The Life Experience

Violence in Nigeria

2010-01-21T10:52:00.002-07:00

Friends of Soma Bible Church in Glendale, from Nigeria are in their darkest hour. Over the past few days Muslim militants have begun to burn churches and homes and slaughter any and all Christians that they come in contact with. The Nigerian army has enforced curfew but things are getting worse. There has been limited texting/email from our friend Umar. Here's what we know:

January 17:

Here was Umar's text at 5:53AM:

Pray for us Christian. Muslims have started killing in Church since 1 hour ago. Some of us are the target. So we are trapped inside the church. Mobile Police are....

Here is the report from Umar 12:27PM:
Praise the Lord!!! Yes, my family, I and our entire congregation have been rescued by the military. Just got home. Thank you so immensely.

January 18:
1:24 AM Jan 18.
Good Morning. So far: 48 people killed, 4 people badly injured. 1 of our church burnt completely. Military police are now all over the place. Curfew imposed.

"Our lives as a family is in danger We have been warned an hour ago that I and our church
could be attacked tonight. The time here is 2;48
no power no weapons but He is enough We could make it or not, it is up to Jesus. Thanks for prayers and concerns. Umar

January 19:
Email from Umar:
Dear Friend,

Jos, Plateau State - Nigeria the city we live in is engulfed in a religious violence since 3 days ago. People killed as at this morning were under a 100. But from 10am this morning to now 5:04pm more than a 1000 people have been killed. And yet the violence unabated!

Hundreds of churches burnt, houses destroyed, properties set on fire. The evil is simply unimaginable! Just close to our house, we saw 35 dead bodies! People have been killed all around us, somehow our house has been skipped. Almost like Psalm 91:7-16. But I am sure is in answer to prayers!
Oh! my God! Please pray, pray, and pray!!!

Government has imposed 24 hours curfew and the army had been drafted to contain the situation. Our area has been deserted living me and my family in the hands of God.

Thank God we have food that may last one week. But as to whether we will make it to another morning is up to God.

Please pray along.
Thank you very muchce
Umar

Next Email:
Dear Friend,
Isn’t anger the most addictive thing? Or is it the heart that is thoroughly evil?!
Lots of Christians have been killed today, and understandably we are all angry. The natural thing that will seemingly ameliorate the pain is revenge. But revenge on a 14 year old?!
Just now, a 14 year old Muslim boy who obviously missed his way from his parent and desperately looking for anywhere to hide for his dear life fell into the hands of angry Christian youth. No, I wasn’t there. But a Christian adult called me and urged me to get there at once to try to persuade the Youth to spare the Youngman.
Is terrible! They had already slaughtered the young boy, cut his body into pieces and put into the fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, what will happen this night???? And in the days to come????????
Umar
January 20:
Email from Tom Patton
Dear friends,

I just got off the phone with Mark Chase who received a text message from Umar as we were talking. Umar said that his mother and three brothers are missing and two more of his churches have been burned. Much violence still going on. 24 hour curfew at this point. Please forward to those brothers and sisters in your sphere of influence.

Much love,
Tom Patton

Today, January 21:
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” 2 Cor. 11:13-15
Dear Friend,
It is heart rending what is happening minutes after we talked. Muslims in army uniforms pretending to be real Nigerian army are mercilessly killing Christians. Two truck load of death bodies just passed by. As a result of seeing these death bodies, our Youth are all out to take the fight into the Muslims dominated area to fight it to finish. What is even startling is that women are the ones in front leading the fight.
The cry of little children breaks the heart. Except God intervene somehow, tonight could be the darkest night in the history of religious crisis in Nigeria.
By the way, my mother’s house located in a Christian dominated area has been completely burnt to ashes and my Mom and three Muslims brothers are nowhere to be found since yesterday evening. The four of them might have been killed, I fear.
Furthermore, some of our church members have lost their loved ones, and few have run to my house (11 people). So far 3 of our churches have been burnt down. Our little food supply has been exhausted. No security, no food, no money.
But all hope is not lost! Something good is coming out of this darkness (Rom. 8:28). Wasn’t it Dr. Ravi Zacharias quoting C.S. Lewis who said, “In our pleasures God whispers, but in our pains God shout, God’s megaphone.”
Could there be any better time to exemplify the love of Christ than now? Both Christians and Muslims are overwhelmed with this devastation and loss of lives. Women and innocent children are lying in hospitals. Many people will be indifferent which is the greatest sin. But you and I should act and take advantage of this opportunity to share the love of Christ.
Please pray, and help us to give even a cup of water for the sake of Christ. We could take Bibles, food stuff, evangelistic tracts and pay hospital bills.
No, not everyone will accept Christ. But everyone should have the opportunity to hear. This much, we can do together for the Lord sake.
Thank you and if this is my last then so be it in Jesus name. If I make it through the night, then by the grace of God you will receive an email from me tomorrow.
Slave of Christ,
Umar

___________

If you can, please pray for the violence, and their protection. It is a blessing and miracle that Umar has been safe thus far.

2010-01-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

A great challenge this week, via Praxis Church and the great message taught by Sean Mortenson on Sunday: What does it really mean to actually follow and be a disciple?

