vaka taimani .... faith // life // soul

fortieth..

2009-09-05T01:11:00.000-07:00

here are some pics from the last strike team i went on.. we went to yucaipa, ca for the pendleton fire.. we left santa cruz county around 07:00 on monday morning of august 31st and got back about 2.5 days later.. it didnt take long for that fire to go out but many still battle the station fire..

here is a pic of what it look like when we got there..

this is one of the many retardant drops..

this is our engine crew from felton fire.. had a great time with these fellas..

this is before we left.. these are the engines from both santa cruz county strike teams..

this was when we were on our way home..

thirty.ninth..

2009-06-05T00:07:00.000-07:00

so i never did post the official article from the volunteer nation site..

click HERE to read it..

thirty.eighth..

2009-05-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

a while back, there was a filming crew that came to our tuesday night training drill at the fire house, to film us training as a volunteer fire agency.. they are called "volunteer nation" and they decided to interview me for their program.. i wasnt sure if they were going to actually use me for the documentary but i got an email saying they used me for their first preview video. here is the video.. i am at the 0:57 second mark and it short.. please visit the website and leave a comment to show support to their cause..

Volunteer Nation - Season One Trailer from Volunteer Nation on Vimeo.

if this video doesnt play then click HERE

thirty.seventh..

2009-03-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

first day in nyc..

found the tongan flag..

this is our friend amy who we're stayin with..

this is the brooklyn bridge with manhattan in the background..

time square..

this is a huge advertisement for the broadway show, "in the heights" that we got to go to.. we put our names in a drawing and won 2 front row/center seats for a really cheap rate.. i was blown away by the show.. my favorite broadway show at this time..

thirty.sixth..

2009-03-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

jumpin on the wagon.. if you are wondering, you just put your ipod on shuffle and let each question be answered by what the ipod plays..

If someone says “are you ok?” you say.
stickwithu, avant

What would best describe your personality?
if i have my way, chrisette michele
interesting

What do you like in a guy/girl?
with me tonight, beach boys
ok ok

What is your motto?
new hymn, james taylor

What do your friends think of you?
brown sugar, d'angelo
haha alright

What do you think about very often?
another man done gone, vera ward hall
dont know what thats suppose to mean

What is 2+2?
creed, third day

What do you think of your best friend?
i'm in the way, jars of clay

What do you think of the person you like?
vegas, sara bareilles

What is your life story?
happy valentine's day, outkast
every day is v-day

What do you think when you see the person you like?
god must have spent a little more time on you, n'sync
how did that get on my ipod? dont judge me

What do your parents think of you?
unchain my heart, ray charles

What will you dance to at your wedding?
after, mxpx

What will they play at your funeral?
pen pals, phonetic composition

What is your hobby/interest?
the light, common

What is your biggest secret?
star/pointro, the roots

What do you think of your friends?
if they knew, tlc
no worries now, all good stuff

What’s the worst think that could happen?
it's good to be in love, frou frou
really ipod?

How will you die?
the general office clerk's swing scene, brainwash projects

What is the one thing you regret?
got to be there, jackson 5

What makes you laugh?
runnin, aisea taimani

What makes you cry?
these eyes, india arie
stone cold heart breaker with that line

Will you ever get married?
whatcha got, brother ali

What scares you the most?
dead wrong, the notorious B.I.G.

Does anyone like you?
push it, salt n pepa

If you could go back in time, what would you change?
morning has broken, cat stevens

What hurts right now?
my first single, eminem

thirty.fifth..

2009-02-24T11:34:00.001-08:00

tongan art part 2

so this past weekend i went back to LA to take a written test for the Los Angeles Fire Department.. while there this weekend, i figured i would get the 2nd sitting on my tattoo done.. here is a picture of it..

before

after

i have 1 more sitting to complete it and that is when it will really come to life.. i wanted this tattoo to represent itself as armor and i feel that it really is.. much respect to the artist..

thirty.fourth..

2009-01-17T15:43:00.001-08:00

tongan art

used the red pen to get a general idea of what he wanted to design

used the purple to better define the outline

here's a pic before he makes it official

this is mid-project

this is the finish product for now.its the basic outline

im really excited that im getting this tattoo.. ive been saving patiently for it.. i told the artist that i want tongan and only tongan art on me.. he specializes in polynesian art but i just want my culture.. i told him that i hoped it would feel like armor on me cause i feel that my culture is what keeps me grounded and in a sense protects me.. if you want to see some of his work he has a website..

personal: www.tongantattoo.com
work: www.zulutattoo.com

thirty.third..

