Enter Patricia…

Long ago in a place called Light Hill there was a very nice man named Religion. He was a good citizen, always ready to help the people, giving leadership and direction on all matters of life. Many young maidens of Light Hill loved Religion but he fell in love with the Mayor’s flawless daughter named Law.

Law.

Now Law was perfect. She had nothing to hide. She lived all-out-there and unashamed in

This post is a book review…

There are very few books that I read cover to cover in a day or two. And I rarely do book reviews on this blog but I feel like this book The Art of Not Disappearing needs to be read and shared.

From the very beginning Van’s story engaged me in a way that most movies have not been able to.

Van does a brilliant job of being vulnerable with his own journey while at the same time showing us that failure is not final. Regardless of where we have been or what broken identities we have held onto, the pages in this book shine light on the darkest areas of our lives and gently call us deeper into that light. The light.

Thank you, Van, for being willing to go where most pastors and leaders are afraid of going. Into the darkness. And thank you for affirming the reality that we are not called to live and remain there.

A small excerpt from the book…

“…when our story is placed within the narrative of Jesus’ story, then we are no longer consigned to the previous scripts of our lives. It is this discovery which will, I believe, cause each of us to know that the William Wallace cry of “Freedom!” from the Braveheart film can be ours. Yet wonderfully, not at the end of our life, but with every new beginning that God wants to give us”

Through sharing his story and insights Van gives all of us permission to be who we were created to be!

Van is becoming a great friend and has personally imparted so much into my life in the short amount of time I have known him. I have asked him to do a guest post soon. He is currently working on his second book now.

If you are as screwed up as the rest of us but desire to be honest and real on the journey with Jesus, then I suggest you buy his book The Art of Not Disappearing today. You will not be disappointed.

And I would really appreciate it if you gave an honest review on Amazon after you finish.

Enjoy!

Daniel

Here are a few reviews from around the world…

The United Kingdom: 

Children’s hide and seek, is one thing….but after a while it’s wearisome. Sadly as adults we imitate these patterns all too often. The challenge to true-self and a pursuit of authenticity is powerfully painted here…… Addressing secrets, shame and surrender excellently in a vulnerable, scriptural and autobiographical manner. A fear of self-disclosure and genuine intimacy causes us to mask our true selves and project an image that either we are comfortable with, or we believe others want to see. True God and true self get powerfully celebrated here.

Love, acceptance and purpose are the new possibilities laid before the reader. This is a fresh and compelling new work. Truly original concerning the Adam-&-Eve pattern first set and a powerful uncovering of theology for the complicated subtext of our lives! A great first write by Van Shore.

Australia:

This beautifully written book is a perfect balance of the anecdotal, theological and practical. Van’s objective for the book is “to help others become more like Jesus and to understand and celebrate their uniqueness in God”.

His self-disclosures do not detract from the main objective of the book, but indeed point us to God as revealed in Jesus Christ.

Skillfully, Van takes us on a journey into the truly relevant and most important facts of life – dealing with the past, living in the “now” and anticipating an authentic and life-giving future. Van encourages us to be vulnerable, transparent and responsible.

This is not merely an academic work – although it quite rightly does justice to Van’s scholarship. It also honours and reveals the love and grace of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ.

Dare to read it, and be willing to take risks to love and to be loved by God.

I leave you with a quote from the book, “God’s way … loving people into wholeness and giving them back their true selves.”

Girl With A Satchel:

A famous anthropologist was confronted with a startling revelation when he spent some time with the Hopi people, one of the oldest indigenous tribes in America. He noticed the dominance of the rain theme in the art and music of the Hopi people. He sat with a tribal elder keen to know why so many of the people’s songs dealt with rain. The Hopi elder’s response was simply, “Water is so scarce in the land where they live.” The Hopi leader asked the anthropologist, “Is that why so many of your songs are about love?”

- Gila: The life and death of an American River.

The above is a passage from The Art of Not Disappearing, a testimonial book about identity from Christian writer Dr. Vangjel Shore. Dr. Shore delves into heavy concepts in a completely vulnerable, autobiographical manner. The premise of the book looks at stripping away our masked selves to reveal our true, vulnerable, God-given selves.

Shore says: “Children love to play hide and seek. It’s the one childhood game we all remember playing. But think for a moment about how we, as adults, often continue this game throughout our lives… a fear of self disclosure and genuine intimacy causes us to mask our true selves and project an image that either we are comfortable with, or we believe others want to see.”

Reading Shore’s very personal journey leaves you with an intimate knowledge of his struggles. Struggles not isolated to any one person. Through Shore’s insight, we gain insight. It’s humbling information that makes you laugh, angry, ashamed and weepy. His truthfulness is a testament to his Jesus-loving character.

After reading the book I was reminded of a John Butler Trio song, Peaches and Cream, a song about Butler’s wife and daughter. The intro lyrics are forever circulating in my tone-deaf head:

“For I wear too many masks, to tell if any of them are wrong or right.”

How apt. Some masks are placed upon us, thrust upon us, or we manufacture masks for ourselves. One can easily get lost in the costume shop of identities we cultivate. ‘Who we are’ is some very perplexing fodder. Shore acknowledges this and offers simple advice: Jesus.