Looking into what being a disciple is, it is nothing short of surrendering everything that we place our identity in and giving ourselves into being like our discipler, Christ.

So easily we get caught up in life and without thinking we idolize certain aspects, people, or situations of our life without thinking twice. I know, for myself, that I take all of the incredible blessings in my life for granted. I forget that all of this is because for some reason God has chosen to give me all of these things. When I begin to look at that, I realize the incredible amount of responsibility that I need to assume.

Things that I place value on, such as time with my family, friends, my church family, my job, school and even relationships are all inherently good things. These are all things that God has provided for me and yet there are times where I think they are all strictly things that I have obtained and done something to earn. When I do this, I begin to be inward focused and lose sight of the Gospel. As a result, I am not able to be a disciple of Christ, as the Scriptures say, "...a man cannot serve two masters." I take these good, and precious blessings from Christ and turn them into my own savior in a sense. The result of doing this is detrimental. Thus, I set myself up for failure. These things are not perfect and I create unreal expectations for them to fulfill when only Christ can completely fill these expectations and desires (of course, when my desires are striving to glorify Him.)

So what this means in my life, is that I am taking these blessings from God, twisting them into something else, and holding onto them and adding worth to them. As a result, I am not holding onto Christ and I am not able to be submissive to where I can be a true disciple, that I am called to be.

This does not mean that I need to give up, throw out, or walk away from these blessings in my life. However, it does mean that I need to continue to be looking at them as that, blessings. When I do that, and remember where they came from I can look to praise God for these things and use them as instruments to bring Him glory.

Places to Go & Things to Do

2009-12-08T10:22:00.002-07:00

Here's a list of places I want to go and things I want to do in my lifetime. Some of these I have already done, and I will add/update as I go.

_Visit New York City

_Visit Central Park

_See a play on Broadway

_Be in the audience of Saturday Night Live

_Visit Boston

_Visit Oregon

~~_Visit Washington D.C.~~

~~_Visit England~~

_Drink in an English pub

~~_Visit France~~

~~_See the Mona Lisa~~ (wasn't as exciting as I thought)

~~_Visit Italy~~

~~_Gondola ride in Venice~~

_Visit Ireland

_Design my own home

_Open my own restaurant

Sustainable Church and Tithing

2009-11-10T14:17:00.007-07:00

Being an effective church in your community is going to need to withstand time. Often we see churches have periods of great growth and prosperity but as that generation grows old churches can literally die off. Where is the fault in the church with such cases? Is it because of the geographic location and the demographics of the area? Is it a lack of embracing its members and growing them and their families and children? Or are they not reaching to their immediate community to draw in new people?

Sometimes though, a church can become stagnant and lose people and not see prosperity in the simplest of aspects. Finances.

Scripture calls us to give back to God what is His, which He has graciously given us. We do this in a tangible way of tithing. Biblically, tithing literally means 10%. As a minimum we should be tithing 10% of our income and giving it back to God. I feel that tithing 10% can easily become a box that we check off every week as being a minimum to get by. If we truly belong to the church and we are in an understanding of what God has given us why are we not WILLINGLY giving, and maybe even more?

How consumeristic of us to go to church, listen, learn, sing, worship, pray, partake in communion, and yet not give anything back. That is also selfish of us. I have heard of a 12 family church supporting a full-time pastor. You must be saying, "They must be wealthy families to be able to give that much." No, they can be low to medium income families and still support the pastor and his family. Think about it, those 12 families all giving a minimum 10% are giving 120% of one family's income. How is it then, that churches near 1000 members are having trouble meeting tithing needs to support their pastors and facilities?

Let's just crunch a couple of numbers, just to see how easy and giving a church COULD be. An average college student could make $10/hr. Working a simple 25 hours a week, they could be grossing about $500 a paycheck: $1000 month. Giving $100 a month is over a $1000 a year. A simple college student can give $1000 a year to a church, easily. So a church full of 1000 simple college students all giving a simple $100 a month can give $1,000,000 over the course of one year. That is more than enough to support a facility and multiple pastors full time.

Why is it then that churches with established families are not even tithing a minimum? I think it just comes down to a heart of submissiveness to doing what God calls us to do, and what we should willingly be doing with what He has given us. If we give back to God what is His, He will continue to bless us. He promises that.

Fall Music.

2009-11-07T13:05:00.002-07:00

(via Evan Agee)

As the weather changes in seasons (well, except Arizona) so does styles of music that fit these seasons. From the parties that are hip hop to the summer nights with friends that are country music into a season of enjoying everything around us and the music to fit the setting. Here is a small list of bands/albums that I think are perfect for listening to right now. Enjoy.

1. Fiction Family - Fiction Family

2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever

3. Sondre Lerche - Faces Down

4. Jump, Little Children - Between the Dim & the Dark

5. Owl City - Ocean Eyes

6. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs/The Open Door EP

7. Iron & Wine - Around the Well

8. John Mayer - Battle Studies (11/17)

9. Norah Jones - The Fall (11/17)

10. Frank Sinatra - The Platinum Collection (Perfect for that cool night out walking around the town with your girl.)

Ad Campaigns

2009-11-02T13:02:00.004-07:00

The key to a successful ad campaign is invoking a desire emotion from within a person. I feel that these two recent ad campaigns by completely different companies do a great job at doing just that.

