The Grand Adventure

Random Thoughts

2009-07-30T23:31:00.002+02:00

It has been over a month since I last wrote and by now most of you could probably care less about what I write... sorry for dropping the ball. I spent most of today reorganizing my room and trying to throw out a lot of junk. Some were just little scraps of paper with quotes or thoughts I had scribbled down. I thought I would share them with you. Enjoy

From 2007 at Miami University:
"Life is a symphony. We all play an important role, even if we dont know it. Most of the time, we are a discordant noise, a jumble of sounds. But when even clusters, small pockets, start listening and following the conductor, beautiful music arises. Just think if everyone was watching and following him."

"The truly humble are never embarrassed."

"Be at a place of absolute and complete abandonment. It is the difference between the holy and the common."

And last but not least, some great quote I found scribbled down from living in a house with four other guys:
"I must have been one of those gifted childs..." Brent
"This was supposed to be a guys weekend and you inviting that little Yeti!?" Ben, to Brent, referring to Brent's girlfriend.
"If you dont guarantee me at least a C, you are in trouble." Brad, as he was attempting to copy someones work.

The Private Symphony

2009-06-22T21:26:00.001+02:00

This is still a work in progress, but I thought I would share it with you all...

The Private Symphony

Scuffed, thrice-repaired shoes showed the mileage he had put on them. From a distance, he maintained a quiet dignity and could have passed for just another passenger. But he wasn’t. The beat-up violin showed that. The creased Coca-Cola cup that jingled with change any time the Metro car rocked was a dead giveaway. So he stepped on the car yet again and picked up the bow.

His suit was patched at the elbows, a small hole in the shoulder and when you stood close to him, you could tell it hadn’t been washed in a couple days. A worn out suit for a worn out man. The creases on his face, the tanned leather lines, spoke of more experiences than 45 years should have. It spoke a journeys and trials that the others would never know of. Not even the men that he shared a train stoop knew his story. They just knew he slept with the violin, got up and went to work on the Metro every day.

So he picked up his bow and put it to his worn out violin. Cracked in the front, varnish peeling, and scuffed on the edges, the instrument looked as if it had as many journeys as the man playing it. The stories it could have told would have filled many a Moleskin, stories that Steinbeck would have loved to tell of hardship and real people.

With the first draw, the man’s eyes closed and he was lost. The music was not the typical Godfather theme song nor 35 second ditty that would impress in the time between stops, leaving enough time to collect a little change. No, this was classical, Beethoven and Brahms, music for mahogany paneled halls, not metal Metro cars. And as this man’s eyes remained closed, in his mind he saw it.

The Metro, with its graffiti painted walls and crowded mass of humanity, became his concert hall. The iron bars that people clung to became gleaming brass banisters. The plastic seats with busy commuters and tourists because plush cushioned rows of high class concert-goers. The rubber lined floors became polished wooden floors. Shoes polished to a military shine, tuxedo crisp from the cleaners, the man stood a little straighter as he stepped forward to take the lead.

No longer was he playing a beat-up violin but a 1765 Stradivarius, on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, whose every fiber vibrated with class, borrowed dignity from a rich source. And though he was playing alone, behind the squeezed eyes and passionate playing, an orchestra swelled in his private symphony.

The others on the Metro noticed it. Some sat at straighter, pressing pause on their iPod to head the magic. A few even dared to openly gawk at the man, surprised that he didn’t even start with the typical, “Buon giorno tutti.” One man didn’t get off at the next stop, though he should have. Another wondered what he could have created if he stuck with his dream of being a concert pianist. But their reactions didn’t matter to the man.

Nor did the change he should have received. Ignored was the cup in his jacket pocket. There was something more important than money that was being exchanged. It was a gift from one to another. When he finished, the Metro stopped at suddenly as he started, as if the music was propelling it along and it no longer could go forward without it. It jolted the man and he stumbled back into reality. His eyes opened, sad eyes that spoke of past loves and performances.

Not a word was said. His hand reached back for the change cup in his jacket pocket. He began to walk up the car, still not saying a word as people fished into their pocket for change to give him, giving that robbed him of his dignity. It wasn’t meant to be like this, he thought. A hand reached out and placed a bill into the cup. He looked to find the face of a young, bearded man.
“Grazie.”

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-21T22:20:00.002+02:00

President Obama, I applaud this article. Thanks for not only being a politician but also being a person, for being a father. Happy Fathers Day to all those fathers out there who had the guts to stick around, to love their kids, to raise them well. Dad, you are top notch. I love you. Thanks for being not only physically present but always emotionally present. Thanks for teaching me about Jesus. Thanks for caring about what I am doing and for constantly praying for me.

I havent done this in a long time. So FREE MUSIC FOR YOU. I used to do something called Free Music Friday and I have just gotten swampted. But the return is a free live album, courtesy of our British friends COLDPLAY! Just click on the link, go to their website, and click on Free Download Left Right Left Right (the name of the free live album). It is good stuff.

And to make up to you the fact that I havent written sooner, here is another free download! This one is an album from a band called The Damnwells. I dig their sound and it is FREE so what do you have to lose?

As for me, more will be written about changes, about wrapping up The Italian Grande Adventure TOMORROW. So check back soon!

The Countdown: Day 25

2009-06-08T22:51:00.003+02:00

Currently listening to Jon Foreman - Limbs and Branches

which you can listen to by clicking the link and going to the 7th cd in the list

My sports hero is David Robinson, who played for the San Antonio Spurs. The beautiful thing about his career is he knew when it was time to retire and declared it before the season. So his entire last season was a lot like a celebration parade for an illustrious career. And he finished it by winning a Championship, like the Champion he is and was. Why do I say all this? Well my STINT career here in Rome, Italy is coming to a close and I know it. I have no championship to win but "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3:13-14)

In celebration of that, of only 3 and 1/2 weeks left in this Grande Adventure of Roma Italia, I would like to fill you in first on a day by day of this week.. well probably every other day to be honest. And then celebrate Sunday by posting a short story I wrote earlier this year. So here I am, Monday winding to a close, and I have lived a full day. Waking up at 7:30, I wanted to spend some time with God before my morning meeting to evaluate the year with the two other members of my missional team. However Rome was Rome, and I had to settle for some prayer time as I waited for a bus... and waited... and waited. What should have been a 25 minute commute turned into a 50 minute commute and I got there 5 minutes before our meeting was to start.

The meeting went well, good honest evaluation is not always easy but is good for the soul. As past failure is exposed to the light, their power is stripped and the light of God's truth and how he has redeemed even our failures shines through. Hopefully we will learn and move on and pass along that learning to help others learn from our mistakes and successes. We swung by my favorite kebab/pizza place, Pizza Design, on the way to campus and I said hey to Hassan as he hooked me up with some killer pizza. Yes, this it Italy and we eat a lot of pizza.La Sapienza, 2nd largest university in the world

Campus time was especially sweet for me today as I got to see some old friends. Initially we were meeting with the american Summer Project students that are here hanging out with us, but I had to duck out and plan a beach outreach with The Dueck. Returning briefly to the SP students, I was once again drawn away seeing David from the Grass, an old friend that I havent seen since December. Connecting with him was good but he is still very much David from the Grass, kind and gentle and with a spirituality that is about as solid as the wind blowing... you can feel it but it isnt really based in anything concrete, so it goes wherever it pleases. I had to take off and make some phone calls to schedule physical therapy for my healing left arm, but it was good to see him.

Me and Giovanni in London in January

I tried to meet some guys playing around with a Rugby ball, which was a lot of fun for me to play with but we didnt really get to talk a lot. It was still refreshing to simply play, and I invited them to the beach thing this Saturday. But even better is I ran into Giovanni the Juggler, a good friend from last year who has been studying in London all year. I got to talk to him, his girlfriend, and another friend Giulia. My favorite part was when another friend, Dmitri, joined us and asked me, "Do you think what your association does here is useful?" I got to respond to both why it is useful in general to have a place to discuss spiritual things and for me, as a Christian, how this relationship with God has changed my life. Dmitri seemed to think that it wasn't necessary, not in a mean way, but simply that people can find other places to talk about this stuff. And I got to sit back and watch Giovanni argue for why we are needed here in Italy, even though Giovanni isn't a believer! Here, my dear friend Giovanni, argues for why Agape Italia is needed even though he doesnt agree with my stance on Christ. God is BIG!

After campus, I hit up the grocery and then to some good talk time with The Dueck, learning from his wisdom and the lessons that God has been teaching him. His parting words? "Seek God. Really seek him this week, not just to fill in your quiet time quota, but to seek God." Good advice. Simple yet profound. Then I cooked for me and Brian, including an amazing steak I bought as a special treat. Emails, calls to Amanda my lovely and amazing girlfriend, and enjoying music filled out the day. So there it is, Monday, more than you ever wanted to know... but a day in the life.

Simply Beautiful 90s Memories

2009-06-07T00:06:00.001+02:00

This is incredible... I love it

Evening Art

2009-06-03T23:28:00.002+02:00

Photo by Chris McClelland

Beautiful post... you can find the original HERE but I copied and pasted this from The Rabbit Room by author S.D. Smith.

Evening Art

Thunder is rolling behind me like a boulder down a mountain. The lightning is so frequent it feels like there are only flashes of darkness to interrupt it. Appalachia is alive at evening time. Like the stomach of a starving giant, the sky growls. I take cheating glances back through the broad, open windows. Trying to work. Trying to write. I look again. An inelegant tree silhouetted against a blazing peach band of evening sky. Charcoal clouds above and surly earth beneath. Uneven edges –like life.

The window-framed beauty entices me away from the false light of this monitor. Monitor? I am watching the images of my mind appear before me in insufficient words. I am feeding this hungry screen with the little somethings of my soul. This machine receives my humble offerings like an understanding woman. Behind me the day fades in glory, trumpets of thunder announce its passing. The king is dead, rest in peace. Tomorrow you rise again.

So many things I have put behind me belong there. But here is wondrous thunder and bursts of brightness. Here is sunset. Words can wait. Mine can wait. Here is the evening song of the first Poet. Here is the next line in an undying verse.

Before me is my sub-creation. Behind me is Evening by God.

Turn around.

Perspectives on a Ceiling

2009-06-03T23:17:00.002+02:00

This kid went to my high school and graduated this year. Thought I would post his speech that someone read for his at graduation. You can find his story HERE but the long and short of it is he got some crazy disease that caused both his legs to be amputated during his senior year. Kid knows something about trials.

Perspectives on a Ceiling

Greetings to all, and thank you so very much for providing me with the opportunity to communicate with you today. I want to also thank my good friend, Michael Caligiuri, for standing in for me (no pun intended!!!)

Seriously, why Perspectives on a Ceiling you may ask?.....Well, as most of you know I have spent the last couple of months having more of an opportunity to “look up at the ceiling” than I have much else……..funny what you see when the only place to look is up.20

That rather humbling feeling makes you ponder things a bit….and maybe adds a new perspective.

One thing we ALL know is life has its share of “tests “that’s for sure. For example, to get here, WE have all endured the tests of some 13 years of academic rigor. Not to mention, tryouts and tests of all kinds ranging from theatre to track, from first base to first chair, from social studies class to “which social class??” and the list goes on. Whether it is chemistry or crew (had to have a blatant plug for my rowing mates of course) we have all had tests we will all endure tests.

And yes, the tests will vary in intensity and challenge. Some tests won’t make sense….Some we will never understand …But what matters is not so much the results we achieve but the CHARACTER WE REVEAL

The Bible tells us that “blessed is the man who perseveres under trials” How blessed we will be depends on how we respond to the trials, will we rise to meet a challenge? Will we study just a little more? Will we try again even though we have failed? Or worse yet,..do we refuse to try just because we MIGHT fail …Will we be afraid to go just a little further to show a kindness even if it costs us something?

I think these are the responses that often distinguish the best of us from the rest of us…

It is the gamers and strivers that push on just a little longer and a little further,…..those that make an accomplishment seem to rise above others of their kind due to the sheer determination and iron will which birthed them that inspire us all, these are truly the memorable moments and people of life.

And I want you to know this, you are all those inspiring kinds of people to me. You see, most all of you have taken a moment to reach out to me…to try to inspire..to sign a card, to participate in a walk …to check on me through someone or some blog and most of all, to pray for me and my family!!….

This has been called a miracle by some, and certainly unbelievable by most…...And yes…I am a living testimony to just what a difference you as individuals, and as friends together could make, as you shout up to Heaven,, and what a difference it did in fact make!!!

Let me say for sure that I know the extra mile works. the extra word, the extra gift of care, the extra prayer….OH boy does it work!!!…… Know this, that as you face tests and trials in the future …th at it is not the trials, but your faith and your reaction to them that will be the measure of you true Character

And remember….”when you do what you can, God will do what you can’t”. So please accept my sincere thanks and gratitude for being my friends and my intercessors….Accept my congratulations for your accomplishments and your successes….And I know no matter what challenges you face, you will pass the test!

God Bless You All.
Your Friend,
BLAKE

The Gospel and Next Year

2009-05-24T15:03:00.009+02:00

I have listened to this sermon twice from Hudson Community Church. It is called "Justified Sinners" and based out of the end of Galatians 2. It has been impacting my view of the Gospel and is sinking into my life. You can listen to the audio HERE or see the video HERE. Feel free to leave feedback.
"Right at this moment you are more deeply flawed than you have ever dared to admit to anyone, even yourself. And right at this moment you are more deeply loved than you have ever dared to dream."
"If I live my life like this, saying this is what I have done, and God asks "Why not Hell?" and I say, "No hell for me, look at what I've done!" I am still completely self absorbed. Bricks are good to stand on and look at other, to build walls, to build forts...but the cross is only good for one thing. The cross is an instrument of death."
"Once you've paid the death penalty, you are paid in full, there is nothing more you can give. In the words of Clint Eastwood, "When you kill a man, you take everything he has and everything he is going to have." The cross takes everything you are, ever have been and ever will be. All your good deeds and all your bad."
"What does it cost your God to love you? [Some people's answer] is, "Oh it doesnt cost him, he just does?" What kind of love is that? That is not like any love we experience here on earth. All love is costly!... If you dont believe in a God of wrath and a God of hell, then when I tell you "God loves you," you dont have any idea what that means. It has no power to change you... And if I you think you are a good person and just need a little bit of grace and tell you that Jesus died for you, you will yawn. You will say, "Yea I know, of course he did, because I am worth it." And it will have no power to change you."

I don't think I have said this on this blog but I will not be returning to Italy next year to work with Agape. I have loved my time here and love what God is doing but I don't know if this is what God is calling me to long-term. So I am going to take this next year and explore. Try new things. Hopefully find my passions and what God wants for me. Two things have given me a lot of peace about this. One was an interview with Randall Goodgame found HERE. The quote that he said was, "as I eventually gained more discernment about my gifts and passions, I realized some time last year that I needed to go... I learned that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. It seems like something I should have learned a long time ago, but I’ll take what I can get in the wisdom department." I love Agape Italia and I am fairly "good" at this job here. But I still dont know if that means I should be here long-term. I might be coming back, but for this period in life, I wont be.

The second thing that helped me was a worksheet I did on identity. I realized that I have been basing a lot of my identity on what I do. So you ask me who I am and I would answer, "I am Chris Rule and I work for Agape Italia...." I realized that identity is deeper. Who we are is deeper. If it is just what I do, then my identity is constantly changing, and I was afraid of that. But my identity is that I am a child of God, I am appointed to go and bear fruit that will last (John 15), that I am loved and accepted by God because of Jesus and he is with me always. That doesnt change if I am in full time ministry, a journalist or a janitor.

Davide - A Spring Break Story

2009-05-07T11:21:00.002+02:00

Who would have thought that the long-haired kid with the longboard strapped to his backpack and rocking shorts, a ‘stache and a soul patch was Italian. I have never met an Italian like this. But Davide was Italian, sure enough, and he spoke fantastic English. So me and two spring breakers from the first week sat down and started to chat.

Turns out Davide is a surfer who had spent the last 3-months in Hawaii. He loved American’s and speaking in English and wanted to hang out more, so I was all about it. More specific, he is a body-surfer but lest you think that is weak, he has surfed a 14-foot wave on one of his boogey boards; these aren’t your $25 Wal-mart Styrofoam boogey boards.

So the next week, Davide came to grab lunch with me and some guys from Ole Miss who were in town for their spring break week. Isaac and Gabe (Ole Miss) hit is off with him and they spent the entire afternoon together. Davide even went touring with them, because he had never been to a lot of the churches. As they spent time together, Isaac began to explain what the meaning behind churches is, why God came, what the Bible is, and who Jesus is and what he did.

The next day he got lunch with us again and spent the entire day with Isaac and the guys again. Isaac continued to walk through the basics with him, explaining that Jesus truly was God and came to live a perfect life, die as the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins, and rose again to conquer death once and for all. And because of all this, we can have a relationship with God through Jesus and can learn about this in the love-letter that God wrote us (which we call the Bible). This was news to Davide, something he had never heard, and when he heard it and knew he could, he made a decision to follow Jesus and start this relationship with God!

I wasn’t there during most of this conversation but I met up with him the next week to hang out. He had already read through the Gospel of John and had some questions. We got the chance to hang out, talk, and it was so encouraging for me to see that he legit, for real, a new brother in Christ! I am stoked to keep talking with him, to see how God continues to help me grow through this and also how God helps him grow in this new faith.

Links for the Lazy

2009-05-05T18:00:00.003+02:00

Dear faithful blog reader(s),
I am sorry I have alienated so many of you by not writing often. I promise to change my wayward behavior when they shorten this cast on friday. And I promise to write how I got the cast too. But right now I can only type with on hand, so this is gonna be short. Enjoy the pictures and check out the links for some worthwhile reading. Much love.

ChrisSophie Sings a New Song

Perhaps our inability to abide repetition, our constant looking for something “new,” has a lot more to do with our weakness and failure than it does our becoming “mature.”

Interesting thoughts on our culture and the desire for new experiences.

Did Corporal Punishment Save a Struggling School

As punishment for a "major offense," such as fighting or stealing, students are told to place both hands on the seat of a leather chair and brace for what Nixon calls "a whippin'." Before he begins, though, he sits the child down for a quiet talk about why he, or she, is in trouble. He tries to determine if a deeper issue, such as a problem at home, might warrant a meeting with a counselor. If the child shows remorse, Nixon will often send him or her back to class without a spanking. Otherwise, he makes sure he is calm, and he makes sure his elbow is still. Then he delivers "three licks" to the child's rear end. If the child is a girl, then a female administrator does it. Some of the kids cry. Some are silent. Some want a hug. And after the child is sent back to class, still stinging, Nixon sits alone in his office and thinks about what the child has done, and what he has done. "If I could burn that paddle in my stove," Nixon says, "I would. This is the worst part of my job."

Check out this article. It is what good parenting and correct discipline should be like, in my humble opinion.

Check out musical artist Adam Agin, who had this to say in a recent blog.
I'm not saying I have lost all of who I was, but I sure am trying... I want to grow, break, build again, and come back stronger. Dare I say, hurt is worth it."

Generation Me

This is a short, quality read and a sad indictment on our culture... lets pray it changes. Check out this worthwhile read.

But no matter how you were raised, the handiest cure for narcissism used to be life. Whether through fate, circumstances or moral imperative, our culture kept hubris in check. Now, we encourage it.....Treating the whole world as if it works for you doesn't suggest you're special, it means you're an ass. As an antidote to a skyrocketing self-worth, Twenge recommends humility, evaluating yourself more accurately, mindfulness and putting others first. Such values may seem quaint, maybe even self-defeating, to those of us who think we're special, but trust me: it gets easier with practice.

