Lazy lazy

Sooooo

It turns out that I have been a bit on the busy side this semester. Even now as I am writing this I am sitting on venue control making sure that the Kids program for Sunday night church is secure. The days and weeks are just FLYING by! I didn’t even realize it, but I haven’t written on this blog for over a month. So for those of you who actually do still view this blog I apologize because I probably won’t be writing anything profound right now. It is hard to express creative thnking using an iPhone keypad. Soooo how about a quick update as to what is going on in my world.

Once again I am in fulltime school, which is absolutely mind blowing this semester! Classes are awesome and it has jut been a really strong start on the academic front. I am starting to look at different options for when I finish at hillsong, but I still have a year to make those decisions. Along with new classes, I also began serving in a different ministry this semester, one that I plan on sticking with for next year as well. It has a great community of leaders as well as some awesome kids! My friend and classmate Asgeir (Norwegian) and I are leading a small group of 7th graders evey oher week and that has been great. I love working with junior high kids. So I am looking forward to getting even more plugged into this group. I feel like it is going to really grow me as a leader. And I hav also been working at one of the 5 outback steakhouses in Australia! Corny? Maybe, but I love it. It’s a great community of people. Some very different to most of my other acquaintances in Sydney, but I love it I am havin a blast with them!

That’s pretty much the works as of thus point. If you are curious as to what else may or may not be happening feel free to email me, comment on here, or facebook it up. I am lovin life here but I am very eager for the day when I am back with ya’ll again. I’ll be back December 3 until January 19. So I look forward to seeing you all this winter (my summer) until then… Or until my next entry…. Beach season is back so I’ll be sure to soak it up for you. Much luv.

J

Relentless

Possibly the most moving song I have ever heard. Was played at church tonight. I have NEVER felt God’s presence as much as I did tonight at church. what a PHENOMENAL God! I only wish I could describe the night in a way that you could understand… Relentless Pursuit.

 

J

Vertical River

I am currently sitting on my balcony in the rain… Luckily I have shelter on my balcony else this blog would probably not be happening. Ill start out by saying it’s winter in Australia, and I am cold. I know 50 degrees isn’t exactly cold by Colorado standards, but for someone who has been in warm weather since January… it is feelin pretty chilly. Not to mention it is midnight… didn’t realize that. Oh well… the show must go on.

So anyway, I am pretty bundled up. I have my shirt… my long sleeve shirt (wannabe hoodie) my warm hoodie, and a jacket over that. Still cold, but I am also wearing possibly the coolest hat known to man. It is a beanie from back home that has crazy cool tassels and flaps over my ears. my head is toasty… maybe not the hands the head is good and comfortable.

I love listening to the sound of the rain. In my opinion, there are few sounds more beautiful or more inspiring than the sound of rain. From the tiniest little trickle of rain, to pouring, drenching, “Big Ol’ Fat Rain”. To me it is just an amazing comfort. As I write this I am talking to a wicked cool friend of mine from Switzerland (Shout out to Arena-nina) and I just so happened to get and itch on my head. SO…… needless to say, I scratched it. and when I did I was BLOWN AWAY.

I lifted up the flap covering my ear and it seemed like I was somewhere else. I had been enjoying the sound of the rain, but I had been missing out on so much of it, by bundling up to keep as warm and comfortable as possible. For me that thought was a catalyst for look into life and a very confronting question that I think really needs to be asked of myself, and to be honest, Everyone:

Where are you getting too comfortable? 

Beyond that, comes more and more questions I feel pulled to answer for myself. Where are you getting complacent? What are you settling for? And more importantly, why?

Is it just me or do we more often than not decide to take the comfortable route? Not to be confused with the easy way out. Comfortable can still be doing the right thing, but at the cost of getting the most out of what you do and the most out of yourself. That could be at work, by not going the extra steps to ensure a client is taken care of beyond their expectations, at school by “collaborating” with other students on your projects, with your friends by letting them make decisions that you know are not to their benefit, with your wife by taking her love and devotion to you for granted, your children, your finances, your future, your present, Your Salvation?

