my weekend.

i have continued to enjoy my time out in california. so many fantastic happenings. i shall share w/ you now via pictures. b/c...words are so bring.
I was completely excited for i awoke to the beautiful sound of rain upon the panes of my window. it made me feel warm and cozy. i took this pic down in san diego on this long bridge from the city to coronado island.


we arrived at seaworld and went to see shamu....he wasn't home at first. julie was sad.



but...he came by and showed us his beautiful belly.



then he jumped out of the water he was so excited to see us!


julie decided to worship shamu. her and the rest of the stadium as the music played this trippy tribal music.


They asked for volunteers...so there i am out swimming w/ my friend, shamu.
we then went to visit mumble . soon they will let all these penquins go so they can sing their hearts songs to their lovers back in antarctica. don't worry.

believe it....elvis was at seaworld. he had the hots for julie.

julie and i had a fantastic time together.
the fish wouldn't cooperate. he's in that peeish green water. i promise.

i contemplate the day we spent at seaworld.

isf.

what is isf? it's the new program i am in. institute of spiritual formation. on the outside looking in i can see why people might be slightly apprehensive about this program. we read alot of old catholic dudes, go to solitary places and practice the discipline of solititude, we meet with a spiritual director once a month, and ultimately we are being trained to be spiritual directors.

my mind has been blown away the past few weeks of class. it's as if this is exactly where i am suppose to be. questions that we were stirred up in my past which i sat confused in for so long are finally being raised and addressed in some of my classes.

i am taking a theology class on salvation and the work of Christ...something like that. in any event...we discussed an article written by a dude with the last name Tidball. His entire point was that we need to have a more 'cross-centered spirituality.' that if we gazed upon the cross a bit more...we would have a better understanding of our salvation. that we would see our sin a bit more...see the vast distance b/t ourselves and God if we saw the deep need of the cross, etc. but...a concern was raised in class on if this view of salvation would be slightly reductionistic of CHristianity. if the good news has been reduced to Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.....that leaves us wondering what the rest of our lives should look like. (this is definately an essential component...but it can't be IT).

so... this left my head spinning. what does one need for salvation? what does one need to believe? do they need to believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins? or...just believe in Jesus? does the cross need to be in there at all? what the heck does it mean to be saved? these are huge issues! these are questions i asked myself when i was in thailand sharing the gospel w/ my friends....and during gospel nights in ukraine! what the heck is needed? are we drawing people to believe something that is true (the cross is where sins are forgiven) but....that's why we so many people fall away? b/c the next step in the Christian life doesn't necceisarly follow. does this make sense? Acts 2:21 states that anyone who class on the name of the lord will be saved. numerous passages exist which state that belief in JEsus is what is needed. not merely the cross!

where is the transfomational work of Christ explained and understood? what about the life and the intercessory work of the spirit? the cross seems to heap guilt upon us...as we try to sit in our sin and understand the depth of our sin and see our need for the cross. but, honestly, sometimes it's difficult for us to see our depravity to its fullest extent. so...we try to conjure up these feelings for the cross...but it's difficult. we begin to feel like we need to pay him back. we see the downfalls of a cross centered view of salvation throughout the church!

do you know the penal subsitution view of the cross wasn't established until a few centuries ago? isn't that crazy? the entire concept that Jesus bore our sins upon the cross is a relatively new understanding within church history. we believe this....we believe that jesus died for our sins...but, where did it come from? (...i do believe this is true...)


anywho....this is just one thing that i've been mulling over in my little head recently. it's just compeltely intriguing to me..... as these are questions that have arisen in my past. what the heck are we trying to get these people to understand? what exactly is the good news? what must one do to be saved? what the heck is going on! ahhhh!!!

ok...that's all. i don't know if i made sense in this...but, i would love to hear some of your thoughts.

peace.
~lp

life thus far. fall 07.

It's been awhile since i really posted. i've fake posted. a number of reasons exist for this. 1...i don't have much to say. and 2.) i have too much to say. it's true. much has happened in the last little bit and it slightly overwhelms me on how to catch ya'll up. my mind is racing as i sit in class...and afterwards as i think about what i am learning i feel as if my heart or mind may explode. it's a good kind of explosion though. i am being challenged in countless ways...and feel like i'm being re-invited into a wonderful journey with the Lord. yuppers. it's all good. i've met some great people in my program...and just more people out here in school. last semester i was slightly overwhelmed w/ moving and all that jazz...but, this semester i've had more of a chance to build some relationships. i'm super enjoying the girls i live with.

This is from the getty. (faith, julie, michelle's bro, and michelle). The getty is a sweet FREE art museum north of where i live. it's beautiful architecturally....and the stuff inside isn't bad either. this is the second time i've been there in the past year.


this looking out the window. i think that's the ocean.... you can see the ocean on one side and mountains on the other. but...mostly you see smog. yum.


this is my room. part of it. i mostly wanted to get a pic of my wonderful chair! it's pretty amazing. it folds up and you can wear it as a backpack! it's great for the beach/bonfire/etc. a target buy. i haven't rigged up the hammock under my bed....but perhaps. even though my room is the smalllest...people hang out in it the most. i therefore felt more seating was a neccesity.



in my classes we have 'prayer projects.' i had three last week. this basically means guided questions in which i am to pray through and then report about. i went to the beach w/ my sweet chair and sat with the Lord, his beauty and my thoughts for awhile. it was pretty grand. i went with my friend julie...and afterwards i took her on her first in-n-out experience. it was yummy...as always.



i really like my feet. so i took pictures of them as the ocean engulfed my feet. wow. i kinda like california.

MADRID, Spain — A Romanian immigrant who fell on hard times set himself on fire Tuesday to dramatize his plea for money to return home, writhing in agony as flames consumed his clothes and skin and his wife and children watched helplessly.

The 44-year-old man, whose name was not released, suffered burns to 70 percent of his body in the self-immolation outside a Spanish Interior Ministry building in the eastern city of Castellon near Valencia, Castellon social welfare director Carmen Amoros said.

Spanish television ran horrific footage of the man on fire after dousing himself with gasoline and igniting it with a lighter. Flames first consumed his white soccer jersey and then crept downward to burn away his pants as he screamed and rolled on the pavement.

Two police officers tried to swat out the fire and eventually ripped away what remained of his trousers, then led him away stumbling and naked.

The man's daughter, identified only as Isabella, said the family had come to Spain three months ago with a promise of work and housing but both turned out to be bogus, the national news agency Efe reported. They got by collecting scrap metal and selling soft drinks on the beach, she said. Read whole story here.

announcement.

i just wanted you all to know i officially lived through an earthquake.
i am sure i had before...but was unawares. but...i became awares of this one as the building slightly shook and peeps looked around at each other. it was official. and i lived to tell about this gigantour earthquake of 4.7 on the richter scale. yah. it was pretty incredible. i'm ready for the big one now.

and...is there really any such thing as earthquake weather? i think it's absurd.....but, californians seem to think so.