Now that I have been to all 50 states, I am often asked what I plan to do next. International travel? Maybe, although I have no immediate plans for that. There are plenty of things I still want to do in the U.S., including some places I already visited once, but due to bad weather or some other circumstance, I would like to take another crack at. Here is a list of 40 places I would like to go and things I would like to do next, in no particular order:
1. Drive the old Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles
2. Drive the Pacific Coast Highway - WA, OR, CA
3. Ride in a hot air balloon at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta - NM
4. Visit the North Slope of Alaska
5. See the Northern Lights in Alaska
6. Cruise the Alaskan inside passage
7. See Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park (round 2)
8. Cruise Hawaii again (and again, and again...)
9. Drive from Detroit, MI to Toronto, Canada, then to Niagara Falls, then eat buffalo wings in Buffalo, NY
10. Yellowstone National Park (round 2 - I just could not see everything the first time)
11. Mount St Helen's - WA (round 2)
12. Glacier National Park - MT (round 2)
13. Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park - SD (round 2)
14. Redwood National Forest - CA
15. Sequoia National Forest - CA
16. Death Valley - CA
17. Yosemite National Park - CA
18. San Francisco, CA
19. Lake Tahoe and Reno, NV
20. Ozark Mountains in MO and AR
21. See the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO
22. Visit Graceland in Memphis, TN
23. See every Great Lake
24. Ride a ferry across Lake Michigan from Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee, WI
25. Visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Michigan Upper Penninsula
26. Adirondack Park - NY
27. A coast to coast road trip (and when I say coast to coast, I mean I start on the beach of the Atlantic and end somewhere on some California beach)
28. Visit Crater Lake in OR
29. See the Alamo and hang out on the River Walk in San Antonio, TX
30. See the Four Corners Monument at the intersection of UT, CO, NM, and AZ
31. Carlsbad Caverns - NM
32. Go to Vancouver, Canada and take a ferry to Vancouver Island
33. Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands National Park - UT
34. Hang out on a boat on Lake Havasu - AZ
35. Sedona, AZ
36. Aspen, CO
37. Scottsbluff, NE
38. Visit the Everglades and the Florida Keys (yes I know, I live in Florida, but I've never been)
39. Visit Acadia National Park, and then enjoy some clam chowder and lobster at a restaurant on the ocean in Kennebunkport, ME
40. Go to Kentucky Bend
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Forgiveness
Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
--Luke 17:3-5
Today, Dr. Kistler preached from Luke 17, and these three verses were a small part of the point of the overall message. But these verses were the biggest thing that jumped out at me today, and oh how badly did I need them.
If I may be a little transparent in front of the entire blogging world, one of the things I have struggled with my entire life as a Christian is trying to wrap my mind around the idea that God is slow to anger and quick to forgive. And it's really because of the fact that, in spite of what Jesus is telling us here about forgiving one another, we fail tremendously in this area. We will only put up with so much crap from people. And generally speaking, when someone sins against us, and they ask our forgiveness, and we give that to them, and then they continue to commit the same sin against us over and over, eventually, we reach the point where we say, "You know what? Enough is enough. There is no more grace for you." We feel that we are being played for a fool and being taken advantage of when this happens.
It absolutely blows my mind that God isn't that way. Part of the struggles I have had in my prayer life for years are related to the fact that I continue to confess the same sins over and over again, and in fact, some of those sins I will commit again within five minutes of confessing them. It is hard for me to accept that God isn't going to say to me, "Sorry Craig, but you've already confessed this sin a blue million times, and enough is enough. There is no more grace for you." This really plagues my thoughts at times when I begin to pray, and I often feel discouraged from even praying at all, because the concept is so radical--that a pure, holy, and just God whose righteous nature requires that he judge sin and wickedness would be slow to anger and quick to forgive a sinner like me, a perpetual screw up that can't even keep track of all his sins. It is so radical that sometimes I think I just don't believe it. There's no way God would put up with me like that. I feel like the disciples when they said, "Lord, increase our faith." Because need more faith than what I have right now to believe something like that most of the time.
But then I read passages like this, where Jesus tells the disciples that even if someone sins against you seven times in a day, you should forgive them each time. You shouldn't lose your patience with them. You shouldn't say to them, "Yeah, well if you were really sorry the first time, why did you do it six more times?" No, you should forgive them all seven times. When I read these words, they remind me that we are commanded to forgive others because this reflects the way our Heavenly Father treats us. When I hear Jesus command me to forgive my brother anytime he asks, it reminds me that my Father will likewise forgive me whenever I ask. If I sin seven times in a day, God will forgive me seven times. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things in the world for us as sinful creatures because of our tendencies toward pride, selfishness, and bitterness. It is not in our nature to forgive seven times for seven offenses. But thank God that he is not like us!
It still blows my mind even as I type this. I'm still tempted to think, "Alright, there's got to be a catch somewhere." But there isn't. I'll probably wrestle with this for the rest of my life, but I am glad that the truth is not dependent upon how well I understand it.
