Journal

My wife and I were recently visiting one of our favorite burrito establishments called Blue Coast Burrito.  Part of the experience of this eatery is their fruit tea.  It is certainly most delectable.  While munching on my chips and salsa my wife said to me: “when I get to heaven, this fruit tea will abound.” 

My immediate thought was…“will this fruit tea even exist there?”

So many times I picture heaven as a beachfront with dinosaurs grazing behind me.  I’m there consuming endless cups of Mountain Dew with no detrimental repercussions on my health.  I don’t have to sleep, and if I want, I can strap on my laser and tactical gear and play others in a real life simulated role-playing game. Of course, I can leap tall buildings in a single bound and steak is for dinner. 

Now- where I contrived this idea-I have no clue.  Maybe a vivid imagination, or maybe someone once told me it’s whatever I want it to be.

Is this a healthy view of heaven? I recently set out to find what exactly IS heaven.  I’ve made some pretty interesting conclusions. 

First off Revelation 21:1-4 tells us that every tear will be wiped away with no morning, no death, and no pain.  But only after it says that God will dwell among men. 

That’s cool.  God will dwell among men.  I take this literally.  It seems as though the pain will disappear as a direct result of God’s immediate presence. 
All throughout this book angels, men, and every creature is declaring his glory!
John gets a glimpse of heaven which is lavishly decorated and guess what, everyone up

there is singing Holy Holy Holy. 

Day and night.

They. 

Ne. 

Ver. 

Stop.

It appears very clear that heaven is the eternal worship of God. That’s it.  Is that what my heart wants?  Is that worth it to me?  Can I lay to rest all my desires for eternal Mt. Dew and dinosaurs? 

As I was digging into the mystery of heaven I realized that the end goal of a religion will determine the nature of the religion.

Take for example Islam-
The Qur’an 37:40-44 says: Save the servants of Allah, the purified ones.  For them is a known sustenance: Fruits. And they are honored, in Gardens of delight, on thrones, facing each other. 

What?
They are honored?  Facing each other? 
According to Muslim belief, everything one longs for in this world will be there in Paradise.  The houri (beautiful counterparts of like-age) are there on arranged couches to embrace you and make you feel good.  The highest level of Firdaus allows those who were righteous to dwell in its gardens for “their entertainment.” (18:107)
And God?  You’ll have enlightenment of his presence. 

In the book “Doctrine and Covenants” by Joseph Smith (not the ex-member of Tenth Avenue North) one can get a view of the Mormon afterlife in chapter 132. 
Those mormons who are sealed in the eternal marriage ceremony expect to become gods in the celestial kingdom, rule over other planets, and spawn new families throughout eternity.  That’s just before the instructions on polygamy.

Hindus and Buddhists believe in “samsara” or an eternity of reincarnation and enlightenment.  Wandering forever ridding oneself of pain and suffering.  Every bad thing and thought should be eliminated therefore resulting in bliss for eternity either on earth or in “Nirvana.”  No one is quite sure if that’s a place or a state of mind. 

Bliss.
Pleasure.
Mountain Dew.

Why do I want to go to heaven? 
If all my desires were fulfilled and all my friends are gathered around in community and food but God were not there…would I want to go? 
If he were there but only as a mediator of my pleasure…would I want to go?
Perhaps I would tell God to dim his light for the next 2 hours so I can watch Lord of the Rings in my La-Z-boy recliner. 

And how long would my joy last being limited by the things I desired on earth? 

I can only hope that the very face I seek would be the very thing I desire for all eternity. 

Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” 

Sounds like He will give you Himself if that is the delight of your heart

As I sit here in my home with Louis Armstrong gently singing “Winter Wonderland” on the speakers, I feel the warmth of a space heater at my feet. A couple nights ago, the band had its first annual Christmas party. Later we’ll be mailing presents to our families and probably make hot cider. Christmas is a joyous season in the Owen household. We decorated our house a week before Thanksgiving and bought our tree the day after. Still my heart beats in nostalgia of a recent trip the band took to warmer, sunnier climates…

It’s been a week now since we’ve returned from the band’s excursion to Honduras. As we flew in, the landscape looked a lot like a flight into LAX over Riverside, CA. As the plane crept closer to the ground, we soon discovered many of the rooftops weren’t stucco on $450,000 homes, but corrugated metal sheets on crude concrete or wooden walls. We landed in San Pedro Sula and we met our team from Compassion International at the airport. We had begun our 4-day trip to learn how they work in other countries and how poverty effects the lives of the people in Honduras…

The streets were rough and water often overflowed onto them. In the poorest areas, trash abounded in the streets. Humorously in the same, roosters, dogs, and sometimes horses, roamed the streets! As we pulled up to our first Compassion project and opened the door, we could hear the little children get louder in excitement that our team of sponsors from America had arrived. The joy they had was incredible. Here they were in the midst of no running water, and no proper sanitation. They had no jungle gyms, and no Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls. They had joy. Our American minds had been blown. I quickly learned that the believers in Honduras pray that God will give them enough to survive. At home we so often pray that God will give us over abundance. In the middle of this slum there was hope. Compassion was working with the local church bringing children in to be loved, fed, and shown the truth of our Savior. These were children of gang members, or single mothers; and they’re left to fend for themselves. We learned of stories where kids from the Compassion project helped in leading their parents to the Lord because of what they learn at the project. We heard stories of Compassion kids growing up and going to college for a chance to follow their dreams. No longer are these children left with the only hope of working in a factory or being a mother at the age of 14, but rather a chance to dream and hope.

America’s current price tag for the drug war is $49,542,681,026 at the moment I’m writing this. Cartels continually smuggle illegal drugs and firearms into the US up and down Central America. There is an average of 10 deaths in San Pedro Sula a night as a result of gang violence. In the midst of such turbulence there’s a light. Children are coming to the Lord and communities are being changed. We heard a story of entire gang communities in El Salvador that have laid their weapons down because their children are playing and growing with children from other rival gang families. Ruben and I saw the result of a terminal child healed simply because a water purifier was installed in the home. To God be the glory. Christ is changing the hearts and minds of the people in San Pedro Sula. Not a government run mission to kick the poor out of the city. Not an international campaign to tell people not to do bad things. Children now have illumination to do more than they’ve been raised to know. “In Jesus’ name” is what this is about.

Ruben and I also got to meet our child that we each individually sponsor. Mirian and Nelson. When my wife and I picked up Mirian’s packet over a year ago she was a cute 4 year old with braids and a simple story. Now she’s a real human being that loves dolls, and is shy, and has a sister who she can’t leave her side! Nelson is a bubbling little mongrel that just loves to be hugged and runs and plays with a passion. What a joy it was to see that though their parents may have been given a difficult lot in life, these children have a new hope. I don’t feel like the fun pen-pal from the states, I feel like a part of the family now. It’s the closest to parenthood I’ve ever felt (though I’ll be an actual parent in only weeks). We played schoolyard games with our kids and many others while Mike, Brendon, and Jason played a game of soccer in a water-logged field with the older boys. I’ll remember that day always. 

Clockwise from top left: Jeff and the family of the girl, Mirian, he sponsors; Mike and little Karen; Jason with Compassion children in San Pedro Sula; Ruben and Nelson, the boy he sponsors. All photos taken by Jason. For more photos from the band’s trip, visit KeelyMarieScott.com

As I sit here writing this, I wonder what will become of me. Will I give everything I have away and commit to a life of poverty as well? Will I use every resource I have to help those in need and spread the reach of the Kingdom? Or will I, like Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, long to quietly sip my tea with a fireplace at my feet in my rocker completely detached from the world’s needs? All I know is that the trip had an impact on us all. The things that I do and the things that I don’t do will always have a reminder of life in San Pedro Sula. I pray that we never forget the poverty. I pray we never forget the hope and the joy we found there.

That is a fraction of a summary of our trip. It was truly an amazing 4 days. Lord let your light so shine in Honduras!