Good Friday to Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T00:53:00.003+02:00

I am stealing from another persons blog today. The person who wrote this is the wife of a guy who is a missionary here in Italy and had a stroke recently, and among other things, spent 50 days in the hospital. So she has a right to say what she says. Read it and praise God. HE IS RISEN!

Dear Friends,

"A blessed GOOD Friday to each of you!!

Just wanted to share with you a reflection the Lord gave me this morning in my meditations. Today is what we call in America “Good Friday”. In Italy this day is called “Venerdì Santo” (Holy Friday). I wonder if there are other countries that use the word “good” to describe this significant day. And I wonder when the idea that this day was “good” first came into being. I seriously doubt that anyone who was actually present that day would have called it good. At least not until Sunday. Sunday changed everything. Sunday made Friday “good”.

I have been thinking how “the end” explains “the before”. The Passion of Christ “ended” in the resurrection and ascension which “explained” the crucifixion. His coming again will give further explanation to all that comes before.

Our lives follow the same pattern. The events of “today”, without the commentary of “tomorrow”, are hard to evaluate. Even though these are difficult days for us we feel confident that the end will explain all that has come before. Perhaps that end will only come when we see Jesus face to face, but then we, too, will say it is “good”! And if in the end I will call it “good”, why not now?"

The Treasure Principle

2009-04-08T09:28:00.003+02:00

I am working on stories from spring break to tell here but want to obtain permission from those involved before putting their names or pictures all over the internet. So in a brief break from my life here, I would love to let you guys in on a sweet book called "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. I first read "The Treasure Principle" probably 4 years ago and of all the self-help or Christian literature I have ever read on giving/finances, it is still the best one I have read. Not only is it solidly based in what the Bible says (important for me as a Christian) but it is practical, with tips that you can actually apply to your life. At less than 100 pages, it is short and easy to read. This book truly will open your eyes to the JOY of giving, how it is something that is a blessing and not an obligation. I apologize that I can't give a more in depth summary right now because the books are at my parents house in the States, but I recommend this book as highly as I possibly can.

In the spirit of giving, I (thanks to the good people who publish this book) want to give away two copies of this book. All you have to do is shoot me an email at christopher.rule@gmail.com or leave a comment with your name and email (unless I already know your contact info... in that case, a name is fine) and I will draw out of a hat the two winners. So allow me to give away something that benefitted me. Enjoy.

Story Behind the Book
After years of writing and teaching on the theme “God owns everything,” in 1990 Randy Alcorn was sued by an abortion clinic (for peaceful, nonviolent intervention for the unborn). Suddenly he had to resign as a pastor and was restricted to making minimum wage. Legally unable to own anything, Randy gave all his book royalties to missions work and need-meeting ministries. He and his family have experienced the reality of The Treasure Principle—that God really does own everything, takes care of us, and graciously puts assets into our hands that we might have the joy and privilege of investing in what will last for eternity.

If you don't win in the drawing, you can buy the book for REALLY cheap at AMAZON.com

Mustache and Mullet March

2009-04-03T16:19:00.003+02:00

Did I say that I celebrated the 6th Anniversary of Mustache and Mullet March? Check out the hair evolution (or should I say devolution?) from this year. Enjoy.

Two Worthwhile Articles

2009-04-03T16:12:00.002+02:00

I know, I know, the blog has been languishing (for the few that actually have been faithful to check it out. That is about to change. Spring Break was crazy fun and busy and stressful here in Rome but we saw God do some HUGE things. So over the next couple days, I will be posting stories from that. In the meantime, here are two worthwhile articles to check out:

Cobain and Biggie: How We Misjudge Music - Thoughtful article on music... I especially likes the conclusion; "The only difference is that we have invented new rules for what’s “cool” (this year it seems to be putting odd, “progressive” sounds in your songs and ignoring traditional songwriting structure). I wonder what albums that we’ll listen to in 15 years and realize that they weren’t everything we built them up to be."

Staring into the Abyss: An article that is actually quite frightening. This article synthesizes some of Nietzsche's key ideas on a way that a simple guy like me can understand. Highly recommend checking this out

Pre-Spring Break Madness

2009-03-02T00:06:00.003+01:00

This past Thursday, here in Rome, we celebrated Valentines Day. No, this isn't because the Italian calender is that different from the American one, simply we needed a good excuse for a party and didn't plan ahead enough to do a Valentines Day party earlier. The party itself was a blast, and although my mind was done after speaking Italian for 4 straight hours, I loved that so many people were able to make it. I met a bunch of cool new people and got to stand on a chair and give a top 10 ways guys and girls are different... in Italian. I think a good time was had by all, though sadly I didn't take any pictures to prove it.

Life here has been a whirlwind lately, with little time to slow down. We are preparing for 3 weeks of American spring break students who are coming to help us out, to experience the ministry in Rome. It is a great help but also a great responsibility and a lot of work to prepare to best utilize these students. Not only do we want to use them well, we want them to have a great time, to truly get to experience ministry in Rome in one week. Needless to say, planning isnt my greatest strength and so this has been a little stressful for me.

Some of my responsibilities have been obtaining places for the nights to have outreaches with the students. In a large part due to my poor planning, but also due to not knowing the city and bars as well as I should, a lot of this is still up in the air. And the first spring breakers arrive here in 3 days. Pray that God works and all this gets taken care of. I am learning in the midst of all this what it truly means to trust God.

And speaking of trusting God, I am in the middle of trying to figure out what this next year holds in store for me and it frequently freaks me out. I am learning how to trust God and sometimes I do a great job of that, knowing that He holds my future in His hands and loves me more than I know. And then there are the other days that I get stressed out, dwell on the many options (join long-term staff here in Rome, return to the USA to do any number of jobs, work here in Italy in a job other than with Agape), and get buried under stress, paralyzed and unable to move. So pray for me on this decision, that I might actually trust God.

There is a church here this week to help out with a number of things, Hudson Community Church (I think). They did a night of music/praise/worship/sharing/prayer for us yesterday and one of the pastors shared something. He told a story about a pastor he knows in India who has a pretty debilitating case of leprosy but who continues to walk from leper village to leper village. He asked him what the Gospel means to him and his response is what I want to be true in my life. "Jesus Christ is all I have. Jesus Christ is all I need. Jesus Christ is all I want." May that be true in all of our lives.

Malawi!

2009-02-19T11:22:00.003+01:00

Short and sweet... Agape Italia does a summer trip to Malawi. This trip is for Christian's and non-Christians, is a sweet way to show God's love to those in Malawi by building a school/well/latrines. One of the guys on staff here, Haswell, is from Malawi and his heart for his homeland is a beautiful thing. Check it out... it is in Italian, but it still looks cool, even if you can't read Italian :)

CLICK HERE

Bluetree

2009-02-18T17:55:00.001+01:00

In January, I saw a band called Bluetree perform at an Agape UK conference in Nottingham, England. The journalist in me took notes, wanting to write a speedy concert review. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. These past two days I have been in leadership meetings for all of Agape Italia. It has been some heavy thinking, some fantastic teaching, and great application points. So I should write about that, right? Well, needless to say, my brain is a little fried and I need to write about something a little lighter. Hence, I give you my personalized, unjournalistic (because it includes first person and heavy opinion) concert review of Bluetree, a month and a half late.

As the lights dimmed, I had no idea of what to expect. The only thing I had heard of this band was that they wrote a fantastic song called “God of This City.” But looking at the stage, I wasn’t exactly expecting a Chris Tomlin carbon copy; the electronics and two Macbooks just screamed “high tech hipster pop punk.”

The six boys from Northern Ireland trotted out and didn’t waste time; the electronic beat began its metronome time from the keyboard, the bass kicked in with the drums, the keys adding color and suddenly the stage exploded with sound as the rest joined in. This was not going to be a low-key worship service.

Soaring above the wall of sound was lead singer Aaron Boyd voice, somewhat similar to his British Coldplay cousins, yet rarely having to revert to falsetto to hit the high notes. Instead, the full extent of the rockstar yell was employed, capturing the passion in the music. As he smiled and rocked back, reaching down to fire from his six-string notes to attack the silence, the joy was palpable.

Both visually and audibly landing between the pulpit and the pub, the scarves and ties were paired with tattoos, sacred lyrics with good Irish rock. In what I consider one of the hardest feats for a worship band, they had fun and put on a great performance without being pretentious, without a “look at me” attitude. They even did the seemingly impossible; they played “Light the Fire” and made it cool.

Their sound was at times influenced by the “techno madness” served up by Pete Kernoghan, at times by chunky chords and other times by U2 atmospheric rock. Solidly landing in the rock category, it rarely felt recycled, or typical, avoiding most Christian clichés and feeling genuine. Soaring at times, at other times it quieted to an intimate encounter between the individual and God, with the band simply providing the background music.

The audience loved it and the band loved the audience, frequently making jokes, pulling members on stage to do actions or sing with them. Their self-depreciating humor reached its pinnacle when they rocked out to Jock Jams on stage for their encore, dancing with unbridled idiocy to the solid 90’s beat.

The Christian music industry, specifically worship music, often catches flack for mediocrity, commercialism and lack of creativity. It is a beautiful thing to see a band of Irish musicians turn those assumptions on their head, sticking out like a blue tree in a forest of green.

Somebody pull the Brakes!

2009-02-10T12:16:00.007+01:00

Somebody pull the brakes on this train called life! I am a slacker when it has come to the blog this New Year and for that I apologize. Here is a quick rundown of my life since the last post: 2.5 days in Dublin, Ireland, 6 days in Spain, back in Rome and running like crazy with ministry! The team that I go onto campus with has gotten reshuffled so now I am on a team of 7 (Gigundateam or The Magnificent Seven are possible team names) and have been crazy hectic busy planning and meeting with students/friends. I am training for the Rome Marathon on March 22 and I got lost yesterday running 11.5 miles and had to ask a prostitute for directions. First time I have ever been propositioned, which was kind of weird but she did give me the right directions. I have also joined a basketball team, which has been great for meeting more guys. Ok, I realize all this is summary and not my deepest or most profound thoughts, but my brain is so scattered right now I couldnt give you that. So here are some pictures instead... Starts in Spain, ends in Dublin (sorry, reverse order) Enjoy

This is where I spent a few hours with Jesus one of the days in Spain... and a few more later that night smoking a pipe and talking with good friends.

Squadra Rome + Team Istanbul = sweet prayer partner love

Make up your own caption for this one!

Dance party... and this is not what it looks like, I promise. But it is hilarious!

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome "Smooth Sam and the Fabulous Five!"

I get to go on dates with my girlfriend in Spain... my life is crazyAt the Alhambra in Granada, Spain

And a sweet door at the Alhambra... so intracate

I like the reflection

A beautiful girl overlooking the lovely city of Granada, Spain

He's happy, I'm happy, we are all happy!

The view out my window in Nerja, Spain: Our Creator is a true artist

They could dance... for real

So amazing I have to invent a word to describe it. Scrumtrulescent. Yes... tis true.

The dude on the flute (L) was amazing. The music was amazing. Loved the tradition Irish music. Loved it.

Went on a tour of the Guinness Storehouse; it was this guys birthday and he sang on the mic at the bar at the top of the Storehouse. It was sweet.

Click on this picture and look at the sign behind Jimmy

Pouring rain, gusting wind, and Guiness Lake in the background... beautiful

A beautiful old Monastary in the Irish hills

Have you seen the movie Once? These guys were playing on the same street a lot of that was filmed on.

London Bridges and Skating Rinks

2009-01-15T16:44:00.006+01:00

Yes, a picture update is easier (initially) than words. Hopefully I will throw up a few words here before the day is over, but this is my life since Christmas. I have already spent nights in 4 different cities, 2 countries, traveled by plain, train, tram, automobile, bus, taxi, car, metro... my life is crazy. It began by going to Florence on Dec. 30 to visit my buddy Drew and he had 4 guys from Caserta staying at his place. So I was basically the only one not fluent in Italian.

Can you find the American?

New Years was welcomed running through the streets of Florence... literally...

With these guys... Magdi and Bruno

I then left on Jan. 2 for England, for a Fireseeds Conference (Agape UK) with my buddy Danilo (pictured below), who is a student here at La Sapienza. It was a 3 day conference in Nottingham England and was full of good talks, challenges, British food, and time to reflect on the direction that life is taking us and how we can serve God best with our lives.

Bluetree, a fantastic band, played at Fireseeds. And they rocked out, praised Jesus, and had a good time. Oh yea, these are the guys who wrote the song God of this City. If you havent heard it, listen to it HERE. And their version is better than Chris Tomlins cover.

Two Brits, an Italian, an American and a Scotsman got together for some soccer. They called the magical team International Stew... and lost quite badly.

For all those Harry Potter fans out there... I couldnt resist.

English brews with Fish and Chips... I was a happy man.

Me, Danilo and Big Ben

This lion reminded me of Aslan... in Trafalgar Square.

Up in the London Eye

We met up with my buddy Giovanni the juggler and hung out in London with him... and had great Chinese food

We saw Les Mis (pictured below) and it was fantastic... truly fantastic

London Bridge was not falling down but this bus almost ran me over.
After our adventures in England, I returned back to Rome, to work, and to a weekend where my beautiful girlfriend came to visit. So we went ice skating and invited a bunch of friends to come along. Claudio joined in for the fun, as did about 8 other italian friends and 6 or so Americans.

Christmas Reflections and a gift

2008-12-25T01:45:00.002+01:00

It's a cold night in Rome. I went to midnight Mass at St. Peters but left early because it was too cold to stay outside. I almost lost sight of it there; almost lost sight of the reason we celebrate Christmas. I got caught up in the cold and the frustration of being in a big city, got caught up in the ceremony and the Pope as a rock star, got caught up in even the beauty and grandeur of it. But God is gracious. He steps in and reminds, gently, of what Christmas is all about.

O Come, let us adore Him. This baby, born amidst the animals, born and laid into a feed manger, born amidst the squalor to a poor, working class guy and his fiancee, is the one who is worthy of our adoration. This baby, whose heralds were both great and small, star and shepherd, women and wise men... this baby is the King of Kings. Is the long awaited Savior, the one to bring a deliverance from a more demanding master than Rome, from a master that wars for the soul. This baby, God in flesh, God clothed in the most undivine clothing of a weak and helpless babe, is the ONE to bring peace on earth, peace in men's hearts.

Hosanna in the highest! The angels couldn't hold back from belting out a song of celestial joy. The wise men drop to a knee, the shepherds reach out with rough calloused hands to stroke the soft cheek of the baby and then sit back an marvel, wonder in their eyes. Joseph stand protectively by, exhausted and confused but remembering his dream and knowing that his adopted son's entrance into the world confirms that this angel who appeared was not just his imagination. And Mary files away the memories with a worn out, contented look on her face, not even minding the smell of the shepherds.

O Come, all ye faithful and adore Christ the Lord! The sacrificial Lamb of God who was born to take away the sin of the world. Kneel before Him, for he alone is worthy of the adoration. Joy to the world! Hosanna in the highest! Amen.

I pray that this Christmas music will bless you this day. It is worth the download even if only for the version of Joy to the World.

Christmas Vacation: In Words, the Recap

2008-12-24T16:08:00.004+01:00

Val Gardena, World Cup Skiing, Mountains, Diving in the Sea, Salerno, caroling around Rome... my life has been full and crazy these past couple weeks, hence my lack of substantial posts. So let me start from... well two weeks ago. My last week on campus here wasn't really spent on campus. Instead, it was spent in leaders meetings, with leaders from Agape Italia congregating in Rome and learning together. The subject was a Leaders Capacity, which basically means how much you are able to do. It was insightful and really I think I just benefitted being around such quality, wise men like Greg L. and Scott K. These guys not only have their head on their shoulders and follow Jesus well, but they also take a personal interest in everyone they encounter. I got some good life advice from them, as I am beginning to figure out what the heck my life will hold in store this next year.

After that, I headed down south to a city called Salerno, about an hour south of Napoli (Naples). The beauty is breathtaking but honestly, headed down there, I didnt care because I was going a day early to suprise my girlfriend. With a complex web of deception, I managed to get into her apartment and start making her dinner :) When she stopped back in to pick something up before headed out to dinner, voila! I was there for the suprise :) Thanks to all who helped trick her and to Marti for the quality recipe; it was so simple yet good that even I couldnt screw it up. My time in Salerno was chill; quality runs, doing a December dip in the sea after one of my runs (cold, but felt great on the legs), and hanging out with Amanda. And we got to watch the first two movies in the Lord of the Rings. It was a relaxing start to a crazy week.

I left Salerno and spent 12 hours headed north to Bolzano, or more specifically to San Cristina where I skiied for two days at Val Gardena, probably one of the best places to ski in the Italian Alps, or the world. I met up with a lot of others who were already there and we blazed the slopes for two days. The views were out of this world; quite literally felt like I was living in some dream world, some Planet Earth documentary on the mountains. The skiing was great and the apple strudel there was fantastic! We got to watch some of the World Cup of skiing and the last day I got to ski down the World Cup downhill course with Mario and Giacomo. Pretty unreal. The other highlight was hanging out with a guy named Finn, who shared his beer, stories and a song with me. Nice guy, freaking sweet moustache, and the guy made some cool pipes (which I didnt buy this time). Check out his picture below and you will get an idea of what he is like.

When I finally made it back to Rome, things havent really settled down too much. Sam is back in Rome which is fantastic. I went caroling last night for the first time in my life; Ella whipped us into a 3 part harmony choir. Basically, I just stand really close to Sam and try really hard to imitate what he sings because I cant do it on my own. It actually kind of sounded good. If I can find and pictures or videos, I will post them. Well, thats about it for now... sorry for the straight up diary but I figured I would catalog it all. Enjoy the pictures.

Christmas Vacation: In Photo's

2008-12-24T15:44:00.006+01:00

For these pictures to make sense, you probably need to scroll to the bottom of this post, then scroll up. Otherwise you are beginning at the end... but suit yourself. Enjoy a taste of my crazy Christmas break so far :)
I skied the World Cup downhill course!

Exhausted after their 6th straight day of skiing, my second

Jimmy was trying to do a 180 on a tow rope... it didnt work :)

They were holding World Cup races that week in Val Gardena

The skiing crew that day

Yes, I was really there, in Val Gardena

The view from my apartment window!

I met and shared a beer with a guy named Finn, who makes pipes and writes songs

After 3.5 days in Salerno, I said goodbye to Amanda and headed north to Bolzano

Catching the rocking band The Cellar,fronted by GianLuca

I surprised Amanda by coming to Salerno a day early and cooking her dinner.

We skyped with Miami Crusade at 3 AM

The week before we got off break, there was a leaders conference in Rome. Amanda was here :)

Love of Stuff

2008-12-11T21:39:00.002+01:00

I know, I havent written about my life here in a while. I apologize. This week was crazy. Good in some ways, tragic in others, but definitely crazy. Sunday night one of my close friends found out his Mom died. Pray for him. There were four days of a leadership conference here in Rome. Yesterday I left my apartment at 8:20 in the morning and got back at 10:00 pm. So that gives you an idea. I would love to write more on all that later but where it stands now is that I am tired and want to go to bed. So I am simply going to post this editorial (by Leonard Pitts Jr, an Pulitzer winning columnist) my Dad sent me... you can find the original at THIS WEBSITE.