“You have your heads in your bibles constantly because you think you will find blessed life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.” (John 5:39-40, The Message)

Obviously we all want want lives of love. I cannot speak for everyman, but the craving for love and fully disclosed acceptance seems a common (and timeless) theme in our society. In a very minimal, one word nutshell, Jesus preaches our true selves as this… Lovers.

You can purchase the kindle version here – The Art of Not Disappearing

You can purchase the paperback version here – The Art of Not Disappearing 

Currently we are eating a vegan diet for three weeks as an experiment. This was the result of finding out how much MSG and sugar was in Thai food.

After talking to others about this we heard about these two documentaries.

Forks Over Knives

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 

Shocked and challenged about what we put in our bodies we decided to go vegan for three weeks.

Yesterday we finished week on and we feel great!

One of the things I have personally enjoyed has been cooking the food we eat. We know exactly what we are eating and it has been fun actually touching the food we eat before we eat it.

A lot of people have been asking for the recipe for the smoothie we have been drinking.

So here it is… I like to call it the GREEN MONSTER

There are a lot of variations so experiment and have fun!

Preferably use all organic vegetables. We do a mix simply because of cost.

If you are in Bangkok I know and personally recommend Adams Organic. They are a great company and have quality product.

Ingredients:

2 cups of filtered water

1 large head of cos lettuce (aka romaine)

1 large bunch of spinach

3 stalks of celery

1 green apple

1 red apple

1 banana

1/2 a lemon – we only use the juice

Directions:

Add water and cos/romaine to the blender. Blend and then add spinach. Blend until smooth.

Then one by one begin to add celery, apples, banana, and lemon juice.

Myt wife and I just returned from a trip to the border of Myanmar and Thailand where we met a local woman who takes care of over 700 orphans who also happen to be refugees.

These children bravely shared their stories with us of how their village was attacked and their school was blown up with a rocket by soldiers. They fled into the jungle and ended up living in this makeshift camp on the border. Click here for a small video about this project.

I cannot imagine trying to survive on by only eating two bowls of white rice per day.

I cannot imagine not having running water or electricity.

I cannot image staring at the jungle every day hoping that my parents will come walking out alive.

But this is their reality.

While their situation needs a lot more than immediate relief I knew we had to do something. So we asked our friend how we could serve her. She said their biggest need was a continuous supply of fresh running water and electricity.

So that is exactly what we are going to do. Serve our friend by helping her provide these basic needs as soon as possible.

The cost is only $6,000 USD to do both.

As you know I never do appeals for money for Shannon and I personally. And we rarely ask for anything for others but know we need to provide this relief as soon as possible.

Since I am turning 31 this year please help me by donating $31 (or any other amount) to this project.

Maybe you have a birthday coming up and you can join me as well?

Lets do this!

Daniel
100% of the money will go directly to providing immediate relief of clean water and electricity.

Faurkh and Kelli Mamadaliyev are on our team here in Bangkok and they have an organization called Generation Miracle. We trusth them and to ensure that 100% of money donated goes directly to these kids and is also tax deductible Generation Miracle will be processing all donations.

BANGKOK – DUSK TO DAWN from Florian Böhm on Vimeo.

This quote sums up how I have been feeling recently about my own life. I have felt less of a need to broadcast to the world what I am thinking, dreaming of, and even doing.

I dont want to be known by how eloquent my speech is to those who walk in the light but rather be known by those who do not even have a voice and live in darkness.

I have given away more resources living by faith than I ever did with a set salary.

People explain to me with various reasons why they could never do what I do.

No one should do what I do. They should do what they are supposed to do.

People say that when they make more money they will give more away.

Statistics prove that the opposite is true. Sadly the more we make the less % we give.

People have asked me over the years how I survive on the amount of income that I make.

My answer is always the same. I tell them this short story…

When I was younger I asked a very rich man to teach me how to make a lot of money.

First thing he said was “Give as much as you can. Save as much as you can.”

Then he gave me these two verses. Best advice ever.

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
those who help others are helped.

Proverbs 11:25

If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!

Proverbs 19:17

Its not about how much you have its about what you do with what you have. 

What are you doing with what you have?

We are still raising money to help 20 families rebuild their lives once the water disappears. CLICK HERE TO GIVE

Now we are engaging a new initiative for the next 7 days.

Click the picture below to find out how it happend and how you can get involved:

Shannon and I had an opportunity to see it first hand a few days ago as we went out with one of our friends to serve those in need.

It reminds me of the situation after Hurricane Katrina and how sadly some people are still rebuilding their lives six years later.

To help our existing rebuilding fund to help 20 families rebuild after the flood follow the link below:

wheresdaniel.com/?invest/?

This video below is a beautiful illustration of the result of COMMUNITAS:

John was the first Bangladeshi friend I ever had and I was the first American friend he ever had…

Now we are brothers!

Thank you for being a part of our journey!

So many of you have invested into our life with time, money, and by opening up your homes to us as we travel.

We are so grateful for all of the relationships we have globally.

If you would like to support the work we are doing please CLICK HERE