The first one is the new Levi's "Go Forth" campaign. There is a great emphasis on America, and being American, as these are America's jeans. Given current global and national situations, many people find themselves going back to their roots, and getting back into the domestic scene, as far as American made products are concerned. This ad does exactly that.

The second one should come as no surprise, it is an Apple commercial. There has been the recent trend of global consciousness, which starts at home. Apple has helped lead the technology front in moving to a more sustainable line of products, without sacrificing quality. Everyone wants to be "green" and do their part, and Apple has come up with a way to help making computers that way.

Clean, Simple Design

2009-10-26T14:43:00.006-07:00

"Designers are pretty bright people, however. They can come up with a plausible-sounding example for almost anything. Hence, you get features, and many many features, and these features hang on for a long time. The end result is complex interfaces for essentially simple things." Donald Norman.

As designers, our ideas need to be simplistic, with the usability of the product being obvious. A good product is a clean, simple one.

Community

2009-10-14T14:04:00.006-07:00

What does it mean to be in community? Acts 2:42-47 talks about the community that we are called to be in as believers. It should be our desire to be with fellow Christians, and together embrace those around us.

Embracing the Christian community is important to remembering what Christ has done for us, and we do this by taking communion with fellow believers. Taking communion corporately is what the early church did and reminded them of why they were together.

How often do we forget to pray? I don't mean praying before a meal, or before we go to bed, but having communication with God throughout the day. Our focus, daily, should be on Christ and things that are going to glorify Him. Continually renewing our mind, we should be in constant prayer with God, seeking His will. Why would we not want to let Christ know our desires throughout the day, especially if they are desires that will further His Kingdom?

Remember how big our God is. It is so easy to minimize who God is. We can stick Him in a box to be a merciful Savior, or we can put Him in another box that shows His wrath upon an evil world. However, we serve both. He is both. In one. Remembering the God who has graciously saved me from sin and eternal damnation is also the God that promises to come back to Earth on a white horse with a sword coming from His mouth. Wrap your head around that. Pretty crazy huh? Remembering how big of a God I serve leaves me in awe when I really sit and think about it, and as a result I can't help but praise Him more.

What is there to praise Him for? Setting aside the obvious, that He saved us, we can praise Him for everything that He provides for us. Think of everything that we have and how blessed we are, and know that it is all because God loves us. So why not give back to our community? Is it a lack of faith, that we might not have enough of something for ourselves? Sure... but then how convicting is it that we don't want to give up something after Christ has given it to us, and how little is our faith to think He cannot provide it for us again if we give it up.

We should be giving back, and not just to our Christian community, but also to the community in which we live. It is easy to sacrifice a little bit of time, energy and even a little money to help out those around us. We can be confident that Christ will use the situation to bring glory to Himself. What an awesome way to praise God through the actions of our lives that is above and beyond praising Him in music, or through prayer.

By giving back and loving unconditionally to those around us, believers and nonbelievers, it is obvious to see the love of Christ and others find that attractive. We can attract those around us to Christ by our actions.

2009-10-12T16:32:00.003-07:00

Currently listening to: Church Music - David Crowder Band

This weekend was comprised of friends, faith, and fun.

Friends. Spending quality time with friends is something that is purely invaluable. Strengthening friendships, making new ones, and restoring damaged ones. Purely by the grace and mercy of God. Having relationships with people that are real, and deep are essential to life. We were created as relational beings, we desire relationships. These relationships are meant to be lasting and ones that allow us to be vulnerable and authentic with each other. I am so very thankful for the friends that I have and for how God has placed them each in my life for specific reasons.

Faith. Being surrounded by a few hundred college Young Lifers this weekend automatically means there are going to be great stories of faith, hardship and conquering. There are people all around us that are hurting, and hurting bad. Yet they cover it up, they are able to put on a mask and appear like nothing is wrong. Here is where I see the great thing that Young Life allows to happen. By simply loving each other, and making friends through just having fun allows walls to be broken down. Once these walls are broken down we are able to engage with each other, per the confidence that was established via love. At this stage we are able to be vulnerable with each other and see where there is hurt and pain in our lives. Opening up, we have entrusted each other, and we are able to relate to each other in real situations. We find that lots of people around us struggle with the same exact things. This allows us to relate to each other in ways that allow us to encourage and motivate and know that these struggles and baggage in our lives and can be conquered.

It was so amazing to see hundreds of Young Life leaders from around the state, that compile what is College Young Life, come together. They were huddled together praying for each other, praying over each other and embracing each other. How amazing it was to see the young leaders of the valley coming together. These people are making a huge impact in our valley for Christ and the Gospel.

Fun. Lost Canyon, in Williams, is an amazing facility. So much to do, nestled in a small valley. Such a perfect place to let everything go, and embrace God's masterpiece that is nature. So many activities, and opportunities to create friends and build relationships here.

