tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194874092024-03-07T19:43:20.563-05:00Neil - Changes and GrowthGrowing and Discerning...After the Heart of GodNeil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-46144762164007984942008-02-28T22:32:00.004-05:002008-02-28T22:54:24.922-05:00Mother Theresa and a JourneySo I have to ask myself the question...how many times have I said the following:<br /><br /><div><div><div>"What is God calling me to do?"<br /></div><div>OR how many times have I said<br /></div><br /><div>"I'm just looking for my calling. I just want God's will in my life. I'm just waiting to do what God wants me to do, whenever that is"</div><br /><div>I said these things ALL the time. I thought they were the right things to be believing...but then something happened that changed my opinion.<br /></div><br /><div>I heard a speaker in a class give a talk, and he was referencing an interview a reporter had with Mother Theresa. He asked her the following question:<br /></div><br /><div>"So when did you know you were called to feed the poor and serve here in Calcutta?"</div><br /><br /><div>Her reply is unbelievably insightful:<br /></div><br /><div>"I wasn't. I was following Jesus Christ, and this is where He led me."<a href="http://www.myagape4u.com/images/mfp-mother-teresa-jesus.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.myagape4u.com/images/mfp-mother-teresa-jesus.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div>How amazing is that. Let's unpack that a bit.</div><div>This completely flipped my outlook on God's calling in our lives right away. Was I doing the wrong thing? I kept thinking there was this lighta at the end of the road I was heading to, that when I got there, I would be in the center of the heart of God, and I would then be able to know what my calling was, and I'd embrace it with open arms. Everythin<a href="http://www.monash.edu.au/research/swc/assets/images/swc-index2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 141px; CURSOR: hand" height="209" alt="" src="http://www.monash.edu.au/research/swc/assets/images/swc-index2.jpg" border="0" /></a>g I was doing in the mean time was to prepare me for that destination...as if that destination was all that really mattered. </div><br /><br /><br /><div>I really wanted to do God's will. I thought this is what God wanted. And it is, of course...but God's purposes are going to get accomplished no matter what. It's a fact. But that doesn't mean that God's will is always done. We don't do God's will all the time. God doesn't want people to suffer...to die...to sin. These are results of God's will NOT being done. Everytime we sin we are disobeying God's will...and it just reminds the world that evil is always present.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>So bringing us back to the Mother Theresa comment. What can we do then? If we aren't truly "called" to do things? What if we never have that 'dream' or that 'vision' that tells us what God wants us to do? Simple. Ask ourselves the question: "What can I do right now to please God?"</div><br /><br /><br /><div>Follow Jesus Christ.</div><br /><br /><br /><div>That's what mother Theresa. God's will for our lives is to follow His son. So right now, the <u>only </u>thing we can to and be sure it is God's will is to follow Jesus Christ. Don't worry abo[ut finding a calling...worrying about making money...getting married...Do we not trust God to take care of these things? We are to focus on this one thing. Follow Jesus Christ...are we not confident that if we do this He will lead us to where we want to go? </div><br /><br /><br /><div>I was reminded when hearing this story: Faith is not a destination, it is a journey. So let us follow someone that knows the best journey for us to take - and be able to say the same thing Mother Theresa said.</div><a href="http://www.saintsgallery.com/images/Mother_Teresa.JPG"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.saintsgallery.com/images/Mother_Teresa.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>"I wasn't[called to serve the poor in Calcutta]. I followed Jesus Christ and this is where He led me."</div></div></div>Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-63723784977065618942008-02-28T22:30:00.002-05:002011-06-13T20:48:34.275-05:00This was the paper i turned in reflecting on the first 5 weeks of the "Perspectives" class I'm taking.<br /><br />Check it out if you'd like<br /><br /><a href="http://www.perspectives.org/">www.perspectives.org</a><br /><br />There are SO many different things I could write here! The first and foremost thing I took from week 1 was the importance of glorifying God. Too many times we take the Bible as being about us, and what God can do for us, and what we can do to glorify Him. But I don’t know if I could have answered this question correctly prior to week 1. God Gets most pleasure out of us when we glorify Him – Scripturally this is unarguably true, and we can glorify him by glorifying his name, and making all aware of His name and His love. That is what God wants more than anything.<br /> Another discovery, which now seems ridiculously obvious, is the importance that God’s name be preached to all the nations as a necessity, and not necessarily as something we should do. Countless numbers of scripture verses have been brought to our attention supporting this. Not only SHOULD we do this as the body of Christ, but we MUST do this. Basically, according to scripture, the awakening for me was the cause-effect relationship of this. Matthew 24:14 Unarguable supports this when it says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” This WILL happen for the end to come. Amazing. God is going to accomplish His purposes…so we should do all in our power to be a part of them. No matter how hard people try NOT to help God or evil tries to stop Him, He cannot be stopped.<br /> The speakers were unbelievable as well. It is SO tough to soak in all the information every speaker says every week, but I can honestly say every week I walk out of class with some sort of theme I take out of every speaker that sticks with me. During week one, I became convinced that we are really on Earth to do one thing – Glorify God. I then also became convinced the best way to do this is to witness…and I am using this word with (2) definitions. First, to proclaim our allegiance to Christ in public and in the way we live, as the disciples did. Next, to tell all we can about the importance and glory that comes along with believing in Christ. In a later week I discovered this as only half the battle in evangelization…it is also important to help those we share with in learning how to follow God, which is what happens after we commit our lives to Him.<br /> In Week 2, Dr Robertson gave his “Cat and Dog Theology” Lesson…and I have to admit, I was immediately skeptical by the name; however, I was immediately impressed once he got into his main points, and I began to really get excited about the entirety of the class as a direct result of this. The main point I took from this was to focus on what JFK used to say about our country – not what it(HE) can do for us, but what we can do for it(GOD). What does God want from me? What does God get from me? Why does God love me? What can I do for Him? These were among the questions I began asking myself immediately…and I immediately saw a shift in my direction in prayer and my approach toward missions. And as an add-on to that…when we truly accept grace, when I realize that Christ is truly in me, I don’t just say “I get God,” it also becomes, “God gets me.”<br /><br /> The fifth week saw Russ Munion give his portrayal of the first (3) missionaries. The thing that strut me right away about the first one, William Carey, is that he was in India for SEVEN years before he had his first convert. I know very few people, if any, have that kind of patience. Did he go about his missions in the right way? No, not at all. Of course not. Why? Because nobody had ever done it before! His courage and faith had to be UNIMAGINABLE to do what he did – to TRULY take a leap…and take his wife, his kids, in the the belly of the beast. God praise Him for his work, and praise God for allowing people to love him THAT much. I pray I can have a fraction of his faith and patience in the Lord. These three men among others laid blueprints for us to follow, and allow us to learn from their mistakes, be inspired by their leaps of faith, and learn from their successes as well.<br /> LOVE the class –wake up every Tuesday morning not being able to wait for the night!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-64697195865358444492008-01-22T23:12:00.000-05:002008-01-22T23:45:32.715-05:00The Refrigerator Faith<div><a href="http://www.momofood.com/store/images/Grade%20A%20Chicken%20for%20SM%20Med%20Dogs.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.momofood.com/store/images/Grade%20A%20Chicken%20for%20SM%20Med%20Dogs.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div></div><div><br /></div><div>You know, just to start off with a random thought I heard today. How often do we in our lives have "a refrigerator Bible?" You know, the type of Bible where, ya know what, I know if I eat when I need it, I'll be fine. I know I'm supposed to feed from it every once in a while, not all the time, but just enough to tie me over until the next time?? I've been, AT BEST, this good many times in my life. Think about it. I bet MOST Christians have this type of a Bible, myself included. Then, when we finally do ge<a href="http://www.mrmilkman.com/uploads/stoufferslasagna.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.mrmilkman.com/uploads/stoufferslasagna.jpg" border="0" /></a>t to the refrigerator, what do we do? We open it up, we grab the leftover Stouffer's Lasagna(It's always better the 2nd day), we grab the cake...we grab the good stuff. We don't grab the raw liver, or the pig's feet, or the mayonnaise that has been in the fridge so long its beginning to grow fur. We grab what we know is good - what we know will satisfy us.</div><div><br /> </div><div>How many times do we do this in life? How many times do we do this with the Bible? We stick to what works. We look for the verses about love, and encouragement. We stick to the New Testament - why? Because its awesome stuff! We know it! we know God promises us these things, and we never get tired of hearing it. That's all great, it really is. I do it ALL the time. But what about the rest of the story? What about the chicken liver? what about that maynnaise? It's in the fridge for a reason right....Don't we owe it to ourselves, and to God, to see what it has to offer??</div><div><br /> </div><div>Now I am not of course suggesting we eat the mayonnaise with the fur - in fact, I hate all mayonnaise, but you get my point. I want to find out what it has to offer...I HAVE to find out what it has to offer, what the connections are. Sort of hit home yesterday doing some reading:</div><div><br /> </div><div>Gen. 45:4-8<br /><br /></div><div>"Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.<br />8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt."(from BibleGateway.com)<br /><br /></div><div>Old Testament. The stuff we know, the stuff we rarely view as other than a story, but here's what jumped out at me. Joseph says here "It was not you who sent me here, but God."<a href="http://www.wels.net/wmc/Downloads/clipart2/Sabc085.