Love of stuff is a holiday tragedy

Saturday, December 6, 2008 2:53 AM
By Leonard Pitts Jr.

I like stuff as much as the next guy.

My closet is stuffed with stuff, my shelves groan with stuff, boxes full of stuff jam my garage. I like stuff just fine.

But I would not kill for it.

Last week, a 34-year-old man was trampled to death by a mob rushing into a Wal-Mart to buy stuff.

Jdimytai Damour was a seasonal worker manning the door of a store in Valley Stream, N.Y., as shoppers eager for so-called Black Friday bargains massed outside. The store was scheduled to open at 5 a.m., but that was not early enough for the 2,000 would-be shoppers. At five minutes before the hour, they were banging their fists and pressing their weight against the glass doors, which bowed and then broke in a shower of glass. The mob stormed in.

Four people, including a pregnant woman, were injured. And Damour was killed as people stomped over him, looking for good prices on DVDs, winter coats and PlayStations. Nor was the mob sobered by his death. As authorities sought to clear the store, some defiantly kept shopping; others complained that they had been in line since the night before.

And here, it seems appropriate to observe the obvious irony: Black Friday is the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season, Christmas being the holiday when, Christians believe, hope was born into the world in the form of a baby who became a man who preached a gospel of service to, and compassion for, our fellow human beings.

It is hard to see evidence of either in the mob's treatment of Jdimytai Damour, and if your inclination is to heap scorn upon them, I don't blame you. But I would caution against regarding them as freaks or aberrations whose callous madness would never be seen in sane and normal people like ourselves. That would be false comfort.

You might think I'm talking about mob psychology, and to a degree, I am. From soccer riots to the Holocaust, human beings always have had a tendency to lose individual identity and accountability when gathered in groups. You will do things as part of a crowd that you never would as an individual. Theoretically, anyone who lacked a strong enough moral center and sense of self could have been part of that mob in Valley Stream.

But it's not just our common vulnerability to mob psychology that ties the rest of us to last week's tragedy. It is also our common love of stuff. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a starker illustration of our true priorities. Oh, we pay lip service to other things. We say children are a priority, but when did people ever press against the door for Parents' Night at school? We say education is a priority, but when did people ever bang against the windows of the library? We say faith is a priority, but when did people ever surge into a temple of worship as eagerly as they do a temple of commerce?

No, sale prices on iPods -- that's our true priority.

Damour died because too many of us have bought, heart and soul, into the great lie of American consumerism: Acquiring stuff will make you whole. "You, Happier," is how a sign at my local Best Buy puts it. As if owning a Jonas Brothers CD, an Iron Man DVD or a Sony HDTV will elevate you to a level of joy otherwise impossible to attain. Hey, you might be a total loser, might not have a friend, might not have an education, might not have a job, might not have a clue, but it will all be OK as soon as you get that new Canon digital camera, especially if you get it for 50 percent off.

It would be nice to think -- I will not hold my breath -- that Damour's death would lead at least some of us to finally see that for the obscene lie it is, to realize that seeking wholeness in consumer goods is an act of emptiness, not joy.

You, Happier? No.

Just you, with more stuff.

Christmas Shopping

2008-12-03T11:03:00.003+01:00

My brother wants to start a website called VoteWithYourMoney.com. It is already taken but the principle of it is that you support the things that you spend your money on. This Christmas season, a lot of shopping is done, even if you are truly honoring the spirit of the season and thankful for the birth of Jesus. I thought I would let you guys know about some things that I think are worth supporting. These would make cool gifts for your friends and family, so check it out and think about supporting these companies:

Jedidiah: Found this company and really like the way they run their business. Check out their website even if you arent interested in their clothing. One of the things I thought was cool (besides their mission statement/core objectives) was their HOPE clothing line, which has currently raised over $200,000 for charity.

TOMS Shoes and BuyShoes.SaveLives: For every pair of TOMS Shoes you buy, they will give one pair away to a child in need (so far they have given over 50,000). BSSL (also called the Preemptive Love Coalition)money they make from shoe sales pays for heart surgeries for Iraqi children whose parents couldn’t otherwise afford them.

graftedBranches: I have become friends with 3 of these 6 guys from Napoli (Naples). They have talent, they want to impact Italy for Christ, and I want to support them. Check out their music, if you like and want a CD, let me know and I will do what I can do get it to you. If nothing else, I can get you emails and you can write them to encourage them.

Cards/Calenders to support work going on in Malawi: Agape Italia (who I work for) has a partnership with Malawi. They are working on building a school, digging wells, building housing for the teachers in a village. Last summer they laid the foundations and built walls; this summer they need to put the roof on the school and do other construction projects. These things cost money. If you want to be a part of it, let me know. They are selling greeting cards featuring pictures from last summers trip for 2euro each and calenders for 5euro each. Let me know if you are interested in buying (in bulk would be good...) and I will arrange shipping for you.

It's December... crazy... here are some videos

2008-12-01T15:06:00.004+01:00

First, check out this article... beautiful, thought provoking writing called The Silence of the Priest. Then check out these two videos. The first is of my buddy Matt Reis... check it out and love the Christmas season. The second is a video that Giacomo (Jimmy S) made, featuring the song "God of this City" and photos that he took around Rome (and one or two of my photos are thrown in).

Beauty

2008-11-27T22:37:00.003+01:00

“We are all living to be beautiful and it is crushing us.” JAmmons

Here in Italy, I live in a culture obsessed with beauty. I often greet girls “Ciao Bella” (hello beautiful) or even from time to time, greet the guys “Ciao bello.” Bella is used to describe just about everything, from a day to a meal to a time with friends. And yes, Italian fashion is much more beautiful that the States. I don’t know if I have every rocked a sweatshirt here in public, as least not when I am on campus.

This obsession with beauty isn’t completely a bad thing. They appreciate aesthetics, appreciate and value the ability to create something valuable, and in this way I can often appreciate what God has created even more. But as Jeff said, “it is crushing us.” What we become obsessed with controls our life and when we base our worth on whether or not we are beautiful, it has the same potential to control and devalue us.

Because it isn’t true beauty that we are measuring. It is a synthetic beauty, a beauty that is superficial and fades with time. Whether that is the emaciated “beauty” of fashion models, the rugged good looks of the latest Hollywood star, or even the beauty of a priceless work of art. The model will gain weight and wrinkles, the actor eventually will lose his muscular physique, and the work of art, unless carefully maintained, will deteriorate.

Though I think people are quick to say we do, we rarely appreciate the beauty of the woman who has lived and loved for 95 years, like my Grandma. Or the beauty of wrinkles permanently ironed on the face of a woman because her smile has brought love to hundreds (Jane A). Or the emaciated beauty of a man who has worn himself down serving his people, like Ghandi. We may admire these people, envy their accomplishments, but rarely do we call it beautiful. Or the patched up quilt, broken down building, worn out pews, or beat up Bible, all that tell more stories that a shiny new car.

But that is just beauty around us. Aesthetic beauty. Even the pursuit of that, though not inherently wrong or bad, will leave us feeling empty. Bethany Dillon penned a song that says “I want to be beautiful, to make you stand in awe, look inside my heart and be amazed. I want to hear you say who I am is quite enough, just want to be worthy of love and beautiful.” While I think that this song was written focused on women, I think even guys, at the core, want to be “worthy of love.” We want to be worth it and the way that too often we seek to be worthy is to be beautiful. Or to have great accomplishments. Or to stand out about the rest.

The tragic, sad, beautiful thing is that we are not enough in ourselves. But we are worthy of love. We are because He said we are. Because you are God’s creation, you are worthy of love. At the end of the song, she says “You make me beautiful, you make me stand in awe, you step inside my heart and I am amazed. I love to hear you say who I am is quite enough, you make me worthy of love and beautiful.” I think there is a telling difference, a shift of focus, from me to you.

In this culture of beauty, I want to share this message with others here. That they are worthy of love simply because He, the Creator of the Universe, has loved them. And because He offered His Son to make a relationship with Him possible. And when we realize this, it enables us to truly love others. “We love because He first loved us.” When we realize this truth, the chains fall off. We can live in freedom. We can live in His beauty.

People I am thankful for

2008-11-27T09:22:00.003+01:00

There are hundreds of pictures I could upload here. My friends and family, you guys know who you are. I love you all. Praise God from whom all blessing flow.

My dream.... and unrelated photos of Paestum

2008-11-25T00:18:00.004+01:00

I was looking through some old things I had written and saved on my computer, old memories and journal entries. I came across this, from a dream I had last year. When I reread it, it was still a powerful experience for me. So I thought I would share it with you all...

"I just had the most amazing dream I have ever had in my life. I was walking along the top of a building, I don’t know where, I don’t know why. I had just managed to con my way out of passing out fliers for a homeless ministry and I was walking back and it was around Christmas time. For some reason, I saw two musicians I knew and was kind of following them because they were mildly famous in my eyes. I followed them to the edge of a building where they stood watching three other musicians playing guitars for some audience over the edge of the building. I climbed up to the edge and looked over and was stunned by what I saw.

It was a huge tower/building of made of cardboard boxes and abandoned trash and empty barrels and who knows what else. It was crawling with children. I don’t know why, but it was tons and tons of street children. I was horrified as they were playing that every once in a while, one or two would fall off. These were destitute children, no where to go but play on their mound of trash, no hope in sight. There were some other people watching and one of them reached out and grabbed. Then they pulled and I saw they had grabbed one of the children who had jumped towards our side. A couple more children realized that they could jump to our building, to safety and started running and jumping across the divide. People on my side started coming to the edge, holding out hands, trying to help those that were jumping to safety. I got on my belly and edged my way to the side, stretching out my arm to try to help catch whoever jumped. But then what brought me to tears (in my dream) was that someone from our side ran and jumped into their building. Just dove into the midst of their trash to help them. We were on the safe side, trying to pull those kids in danger to our side, to catch them, and this guy just dove right into their trash tower to help. I then woke up. I don’t know what this means but it seems like a picture of Jesus to me. A picture of what I should be like. Living in my “safe side”, seeing those who unknowingly are falling off the edge of their “trash tower”. No hope. Yet someone needs to run and dive into their trash tower, not just lean over and help them as they jump."

Below are some pics I took from a trip to Salerno two weeks ago to visit Amanda... enjoy

The girls got funky up top the Greek ruins at Paestum

Were we supposed to be in the temple? Probably not, but no one complained too loudly

Yes, that temple behind us is real.

Take a guess at who is the real Italian. Hint: It is the guy who is actually dressed fashionably in the middle.

"No One Knows Their Name"

2008-11-24T11:25:00.005+01:00

This past summer, a friend and I were talking about her work in Central America at a convent with a group of nuns who served the poor in that area. The way she spoke of their simple life was in a beautiful way that made me envious of the little that they had. They truly connected with God in a way that wasn’t distracted by the many things that we need in this modern world. And I think in a lot of ways, they are probably more fulfilled than most but most of us are too scared to give up what we have for the risk of something less. To scared to truly “die to self” as Jesus calls us to do. But that is another conversation…

The thing that she told me that has often come to mind this year was that, “No one knows their name.” For every Mother Teresa that the world venerates, there are thousands of people like these nuns that labor for the sake of the Gospel, that labor with all of Christ’s love, and no one will ever know who they are. Instead we hear the horror stories of those who work “in the name of God” because they sell more papers; those who abuse their position and use God for selfish means. But these women, who in all likelihood don’t even consider what they have left compared to what they have gained, labor on in obscurity.

Why? Their stories should be told, we should hold them up as shining examples of what it means to follow Christ. But that even more important, in my own life, is that it bothers me that people don’t know these women. Because the honest truth is, it bothers me, not because I think of their stories and how they should be told, but because I think of how I want my story to be told. Selfish, I know, but honest.

Because, sad though it is to admit it, I want people to know who I am. I, too often, give in to this desire for “fame and fortune.” No, I am not trying to work my way to the top of the corporate ladder and make my millions and willing to step on everyone in the process. No, I am not actively seeking fame (unless you count this blog). But I do want to be known. I often desire for people to tell me, “Well done.” And I think this desire, though not inherently bad, is often just as selfish as they guy climbing the corporate ladder. Far too often I care about the opinions of others more than I care about whether I am following God closely.

I want to be a sellout. Sold out for the cause of Christ. I want to be so committed to the cause of Christ that it won’t matter to me if no one knows who I am. I want to be listening to God so closely that I am willing to work in a place where I see no results for years and years, if that is what God has called me to do. But I am not there yet. I know, I know, Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs says that we all need affirmation, but I want to be working for the “Well done, good and faithful servant,” the one opinion that truly counts.

Italian Student Protests... and American issues

2008-11-16T18:39:00.003+01:00

For those who dont know, there have been some intense protests here in Rome (and all across Italy) because of recently passed laws/referendum. The result that students are especially angered about is that cost of university is very likely go up, too high for a number of students here. Some of the other parts of the laws and changes being made dont seem so bad. But to educate yourself, check out these two articles below. And the pictures below were taken by Sam and I was there at this one. At La Sapienza's main campus, a number of the science faculties (majors) were taken over by students, who closed them down for a time being. A number of the protests were like the pictures, while some of them were classes held in public squares or things like that. An intense, interesting atmosphere to be sure, one to pray that God uses in some way (I dont know how) to reach students for himself.
A Case for Change - published in The Economist
Student Protests Paralyse Rome - published on lifeinitaly.com/news, a great website for Italian news.

In other news, I am cautiously hopeful for Barack Obama's presidency. I will pray for him, for the United States of America, but this is something I feel pretty strongly about. I hope this blog never gets political, but here is a rare (hopefully) foray into that. Obama is endorsing something called the Freedom of Choice Act. I disagree with that. To see what the Freedom of Choice Act is, click HERE. Quite specifically, the thing that gets me especially angry with this bill is that it proposes that "a government may not interfere [with a womans right] to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman." While this may sound reasonable to some (this is not intended to be a pro-choice/pro-life argument and forum but I am willing to take this risk), this means that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act will be repealed. This is a heinous act, sanctioned murder in my eyes. I use strong words because I feel like it is necessary to defend the defenseless and a baby ("a pregnancy after viability" at the very least) qualifies. So if you want to do something about this, go to http://www.fightfoca.com/. Ok, I am off my soapbox but I dont apologize for making this statement. I realize that for many, if not most, women who have had abortions, it was not an easy choice and there are many who still experience emotional pain from this. This isnt an attack on a person(s), please dont take it as that. But this is a strong stand against this bill, against the action of abortion, especially into the second and third trimester. My brother was born in the second trimester and was supposed to have a whole host of medical problems... he survived and is great (Praise God!)... so this is personal for me too.

Venice by Photo

2008-11-11T00:30:00.006+01:00

Two weekends ago I went to Venice... this is my journey in pictures. To truly see it time-wise, start at the bottom and scroll to this picture a the top

I am thankful for the pic... and that I didnt fall in...

I had to step out onto this thing... what fun, eh?

I love the Roma STINT Team

Enjoying cappucino along the Grand Canal... capuccino but nothing to eat

Check out the moon over the Grand Canal

My team showing their back...err...better side

The dudes I get to live with in Roma

My own private concert... until I was kicked out

Oh yea, that is my team in the crazy boots... L-to-R Kanda, Sam, Ella, Jenny, Brian, Kerry, Giacomo, April

Flooded but beautiful

Me and Giacomo Campobello in flooded Piazza di San Marco

Can you find Jenny, Kerry, Sam, Jimmy, Brian and April? And the crazy people in yellow boots?

Notice how the water is over the banks?

The girls, looking sweet as ever

Waking up is hard to do... unless you are on a sweet boat in flooded Venice (Venezia)

To start, we all piled into this 9 passenger van with Giacomo as driver

Voting

2008-11-03T22:18:00.002+01:00

I am not a big fan of the election. I think it is a tough choice and I am not going to try to promote one candidate or the other. But I ran across this article and think it is well written and I wanted to give y'all this quick quote and the link to check out the rest if you want. And dont worry, more on my life will come later this week. I got lots to share :)

"I’ll cut right to the chase: ultimately our problems will not be solved by the right man (or woman) in the White House. It simply doesn’t work that way. We live in a democracy, a representative form of government, where it’s as much if not more our responsibility to love and take care of our neighbors than our politician’s responsibility. Real and lasting change comes from knowing and loving the folks who live in the houses that sit next to ours rather than saving all of our longing and hope for the voting booth." - Derek Webb
Check out the entire article here..

And for a preview of what is to come about my life... check this

Me and a guy named Giacamo Campobello in Venezia!

Reason #123 Why I love the Spurs

2008-10-30T18:56:00.002+01:00

I am copying this off another website... "As some of you might recall, during the preseason doldrums, Suns center Shaquille O'Neal took offense with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's liberal use of the Hack-a-Shaq strategy during the first round of the playoffs last year, calling it "a coward move."

Check this. I love Greg Popovich, who is the guy with the white beard and the Spurs head coach.

Life Update

2008-10-26T12:27:00.004+01:00

The whole goal of writing here once a week has been sadly neglected and I sincerely hope to do better at this. Please forgive me for the time being. There is so much to catch you up on so I will try make this as detailed yet brief as possible. Let's rewind to last weekend; I went on a retreat with my "Archo", which is really a group of people that gets together for community, wanting to walk together towards following Jesus which will result in our ministry being more fruitful. The more we become like Jesus, the more we "abide" in him, we will bear fruit. SO acknowledging this, I showed up at a train station at 9:30 AM and got on a train, having no idea where I was going, just knowing it was an overnight with fun people. We headed off to Castel Gandolfo and Lago Albano, which is where the Pope's summer palace is. It was my first time at a lake in Italy and while not as beautiful as Muskoka, Canada, it was pretty spectacular.
That Saturday was spent getting to know each other better by each getting to share about our lives, experiencing life together, swimming in the Lake and wrestling with the Patterson boys. It wasnt really buisnessy at all but was a good break from Rome and really inexpensive. I has some great time with God, just enjoying the beauty of his creation. For me, this is a great way to connect with Him... spending some time in his Word, looking over the Lake Sunday morning was pretty fantastic. Here are some more pictures from the weekend.

We spent a lot of time chilling, talking...

While I really wanted to moon the camera, wisdom made me settle on this...

I love lakes... and flips...Me upsidedown over Giacamo

Some of the Patterson boys checking out the view..

Giacomo Campobello looking pensive... I like it.

This past week was a week of ministry diving in and spending time on campus. I loved it. This is what I have been missing. I had some great conversations with students, both that I knew and that I didnt know. It is great to begin to share truth and just get a small taste of someones life and where they are coming from. At times it seems a little overwhelming for me... there are literally tens of thousands of students here that I will never meet. How am I supposed to make an impact? One of the things I was reminded of this week was 2 Cor 2:14-15. My good friend GV reminded me that when I go onto campus, it is "God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ". GV told me that when we step foot on campus, that even before we say anything, the spiritual atmosphere changes because it is God going before us. And that isnt just the reality for me here in Rome. That is the reality for every Christian, wherever they go or work. That was a huge encouragement to me... thanks GV.

Last but not least in this update is this weekend, Amanda was in town and it was so good to hang out with her and others. We hung out with the lady from the Post Office for appertivo which was pretty sweet and then made dinner for a bunch of friends. Dinner was quite the occasion, with conversations happenining in Spanish, Italian and English at the table. I was really encouraged by my conversation with my buddy Daniele about reaching his friends... I like guys like Daniele and am eager to see how God uses them. After dinner we hopped on a metro to the Colosseo and just hung out there until 1:00 AM.... strange how the Colosseo is 20 minutes from where I live. Wild. Well thats it... peace... oh and check out THE DROP (link on the right) for some quality music from Jon Foreman (of Switchfoot).