--Luke 17:3-5
Today, Dr. Kistler preached from Luke 17, and these three verses were a small part of the point of the overall message. But these verses were the biggest thing that jumped out at me today, and oh how badly did I need them.
If I may be a little transparent in front of the entire blogging world, one of the things I have struggled with my entire life as a Christian is trying to wrap my mind around the idea that God is slow to anger and quick to forgive. And it's really because of the fact that, in spite of what Jesus is telling us here about forgiving one another, we fail tremendously in this area. We will only put up with so much crap from people. And generally speaking, when someone sins against us, and they ask our forgiveness, and we give that to them, and then they continue to commit the same sin against us over and over, eventually, we reach the point where we say, "You know what? Enough is enough. There is no more grace for you." We feel that we are being played for a fool and being taken advantage of when this happens.
It absolutely blows my mind that God isn't that way. Part of the struggles I have had in my prayer life for years are related to the fact that I continue to confess the same sins over and over again, and in fact, some of those sins I will commit again within five minutes of confessing them. It is hard for me to accept that God isn't going to say to me, "Sorry Craig, but you've already confessed this sin a blue million times, and enough is enough. There is no more grace for you." This really plagues my thoughts at times when I begin to pray, and I often feel discouraged from even praying at all, because the concept is so radical--that a pure, holy, and just God whose righteous nature requires that he judge sin and wickedness would be slow to anger and quick to forgive a sinner like me, a perpetual screw up that can't even keep track of all his sins. It is so radical that sometimes I think I just don't believe it. There's no way God would put up with me like that. I feel like the disciples when they said, "Lord, increase our faith." Because need more faith than what I have right now to believe something like that most of the time.
But then I read passages like this, where Jesus tells the disciples that even if someone sins against you seven times in a day, you should forgive them each time. You shouldn't lose your patience with them. You shouldn't say to them, "Yeah, well if you were really sorry the first time, why did you do it six more times?" No, you should forgive them all seven times. When I read these words, they remind me that we are commanded to forgive others because this reflects the way our Heavenly Father treats us. When I hear Jesus command me to forgive my brother anytime he asks, it reminds me that my Father will likewise forgive me whenever I ask. If I sin seven times in a day, God will forgive me seven times. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things in the world for us as sinful creatures because of our tendencies toward pride, selfishness, and bitterness. It is not in our nature to forgive seven times for seven offenses. But thank God that he is not like us!
It still blows my mind even as I type this. I'm still tempted to think, "Alright, there's got to be a catch somewhere." But there isn't. I'll probably wrestle with this for the rest of my life, but I am glad that the truth is not dependent upon how well I understand it.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Why Christian Music Stinks
A friend of mine posted this on their Facebook page, and I figured I would do the same on my blog.
Why Christian Music Stinks
I'll take Nirvana over Newsboys any day of the week.
Why Christian Music Stinks
I'll take Nirvana over Newsboys any day of the week.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Evaluating John Piper's Theology
Steve Hays at Triablogue has written a nice critique of a few elements of John Piper's theology. Like Steve, I respect Piper as one of the greatest pastors of our time, but I have reservations with him.
God is the Gospel
God is the Gospel
Thursday, January 08, 2009
The North American Anglican
Good news from Canterbury... well, it was news to me, I must admit. There is a new theological journal that is theologically conservative, orthodox, and Anglican. It is called The North American Anglican. Here is the link to their website:
www.39articles.com
Here is a section from the website:
This is very exciting to me because, for a long time, the Anglican church has been of great interest to me. The problem is that the dominant incarnation of the Anglican church in America has always been The Episcopal Church, which has the reputation of being perhaps the most liberal of the mainline denominations in America. I have been aware of the fact that there are conservative denominations that exist, but they are often few and far between. This new journal is reassuring that there is a movement of the Spirit of God among the Anglican church in North America. There are still those in the Anglican tradition who do not question the inspiration and authority of Scripture, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the way of salvation, and that still hold to a solidly Biblical view of marriage and sexual ethics. Thanks be to God for his faithfulness to preserve a remnant for himself.
www.39articles.com
Here is a section from the website:
The Anglican Church was not founded upon Canterbury. The Anglican Church was founded upon the Scriptures, the ancient Creeds, the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, and the historic Book of Common Prayer (BCP). And at a time when the Episcopal church has become apostate, and portions of the worldwide Anglican communion have fractured, millions of faithful Anglicans have expressed a desire to return to the orthodox doctrines contained in these classic formulations of biblical Christianity.
The North American Anglican journal is a quarterly publication and our goal for each issue is to publish a range of articles that are theological, historical, & practical, all of which support the 39 Articles and historic BCP. Of course, tactful discussion is permitted on non-central issues where Christians may honestly differ. We do desire ecumenical dialogue, but not at the expense of core doctrines of the “faith once received”.
We are thankful to have a talented board of contributing authors and editors from across several denominations, including the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC), the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), The Anglican Coalition in Canada (ACiC), the Anglican Province in America (APA), the Diocese of the Holy Cross (DHC), the Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC), the United Episcopal Church in North America (UECNA), the Charismatic Episcopal Church (CEC), the Orthodox Anglican Church (OAC), churches affiliated with the Southern Cone, and several other conservative denominations as well.