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.wels.net/wmc/Downloads/clipart2/Sabc085.gif" border="0" /></a> Josephs brothers, his flesh and blood, turned his back on him, or even worse, abandoned him, by selling him into slavery. And after all that time, when facing his brothers, what did he do? If you know my brother you know darn well what I'd do. I'd come out swining most likely - the Years of anger growing inside me(watering the 'wrong' parts of my life - see yesterday's post). But Joseph said "God did this to me, not you." What if we viewed everything every person does to us in our lives as God doing it to us? What if God said we let him down? What if God yelled at us for wrecking our car when we were teenagers? What if Jesus himself were the person we were holding resentment towards because of something they did to us 5 years ago? How crazy is that. I don't know about you, but for me, it would be gone in an instant. How could I ever be mad at Jesus for doing ANYTHING to me after all of the things I have done to him through my sin?<br /></div><div>But that is essentially what it is. We always preach and know that God is in control: </div><div><br /> </div><div>"Everything in the heavens and the earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything...your hand controls power and might and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength" - 1 Chron 29:11-12</div></div><div> </div><div><div><br /></div><div>So this we know is true, so essentially isn't it God himself doing the things around us? Building us up, breaking us down? I am challenging myself to look at my life this way anytime I get sinful feelings towards circumstances around me. Rather than asking God "Why are you doing these horrible things to me Lord(or fill in the blank with the name of a...let us say brother =))" we can ask "Lord Break me so you can build me up again." It's really an amazingly intuitive way of thinking about circumstances around us...I hope that I can only have of the insight Joseph had, so I may recognize similar situations, no matter how minor they may seem.</div><div> </div><div>Again, its not what I write on here which is important - it is the way I LIVE MY LIFE that is the most important...let me not forget this.</div></div>Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-22103362844021515562008-01-20T17:20:00.001-05:002008-01-20T18:19:43.521-05:00Weeds vs. Fruit and a side of Chili<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/206/492953821_b6dc74a319.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 220px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 377px" height="440" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/206/492953821_b6dc74a319.jpg" border="0" /></a>Okay...haven't done the online journals in a while, but now we're getting it back! I've been up and down lately, but the big change in my life is the recent assurance that change will be coming soon. I've been living in Kansas City for about 16 months now and the Lord has put it on my heart for the first time, as I knew would happen when I moved here, to start moving in new directions...I'm still not exactly sure what that means just yet, but I'm going to be patient and trusting in the process.</div><div><a href="http://yabusakisdwightwaynursery.liveonatt.com/images/fruit_tree1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 237px; CURSOR: hand" height="271" alt="" src="http://yabusakisdwightwaynursery.liveonatt.com/images/fruit_tree1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Gal. 5:19-26<br /><br />"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. " </div><div> </div><div>Anyways, VERY good message today at church. The pastor, Dan, is traveling to China to pick up his daughter that he is adopting...really nice story actually, but he recorded the message before leaving, which we watched on video. He began by starting with a story another leader within the church had told him. Let me set it up for you.<br /></div><div>IT started with him feeling called in some way to "water everything green" in his yard. So day in, day out he would be watering everything in his back yard which was green. I found myself picturing the guy just standing in the back of his yard, with an estranged smile on his face...almost as if he was high, just smiling...hose running...And one day he was back watering with his cousin, and the cousin said:<br /><br /></div><div>"What are you doing?"<br /></div><br /><div>"Watering the plants." he replied.<br /></div><div>"Uh...those aren't plants. Those are Weeds."<br /></div><div>The leader then looked for a minute...and replied.<br /></div><div>"Hmmmm..."<br /></div><br /><div>The connection is great. So many times in our lives we 'water' things - good and bad alike. The It is a VERY sensitive thing to do. If we spend time in prayer, and focusing on our spiritual life, we will grow. By doing devotionals, constantly making the right decisions, and spending time <a href="http://www.opengatetrust.org.uk/photos/thrive2.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.opengatetrust.org.uk/photos/thrive2.jpg" border="0" /></a>'watering' these parts of our lives, growth is inevitable.<br /></div><div>On the contrary...we can go the other way with this one. If we water the other parts of our lives, the sinful side of our nature, this will grow. I'm sure we can all relate to this - I know I can. IT always starts with (1) LITTLE sin. Then it just grows. Sometimes when I was in college i would make it a point, just as an example, to not drink any alcohol at certain points. My senior year I once went 40 days without drinking...which doesn't seem like much now, but back then it was. I was improving in my spiritual life every day.<br /></div><div>But then I'd go out and have one beer, then two...and the next time three...and it would be a while before I realized I would be falling into the same patterns that got me to the point I was at in the first point. Now alcohol isn't really a big problem in my life...even if it was it isn't anymore...it's always been controllable to me, but i feel many of us can relate to this story. In fact, just writing this makes me want to have a boulevard Wheat! It's a Kansas City Beer. I've had a 12 pack in my fridge for a good month and a half now...i always get too tired to have one and fall asleep!</div><br /><div>Anyways, back to my point. When we water these "sinful" things in our lives - whether it be alcohol, or lying, or jealousy, they will grow inside of us. And the problem with watering? We can't water more than one thing at a time. So if we're spending our time watering the bad things in our lives, the good things will begin to die. The leader in the church our pastor was referring to looked around his yard to see the fruit and plants in the other parts of his yard dying...because he was focusing on the weeds. Everybody knows this is true...when we're growing in sin, our spirit will wither; however, if we water our spiritual lives - the 'fruit' -and continue to do so, the sin inside of us - the 'weeds' - will wither away....but if we ever decide to step on over, and 'water' the weeds again, they'll come right back.<br /></div><br /><div>So it is my prayer that we would spend our time focusing on the fruit in our lives - and watering the fruit, so the weeds and sin in our lives will die. Let this be continual.<br /></div><br /><div>Tomorrow I'll write my thoughts and response to it.<br /></div><div>NOW on the lighter side of things...last night was AWESOME! My roommate and I attended a Chili cook-off at an Episcopal church- I ate a good pound of chili. There were TONS of different kinds of chilis, and we were testers...and ate more chili then I knew what to do with. Now if you know me at all you know how much I appreciate good food. I could DEFINITELY be a food critic - If God called me to do this i would be SO pumped - but...I know that's not my calling. Oh well...=)<br /></div><div><a href="http://www.zennotes.net/wp-images/small_chili.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.zennotes.net/wp-images/small_chili.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div>We then went to the Plaza to watch the KU-Mizzou game, and loved seeing the Jayhawks come away with the win - just gotta hope they can get it done in March this time! They've had some bad luck in recent years.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.jayhawks.com/traditions/desktops/ku.GIF"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.jayhawks.com/traditions/desktops/ku.GIF" border="0" /></a> Alright, NFL playoffs are on - and even though Da Bears are out, I still enjoy it... and I have a stouffer's Lasagna in the oven. Sunday is a great day =)<br /></div><div>and I thought everybody would find it amusing that I went to add some pictures after writing this, and typed "weed" in a google search, and wouldn't ya know...What do you think came up??<br />It's actually called 'granny smokin the weed.'<br /><a href="http://www.owensworld.com/funnyimages/files/grannys_weed_big.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.owensworld.com/funnyimages/files/grannys_weed_big.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1162406367083328382006-11-01T13:06:00.000-05:002006-11-01T13:39:27.406-05:00I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking ForGEEZ it's been so long since I've updated the good 'ol blog! I've moved to Kansas City to take the job I interviewd for with WESCO international. It's going great, I just moved into a great house and am learning as quickly as I can. I start an intensive learning program today, even though I've pretty much been doing my job the past couple weeks(THROWN into the fire, quite literally. You really learn quick when you learn through your own screw ups!)<br /><br />One of my big challenges in moving here, as I knew it would be, would be to find a church as comfortable as St. Stephens was for me in Sewickley, PA. I loved it there, and more importantly loved the people there, which is the most important thing to me. I've been attending "Heartland Community Church" since I've arrived, going on Sunday mornings and Tuesday nights. It's been decent - All of the services are contemporarty, some were actually all prayer services(Tuesday nights), which was nice. But the church has adopted a "Go" mission statement as they are in the process of moving buildings, and seem to be pushing this new transitional phase greatly. It seems great if I were a part of the church already and involved, but I'm not, so at times I feel uncomfortable.<br /><br />SO...<br /><br />I went to a new church - recommended by a Mentor I've met with per recommendation of Peter Moore, my good friend and Mentor from back in Pittsburgh. The church is the Church of the Resurrection, a Methodist church, and my great friend Paul and I went there to attend service on Sunday to hear the pastor, Adam Hamilton Speak. I had already heard good things about him from Sherree Funk, another friend from Pittsburgh who had encountered him. We sang 2 hymns, and the sermon was on the Parable of Buried Treasure. The talk was great. He was quick, efficient, and effective. I loved how he focused on one topic - Buried Treasure - related it to Christian Faith - it was very effective.<br /><br />Why did I like it?? Here's why - I am a Christian. I believe things and have done things the Bible says are necessary for Salvation. I have a personal relationship with God, and I understand Mature Christian faith doesn't happen ovenight - it's a lifelong process and is difficult. But...