The Original

2009-10-09T00:19:00.004-07:00

Sometimes it's best to go back to the basics, back to the way things used to be done. Levi's 501 Jeans, the Original. No more of these trendy, designer jeans that try to replicate what was once the standard. Levi's 501XX jeans: Shrink-to-fit, raw denim. A timeless article of clothing that is a lasting trademark of America.

Here's a link to the history of Levi's

Burn Out Brighter

2009-10-07T22:26:00.004-07:00

Via SaraJea

"Live, I wanna live inspired

Die, I wanna die for something higher than myself
Live and die for anyone else
The more I live I see this life's not about me" - Anberlin, Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)

Anberlin, one of my favorite bands, has written these lines in their most recent album and they're ringing ever true right now for me. Just part of the continual reminder that we should be living purposefully in our lives in everything that we do. We were placed on this Earth to glorify God, and He is greater than us and anything that we can do or achieve ourselves.

Deuteronomy 13:4 - "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him." (Thanks Chris for finding that verse.)

We are here to serve Him, in all that we do. We need to be burning for Him and holding fast to Him, His wisdom and His grace.

Be Men, and Hold Fast.

2009-10-05T23:23:00.004-07:00

"Be men, and hold fast." This quote by Justin Anderson has been ringing in my head for the last 24 hours. The sermon that was preached about marriage and how Godly men need to hold fast and love their wives in an unconditional manner as Christ loved the church. This idea also holds true to men who are dating and pursuing women, I believe. If we feel that we love the woman we are in a relationship with, then we need to hold fast to them and give our all into sustaining a Godly relationship with them. What does this look like for men who are pursuing a woman but are not in a dating relationship with them? To what extent do they put themselves on the line for this woman? Hopefully if they are seeking the right Godly woman, these actions and pursuit should not fall short of attractive. Essentially, the message that Justin taught Sunday was nothing short of motivating. I really want to get to the point of having a wife that I can hold fast to, and love. To get to that point I need to be a Godly man, pursuing the things of God not just in relationships, but also in my life.

I think that being a man and holding fast definitely applies to other situations and not just marriage or loving relationships. Holding fast can apply to our job, and goals and ambitions. If we are seeking to glorify God in the workplace, and in our ambitions, then we should be following in strong pursuit to achieve those things. This means we are going to be working hard, and putting a lot of effort into these things. Keeping our focus on God through this is hard. We attain positions, we reach small milestones, we succeed in certain areas... and to us, it appears as something that we have done. We often forget that God's hand has allowed us to reach this point, and that His sovereignty is what has allowed these things. This should motivate us to push on evermore in our endeavors. His grace and power to orchestrate these things are something that we need to hold fast to; which is an attribute of a Godly man. We need to hold fast to THAT.

Anyways, just a short little thought on Justin's message, and how it can overflow into all sorts of aspects of our lives... and to see how we are to act and live as Godly men.

With Purpose

2009-09-16T13:11:00.002-07:00

What do we do when striving to be Godly men and live accordingly, especially in the area of relationships, dating and marriage? Where does that fit into our lives? How does that get prioritized with the pursuit of a college education, a worthwhile job, and advancing a career? I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering these things, in fact I know I'm not.

Part of preparing to be a Godly leader in the household and your family is having a stable job to be able to financially support yourself and at the minimum, your spouse. To be able to have said "stable job" we need to have the education for it. In society today it is highly unlikely for high school drop outs or even those with a high school diploma to obtain a job that pays well enough to support themselves comfortably and another just as comfortable. This used to be the case in the time of our parents, but with higher education being sought after more regularly, and technology advancing in such a way, these jobs require more advanced skill sets. As a result of this, students are going to high school, and going to college and earning degrees to simply fall into the middle class of society. As believers, and men in the church we should be pursuing these things with excellence; striving for the goal of being successful, and yet remembering it is because God has been gracious enough to bless us with this opportunity. Being purposeful in obtaining these degrees to pursue a worthy degree requires more effort, time, and motivation.

Likewise, we should be actively pursuing that career, and sustainable job. There is nothing to be content with in having a mediocre job that simply gets us by. Now, I completely understand our economic state, and we are blessed to even have jobs right now; however, we should be striving for other opportunities to succeed. We cannot be content and complacent in that job at the gas station, or flipping burgers (And yes, I flipped burgers at In-N-Out for 4 1/2 years to get me through the end of high school and my first two years of college). With that being said, there are times when that mediocre job is acceptable, but should never be the end of our pursuit. We cannot be men in our early to mid-twenties that make enough money to go buy that new video game and cheap beer (thanks Pastor Justin for your vivid examples) but should be pursuing worthwhile jobs that contribute to society. Also, we need to be doing this with excellence and looking to glorify God in our current job and our pursuit of a career. Again, this is something that is going to require effort, time and motivation.

Now, Biblically men who have the desire to date and pursue a Godly woman should; and they should marry them. They should marry and start a family, and be one and glorify God in the beauty that is: marriage. I know the majority of Christian men definitely have this desire. Now we all have faults and struggles along the way... we dabble in worldly endeavors that lead us nowhere, and we pursue things and relationships that are not worthwhile and do not glorify God. We're human, and we're going to make mistakes. However, we come to the realization that God has created us for that intimate relationship and to pursue that because when we do, we are making much of Him and glorifying Him through the masterpiece of marriage that He has created.

