Cafe.

I drove 40 mins one way last night to get a latte.  You now have a glimpse of where I live.

It’s Official…

WE ARE….

…a part of God’s restoration…His ARMY….His plans.

“I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes.”

After reading this Scripture, I was struck with the realization that God is inviting us to be a part of everything, even His restoration and building of the New Jerusalem here on Earth.  We often think of this life as fleeting and look forward to dying and waking up in Heaven, but I think it works differently.

We are called to bring Heaven to earth. We are invited to be a part of this process.  In the verse above God says he will restore things before our very eyes.  We are witnesses and a part of the restoration.  We don’t just die and wake up to the new world…Heaven….but rather, we are called to plant the seeds of Paradise while here on earth.

That mandate and and invitation makes this life here on this earth a lot more worth our effort and frustations.  We aren’t just toiling for The Kingdom so that it can all disappear when we go to Heaven, but rather we are literally creating Heaven here on earth.

Dang. Let’s do something.

Place.

I am chilling at Rooz (my favorite cafe in Oakland) and this song came on.  One of the lyrics was, “I don’t want to lose my place in the old world”.

Those words cut me and were a reminder of how I try to reach back in the past to reclaim the sin I enjoyed or who I used to be.  Becoming a follower of Christ means you have to leave all the old behind.

I equate this struggle to that t-shirt you put in the “Get-rid-of” bag, only to pull it out of the bag as you are dropping off the other clothes at the donation bin….”Maybe this will fit even though it didn’t last time…maybe I’m just not ready to let go.”

Clothes document who we are over time…or at least who we want others to perceive us as.  Something so shallow and fleeting has such a prevalent expression of who we are and it scares me to think of how we do the same thing but with more serious things…like our heart.

Maybe God is trying to tell me something.  My old heart just doesn’t fit.  The new heart…the new portion He has given me will never be too small, out of style, or worn.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” -Psalm 73:26

Daily Dose of The bAy

This video is low-budget and a little cheesy, but not too bad beats and girl singing…plus the guy’s rhymin in quite similar to Will Smith’s style…and you gotta love Big Willie style.

I seriously can’t explain to you how much I love living here.

Stop whatever you are doing right now, hop on a plane, and come see me (yes, Bjorn, that’s you)

Oak-land

Seriously. Come visit me in Oakland.  I miss you all.  I put together a little tourism video as incentive for you to come see me.  It highlights all the great things that await you when you come out to visit.  Get here already!

Wrap-a-wHaT?

This is not a test. 

If you are looking to waste the next 12 mins and 19 seconds of your life, please watch the video below.  Entertaining to say the least. I think this could be a never-ending pool of quotes for us to draw from.  Let’s make this video viral (share with as many people as possible).  Maybe someday, this will be as big as the Andy Samberg videos. I’m calling it now, you will be sitting in your friend’s living room in Park Slope, sipping a microbrew and talking about this darn recession, and then to lighten the mood he’ll bust out the quote, “So, as you can tell, my hair is straight….” and you’ll either:

A) Think he is making a gay joke

B) Think he is quoting the funniest video on YouTube.

Other amazing quotes include: “I just take it above the ear.”…”This is really old…it’s three to four years old.”… “I find that straightening my hair makes it longer, you know?!?”…and my favorite, “Ok, so now I just do the same thing on this side, and then I’ll be back…Ok, so it’s straight now, obviously these next steps are optional for you to do, just like any of the steps I’ve done…but this is what I like to do next…first I take my bed-head manipulator (you can’t write this stuff), and you need such a tiny tiny bit, and it looks like this, it’s in this blue container and it looks like this goo, yes I put this in my hair, you need such a tiny bit, so just tap your finger in it, and get some gunk on your finger, then I use this to make sure that my baby hairs are gonna stay away. (Watch video from 9:25-11:00 mins for best synopsis)

Can’t wait to see this thing blow up.

I will also treat the first person that tells me the number of times Blair says ’straight’ or any other form of the word such as ’straightened’ or ’straighter’ to a delicious ice-cream date. I would have you point out and count the sexual innuendos instead, but Breza, Peter, Bjorn, and Harrison would have an advantage…but even still, there are not enough hours in the year to hash through them all.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand go.

Cali

My second group arrives today.  Not sure where there from or what’s in store, but I am excited.

My first group was amazing.  It was a great start to my time here and it was exciting to see how God opened their eyes (and mine) to how big, how loving, and how great He is.  The arrived nervous and sheltered and left excited to continue their ministry back home with a renewed sense of the call we have as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The place I live at is called Harbor House.  It is a ministry here in Oakland that reaches out to neighborhood kids and families.  Harbor House allows CSM to house people, so it is interesting sharing a space with another ministry and seeing all the cool things they are doing.

The weather is fantastic.  Be jealous.

My buddy Evan (former CSM host) visited me for a few days and it was so refreshing to catch up with him and hang out with Hector (the maintenance manager and friend of ours).

All around, Cali has been great so far.  Not sure how long I’ll stay or if I’ll find a job, but life is good.

What is God doing in your life?

OAKLANDISH

I am back in the Bay and ready for action. I am living in Oakland, CA and this place is off the chain…Hyphy, ghost ridin’ the whip,  Norteños, whistle tips, Deep East Oakland, and some super sweet ministry.  I will be hosting youth groups for three weeks, taking them around the city, and doing urban missions.

I will be updating you all with all of my adventures.

For now, I leave you with a reminder of how tight Oakland is. This is the remix.

Joel

A short but great book.

I love in Joel 2:13, the LORD says, “Rend your heart and not your garments.”

So often, we offer superficial committments to Christ, as if that will satisfy him for the time being.  Whether we do this out of laziness, fear, selfishness, etc, Christ is not duped.

He wants the real deal…he wants our hearts, not just the shell.

A very literal example in my life is my persistent ‘need’ to get rid of clothes.  I have too many clothes; others not enough.  It is a practical way for me to get rid of junk, make more room for myself, help those in need, and all the while, feel good about myself.  That’s not the intent, but I think subconsciously at times it is.  I think to myself or to God, “Wow, look at all the stuff I’m willing to give up for YOU.”

His response is always, “Matthew, rend your heart and not your garments.”

Dang.