(there's always a but isn't there?) I often feel there's something out there I just don't get. In the same respect there are times when I feel like I do 'get it.' I feel that peace...like I did that day on the vineyard, God put a feeling of peace all about me that day, as if I DO get it. But Sin and human nature bring so many other bad things to me and bring me back down. Anybody who has ever had more than a 5 minute conversation with me about my faith knows this and how much I stuggle with this and have struggled with this for years. The only 2 things more difficult for me to understand are accepting God's grace, and understanding that Jesus was in fact God Himself. And again, it's okay to not 'get' it all the time.<br /><br />Adam Hamilton, the pastor, understood this, and made a couple observations. But he <strong>convinced</strong> me for the first time in my life, by admitting that he too didn't "get it" yet, that there is still hop. He then referenced a song by U2 which, after reading the lyrics over and over, now LOVE. Most people have heard it:<br /><br /><em>I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2</em><br /><br />I have climbed the highest mountains<br />I have run through the fields<br />Only to be with you<br />Only to be with you<br />I have run I have crawled<br />I have scaled these city walls<br />Only to be with you<br />But I still haven't foundWhat I'm looking for<br />But I still haven't foundWhat I'm looking for<br /><br />I have kissed honey lips<br />Felt the healing in her fingertips<br />It burned like fire<br />This burning desire<br />I have spoke with the tongue of angels<br />I have held the hand of a devil<br />It was warm in the night<br />I was cold as a stone<br />But I still haven't found What I'm looking for<br />But I still haven't found What I'm looking for<strong> </strong><br /><br />I believe in the Kingdom Come<br /><em><strong>Then all the colors will bleed into one</strong></em><br /><em><strong>But yes I'm still running.</strong></em><br /><em><strong>You broke the bonds</strong></em><br /><em><strong>You loosened the chains</strong></em><br /><em><strong>You carried the cross</strong></em><br /><em><strong>And my shameAnd my shame</strong></em><br /><em><strong>You know I believed it</strong></em><br /><strong>But I still haven't foundWhat I'm looking for</strong><br /><strong>But I still haven't foundWhat I'm looking for </strong><br /><br />How good is this last verse. It struck me right in the gut.<br /><br />Because<br /><br />While I may now what it is I'm looking for, and understand how desperately I need and want to find it...<br /><br /><strong>I still haven't found what I'm looking for.</strong>Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1162404339871289002006-11-01T12:48:00.000-05:002006-11-01T13:05:44.606-05:00Wendsday, October 30th<br /><br />Alright so right now I'm sitting on a plane in Providence, RI, and I was talking to the flight attendent for a few minutes about the camp I worked, and why I was going to Chicago(my Sister's wedding) - because that's what I do. I talk to people. Everybody I know knows this about me. The conversation struck up because I had to explain to her why the hell I was in Rhode Island! I asked for a pen to write with, and she came back with a coca cola pen - and it literally took me about 15 minutes to figure out how the hell to make it work! I was so MAD! I'm an idiot. Anyways, turned out all I had to do is twist it instead of pulling. Yea, that's how I roll.<br /><br />Conclusion:<br /><br />Neil + ANYTHING = Neil is a moron =)<br /><br />Yesterday was my birthday. Yes, i know, hold in your excitement. I'm 24 now. After about 7 days on the vineyard, I took the ferry at 12:15 back to reality. No more sweatervests, no more sailboats. Another counselor named Matt, whom I met there, and I then drove to his place in Connecticut to stay the night. Seeing as it was my birthday, we wanted to make a little detour, and hit up the Fox Woods or something like that casino! It's always a good time. I proceeded to lose about $75, but it was tons of fun. We got a 9 in on the country club his parents were members to this morning, which was awesome(I love Golf - you know, they say Golf and sex are the only 2 things you don't have to be good at to enjoy). I then headed up toward Providence, stopped through New Haven to see another friend I made at the Vineyard from Yale. So now Im leaving RI on a plane of about 26, so I have about 4 rows to myself, AND its the exit row, so I just popped in a perkaset and am about to pass out!<br /><br />Anyways, some amazing things happened the last couple of days at the vineyard. Have you ever been meditating, or praying, and you seen to get little glimpses of things you haven't experienced(I guess you could call it the PRE-dejavu phase)? 2 days ago, I was in our cabin praying, looking out the window and watching rain fall, and I swear I got this overwhelming sense of the Spirit - I saw light, I felt God's presence, and I really felt I was looking at God's glory. It was only for a split second, but it happened 3 times that day. It was amazing. I have found myself more and more becoming delighted in my faith...and I truly feel eager to seek, and of course I have felt more and more peace. One of my onstant prayers is to know the desires of my heart - because I don't know what they are! But He does...<br /><br />"<strong><em>Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br />I love this psalm(37)<br /><br />This has helped me in making my decision for a move. God is going to work in my life no matter where I end up, and I am now convinced that he has left it up to me to decide where I want to be, and He'll take it from there. Makes the decision SO much easier with that kind of confidence on my side doesn't it??<br /><br />Alright - the medicine is kicking in now, so I'm gonna doze off(it's about 9pm). I'm meeting my brother at the Airport, than my grandma is going to pick us up. Time to get the usual Italian Beef sandwich, Gyros, stufffed pizza, vienna beef hot dogs, and all of the other brown bag heart attacks that come with the food I love so much in Chicago, the city I love.Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1162403199751821462006-11-01T12:11:00.000-05:002006-11-01T12:46:39.946-05:00Biking and TOUGH questionsAugust 26, 2006<br /><br />What an exciting day! Yesterday I took a 24-mile bike ride - and I rezlized something...I need to invest in a bike! They are so easy to get around on and I feel more tired after running 3 miles than riding 24 - Maybe it was because I was able to ride across the entire island in about 45 minutes, but it was quite amazing.<br /><br />Anyways, after buying a $20 "Black Dog" shirt, and checking out the other half of Martha's Vineyard, I came back to the North shore, where I attended a "tough questions" seminar - it was supposed to be for the kids but I was SO intrigued by it. Some of the most amazing things I heard involved creation, the flood, and the sacrifices. Let me explain.<br /><br />We all know the story of Adam and Eve. Eve tempted Adam to eat from the Tree(Well, Satan did, but that's another subject...Women are NOT the root of all evil, even though this is what I tell everybody!) of Good and Evil, and in taking a bite from the Apple Sin was introduced into the world. We all know this story. But through this seminar I learned something very interesting. The Greek and Aramaic translations of the word "Adam" we see in the Bible today directly translated simply means "man." Therefore, while it is a popular belief Adam was ONE man, it is not outside the realm of possibility that "Adam" is used to represent <em>many men. How nuts is that...</em>Just a theory of course, but interesting nonetheless. If this were true, it would of course mean God created more than one man in the beginning, which would also create a good objection to the whole "Incestual" past that would have had to occur for procreation.<br /><br />Another question was raised about sacrifices. Why were many people told by God (before Christ) to sacrifice lambs, calves(even sons, although never actually done), etc. to God? First, let's look at why Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice of God in the form of man, for all of mankind, to wipe away sin. Before this, lambs, calves, etc. were sacrficed as a cost for sin, and were therefore not needed after Christ. It is also said those were so we would get a fraction of the understanding of what the sacrifice of the Christ, the Son of God, meant <em>to</em> God. Now let's look at the crucifiction.<br /><br />The temple (which was where most of these sacrifices took place) in Jerusalem is said to have been destroyed after the death of Jesus on the cross. Put simply, this very well could have been a symbolic destroying to show there was no longer a need for the sacrifices, for the ultimate and only necessary sacrifice now <em>had</em> been made.<br /><br />Psalm 37:4<br /><em>"<strong>Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."</strong></em><br /><br />Wednesday, August 30thNeil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1162245638571559942006-10-30T16:43:00.000-05:002006-10-30T17:00:38.716-05:00An Arab Sailing?? Yep!August 24, 2006<br /><br />"I'm sailing away..." - Styx<br /><br />They say there's a 1st time for everything, and today was my 1st day of sailing! In fact, I was on a boat on the ocean for the 1st time ever. Being on the East coast, on a boat of about 50 people, I was the only person to have never been sailing before let alone on a boat. In fact, most of the kids said their parents actually <em>had</em> sailboats of their own(FOCUS, the org. i was working for, is a private school ministry).<br /><br />This is the thing that occured to me today. I had SO much fun - relaxing on the deck, reading a book, talking to the kids. Getting a good tan(which I like to call 'enhancing' my already dark skin). Then I started talking to the deckhands(the work crew). There were 5 of them, all between the ages of 20 and 25, which is right where I am. The captain/owner of the ship told me the story of the ship - he was 24 - and his fatehr had owned the ship and now he and his brothers were running the business. The had literally been doing this their entire lives. That blew my mind away...and if you know me you know exactly why that would get to me. I thought about it later and just couldn't grasp the idea of doing the same thing, of loving something that way, my whole life. I don't think I could do it. But the more I thought about it, it met me. This guy has it figured out. He is leaving HIS dream. He LOVES doing what he does every day of his life, and knows what he wants to do with the rest of hit. Why shouldn't he do this? Good for him! He's sailed to the carribean from MA. He's windsurfed in Maui. And he's good at it. i would LOVE to say i'm good at surfing...what little surfing I've done, it is one of my favorite things to do - but I'm not blessed at being good enough at it for a living, so God has other plans for me. I don't have the slightest clue right now how to sail. Before today, I thought "starboard" meant the little starcruch snacks(Yes I was a fat kid, still kind of am at heart). <br /><br />But seriously, he KNEW he had a calling. And he's living it, and loving it. But that's okay...it's not for me. I love being able to do <em>different</em> things - Where as the captain of the ship didn't want to do different things. I may not be <em><strong>great</strong> </em>at anything (that I know of) right now, but I'm good at a bunch of things, and I'm thankful for that. I'll take the gifts God has given me, and keep striving toward my goals and figuring out God's will in my Life.