This is very exciting to me because, for a long time, the Anglican church has been of great interest to me. The problem is that the dominant incarnation of the Anglican church in America has always been The Episcopal Church, which has the reputation of being perhaps the most liberal of the mainline denominations in America. I have been aware of the fact that there are conservative denominations that exist, but they are often few and far between. This new journal is reassuring that there is a movement of the Spirit of God among the Anglican church in North America. There are still those in the Anglican tradition who do not question the inspiration and authority of Scripture, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the way of salvation, and that still hold to a solidly Biblical view of marriage and sexual ethics. Thanks be to God for his faithfulness to preserve a remnant for himself.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Keeping a Journal
For the past few months I have been keeping a journal. I write all sorts of things in it. Sometimes I write about my spiritual life, sometimes about other more "mundane" things. I don't write in it every day, nor do I set aside specific time for it. I write as the mood strikes me, or as I have a free moment to get away from everything, or head down to Starbucks or something. And after doing so for these last few months, I would like to recommend journaling to you as a very helpful life aid.
The reason I find it to be so helpful is that, in writing down your thoughts, you have the ability to go back and read over them later. The benefit here is that you have a tangible way of tracking the progress you are making in your sanctification. Quite often we don't even realize the progress we have made because, while we would love to be able to grow by leaps and bounds all the time, spiritual growth normally occurs in subtle ways over long periods of time. When you write your thoughts and experiences down, you can look back and see ways that you have grown that you may not have even realized, and it can be a source of great encouragement.
Also, if you are going to keep a journal, I would strongly suggest that you resolve within yourself to be completely and totally honest with yourself as you write. Don't worry about the possibility of someone finding your journal and reading it. Find a safe place to keep your journal so that it won't be found, and feel the freedom to just write whatever is on your heart and mind. Don't try to "church it up". Even if you are having sinful thoughts, it is still good to write them down. If you are angry, jealous, bitter, or whatever you may be feeling, God already knows what you are thinking, so it isn't like you are keeping your thoughts hidden from him by holding them inside. I suppose there is an element of danger here, because your journal shouldn't be your personal "sin book", where you write in such a way to indulge your sinful thoughts. I'm not saying that if you happen to be struggling with having lustful thoughts about some woman you work with that it is good for you to write out your fantasies. But if you are able to write openly and honestly about what you are thinking and feeling, aside from the fact that it can be therapeutic, it also allows you to see your struggles on paper, and as such, I find it to be easier for me to confess my sins and pray about my struggles when I can see them in my journal.
Additionally, journaling is also a good method for prayer, because you can write out a prayer that is specific to what you are feeling and experiencing at that time, and then you will always have it to look back and reflect on, and even use again later in your personal devotions. I guess that's the Anglican in me talking, but I find that to be helpful.
Anyway, that's my two cents on journaling. Take it or leave it.
The reason I find it to be so helpful is that, in writing down your thoughts, you have the ability to go back and read over them later. The benefit here is that you have a tangible way of tracking the progress you are making in your sanctification. Quite often we don't even realize the progress we have made because, while we would love to be able to grow by leaps and bounds all the time, spiritual growth normally occurs in subtle ways over long periods of time. When you write your thoughts and experiences down, you can look back and see ways that you have grown that you may not have even realized, and it can be a source of great encouragement.
Also, if you are going to keep a journal, I would strongly suggest that you resolve within yourself to be completely and totally honest with yourself as you write. Don't worry about the possibility of someone finding your journal and reading it. Find a safe place to keep your journal so that it won't be found, and feel the freedom to just write whatever is on your heart and mind. Don't try to "church it up". Even if you are having sinful thoughts, it is still good to write them down. If you are angry, jealous, bitter, or whatever you may be feeling, God already knows what you are thinking, so it isn't like you are keeping your thoughts hidden from him by holding them inside. I suppose there is an element of danger here, because your journal shouldn't be your personal "sin book", where you write in such a way to indulge your sinful thoughts. I'm not saying that if you happen to be struggling with having lustful thoughts about some woman you work with that it is good for you to write out your fantasies. But if you are able to write openly and honestly about what you are thinking and feeling, aside from the fact that it can be therapeutic, it also allows you to see your struggles on paper, and as such, I find it to be easier for me to confess my sins and pray about my struggles when I can see them in my journal.
Additionally, journaling is also a good method for prayer, because you can write out a prayer that is specific to what you are feeling and experiencing at that time, and then you will always have it to look back and reflect on, and even use again later in your personal devotions. I guess that's the Anglican in me talking, but I find that to be helpful.
Anyway, that's my two cents on journaling. Take it or leave it.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Words of Wisdom
This is one of the greatest blog posts I've ever read. More wisdom from our brother Steve at the Triablogue. While specific to pornography, there are many other tidbits of wisdom here as it pertains to male and female interaction and intimate relationships.
Porn Addiction
Porn Addiction
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
