the darkness won't last

today is good friday. it's a day of darkness. and today as jesus has nails driven into his hands and feet i can't help but think of the audio adrenaline song 'hands and feet' . today we mourn. today is friday but just remember that sunday is coming.

much love and peace, dmaloney

go attack your nineveh!

so i recently watched Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie and it made me think about the story of Jonah. so here is the link to watch the movie and here's a selection from the first chapter of Jonah :

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ² "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." ³ But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. ⁴ Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish." ⁷ Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" ⁹ He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." ¹⁰ This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) ¹¹ The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" ¹² "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." ¹³ Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. ¹⁴ Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." ¹⁵ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. ¹⁶ At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

this is the part of the story that i want to focus on. this is the part that makes me think the most.

in this story we have jonah and in this story jonah is one of the biggest prophets of the time. he is popular and when he has something to say everyone drops what they're doing. he has total respect of the people and when he speaks they believe (and it is) coming directly from the Lord. so one time God tells jonah that he needs him to go to nineveh. during this time nineveh is the bottom of the bottom. it's horrible. the city is full of greedy people that don't know right from wrong. anyway, jonah is like yeah right.. i would go anywhere but there.. i can't save those people they're horrible people. God insist that jonah make the journey, but the next day jonah heads out of town to tarshish. (the opposite direction of nineveh) and from there we all know the story.

but in this story jonah is a big part of the faith of the people at the time. they believe what he said to be the word of God. and jonah was a leader for God and a follower of God. he was a prophet because he had a sound relationship with God. but this great relationship failed when jonah didn't want to go to nineveh. for lack of a better term, jonah "rocked the boat" on the great relationship he and God had because he was afraid. he didn't want to waste his time on people he felt we're already a lost cause.

this story makes me reflect on this weekends youth leaders conference. we talked a lot about "servant leadership" and i think that jonah's story is a story of a leader who was afraid to be a servant leader. see jonah was happy in the town he was in. he was even comfortable leaving and going to anywhere in israel. but was afraid and unwilling to travel to nineveh. jonah was afraid to do "God's dirty work" he didn't want to travel to tell people unwilling to listen that they would perish.

i believe that God often puts our faith to very similar tests. tests of servant leadership. God knows when we are faithfully following him and he knows when he can test us. so he sends test to check our faith. in these tests he has a do things outside of our comfort zone. maybe it's that feeling you get inside that says you should go talk to them. or maybe it's a call to stay in the kitchen a scrub a pot.

now those examples aren't examples exactly like jonah's but they are still a call to something that we are uncomfortable with and a call to be something bigger than ourselves.

so maybe the next time you'll think twice about that person you thought was a lost cause. jonah thought nineveh was a lost cause yet the city changed their ways and turned to the Lord. the story of jonah tells all about grace, mercy, and forgiveness, but i think that the bigger lesson is in his leadership.

we can be comfortable in our own leadership positions, but we need to comfortable anywhere. God calls us to be more than leaders. he calls us to servant leadership. it's a big concept but if you can grasp it and, more importantly, but it in to practice you'll be a better person. God is calling you to go sit at the other table in the cafeteria. he is calling you the kid sitting by himself. but the question is how will you respond?

will you be jonah? will you turn and run the other way in fear or will you willingly accept the challenge? will you be a servant leader for God? the choices are yours. do what you please, but just remember you could end up inside a fish for three days!

go attack your nineveh! much love and peace, dmaloney

the perks of choice

accidents. we're usually afraid when we hear that. accidents. scary. our accidents usually are mistake-based. right? like this:

just a little bit of a problem.

but do we ever think of happy accidents. accidents that help us. or change us for the better. or do you not believe in accidents. i have my own personal opinions about predestination and free-will. and my own beliefs are what i like to call a multiple choice test. and this is one of the things that i love about the united methodist church. i'm not forced into believing. i'm allow to make my own decisions about faith that can be scary. but in the end i believe that when we push ourselves to decide on our beliefs about life. and a whole long list of things. we strength our faith. we become better 'evangelists'. when you finish reading this you'll understand the whole 'multiple choice test' and why i believe that. but i think that if you asked a person who practices under a denomination with forced beliefs their responses would be different. when we can decide things for ourselves we become incapable of just about everything.

