get thee to africa

I have a question for all you faithful readers. Since I am techno stupid to a very high degree I have no idea how many people look at this website or how often so for I know I could be saying the opening to myself but I have many interesting conversations all alone, so back off!

Here is the context of the question. I was spending some good time with my friend Tim a couple of weeks ago and we got to talking about missions. Now Tim has been to about half the countries in the world and has pretty much always wanted to be what is traditionally thought of as a missionary for quite some time. I think as long as I have known him. At least ever since he stopped saying he wanted to marry me if only I was a girl but that is another topic for another day. As we were talking about missions we came to a point where we were both using the same words but talking about different things. Fundamentally we came at the idea of what missions is differently and what it means to be a missionary. So I pose the question to you:

What is a missionary? Or maybe who should be called a missionary? What does it mean to 'do' missions and is it in any way a unique calling?

Please share your thoughts.

Your Summer Anthem is Speed of Sound by Coldplay All that noise, and all that sound, All those places I got found. And birds go flying at the speed of sound, to show you how it all began. You're out of your mind this summer, in a good way.

What's Your 2005 Summer Anthem?

good to be home

It is late and I need to get to bed but as I sit and listen to Hilary Hahn I feel the need to get some thoughts, any thoughts down on 'paper' before I sleep. I am not sure what I have to say, if anything, but I will start by saying that it is good to be home. I returned last night from a short time down in Honduras and after much confusion with the airline finally made it back to Madison. I love Honduras culture and the people that I have come to know there over the past couple of years but there is very little that beats coming back to friends and family and what is familiar. Ahh there is an interesting thought...

I was down visiting my friend Mary several days ago we and like any good 20-somethings who are a mixed bag of idealism and frustration we discussed what made us passionate. My answer was and is something to the effect that I deeply desire or at times desire to desire to have a life that is worth living. 'Worth living' is too mundane. I want to live in such a way that if by some chance I know when death is near and I have time to reflect I know that my journey was all that I could have hoped. I guess that is just me being what John Eldridge says all men are but since I don't like his books I will pretend that this is not true at all but that instead I want something much different then what he writes about.

However I suspect there may be a problem with this mindset as someone who wants to be a Jesus follower. I think it is a little to much within the realm of the philosophy of me. It is about my life, my purpose. So maybe I want the wrong things. What would it look like to truly say, 'for me to live is Christ'. I have no idea. At least not a very good one. I know that I could not say that right now without reeking of the ever so popular falsely life-is-perfect-because-I-am-a-evangelical-christian thing.

Where is this going? I am not sure other then I want to want the right things. I do want to be a person who is passionate but for what is good. Or better yet, what is best. What is that? I know the sunday school answer but what does it look like and how does it become deeply and authentically my honest answer? I should get to bed and hope for a revelation in my sleep or at least a cool way to interpret that dream I keep having where I on a date with Halle Berry with a full mustache.