2009-01-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

let it burn, let it burn..

i got my first traffic ticket and it was totally a let down.. i was on my way from santa monica, with my bro sea, driving north on interstate 5.. now, i have to say that i have been, for the most part, a law abiding american.. i dont like to be unsafe on the road because its dangerous and ive responded on enough vehicle accidents to keep me straight..

i was driving on I-5 when a cop pulled me over.. he gave me a ticket for going 86 mph on a 70 mph speed limit highway.. he didnt care for conversation.. just wrote me up and sent me on my way with purple cheeks from the spanking he just gave me..

now normally i would begin this paragraph by saying this cop sucks, he was wrong, i was innocent, there was no way i was going 86 mph, hes racist, im going to fight it, what is the world coming to, obama is going to avenge me, i was wronged, blah, blah, blah, feel sorry for me......

instead im going to end by saying i was wrong, it was my fault, may the state of california have mercy on me.. it definitely still burns from what happened.. i think ill just let it burn so that i dont forget my wrongs..

thirty.second..

2008-12-21T22:29:00.000-08:00

here are some pics from a training burn we had a few weeks ago..

thirty.first..

2008-12-17T09:24:00.001-08:00

this is a glimpse of whats going on in a small church community in santa monica california.. i have a had the pleasure of growing closer and closer to my oldest brother sea.. this is something he did with his community recently and i thought i would share it with any reader that i may still have since my 4 month blog leave..

A few days ago, I ran into a friend who asked me a question. He asked me, "how are you doing?" Usually, I politely answer with my default answer; "I'm fine" or I bring the conversation back to the other person by responding with "Good, and you?" hoping for an answer that wont cost me anymore of my time... this time though, I actually thought about the question and my answer. As I attempted to respond honestly... I sensed that this friend didn't have time for the truth.

How can you tell if someone really wants to know how you're doing? I have such a hard time answering this question because the honest truth is that, sometimes... I am not doing good... I find it difficult to be vulnerable to such a default greeting such as "how are you," when my honest answer is going to cost you more than what you have to give.

Throughout my life I have tried to practice the beautiful art of communicating to those who have ears; the condition of my soul. I'm still learning. I've found that there are not enough venues, or gatherings, where people, friends and families can engage in free conversation, embracing our brokenness. There are gatherings that do exist such as Alcoholics Anonymous that paint a beautiful picture of people coming together and embracing each others wounds... somehow, someway, compassion forms when a group of people communally admit just how wounded they... we are.

This Monday, I would be honored to have you, members of this body, as guests in the comfort of my home. Join me and a few friends in an experiment where we will engage in a safe and meaningful conversation. As a student of human communication, I am in awe of the way that music transcends all barriers. In times when my words and thoughts can't find a canvas, I find my soul and my innermost thoughts hidden in a song. As long as I've had breath, I've found music the way in which my soul connects. One of the first questions I ask when I want to know someone is... what is the music you move to?

On this eve, I ask that you bring your ipods with 3-4 songs that will speak for you. If you don't have an ipod, you may bring cd's with your songs of choice. my hope is that the songs that you bring will help me, and everyone else in the room, leave with a greater understanding of who you are... and how you are doing. What is the soundtrack of your life? My hope is that we would let the music say what we cannot. I pray that we may see each other in a new fashion, through the sounds of our existence. Feel free to bring an appetizer to share and if you bring drinks, no alcohol please. Space is limited so if this sounds like something that you're interested in or you have any questions, please let me know. May we find each other in the songs that we bring and may we leave with more reasons to sing.

Peace and Comfort to you.
-sea

thirty..

2008-08-12T23:45:00.001-07:00

..butte county lightning complex..

..some of us from the santa cruz county strike team (XCZ2334A)..

this is a picture from strike team.. a strike team is five (four person) engine crews with a strike team leader.. we had engine crew from felton, santa cruz, central, watsonville, and uc santa cruz..

twenty.ninth..

