My heart is for this generation to step out with all they have, all their brokenness, and give everything to God, because our God is a good how loves, our God is a God who heals, our God is a God who forgives ,and Our God is a good who rejoices in our victory. This poem touches on so many struggles that are a reality to many and the freedom that is real to all who are willing to step out in faith and recieve.

-Jose Palos

Thank you God for your Word

Thank you God for your Creation

Thank you God for the ability to enjoy and interact with your Creation

a day at the beach cant come soon enough…

This Sermon by Marc Driscoll on Paul in 2 Timothy touched  my heart. I love the Paul and his teachings. There is challenge at the end of the sermon that I encourage everyone to take … I am doing it as well.

“He wasnt a guy who loved Jesus, and taught the bible , lived by the bibles values, about faith friendship and family, He was Saul the murdering self righteous terrorist.”

“He went from Saul to Paul  and heres the good news, it doesnt matter where you start you can end somewhere else, the guy sitting in a jail sail with his heart ,didnt start that way he started as a vile despicable man that none of us would aspire to be.”

“When we meet Jesus he utterly and thoroughly changes us and gives us a fresh start and new life …you can come to Jesus and ask Him for forgiveness and a new life and He will answer  your prayer and give you sincere faith and let you start over and live for Faith Friends and Family”

“We have sincere faith by grace that will enable to impart this to future generations…”

Faith Friends Family

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day,4 longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.

116 Cafe

116 State St
West Columbia, SC 29169

Beetle 1

Take Root

Our Daily Bread

Beetle 2

One Tree Hill

Mercy

Greed

Grace

Dark Hour

Circling

Bend

Aspire

Cover Me

Barrel

Blue District

Scewed

Over all I would say I enjoyed reading this book and it gave me  unique perspectives that allowed my mind to think in a new light given through the context of  Yancey’s tories . His goal was to focus on Jesus life, his work, teachings,  miracles, death, resurrection, who He was and why He came. “Yancey presents a complex character who generates questions as well as answers, a disturbing and exhilarating Jesus who wants to radically transform your life and stretch your faith.”

Im not the best at giving book reviews but as I was reading along I highlighted sections that really stretched my faith and made me think differently so i will share those pieces.

“The more I get to know Jesus, the more impressed I am by what Ivan Karamazov called “the miracle of restraint.” the miracles Satan suggested, the signs and wonders the Pharisees demanded, the final proofs I yearn for – those would offer no serious obstacle to an omnipotent God. More amazing is his refusal to perform and to overwhelm. God’s terrible insistence on human freedom is so absolute that he granted us the power to live as though he did not exist, to spit in his face, to crucify him. All this Jesus must have known as he faced down the tempter in the desert, focusing his mighty power on the energy of restraint.

I believe God insists on such restraint because no pyrotechnic displays of omnipotence will achieve the response he desires. Although power can force obedience, only love can summon a response of love, which is the one thing God wants from us and the reason he created us .”I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself,’ Jesus said. In case we miss the point John adds, ” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” Gods nature is self-giving;he bases his appeal on sacrificial love.”

“One question, however no longer gnaws at me as it once did, a question that I believe lurks behind most of our issues with God; “Does God care?” i know of only one way to answer that question, and it has come through my study of the life of Jesus, In Jesus, God gave us a face, and I can read directly in that face how God feels about people like the youth pastor and the blind man who never gave me his name. By no means did  Jesus eliminate all suffering- he healed only a few in one small patch of the globe- but he did signify answer to the question of whether God cares.”

“Again, I find it strangely comforting that when Jesus faced pain he responded much as I do. He did not pray in the garden, “Oh Lord , I am so grateful that you have chosen me to suffer on your behalf. I rejoice in the privilege!” No, he experienced sorrow, fear, abandonment, and something approaching even desperation. Still, he endured because he knew that at the center of the universe lived his Father, a God of love he could trust regardless of how things appeared at the time.

Jesus’ response to suffering people and to “nobodies” provides a glimpse into the heart of God. God is not the unmoved Absolute, but rather the Loving One who draws near. God looks on me in all my weakness, I believe, as Jesus Looked on the widow  standing by her sons bier, and on Simon the Leper, and on another Simon , Peter who cursed him yet even so was commissioned to found and lead his church, a community that need always find a place for rejects.”

“Though they may not hurt, leprosy patients surely suffer as much as any people I have ever known. Almost all the pain they feel comes from outside, the pain of rejection imposed on them by the surrounding community. Dr. Brand told me of one bright young man he was treating in India. In the course of the examination Brand laid his hand on the patients shoulder and informed him through a  translator of the treatment that lay ahead. To his surprise the man began to shake with muffled sobs. “Have I said something wrong?” Brand asked his translator. She quizzed the patient in a spurt of Tamil and reported , “No, doctor. He says he is crying because you put your hand around his shoulder. Until he came here no one had touched him for many years.”

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”One need not be a doctor or a miracle worker to meet that need”

“Jesus never met a disease he could not cure, a birth defect he could not reverse, a demon he could not exorcise. But he did meet skeptics he could not convince and sinners he could not convert. Forgiveness of sins requires an act of will on the receivers part, and some who heard Jesus strongest works about grace and forgiveness turned away unrepentant….. He had not come to primarily to heal the world’s cells, but to heal its souls.”