Of course we are never fully "ready" for marriage, or know what to expect and how to handle every situation, but there also comes a point where we take responsibility for our actions, and pursue God in the fashion of a serious relationship progressing towards marriage.

How does “dating” fit into this? Are “dating” and “courting” the same thing in today’s culture? I think the two are synonymous. Some people say that courting is more for a serious relationship that you are pursuing a marriage with; while dating is merely going out, having fun and getting to know a person and whatever happens, happens. As Christians, why would we waste time dabbling in relationships and not being intentional with them? We should be intentional about everything we do, and seeking to glorify God in the process. Where is God’s glory in simply “dating” a girl just for kicks and the instant gratification of, “I have a date”?

So if we are going to be purposeful in dating, for the pursuit of marriage, how prepared do we need to be? Do we have to have that college degree to obtain that career-type job that will be able to financially support the two of us? Or can we be pursuing those things and actively pursuing a spouse as well? Do we have time to pursue all of those with excellence at one time? Does it really matter which order those come in as long as we’re seeking God through it all? Clearly I don’t have the answers, but these are just some of my thoughts.

P.s. Here are some good tunes that are on my current playlist, enjoy:

1. Cave In, Fireflies – Owl City

2. War in my Blood – Fiction Family

3. Sometime before Midnight – The Airborne Toxic Event

4. Another Heart Calls – The All American Rejects (Just give it a listen)

5. Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights) – Anberlin

6. Life in Technicolor II – Coldplay

7. Grapevine Fires – Death Cab for Cutie

8. Syndicate – The Fray

9. Days End – Ivoryline

10. Electrify, Backfire - Mutemath

Long Overdue

2009-09-11T11:25:00.004-07:00

First off: Take a moment to remember those who lost their lives on this day, 8 years ago. Those who worked in the Towers, and those who rushed in with no regard for themselves to save others. Such an act of selflessness should not be overlooked, nor ever forgotten. Yet we can still be thankful for the amazing country that we live in, and how incredible our God is to have provided everything we have here in America.

Now, it's been over a month since I have sat down with any amateur critique of a local restaurant or coffee shop to entertain you, so no restaurant comments this time... but life has been busy. And by busy, I mean great and busy, and God is doing great things.

God is moving here in Tempe. Praxis is growing. Lives are changing. Community is being built. It's purely amazing. I pray that we can be focused on living out the Gospel and being authentic with each other to strengthen the community and encourage one another. Along with that encouragement can come admonishment; in fact, it should come with admonishment. We should be able to hold each other accountable, and call each other out (in love). As men in the church we are to hold, and be held, to strong and Godly standards. We are the leaders of the church, we are meant to be strong in our community, we are meant to lead our families, and we are meant to work hard. I feel there are times where we lack in those areas, and it's saddening. I know for myself I do a pretty bad job at being strong and engaging in my community. It's so much easier to just go about doing my own thing, from day to day without involving the people I interact with. As we know, we are called to be the head of our family as Christ is the head of the church. Living with two guys in Tempe I am separated from my immediate family, and I do not have a girlfriend or wife to lead either. However, I think that that does not exclude me from leading my "family" in a Godly manner. Us 3 guys should be striving to lead each other in a manner that glorifies God. Not only is this going to strengthen our personal relationships, but it will better prepare us for our future families. This should stem from us stepping up and being leaders and engaging in our church. It's not enough for us to sit in the pews (gotta love the old school style that Praxis provides) and worship, and listen to sermons and chat with friends and go home... We need to be serving in our church; utilizing our gifts to glorify Him in the church.

Likewise, we are called to be workers. We are men. We need to be working hard, every single day, and doing everything with excellence. It is important for us to "man-up" and pursue a worthwhile job, and pursue a career. Granted I worked at In-N-Out for 4 1/2 years, and it was an amazing job, and I learned a lot, and I can't say anything like "you can't sit around and flip burgers for the rest of your life." However, that job taught me a lot, and prepared me to take a step forward. That step has come to me in the form of Liberty Market. Over the summer I have made a decision, along with Chris Cottrell and my dad, that we want to open a restaurant in a few years. Ambitious? Yes. Crazy? Maybe a little... Excited to see what God has in store? Definitely. So throughout the summer, as you've seen from previous blogs, I've been on the hunt to find great local restaurants, and these have been food for thought towards our future establishment. These trips led me to Liberty Market. After stalking, I mean talking, to the people that work there and getting to know Joe Johnston (owner, and fellow Praxis member) I decided to apply. I am currently working in the back kitchen with Chef David Traina preparing great dinner entrees and learning the operations of an independent restaurant. Joe and David are great Godly men who I am excited to learn from. Needless to say, I am excited where God is taking me, and enjoying where He has me right now. I just need to make sure I am focused on glorifying Him in the new community that I am working in and relationships that I am doing.

Liberty Market

2009-07-30T09:37:00.003-07:00

Diving into the local business scene, I have been intrigued with Joe Johnston and his local restaurants and farm. Most recently I have become a fan of Liberty Market. This local market was built in the 1930's and has served as a market for locally grown foods along with high quality food from the restaurant.