2008-07-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

..i love golf..

i got to play golf for the first time last saturday and it was awesome.. i went with my father-in-law, and two bros.. i took these two pics and decided to try to edit them.. three cool guys i tell ya..

ps: brent, sorry we had to rain check the garlic fries..

twenty.eighth..

2008-06-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

..santa cruz sentinel..

yesterday i was in the newspaper for a interview i had with a reporter.. it was about this photo (above) of a burned american flag i helped save from being completely burned.. here is the link to the article..

santa cruz sentinel

the funny thing is, every time one of our firefighters makes the paper or news they owe the squad ice cream.. this is the 3rd time ive made the paper/news.. thats a lot of ice cream..

peace..

twenty.seventh..

2008-06-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

life is good.. firefighting is going great.. i just got home from the martin fire here in county.. because we are so close, we were one of the first five engines on scene.. to make a long story short.. about 4:00 pm on wed. 6/11/08..

we walked into this guy..

above: this was the front page of our local paper.. i got these pictures off their website (www.pressbanner.com).. this is our engine E2320 pictured on the right flank of the fire..

above: this is what the fire looked like before it took off into the trees which were about 100 ft tall.. when the fire took off, all of the trees looked like the tree in the first picture.. the fire literally went from picture 2 to picture 1 in 5 minutes.. it was like walking along side a 150 ft tidal wave of fire.. needless to say, it was rippin.. we had to back out of the fire as the fire jumped to the other side of the street.. im the second guy with the red hose pack.. the media kept sayin that the fire station on martin road was lost, but our strike team saved it.. there is a cool picture at the end of this slide show of a melted american flag that i tried to save.. i also left a comment on the website..

twenty.sixth..

2008-04-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

cry baby vol. I

as i said before, i started this blog to keep some sort of record of my thoughts, memories, things that i dont want to forget.. i came on tonight to reveal a confession.. im slightly embarrassed but i find it hilarious to admit that from time to time, i tend to cry over certain things.. i know it isnt normal for a man to admit when he cries but i find it so freeing when i can act against societal stereotypes, finding freedom through vulnerability.. so, i decided to blog these crying experiences from here on out..

heres how itll work..

1. each blog will carry the title, cry baby vol. (I, II, III, etc)
2. i will put the date along with the cry rating
- a: onion chop (good ol watery eyes)
- b: single tear (you know, the "my little boys growin up" tear)
- c: streams of tears a.k.a. the rivers of salt water.. jk
- d: the choke cry (the one that starts with a short breath taking moment and ends with snot)
3. ill put a description of what happened
4. if i can find a picture, video, or link of what made me cry, ill put it on here..

now some of these may be for fun and some may have been emotionally/spiritually moving moments.. i guess im mainly gonna just have fun with it.. now here is a list of moments in the past, mainly from the past 5 years and mind you, im turning 24 next month so these arent cries from childhood.. yes, from my adult years..
-
date: 2003
cry rating: streams of tears

i was at home watching this program on tv of a youth conference in a sporting arena filled with over 10,000 teenagers.. the theme of the conference was about reigniting the fire in their hearts.. the speaker gave a great message on how the death of jesus on the cross related to their lives.. after his message he asked the teens to think about what he said and challenged them to make a public proclaimation of their faith and commitment to reignite their hearts and living for christ again.. the way he did this was he said that if they were up to the challenge, they could proclaim this by shouting at the top of their lungs, "i choose the cross!"..

now, at this point i had been following jesus and his teachings for about 3 years.. i was involved with a youth ministry called younglife, which worked with tennagers.. at this point in the program, 1 by 1 you would hear faint voices in the arena shout "i choose the cross, i choose the cross".. in an arena of over 10,000 teens, it got louder and louder and more and more of them shouted, "i choose the cross! i choose the cross! i choose the cross!".. i was so moved at that point to see so many teenagers make a commitment that it brought me to tears.. i remember my dad being on the couch next to me and i was lying in a place where he couldnt see me.. even though my dad is a pastor and im sure he would of understood why i was crying, for some odd reason i hid my tears from him.. maybe i still associated tears with weakness and i didnt want my father see me cry.. i hope my children some day dont ever feel that they could ever change the way i truely feel about them..
-
date: fall, 2003
cry rating: choke cry

the year of 2003 was a hard time for my whole family.. that fall, my grandfather decided to take his own life.. before that event i recently decided to move to pigeon forge, tn to take part in a fall discipleship program (it was a continuation of the 10 week summer program i attend that year).. during this time that my family was dealing with the loss of my grandfather, i still felt that i need to be a part of this fall program.. after all of the funeral events were over with, i moved to tennessee..