So Much to Say

2008-10-17T23:12:00.005+02:00

I wish I could fill you in on all that is bouncing around in my head. I am not even going to try. But here is a sampling...

Many of you might wonder what my actual week looks life. There was a lot of meetings in this one. I hate meetings. I consider it a necessary evil at the beginning of the year, something we need to do to start to plan where we are going but I will be glad when it is over and I can simply go out and meet students. Of my "campus time" this week, which is the time I spend on campus or with students, probably half was meetings. The other part though included these highlights; quality time with my friend Valmir, an Albanian believer who I am pretty sure is my twin (youngest of 7, same # of nieces and nephews), meeting a group of 7 sweet freshman at Political Science who are open to talking about spiritual things and want to hang out more (I met them because one hit me in the leg with a paper airplane), "randomly" running into my friend Mark (Scottish-Italian... he speaks English with a Scottish brogue, which is amazing), meals with Nic and David from the Grass. Other significant time chunks included language lessons, 3.5 hours helping others finish paperwork/meeting with officials in order to legally live in Rome, Bible Study... and much more :)

Scottish/Italian Mark

Albanian Valmir

HUGE NEWS: There was a young peoples conference here in Rome last weekend for evangelism. It was SO encouraging to see so many young people who want to see their lives influence others for the Gospel of Christ. We went out together in the morning and got to try to survey the community to see how the church could serve them better (and get into spiritual conversations if people were interested in hearing more about Jesus) and then that evening has a concert/church service together. In the afternoon, I had the chance to go outside of Rome to Fiano Romano and go running with my old friend Giuseppe. He kicked my butt but we had terrific conversation about what he has been reading in the Bible, what I have been learning, and life in general. Giuseppe is still searching, so pray for him... he is a great friend.

This is some of the people from the conference. The lady in front in the yellow is a handful... so much fun, so crazy, and she is Amanda's "italian mom" so I had to get permission from her... who is Amanda, you ask? See below

I am reading a book by Frederick Buechner called "Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Trajedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale" and he is a phenomenal writer. I mean, the man has a gift with words that I only dream about. So I thought I would simply transcribe some of the things he has wrote that I was floored by their beauty... here goes

"At the level of words, what do they say, these prophet-preachers? They say this and they say that. They say things that are relevant, lacerating, profound, beautiful, spine-chilling, and more besides. They put words to both the wonder and the horror of the world, and the words can be looked up in the dictionary or the biblical commentary and can be interpreted, passed on, understood, but because these words are poetry, are image and symbol as well as meaning, are sound and rhythm, maybe above all are passion, they set echoes going the way a choir in a great cathderal does, only it is we who become the cathderal and in us that the words echo."
---
"Let him tell them the truth. Before the Gospel is a word, it is silence. It is the silence of their own lives and of his life. It is life with the sound turned off so that for a moment or two you can experience it not in terms of the words you make it bearable by but for the unutterable mystery that it is. Let him say, "Be silent and know that I am God, saith the Lord" (Ps 46:10). Be silent and know that even by my silence and absence I am known. Be silent and listen to the stones cry out... Out of the silence let the only real news come, which is sad news before it is glad news and this is fairy tale last of all....Let him use words which do not only try to five answers to the questions that we ask or ought to ask but which help us to hear the questions that we do not have the words for asking..."

I am also reading a book by AW Tozer called "The Radical Cross" which is helping me see the Cross in a new lens. Just realizing the reality of the call to those who call themselves Christians; "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me" (Matt 16:24). Tozer focuses a lot on the fact that taking up your cross is death; the cross was an instrument of execution, not a cute symbol that hung around your neck. On it dies the old man, the one that is fouled up and corrupted by being born into this world. It is a necessary death. Only then can we begin to truly live. I have loved in 2 Cor 3:4-6 where is talks about being sufficient in Christ, it talks about "the letter brings death but the Spirit brings life." I realized for the first time that in order for the Spirit to truly bring life, we need to die to the crap we have help onto for so long. In another verse, it talks about "taking up your cross daily." This is a day by day walk... and I look forward to experiencing more of the life He has for me.
New music... check out www.relevantmagazine.com/thedrop.php which has some killer tunes. I just downloaded an EP from a band called Deas Vail, but I really recommend checking out some of the other music this website offers. Also downloaded Matthew Smith's "Love Shall Never Die: The Road Sessions Vol2" which includes a stellar song "Calmer of My Troubled Heart". And last but not least, check out Randall Goodgame, who is releasing a new CD and has offered a free download of the song "All the Years" which is pretty fantastic.

Ok, I gotta go to sleep... but I will try to do a better job of posting more frequently in the future. Hope something here was encouraging for you. And oh yea, on the personal news front, I am now dating a lovely girl named Amanda. I would love to tell you all how terrific she is but you know, that is more personal that this blog should be :) So feel free to shoot me an email and ask away... christopher.rule@gmail.com

Hosanna!

2008-10-04T19:33:00.008+02:00

My sweet team... We do pyramids.

It has been much too long since I have last written in this blog and I apologize. This post will be epic, I promise…. I hope. I wish I could write about my summer that has led up to me being in Rome but I don’t think I can do that in specifics without boring you all (ok, you three who actually read this blog).
Instead I thought I would fill you in on what it feels like to let go. I just bought “Swallow the Sea” by Matthew Perryman Jones as the end of the summer and the song by the title “Feels Like Letting Go” seems to describe my summer and the lessons in life that God is trying to teach me right now. This summer kicked my butt; it was busy, full of work and family and support raising. I loved parts of it and hated parts of it and to be honest, didn’t like the parts that God was probably teaching me the most in. A good friend once told me “We all long to be refined but once we are in the crucible, we cry out and don’t like it and try to get out.”

I learned a lot about trust this summer and have been learning the same thing since being back in Rome. I have a hard time trusting God when it is something bigger than I can accomplish on my own. And raising all the money to come back to Rome was something bigger than myself. So there were times when I was riding high, after encouraging conversations or support appointments, and just as quickly I would catch a downdraft and my plane of trust would nose dive towards “reality.” However, the reality I was looking at was one that was dependent upon my efforts, not one that trusted God for doing what he does best, which is God-sized stuff. I read recently that “Hosanna!” means “Save us now!” and the author who wrote this said that “Only in God’s Kingdom is a cry for help equal to a shout of praise.”

I needed to be yelling Hosanna! and believing God would actually show up more often this summer and even after I have arrived in Rome. The great thing is that He doesn’t have to wait for me; he still moves to save me from my incompetence. When I arrived here this year, I thought I had it down. After all, I have been in Rome for a year before and I am a capable leader, just check out all the leadership experience on my resume. Instead I found out that I am a pretty selfish guy, being frustrated when others cannot keep up with my pace, and spent a lot of time being upset at what I didn’t know. Hosanna! God answered my call.

We took over a train car on the way to Tuscany

After the first week in Rome, we headed out to Tuscany for a 3-day “Nuovo Inizio” conference for all new staff and Jenny and I stuck around for a couple more days for a leadership conference. God was gracious to “satisfy the weary soul (Jer. 31:25)” with friends and fellowship, teaching that spoke to my heart (2 Cor 3:4-6… if you have never read it, it blew me away), and the beauty of his creation. I felt as if God was saying, “Just like this summer, all I want is for you to trust me. You are enough because I with you and I am enough for you because I am God, the Creator and sustainer.” I want to walk in that truth as we begin this next week as the first week on campus, the first week of the new quarter.

That song “Feels Like Letting Go” that I talked about has a bridge that says “Well I’m stepping out / I cant see and there is no sound / Seeming void becomes the solid ground / Sight I’ve lost becomes the faith I’ve found.” I want to step out, truly let go and step out into the void to find that I am standing on the Solid Rock.

This is what I wrote in my journal one of the mornings, trying to capture the beauty in front of me. “The beauty here is breathtaking. Literally. The sun slowly creeps up over the horizon, illuminating mist covered fields of corn, olive trees, vineyards and rolling lush green woods. The colors shine in a hazy mist, a golden hue that makes one think of fields, rather than streets, of gold. It is a serene setting, only interrupted by birds and the low murmurs of the cattle. The world lies in wait. For another day, a day that brings closer the day of the Lord.”

Pictorial

2008-09-21T10:11:00.009+02:00

Sorry I didn't post last night, but here is my attempt at making up for it... PICTURES! Hooray! These are from my last couple weeks in the States and my arrival in bella Italia. Enjoy. And I posted these because the free music of the day is found at Andrew Osenga's website. Download Letters to the Editor Vol. 1 by clicking on the tab that says free, Letters to the Editor Vol. 2 by clicking HERE and look at the album notes on both because four or five of my pictures are featured!

My sweet STINT team at our first team dinner L to R: Ella, Sam, April, Jimmy, Kanda, Jenny, Brian, Kerry, Me

My nephew Brayden Kai... he is an all-star

My niece Peyton K'aloha, the toughest little two year old you will meet

Pure Romance says it all... was a cozy(?) I cut up to make an armband

Me and my friend Adam were jealous of the other couples... so we put our arms around each others waist. Not gay, comfortable in our masculinity.

Four generation of Men of the Sands Hotel represented here.

My niece Miriam

The Long Day is Over

2008-09-20T00:59:00.002+02:00

Today was a long day. A good day, but a long day. Spending about two hours on public transit taught me a valuable lesson; dont take the bus in rush hour. Such is life in Rome, life in a big city. Today was a day of figuring out what this next year might look like. The picture is not in focus but it is clear enough that I can make out outlines; hopefully in the next week those will clear even more. We had meetings as all of staff in Rome with Agape Italia and our national team and then the second half of the day was with just the leaders. I am helping lead the STINT team and also helping lead a Missional Team (we will have a narrower focus on a couple campus's and faculties) and honestly, today I didn't feel like a leader. Instead, I felt as if I was tagging along, sitting in meetings that I didn't necessarily belong in. I know I have a lot to learn and I know God has put me here in this position for a reason, I just think I can get a little intimidated by such experience that surrounds me. And maybe a little scared that I know God will change me and I know that won't always be comfortable.

I finished the day watching "A River Runs Through It" with some of the guys. Never watched the whole movie and the cinematography of it is beautiful. Much like the river featured so prominently, there is an ebb and flow, a rhythm to the movie that is contemplative, never rushed but never still. Some of the last words of the movie were in a sermon that the reverend delivers. He says "And so it those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them - we can love completely without complete understanding." I thought that was a pretty powerful statement; we can love without complete understanding. I dont always understand... I want to but I dont, but I want to learn to love with Christ's love, even for those that baffle me, that I disagree with, and that I never understand.

In support of this contemplative music, I offer you the music of Alli Rogers. I highly recommend the last song, "The Things We Can and Can Not Keep." I think offers a level of insight that the normal song doesnt. I am also a big fan of the song "Hope." This girl can sing, is pretty mellow... check it out

Trotting Through the Day

2008-09-18T00:07:00.002+02:00

I love Bar Agostini. Seriously, this cafe is the best possible way to start my day. And I was reading AW Tozer this morning with my team, a book called "The Radical Cross," and that book is stinking sweet. The paragraph that I read and was quite challenged by says this:
"If we are wise we will do what Jesus did: endure the cross and despise its shame for the joy that is set before us. To do this is to submit the whole pattern of our lives to be destroyed and built again in the power of an endless life. And we shall find that it is more than poetry, more than sweet hymnody and elevated feeling. The cross will cut into our lives where it hurts worst, sparing neither us not our carefully cultivated reputations. It will defeat us and bring our selfish lives to an end. Only then can we rise in fullness of life to establish a pattern of living wholly new and free and full of good works."
The rest of the day was pretty chill; we got cell phones for all the new STINTers, had a little Rome Ministry Orientation and then had a picnic with the long-term staff and their kids. I got to throw the football and wrestle with a bunch of little kids, which is always fun. Jenny and I had some intense planning and then I went running with Brian and Jimmy, part of my training for the Rome Marathon. Yes, you heard me correct, I am trying to run the Rome Marathon. Pray for me :)
MUSIC: Check out The Daytrotter Sessions for some kind of weird, sometimes good, sometimes bad music. Click on THIS LINK and check out Basia Bulat, Bon Iver, Ingrid Michaelson, and We Barbarians for some music that I downloaded. You can listen first, then download if you like it. Enjoy.

HopefulInspiredInvolved

2008-09-17T00:41:00.004+02:00

Today was a good day. We got our bus passes (I functioned as a translator, which was a lot of fun and made me somewhat proud of my Italian), tracked down packets that we need to apply to stay in the country (3 places, third time's the charm), had the chance to walk around campus and pray for it and then had our very first team dinner! And then we got all the forms filled out that we need to so hopefully we can apply in the next day or two! BUT my two highlights of the day were in the morning, getting to go back to my beloved Bar Agostini and see my friends, the barista's who work there.

At Bar Agostini last year

Maria-Antoniella, Anna Maria, the dude who works in the bakery and his son... loads of fun and good time reading my Bible with my iPod and cappucino and ciambella. And, as an added bonus, I got to see one of my friends, Maria Teresa, standing in line and talk to her for a while. Second highlight of the day was I ran into my good friend Jody on campus and got to talk a little with him. We are hopefully meeting soon. Jody was one the highlights of last year; he is an all-star guy, super friendly, and we had a great time reading and discussing the Gospel of John. So the music of the day reflects that... do get it free you have to enter in 5 friends names but you can also pay 1 dollar. The tagline is "Hopeful*Inspired*Involved" and it featured Sara Groves, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, and Charlie Peacock. Thoughtful music and a sampler album to promote their upcoming tour, which the proceeds go to International Justice Mission. For those who have never heard of this, IJM is the organization that works hard to "rescue victims of individual human rights abuse, working to combat human trafficking, forced labor, slavery, illegal detention, unprosecuted rape, police brutality and illegal land seizure" They do good stuff. Check it out.

So Tired

2008-09-15T23:04:00.003+02:00

I am so tired right now but I promised an album a day and I will deliver... First, we are here safe and sound in Roma. Jet lag is killing me right now but I am about to hit the couch so it is all ok. We had a crazy hectic day of settling into our apartment, trying to get details for the rest of the week figured out, and trying to stay awake so we can get on Rome time. I am excited to visit Bar Agostini in the morning for a cappucino and cornetto. I have discovered I am not a very patient fellow when I am tired and there are too many questions. Pray for me on that... back to the music.
Check out www.theautumnfilm.com/share to check out The Autumn Film, "a 3-piece band fronted by charismatic lead singer Tifah Al-Attas. Formerly a five member band known as Tifah, the remaining three piece ensemble pushes the limits of drums, a guitar and a piano can do. Though led by the piano styling of Tifah, don’t expect Ben Folds or Andy Davis piano-pop here; expect something more like a female-fronted Snow Patrol or a Sigur Ros experimental mentality. Of course, all this with Al-Attas’s unique vocal styling. When I saw them live, the first question that popped into my mind was, “Where is all this sound coming from? Sounds like 10 people are on stage."

Expect for The Autumn Film to blow up sometime soon; endless touring, rumors of talks with high profile managers, and quality music speaks for itself. But you can be the first to say, “I liked them before they sold millions,” by downloading not one, but two free 4-song EP’s off their website. Just like any good story, the So Loved EP gives a look back at where they came from and the second gives a look into the future. The Grey EP Though often lyrically ambiguous, the songs reflect the bands commitment to beauty and honesty. is at times cathartic, at times hypnotic, and always fascinating." (this exerpt if from an article I wrote on them)

Arrivederci America, Ciao Italia!

2008-09-14T19:48:00.001+02:00

I am sitting the airport right now, contemplating that I am on my way to Rome, Italy for Round 2 and I am pumped. Granted, currently there are problems with my visa/plane ticket and I am not guaranteed to be on the flight from Washington DC to Rome (yet), but I am still excited to go. Expect a detailed, well thought out post about the summer sometime soon (probably will write that on the plane ride) but for now, I want to pass my excitement on to you! So for the next week, I will try to post a new, free album to download every day. Not bad eh? We will see if I stay up to date on this, but with my first one, go to www.PhilWickham.com and download the album "Singalong." I am warning you, this is straight up Jesus music, so if that isnt your thing, you can skip it. But I am loving the fact that it is Phil, a guitar, and 2000 people singing along to songs that give God glory. My favorite is the one called "Beautiful." So check it out, enjoy, and stay with me for another year in Rome! And dont worry, if this music isnt your style, there will be something for everyone over the course of the next week.

Quick Hits

2008-08-25T04:58:00.003+02:00

Sorry I haven't written in so long, but life has been crazy hectic. This isn't even a long post, just a series of things I think are worthwhile checking out. I promise I will write a substantial post later this week...and quick update on me and Italy, I am at 88% of what I need in monthly financial support and done with 1-Time support (Praise God!). I am done with my Day Camp job for the summer, spent 3 days in Colorado for training to go back, and think my new team is stinking sweet. On to the quick hits.

- Why Being "Indie" is a Bunch of Bunk - this is a great article; clever, true, and even a little challenging for those of us who desire to be counter-cultural. Great quote: "Indie people express their independence from the mainstream by doing the single most mainstream thing possible: basing their identity on what they consume."
- 5 Traits of True Leadership - Quality stuff for whomever wants to lead, in any possible capacity.
- Gabriel Iglesias - Found this comic and think he is hilarious. Search him on YouTube... a little raw at times but not too bad. Hilarious voices.
- "It is I, don't be afraid" - Well written reflection on John 6 and I love it simply for this quote (which I will probably write more on later): " It could be argued that Jesus is likely to wreak more havoc in our lives than any old storm could."

And of course, check out quality music on The Drop I am digging Brandon Heath, The Reign of Kindo and think the rest of it is still worth a listen. It is whole albums, streaming for you for free.

Fun in the Sun

2008-07-31T01:18:00.003+02:00

I did this at the pool and my buddy Ben filmed it. Eric gets the credit for the quality throw. It is pretty funny, over 300,000 people have viewed this on this website break.com (sometimes sketchy content there, so dont recommend checking it out there). I think it is hilarious because people are all fired up, calling the video everything from "Degree of Difficulty: Just plain lame" and many vulgar names I wont mention here to "REALLY AMAZING VIDEO,GREAT" (and those are actual quotes... once again, I wont mention the ones that question my sexuality or my personal favorite "Fatty caught a water ballon."). So hope you enjoy what my summer job is like!

Sick Backflip Catch - Watch more free videos

Impacting Me

2008-07-22T04:37:00.002+02:00

Hey, I just thought I would share some quotes with y'all that have been impacting me lately. No commentary on them, just take them for what they are worth.

"Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable." CS Lewis
_____________________________
"The unseen world is the important one. Pull pack the trap door and let the light shine in on those dusty places. Watch the insects scatter. Walk into those places with Christ at your side. Let him hold you. Let his righteous anger and burning love change you. Then tell about it. Tell that story.

And when you tell it, watch the faces of the broken and exhausted. Watch the faces of the confused and bitter. Watch the faces of the lost. They will soften. The defiant, clenched jaw will slacken. The creases in their foreheads will smooth out. Their eyes will tear up. They will hear the mighty Word of God in a way that they haven’t before. They will wet the feet of Christ with their tears. They will long to hear the gospel again, and again. Because to them, it is truly good news.