The entire ambiance and atmosphere of this market is amazing. It has the small town local feel to it, and there is a great sense of community. Walking in there is a small storefront with all of the local products for sale. I feel like times are changing and hopefully a small revolution back to the local small town business is in store. Then walking past the open kitchen where you can watch your food be artistically crafted. Like the saying goes: Presentation is everything. This is certainly true, and makes a great tasting meal even better.

However, my favorite part of Liberty Market is the e61 Espresso Bar; where my first impression of Liberty Market was made, and the reason I will continue to go there. Having a drink recommended to me by one of the baristas, Ashley, and thoroughly enjoying it, and the welcome feeling from everyone there has made a lasting impression. On my next visit another barista Brian created an awesome latte that looked and tasted amazing. While I sat there and jotted down notes for some business brainstorming, Brian and I chatted about coffee and all kinds of stuff. It was such a refreshing and welcoming feeling to have someone recognize you and acknowledge you coming in after only the second time ever being there.

Of course, after all of this, I had to bring Chris along to see this awesome social focal point. Sitting down at the e61 Bar one of the owners, Kiersten, recognizes me and comments that I was here nearly 12 hours ago. Nothing special, but the fact that they all take care to get to know their customers blows me away, and I believe that is so truly important in a small business. It just so happens that this morning, Joe was also in his restaurant. His interaction with the customers in the dining room and at the bar was so good to see. Nearly every customer knew him by name, and he the same. It shows that they come in for the food, but also for the interaction and community with everyone in there.

Veering away from the purely amazing social aspect of the market, the design of the market and bar is great. Having an open wood fired oven in the kitchen and a half wall that allows customers to see what is going on where their food is being prepared is so important to me. The zinc countertop at the bar and vintage light bulbs that hang from the ceiling are great touches as well.

A lot of what Liberty Market stands for is something that I would want to have in my own restaurant; from the design in the fine details to the locally grown food, to the community that has evolved around this social gathering point. Truly inspired.

Queen Creek Olive Mill

2009-07-17T15:12:00.005-07:00

I've had a recent kick of checking out new and local restaurants, coffee shops, and businesses. Stemming back to last week when I visited Pizzeria Bianco, and finding that chef Chris Bianco uses all local produce and food for his cooking, I have been looking into local farms and whatnot. I found the oil mill that he gets his oil from, Queen Creek Olive Mill. We took a small tour to learn about the mill and the olive oil process.

Stretching the limits of the Valley, this mill is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. This oil mill was opened in 1998 and is family owned and operated. Over the past year they have grown from 800 olive trees to about 1700 trees. They have a meticulous process of hand picking the olives from the trees, and taking gentle care to make sure that every olive that is pressed has not touched the ground. Queen Creek Olive Mill produces organic olive oil and olive products and does not use and pesticides while growing the olives, nor do they use and additives or chemicals in the pressing process and create only extra virgin olive oil.

Inside there is a small retail shop where they sell their bottled oils and products. There is a room full of different oils from straight extra virgin olive oil to many different infused oils like garlic oil and pomegranate infused oils. On the shelves there are also tapenades and stuffed olives. The shop also features locally grown foods. There are local jams, honeys, almonds, and pastas available for purchase. Likewise, there are bottles of wine that come from vineyards here in Arizona. The owner’s idea for this is to bring together local farms and businesses to promote food that is made within the state. This is another great sustainable idea which does and will continue to help out the local economy. There is also a small sandwich shop in the storefront that serves all sorts of sandwiches and lunches that feature some of the foods grown on the mill, and around the state.

I feel that it is small businesses and farms like this that can help bring communities back together and create a more personal interaction between producers and consumers. It also brings back the genuine quality of products because these small businesses can make things correctly, and with a passion to perfect their product rather than mass produce them.

Finding out that these olive trees can grow and survive for thousands of years, such as ones still found in Israel, shows the magnitude of God's glory in creating such a durable tree that will abundantly provide for his people.

The Coffee Shop

2009-07-14T13:30:00.002-07:00

After hearing about The Coffee Shop from a few friends, I decided it was something that I needed to check out. The Coffee Shop is located in Gilbert, Arizona and is tucked away on a farm that is easily passed by if you're not carefully looking for it.

Walking in there is an espresso bar and a small kitchen behind the counter with a menu of coffee beverages and also some breakfast dishes and lunch sandwiches. I ordered an iced Americano, and the chicken pesto sandwich. Chris and I took a seat at a table and sipped our coffee as we waited for our sandwiches. Looking around, it was obvious that this place is a local hot spot to members around the community. Chris was talking to Jenna, the barista, at the bar and she was educating him on how the produce for the sandwiches and such are freshly grown on the farm that the shop sits on. What a great and sustainable idea to grow your own produce and be able to produce the majority of your product in house. There is also a restaurant on the farm, Joe's Farm Grill, which uses the crops grown on the farm as well.

