sense, we are freer than the people of almost any country in the world.

But nevertheless, he said, we are enslaved. Both free, and enslaved. Freedom, he said, was not about having no master at all, but rather about having a choice of masters. You could choose to be enslaved to commerce - to spend all day, every day, commuting to and from work and being at work and thinking about work and never seeing your wife or your kids or ever do anything for yourself. You'd be a well-paid slave, he said, but a slave nevertheless. Another example I would give is that you could enslave yourself to your spouse and kids - to people you love and trust. I would point out that wife and kids are wonderful, but, to be terribly depressing, fragile. Still, better to be a beloved slave, I think, then simply a well-paid one. The point is, we attach ourselves to things - tie ourselves down.

From there, my priest gave an absolutely lovely metaphor. He talked about a friend of his, another priest, who went to a barbecue, and flew a kite with his two nephews. It was a nice windy day, and the kite flew easily and high, straining hard against the string as if to say 'let me go! Let me fly! I could go so much higher than this if you would just release me!" So this other priest asked the kids, "So? What do you think?" The boys were very excited. "Release it!" they said. "Let it fly!" And so the man released it. Predictably, the kite was caught up in the chaos of the wind and pretty quickly came crashing down. My priests comment was something like, "Interesting, isn't it, how much higher we fly when we are tied down? We strain so hard to be 'free,' only to discover how much harder gravity pulls on a kite that is 'freed' from all restraint."

So the question is, of course, to what or whom do we tie our kite strings? Who or what will allow us to fly the highest? What restraint will help us towards the most freedom? The answer, I think, is obvious.