Holy Cow, Where Did May Go?

I can't believe the month of May is over already! It's been kind of a crazy month, in some ways good and in some ways not so good. Sorry to all you faithful readers (I think I'm up to six now!) that I haven't done much posting recently. I hope if you haven't visited for a couple of weeks that you will at least read my previous post below from a week ago, since it was my only significant action of the month. I promise I will try to do better in June!

I See That Train a-Comin'....

We are in the midst of change. And I'm talkin' serious change....not the "oh, I think I'll start eating whole grain bread from now on" type of change, or the "whoa, where did that hair come from...and what's it doing in my ear?!" type of change (not that those changes aren't important on a personal level - perhaps too personal!). The change I'm referring to is a deep-seated cultural shift that is taking place in our world, our country, and as a result our churches.

In Case You Missed It...

...and most of you probably did, Penn State won it's second men's volleyball national championship on Saturday night! Please hold a second while I swell with pride........okay, I'm good. Just a couple of tidbits for you to share with all of your comrades at work who are dying to hear this info:

• Penn State is the only program outside of the state of California to have both it's men's and women's programs win volleyball national championships (the men have now won it all in 1994 and 2008, and the women won it in 1999 and this past fall in 2007).
• Penn State is just the second school to win the NCAA men's and women's volleyball national title in the same academic year, joining Stanford in 1996-97. The NCAA began sponsoring women's volleyball in 1981.

And, on a final "oh how sweet it is" note, Penn State beat Ohio State in the national semifinal....for the third time this year! Not that I'm counting or anything.

For the Glory!

Little Fishies

First of all, apologies for not posting for a couple of weeks. Things have been unexpectedly busy in the Surovec household, mainly due to that wonderful thing called "spring". Cleaning up around the house and yard has been gobbling up every minute of my free time, and when the evening comes the only thing I've wanted to do is sit on my touche (a.k.a - behind, bottom, buttocks) and stare at the wall. But tonight, I choose to give you the thrill of yet another post! No, please...sit down...stop applauding....you're embarassing me.

Anybody Out There?!

I would like to make an official invitation to anyone out there reading this blog. Please take a minute or two and leave a comment on the site. I have to admit, the reasons are a little self-serving. I'm trying to get a gauge on how many people (if any!) are actually reading my blog. This will help me determine how often I should put up posts, or if the blog is meeting a need in any way.

Thanks for your help, and thanks for reading!

Answering the Call

I don't watch movies very much these days. It's not that I don't like movies anymore (even though really good ones are becoming harder to come by), and it's not necessarily a matter of desire. It's more a case of priorities when it comes to my time. In those precious and less common moments when I actually have down time, I would much rather hang out with the family, catch a game on TV, or do absolutely nothing while my brain flushes itself of the stresses and strains of the past week. And in those rare times when Rose and I have a date, spending $20 to sit in a dark room for two hours and not talk to one another is not at the top of my list.

Oh yeah, by the way....

....everything I wrote below about the books I list on this blog also applies to any website I might link to.

Except for Go PSU Sports, of which I 100 percent agree with every beautiful, wonderful, glorious piece of Nittany Lions propaganda they publish. For the glory!!

A "Sidebar" About My Sidebar

As you may have noticed, I recently added a sidebar to my blog listing books I have read over the past several months (and actually like - a very important note since I do occasionally read books I can't stand!). In light of this I thought I should give a little clarification in order to head off at the pass any potential misunderstandings, as well as share a personal conviction about why I read what I do.

You see, there are some in the past who have made the mistake of thinking that I read and recommend the books I do because I agree with everything in them. I am afraid, my dear readers, this is not true. I do not recommend or list books in my sidebar because I completely align myself with everything in them. Likewise, I do not list books because I believe you will agree with everything in them. If you were to dive into any of the books I list on my blog with these misperceptions, I'm afraid you would end up very confused and maybe even somewhat perturbed (kind of like I was after listening to Kristy Lee Cook sing "Eight Days a Week" like a honkeytonk piece on American Idol a few weeks back - great googly-moogly).