<br /><br />Okay, now it's time to go listen to boys talk about masturbation and "joysticks"...Um....I wish I was kidding. It's what you get when you room with middle school boys!<br /><br />Remember this my friends...<br /><br />"God's will is exactly what we would chose for our lives.. ifwe knew what God knows!" <br /><br />My verse I prayed today...<br /><br />Isaiah 26:3 "You willkeep in PERFECT PEACE those who trust in you, whose thoughtsare fixed on you"Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1162242843103132882006-10-30T16:00:00.000-05:002006-10-30T16:14:03.236-05:00Doubt, doubt, and more doubt! - It CAN be good you know =)August 23 -<br /><br />I doubt. I doubt every day of my life. I doubt every time I sin. I listen to the lies that tell me there isn't a God sometimes. In my mind...<br /><br />My heart keeps me in check. In my heart I <strong><u>know</u></strong><em> </em>there is a God. Of course there is. So...then why do I always go through spells where I think I don't nee Him, where I am the controller of everything, that there is no influence on me, that I can change things on my own? As human beings we feel the need to be wanted and accepted all the time, if we say we don't we're lying. God gives this to me openly, yet I constantly find myself turning to others instead of Him for this acceptance. I often wonder if solitude would be good for me. I know we are intended to be with other people - Juesus was ALWAYS with other people - <strong><em>always. But so am I.</em></strong> I've lived alone, but I'm always doing something it seems. I have quiet times, but usually no more than an hour or two at a time. Would a week, a month, or more effectively, even a year or more alone help me understand the mysteries of God more? I would solely rely on Him if this were the case as relying on others would not be possible. The initial reaction to this is "<em>of course</em>" - so here is the question. Why don't we do this if it would make us closer to and help to understand better our God?? I don't know...<br /><br />It's another beautiful day here on the island and sunny as ever. And I pray God's will is being done. This day and every day.<br /><br />- The Chicago Bears will be starting their season soon - and a Super Bowl title is in my sight. The cubs may not win many games from here on out, but I still love them too...but its time for football season. Go Bears!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1162241556504957232006-10-30T15:39:00.000-05:002006-10-30T15:52:36.573-05:00Tennis and the Island I'm onAugust 22, 2006 - 5:14 PM<br /><br />TENNIS! After morning prayer and meetings I was talked into a game of tennis - what a great time. After playing a double match we just stuck around and hit for an hour or so and I remembered why I loved Playing tennis so much back in high school and in college. I played through my sophomore year in college, but am not determined to play more!<br /><br />All of the kids began arriving around 2pm, and they're all about here now...The weather today on the vineyard is amazing - 80 and not a cloud in the sky. Some sand volleyball and whiffle ball have dominated registration, and I'm tired from both! <br /><br />In prayer last night, we prayed for things that were needed in order for us to be "present" here this week. For me, that meant letting go of what has been occupying all of my prayers and thoughts! Tough to do - I'm in the process of deciding whether to move out of Pittsburgh, a place I love, in order to pursue career moves, not to mention my decision as to whether I should pursue a career or continue in ministry. Originally I thought this little sabattical would give me the chance to ask God for guidance and figure it out, but the last day has changed my mind. It's up to God - not me. Where He sends me I will go, wholeheartedly. Las night, after some fighting, I was able to release this decision up to Him finally. Might sound crazy, but it's not up to me. I love Pittsburgh, other than Chicago it may be my favorite city. The idea of moving to Kansas City is scary, but seems great as well - there are spiritual highs and lows involved with both places, I realized this when I visited KC last week. Staying means reamining in ministry most likely and leaving means workin in business...FOR NOW. I've realized we don't have to be involved in full-time ministry to serve God's purposes for the Kingdom - He has different callings for each of us. I see myself, in fact I almost want to say I <em></em>know<em></em>(but I know better!) I'll be doing full-time ministry as a career at some point in my life, but I'm starting to get the feeling God is going to take me through some hard lessons, and break me, and build me up again, to mature my faith so I'll better be ready to serve in that way down the road, and not necessarily right now. Kind of scary, but I know he sees the end result for me, and knowing this gives me strength and courage to do things now.<br /><br />And maybe the FREAKING cubs will win a game while I'm gone the next 2 weeks...I'll be at Wrigley IN a week and half by the way!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1162234304367527932006-10-30T13:17:00.000-05:002006-10-30T13:51:44.436-05:00WHERE HAVE I BEEN!!These are posts from the past couple months I've written...<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">August 22, 2006</span></strong><br /><br />So 2 nights ago I stayed in New York Cityin a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air type house, in the 4-bedroom poolhouse, as a matter of fact. That day began by witnessing a truck flip right in front of me and my travel companion(Peter Moore)'s eyes, which was...well...freaking weird and scary. We pulled over right away, and after realizing nobody was seriously hurt(SOMEHOW both passengers walked away without a scratch) and a police officer arrived and interviewed us, we continued east toward NYC(Turns out the guy fell asleep at 10am on the road...NEVER drive when you're tired!).<br /><br />Yesterday we left NYC, went through RI and CT and arrived in New Bedford, MA, in order to catch the ferry over to Martha's vineyard, where I am preparing to work a middle school camp with an organization called FOCUS which Peter in fact founded many years ago. After taking some time to check out the old, run down fishing town, I got my first glimpse of the ocean. It's always amazing to see it for that first instant every time you go, even though I had seen it over a dozen times before(if you didn't know, I "get around" - in the non-sexual way =)). I always think about what certain things looked like thousands of years ago - whether a shopping center, or a house that now stands there was covered in endless fields, or even if the ocean itself...just standing on a beach staring at it, looked the same. Unbelievable...because the ocean probably has looked the same for hundreds of thousands of years...to everyone.<br /><br />During the 1 hour ferr ride, we passed through the Elizabeth Islands, and through Woods Hole, MA, where the Oceanographic Institute is. Peter Moore, informed me Emperor Hirohito(Emp. of Japan during WWII), when coming to the US to sign peace agreements and surrender after the war, requested only to see one thing while in the United States, and this Oceanographic institute was that one thing.<br /><br />After about a 20-minute doze off session, something startled me. Our minds are so dangerous. I found myself seeing people around me dying, thinking about people in BAD ways - I feel so helpless sometimes, you know what I mean? It's the same when you're a little kid, and you're all alone in the dark. You are fine for a few minutes, but then that infamously haunting "Unsolved Mysteries" theme music gets in your head, or you start playing through the next "America's Most Wanted" episode, in which you are the main character. And it's all in your head, but now you are scared out of your mind. You know all you have to do is stop thinking about it and you'll be fine, but you can't. It's too late. We become prisoners of our own minds. I get that way - and Satan must love it. I know immediately when these thoughts enter my mind. I know they're bad - I know I shouldn't think them, but it's too late. Before we know it we're sinning over and over in ways we're not even aware of, and all we can do is pray or fall asleep until we forget it ever happened, until the next time it happens, which we know it will. Bottom line: it's terrible. What can we do about it? In the book of James as well as other places in Scripture, we are told to focus on our hearts, and be transformed from the inside-out. Or in other words, rather than changing our outward actions, by changing our heart our outward actions will reflect those changes. This is a process, bu our damn human nature screws us up, and makes us that much more likely to fall into the thought trap, yet again we must <strong>first</strong> learn to NOT ACT on those thoughts, <strong>THEN</strong> work on elimination the thoughts...<br /><br />We keep on trucking...We'll find it...He'll help us find it...<br /><br />It takes time.Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1153941536095023742006-07-26T14:07:00.000-05:002006-07-26T14:18:56.110-05:00Great day!SO...Yesterday I had another Job interview, as a Operations Management Analyst at WESCO(Don't ask, I have no idea what that exactly meant), and it actually went pretty well. I went downtown, interviewed with 6 people, talked their ears off, as I often do, and went on my way. As I was driving home, I began reflecting on how the interview went. It went great right? Here I was, interviewing for an unpublished job, getting first dibs on an interview to be on a management track for a fortune 500 company. And I wasn't EXTREMELY Excited about it...excited a bit, sure, but it didn't seem enough. I began thinking to one of my interviewees when he asked me "what would be your ideal job right now?" I stopped for a brief second, having never been asked this question, and thought about how to answer. A professional soccer player? A TV broadcaster? A sports Agent? An Actor? Sure those all seemed great, but without stuttering and before I knew what I was saying, I blurted out -<br /><br /><em><strong>"I have to be in a position where I am constantly building relationships with people, and my success or failure in that position is based solely on the foundation of those relationships."</strong></em><br /><br />I was amazed and startled by my response - wait <a href="http://www.londonstimes.us/toons/cartoons/richdiesslin_permanent.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 313px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 336px" height="350" alt="" src="http://www.londonstimes.us/toons/cartoons/richdiesslin_permanent.gif" border="0" /></a>a minute...I'm an idiot, how did I say something that sounded so great? I know it was God talking at that moment...and I'm taking it as a clue as to what He is calling me to do...I don't know what it is yet, but what a great start.<br /><br />The next few weeks should be exciting, I'll be looking at the possibility of moving, and staying, but either way, transition awaits me, and I love it. Keep praying for me and thank you to those who have been!<br /><br />Funny Cartoon...I love itNeil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1153940717348436402006-07-26T13:53:00.000-05:002006-07-26T14:05:17.370-05:00Purifying Silver<a href="http://www.archaeologystudent.com/coinarch/paper6_files/image005.