Mammoth with the fam

After spending a few days in Yosemite my family went to Mammoth with a quick stop in the ghost town of Bodie. Mammoth was beautiful and we had a blast hanging out with Aaron and taking in the beautiful mountains and lakes, playing games, watching movies and the Angels.

Here is a shot of a chapel in Bodie, a ghost town that was the largest city in California for a few years before everyone moved out because of the brutal weather and licentious lifestyles there.


The people took off so fast that the inside of buildings was preserved, here is a look inside their schoolhouse.


They had some pretty sweet cars too.


We hiked up to a beautiful cascade,


and lake where we connected with a family that goes to church in Santa Barbara that Aaron had a connection with and they pour into Westmont students there.




Then we went on the most beautiful hike along Rock Creek and saw many lakes, wildflowers, glaciers, cascades, and awesome mountains.




Finally we hiked to Devil's Postpile

and Rainbow Falls (which have sentimental value to me from my Cross Country days at Valley Christian when we would go to Mammoth each summer for our running camp).


All in all an awesome vacation to beautiful places with an amazing family.

Yosemite

Alright, it's been a couple weeks and I've been out of town, but it is time for me to finally update my blog.

Last week I had a great time hanging out with my family in Yosemite and Mammoth, for today you can catch a glimpse of what Yosemite was like.

We were surprised to drive into Yosemite with a dark orange sky at 4pm

The tunnel tree looked awfully ominous

We went to the chapel in Yosemite on Sunday morning, who can argue with a worship service to our Creator God in the middle of Yosemite Valley

Thanks to the encouragement from a certain family, to be left unnamed, we tried to hike up to Sierra Point,

but were climbing up a rockfall

and the view was marred by the smoke

We did make it up to Vernal Falls

with a beautiful rainbow

and Nevada Falls

With the cooler, ask Krista about how glad she was to carry the cooler...

Although we don't have any pictures, we heard from our neighbors that a bear jumped on our bear locker in Housekeeping Camp both nights we were there...

What is Science?

The Truth Project tours continue tomorrow night with a look in at Science. Come over to my apartment at 7pm to learn about one of the top arguments people have with Christianity, it doesn't match with scientific evidence, How could there be a god to create the Earth?

Here's the promo video,




Come ready to discuss the argument of science and if you want to see the second lesson on science let me know and I can loan out the DVD. See you tomorrow.

Josh Hamilton, Proof that Hope is Never Lost

Did anybody watch the home run derby last night? Did you see Josh Hamilton pounding the ball out of Yankee Stadium, hitting 13 homers in a row?

Before last night all I knew about him was that he had the lead in RBIs for the AL and that he had hit a walkoff homerun against the Angels last week. After last night I couldn't help but check out his story and read a few articles about him, 'I'm proof that hope is never lost'

Check out the article where he talks about dreams battling Satan with a bat on his own and then with Jesus on his side. "This devil seemed unbeatable; I couldn't knock him out. But just when I felt like giving up, I felt a presence by my side. I turned my head and saw Jesus, battling alongside me. We kept fighting, and I was filled with strength. The devil didn't stand a chance."

All this coming from a man that spent 3 years careening down into an endless tunnel as a crack addict, drug user, and a man kicked out of baseball for his substance abuse. He then took the steps he needed to have a man keep him accountable, hold his money, and run from any temptation he faced and remove any thoughts that Satan put into his mind.

The end of the article is epic, a story of him talking with a boy after a game.

"But there is one story that sticks with me, so much so that I think of it every day. I was driving out of the players' parking lot at Great American Ball Park after a game in May, with Katie and our two girls. There's always a group of fans standing at the curb, hoping to get autographs, and I stop to sign as many as I can.

And on this particular night, a little boy of about 9 or 10, wearing a Reds cap, handed me a pen and something to sign. Nothing unusual there, but as I was writing the boy said, "Josh, you're my savior."

This stopped me. I looked at him and said, "Well, thank you. Do you know who my savior is?"

He thought for a minute. I could see the gears turning. Finally, he smiled and blurted out, "Jesus Christ." He said it like he'd just come up with the answer to a test. "That's exactly right," I said.

You see, I may not know how I got here from there, but every day I get a better understanding of why."

Here is the video from last night,

Who could have thought his dream of playing in a home run derby would ever happen?

Here is one more quote from another article that made me think,

"In the dream, though, he never saw himself actually swinging the bat. He remembers only being interviewed afterward on ESPN, and describing how he'd gotten to this miraculous point, through the power and the grace of God.

But now, here he was, 2½ long years later, and he got to find out how it all turned out. How beautiful was that? "

What do you think about Josh Hamilton?

Dunes and Drive-In

Yesterday was a really fun day off of work. I love doing fun things even though I struggle to get myself out to do them a lot of the time. Does anyone else struggle to get themselves out to do what you love? Maybe it's a problem that I don't really believe what I believe is really real? (Enter Truth Project line...)