Let me explain my thoughts and often disjointed reasoning on this. About a year-and-a-half ago I made a personal commitment that I would no longer read books because I knew there was a %99. 257 chance I would agree with everything in them. Instead, I decided I would purposely start reading books that I knew would hold a high possibility of challenging my current line of thought. I wanted to read books that were going to stretch me, force me to think through why I believe the things I believe and why I adhere to certain philosophies and doctrines. I needed to be stretched.

And you know what? A wonderful thing happend to me on the way to the index and bibliography: I grew. I grew both spiritually and intellectually. Some of the things I've read have forced me to think anew about why I believe what I believe so that I can defend those beliefs more adequately. In other cases I have been challenged enough to start a new wrestling match within my heart and soul regarding certain issues I've always held to be true - true without question. And yes, in other cases my convictions on things have actually changed due to what I've read.

I would challenge you to maybe take up this type of reading as well, if even for a short time. It's too easy for us to become spiritually and mentally "tubby", refusing to pick up anything that is going to work our brains over a little bit, raise our heart rate, and cause us break out in a bit of a sweat. Well, it's time to break out of the box! It's time to put away that broccoli and cheese soup and try a cup of French Onion (granted, I will never do this - I hate onions, especially big fat ones named after European countries).

Happy reading!

My Morning TV Ramblings

Since most of my posts tend to be more serious in nature, I figured it was time to write about something a little more mundane. If you're hoping for something more "thought-provoking", I would refer you to my previous two posts for March.

Downshift

This past week we did our third annual Good Friday Worship Walk. For those not familiar, it is made up of eight interactive stations that walk us through the last week of the life of Christ. Each station has a description followed by three sections: Read (various related scripture passages), Reflect (a thought to meditate on and pray through), and Relate (instructions to physically interact with an object in the room as a manifestation of that event). At the core of this event is one primary purpose, and that is a chance to be still before our God and Savior and take time in the quiet to seriously ponder the sacrifice of our Lord.

It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!!

Yes, my blog lives! Of course, it has been so long since it breathed its previous breath I'm sure I have lost every faithful reader it ever had (I'll miss both of you dearly). But oh well. In honor of the upcoming Easter celebration, I have decided to resurrect "The Thirsty Life" until I have another bout with ADD or TDD (Time Deficit Disorder).

Since this is my first post back and it's getting a bit late I'll try to keep it brief. Recently I was sharing with our worship volunteers some thoughts from John Piper, and I thought it might trigger some self-evaluation in you as well. I read an article from him a few years back titled "Worshipping With a Handicapped Heart". He talked about how he has performed informal surveys in churches he's visited by asking two questions. The first: "How many of you grew up in homes where spontaneous times of worship were a common occurence?" Approximately 10% of people would usually raise their hands. The second question: "How many of you grew up in homes where spontaneous thanks and encouragement was common?" Even fewer would raise their hands.

This led Piper to this simple conclusion - most of us are emotionally crippled when we walk into our gatherings of worship on Sundays. When most of us grew up in homes where we were never taught how to show and give spontaneous praise and thanks, how in the world are we supposed to step into a room with hundreds of other people we may not know and do it? Our tendency is to hold our emotions inside, refusing to let anyone see or hear what is really taking place in our hearts and souls. As a result, our worship is in a sense "handicapped". We walk through our corporate times of worship with a nasty limp, always hampered.

Of course, the ironic part in all of this is that we are in our gatherings to worship a God and Savior who already knows the deep recesses or our hearts. There is nothing going on inside of us that could possibly be hidden from Him. And Piper's point in his article was that we do not need to settle. To live in Christ means to live in freedom, and that includes our personal and corporate worship. It is okay to laugh, to shout for joy, to clap, to cry as we worship our loving God who has lavished us in His mercy. We don't need to settle for that nasty limp.

Of course, as with most things in our spiritual lives, this is easier said than done. Getting rid of our handicap is not an overnight process. Personally, I believe the only way to overcome it is to get to know our Savior and our God on deeper and more intimate levels through constant interaction with Him. By praying to Him, reading His words, exploring His actions, listening in solitude for His voice, and opening our hearts to Him in the private times of our lives we will ultimately become more open with Him in the public times. It's all a part of the daily transforming work of the cross in our souls, not just what we experience on Sundays.

These ideas really convicted me the more I thought about them because they opened my eyes to how handicapped my worship is at times. As I think about them I am spurred on to change and not settle for a limp in my worship. Maybe they will do the same for you.