In the writing of my book, I learned something about God. I learned that there is no story without conflict....You are in the middle of your own story, and the Author is leading you somewhere. There will be much to be afraid of in your future. You will find yourself angry at times, shaking your fist at the sky. You will find yourself weary and worn thin. Remember that the writer of your story is leading you to a good land." Andrew Peterson

__________

"The last line of that poem says, “Practice resurrection.” That phrase has been with me a lot these past days and next week when I drive away from everything that makes me comfortable, it’ll be with me then. I’ve had plenty of practice in the past. I wish I could say I was getting better, or that it was getting easier, but each time I’ve flung myself down those steps it’s been a brief moment of flight followed by a bone-snapping crash. It hurts to die but each time I’m raised again and I’m something new, something I don’t recognize, something I never expected. I’ve gotten no better at avoiding the pain, but maybe, just maybe I’m getting better at trusting in the coming resurrection.

When I get where I’m going, I look forward to laying out that sailboat again. I learned a lot the first time through. I’ve honed my skills and I have my tools. I trust in the blueprints and I understand them better this time around. Though she’ll be the same, she’ll be cut from new wood. She’ll be finer than she was before and built by surer hands. There will be new problems to overcome, more blistered hands and cut fingers but one day, when I’ve bled for her enough, she’ll sail." Pete Peterson
________
" A best friend told me a few days ago that she laughs every time we sing 'Refiners Fire' because when we're actually in the fire we're squirming to get out. Instead of relishing in the weight of the trials we try to jump out of it, because it burns--- it hurts! If there's one thing I've learned in this season in the fire, (on a minimal scale considering others' "fires") it's that yeah, the fire really works. I feel like I've learned more about myself and about God through this time than I ever thought I could. It took fires to point out pride, self-reliance, and disbelief to *begin* to teach me about God's character and his call to dependence. My perspective isn't always perfect, but God's starting to show me, in hindsight, of course, how my time in the crucible could actually be valuable, in addition to just painful." Lauren R

Bullet Form Summer Update

2008-07-22T00:37:00.002+02:00

- I am back in the States and working hard at support raising, currently at 55% and in need of a lot more... want to help out? Even 10 bucks a month is huge...
- I have gone to Orlando, FL and back for a Team Leader training with my super sweet ATL (Associate Team Leader) Jenny. It was an incredibly encouraging, practical time for me, and God used it to speak some truth into my life. One of my favorites was from a talk where the speaker Keith said that "The same God that delivered Daniel from the lions den was also the God that delivered him into the lions den." We praise God for one, not so much for the other... sometimes the most useful events in our spiritual life are also the most painful.
- I am working hard as a Day Camp Director with Upper Arlington Parks and Rec. Really what this means is that I am professional dodgeball player, with a specialty in doing flips of the diving board at the local pool.
- I just had a thank-you function at my house where I got to make Tirami-soup (I screwed up the Tiramisu) and hang out with a lot of people who supported me last year. I got to share a video (featured below) and answer questions. Good time had by all, I think.

- I am going to go to the Coldplay concert in Chicago tomorrow! I am stoked.
- I have been writing for a website called musiccityunsigned.com and also have been loving this website NoiseTrade.com. I highly recommend any of the music to my right and you can download it for free or really cheap (you choose the price)
- A fun video of ME and Sara (a 07-08 Teammate) speaking with the Italian student TV station can be found HERE. It is all in Italian, but still fun even if you can't understand.

Well, that is a brief "this is my life at this time"... hopefully I will post more soon. And oh yea, my buddy GV is a brilliant guy who wanted to be featured on this... so GV, thanks for encouraging me in walking closer with Jesus. I figure this means more than quoting one of your pithy "want to be featured on the blog" quotes :)

NoiseTrade.com

2008-07-08T05:51:00.002+02:00

Ok, so this is more about music and not my life, but this is incredible. Go to this website, NoiseTrade.com and be amazed. There is so much good music to download FOR FREE. All you have to do is tell 3 friends or pay what you want. That is it. And this website was being developed way before RadioHead made paying what you want popular, but it is just not being dropped on the general public. I have already downloaded three CD's off of it... I highly reccomend Matthew Perryman Jones "Throwing Punches in the Dark"... it is worth every penny you pay for it, from 1 all the way to 25 dollars. And if you tell friends, enter in real email addresses. This is incredible people, check it out. Other notable artists are Katie Herzig, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken and many more. NoiseTrade.com (and no I am not paid to say this, I am just really impressed that I have got three CD's for whatever price I wanted to pay and telling friends).

Music City Unsigned

2008-07-01T04:22:00.003+02:00

Hey guys, quick post here. I am privileged to have written for the website www.musiccityunsigned.com and hope you guys can head that direction and check it out. It is under the blog section and it is just a solid website to begin with. But like I said, I am excited about it so hope y'all can check it out. And to prove that my article has some merit (well, really just to brag), here is a picture of me with Andrew Osenga and some great friends from college (Osenga is the subject of the article).

It's Been a While

2008-06-25T04:24:00.007+02:00

Journaling in my beloved Bar Agostini, my Cheers in Italy, where everyone knew my name (thanks for the pic Sara)

Ciao cari amici,

I apologize, it has been a while since I have last written. Have you missed me? I have missed you. I thought I would take some time to fill you in on life, God, and of course, music. I am back in the US of A, enjoying the comforts of Chipotle, peanut butter, and everything being in English. It is funny the things you miss when you are gone. Since it has been a while, I will start from the very beginning, a very good place to start (name that movie?).Our Team picture before Amos broke his leg on the scooters...

I left Italy June 4th, which seem like ages ago. I left after a debacle (in the kindest way) of a debrief, which ended with a lot of time in the hospital. It was a little strange saying goodbye to a country that had been home for the last 9 months. I mean, that is enough time for a new life, from start to finish, and I guess you could say that my life has changed in the last year, though I still have yet to figure out just how completely. It ended in a way that was only appropriate for STINT craziness; my Video system on the plan overseas didn't work, my plane to Columbus was delayed 2 hours, then I sat on the plane for 3 hours without moving anywhere, then was told my flight was cancelled. I slept in the airport and me, Kanda and Sara all flew out the next morning, though I flew to Dayton, not Columbus, because there were no flights to Columbus. Ah, such was life on STINT in Italy.

I arrived home to family and friends. My sister Heather was living at my parents house with her beautiful three kids until their new home in North Carolina was ready to move into. Needless to say, I love being an uncle, but having kids (ages 5,3,1.8) live with you is an excellent form of birth control! I began work at Day Camp the day after I got home, so I haven't really had time to stop and breathe. I am the director once again for a Day Camp for my city and get to hang out and play games with 6-12 year-olds all day. So if you are wondering what my official title is, really it is a professional dodgeball player who happens to play other games. Hopefully by the time the summer is done, I will work off the pasta-belly I put on in Rome, stay alive, and return to Italy with some semblance of the Italian language left in my head.

Life in the States has been different and eventful. Believe it or not, I miss speaking Italian... a lot. I miss my Italian friends and life in a big city, and when I tried to cook my family (2 sisters, their husbands, and oldest brother and his wife, Mom and Dad) an Italian meal of Amatriciana, I missed Italian grocery stores too! Besides those things I miss, there are great things that have happened, like I bought a new computer! I am starting writing for a website in Nashville, so I will let you know when the first article is published.

Despite all this, it has been easy to already settle into a comfortable routine. I like how God shakes me out of that. I was sitting in church on Sunday, trying to listen to the sermon, but God had other plans for me. The guy speaking would say something that would send my mind racing, but not necessarily along the lines of the sermon. I realized I have gotten too comfortable at home, too ready to push God out of the picture because I dont feel my need for God as drastically here. That doesn't mean my need has changed, but it is easier to ignore in comfortable America. I don't want to be that guy, that comfortable Christian who sits back and praises God on Sunday, lives a moral life, but never truly depends on God. I want to speak out, show Christ to those around me, learn how to life in the reality that I am a child of the King of Kings. The other thing I thought about while listening to the sermon was...

This is the one and only time this year I will talk about my need for money on this blog. I promise. I am raising money to go back to Italy and work with Agape Italia again next year and it is a sizeable sum. I trust that God can bring it in; I am excited to go back, help lead, and hopefully to see God's name glorified in Italy. If this blog has been an encouragement to you, if you are interested in Italy and Jesus, and are willing to hear me out a little more about this (no commitment, I promise, just hear me out), can you please email me at christopher.rule@gmail.com and let me know how to get in contact with you? To give you an idea of the amount, it roughly equals $40,000 for all the monthly and one-time support I need. I would love to have your support financially and prayerfully for this next year.

OK, enough of that, more free music gems; I will be honest, I haven't listened to this group yet (someone I trust recommended it), but I downloaded this CD and have a road trip tomorrow and let's be honest, who dislikes a free album? So go to DOWNHERE and get a free album from the band called DownHere.

And the last official shot of the Roma STINT 07-08 Team... I love you guys.

I bravi ragazzi - a photo journey

2008-06-04T01:39:00.015+02:00

The last week has been a whirlwind of craziness, something that makes me sit back and say...wow, this truly is Italy. I am leaving in less than 10 hours for America for the summer and not quite ready for it and not sure how to adjust to being back. I love it in Italy, I love my family and friends and Day Camp in the States... It is hard to say goodbye to a STINT team that has become family this year and to friends I have made here, but it is good to know that it is not a goodbye forever. We will see each other again and I hope in that. Hopefully in the States, I will post more regularily here, but for now, please enjoy a photo journey through some of my friends from this year and the craziness that was our Team Debrief on Elba Island.

Daniele is the first guy I knew here, being friends with the STINT team last year. He is a solid friend, brilliant with languages, and someone who is growing in his relationship with Jesus. I enjoy hanging out with him and look forward to it next year.
Claudio and his g/f are some people I met at English Club this year and are so much fun to hang out with. He is massively improving his English and every time we hang out, he seems to bring up God, which is a lot of fun to talk about with him. I think he is in process, figuring out more and more who we are, who Jesus is, and what that means for him.
Le ragazze - Maria Teresa, Federica and Ana are some of my favorite girls here. Always so much fun, true friends and Ana is my first and only "sorella peruviana."
The Roma Tre crew, Cesare, Emiliano and Manuela, are such good guys. While Cesare doesn't believe the same as I, he is a good friend to talk to and the other two are checking out who Jesus is. Emiliano is one of the highlights of my year, just how genuine and solid a guy he is and how willing he is to seek to follow Jesus. I look forward to hanging out more with him next year.
Giorgio and Alessandro are "good people", as some other friends would say. They are solid Catholic believers, encourage me every time we hang out, and genuinely want Jesus to use their lives. And they are stinking smart at physics.
This picture perfectly captures my relationship with Marco and Andrea... a little wild, Andrea being the instigator and Marco chilling... They are good friends that I have known for the whole year; Andrea is a legend at campus, a parkour genius, and a guy who is interested in Jesus but never has time for him... pray for this crazy, fun friend.
Mark is the only Scotch-Italian I know, and a good guy at that. He speaks perfect English with a sweet Scottish accent and his Dad cooks some great sausage (he had me over for dinner). I look forward to more conversations with him.
Valmir (Amos always feels the need to sing out his name, opera-style)! An Albanian friend, Valmir is a believer who is an all-star; not only does he hook me up with cheap food, but he loves Jesus and wants to follow Him and help others do the same.
Me, Simone and Matt, after cooking dinner and enjoying an evening of food, wine and great conversation together. Simone is a guy that I look forward to hanging out more with next year, as we check out together if Jesus really is the only way.
My good friend David, an atheist and communist who I get along great with. He has a big heart and though he claims to be a "lost soul", I am thankful God is in the business of "seeking and saving the lost."
Welcome to Team Debrief, where we went to the Island of Elba, did important stuff like trying to process through a years experience in a couple days and other stuff, like ride scooters (or motorini) around the island. I rocked out on this classic Vespa for the first part, then switched with L for a more powerful one (so I could drive other people too).
We stopped at this lovely little lookout and enjoyed the beautiful weather, the absolutely stunning sea and terrain of Elba and God's creation and something that Italy has perfected: gelato.
And this is how my time at Debrief concluded... Amos breaking his leg, lots of time in the hospital and having our final team meeting at the hospital, praying and celebrating what God has done throughout the year. And it has been a good year... and I thank God I am coming back next year to see what amazing things He will do then.

More coming soon, I promise

2008-05-27T00:39:00.002+02:00

Some quality links to check out today:
Two videos: OneRepublic - I kind of like their music and this music video makes me like them all the more. They cover Duffy - Mercy (a sweet, get up and move kind of song) and the dude from OneRepublic shows off some killer vocals and they do it justice.
- Matthew Perryman Jones - This dude continues to amaze me and I just found out his new CD is coming out in August and I am pumped. Check out this video of him singing Motherless Child, an old spiritual, and catching the longing, the weariness, and the all out rock found in this song. I love it. You should too.
Brilliant Website of Music: This is a great website called Music City Unsigned I just found and love it. Serious, click on the link and then click on Episodes and then Matthew, Peter and Katie. Not only is this episode great music, but the other artists featured at other times are quality and the music player lets you just play through a solid playlist of people you have probably never heard of but should have.

Really?

2008-05-25T00:25:00.002+02:00

If you havent seen the new Indiana Jones, stop reading now and skip to the bold type for free music............... ok the movie was alright but the ending... aliens? Really? I blame George Lucas. I mean... aliens? Aliens? Not a fan of that move.

I will post a little later pictures from our final party, because I leave here in a week. We had a big festa per dire ciao a tutti nostri amici. It was a goodbye party, a good time had by all, and kind of sad to say goodbye to many. I pray God continues to work in their hearts even when I am gone.

Free Music (Saturday, I know)
It is truly an honor to give away free music by The Autumn Film (formerly known as Tifah). They are giving away their new EP, The Gray EP, for free and I cannot say just how much I support this band and what they do. Ridiculously talented, brilliant live show, they have a violinist who loops her violin and that is just freaking sweet and their lead singer can sing. Usually I dont prefer girl lead singers but she is freaking sweet. So check it out, support them.

A Random Call

2008-05-20T23:09:00.004+02:00

One, Amazing Grace is an incredible song and an incredible movie. I watched it AGAIN tonight and if you have not seen this movie, it is powerful, moving, TRUE, and there is terrific acting in it as well. Get it, watch it.

I am stealing this story (below) from the monthly newsletter published by Agape Europe. But it is incredible to me... God is at work in this world. In that vein, I also had an amazing conversation about John 13-17 today with my friend Jody. He might be a believer and the conversation was a clear sign of growth, as we read and discuss John together and seek to learn together more about what it means to follow Jesus. Thanks Mr. A for always making me go back to scripture to prove my points; today me and Jody continually had to put our "I think..." on the table and go back and see what Jesus said. Good lesson to be learning.

A Random Call

by Bill S

A few months ago, ministry leaders in one Eastern European city were kicked out of the country. Authorities told remaining New Life staff and students that if they explained the gospel in student housing, they would be sent to jail. A student named Dima had just learned to share his faith, and wondered how to put this newfound knowledge into practice. Suddenly his telephone rang.

"Uh, hello, you don’t know me. . . . I just randomly dialed a number because I’m desperate. . . . I was hoping to find someone who would listen to me. … I am a student at the university. I don’t know why I should keep living. . . . Can you help me?”
At first Dima didn’t know what to say, but then he remembered what he had just learned, so he shared the Four Spiritual Laws with Helen over the phone. She prayed and received Christ into her life!

The next day the phone rang again, “Hello? I am a friend of Helen’s. Would you tell me the same thing you told her? Ever since she talked to you, she’s changed. She is so happy now!” So Dima shared the gospel with Alex, too. Alex wasn’t ready to invite Christ into his life, but said, “I will seriously consider what you’ve told me.”

A few days later the phone rang again, but this time Dima heard a deep, mature voice. “Hello, I am Helen’s father.” A shiver ran up Dima’s spine.

“I understand from my daughter that you are a believer. Can you help me know God, too? I have a Bible, but I don’t know where to start. And is there a good church we could go to there? We would be glad to travel.” “Sure," said Dima. "I can help you find a church and tell you about God.” So the family came to the capital to meet Dima; they now stay in weekly contact.

Too Good to Pass Up

2008-05-16T14:27:00.004+02:00

Maybe I will edit this later but here is a quote that I saw that was too good to pass up. It is from an article called "Stop Hanging Out With Women and Start Dating Them" and the author is talking about the decline of dating. One of his reasons is the internet being the source of weak social skills. Here is the money quote : "If you’re over 18 and you’re still using Facebook applications to let someone know you’re interested in them, you need to be punched in the face." Hilarious. True.

Free Music Friday: Check out Tokens, a variety show of sorts, and their music from the first show featured this amazing gospel singer, my personal favorite Andrew Peterson, and some quality bluegrass. So click HERE, listen, download, enjoy.

I like Hillsong United: check out a free preview of their music/documentary at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/index.php

The Good, The Tough, and The Shovel to the Face

2008-05-14T23:41:00.005+02:00

And The Beautiful... my new niece "Mia" Joni Caruso

The Good: We had Bible Study tonight and it went from a potential 6 students to 2 students showing up. Why is this under the good, you ask? I got to hang out and talk more after with Emiliano, a kid who is an all-star. At the beginning of the year when Sara met Emiliano and then introduced me, I had no idea where he stood spiritually. Quite honestly, I don't think he probably knew where he stood but he was certainly searching. After tonight, I am more and more confident about him. He is one of the most sincere, quality guys I know here, which is funny because at first glance, he wears mostly dark clothing, a goatee, and has hair past his shoulders. That doesnt make anyone insincere, but he is certainly not your "clean cut" looking kid.

So the talk we had tonight after was such an encouragement. For one, he sees a big change in his life since he started to "figure out that something was missing in my life with the spiritual aspect" at the beginning of the year. He is going through a tough time right now but is seeking God throughout it and that is so encouraging. As we talked tonight, I think we both came to the conclusion that God is breaking down the things that he had built his life on, slowly removing them until only God remains. I want to be going through that in my own life, so it is a privilege to see someone else growing in that way, even if it is tough. His attitude is so mature about it all; "I just want to learn something from this, I dont care if I understand it all, I know whatever is after all this crap is better." He is even starting to be open with others about being a Christian... I love this kid and tonight was good, real good.

The Tough: I am realizing once again that I have no power over peoples hearts. I think I have written about my good friend David here before. He has given me my quote of the year, a quote I will never again forget in all my life: "It may not seem like it, but I am a desperate man. I am desperate for some hope but I think I just need to accept that there is none." After another tough, honest conversation with David about why he doesn't believe in God, I have realized once again God will have to change his heart. I told him I would pray for him. He told me that he appreciates it, but I should really spend my time praying for someone else because he is "a lost cause, a lost soul." I am thankful that I serve a God who is in the business of seeking and saving the lost, who gave his life to redeem the unredeemable. And I will continue to pray that David is one of those that the Lord finds. Please join me in that.

The Shovel to the Face: I am coming back here next year and I just got the support goals of how much money I need to raise monthly for this next year. If you want to help me out with that, shoot me an email at christopher.rule@gmail.com because I am not too excited about that :) But God is big.

Since I have not posted a Free Music Friday in quite some time, here are two brilliant websites. One is archive.org, though HERE is a link to a list of all the artists that they have on the website. I know for a fact they have good recordings of The Weepies, Ryan Adams, and Marc Broussard, but there are a ton more so have a ball. And it is totally legit, I promise. The other great website is off of Relevant Magazine. So click HERE for a bunch of great artists. I recommend Derek Webb, Jonezetta, Matt Wertz, Andrew Peterson, Phil Wickham and David Crowder (yes all of them have songs to download here) but I am sure the rest are pretty good too.