while i was there, i watched a movie called "wide awake" that one of my roommates owned.. its a story about a 10 year old boy who goes on a search for god after his grandfather passes away.. the whole idea being, he needed to find god to make sure that his grandfather was going to be ok.. throughout the movie he refers back to memories of things his grandfather would do and he would try to mimic them.. every opportunity he had to impress his grandfather, he would see to it that he wouldnt let his grandfather down..

at one pivotal point of the movie, the boy has a flash back to a memory.. in this memory, he was getting ready to run in a race.. he was competing against other boys in his age group.. right before the gun goes off, he tells the boy next to him that he was going to win the race for his grandpa.. when the race begins, to the kids disappointment he trips, falls, and loses the race.. at that moment i could relate to his feelings of failure and sense of letting someone down.. but when he stood up and ran crying into his grandfathers arms, i watched helplessly and could only wish that i could share in his flashback of being able to run into my grandfathers arms one more time.. i dont know why my grandfather did what he did, but i do know that i love him more now than ever before and i wish he didnt believe the lie that his life was worth giving up..
-
date: 2005
cry rating: streams of tears

nothing sad here.. more so funny to me.. i was in my college dorm room and i borrowed "remember the titans" from a friend.. i dont know what about it was so different from the hundreds of times i had watched it before but when it got to the part where they are at camp and the white and black teammates became one, i lost it.. i was crying and laughing thinking "i need to lock my door before one of the fellas walk in"..

same thing happened that year with the ending of "cool runnings"..
-
date: june 2007
cry rating: long single tear

watching my best friend casey and his lovely wife shannon get married.. during their first communion and prayer, the song "divine romance" by phil wickham played.. i was caseys best man so i was in front turned toward them watching.. while listening to this song and watching my boy casey commit his life to his wife, i dropped a tear one time for the homies.. it was a real special event..
-
date: february 2008
cry rating: choke cry

while i was visiting my brother aisea in santa monica this past january, he recommended that i watch the movie "freedom writers".. the movie is about a teacher in los angeles trying to make a difference in a group of students who battle wars of gangs and racism.. there was a part in the movie that hit me hard and i lost it..

ive always been a believer in the underdog.. my oldest brother taught me long ago that you should always stand up for those who get picked on.. in the movie, the students spend their 10th-12th grade years with their teacher.. when the students came back for their second year (their junior year) one particular student addressed the class.. he was a guy that many of the other student didnt recognize, let along know that they were in the same class together the year before.. he gave a moving speech about how over the summer, he and his mom got evicted from their home and were now homeless.. he expressed how in his return back to school with the same old cloths and beat up shoes, he felt that he was finally home again..

i think that my emotions here were similar to when i watched remember the titans.. being that i hate racism and pity those who remain trapped to ignorance, when i watch this type of movies, i feel a sense of joy in seeing likeness found in difference.. watching this class and that football team overcome what the societies of their time say is normal, helps me remember that the world is changing and that even in a world of trouble and heartache, it can/is still becoming a better place..
-
finally..

date: today, april 2008
cry rating: 0.5 onion chop / 0.5 single tear

my brother and sister-in-law got me hooked on the mtv show "americas top dance crew".. this show is by far in my opinion the sickest show mtv has ever put out.. im usually not a fan of mtv other than pimp my ride.. anyways, the show is about these dance crews from around the country competing to be americas top dance crew..

i pretty much watched every episode of the first season and today i watch the finale.. the team that won, JabbaWockeeZ, had a cool story of coming on to win this competition for their fellow crew member who just passed away.. before they revealed who won, they did a rap up of their time on the show.. when they played the rap up for JabbaWockeeZ, i found myself in tearville.. what can i say, sometimes im easily moved.. here is a link to the video of the finale.. its at the -6:30 mark..
-
so that brings me up to date.. sure was a long blog.. im tired.. my wife is asleep.. its time for me to join her..

peace.. one love..

twenty.fifth..