All of these things make up what you call your life. Whether we realize it or not, by getting uncomfortable at work, you can wind up getting a client who will brighten your day and leave an impact on your life because YOU FIRST IMPACTED THEIRS. At school you might miss the topic you could have found a passion for, by settling for less. Your friends might look at you and find inspiration and a helping hand, if you take a stand to be the friend they need, even if its not the one they want right now. If you can believe it, a marriage is the uniting of two lives into one, and a mutual respect, care and devotion to each other will not only bless your life, but can be the change to a whole generation to come. Your Children will reflect on who YOU DECIDE TO BE. What kind of man/woman would they say you are? What is the state of your finances? are you taking care and responsibilty? Could you use more? Where does your future sit? Where are you sitting now? Where is your treasure? where is your eternity?! 

“What we do in life, echoes in eternity!”  

Listen, I am not here to tell you how to live your life, or to bring down conviction… I just know that Tonight I heard the sound of rain, and then when I heard the rain itself. I can’t think of a reason why we should settle for anything less than everything that the world has to offer, and everything that we have to offer the world. But it all starts from within. Invest in yourself:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” -Matthew 6:21

Pastor Blake Vandemark once said, “A movement will start when a radical generation comes face to face with a radical God.”

Get Uncomfortable. Start a Movement.

J

One Day…

Quick Note before you read this: I wrote the first 3 ish paragraphs of this while I was really tired one night and I am finishing it now two days later…. Sorry. (:

I Love being completely inspired by the most random things in the world. It could be a person, a movie, a tree, ant, Whatever… but it is just strange that we all have those crazy things that just bring us to that place of glazed over eyes and a distant glance into the future planned for our lives. I had one such moment tonight, so here is the introduction:

I have been living in Australia for nearing 6 months now, and we have not had television at our house AT ALL in that time, but for some reason, Zach, Jake, and I decided that we wanted to try. We knew going into the task that we would have very limited success seeing as we don’t have cable or even know who to call to get it, but we DID have A cable! so Zach plugged that in and was attempting to use it as an antenna, with a low success, but there were definitely pictures and sound coming from beneath that static… Finally, We decided to try molding a coat hangar to receive a better reception… and… vitory!!! We got a picture of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and it was EPIC. we watched that, the news (first time in MONTHS I have seen the news) and then Letterman which was a blast, but this whole pre-story is just a set up as to what I was doing when I got floored and inspired to share. It really started when a commercial came on the screen. The commercial had a little Kid, waking very early in the morning exclaiming, “Wake up everybody… its ONEday!”

at first this kinda just went right past me, but I continued to watch the add. from that point on, the Several (in the hundred region) people  in the commercial began to just do ALL the things that had always wanted do, with no discretion as to what would happen. It really challenged me to think of what my “One Days” are… What are your dreams that you have never told ANYONE? what are your goofy ambitions? Your far fetched plans? Your spontaneous… indefinite… remote… “One Days.” I just thought that I would share a few of mine, and HOPEFULLY encourage you to do the same! I wanna know what your “One Days” are!

1. Be a husband and a father. Perhaps my biggest dream is to one day be a father and a great one at that. I had a darn good model in my dad. I couldn’t have asked for a better one. Whether he knows it or not… he did more for us than he anticipated and he was so involved and interested in who my brothers and I were destined to be. Who could ask for more? supportive, loving, confronting, fun, and just plain real. I can’t wait to take my crack at it. (after I find my wife of course to all you smart alecs out there.) and that brings me to another part of this “One Day”. Being a husband is probably going to be equally as challenging and stretching as being a father, but I cannot wait to find someone to not only do life with, but share a life with. become one life. What an adventure it will be to have a family… seems so recently that I was in first grade learning to read (still can’t do that) and now I am on the brink of adulthood…. weird. Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. One Day.