The Coffee Shop and Joe's Farm grill sit in the middle of an urban farm. The community that is built around this farm is known as Agritopia. Agritopia is a new, sustainable idea that is innovative in bringing back to local community in suburban America. Joe Johnston is the owner of the farm and a resident of Argitopia. It seems that post the baby-boomer generation, people are attempting to revert back to the simpler way of life and close-knit communities. I am definitely a fan of creating these small communities with center meeting points such as an urban farm or coffee shop to bring people together.

All in all, I went in for a cup of coffee per a recommendation from a friend, and came out a huge fan of the entire community that is Argitopia. I love finding little places like this that make me appreciate the intricacy of small businesses and the idea behind creating close communities.

Pizzeria Bianco

2009-07-12T15:49:00.005-07:00

Friday night I had the privilege to have dinner at Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. Owner and chef, Chris Bianco brings a very personal experience to a local pizza shop in the middle of the city. Pizzeria Bianco, ranked one of the top 5 pizzeria's in the United States, is only open 4 days a week, when Chris can be there himself to make your pizza himself.

Get there early, put your name in, and head next door to the bar and have a drink and socialize for the next 2-3 hours for your table to be ready. Definitely worth the wait. Classy bar with no mixed drinks. Simply a few select bottled beers and two on tap. Other than that there is a handful of wines to choose from. When your table is ready you'll head over next door into a small room with less than 15 tables, and a nice brick oven where the chef is creating his masterpieces. Here you won't find your traditional pizzas, these are all special creations coming from Chris Bianco, and you just have to trust his taste. We ordered a few pizzas from the menu, and still wanted more. Our waiter headed to the kitchen to see how backed up orders were, and told us that he wasn't too far behind and to let us know what other pizza we wanted. For kicks, we told him to let the chef make whatever he wanted. About 10 minutes later here comes our pizza, not one from the menu. He had just taken a few random toppings that he thought would go great together, and oh did they... It was hands down the best pizza we had eaten all night. This sums up the whole experience. It's a personal experience. As we left, we walked up, thanked Chris for the great pizza, as he would greet and personally say goodbye to all of his guests.

That is how a small restaurant should be. Personal service to where you feel like you are their friend. From the business model to the ambiance to the food, this is my new favorite restaurant.

2009-06-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

So many thoughts running through my mind lately; it's been an interesting month or so.

I suppose it's all God's plan for us, and how we have been created, but there's a time where we feel the fire and desire to have something more in this life. A completion, in a sense. It's like our whole lives thus far (mainly young adults, college students, etc.) have been building up to this climax where we are at the top, and we are fully prepared to go out into the real world. What is that "real world" that we are seeking? A career, profession, spouse, family, all of the above? God creates us all in a unique way that we all desire similar but different things. Something that God has been putting on my heart lately is a desire for a family, and raising a godly family with a godly wife. Seeing Pastor Justin take communion on Sunday with his wife, and their baby daughter was something that struck me deep. That was something that I felt God pull on my heart and say, "This is what you are made for. You are made to have a wife, and a godly family and raise a godly family in love and centered on the understanding of God's grace; likewise, remembering that your family and relationship with them is meant to glorify God in everything that you do."

Now, obviously that is something that will have to come in God's time. I'm not getting crazy for marriage or anything, but simply realizing the desire that I feel God calls us Christian men to do, thus furthering His Kingdom. In essence, it's something that I can't wait for; while right now I can rest in the fact that God has me where He has planned. I know God is sovereign in the end, but now I am beginning to understand His sovereignty in the process of achieving His goal.

2009-04-30T14:22:00.001-07:00

So it has been a while... School, or end of the semester projects and finals, have consumed my life for the past couple of weeks. All papers are written, projects being put together, and only 3 exams to study for. Almost there.

Taking a break from reading and coming into the other room Chaz is asleep, fighting off what could be Swine Flu. Ha! But he was watching Expelled, the Ben Stein documentary on Intelligent Design. Quite an interesting topic; talk about controversy. Scientists who have spent their careers studying and investigating the universe, and even discovering planets... losing their jobs when they begin to mention Intelligent Design in their research. Paraphrasing what Justin Anderson said in a sermon at Praxis Church: If evolution or Darwinism is true... we cannot disagree with the Holocaust or segregation, but must embrace them. Would this not simply be survival of the fittest? Or what about our nation's Declaration of Independence that states that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..." To completely disallow talk of Intelligent Design in schools and scientific journals, etc. would be absolutely crazy. What about academic freedom? Just a thought...

Swine Flu... what a pandemic. The global killer... or not at all. Normal strains of influenza kill roughly 36,000 people in the United States every year. The swine flu has spread across the world but only has a couple hundred cases... not quite the killer that it was thought to be. However, here's a quote from The Resurgence website and their take on the swine flu.

"If you’ve watched the news, read a paper, or tried to watch network television last night, you have been exposed to the “pig flu” scare. When the President interrupts The New Adventures of Old Christine, there’s a major issue. Turns out the pigs have begun trying to take over the world. There is a story in Matthew 8 where Jesus casts demons into a herd of swine (Matt. 8:31), and those pigs jumped off a cliff and drowned in the sea. Apparently, Jesus knew these pigs were up to no good and did away with them quickly, despite their very tasty bacon backsides. Maybe we should have asked, What would Jesus do? concerning pigs sooner. As always, Jesus has the answer. Our only option is to drown all the pigs on the planet and move on with our lives. It will be tough, but turkey bacon will have to do."