So Yesterday I played tennis in the morning for about an hour with Sheila before convincing her to play a few holes of disc golf, she acquiesced pretty easily...

In the afternoon I had some family friends from Missouri that drove all the way up from LA to see me for a few hours and they took Sheila and I out to Oceano Dunes.

I had never really been out in the dunes before, but we rented some dune buggies (using the secret Missouri discount) and had a blast driving up down and around the dunes while only getting stuck a couple times...I'll get pictures up when I get them. It was so fun to see them and hear a bit about what's going on in their lives and just have a fun adventure with them (the last time I saw them I went surfing for the first time in CA 1 year ago). They are so fun to be around and MAKE ME have a good time.

Right after we joined Tim to head out to the Sunset Drive-In to see Wall-e and Get Smart in the back of a great borrowed truck, thanks Chad! The back of this truck was amazing and it was so fun to see the movies.

Wall-e made me think about our technology overdosed culture and the impact it has on our relationships, health, lifestyle, and overall well-being. Check out what the Constructive Curmudgeon has to say about Wall-e.

It's so fun to read the Constructive Curmudgeon's blog after actually meeting him...

The Constructive Curmudgeon

You might be wondering about the title of my post, but the Constructive Curmudgeon is a blog that I found through a friend's blog and a satirical blog article that describes why this conservative will vote for Obama . It's a pretty interesting post...but the reason why the post intrigued me was that I had lunch with the author of the blog when I went to Colorado a few weeks ago and then "randomly" came across his blog. Check it out.

His blog is absolutely relevant and a couple of his recent posts caught my eye.

Is anybody else bothered, frustrated, and annoyed by the overuse of the word "like" in conversations by so many people of our day? Read about the The Ontology of "Like" to hear a reason for why "like" is so overused.

This guy is brilliant and he makes me think...

Rapping the Gospel?

Not too long ago a good friend of mine introduced me to Lecrae and I thought his music was alright, but then after hearing John Piper speak on the Central Coast a few months ago I saw this interview series with Lecrae and wanted to check it out.

This guys life is crazy with him living in the inner city where many murders have happened in the past year. He is actively engaged in discipling guys "making disciple cycles," preaching the Gospel through hip hop to a crowd that wouldn't hear it otherwise, and living His life as an ambassador for Christ in a challenging setting.

I was greatly encouraged by the way he is using what God has brought him through to preach the Gospel. Check out this first video and if you like it watch the next two also.


What are your thoughts on rapping the Gospel?

Truth Project Tour #3 "Who is Man?"

Tonight, the Truth Project continues looking at the foundation of Anthropology, the question of Who is Man? Del Tackett also wrestles with the question of evil, where does evil come from?

Come to find out about the pernicious lie and hear more about the cosmic battle of Truth and Lies.

Take a look at what it is about,







See you tonight!

What about that Business Degree?

Just over a year ago I graduated from the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly after 4 years that changed my life tremendously and gave me a great look at how businesses operate and how to develop strategies for various businesses. It wasn't until the last couple of quarters at Cal Poly that I began to see the ways that God can and is using business to expand His kingdom.

Before December 2006 I had never really looked into what it meant to be a Business-as-Mission (BAM) company and the impact business owners and entrepeneurially minded people could have on spreading the Gospel. I knew that I wanted to go to Urbana in 06 to be challenged and encouraged to do missions, but I didn't think that I would enjoy the "OPEN FOR BUSINESS" track that focused in on BAM. After getting through a couple seminars I thought that I did want to research more about BAM and see if I could get an internship soon after I finished college. In my searches God didn't open up any doors for business, but he did open a door for me to work at Grace Church so that is where I am at, even though I still do love to read about how God is using businesses to draw men and women to His name.

I just got an email with a new list of the top 25 BAM companies. Check out the Business as Mission Network to see what these businesses are all about.

Currently I am not exactly sure how God will use my business degree in the future, but I do know that studying business is a great foundation to working in any organization, especially in a church and I am thankful for it.

Philosophy and Ethics: Says Who?

Tonight in our second Truth Project tour we looked at Philosophy and Ethics and looked at a lot of interesting perceptions on tough questions including:

What is Right? What is Wrong? What is Philosophy? Are the "cosmos really all there is, ever was, or ever will be?" What is existence? What is the meaning and purpose of life?



Check out this famous picture of Plato and Aristotle at the school of Athens debating whether the universals in life give meaning to the particulars or if the particulars point us to the universals.



Want to know more about the first postmodern building? Check out the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University designed by Peter Eisenman with "staircases leading nowhere, pillars that serve no purpose, and an overall senseless building that begs the question, 'Did he do the same with the foundation?'"



With postmodern buildings and no real sense of absolute truth, how many people in America have a Biblical Worldview? Only 4% of Americans have a Biblical Worldview and only 9% of Christians according to a Barna Study done in 2003. Check out more details of the study here.