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.archaeologystudent.com/coinarch/paper6_files/image005.jpg" border="0" /></a>Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."<br /><br />This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it. " If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.<br /><br />God wants to see himself in us...but do we think he can??Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1153497776380783272006-07-21T10:45:00.000-05:002006-07-21T11:02:56.426-05:00Yep - The Seal is a slacker...it's been over a month! Anyways, been CRAZY busy lately, I am working as a Youth Pastor now at St. Stephens in Sewickley, PA for the summer, as well as working a few soccer camps to make a little extra money. And of course, a few trips here and there. In my spare time I have kids waking me up at 8am on Saturdays to hang out, and have been praying and searching to write the next chapter of my life. Right now it's looking like it's between staying here, and moving to KC...and for the first time Moving to KC I would say has pulled even, giving my head the idea that it's about 50/50. Can't wait either way!<br /><br />I'm actually very busy right now writing my sermon for Sunday...I'm speaking for the first time, and am actually very excited about it...it'll be fun. This is what I live for! I love talking =).<br /><br />This is a poem my friend Elizabeth sent me from Maya Angelou. Great words - Take a look:<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">When I say... "I am a Christian"</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm whispering "I was lost,</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">Now I'm found and forgiven."</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">> When I say... "I am a Christian"</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I don't speak of this with pride.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm confessing that I stumble</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">and need Christ to be my guide.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">When I say... "I am a Christian"</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm not trying to be strong.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm professing that I'm weak</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">And need His strength to carry on.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">When I say... "I am a Christian"</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm not bragging of success.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm admitting I have failed</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">And need God to clean my mess.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">When I say... "I am a Christian"> I'm not claiming to be perfect,</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">My flaws are far too visible</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">But, God believes I am worth it.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">When I say... "I am a Christian"</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I still feel the sting of pain.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I have my share of heartaches</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">So I call upon His name.</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">When I say... "I am a Christian"</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm not holier than thou,</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">I'm just a simple sinner</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;">Who received God's good grace, somehow!</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"></span><br />I'll try to keep updating everybody on the "life of the Seal" - in the mean time, I hope everybody is doing great - pray for me if you can!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1148918262823192572006-05-29T10:49:00.000-05:002006-05-29T10:57:42.843-05:00Success<a href="http://images.despair.com/products/demotivators/success.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 347px; CURSOR: hand" height="294" alt="" src="http://images.despair.com/products/demotivators/success.jpg" border="0" /></a>"Success:<br /><br />To laugh often and much' to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;<strong><em> to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."</em></strong><br /><br />- Ralph(Ralphy!) Waldo Emerson <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0006.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A card my mom got me for graduation said this on it...it's great. Of course, she signed it "Love, Mom, Dad, and Xena." Xena, for those of you who know, is our dog they have at home who is RETARDED!! Look at that stupid thing!! yes, I still love herNeil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1148832692845901622006-05-28T10:55:00.000-05:002006-05-28T11:11:32.856-05:00Graduating<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0811.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0811.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Graduated this past weekend...again. Got my Master's Diploma in Christian Leadership from Trinity Seminary...had a GREAT weekend. My mom and Grandma were up here, i ate cheesecake factory, Had a "Texas-Style Barbeque with some nice Brisket that was AMAZING, and just basically had a pleasant time because it was over 70 and sunny the whole time! So, of course, I have to go to a pirate game today to cap it off...any nice weather day means I go to a pirate game! number 6 of the year for me...18 is the goal that i hit last year that i need to beat. Anyways, here's a few pics from the weekend, praise the Lord for the great weather and the great time we all had.<br /><br />As you can tell, I'm easily distracte<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0816.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0816.jpg" border="0" /></a>d in both picturesNeil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1148566840009108492006-05-25T09:12:00.000-05:002006-05-25T09:21:39.826-05:00Fortune CookieSo Monday night, for the season finale of 24, I ordered some take=out chinese...as I used to do when I was in college all of the time. So the 2 of them mix very well. Anyways, After eating my Sesame chicken, I reached into the bag and pulled out a fortune cookie. Then I looked at the fortune: <a href="http://www.amyjogirardier.com/fortune%20cookie.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.amyjogirardier.com/fortune%20cookie.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />"You're intelligence is noticed by many people"<br /><br />And I found myself saying...<br /><br />"Yea! Ya know, I've always thought that!"<br /><br />Then I realized I ALWAYS freaking say that. Really! I mean don't you ALWAYS think the fortunes will come true or are true? I can't lie, I've even went as far to put the fortune in my pocket and carry it around when it says "You'll find a new love" or some crap like that. And this is WITHOUT doing the ever-so-popular adding of the words "in bed" after the fortune!<br /><br />So I raise this question...Why does Superstition always intrigue us? Why do we not step on cracks, put a dollar bill in our sock when we play a soccer game(yea i did this for a while), not walk under a ladder, break a mirror, or pick up a penny that isn't Heads up?<br /><br />And Why do I always put myself in a position when I read a fortune cookie that makes it true??<br /><br />=)<br /><br />have a great day!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1148253092854682492006-05-21T17:03:00.000-05:002006-05-21T18:11:39.493-05:00Accepting Grace and NYC!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0652_edited.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0652_edited.0.jpg" border="0" /></a>As I've been told now at least 6 times from 6 different people, it's been a while since I've written on here! The last few weeks have been CRAZY...the Lord has taken to and from so many different places, physically and emotionally. So let me just update everybody what is going on in the life of Neil the Seal.<br /><br />I have switched places of employment...after 7 months of working at Trilliant, circumstances needed me to be removed from there, so I have been working odd jobs in and around town the past couple weeks to make a few bucks. Of course....I didn't work as much as I should have. A tall drink of water by the name of Matthew Fletcher came to visit me last thursday, and we had the time of our lives. One thing I have been blessed with in my life is humor...the Lord gave me the ability to laugh in SO many different situations...<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0617.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="179" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0617.jpg" width="258" border="0" /></a>So Friday night, I took Fletcher on a date(he'd kill me if he knew I said that...he's a big guy) to show him Downtown Pittsburgh. We went to a pirate game, and then we went and walked around Point State Park, right in Downtown. We had a great time and had a great talk, mainly about Christians' roles in all arenas of the world today. We were then headed don't Carson street towards the South Side for a cup of coffee, and while looking for a place to park I clipped a curb with my back left tire and busted it. I started cracking up...literally. Here I was, with no money, planning on driving my car to New York City the next day, with a flat tire at 11:45 pm on a Friday around hundreds of people, and I was cracking up. What can I say, it was hilarious! Thankfully Fletcher, while he may not have cracked up, also found humor in it. So we changed the tire, and went home. The next day I dreaded the bill when I took my car to walmart, but hey - it's amazing how the Lord works in little ways! turns out I had paid 50 cents when I had the tires put on for a warranty, and the guy behind the counter pointed this out<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0623.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" height="167" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0623.jpg" width="176" border="0" /></a> to me(he obviously didn't have to) and it only cost me $8 to get it changed! The Lord has provided for me financially more than I could ever explain over the past 4 or 5 months, and surrounded me with some great <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0643.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 192px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" height="124" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0643.jpg" width="209" border="0" /></a>people who have blessed me and I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for that!<br /><br />Anyways, SO....the next night, yes, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. GREAT show. I've had tickets for this for about a decade so it was a great time. Fletcher and I found ourselves two-stepping to some of the songs...in fact I had a great conversation with a 39 year old woman who loved to dance, and me, being a "lord of the dance" myself could not turn her down. AFTER the concert, we drove to NYC...yes, at midnight. Within 30 seconds of going through the Holland tunnel, I had made a wrong turn and was on my way back through it again. THAT'S a great way to start a trip! Anyways we had a great time, and here are just a few pictures...we obviously saw everything, but going to a Yankee game and going to the top of the Empire state building, and seeing my good friend Marnie were some of the highlights of the trip...and there were MANY. We had the time of our lives and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to spend some time with a good friend.