2009-04-08T19:16:00.001-07:00

Newsweek poll says that only 62% of Americans say that we are a Christian nation.

President Obama says, "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation."

Obama bows to King Abdullah.

The government has already bailed out banks left and right, whether they actually needed it or not.

Government is about to begin bailing out life insurance companies.

What is happening?

What we are seeing now is a shift in our nation. Now I'm not going to point fingers and blame this all on our newly elected President. Wait, yes I am.

Now, if you look at the figures that even Newsweek puts out, clearly 62% is more than half, so yeah, sure we're a Christian nation still. But during President Obama's trip to the Middle East he made that controversial comment, that we are not a Christian nation. Speak for yourself Mr. President; sans Thomas Jefferson who was atheist, were not our Founding Fathers God fearing men? I'm not going to argue that our national religion be Christianity, because those same Fathers fought for our right to chose what we believe. However, I will argue the basis of what this country was founded upon.

What is with that bow Mr. Obama? No, you cannot have your White House say that you were simply getting down to King Abdullah's level because he's shorter. Clearly you were bowing, that's what everyone can clearly see in the video. Not only do the Saudis see this as a sign of submission, but America sees that as well, and also as a sign of weakness. So are we giving up our stance as a wold super power? Are we giving up our title of world leader? I don't think so, sir.

Is the insurance industry next on the list to be bailed out? Who after? Fast food workers? Construction workers? As bad as it sounds, and as rough as it will get, sometimes these companies (and yes, the big ones) need to go. It's based off of decisions they have made, risks they have taken, and it's time to pay up. If you keep bailing out companies that are struggling what will they ever learn? I'll tell you what they will learn... they'll learn that they can just do whatever, and if they fall upon hard times Mr. Government is here to help. And that's exactly what they want. When the government steps in to help, they begin to take control and regulate. This is what's happening, and at this rate there will be a morning where we wake up and realize that we've fallen into a socialist society. We will hit a point where no one will want to work or try, because the government will simply do it for us. So are we as Americans going to be apathetic and let this happen? Are we going to sit here and have things handed to us? What about the millions and millions of Americans that work hard for every dollar they earn? Should they just stop? No. All of America needs to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and take their own initiative to change this country.

Rush Limbaugh made an interesting point today, when he was talking about taxes. The private sector, such as the airline industry, lowers their prices when business is struggling. And look how it's worked, more people are getting on planes and flying across the country and the world. However, the government does the opposite. They're struggling and they decide to raise taxes. Do they not realize that they are going to drive away the people? We'll see how angry people are on April 15th, there's plenty of Tea Parties in the works.

P.s. Rush Limbaugh is my hero. He is selling his penthouse in New York because of a tax hike and vows to "never work in this city again!"

2009-04-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

"I believe totally in a Capitalist System, I only wish that someone would try it." - Frank Lloyd Wright

Even one of the more liberal architects of modern time understands this economic ideology. We do not need more government regulation for our businesses, we don't need more government regulation on our banks. The idea is simple, and yet so easily forgotten. Let the people chose what fails and what succeeds. That's the foundation of what this country is built upon. If you have the desire to be successful, no matter where you come from, you can do it. More importantly, you have the opportunity to do it.

A true Capitalist System would regulate itself, it would be regulated in the marketplace. If a product or business is not desired, whether it be based on the need for the business/product or simply the way that the company is ran, then the market will not support it. They do this by simply not investing in the company by buying the product or services. When there is a company that is producing a quality product or service that the general market likes, they are going to be prosperous; simply due to the fact that it is what the people want.

Likewise, it is the responsibility of those businessmen to act with virtue and strong morals. If those men do not act in such a way, then the marketplace is going to see that. Ultimately it is up to the people in the marketplace to decide what values to hold important and where and how to hold a company accountable. When there is a disagreement in these areas, the consumer simply stops purchasing from them, and will turn to a new business that is fulfilling their needs.

The American public needs to be slapped with the fact that they are simply apathetic. They are not willing to take responsibility for the market that they are in control of. Americans simply expect the government to do the work for them. What they don't see in this is that sure, the government can print money, and 'bailout' companies... but they're destined to fail again (i.e. Chrysler, GM, and Ford were all given bailout money decades ago). When you give the government the power to regulate the amount of money you are able to make, then they are limiting your liberty. And when the government continues to print more money, that hard earned money that every American works hard for, becomes worth less and less.

P.S. If you live in New York, pick up some riot gear... The G20 Summit is coming your way in September.

2009-04-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have." - Barry Goldwater.

General Motors would have been better off by going into bankruptcy, instead the government intervened in capitalism and will now control private business. What if our President doesn't like Hummers? Well... they will soon become collector's items. That is a sign of fascism...

P.S. Obama's second step toward socialism... free iPods for everyone! Starting with Queen Elizabeth.

2009-03-31T23:49:00.000-07:00

Obama takes control of GM as he ousts CEO (3.30.09)

Closing stock of GM: $1.94 (-.76)

Goodbye capitalism, hello socialism.