but now back to the 'multiple choice test' concept. i believe in the idea that God has a set plan for us. but in a different way than predestination. see i believe that God has allowed us the freedom (or free-will) to pick the options set for us. and the different ways have different plans. i'm still deciding on the path that i'll take, but i'm pretty sure that God has the options set. and none of them lead to failure. my life is in his best interest. and i'd like to think that i've put him in mine too.

quote of the day:

'whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.'

-colossians 3:23

joke of the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTZ1QL1fllo&feature=related

oh! my nose!

have a great sunday! much love and peace, dmaloney

just the right blend

here's a quick video that i thought was amusing.. if you're reading on facebook i don't think you'll be able to see this.. so you can read the rest at http://dmaloneybaloney.blogspot.com and see the video...

so i found this video on youtube, but this guy doesn't only blend iphones he blends spam and soo much more but that isn't the point.

a couple years ago in youth group we we're ask to draw a portrait of jesus and how we see him. and i remember someone taking a purple piece of paper and drawing in purple crayon on the paper. when she presented it she said i drew in the same color because i think that he blends into the background often. and over time i've reflected on it and i think reinterpreted. God is there just it so obvious it's like white crayon on white paper.

you remember in elementary school when you would color a picture and you would either thought that the white crayon was pointless (meaning good for throwing across the room) or you thought that you could use it on other colors of paper. and so for those of you who actually used that white crayon to color know that the color was there if you used another crayon near it. it's interesting to think of God in this way. that much to often we only stumble upon him..

the other interesting thing is that the white crayon shows on other colors of paper. all the other colors. all the other lights. God is shinning bright. i feel that this post strongly relates to the post entitled 'what your metaphor?' and that's all for this snowy thursday night.

quote of the day:

'the most wasted of all days is one without laughter.' -e.e. cummings

joke of the day:

'why couldn't the 11 year old see the pirate movie?

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because it was rated arrrgh!

photo of the day:

just all the colors in the box on all the different papers. much love and peace, dmaloney

one of the most powerful tools

if you haven't notice by now i really enjoy using music as a tool to communicate ministry. it's powerful. and i obviously wasn't the first person to feel that way, as the majority of church services revolve around music. music is powerful. it's a way to communicate your own message. but that message can have so many interpretations. like the post on regina spektor's song 'laughing with' and jars of clay's song 'like a child'. well, today i have a new song for you.

it's called 'how he loves' by david crowder band.

link to video w/ lyrics : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWgeUrD4MHI

it's a cool song, with some really great lyrics. my favorite part:

'And oh, how He loves us so

Oh how He loves us

How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves'

i read somewhere recently God loves you as if you are the only person on earth. it's pretty amazing. and it's so crazy we'll never be able to understand. we'll never be able to wrap our minds around God's unfathomable. indescribable. unexplainable. love.

it's love and it's there for you.

i have a large collection of songs that i listen to when i'm looking for God. in my meditation, most of the time. but most of them are reflective or illustrate my individual conclusions and beliefs. another favorite is 'grand canyon' by ffh

'So I'm reaching across the Grand Canyon

Hoping you will take my hand

Wondering why you're just not listening

So for the time being

I'll just keep on reaching for you'

this song always makes me think back on my confirmation. during the classes i remember one point that was jesus is the bridge between you and God. he's the reason we can have a relationship with God. and that's exactly what this song is saying.in a way both songs are related. they both symbolize the power of God's unfailing love. and that love is a bridge across the grand canyon and so much more.

quote of the day:

'oh how He loves us' - david crowder band song: 'how he loves'

joke of the day:

horse walks into a bar. bartender says 'why the long face?'

haha!

photo of the day:

have a wonderful sunday. and happy birthday to becca hertl. much love and peace, dmaloney