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0718.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0718.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Now to some more important stuff...I'm not going to get into incredible detail, but every day I find myself getting more and more upset(and it's NOT a good thing) because I have trouble accepting God's grace. We are supposed to accept it with open arms, and I DO, but I just feel SO undeserving SO many times it's just freaking Frustrating! I look at the MANY ways God has provided for me over the past month...and truth be told I probably wouldn't have made it far without this...and I just really can't understand why. And I know what I'm <em>supposed</em> to say...Just be thankful for what we get and know God will provide...but hat's not what I mean. I mean I have to fully grasp this idea that God <em>really</em> is going to provide for me <em>always</em>. For the first time in my life I was 100% relient on God, and I learned to be able to do this, and NOTHING but good came out of it. I accepted to be an assistant interim youth pastor this summer, and I'm excited about it. I really don't know what I'm going to do after that, and I LOVE That.<br /><br />Because <em>I know</em> God will take me to a place where He wants me to be. <em>I know</em> this. AND I am SO excited that I DON'T know what I'll be doing and where I'll be!<br /><br />I know I deserve nothing. I'm a human, and I deserve hell - bottom line. It's by grace I'm here, and by grace that I'm able to do anything...By grace I'm able to go to NYC with a friend...by grace I'm able to laugh at financial trouble...by grace I'm able to be provided for...by grace I'm able to love and be loved. Such great things. SO MANY great things, and I'm just going to continue to make the most out of every thing I've given, because I don't deserve ANY of it...I don't even deserve to feel pain, to suffer....I also see these things as blessings...And I'll leave you with a couple lines from one of my favorite Pat Green Songs(there are many of them)...<br /><br /><br /><em>"I hear people talk about life all the time, all they remember are times so sad, don't you think that life would be awfully boring, if the good time were all that we had."</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>"sometimes I sleep with all the lights on, it helps me to appreciate the night"</em><br /><em></em><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0783.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="249" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0783.jpg" width="339" border="0" /></a><br />Think about it...take something away(sadness, darkness) and the opposites(happiness, light) don't really exist.<br /><br /><br />Here's my final thought on grace...if you went to High school with me..."Neil's thought for the day" if you will =)<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">We get to live, and I don't mean we get to breath. I mean we get to <em>live</em>. How AMAZING is that. And ya know what, I'm having a great time living.</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong><br />Love life. Live life.Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1146198073266123972006-04-27T22:30:00.000-05:002006-04-27T23:28:17.930-05:00Sacrifice and What I do...Derek Webb and Thoughts<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/354313783CrBCAr_ph.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://www.breathecast.com/files/photo/photo_20050215060652_0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.breathecast.com/files/photo/photo_20050215060652_0.jpg" border="0" /></a>God is good...Let me start with that.<br /><br />It was a rough day at work today...just alot of things going on, people being discouraged, etc. But all in all, I love every day being a challenge, and I love adversity, because it gives us the opportunity to persevere through it, and rely on things greater than ourselves...which, in my opinion, is essential to living a fulfilling life.<br /><br />Anyways...got a call from one of my roommates LANEYYYY at about 5 pm asking if i wanted to go to a Derek Webb concert, and I then said "I love Derek Webb!" and agreed to go...of course I'd only heard the song everybody has heard by him (Wedding Dress) so I wasn't sure after hanging up the phone why I'd said that...but Oh well. I have pictures, maybe I'll post them up later. HE actually played through his entire new album, called "Mockingbird" - it really was amazing, and is worth buying. <a href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CC3SEG.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 235px; CURSOR: hand" height="252" alt="" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CC3SEG.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It was a great show...He is a very talented musician. He wrote some great songs that I will probably write about later, but Lane was talking on the way home about some things that I just found myself nodding my head about...Sacrifice and the absence of temptation. Webb's songs spoke lots of sacrifice, and the giving up of possessions<br /><br />Sacrifice<br /><br />What does it <em>really</em> mean to sacrifice?<br /><br />Jesus tells men 3 different times in the gospels to sell their possesions and follow him.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Matthew 19:21 - Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Mark 10:21 - Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Luke 18:22 - When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br />Let's think about this - what did it mean to sell all your belongings and follow Him? Did He really want these men to sell EVERYTHING they had and follow God?<br /><br />I got to thinking about what it would mean today...Think about it. Think about the TREMENDOUS confidence you would have to show in God to be able to do this. To sell EVERY <a href="http://www.aperfectworld.org/clipart/entertainment/television.png"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 101px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" height="292" alt="" src="http://www.aperfectworld.org/clipart/entertainment/television.png" border="0" /></a>possession you had - your car, your clothes, your TV, your IPOD! your computer(that's right, no instant messenger), even your house. No money, no savings, no accumulation of wealth - and give ALL of what you had to the poor. And just taking what you have and <em>following</em>. Now that is trusting God. That is saying to yourself, "God, None of these things are things I have for the right reasons...and none of it matters. They are yours, you gave them to me, a<a href="http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/ib_ipod_hero.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 145px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px" height="375" alt="" src="http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/ib_ipod_hero.jpg" border="0" /></a>nd I use them for my pleasure, and I am giving them back...<br /><br /><strong><em>I AM TRUSTING YOU TO PROVIDE FOR ME AND MY FUTURE</em></strong>"<br /><br />Think about how MUCH you would have to trust God to do that - And I need to do this more than you let me make this clear. Flat out, I can't do this right now. In my mind, I don't think I can do this. And thinking about actually doing it, sounds ridiculous doesn't it? "It's a different time then back then...bla bla bla." But is it? What do you think Jesus meant by this? Should we accumulate any wealth at all? In me putting money in my savings, saving for the future, am I really saying -<br /><br /><em>"Sure God, I could give this to you now, but I'm not confident that you'll always provide me with what I need, so I'm gonna have a backup plan just in case there is something <strong>I</strong> want or need in the future that you can't provide for me."</em><br /><br />When I thought about <em>this</em>, I got scared, because, is this true?<br /><br /><br />I was listening to Laney talk about going down the right path, and the wrong path, and he made a great point. If we are doing what God <em>wants</em> us to do in our lives, we are not doing what god does <em>not</em> want us to do in our lives.<br /><br /><strong><em>If we are doing what God wants us to do in our lives, we are not doing what god doesn't want us to do in our lives.</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br />Think about a dot...there are 2 lines, going in opposite directions. You can't<a href="http://www.helpalgebra.com/onlinebook/graphing_function_files/image004.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand" height="205" alt="" src="http://www.helpalgebra.com/onlinebook/graphing_function_files/image004.gif" border="0" /></a> be going in both directions at the same time right? The same goes for us. If we are truly seeking what it is God wants us to do and ACTUALLY doing it, we can't fall into temptation, we won't be doing what God doesn't want us to do. Sounds so simple doesn't it?? Think about that though...maybe it really is that simple.<br /><br />And what about action? I find myself SO many times in my life saying to people, "Yea I screw up occasionally, sure...but for the most part I don't steal, I don't lie, I don't kill, I treat others well, I'm nice. <strong><em>I'm a Christian</em></strong>."<br /><br />Sure I am. I do all of these things...well, I <strong><em>don't</em></strong> do all of these things...but think about love. What about love? Where is love in that equation? Where is loving your neighbor? Where is feeding the poor, trusting God, Sacrifice, and so many others. Where are they in that statement I always say to myself to convince myself I'm doing the right things...but here is the underlying question I'll leave for you to answer...or, I guess for me to answer...After I've decided what I don't do, which makes me a Christian, I have to start thinking -<br /><br /><strong>What do I <em>do??</em></strong><br /><br />Maybe We should sacrifice SOMETHING - take what we have, sell it, pack a bag, FOLLOW HIM, and go out and do something "stupid" - like Trust God...But can I <em>really</em> do that??>>>> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/v.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="343" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/v.jpg" width="265" border="0" /></a>Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1145889922530843462006-04-24T09:42:00.000-05:002006-04-25T12:35:04.733-05:00The "Perfect Pump"<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/0144-0512-0211-0424_SM.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/0144-0512-0211-0424_SM.0.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/0144-0512-0211-0424_SM.jpg"></a>Alright...ya know about 10 years ago when you were filling up on gas, and you would try to get the fillup right at the exact amount - the "Perfect Pump"...it was about $12.00 for a fillup then, but you tried desperately to hit the number right on the nose? You could pump really slowly and watch the pump move a penny at at time and hit your mark.