2008-04-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

so the firefighting has been goin well.. both the fire aspect and the medical experience as well.. i took these pictures today while i was on a call.. whenever we get trauma victims, we have to fly them over to santa clara county because we dont have a trauma center in this county.. we had an injury accident today and had to fly the driver out.. the engine i responded with was in charge of setting up the landing zone (LZ).. here are a couple of pictures.. click on the image to enlarge..

life flight flying in from stanford hospital

my good friend, a.dawson, and the life flight staff

patient being loaded into helicopter

twenty.fourth..

2008-03-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

beauty all over..

so my wife just came back from the bahamas and she had a great time with her family.. it sucked not being able to go but i had a good time home too.. when i went to pick her up at the airport, it was one of the greatest feeling to see her walking toward outside baggage claim.. its as if something wonderful walks back into your life and you remember how much she means to you..

on sunday we were driving back from church and we had a great time just driving, talking, listening.. she was disgusted with all of the bug bites she had over her body, bummed about the sunburn she received.. now i have to say this because it is the honest truth and i feel obligated to share.. the thought of, the smell of, the feeling of, the sight of, the taste of, the love of my wife turns me on.. this isnt just limited to my body, but my whole being.. there is something about being married to her and going through everyday life that increase my love for her, devotion, appreciation for what we have.. as we go through life my heart, mind, body, and soul are constantly stirred and challenged, leaving me deeply in love with her..

back to the short story.. on sunday, the day was right.. the sun was out.. the sky was blue.. the heat hugged your skin.. the wind blew early spring goodness.. we are driving and shannon is bummed about bug bites and sunburns.. as she talks about this, i replied by saying that "imperfection is just a misunderstanding".. whether i was trying to drop a line on her or be smooth, this struck a chord with me..

i was reminded that no matter how we feel about ourselves, true love always looks beyond our faults, blemishes, bug bites, sunburns, shortcomings, failures.. when we feel imperfect, we misunderstand the truth that we are loved no matter what we think is wrong with us.. there is nothing about my wife that can change my mind that she is completely, perfectly made..

the way we feel about ourselves also tends to reflect the way we feel about the world or about others.. sometimes i find that the things that i dont like or annoy me about some people are things that i dont like about myself.. i guess the issue is, we all need to learn how to love ourselves.. i think that most of the time, i tend to put all my energy towards loving others that i forget or choose not to love myself.. i come from a very insecure past and only learned to love myself at the age of 18.. it started with putting an end to self-hatred..

well, i have to go now and i feel that i have so much to say but so little time.. i hope this wasnt too confusing.. i know that i grew up in church learning to love others.. i wish someone could have taken time to teach me to love myself too.. live n learn i guess..

disclaimer: some may think that some of this may be too much to share but i dare not see the day that i could no longer say these things about her.. part of this and many of my other blogs are on here for my own personal record.. there are blogs that i do not want to forget.. this is one of them.. plus, a man should never be afraid to share his feeling about his wife.. sometime wives need to hear them.. sometimes men need to hear their own feelings too..

twenty.third..

2008-03-07T04:40:00.000-08:00

highway 1 - santa cruz, ca

this week my home has been wifeless cause shannon has been out of town.. my good friend david branch happen to have his spring break this week so he decided to come out for a visit.. today we went to san francisco to see the sites.. the day consisted of fisherman's wharf / pier 39 / the bush man / clam chowder bread bowl / golden gate bridge / haight - ashbury / and lumbard street.. on our way back to santa cruz, we decided to take highway 1, a 60 mile drive back home.. it was a beautiful drive.. we stopped at the pigeon point lighthouse to catch the sunset pictured above.. it was my first time taking highway 1 from san fran to santa cruz.. definitely will be doin that again.. i highly recommend it..

ps.. as david and i were walking towards pier 39, when we passed her, some random old lady started yelling, "i hate hawaiians.. go back to hawaii.. go back to hawaii".. she then started to try to tell me to go back to samoa, only it sounded like a mix between samoa and somalia.. i didnt really know what to say.. i wasnt sure if i was more offended by her hatred of polynesians or that she didnt know i was tongan.. oh well, i figured we all have our story and shame on the hawaiian man that broke her heart in the past.. well i dont know if thats why shes so mad.. just run with it..

on our way back, we saw her from a distance and i decided to walk right past her with a blank stare.. she didnt say a word.. my first thought was "man she could of gave me a great blog to write".. i guess i'll just have to settle for the sunset..

pss.. this blog took me 4.5 hours to write cause me firefighter pager has been goin off all night.. only medical calls though.. its 4:36 am.. im tired.. nite..

twenty.second..