For the Link of the Day, this website posted the 100 Must-Read Books for Men... it is actually a great list, I need to get to the library and get some of these. So check it out... really, good books, read and dont watch yet another movie or tv show tonight. Although this list did include Moby Dick, which is an atrocious, horribly overrated book.

And for your daily laugh, who doesn't love Dave Barnes?

This is Home

2008-05-05T21:27:00.002+02:00

Ah, my friends, do you feel it like I do? The ache, the longing, the somehow certainty that this world is not home. It is a feeling of homesickness but not homesickness for Columbus, OH. Because I feel it there too, I feel the draw for my home. It is funny, sometimes even in the moments which are quintessentially home, the warm fireside, curled up on the couch listening to Dad's deep voice and laughing at my siblings mingling commentary about some story from our shared past, I feel it the most. The deep pang that this world is not what I was created for.

Watching that video by Switchfoot I felt it. 14th century Dominican friar Meister Eckhart said "God is at home. We are in the far country." Nothing seems to resonate so deeply with me as this simple quote at this point in time. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is in Hebrews 11, which says "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." Ah the better country, the far country.

This past weekend was spent on a beautiful beach location in Tuscany, near Livorno at an Agape Italia staff conference. During one of the sessions, we had the chance to break into groups and discuss the questions, "Do you often think of Jesus' return? How would that change the way you lived your life?" For me, the sad answer to the first question was that I don't often think about His return, yet when I do, it is often this homesick feeling that brings it about. The desire for the country I am made for, to see the brokenness that mars this world gone, to view the masterpiece of creation as it was originally intended. This brokenness, the very real presence of death and persecution, was what made the early church say "Come, Lord Jesus!" And their lives were lived out in the reality that this world is not home.

Imagine with me, if you will, that Jesus was coming back tomorrow to take us home. What would be important for you? Would that new iPod? Or that 300 gigabyte harddrive that you won't fill, even with all those pirated movies? Or perhaps it is the new car, the bigger house? Because though none of these things are bad, none of these things truly matter if Jesus were coming back tomorrow. Why do we invest in the things that are here today, gone tomorrow? And I am not pointing the finger, because for me it is the new iPod, the new computer that I want. Yet all these things pale in comparison to home.

My friends, there is more. I was going to try to wittily steal from Andrew Peterson's song "More" but I figured it most effective to simply quote the entire lyrics. Live for the reality that there is More.

This is not the end here at this grave
This is just a hole that someone made
Every hole was made to fill
And every heart can feel it still--
Our nature hates a vacuum

This is not the hardest part of all
This is just the seed that has to fall
All our lives we till the ground
Until we lay our sorrows down
And watch the sky for rain

There is more
More than all this pain
More than all the falling down
And the getting up again
There is more
More than we can see
From our tiny vantage point
In this vast eternity
There is more

A thing resounds when it rings true
Ringing all the bells inside of you
Like a golden sky on a summer eve
Your heart is tugging at your sleeve
And you cannot say why
There must be more

There is more
More than we can stand
Standing in the glory
Of a love that never ends
There is more
More than we can guess
More and more, forever more
And not a second less

There is more than what the naked eye can see
Clothing all our days with mystery
Watching over everything
Wilder than our wildest dreams
Could ever dream to be
There is more

In His Time

2008-04-30T23:37:00.005+02:00

God is good. Have I ever told you guys that? Let me tell you why. Today I had 5 appointments planned while I was on campus. Of those 5 appointments, 2 were late and 3 did not show up. Why is this a good thing? I never thought you would ask!

I was sitting on a bench in the middle of the Citta Universitaria garden, waiting for my friend Juan to show up. Juan was supposed to meet me at 2:30 but because my appointment before didn't show, I was able to eat with him a little earlier. I was sitting with the sign for "Conversations in English", which I have a love-hate relationship with, when a dude walked up that looked vaguely familiar. I don't know if we had met before but he asked if I was with the English conversations group and I said yes, but we are done for the day. However, since I was waiting on a friend, I could hang out and talk with him and his girlfriend for a while.

Lauren joined us as we chilled on the lawn and began to talk about where they are from (she is Romanian, he is Italian), what they study (architecture), and what they think of Italian vs. Romanian culture. I kept checking my phone and calling Juan, and got no answer. The conversation went deeper and soon we were talking about their ideas of God. She is Orthodox and he is Catholic but both said they were not sure what they believed. In the hour and a half that we sat and talked, we got to share life. I loved it, talking about our college experience, theirs, how we grow and change, and how Christ has affected my life (and Lauren's). It was a complete gift from God to have this time open, to be able to talk about this stuff, and to be able to plan out that we are going to meet next week and read a bit of John together and talk about it. I love how God changes my plans, and makes it better. How he arranges for someone to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, when all I knew is that I was frustrated that I got stood up. God is Good. Amen.

And since I won't be able to post on Friday, here is 5 Free Death Cab for Cutie downloads
And for good measure, you can download The Weepies in a great live concert. I just bought their new cd, I dig it, and you can listen to all the songs from this concert before you download it... really, at least check it out . If you don't like it, I am not offended, I just thought it was pretty good.

'Rents in Rome and Risky Business

2008-04-25T21:06:00.008+02:00

My parents came to Rome 2 weeks ago and we had a lovely time together.

I like this picture... my Mom's first time overseas and she got to go to cool places like this :)

My Mom and Dad aren't perfect but they are a great example for me to try to follow. And I love em lots, and think this is an excellent picture of them.

You can see where I get my good looks and charm :)

My Mom is beautiful, my Dad is handsome, and I live in Rome... combine all three and you get a heck of a picture.

FREE MUSIC FRIDAY:
The New Frontiers - I know I have mentioned this band before, but if you click on their name, you can listen to the whole album (jury is still out on the album for me) and download the song Mirrors (which I liked).
Micah Dalton : Ok, so I apologize that this is not free, downloadable music, but I have to give this guy a shout out. I have met him, man has got soul, and I just bought his new album and it was completely worth the $10 I paid. So check out his new album, Pawnshop, and listen to the songs from it on his myspace. I hope you enjoy.

Yes my friends, it is risky business to post a song I have written. Many of you do not know, but I have tried to write songs in the past. Most were horrific, one was decent and my brother wrote music for it and it was good. Well, I tried my hand at writing another song recently. Since I am still working on this epic post on the topic of redemption, here is my attempt to give you something to read... enjoy, dont be too harsh in your critique. If it had a title, I would call it "Abraham's Stars."

He saw her from afar, or at least across the room.
The beautiful girl that somehow didn't belong there.
He wasn't sure how to ask because of the butterflies,
but if that night was a cliche, he was lost in her eyes.

He got caught staring and did a guilty look away;
and thought I'm too old for this, at the age of 25.
But unknowingly she stole it, that little piece of his heart,
and he followed that theif as she went outside and that became the start;
(chrous)
And she danced, beneath Abraham's stars
and she laughed, sweet music to his heart
with Abraham's stars as the only light,
it began, yea it all began that night

Knowing he had to make a move, he uprooted his feet.
Picked up his jaw, his courage too, and opened his mouth to speak.
To this day, he'll still say, it was like waking from the dead.
"Yes it's true, i'll dance with you" were the words she said
(chorus)
And they danced, beneath Abraham's stars
and they laughed, sweet music to the heart
with Abraham's stars as the only light
it began, yea it all began that night

If it was a dream, the ending he could create.
But life's no storybook and happily ever after is only for Disney.
He couldn't control, he could only trust, when the end is out of sight
But he thought, "This is enough" as he held her close that night
(chorus again)

A story and a song before I go

2008-04-11T19:03:00.009+02:00

My team went to Tropea last weekend, a beautiful seaside town in the south and had some great adventures. Check out the pictures below to get some idea. Hopefully soon I will have a post I am working on about redemption, something that has been on my mind a lot lately, but in the meantime, here are two encouraging stories (at least they were for me).

Me and Steve got to hang out with our buddy Big P, a Italian guy who speaks brilliant English over a beer Tuesday night. We ended up hanging out for 3 hours, laughing and telling stories and comparing observations about life and God. One of the things that stuck out to me is that P is, well, intrigued by us. He asked (for the second time) "I am not just part of your job, right? You guys just don't want me to join your club?" It was good to be able to tell him honestly that 1) I wouldnt be hanging out at 1 AM with him if I didn't want to be, so I think he is a cool guy 2) I could care less if he becomes a member of Agape and 3) I would love to see him become a Christian because I think it is the best thing in the world I can share with people. He accepted the answer and we had a great night together. It was just so cool to hang out and be able to talk about the Gospel, God's love, our Fall and the Redemption offered.

Second encouraging story is from Bible Study on Wednesday. We had two girls come (one a believer, one not) and we looked over some passages in Luke and talked about them. One of the girls, Rosa, shared her testimony about how she came to know Jesus. Her story literally caused my jaw to drop. It began with seeing Jesus in a cartoon on TV and wanting to have a relationship with this "cartoon hero" because the other little girls on the TV show said that Jesus loved them. The story is too long to tell here, right now, but needless to say it followed a journey through the Russian Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Evangelical church into a relationship with Christ. It included being disowned and kicked out by her Muslim family, going back to them to serve them, and having one of them eventually tell her, "This God you serve must be the real God." It was an encouragement for me to hear her story but also for the other girl there to hear how Jesus Christ changes lives. Yes, Amen, Christ is alive and in the business of changing lives!

This Free Music Friday is courtesy of Ben and David. Thanks to all who have been sending me links to people they enjoy, because it makes it a little easier for me to post music for y’all…

So House of Heroes is courtesy of Ben. House of Heroes is a band hailing from Columbus and is a little different than my typical choice of music but I dig it. So check out the link HERE to listen on myspace or HERE to download 3 free songs (if you don’t want to give them anyone elses email, you can skip Step 2 and still download).

Josh Woodward is courtesy of David. Not entirely brilliant, but I liked the song I'll Be Right Behind You and I Want to Destroy Something. If you like it, go to his website and download a boatload of stuff.

My favorite team picture ever... we are laughing because I tried to sit down on my chair and fell off backwards.

God is the best artist I know.

The water was incredibly blue and cold.

Matt Reis standing on the rock we jumped off.

The view from our porch; cost? 10 Euro a night!

March Madness

2008-04-03T00:08:00.017+02:00

For starters, check out this video about Rome and the vision of Agape Italia. Amos M made it and did a pretty good job in the limited amount of time and it should give you a solid idea of whats going on here.

Cool story: Today I showed up at Conversations in English (English Club) expecting the normal 5 or so students and there were 20+ people who came! Turns out a cultural group on campus had received one of our flyers, thought it was cool, and so a guy named Mario (nice guy, just met today) sent an email out to their list-serve about us. It was so encouraging, we even got interviewed by the local student TV station, and hopefully this partnership of sorts will go somewhere and God can use it to spread his Gospel even more. PRAISE HIM

I am often asked from people, "Chris, your blog is OK but I would like to hear more about what you actually do there." Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm a people person, I have people skills, cant you see this!! (Office Space anyone?) The reason I don't always post about what I do here is because a lot of the time it looks the same, just insert different names into similar conversations. BUT for your sake, I will tell you what a normal schedule is like:

Monday: Planning 9-12, Campus 12-5 with English Club at 1, team bible study that night -
Tuesday Prayer 9-11, lunch and Campus time 11-4, bible study with Italians that evening
Wednesday Half day with the Lord 9-12, Campus time 12-5 with English Club at 1
Thursday Personal Development 9-12, Campus time 12-5, La Bella Vita (weekly meeting) 5-7
Friday Team Meeting 9-11, Campus time 12-5

Campus time means I am meeting new students (Ciao, parli inglese? is usually how I start out), meeting with Italian friends I have made and trying to speak about the gospel or build into their lives in some way, or trying to figure out how we can work within the system here by speaking with administrators or professors. English Club is a discussion time for any student who wants to improve their English. We get to talk about cool stuff like Love, Trust, Easter, Politics and I get to meet cool guys like Fabio, Alessio, or Eduardo. Often we end up talking (suprise suprise) about Jesus. La Bella Vita is our weekly meeting, more spiritual in focus than English Club.

We sang the last night in a Piazza in Trastevere and not only was it a blast but Matt busted out some Opera and made 10 euro in tips... so much fun

Me with Giovanni's grandpa (WWII vet above) and Dad (below... Antonio, one cool guy)

Me, Giovanni, and his bro Salvatore... great guys

I went to the heel of the boot for Easter... this is me and Gigi, my italian buddy Giovanni's cousin

Sweet picture of me and David from the grass, an Italian buddy of mine

Tex, Dan, Sam + Me.... I love you guys

Me and Joe went to the beach on my day off, went swimming in cold water, and cut up our feet on the rocks on the bottom

Some of my favorite graffiti in all of Rome

"We Make History" - desire of young people in Rome

Yea, that dude behind me is striking a pose

Me and Jimmy S hanging out in Ostia Antica

More Dave Barnes

2008-03-30T15:05:00.002+02:00

Ok, so I swear I am not on Dave Barnes payroll and I know, Free Music Friday has already passed, but I ran across this website today which is offering a free download of Dave's song "On a Night Like This". This is the first Dave song I ever heard and it still makes me want to fall in love when listening to it (I have dreams of wooing some lucky girl using this song). So click HERE and download. Enjoy

Songs, Websites and Video

2008-03-29T00:23:00.003+01:00

Hey all, I apologize for the lack of recent info on my life here, but life has been crazy and there hasn't been time. I promise I will have some substantial posts up soon. In the meantime, here are somethings I think you all could benefit from checking out.

In Defense of Loving Truth This is the latest post on my buddy Tylers blog. Tyler is one of the smartest kids I know and I only found out this year that he is a top notch writer. The latest post on his blog was profound, challenging, and the clip at the end left me speechless. Literally. I was blown away. So honestly, check this out. Please.

Free MUSIC! JJ Heller has a gorgeous voice, and I have been a fan for a year or two now. If you go to her myspace account found at http://www.myspace.com/jjhellermusic , you can download the song "Love Me", which I am a fan of. Also recommend the songs "Only Love Remains" and "Grow" for some high quality music.

MOVIES to Come
So these are random bits about movies that I am excited about coming out... The obvious choices are the new Indiana Jones and Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia) but I also found the trailers to these two movies lately:
Expelled - A movie documentary done by Ben Stein about the scientific communities reaction to questioning of Darwinian theory. In it he interviews heavyweights from both sides of the issue, including Richard Dawkins.
StepBrothers - I dont like every Will Ferrell movie... in fact I havent seen most of them. Watch this trailer though. I have probably 6 or 7 times and crack up each time.

Andrew Peterson "On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness"

2008-03-21T11:21:00.005+01:00

When I found out that I has obtained the privilege of reviewing my good buddy and favorite singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson’s first novel On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, I thought, “What better way to gain insight than to interview the man himself.” For those of you who don’t know AP, you need to listen to his music, it is utter brilliance. Little did I know what would follow would be AP interviewing me on my thoughts on the book. Enjoy

Me: AP, whats going on man? You have been busy with a new record and now this brilliant new book, I loved it.

AP: Oh yea? Glad to hear it. How did you find time to read it? I hear you are pretty busy over there in Rome.

Me: Well, I got into it on my free day and, well, I couldn’t put it down. Cruised through 200 pages in a day.

AP: I know what I think of it, and what my publishers think, but what would you say the plot is, in your own words… and don’t give away any spoilers.

Me: Here goes… In the once-quiet lang of Skree, Janner Igiby, little brother Tink, and crippled sister Leeli stumble upon the secret of the lost jewels of the mysterious King of the Shining Isle of Anniera. But Gnag the Nameless seeks the treasure for evil ends, so the brave trio and their trusty dog nugget and ex-pirate grandfather must escape Gnag and his minion Fangs, who are sort of like lizard-people. The fantastical world that is created (called Aerwiar) is full of unique characters, strange creatures, and adventure.

AP: You stole that straight from the publicity pack, didn't you?

Me: Yea, but they did a pretty good job of describing it.

AP: Ok, more questions about what you thought. When did you know you were going to like the book?

Me: First page. I don’t laugh out loud often while reading, but I busted out laughing at your tongue-in-cheek style. The first line I think I laughed out loud at was, “That evil was a nameless evil, an evil whose name was Gnag the Nameless.” That style continues throughout the book, even in the footnotes and descriptions of animals: ex. a ratbadger is “as big as a young meep, which is about the size of a full-grown chorkney, an animal that stands about as tall as a flabbit.” I mean, honestly, were you laughing when you wrote that, thinking "they have no idea what I am talking about and come to think about it, I really don't either."

AP: It was fun to invent that stuff. What did you think of the creatures or the world I created?

Me: You have to suspend believability, just like in Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, but the details that you describe the culture and people in painted the picture in my mind of what it was like. Also, brilliant job with the fake footnotes, citing books from this place and weird facts. Loved it.

AP: Favorite footnote?

Me: Actually my favorite one was one that subtly teaches a serious lesson. “Many Skreeans doubted that the legendary Isle of Anniera existed at all. It is a sad truth that some people only believe that something exists if they can see it with their own eyes. Bandy Impstead, for example, had argued for hours in Shaggy’s Tavern one evening that there was no such thing as the wind for this very reason. His roof was torn off in a storm that very winter. Bandy’s mind, however, remained unchanged.” I thought that was a strong, without being preachy, pointer towards faith.

AP: Yea, I tried not to throw lessons out like the point of the book was to teach a bible lesson. It is an adventure, a story to capture the reader, but the best stories are the ones that have truth wrapped up in them.

Me: Ah truth. My favorite passage in the book was when Janner says “It makes me think of when it snows outside, and the fire is warm, and Podo is telling us a story while you’re cooking, and there’s no place I’d rather be – but for some reason I still feel…homesick.” I thought that was beautiful and I know for certain exactly what the character means by that.

AP: Any other favorite lines or parts?

Me: “Part of being a man is taking much care of those you love.” The fact that you have the title of a fictional book as “I came and I Wept Like the Sissy I Am” cracked me up. Honestly, the problem was that I laughed and loved too many parts of this book. I began to read it as a book reviewer but was soon caught up in the story and forgot to make notes about what I was reading. So I guess I would need to read it again to make an official book review.

AP: Fair enough. What would you consider the writing style similar to?

Me: It seems to me like you are influenced heavily by Tolkien, CS Lewis, maybe even the Redwall series or Lemony Snicket. It is accessible like Lewis but with a better sense of humor, in the style of Lemony Snicket. Honestly, I could see this becoming huge, especially with the success in this genre. You get my vote.

AP: Did you know I originally came up with a lot of this telling my kids bedtime stories?

Me: No, I didn’t. Can you tell me some bedtime stories?

AP: Naw, cause I would probably give away what’s in the books to come.

Me: Well, I gotta run, thanks for your time. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the action, the adventure, the humor. Thank’s for the privilege of reviewing this.

AP: Hey no worries, thanks for calling. Take care.

For those who are wondering, the preceding interview was completely fictional and represents my views alone. AP is a cool guy though, and I thought this would be a little more fun than a typical book review. My contest to win the extra copy of the book is this; email me your name and address to Christopher.Rule@gmail.com AND leave a comment below. If you do this, I will draw the winner out of a hat. Much Love

Mustache and Mullet March!