<br /><br />My roommate Aaron pointed this fact out to me yesterday. Well I usually pay for gas with my credit card(Actually, i pay for everything with my credit card). Well, this morning i had some cash, so was going to pay in cash. I the gas "clicked" and stopped pumping at $37.62, so I figured I'd try to get it up to $38. SO, I click it as slow as I can, and it just isn't the same. The same small pinch that used to be a penny now causes the meter to go up about $2/second! So after one pinch instead of seeing $38, I was seeing about $45 buck. Well, not that bad but you get the i<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/003205.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/003205.0.jpg" border="0" /></a>dea. If you want an exact pump, GOOD LUCK! Alright that's all I have...<br /><br />Pray for me if you are reading this...big decisions are to be made in the next month or so in my life,Also I fell into some old ways lately...need to kinda NOT do THAT anymore! I haven't worried about it much(the next month, decisions, moving, etc.), which I don't know if it is a good thing or a bad thing, but I truly feel comfortable in saying I believe God will take care of me! I'm so excited about it, about change, about new opportunities. I love it! It's in my blood I think to LOVE change and freedom, but I'm trying to listen... Thank you so much!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1145591403965870862006-04-20T22:16:00.000-05:002006-04-21T15:26:12.890-05:00I am who I amAlright, I know this is about the 3rd post I've had today, but whatever...just doing my nightly ritual of reading/prayer...and my mind is freaking twisted as per usual - so now its the midnight rambling...<br /><br />Look at this verse(Exodus 3:13-15 for those who are interested):<br /><br /><em>"Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"<br />God said to Moses, '<strong>I am who I am</strong>. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: <strong>I AM</strong> has sent me to you.' "<br /></em><br />Donald Miller(Searching for God knows What) put this verse in my head...and I came to a conclusion, which he later elaborated on that I have really felt for a LONG time, and I know I talk about it alot...<br /><a href="http://beyondtherim.meisheid.com/wp-images/Jesus_manger.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 202px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px" height="367" alt="" src="http://beyondtherim.meisheid.com/wp-images/Jesus_manger.gif" border="0" /></a><br />John once said in John 21:25 that all the books in the world couldn't contain all of the works of Jesus..meaning there are so many more we don't read about, maybe because they can't be explained, and we can't understand. I understand the purpose of Jesus. I understand his life, his death, his resurrection, his seat at the right hand of the father, how he loves you, me, and all, and how he was sent as a living sacrifice for all of man's sin. I get it.<br /><br /><em>Take a minute...think about Jesus. What is Jesus to you?</em><br /><br />I spent alot of time in Chicago's Midway Airport on Sunday contemplating this question. I came to the conclusions i made above...seeing Jesus as this baby in the manger, or this great looking guy, walking barefoot or in sandals through the sand, with a large group always following him, teaching, performing his miracles, and truly loving people. I don't question what he did...simplifying Christianity...And I fully understand that Jesus was the Son of God and the Son of Man as well...I get all of that. And Miller points this out as well...<br /><br />But here is where I stopped when I began thinking about the gospel, and I always stutter here and I just don't get it. It's kind of embarassing even...Shouldn't I just 'get' this? If you can help me understand this, I'm always ALL EARS!<br /><br /><strong><em>Jesus as God? Jesus as some great "I am?"</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br />Christians believe Jesus <em>was</em> God...but I don't get it...I just don't/can't understand Him as that in my head. I don't know why, I just can't. I wish I could, and I try to, but I can't see it, and I've never been able to have somebody explain it to me to a point I could understand. Does Belief require understanding? Miller doesn't think it does, and at this point obviously I sure hope it doesn't either, I'm trying - but I'm not gonna lie and say I undesrstand it because I don't. As Christians there is no doubt we view this as truth because it is scripturally supported. <a href="http://www.aciprensa.com/Banco/images/jesus-cruz.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.aciprensa.com/Banco/images/jesus-cruz.jpg" border="0" /></a>But we don't understand everything as is, which is an encouragement. Jesus doesn't offer some "formula" - he offers himself. And Thank GOD, because if there is any hope...and Miller made this quite clear...for you and me, our hope has to be in this man who claims what I can not understand...He claims to be not of us, but with us, and simply <strong>is</strong>...<br /><br /><strong><em>"I am who I am"</em></strong><br /><br />Alright time to go read a bit more, and either clarify or spin a little more! In a way I love it, I'm not gonna lie.Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1145561288378243562006-04-20T14:13:00.003-05:002006-04-20T15:08:36.140-05:00Adam and EveAlright, I'm gonna ramble now about the Fall...those two little rascals that caused all sin! Adam and Eve...<br /><br />Here's what I've always struggled with...WHY didn't God tell them and counsel them on Satan's deception?? If He did, we don't have any record of it...yet now I find myself angry at them because all tragedy can be traced back to that decision they made in the garden. But then I start to thinking about sin in my life...and what it teaches me. Donald Miller's OTHER book(Not Blue Like Jazz) is called "Searching for God Knows What"(Which I have borrowed from Mark Steffey for about a month and a half now!) dicusses this. Why didn't God just tell Adam and Eve that things such as a lie exist? Wouldn't that have been the easy thing to do? Then I went back a little bit further in Genesis...<br /><br />First there was Adam right? Miller touches on this point and it struck me right in my ass -forgive the language, but that's how I felt because it sort of hit me when it was right there the whole time. So in the beginning there was Adam...it didn't go right to Eve...What probably happened is this - When God made Adam, he wanted Adam's devout attention...yet something in his human nature created a need for a companion, and God of course knew this. SO, God made Eve right then right? Wrong. First God gave Adam the job of naming all the animals...now I don't know how this was done or anything, but going by the number of animals in the world, it probably took him a LONG time, maybe even a hundred years. This was done before Eve came along...his "Flesh of his flesh." Think about it - all that time Adam was walking around feeling lonely..even though he had the open relationship with God...And after this long time, God finally gave him a companion, Eve...which was the start of the fall...all of the sudden Adam, in his lonliness, <em>felt</em> he wanted to be equal to God...<br /><br />Maybe God was trying to teach Adam Patience by not creating Eve right away...so he would learn to <em>appreciate </em>what he didn't have when he got it...the same way he teaches me patience nad other things through my sin. AND, the same way we go through sadness and struggles only so we can fully appreciate and understand what joy and happiness can be given to us through Him. I don't know if this makes sense...I'm gonna end hear and write on something else now!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1145563431495317292006-04-20T14:13:00.000-05:002006-04-20T15:03:51.523-05:00Better off Naked?Alright...sort of building on my last incoherent response to Donald Miller's book, I reflect on the life Jesus lived trying to compare it to me and my search of a vocation!<br /><br />Jesus liked people, nobody would argued with that. He was ALWAYS with people...his entire ministry revolved around people. Think about the religious system of Christianity - if you were going to start a religion, what would you do..<br /><br />Sit down and write it out right? That's what Muhammad did, and Joseph Smith di<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/globe.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/globe.0.jpg" border="0" /></a>d...this seems a logical way to communicate<strong> new</strong> ideas...but not Jesus. What did he do - he made friends, recruited followers, and disciples, and left the writing to others...writing didn't interest him. He didn't sit down and write a mission statement. He let other people write, testify, and witness <strong><em>HIM</em></strong>. He didn't have anything to prove...he knew what he was. All of the Gospels reveal Christ, a Christ who attended parties with people, ate and drank with people, prayed with people, traveled and worked with people...you get the idea. Here's what Miller says:<br /><br />"<em>I can't imagine He would do this unless He actually liked people and cared about them. Jesus built our faith system entirely on relationships, forgoing marketing efforts and spin."</em><br /><em></em><br />Jesus essentially let people decide for themselves what they thought of him, which gives me grate comfort that Jesus would probably like me if we sat face to face.<br /><br />This all goes back to my Life dream of authentically loving people...which Miller puts out beautifully when he points out in Matthew what the greatest commandment is - Love the Lord your God right? Well yea, but...:<br /><br />Mat. 26:36-39<br /><br />"'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"<br /><br />It's simple, but think about it - WHY would He say this? We know how important it is to love God...no secret. BUT the 2nd commandment is JUST as important...he doesnt say this about any other commandment.<br /><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">"Love your Neighbor."</span></strong></em><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></em></strong><br />We must make a relational commitment to God <strong><em>and</em></strong> to other people. We are supposed to be this "Christ-like" term that we hear all the time. Think about how great it would have been to be with Christ. Somebody who loved you, believed in youand saught closeness foreign to skin-bound men. He would make you feel significant, and because you are a human, you would like that. You liked to feel worth something. I LOVE to feel worth something. We all do. The thing is, we are all CONSTANTLY comparing ourselves to other people, all the time, whether we know it or not. Is there a mirror in your house? Then you do it. Do you have a shower? then you do it. I do it all the time. I care what other people think. I know I do. I say I don't but I do. We all do. Obviously we don't like to smell bad, or to have chocolate running down our neck, or to have messy hair, or to walk around naked...but think back to Adam and Eve. No clothes...no b<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/adamsfalltosin1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/adamsfalltosin1.jpg" border="0" /></a>athing...why? because THEY WERENT AWARE that they were naked! Our sinful nature makes us 'conscious' of these things...one of the first thing God says to Adam and Eve <em>after</em> they eat from the tree is in Genesis 3:11:<br /><br /><strong>"And he said<em>, 'Who told you that you were naked?