I look forward to next week as we look at Man and the problem of evil. Let me know what your thoughts are on Philosophy and Ethics in Tour #2.

I Love the Angels

Last week in college group we talked about the different things in life that bring us joy as we looked at Philippians 4 and when I talked about joy and happiness I immediately thought of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (even though I'm not a big fan of their "LA" move). My dad, uncles, cousins and I love to watch baseball and especially the Angels and Cardinals. After Fall of 2002 I got the World Series DVD as a gift from my parents and proceeded to watch it about a dozen times over my Christmas break from High School.


I remember watching Spiezio's 3-run homer in game 6 that brought the Angels back into the game. Then I had the thrill of a lifetime of going out to Game 7 with my dad and seeing the Angels win their first ever World Series.

It is amazing how tied you can get to a sports team and the desire to see them do well. Last night they no-hit the Dodgers for 8 innings and still lost, but they won today. Check out their website, one of my top visited sites, Angels Do you follow a sports team "religiously"? Which team?

Truth Project Tour #2 Philosophy & Ethics

This Monday night our Truth Project Tour will take us head on with Philosophy and Ethics. Hear about the house with staircases leading nowhere, life inside and outside of the box, and much more. Get a taste of what we will be going through with this teaser.




As a reminder we meet at 7pm Monday nights at my apartment.

What is Truth?

On Monday night at my apartment we started our Truth Project tour looking at veritology the study of truth and what impact truth has on our lives.

We processed through the haunting question, "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?"

Looked at the Cosmic Battle of Truth vs. Lies...

Asked why did Jesus come into the world? Finish this statement, "For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to ___________________________."
John 18:37

We heard from interviews on the street of what people believe truth is, heard from experts to learn what truth is - "that which propositionally corresponds to reality from God's perspective" and asked ourselves what our prayer lives would be like if we really believed that each time we pray we enter into God's throne room and he hears us.

Not too bad for a first week. If you missed it and want to get caught up before you come this Monday let me know and I can work out a time for you to watch tour #1.

Join us this upcoming Monday night at 7pm at my apartment, 11345 Los Osos Valley Rd. Apt. E. If you need directions post a comment and I'll get back to you shortly.

-Matt

Truth Project Tour #1 Tonight

Alright, so now I am getting ready to post more often and keep everyone updated on what is happening with the Truth Project in SLO this summer.

Tonight we will be meeting at 7pm at my apartment, 11345 Los Osos Valley Rd. Apt. E My apartment is off of Los Osos Valley Rd. (LOVR) in the Irish Hills Apartment Complex. From LOVR turn on Royal Way toward the Irish Hills, away from Laguna Lake and take a right at the second driveway and drive until the parking lot corners to the right, you'll see some dumpsters in the corner and the golf course straight out. Park in any space facing away from the apartment buildings and walk on the stepping stones through the grass between two apartments and up the stairs to the left where you will see my apartment E. It's easier than it sounds...

In case you are wondering what we will be looking at tonight, here is a teaser for lesson 1, Veritology







See you tonight at 7pm

What's My Age Again?"

I can't believe my first year of my life out of school is already over and I am now 23. Although I am not a Blink 182 fan at all when I hear the age 23 tossed around I think of the song "What's my age again?" On that note I do feel like I have a hard time remembering what my actual age is right after my birthday.

My birthday has been lots of fun so far. I will go ahead and start it with yesterday when I started celebrating by playing a round of disc golf at Heilman which Austin dominated with a +2. I had a rough "first hole" and couldn't hit puts, but I had a great time overall. Then we got In-N-Out, I did some reading and went over to Pat's house to enjoy some bocce and and BBQ. Lots of fun yesterday and then it finished off with watching August Rush with Sheila at her place.

Anybody seen August Rush? What are your thoughts on it? I do think that music shows that there is something greater and outside of us that is drawing us. It is the music of great design and love of God that draws us to look for something more than what we see.

Time for me to head out and hit up the Grace Annual Congregational Meeting!

It's a beautiful day!

Finally Hopping On the Blog Train

After months of thinking about starting a blog and putting it off I am finally hopping on to the blog scene. At many points throughout my weeks I have thoughts I want to lay out and get feedback on and this morning after reading an article, The Greener Grass Conspiracy, I realized my intent desire to find my joy and satisfaction in what I am doing and the relationships I am in.

The article also brought out one of my favorite Jim Elliot quotes that my sisters commonly shared with each other across the miles and I joined in on, Wherever you are, Be all There. I can't be everywhere that I want to be or doing something "fun" all the time. There are the simple mundane tasks that I must do at some point (like cleaning the bathroom that I am putting off now) and I need to seek joy in doing them and to glorify God in whatever I do. Wherever I am and whatever I do I must submit it all before the Lord.

God, I pray that you will bring me joy and show me the ways that you are at work in my life and in the lives of those around me.