2. Start a solo bike tour to raise funds to support M.S. research. I thought of the concept to use to raise money for youth, but I felt God really put M.S. on my heart, so that is my plan. To design a 24 hour (or as long as it takes) continuous bike tour and have people and companies sponsor an individual mile. the goal is to put all the proceeds of the even into M.S. research. the ride would be solo. Title Excursions: Waiting for Anything. I don’t know when this might or might not take place, but I have felt it burning inside for awhile now. One Day.

3.  Pastor a Men’s ministry. There are few things that I am more passionate about now than helping a generation of Men rise up to lead Godly lives and lead their families down the path of the Cross. I have seen the power that comes through youth ministry, and since being at Hillsong I have seen the huge impact that the Sisterhood women’s ministry has, and my mind just cannot comprehend how much of a difference there could be in our world and in our generation if Men lived the life of love that Jesus showed us. Lived with a heart for God, and helped instill that into the lives of their families. One Day.

4. This one is possibly the most fun of my “One days”, but I cannot wait to be the Crazy Old guy who lives down the street. Not the CREEPY old guy, but the fun, lovable, awesome old guy that all the neighborhood knows and loves. “Old man Clarkson” I want to live my life to the end, touching peoples lives and bringing joy into their world. Showing them that a heart for loving God and a heart for loving people can be a simple solution to a world of hate, a world of pain, a world of saddness, a world of divorce, suicide, racism, sexism, discrimination… all together just a solution to a life of insignificance. I heard a pastor once say something, that to me totally changed my paradigm. “Are you living a life of success, or a life of significance?” He posed this question after telling a story about a big movie producer in Hollywood, CA. The man was very well known and very successful in his business. When this business man passed away, the pastor was asked to officiate his funeral. He was expecting to see a large crowd of people, but when the service came around, only a small group of people were in attendance. The man had led a very successful life, but where were the lives that he touched? I am not saying this in an attempt to diminish this man’s memory, but when I get to the end of my life, I want people to see me as a person who desired to see the world changed, someone who wanted to improve the quality of life in other people’s circumstances, someone who not only preached the word of God and the Gospel of Love, but also lived them to his very last breath. Not just a life of success, but one of significance. One Day.

What do you see?

J

The End of a New Beginning

Life is a changing thing. It would be foolish of one to think otherwise. So my question to you and myself is this: Why do we do it?

I wrote awhile ago (and I think that post was deleted when I cleared the Blog in November) and the post was called “Beginning of a New End” in which I wrote a lot about my upcoming adventure to Australia, and what that meant for me, spiritually, emotionally, and the biggest part of that blog had to do with the impact it would have on me mine socially. I have brought a lot of things to the surface in the past year through my writing, and I feel that it still may be the best release valve I have. I am not one for talking about me feelings in conversation, except for select people in select situations, but I feel very comfortable when I am my sole Target audience… and everyone else is just there. 

The seasons of life that we go through often hold much different circumstances and situations than we anticipate, and it is in those situations that the true character we possess comes to show. Where do we put our trust? Sometimes we put it in ourselves. Sometimes we put it in other people. And sometimes we trust God. The next question I raise (again to myself first and foremost) is how often do I trust in each of those things? The fact of the matter is that only one of those answers DOES matter. We have to place our trust in God… without that, trust in ourselves is wasted. It is far too easy to find yourself lost, dazed and confused when you try to do life apart from Him. And to trust others is intended to be the meat of this, because trust in others can help lead you to the highest places… and also into the toughest times. But the thing is, our every day is dependent upon this type of relationship.

Humans strive on relationships, interaction and a desire for intimacy and love. and before you jump to conclusions, realize that I am not referring to JUST romantic intimacy and love, but just every day REAL relationships with people. We are miracles. In my opinion, what we are is one if not the greatest miracle there has ever been. We are the most complex technology that has and ever will be created by anyone EVER. Because we have the ability to Love. This has been an ongoing revelation for me in the past week… and I have been through many stages of “Awe” as to the complexity of this gift from God. Because thats what it is… Love is a little piece of God that He placed inside each one of us, without Him and without Jesus, we wouldn’t be able to love, definitely not to the extent we do. Because The Ultimate act of Love was shown in the Death of Christ.