2008-03-17T00:09:00.006+01:00

The pictures say enough. The Mustache and Mullet go out to Greg Varner... happy birthday brother, I told you you had a dedication coming :) Facial Hair February transfers into Mustache and then Mustache and Mullet March. Enjoy. Oh yea, and Free Music Friday... didn't do that so I am sending you on to check out The New Frontiers, a band that is solid, chill, and good listening. Also, if you look at the right side of this website, Phosphorecent and We Barbarians have interesting music. Different, but I like it. Much love to you all.

New Niece! Let's Celebrate (with music, eh?)

2008-03-09T00:15:00.002+01:00

Meet the newest member of the Rule Clan! Miriam Elizabeth Rule joins the fam! If you know Ben or Molly, be sure to send Ben a cigar or a nice bottle of wine or a hecka-lotta diapers and earplugs :) I don't know, just send them some love. My way of celebrating? Give you all free music... So go check out Peter Bradley Adams at his myspace account and download "gather up" but be sure to listen to "Los Angeles"... it is a gorgeous song. Also, check out Hem on their official page and scroll to the bottom for some freebees. After you do that, check out their myspace page and listen to the songs "The Part Where You Let Go", "Not California", and "Half Acre" for some more musical beauty. If you still dig their stuff, go to this website and download a full concert... does it get much better than this? Cheers. Pray for us, as the first spring breakers arrived today.

Favre and Free Music

2008-03-07T00:17:00.002+01:00

Free music: sorry, all I got is one song from Kate Voegele, who went to Miami, is recently featured on One Tree Hill and the girl can sing. Check out one free download HERE

Brett Favre: You are retired, I will miss the way you played, you loved the game. It is fun to watch people who truly love the game. Check out his press conference HERE

Remember

2008-03-06T10:55:00.002+01:00

Walking out of the apartment this morning wasn’t the best experience in the world. When the sky is a mass of smoky, gray clouds, it doesn’t exactly put a spring into my step. But as I walked to Mr. Copy to print more flyers, I saw throughout the sky, small openings to patches of blue. Not just a faded blue, but a beautiful Crayola sky-blue behind the clouds. I don’t know why this surprised me, but it made me think that maybe this is a weak metaphor for my life in the past few weeks. I have seen a lot of gray, not necessarily black storm weather, but gray, dreary weather and often forget about the blue.

Like I said, this is a weak metaphor but I don’t know how else to describe the past 10 days. I think sometimes I try to paint things as always beautiful on this blog when it isn’t. But those are the fun stories to write. It is not fun to write that I haven’t had very many good conversations lately, that I haven’t met too many interested people and have been caught up in details work, preparing for spring break trips. But that is the reality. I am reading a book called Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancy, and it talks a lot about faith and trust and doubt. I am not going through a lot of doubt right now but sometimes life just takes on that bland taste, like eating plain Rice Krispies; not a whole lot of flavor to it.

What is the answer to this? There are two quotes in this book that have stuck out to me; one says “At such a moment, we want clarity; God wants our trust.” The other says, “When something comes along to test our faith we rely on… patience formed by a long memory and a hope that our faithfulness will be worth the risk.” I don’t know if my faith is being tested by any great trial right now but I think that these two apply to any time, dreary or sunny. The thing that God has continually been reminding me is that he won’t give me more than I can handle.

This past Monday was not my best day; let’s just say I wasn’t walking as a joyful Christian, believing in Christ’s sufficiency to supply all my needs. So when I was back at home, working on detail work, and I got a call from one of my student contacts saying he was free to meet me at campus, I didn’t really want to go. But I knew I should so I did. When I got to campus, I sent a text message to my roommate Amos that said, “Pray for me. I am tired and have a crappy attitude.” The next hour and fifteen was the best of my week. I didn’t know what to talk about with Jody, so I asked him what questions did he have for me. For the next hour or so, in a mix of Italian and English, we talked about the Bible. Old Testament, New Testament, Jesus, fear, Satan, what does it mean to connect to Jesus and how do we have a right relationship with God. God provided exactly what I needed.

I walked away from that conversation praising God that there are people here in Italy who are seeking the Truth. Then, sadly enough, I was discouraged the next day when I was stuck doing more details work. My memory is quite short. I was reading in Isaiah 46 today and verses 8-9 to remember 3 times. Three times in one sentence. I thought back on it; God talks a lot about remembering. In fact, most of the Jewish festivals were for remembering times that God showed up in undeniable, real ways. So for me, when my vision is a little cloudy, I want to remember the times he has been faithful. Remember the times that God has clearly worked when it doesn’t seem like he is reachable. And if you are thinking, “I have never really seen God work in my life,” then remember the Cross. The sacrifice of Jesus. In the times that it is hard, remember that Jesus experienced it too; he felt alone at times (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?), wanted God to provide another way (If it is possible, let this cup pass from me), but he submitted to the Father because the Father loved Him. The Father loves you, loves me, and for that reason I can trust. Even when I don’t feel like it.

The sky outside today is still gray. I still have more details work to do. But I want to choose to remember and to trust. Not to be stuck in the past but to look forward to how God is going to redeem this period. How he will use it for good.

Facial Hair February Final Pics

2008-03-06T00:39:00.003+01:00

The title says it all... I think it is my best FFF ever... I mean, I look good j/k

Props to my buddy Shawn, from back home, who just made his own EP. I think he did a pretty good job. Check out his music HERE

So exciting news! I am going to be part of the Andrew Peterson blog tour! What does this mean? It means that I get to get a pre-view copy of Andrew Peterson's book On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (you can preorder it by clicking on that link) and I get to review it and post that review here for you all to read! BUT WAIT, there is more! Not only do I get a copy for myself to read, I get a copy to GIVE AWAY TO YOU! So here is the scoop; I am accepting ideas for a contest to give away this book. From something as simple as guess a number between 1-1000 to something as complex as... I dont know, you tell me. I am pretty stoked about this, hope you guys will be too. Andrew Peterson is one of my favorite music artists of all time, so I am eager to see how his writing (this is the Young Adult fiction range, click on the link to read a product description) stacks up against his song writing. So yea, submit ideas for a contest in my comments or email me. Thanks.

Stories and Songs

2008-03-03T00:06:00.003+01:00

Self Portrait at the end of Facial Hair February... and yes, I am inside with sunglasses

I need to get some sleep but thought I would post real quick to give you an idea of what's been going on in my head lately. First off, I want to give you guys quick links to two blog posts from Portland Studios. Portland Studios is a business whos mission is "To create beauty through storytelling." I like that idea, I like their work... and now I enjoy these posts from their blog
What is Meant by Art is an insightful look into modern art... and it is short, so check it out, let me know what you think.
Beauty is the New Ugly is a post about... well Beauty, the rejection of beauty in the arts, and the affect on culture. It is a deep post, takes some time to digest yet is TOTALLY worth it and includes gems like "When we’re honest, we have to concede that the unfortunate are helped more by those with a sensitivity to Beauty and inclination to spread it, than by those with a heightened sensitivity to offense and an inclination to spread it."

These posts and life has got me thinking about life as a story. A story of failure and redemption. A story that is worth telling. YOUR life is a story worth telling. And I think mine is too. But it takes a storyteller to be able to hold an audience captive. It takes a Storyteller to be able to move me, to affect me, to teach me. I want to fill you in later this week on the story of my life this past week, of experience and failure and yes, even redemption. But that is later... hope you check back to read more.

And since I didn't post on Free Music Friday, here are the Alternate Routes. You can download two of their songs IF you have a myspace account. If you don't, sorry you can't download them but you can listen. I really dig Please Dont Let It. Shout out to Mikey who let me in on the Alternate Routes.

Dave Barnes = new cd = sweetness

2008-02-27T22:41:00.002+01:00

As you know, I like music and like to plug music on this blog every once in a while. Well, I just received an email from my old friend Dave Barnes and turns out the man is coming out with a new CD called Me, You and the World. For those of you who don't know Dave Barnes, head over to youtube and check out his hilarious Christmas Video and Valentines Day Video. OK, now that you have watched those and appreciate how hilarious the man can be, check out his music at his myspace account. He has a bit of blue, pop and whatever else thrown in. Actually, my favorites are off his CD Brother Bring the Sun. He writes great lyrics, is top notch live (and hilarious live), and I kind of want to have my first dance at my wedding to be to his song "On a Night Like This"... in fact, the whole album is great, with another standout track being Graces Amazing Hands.

So all this is to say that he is coming out with a new CD. You can buy one copy for $15 by clicking to this link and when you buy one, you get another free for a friend (and a making of DVD). Or you can buy a CD and T-shirt (still with an extra CD and DVD) by clicking to this link. So tell a friend. Enjoy. Just trying to help a solid musician out :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-02-26T00:00:00.006+01:00

My Mom is beautiful... looks about 35, right?

Yes, a good portion of their generosity made this picture possible.

Happy Birthday to Mrs. Rule, mother to 7 wonderful kids, Grambie to 5 (soon to be 7) grandkids, and adopted mother to the hundreds of my friends who have eaten a meal cooked by her. If you are in Columbus or have a way to contact her, make sure to make her feel loved today. I got the best Mom a kid could ask for... I love you Mom and miss you.

Sign Guy and Giuseppe

2008-02-24T22:35:00.004+01:00

My alter ego: Sign Guy. And yes I was embarrassed by this

I figured I would start this out by showing you my alter ego, a character called Sign Guy (name invented by Lauren Roeper). We think Sign Guy would make a great character in a Donald Miller book or some great fiction. I can only imagine what the Italians think: "Did you see Sign Guy's sign today? The balloons are over the top" or "Did you see Sign Guy's beard today? That kid needs to shave." or "Holy smokes, Sign Guy shaved his head (in the future)... do you think he is depressed? Should we go talk to him?"

In much more exciting news, my buddy Giuseppe is such a cool guy (Giuseppe, if you read this, know that I write this because I enjoy hanging out with you). I met him at Villa Mira Fiori because I sat next to him on a bench and he was reading a book in English. One quick conversation later and we were hanging out to talk about tons of questions about God. At first glance, he is an intense guy but that is simply because, unlike me, he thinks quite thoroughly before he speak. Me, I tend to think as a speak, which why I often have to insert my foot into my mouth.

We have been friends, or at least meeting, for a couple months (we are friends now, I am just not sure when we made that transition from acquaintances to friends) and have talked about pretty much the whole span of topics from Old Testament Law to Who is Jesus and can he be trusted. I was pretty stoked that these past few weeks he has got to meet other people involved with Agape Italia and realize that I am not the only "weird" one but that Christ continues to change the lives of those who seek to follow Him. We had a conversation this past Thursday that I wanted to share with y'all.

I have met few people who are seeking Truth as intently as Giuseppe. Thursday night, after dinner at my apartment and a game of Italian Scrabble with another Italian and Joel, we walked to the bus stop together and talked about God and life. He shared with me that he has read Exodus, is almost done with Genesis and John is next on the list... and he is reading them in three translations, 2 in Italian and 1 in English. He has been so captivated in this that he didn't study last week, even though this is the exam month. It is so encouraging to see someone seriously considering the claims of the Bible and making the effort to seek truth. He told me that "If this is a decision I make, tomorrow, in a month, 10 years or never, I want to be sure of the decision I am making." Amen. I think the decision to follow Christ is one we should take seriously and I am excited to be a part of searching for the truth with Giuseppe. We are going to read a chapter together this next week and I will " point out when something is important," as he put it. I am looking forward to learning together with Giuseppe. Pray that God guides us both and praise God for people like Giuseppe, who are encouraging to me and make what I do here in Rome completely worth it.

Much love to you all

Random Links:
Do some good from your computer. Go to this website and help feed people who need good.
This article makes me like George Clooney. I am not one of those celebrity fanatics but even as journalism, this is a great personality profile.

Free music... if you are online

2008-02-23T00:28:00.003+01:00

I apologize, I did not do enough legwork this week and could not find free music to download to fit the "Free Music Friday" that I have been trying to get going on this blog. However, I am proud to hit you up with two links that you can listen to FULL ALBUMS... you just cant download them.

JEREMY CASELLA - I bought this CD earlier this year and have rarely heard an indi artist produce such a work of art (and I do not use that term lightly). He fuses folk, orchestra, percussion and even a little electronic to, in his words, "try to create a bit of beauty." I think he succeeds. So go to his website, and on the top right you will see the word RCVRY with a bar underneath it... click on the arrow to right of the bar. Be prepared for beauty. Though I highly recommend buying the whole album, some personal favorite songs are The Space Between Living and Dying (2) and Born Again (9, one of the most beautiful songs I have heard... period).

Jason Feller - Not gonna lie, dont own his CD but I used to listen to this album quite often off his website. The guy has got a cool voice, writes solid songs, and is married to a girl that is a stinking amazing singer (check her stuff out at http://www.myspace.com/emilydeloach). So click on his name, when you get to his sight, click on Launch Album Player and enjoy.
Sara Bareilles - I couldnt leave you with nothing to download... so click on this, download the first (and only) song available to download. It is catchy, not entirely profound, but enjoyable and worth having as a free download. And who knows, you might like her a lot... (so right after I posted this, I got on iTunes and realized this song is the #2 song download, but this is the demo version... and to think I had discovered her on my own)

Making Me Think

2008-02-21T10:18:00.005+01:00

My buddy Ty writes a blog at finchesandsparrows.blogspot.com. I encourage you guys to check out his latest post... it is pretty heavy stuff and I think he is a thought provoking writer (he is a med school student but the kid has talent at this writing thing).
Another link I want to let you guys in on is about art and what defines true art. It was pretty fascinating, especially if you consider yourself an artist (I don't consider myself an artist...).

Speaking of art, in my life reading has been a neglected pursuit and is one that I am trying to pick up again. When I was a little kid, I was the dork of my family, my nose always glued to some book (my claim to fame was reading three Hardy Boy's books in one day). I just finished a book called Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman. His writing style is one that is easy to read, yet challenging at the same time. In one of the chapters, he talks about the question of compassion and how we, meaning those who call themselves Christians, should be more compassionate and that comes with recognizing that we don't deserve the grace that God has given us. He talks about confession and how it is a necessary step in having compassion. He quoted a prayer from a guy named John Baillie's book A Diary of Private Prayer as a template for confessional prayer. I thought it was powerful... so here it is.

O Father in Heaven, who didst fashion my limbs to serve Thee and my soul to follow hard after Thee, with sorrow and contrition of heart I acknowledge before thee the faults and failures of the day that is now past...
My failure to be true even to my own accepted standards:
My self-deception in the face of temptation:
My choosing of the worse when I know the better:
O Lord, forgive.
My failure to apply to myself the standards of conduct I demand of others:
My blindness to the suffering of others and my slowness to be taught by my own:
My complacence toward wrongs that do not touch my own case and my over-sensitiveness to those that do:
My slowness to see the good in my fellows and to see the evil in myself:
My hardness of heart towards my neighbors' faults and my readiness to make allowance for my own:
My unwillingness to believe that Thou hast called me to small work and my brother to a great one:
O Lord, forgive.

To end this, two songs lately have been rocking my world. I bought both of them on iTunes this week: "No Sacrifice" by Jason Upton and "Carried to the Table" by Leeland. Check 'em out (the link lets you listen to the song on rhapsody and youtube). The words from "No Sacrifice" begins with "To you I give my life, not just the parts I want to..." How hard this is to do, to not live as a "Christian" and just give the parts to God that are convenient. Let me know what you guys think, I would love to get your thoughts.

Cheers (coolest British word, I think)

2008-02-18T23:46:00.004+01:00

The Italian contingent from Rome: (L to R, back row)Matt, Me, Jason, Alessandro, Daniele, Chiara, L, Mia (front row L to R) Sara, Andrea, Maria Teresa, Kanda, Ana

A list of favorites: Andy (favorite Englishman), Ana (favorite Peruvian), Me in the back next to Alessandro with the apple

You have taken the time to read my blog, and for that, I say "Cheers". That is perhaps my new favourite word, a by product of a brilliant weekend in Bristol, England. Myself, Matt, Jason, Lauren, Sara and Kanda accompanied 7 of the coolest Italian students you will meet to an Agape Europe conference with students from a ton of other places throughout the EU. It was a memorable trip to say the least, and I think I came away from it learning just as much as our students who we took.

The conference was something that was very different for most of the students. Most of the Italians come from a Roman Catholic upbringing and many are still practicing Catholics from very traditional catholic churches, so the atmosphere of the conference was a little different. It was great to be able to talk out with them what they were thinking and to process through the whole "different but not wrong or better or worse" idea. This got me thinking about a very important principle, or at least I think it is.

At first I was thinking critically, "Are people following the Church and using Jesus as a tool to follow the Church or are they following Jesus." As soon as I thought this, God threw another thought at me, this one convicting to myself; "Am I following Agape (Campus Crusade) leadership and using Jesus as a tool to follow Agape, or am I following Jesus?" Because the truth of the matter is that I often put my "job" as the reason I talk to people about Jesus. If it is, that is terrible. Jesus needs to be the reason that I talk to other about Jesus. I need to follow Jesus and consider if I am truly walking as a disciple of Jesus, and not think so much about "Am I logging hours or earning my paycheck." I think we can all do this within our own walks of life. Jesus is so easily set aside, set on the backburner, and other things become out priority. Even if they are good things (Agape, church), nothing should ever take priority over following Christ.

So that was one realization this weekend. A few other quick hits are that I began to cry as we sang Amazing Grace as the words hit me once again. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." How often I forget about the grace that has rescued me. No, dont give me the crap about "you are not that bad a person." I know what I am, and I know how I have made conscious choices to rebel, to sin, to do what I know to be wrong and in doing so, to turn my back on the one who loved me and gave Himself to die for me. "I remember two things very clearly. I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior," says John Newton in the film Amazing Grace. "When we've been there, 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun." This is what brought me to tears. One day I will, by his grace, get to stand praising the Lamb of God, side by side with Italians. I long for that day. And by the way, if you haven't seen the movie by the same name, Amazing Grace, I highly recommend it. Albert Finney is incomparable, the story of William Wilberforce is moving, and it is one that leaves the viewer with hope.

There are many more memories from Bristol that I would love to share with you but dont want to take the time to... I apologize. In quick form they include: Jason's bear-ish snoring, the gassy bedroom, chicken curry at midnight, the Oxfam store where I bought a hardcover version of the Lord of the Rings, convincing someone I was 29 and married, soccer and basketball in the church and luggage escapades on the turnstiles. So thanks for reading, I look forward to sharing more with you later. And pray for us, that we might use this conference as a jumping point to continue to impact this campus for Christ.

Free Music... Wednesday

2008-02-13T20:48:00.003+01:00

Yes, that is Joel, Matt, Me and Kanda doing O-H-I-O in front of Christopher Columbus's tomb.

Hello dear blog readers, yours truly has found some more music for you. I will not be able to post this Friday because I am headed to Bristol, England with about 14 Italians to a conference where we will talk about how we can make an influence for Jesus... I am quite excited for this opportunity to see my friends here learning more on how to better communicate our faith and I am sure I will be challenged as well. Pray for us if you think about it.

On to that new music. This is an artist named Brooke Waggoner, a young lass who rocks on the keys, yet seems so much more than moody piano-playing music (which I love, but this seems like more). I havent even listened to the whole thing yet, but it was recommended to me by Mat Kearney (may have heard of him? Well truth is I found out on his myspace, but does it really matter if I know Mat Kearney personally? I know people who know him, how about that?)... so check out http://www.brookewaggonermusic.com/ . One thing is, you have to put in a real email address because they email you a link to download the music, but I think it is worth it. Enjoy.