“A sign is not the same thing as proof; a sign is merely a marker for someone who is looking in the right direction.”

“As a child, I saw miracles everywhere. Now I see them rarely, and they seem ambiguous, susceptible to different interpretations. My childlike vision has doubtless grown cloudy with age, and I feel this as a loss. “

“He made his identity  so obvious that no disciple could ever deny him again(and none did)In a word, Jesus overwhelmed the witnesses faith: anyone who saw the resurrected Jesus was now irrefutable. “

“This perhaps, describes the change in the disciples’ perspective as they sat in locked rooms discussing the incomprehensible events of Easter Sunday. In one sense nothing had changed: Rome still occupied Palestine, religious authorities still had a bounty on their heads, death and evil sill reigned outside, Gradually, however, theshock of recognition gave way to a long slow undertow of joy. If God could do that…..”

This book was really good , I enjoyed reading it and I recommend others to read it as well. I will end with that. and this:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and GREATER WORKS than these he will do; because I go to the Father. “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:12-13 …. GREATER WORKS!

its so amazing that Jesus says we will be doing greater things in His name than He did.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the past couple of months. I am surrounded by extremely beautiful people.

“My heart is steadfast, O God;

I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.

Awake, harp and lyre;

I will awaken the dawn!

I will give thanks to You, O Lord , among the peoples,

And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,

And Your truth reaches to the skies.”

Psalm 108: 1-4

08.08.09 deteriorating/semi occupied house in Lexington, SC

…. Learning what it means to be completely where I currently am and that Love triumphs in every single situation especially the visual broken ones.

1 Corinthians 13:12-13

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

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The Hundredth is a band from Myrtle Beach SC and they just released a new album called When Will We Surrender. I have been listening to it non stop. Im most captivated by the lyrics and the truth they present in a raw passionate way.

DESOLATE
what have i gained by giving the world my everything. it’s never been such a struggle to regress to what i was yesterday. but today, i seem so far away. i’m waiting on the world to sing. the song i’ve been singing. i’m waiting on the world to sink. the way i’ve been sinking. i’ve given too much away over these past few years and this is ending today. there’s pain in my eyes like i’ve never known. i have fallen short. do you still see me as beautiful? carry me home. lighten my stagger. my conscience is weak. i’m begging for reparation. i am deficient of hope. refine me with fire. refine me with fire, oh God. refine me with fire. there’s pain in my eyes, like i’ve never known. i’ve fallen short. do you still see me as beautiful? i’ll never find my place on Earth. but i refuse to fade away.

Jonathan Beckman is a good friend of mine.  He is partnering with Adventures in Missions (AIM) to go on a mission trip called The World Race.  I snapped some shots of him at his recent benefit show in lexington at the watershed. There was a huge crowd of supporters and good music.

Jonathan is such an inspiration and valued friend to me, so I wanted to share his support letter  and what hes working towards in hopes that more people would want to support this awesome fellow. What ever you do… dont call him Beckles! haha : )

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Dear Friends and Family

For the past few years I have made Columbia SC my home. Being in college, I have learned many things not only about what I was taught in class, but about myself, other people, relationships, and life in general. This past December my college career came to a successful close upon graduating. Graduating marks the end of a significant time in my life, but also marks the beginning of what comes next.

A big question has been asked of me lately, and I have even joined those I know in asking myself “what will you do now?” This question comes with great weight; the weight of expectation, and the weight of a response to the mystery of what the future holds. I find myself holding fast to the confidence that is found in the cross of Jesus Christ. The most important thing I learned while living in Columbia is how the Lord consistently pursues me that I might know the vastness of His love. This is of the greatest significance. So my answer to the big question is obedience.

I have decided to leave all that I have here to go serve and tell others the greatest thing that I know, and that is what Jesus Christ has done for us. I have been accepted to go on a mission trip with a non-profit organization called Adventures in Missions (AIM). The mission trip is called The World Race. In June 2010, we will travel to 11 different countries in 11 months partnering with local established missionaries and churches to further the kingdom by serving with them in their ministry.

This letter is a request that you join me in prayer about this trip and the things that God will teach me about His character that I might attempt to be more like him, and also that the ministry that goes out from us will be saturated with the love of Christ and the light of His glory and grace. I would also ask you to pray about financially supporting me through donations, as I will not be able to support myself for this year of ministry. Donations can be made with the other sheet that came with this letter. It can be a single donation or a monthly pledge of a certain amount. The total cost of this trip is around $14,000. I invite you to serve and be apart of the miraculous things that God is doing here in this world.

Jonathan Beckman

I got the wonderful chance to partner with New Covenant Church this morning and take some pictures of a local out reach project

These are a few of my favorite shots.

It was such a wonderful experience getting to see people loving on people. New Covenant Church is partnering with a pastor in this local community to help build relationships and begin his soon flourishing Church.

I was blessed by the fact that there was no language barrier even in a prominent spanish speaking community we had friends and family there who showed up to serve and to translate where needed.

James 1:22

I want to continue to encourage eveyone to be doers of the word, because love is an action and love knows no barriers.