2008-02-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

jon mclaughlin, doin it!

last night, shannon and i proudly watched our friend jon mclaughlin perform a song at the 80th annual academy awards.. it was so weird to know someone who was not only at the oscars, but also performed at it.. he sang "so close" a movie from the motion picture "enchanted" which he also sang the song in the actual movie..

here's a picture from the Oscars rehersal..

here is another pic i found on the internet of jon and his beautiful wife amy on the red carpet.. every time shannon and i have gone to see jon in show, we have had the privilege of having dinner with them after.. they are some of the nicest folks if you ever get to meet them.. it is just so incredible to see such a good guy makin it in the music biz..

here's a pic from way back when.. shannon and i were in atlanta, ga sept. 2006 while traveling with our last job.. it was the first time i met jon and amy.. he played a awesome show and was opening for dave barnes..

jon really does have so much goin for him and hes got a good head on his shoulders.. its neat to see amy's interaction in his career.. the two of them seem to work so well together.. well, i guess thats pretty much all ive got to say bout all that.. last thing is..

he performed at the oscars wearing a hollywood lookin suit with small dots on it.. one word.. uh wee

twenty.first..

2008-02-21T21:56:00.001-08:00

waimea canyon.. kauai, hi

(click to enlarge)

here is a photo from the honeymoon.. popularly known as the grand canyon of hawaii.. or of the pacific.. i dont remember, either way it was awesome.. this was a collection of 3 pictures i took, then digitally aligned and merged together with adobe photoshop..

twentieth..

2008-02-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

..victory is mine..

its has been a long process of healing since my knee operation, but things are going back to normal.. for the past few weeks, i started playing soccer on mondays and basketball on wednesdays.. i play soccer with a bunch of the mount hermon staff guys who happen to be of some central american origin (i was trying to find a way to not label them as just being mexican).. anyway, these guys are awesome and fun to play with.. they are all good soccer players.. ive had a blast playing with them but tired of being one of the only guys to not have cleats and of them running circles around me while i slip and fall frequently..

due to our financial situation, i knew it would be hard to convince the mrs to let me buy some cleats.. i searched many different websites but no luck finding cheap, size 14, cleats.. i eventually found these cleats (pictured above) on ebay, brand new and in the original box.. they were worth $100.. the starting bid was $14.99 and i decided to try my luck.. i put a bid in for $15.00, only a penny above the requested starting bid.. watched for 2 1/2 days and it went untouched.. i won the cleats for a penny over the starting bid..

now, i would say "to make a long story short" but i cant..

thats it..

story done..

i won..

personal points record:

me - 1
part of the economy that makes things expensive - ZERO

nineteenth..

2008-01-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

so i know its been a while since ive blogged.. there have been some neat stuff goin on in life and i havent had the time to sit and reflect lately but i know i will soon.. ive workin on gettin to know adobe photoshop cs3 and im only at the beginning.. i thought i would put this pic of the nephew this past christmas.. he a handsome and stylistic young chap and i love that he is content in his own little world as a baby..

eighteenth..

2007-12-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

value on earth..

over the thanksgiving weekend, i had a faith shifting conversation with my wiser and older brother aisea.. we were listening to a song called "fellowship" by meshell ndegeocello that has really expanded my views on living righteously.. the lyrics that caught my attention read..

would you walk
a righteous path
without the promise
of heaven,
paradise
streets paved in gold?

would you slay
your sister,
your brotherman
for another man's greed?