Story Time

2008-02-11T22:20:00.000+01:00

One, check out this article at The Rabbit Room. Great article about loss of imagination, the affect of video games, and the fun of playing outside.

Two, story time! Last week, Sara and I paired up to take on Roma Tre for a day (everyone else was there too, but I was talking to people with Sara). We were trying to strike up conversations with groups of people, instead of just individuals, which is my usual modus operandi, and I was a little nervous. Usually I talk to the people that are chillin Han-style (Solo... and yes I stole that joke from "How I Met Your Mother"), but we want to talk to groups of people too because that way we can influence a network and hopefully get the news about this Jesus guy to as many as possible. So after getting shot down by one group (ok, not shot down, but they didnt have much time... ok it was shot down), we spotted the next group.

When I say we spotted, I mean Sara said, "Hey, lets go talk to those guys." 'Those guys' were a group of 5 or so dudes laughing and having a good time and I didn't want to be the nerd Jesus-freak who walks up and breaks up the party. Yet, I felt the tug to and swallowed my pride and said a silent prayer and headed in their direction. I used my usual pick-up line, "Parlate inglese?," and to my chagrin found that I was breaking up a party, apparently of one guy telling... inappropriate stories. However, to my surprise and relief, they welcomed us into the conversation. Well, I guess not into the current conversation but said, "Yea, whats up?"

Diving into spiritual conversation is not always the most comfortable thing in the world but it is amazing how God can use us if we are willing to back out of the way and let him work. After the usual get to know you banter and discovering that one of the guys, Matteo, was a basketball player, I popped the question. No, not to marry me, but I asked him, "So our group, Agape Italia, likes to get to know what students think about spiritual things. Can I ask you guys what you think about those sort of things?" I know, I know, I am real eloquent with my transition, but God works in hearts, not me. Me, Matteo, Sara, and Pietro began to speak, diving in depth about what they think about the church, religion, Jesus, and what it means to be a Christian. It was real encouraging to talk with them, especially Matteo, who plays basketball at a church so he goes to Mass out of respect for the priests that run the games.

Though our conversation did not yield any hit-the-knees-and-repent moments, we did have some good discussion about what it meant to give up control of our lives to Christ and follow him. The question, "Can we follow God and not give up control of our life," is a very real question that I think many people ask and I think many people think the answer is yes. I am not so sure; Jesus doesnt seem to leave many options when he tells people to leave everything and follow Him. So the conversation was terrific and ended with an exchange of numbers. Even cooler though, was that the next day, at a different university, I ran into Matteo and Stefano (another guy in the group of 5). They usually don't visit that university but wanted "a change of scenery" so they headed there for the day to hang out. They recognized me and when we began to talk, it was Stefano who brought up spiritual things. I am so glad that I serve a God who brings about "random" meetings like that and uses it in our lives. I hope to be hanging out with those guys tomorrow, so keep me and them in your prayers. Thanks for reading, much love to you all.

My God is Powerful

2008-02-11T20:58:00.000+01:00

A friend sent this news article (click to see) to me, printed in the Columbus Dispatch to me. This is an amazing example of who Jesus is; he is the one who gives hope to the hopeless. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Our God is an awesome God.

Pure Entertainment

2008-02-10T15:33:00.000+01:00

So for those of you who want me to post something more substantial... it will be coming in a day or two... or maybe even tonight. But this post is pure entertainment. So check out the links, listen to the music, enjoy the pictures and enjoy your Sunday. Much love to you all

Music:
- Check out Matt Pond PA at this link. I just heard this band and dig their sound. You can listen to basically the whole CD on their website (streaming), so check it out.
- These guys just posted their whole EP for free streaming on this website. This more I listen to it, the more I am impressed with their solid work, quality lyrics... and oh, did I mention I am friends with them? So check em out, listen to it, support their live shows, and buy their music when they come out with a full album.
Video:
I have watching this over and over again, and I am still laughing. Watch it... Charlie Bit Me
Articles:
A good one from Relevant Magazine about "Christian Art"...let me know what you think
Cool blog about music... they have good recommendations (or so I think so far) and streaming songs to listen to... http://linesthroughlines.blogspot.com/
Pictures:
I went to Spain for a conference for Agape a week and a half ago. We stopped in Sevilla for 3 days vacation before heading down to Nerja for fun in the sun, learning about what it means to follow Jesus and being refreshed, body and soul. Here is our trip in pictures.

At the top of a really big cathedral

We were a sweet biker gang... dont mess with us

My sweet team

Why lie, I wanna be a rockstar, and this is my pose

Our team and the Istanbul, Turkey team got to hang out together in Sevilla. They are sweet and my team is sweet, so Sevilla couldnt quite handle the combination.

Climbing in Piazza de Spagna (or whatever it is called... Amos is above me)

So I got pulled up on stage with some Flamenco dancers. It was exciting and yet totally embarrassing.

I got to hang out with Jesus one morning for a couple hours with this as my view.

These guys are called the Three Amigos and are in charge of Agape (Campus Crusade) in Western Europe. They are really encouraging and I feel privileged to work for them. And Javier (in red) sound like Dave Barnes (on his videos) when he speaks with his accent

Check out the straight of Gibraltar... I like this shot

Me and ATL Lauren in the caves in Gibraltar

We got to take a day trip to Gibraltar and the monkeys are friendly... so cool

Come on, you think it is funny too

That is Andy upside down and me with my hair in my eyes

Good sunset picture... or at least I think it is

What is a vacation without a cigar with friends

Vatican Tour for my Bro

2008-02-04T23:22:00.000+01:00

I made this video for my brothers second grade class... it is my personal tour of the Vatican... not professional, not well polished, but enjoy. And there will be a ton of pictures from Midyear Conference in Nerja, Spain, in the coming days. Much love.

Free Music Friday - The first of hopefully many

2008-01-24T21:07:00.000+01:00

Ciao Ragazzi
I realized I never truly gave you all a Christmas Gift. I mean, I realize photo's of me are enough for most, but some of you want something truly special, like free music. And being the generous guy I try to be, I will oblige. Actually, it isn't my generosity, but these talented musicians. So without further ado, I give you... (click on names of musicians to take you to the websites to download the free music)

Andrew Osenga - This musician is one of my favorites. Click on the link to learn about how he created "Letters to the Editor - Volume One", which was actually a pretty cool concept. He is also the guy who wrote the song on the last post. Also, when you download this album, you will see a couple of my pictures on the digital album artwork.
Green River Ordinance - I found these guys on a link from some other random musician, downloaded their album and really enjoyed it. Warning, I dont think it works for some reason on mac computers, but it is solid album. Cool, almost Counting Crows or Snow Patrol or some band like thats sound. Let me know what you think.
The Autumn Film - You need to download this album (your email reference friend will thank you for telling them about it). This band is terrific, both live and on CD; Tifah (the lead singer) has a sweet and the violinist used looped her violin when I saw her live... sweet. Check em out, they are unique and you wont regret it.
Cavashawn - Click on this link, scroll down until you see "free music" and download two of their songs. They are friends of mine from Miami University, got a pretty cool rock sound with other influences worked in. I am excited to hear where they go from here. Great guys, check em out.

All these guys make music to try to put bread on the table, so if you like em, find their music on iTunes or something and buy it.
Second (you didn't think I would do this without a catch or a story, right?), I wanted to let you know of a cool opportunity to give to something tangible. I know some of you may think, "Chris, I dont want to help pay for your Italian "vacation" for a year so what are you talking about?" There is a conference in England in three weeks and PRAISE GOD that seven Italian students from Rome are going! The conference will be to help them grow in their faith and to learn how to share that faith with others. We are only charging a certain amount of money for them to go and so we need to cover the rest of that out of our pockets or yours! So, are you willing to think about giving to this? I wont love you more or less if you give or dont give (heck, I dont even know who reads this thing), but if you are interested, shoot me an email at christopher.rule@gmail.com . Thanks, much love.

And lastly, a story. I played soccer with a bunch of Italians, guys from Madascar and the Philippines, and a couple Americans. And I dont play soccer well. I am sure I looked like a 5 year old running around, chasing the ball and yelling words that are meaningless in any language. Until that fateful moment, when I became the portiere! Whic means goalkeeper. What you dont know is that I am hopelessly ignorant at rules. So at first I didn't know when I could use my hands on our makeshift field, kick the ball out of my hands or when I had to set it on the ground to kick it. After a few miscues, a game of charades with my defenders to figure out some rules (my vocab doesnt include much soccer terminology in English, much less Italian), I had it down pat. I think I was doing pretty good, stopping a couple goals but failing to satisfy one of my attackers, who kept yelling for me to pass it to him (3/4 of the way down the field). Yet we still won the first game 1-0 and I knew I had something right when, after an impressive (yet lucky) save, the guy who kept yelling for told me, "Bravo, portiere, bravo." They carried me off the field on their shoulders, victorious yet again, 1-0. Ok so I made up that last part but it was pretty sweet. And we did win both games 1-0.

Stubborn Grace

2008-01-19T17:37:00.000+01:00

Click here to download the song that this post is about, courtesy of Andrew Osenga... if you like it, buy his music at AndrewOsenga.com or iTunes

“Oh we of little faith,

oh You of stubborn grace”

The song “We Are The Beggars At The Foot Of God’s Door” by The Normals has been on constant rotation on my iPod this last week, at first simply because of the above stated line. The album Coming to Life by The Normals was one of my favorite albums yet for some reason I never noticed this line, or this line never hit me like it has this past week. The song title is a statement in itself but “we of little faith, oh You of stubborn grace” has been stuck in my mind.

Perhaps it is because the truth of that lyric is becoming more apparent in my life. Here in Rome, where I am supposed to be the missionary working for Agape Italia, the “professional Christian” if you will, I am learning just how much I truly am the one with little faith. A quote I read in “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard says that, “We always live up to our beliefs – or down to them,as the case may be. Nothing else is possible.” How that is true in my life!

This past Thursday, I was on campus, supposed to be initiating conversation with students, and showcased a prime example of my little faith. One guy in particular had caught my eye, and I felt that tug to go talk to him. And so I began to walk in his direction… and walked right past him and around the corner. Ah, I was frustrated with myself and said, “I will not give up, God, I believe you can give me the right words to say as I talk to this guy.” So I turned around and walked back… and right past him again. And a third time. And a fourth. It was a good thing it was in a busy time in the day or he may have wondered, “Why the heck does this kid keep walking past me? Is he lost?” I walked away in failure, wallowing in my self-pity and rationalizing it away by saying, “I am just going to read my Bible for a half hour then talk to others.” And I never did talk to that kid on Thursday.

Which brings me to the “oh You of stubborn grace.” Stubborn grace, how I love that concept. How I have experienced it, constantly experience it every day. Friday, after a day that should have got me fired from my job as “professional Christian,” I was out striking up conversations with my teammate Kanda. We were at the Law Building looking for people to talk to and I noticed a guy sitting alone on a bench, so we went up to talk to him. Only when I said “Ciao” and he looked up did I notice that he was the same guy as the day before.

Stubborn grace. God constantly gives second chances, third chances. Though we give up on ourselves, that stubborn grace is hounding us, drawing us closer to Jesus, meeting us where we are at. We are the disciples who fled, the Israelites that ran to the golden calf, the Peter that can’t bring himself to tell Christ “I agape you.” And Christ meets us where we are at, is the one who loves us too much to let us remain the same. He is the one who gives us the chance to live in the reality of his redemption.

The last verse of the song says:

We have known the pain of loving in a dying world
And our lies have made us angry at the truth
But Cinderellas slipper fits us perfectly
And somehow were made royalty with You,
Oh we of little faith,
Oh You of stubborn grace
We are the beggars at the foot of Gods door
And You have welcomed us in

Amen

Forza Roma!

2008-01-17T17:50:00.001+01:00

I went to my first professional soccer game ever, a terrific match between Torino and AS Roma. To check out highlights, see http://youtube.com/watch?v=bKFPjKeCu3M . I will post pictures later, but let me tell you, it was a sweet experience. Totti is a local hero and didn't start the game but came in in the second half. Within 5 minutes of coming in (score 0-0 at that time), he had assisted on a goal and scored two more. It was insane how loud the stadium got and it was maybe a third of the way full. All in all, a great experience with Roma winning 4-0.

Italian towns and Turkish nights

2008-01-14T23:28:00.000+01:00

Greetings after my lazy break from blogging. Please trust me when I say that I have many ideas to blog, but for now, I am simply going to tell stories from my travels this winter break. But those ideas will come out as coherent ideas that will make you laugh and weep and want to fall in love... either with a girl or Jesus. Or at least thats the hope. But for now, stories.

For those who were not aware (most of you), I had the opportunity to go to Istanbul, Turkey (Constantinople for those who are really old school) for five days and hang out with friends there. Amos, Joel and Kanda accompanied me on this crazy adventure. Because of this trip, I have now been to Asia (Istanbul is half in Europe and half in Asia, separated by water), been hummumified (aka Turkish Baths), and drank more Turkish tea that... ah who am I kidding, it was delicious. Highlights, you ask? Highlights I will give.

We will start out with the first night. We went to a restaurant that one of our friends recommended for the iskender, this amazing Turkish dish. It was hilarious because the waiter kept talking to Amos because Amos is of Filipino descent and so looks like he might be from that area. Amos had no idea what he was saying, but Dan translated some of the gems. The waiter called Amos his blood brother and at one point asked Dan, "Where did you find him?" Hi-stinkin-larious. We hit up a cafe with live music after, where we drank more (you guessed it) tea and danced the night away. Turkish dancing is... unique. Think turkish music with Big Fat Greek Wedding style dancing. Oopa! Check out the video for an idea.

Turkey was cut from a different cloth than Italy. The bazaar, the call to prayer, the spice vendors (so colorful, I loved it), fish markets, SNOW, muslim culture, smell of the sea... it was all so incredibly different than Rome. I went in my first mosque, saw more meerschaum pipes than ever before (really cool, really intricate, really expensive if you get a good one), ate like a king... until the money ran out... and then I still ate well because the bread and doner kebab is amazing and cheap. And I got to experience a Turkish bath. What an experience. A couple things about that. First, you have a towel on the whole time, so dont get any locker room shower ideas in your mind. Second, I had no idea that I had that much dead skin on my. Quite fascinating actually. And third, when they scrub you down and give you a massage, man do they give you a massage if you get the right guy. The guy giving Joel a massage looked like he was wrestling him. Seriously, it was hilarious.

So before adventures in Turkey though, I had adventures throughout italian towns close to Rome. Me, Amos, Kanda and Matt Reis and his brother Adam (who was visiting) went to Orvieto, this little town on side of a cliff. More or less. It is the kind of town that you can walk around the whole town in a day (we did) and it has small town beauty to it. And an amazing view. You have to take this little cable car to the actual city and once there, you are treated to a impressive view of the Italian country side around you. I think more than anything, we enjoyed the silence and break from Rome. And there was an ice rink next to the Duomo so you know it is a classy place. The other place I went was Ostia Antica with Sara and Amos. If you are ever in Rome, I highly recommend Ostia Antica. It was the port city of Rome, but the coastline and trade routes changed and the city was abandoned. So now it is ruins that you are free to explore. Me and Amos wrestled in the palestra (gym) of the main bathhouse. You can go into the ruins, on them, under them... truly a walk through time. Well... thats about it from me... fill you in more on life later. Much love. Leave messages as always. And pray for Rome.

The Rome STINTers in Turkey... and yes that is a Starbucks in Joel's hand.

I loved the fact that Istanbul is on the water.

A great picture to show the clash of cultures in the Hagia Sofia. This was built as a church in the 5th century, converted into a Mosque the Constantinople was conquered and now is a museum. The mosaic of Mary and Jesus was uncovered in restoration after conversion to a museum. Formerly it was painted over because you cant have images in a mosque.

The Blue Mosque, the first functioning mosque I have ever been in

The sweet Turkish cafe where we went dancing

One of my favorite pictures from the Turkey trip... I am the one on the far left

I loved this pic. The sky was... breathtaking.

I dont know if you can tell the amazing view I am looking at.

Orvieto was quiet and beautiful... (amos, kanda, adam reis, matt, me)

The secret garden... I had fun exploring the ruins of old houses

The theatre in Ostia Antica was pretty sweet... we put on our own show "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." bonus points if you know what that is from

Standing on an ancient mosaic

Riots in Rome... sort of

2008-01-03T22:28:00.000+01:00

My million dollar car in Rome... Ferrari Enzo... it was cool

Freakiest Picture... But so Cool
Ok did you check out that picture? How terrifying is that?

Let me tell you though, while you recover about my recent riot experience. It started out innocently enough. We stepped off the subway and walked to Piazza del Popolo, only to discover smoke and people throwing lots of stuff. I kept jumping at the explosions, wondering what the heck was going on. Rather than have my ear drums explode (they were already ringing), we sprinted across the Piazza and moved down Via del Corso to Piazza Venezia. Mini explosions and smoke was present as we walked to Venezia but we arrived unscathed. We moved towards a stage set up on one end and were soon caught in the crowd. After being pushed and shoved and having to do a fair bit of shoving back, we changed directions and made it out. Well, 4 of us made it out. The rest were no where to be found and the explosions and smoke were intensifying. We made it to a relatively calm part of the Piazza (no one shoving at least) but seemingly on cue, everyone began yelling and explosions rocked the night. Some were close enough that we felt the air rush across out chest, others exploding in the distance in the sky, smoke drifting across the night. People began to throw bottles a little later but by now, we were swept up in the riot... celebration. HAPPY NEW YEAR, ROMA ITALIA. This was no riot, just ushering in the New Year in Rome, trying to dodge fireworks (my ears really were ringing and we really could feel the air rush by for some of them) and champaign bottles being tossed. What fun, eh? Happy New Year to you all. I am headed to Turkey tomorrow morning so I will post after that trip. And you think I am exaggerating? Check out this video I made with me and Adam, Matt Reis's little brother.

Pictures from Christmas!

2007-12-31T18:18:00.001+01:00

These are all pictures from our trip to stay at the Lillistrand's for Christmas, near Florence. We had an amazing time, renting the apartment next to Agape Italia's country director's apartment! The Lillistrands adopted us as family for those days, letting us participate with them for dinners and even bought us little gifts. It was a terrific experience, having a surrogate family for that time, enjoying and relaxing in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. I have nothing to profound to write, just lots of pictures. Have no fear though, I am working on profound posts...maybe. Hope to share more with yall soon. Enjoy, Happy New Years... and check out http://www.myspace.com/willhoge . I found him yesterday and think I really enjoy his stuff.

You are supposed to rub his snout for good luck... I thought I would bite it.

The people I got to tour Florence with (Nicole, Joel, Matt, Emily, Me, Amos)

I am proud of taking this picture. That is the only surviving bridge in Florence from WWII

Florence was lovely... good view from Piazza del Michaelangelo

I took the typical holding-up-the-tower picture, but thought I would try to kick it over... and looks like I am booting some old guy in the behind.

It really is quite amazing how much it leans

My surrogate Christmas family (Kanda, Charmaine, Greg, Sara, L, Joel, Sophie, Amos, Ryan, Matt, Debbie, Me)

That vineyard behind me has been producing wine for 1000 years... I was in a cool place for Christmas.

Bilbo the dog was cute, had a great name, and loved me.

Joel's OSU pj's and my OSU santa hat represented well.

Chilling, eating at the Lillistrands... they were amazing.

Sophie is darling (here she is burying Amos in books)