Sorry that I got a bit side tracked, but I wanted to talk about our relationships with other people in order to bring up this next section… I had a new revelation, and it came in the form of devastation. We finished semester 1 of classes today and I was pumped and expectant. I have developed some great friendships here, and became settled into my life here. (Think back to the beginning of the blog… my point) Tonight I learned that one of my three closest friends here has decided to leave Australia and go back to the U.S. When I heard this tonight, I felt like I got hit in the back of the head by a 2×4. I have seen a fair few people leave since I have been here, and I was expecting a lot of second semester students to leave, but this was a blindside for me as well as the other two guys of our crew. I haven’t thought in a long time about how we can sew our lives together so easily and deeply with people in such a short time. Especially when the thought comes to mind that I will probably be able to count the times I will see him again in my life on one hand. Its a tough place to be in. and for us collectively, it is going to be an extremely hard thing to say goodbyes. It comes down to this: I am not a goodbye person at all. I hate it. And saying it to someone who has been such a welcome and awesome addition to my life is the hardest part to swallow. Someone who sharpens you, Speaks life into you, and just has a good time. I have heard the quote, “In a friend we find a second self” it’s just tough. I don’t know how else I want to say it. I don’t know how else TO say it. I am gonna miss my friend. Things are going to be different without him. But life is ever changing… like I said. No one is in the place to determine another man’s destiny, but we are in a position to be the best addition to their lives in the time we do life together. Here’s to the boys. John.Jake.Jeff.Zach.

We Love you Zachy. Good luck and trust God. Listen to Him and ALWAYS let His word resonate in your actions, in YOUR words, and your heart. P.S. the next month we have with you better be epic. Peace Ya’ll.

 

J

Random thoughts

Tonight has been a night of random thoughts, so rather than write paragraphs about life’s adventures tonight, I decided to just list off a bunch of things on my mind. not that anyone who reads this (all two people per day this past week) will respond, but I still want to do it.

1. God is pretty creative when you think about it. Look at human’s for example… what a weird thing to make. We are flippin complex beings capable of so much physically, and mentally, but the greatest asset that we have in our lives is emotion… the ability to feel things. That on its own is perhaps the most creative, individualistic thing we can even conceive.

2. Jake made Salsa tonight and it rocked my face off. I can’t remember the last time I had good Salsa. my guess would be when I went out to dinner with the Horner family in January.

3. My new occupation is a waiter… weird. I have never had the desire to work in food service, but when you live in a foreign country and can’t find a job for 5 months… then a place miraculously hires you and of your friends, you take it. I am now an Outbacker. I do love steakhouses!

4. I had a conversation in which I divulged my desire to be a crazy old man in the future. When I am like 90 to be sitting out on the porch every day… known as “Crazy Old man Clarkson” but not the weird old guy. the cool old guy that all the neighborhood loves! What a dream.

5. I want to be able to decipher the situation. Jake and Piker you know what I am talkin about. I  know that no one else does, but I feel better now that I published that. Its a step. 

6. Some people made two different comments to me yesterday. both of them have intentions to pursue careers in ministry. 1. “I am perfectly content that there are books in my bible that I never have and probably never will read.” and 2. “You have no right to stand up and preach the word if you haven’t read the gospel.” I find these thoughts interesting.

7. I feel inspired lately to do spontaneous goofy things, but at this point I am drawing a blank… My time that could be utilized for this usually comes around 11:00 pm, so there are a few minor issues.

8. I am gonna write another big one sometime this week!

until then, let me know if you ever read this thang! I would like to know!

Cheers,

J

Joe Satriani…. my escape

Do you ever have those times when everything just starts to wear on you…. annoy you….. and just make you want to run away….. ya me either. I never feel like that. Ever. except when I do…..

So this is my blog and just so you know not everything is always peachy keen in my world. I kinda need to vent.