</em> Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'"</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />God <em>knew</em> they were aware of their nudity, as they were not before...immediately human beings began to be self conscious of EVERYTHING in a social setting - particularly in appearance. Miller often talks about the "hidden" conversation going on between two people. next time you talk to somebody, really try to pay attention to what is going on in your head..."is this person really listening to me? am I saying the right things? I don't think he really understands me. Did the cubs when today?" - I don't think the mind did this sort of thing before the fall, when God and Man had a open channel of communication.<br /><br />And I don't think these things going through Jesus' mind were he to take me out to lunch today.<br /><br />Here is what I learned from all of this - It is in my nature to be dependent on God, but It is also a responsibility to build my life around people. My ministry is with People, Just as God's were. We aren't to become isolated from the World too much, except to worship and pray to God...we should surround ourselves with people as much as we can...Jesus' ministry was with people, so should yours and mine. This doesn't mean we all have to be preachers, or psychiatrists...vocation is a different subject...but socially, we can try to train our minds and our hearts to open up and be to other people the way we think Jesus would be to us.<br /><br />Jesus didn't look favroably at everybody <em>all</em> the time, sure...but those were the arrogant. So I'll try to open my arms to everybody and embrace everybody I can as much as I am able - I can't do that on my own, and neither can you. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/New%20Years1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 333px" height="320" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/New%20Years1.jpg" width="244" border="0" /></a>Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1145458107970638502006-04-19T08:49:00.000-05:002006-04-19T09:48:28.080-05:00Chicago, Chicago<img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0323.0.jpg" border="0" />GEEZ i have so much to write...Did a bunch of reading and writing in my journal this past weekend...I went to Chicago for Easter...here are some pictures. I got in Thursday night, and had an authentic Gyro at one of my favorite places growing up...Yorky's. There was greece and Cucumber sauce "dripping down my neck." I love it. Yorky's is right across the street from my Grandma's. If you didn't know, I was born in Elmhurst, IL, moved to Tulsa, lived there til I was 13, then moved to Kansas, now I live in Pittsburgh, PA. So, The house you see in the picture here, where my grandma has lived for the past 30 years, is pretty much what I think about when I thin<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0333.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 260px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px" height="196" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0333.jpg" width="265" border="0" /></a>k about my youth...and the places around it, because I've been there probably 100 times I kid you not. . My other favorite spots are Nancy's Pizza(stuffed baby) and "the Spot," where you can get vienna beef hot dogs, and Itallian Beef Sandwiches, with juice dripping down your neck. Heck, they have CHIPOTLE there, and I didn't even THINK about going...and if you know how much I love Chipotle, then you can figure out how much I love these other things. CHicago isn't the 2nd fattest city in America for nothing!<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0355.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0355.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Friday I went downtown to my sister's place. Yes, I have a sister if you didn't know, her name is Michelle. The guy here is her fiance, Dom, who is <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0330.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 241px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 181px" height="178" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0330.jpg" width="256" border="0" /></a>the man. The other guys are some of his friends. They scored us some free tickets to the White sox game, 3rd row right behind home plate. They're getting married over Labor Day...and are having their reception in the VIP lounge AT the stadium...we went up ther<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0361.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 316px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px" height="234" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0361.jpg" width="311" border="0" /></a>e after the game and there is a picture below of the view...I can't wait! Despite my dislike for the white sox, being as I am a cubs fan, I still had a great time. I got a Beef sandwich there, and when ordering actually told the guy making me the sandwich to dip the whole thing in the beef broth, so I would be ensured to have some juice dripping down my neck! Dom was pissed off in the last picture..the sox got beat 13-7 I think? THere were around 7 home runs. I was watching the Cubs score on the scoreboard the whole game so I wasn't sure. And the guy on the le<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0368.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="164" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0368.jpg" width="264" border="0" /></a>ft here had a cross on his chest...so I talked to him for about a half hour about it...then he had four more beers and started yelling at everybody - may have been the funniest thing I've ever seen.<br /><br />On Saturday we went downtown and checked out millenium park, which I havent seen yet because it is new. If you've never been to Chi-town, you have to go, its amazing. We met my mom, grandma and cousin Erin at what I like to call "The Bean." THe big giant metallic Bean looking thing. I'll never understand art. Good <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM03901.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="259" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM03901.jpg" width="295" border="0" /></a>weather always helps of course. From <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0396.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="177" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0396.jpg" width="251" border="0" /></a>the park you can see the Art Institute, which posseses many famous paintings including Van Gogh's "Starry Night." Growing up my favorite museum in Chicago to go to was the Museum of Science and Industry. Oh, and of course, we got lunch - Dom and I split a stuffed pizza, which, of course, involved sauce dripping down our necks. The Sears tower, The Library, The lake, all trademarks of the Windy City. I took a few pics because I never really have! <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0394.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="173" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0394.jpg" width="244" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On Sunday, BUFFET time. My grandma, mother, COusin and her Fiance, Brian, all went to Drury Lane, a historically famous place in Oak Park, to a $30 a person Easter dinner, after Catholic mass of course(My grandma is a devout Catholic, and probably the sweetest woman you could ever meet). I took pictures of it, that's how amazing it was - and there were LOTS of sauces for dripping...and of course, my grandma bribed the Easter bunny $5 to come over and hang out with us...yea, I'm "that guy" g<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0433.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0433.jpg" border="0" /></a>iving the Easter bunny Bunny ears...get it? Random Thought: Did you guys ever have that saying that if you gave somebod<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0422.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" height="195" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0422.jpg" width="241" border="0" /></a>y bunny ears when you were a kid it meant you liked them, or had to kiss them, or something like that? Anyways just ignore me .<br /><br />ANd last but not least, the Culhane(mom's maiden name...obviously the "Rabi" family Bible would be a Quran...Yes, they're a little "different" than the typical Americans, being from Pal<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0420.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0420.jpg" border="0" /></a>estine and all). This was really neat though...its from the 1800s, and lists births, deaths, and marriages of those in our family. It was great. I didn't even know it existed! <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/HPIM0419.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0419.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Alright next time I promise I'll get into the more important things that happened to me spiritually and mentally on my trip...in fact at one point I was sitting in an airport, just watching people, writing about a few things...kinda crazy what was going through my mind...Ya know? EVERY person walking through there had a life of their own, a couple parents, somebody that loved them...just sort of made me feel small. Oh, and At one point I was dancing around some water singing Frank Sinatra too...so I'll stop there. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/HPIM0386.0.jpg" border="0" />Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19487409.post-1144676267488300012006-04-10T08:28:00.000-05:002006-04-10T08:37:48.083-05:00Cubs win!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/cubs.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/cubs.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Well, It's April 10th, and Spring has finally arrived...as we're gonna hit the 70s tomorrow. Today, I am getting ready to head down to PNC Park in Downtown Pittsburgh to see the home opener of the Pirates, who are playing the LA Dodgers. BUT, my heart is in Chicago, where I'll be going on Thursday.<br /><br />If you know me and my brother, you know we're die hard cubs fans...in fact...I have spent a small fortune to see cubs games in the past...and I'll be doing it this summer as well(I already dropped $600 on tickets at Wrigley!) I am still on a high seeing Michael Barrett's grand slam in the bottom of the 8th inning last night to lift the Cubbies to a SWEEP of probably the if not one of the best teams in Baseball, the Cardinals.... But this is the year of the Cub!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/1600/77218SXAW_w.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="383" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/302/1849/320/77218SXAW_w.jpg" width="350" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Just a little taste of things to come...Harry Caray is coming back...CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!!it's gonna happen...you wait and see.<br /><br />GET IN THERE!!<br /><br />ANd yea, it kind of worries me that they put on this "facilitated" cover the fact that Elvis was sighted...Everybody knows he was a drug addict and is dead. Now Harry coming back? That's a given...it'll happen!<br /><br />CUBS WIN!!!Neil the Sealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11474561804443380882noreply@blogger.com4