'cause if you believe that your god
is better than another man
how we gonna end
all your suffering?
'cause if you believe that your god
is better than another woman
how we gonna end
all your suffering and strife?

you believe
great god gonna come from the sky
take away everything,
and make everybody feel high
but if you know what life is worth
you'll look for your's here on earth

our conversation revolved around the question of whether we would still desire to live righteously if at this very second, heaven and all of its luxuries no longer existed?.. i grew up with the idea that if i was a good person here on earth, i would have a golden crown waiting for me in heaven along with my very own mansion.. i would walk the streets of gold and never feel pain ever again.. whether or not this becomes a reality in heaven, i made the mistake of allowing this idea to become the very reason why i did right or good, my reasoning for obedience, why i tried not to sin.. it was as if, as long as i can behave myself and do what the bible says, I get all of these things..

the question is do we really desire to do good in the world because it is the right thing to do or is it in return for selfish personal gain.. do i follow the teachings of christ because i believe in finding true life to the fullest in it, or do i have alternative motives.. i think that it is easy to focus on a salvation that delivers us to a eternal heavenly place, but we miss the fact that the point of our salvation may not be our future destination but our present situation.. god is right here, right now.. his kingdom is established.. the point of the life of christ is not exclusively his death on the cross for the sins of the world, but inclusively the life that he lived before his death and resurrection.. while we place great significance on atonement, i know i tend to forget that he didnt just set me free in the afterlife, but mainly right now in the present..

i am constantly reminded through my selfishness that there are far more inportant things in life than personal gain.. instead of focusing so much on the great me, i need to love on the great we.. love is not conditioned by selfish gain, but it seeks to serve the loveless.. i hope that i can learn to live not for what i can get, but for what i can give..

+shalom..

seventeenth..

2007-12-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

in my last few blogs, i have talked about the idea that scripture has no life without action.. when we do the things the bible says, it is then that it is alive, breathing, living.. there are some friends of mine in santa monica, ca that have really encouraged me in this and have been trying to figure out some practical ways to live out scripture.. heres an example of how theyre trying to do it..

Matthew 25:35,40
-I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...
-whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

OUR COMMITMENTS:
- we will drink water exclusively for the next 27 days
- we will not purchase bottled water for the next 27 days
- we will take the money we save on beverages we would have purchased and donate it to an organization that gives water to immigrants crossing the border
- we will visit this organization sometime in the next month
- we will attempt to raise money to build a well in a place where there is no drinking water
- we will monitor our own water usage and discuss the impact our usage has on the world
- we will become informed about water issues in our local westside area
- we will meet again on November 8th @ 7PM

cheers!

sixteenth..

2007-11-29T23:56:00.000-08:00

the good.. the bad.. and the ugly..

wow.. it was recently brought to my attention that my comment function on my blog page hasn't worked in a long time.. apparently someone actually reads this thing other than me and i figured it would be worth it to try to fix it.. result: couldnt fix it so i had to start from scratch and redesign again.. spent way too much time on it already and i think my wife has been patient beyond necessity at this point.. for all my reader (jacob) out there, thanks for being patient and feel free to comment as much as you want..

before i go to bed i want to put somethin down before i forget.. im getting close to being done with my emergency medical technician (emt-1) class and im lookin forward to having my wed. nights free again.. anyway, yesterday while i was at class, we talked about different medical emergencies.. at one point we talked about insect emergencies.. it was pretty basic.. mainly signs/symptoms and treatment for stings or bites from snakes, spiders, bees, ticks, etc.. during the discussion, i got to thinking about why god would even allow these insects, reptiles, killers to even exist if they could harm, hurt, or even kill someone.. at first it seemed rather unnecessary but truth became clear..

we talked a little bit about the need for every living creation and that without certain creatures, the world or creation would be unbalanced.. the ecosystem would be flawed and incomplete.. every living thing has a part to play in the circle of life.. (i feel like mufasa now).. (ok not anymore).. anyway, its as if nothing is insignificant and everything matters.. you cant have one without the other.. it goes against how we are design to function..

this lead me to think about questions like, "why would god allow so much pain in the world?" or "does god really care about all creation?" "what about the the millions who have died of pain, suffering, hunger, disease, murder?" now, of course anyone could read really deep into these questions, but that night i was reminded that without the bad in my life, i can do no good.. i am incomplete without my sin, shortcomings, flaws.. it is in the darkness of my life that i find true light.. i am a lost soul that is only made whole by love himself.. in this spiritual balance, the righteous is never better than the unrighteous.. when i find that im living my life in goodness, i sure as heck better care as much for the bad as i would the good.. we are all connected through love..

live love, sing love, dance love, give love..