Things bugging me today:

1. People who pretend to be ignorant about issues, then continue to consciously do it.

2. Bruce Springsteen.

3. The Dish monster that attacks my house every 4 hours.

4. Sitting in our fortress of solitude every night, without another option.

5. Only having one pillow (easy fix)

And now I feel much better Seeing as “The fortress of Solitude” is actually a cell block, I didn’t find it very easy to get into the word, so my next outlet for stress relief is my music. It was not much of an atmosphere for classical…. or jazz…. so i turned to the next best choice. Rippin Guitar. Excellent choice. Eric Johnson, Derek Trucks, and Joe Satriani have once again come to my rescue like they have so many times before. In particular the song “Always with me, Always with you” All I have to say is… EPIC. I feel great and I am once again feelin good. I wonder what life would be like in a Stree-free ish environment aka not living with 12 guys….. Thoughts?

 

J

My Winter Wonderland

 It is June 6 and it is officially Winter here in Sydney, as you can tell by the picture to the left. what you don’t know is that this is actually a pretty deceptive picture. Today is quite beautiful… sunny, cloudless, currently 64 degrees F, but it has not been like this for the past two weeks. It has been rainy wet and cold. there has only been one day since I got back here that I didn’t have to have a sweatshirt or jacket. Nights are getting into the low 50’s and it will be getting colder still for a little while. In the mean time, I am going to continue enjoying the blessing that is today. It is almost 2:00 pm and I am 4 cups of tea deep for the day, with a lot of time left. I love having just lazy days. the plan for today consists of writing, listening to Jazz ALL DAY, reading my bible for a few hours, going to church and then continuing the  previous things afterwards.

I have two weeks of class left in the first semester here in Australia and that is crazy. Time is sure flying, but that’s definitely a good sign, seeing how much I have grown in the past almost 5 months of living here. I was just thinking back to my time in the dorms at CSU and I am just in awe of how different things are now. One day stands out in particular. It was in December of 2007 I think… Pretty much everyone was gone for holidays except for a few of us. there was a good 18 inches of snow on the ground and everything was just silent and peaceful, except for the feeling of being stuck. I remember Terry and I feeling like we were in some sort of Ice Prison with no where to go, so we just watched Entourage ALL evening. At this point it just feel like nothing can be still here, maybe part of that has to do with where I live, but today is the first time in ages that I have just got to spend some time in silence and solitude. Its nice, just a lot different than the last time I was in such a winter wonderland. What a cool adventure to be on at this point in my life. I am in such a wild period of growth and change… and as much as I miss what is back home in Colorado, and what lies before me there, I can’t help but sit here in excitement and anticipation for what God has in store for me over the next year and a half. 

I have really been challenged lately to find a way that suits me to do devotions, seeing as it wasn’t something I have spent years developing, I am still in somewhat of an experimental stage of finding what fits, I think I found a pretty good system though so I am pumped about that. I feel like that has been the area I need the most discipline on. going to class and serving is all easy for me, but retaining what I am reading is something that has seemed to elude me, so that is the next chapter in my goals, I already see change in what I am familiar with in the Word over the past few weeks, but I am hungry for more. Crazy what god can do in and through you once you put yourself in a position to recieve what he has for you.

5 Months done here… crazy. 6 more til I am back for awhile… crazy. But in that time so much is going to go on! I feel like this second semester is going to be a whole new ball game, because at this point it is no longer new. A lot more is going to come my way, and I think this time I am more willing to reach out and take hold of what is being given to me… Its a big season of change. I Love it. hope all is good on the US front. I find myself wondering what is goin down over there. Let me know!

Current Ponderings:

Where did I forget my Pro-Mark Jacket this past fall?

How many more bottles of Cholula will I consume in the next 6 months?

Am I going to last the year of not cutting my hair?

I miss playing Marimba SO bad!

I wish I could go to a DCI show this year!

How is Mikey’s mission trip to Peru going?

Dave Holland Big Band Rocks…

That’s all! More soon. 

 

Cheers,

J

Assessments!!

Sooo….. I still haven’t felt up to putting in the effort to write about my trip home and Rez like I said I was going to, but its my blog and I kinda do what I want but anywho… this week marks something very special indeed.

 

I AM DONE WITH SCHOOL WORK TIL JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes thats right folks I finished all my assessments early monday, and submitted them all. The last three were due by midnight. and I also successfully gave my mini sermon to my tutorial class, which happened to be my first sermon EVER. So I am pumped! We still have 2 more weeks of class after this one, then two weeks of training just on Wednesdays for Hillsong Conference, but other than that I am done with my first semester of school at Hillsong…. CRAZY. I still feel new! it is going to be crazy to have a bunch of new students coming in July… to not be the new people anymore. I am pumped. 

Current Ponderings

Tonight was the Hillsong Mega Prayer night and it was off the hook. 

A friend told me today that I will experience these four things in my time here. 1. overlooked. 2. Incompetent. 3. Wrong Direction. 4. See the light. Just thought it was an interesting to think about looking at similar situations and how i reacted in retrospect.

why does Facial hair grow so quickly in Australia?

why do my retainers hate me?

I miss having a carpeted house.

 

Thats it for tonight. talk to you allz soon!

 

J

A Little bit Overdue…

So it seems like lately I haven’t had NEARLY as much time as I thought to keep this thing updated…..

 

Some of you might be asking how that is considering I just went on a two week vacation to the Lovely Loveland, Colorado… and I answer you by saying that, that trip was the busiest, most jam packed two weeks EVER. It was a blast and a half and very much worth all the travel time, but there really wasn’t very much time to sit and ponder the things one must ponder when attempting to write a blog. So… here is a bit of an update. It’ll be short and sweet, but here is what has been crack-a-lackin the past 3+ weeks!

To start off with I got a pony… not really.

No but to start off, We had fall break from school and I came to the U.S.A!!! (as I already stated) and Got to celebrate mother’s day and two graduations with my family. That was AWESOME. the two weeks prior to leaving for the States, I had been watching pretty much every NBA playoff game through the Gamecast on espn.com. and let me tell you, there is some wicked suspense when you have no idea what exactly is going on. But I do know two things for sure. 1. I still hate Boston Sports and 2. I have a very strong desire to see Kobe Bryant FAIL. It makes me smile. I got to watch 3 Nuggets games on TV while I was home… and that was rad, cuz we don’t have cable at our house here in Sydney. What a treat! So that was sweet.

A lot of stuff happened at Rez while I was there and the weeks leading up to when I was there, but I am going to write about that maybe tonight after Power House Central, or maybe tomorrow… but please keep looking back to read about that. Some AMAZING things are happening at that church and some even GREATER things are in store for it in the future.

I got to go camping in the freaking ROCKY MOUNTAINS!!! WIN. Thomas, Jay, and I went up to Pingree park for a night as is now our annual tradition. It was the best night I have had in 2009 so far. Believe me when I say I love it here and I love what is goin on, but nothing can beat a night like that. The best experiences in life are the simple things with people you love. Shooting Russian rifles, taking cool pictures, drinking way too many Rockstars, carving sticks to cook brats… if I could, I would do that any night of the week. Thanks boys. December is gonna be a blast.

Since I got back here a lot has happened… including a masquerade and a wicked long train trek to southwest Sydney. but the main thing has been assessments. Bleh and not bleh at the same time. They are really fun to do, but not under stress. and that happens when you procrastinate… yikes. we had a 19 pager due this past monday. and we have our 3 BIGGEST ones due this upcoming monday. so my week is gonna be pretty booked up but it’ll be swell. I have those 3 assessments + my mini sermon in public speaking (also on monday) and I am done with all my work for the semester!!! except for serving at Hillsong conference and doing a reflection on it afterwards! Semester 1 in Australia is almost over! Can’t believe it. 

Please look back in the next day or so to read about the ABSOLUTELY FANTASTICALLY AMAZING things going on at my Church in the land of Love. Greater things are yet to come indeed! until then Keep livin and God Bless!

 

J