In closing, know that Tenth Avenue is taking much needed time off. Babies will be born this winter, songs will be written, and we will just plain recharge for 2011. 2011…man. Why are there no flying cars? Anyway, may Santa lick his chubby little fingers in thanksgiving for the cookies you left, and may your checking accounts leak into the cups of the thirsty. May your eyes open each morning with a wellspring for the joy of living, and may your families reunite in song and hymn by the fire. 

Thank you for the lovely 2010, everyone.
-Jeff and the Tenth Avenue North family

More often than not in life I find the catchy phrase: “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” to be fallacious.  My wife and I recently explored a ride at a park (that will remain anonymous).  This ride was simply called Castle and just by the outside it was pretty revealing that it would be a big fat let down.  It was one of those haunted, sit in a cart on a track, bad spray paint and glow-in-the-dark color schemes that gave it away. When considering my pregnant wife, I asked the ride attendant if the ride was “jolty.”  He then replied “It will jolt your disappointment.”  Pondering this man’s hidden wisdom, we hopped on.  For some reason, there’s always hope that “maybe this ride will be different.”  Rarely is that true.

Regardless, we rode Castle.  It was awful.  Why were we not dissuaded by the presentation of the outside of this ride?  Why were we not scared off by the attendant’s dizzying maxim?  We were hopeful.  I suppose that’s the punch line.  Christian or non-Christian, most of us find ourselves hoping against the odds.  We’re hoping against the spelled-out-in-neon-spray paint words before us that this thing has a chance.  This is why we rent movies without knowing what it is and watch the whole thing before concluding that we wasted 2 hours of our life.  This is why we want the hero to boldly venture forth when the island is covered in mist and the odds are against him.  This is why we hang out with tax collectors and lepers.  This is why we hope to rise with Christ when the world tells us chance is at play.

Like I said at the beginning, more times than not the cover is most definitely a discription of the character of what’s inside the book.  By all means- use discernment before you rent that movie or walk into Castle.  But also, deny your fear and any plausible arguments that dissuade you from truth.

Reading Matthew 6 this week.  Pretty interesting stuff going on here, guys.

In Matt 6:2-4, again in Matt 6:5-6, and then yet again in Matt 6:16-18 Christ speaks of doing good works, praying, and fasting in secret.
These things are not to be “announce it with trumpets” or “to be seen by men.”

Yikes.

How many times have I prayed so I can make sure other people hear me or to “influence” someone by what I’ve done?  Why is there this idea that if I tell people I’ve given money to those in need or served them in some way that they’ll think I’m a swell guy and feel the desire to serve the poor themselves?

I’ve heard a lot of preachers and fellow christians alike annouce with a trumpet or pray publicly.  I know less that do these things in secret.  If everyone kept these things a secret would I then say I don’t know anyone who gives or prays or fasts because they’ve never told me?  I don’t know.  Is this acceptible behaviour?  I don’t know.  I mean I’m not even supposed to let my left hand know what the right hand is doing. That’s crazy talk!!  THEY’RE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER, JESUS.  That’s a serious statement.  Try asking your dog not to chase it’s tail.

It was most confusing to me because in the previous chapter Christ had just instructed us to be a city on a hill so that men can see your good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.  Why is there seemingly a contradiction?

I know that the Holy Spirit will guide me.  If I live by the spirit i will not gratify the desires of my sinful nature.  What are those desires, Mr Galatians?  Well, one is selfish ambition.  What’s my reward if I give and can’t get applauded by my friends?  What’s my reward if I fast and don’t receive sympathy from my peers?  What’s my reward if I pray and don’t get acknowledged by my elders?  Christ is.
BAM.

So I suppose things would have been easier if chronologically speaking the Salt and the Light talk were after the secrecy bits in Matthew.  Only when our reward is Christ for the things we do will we be that city on a hill.  Only when my good works aren’t motivated by human applaud can I receive true acclaim.

Will I pray tonight?   Where’s my money going?   Am I fasting?
Suppose you’ll never know.

A Coalition of Non Profit Organizations are Working to Prevent Human Trafficking and Exploitation of Haitian Children

Global Centurion, The Home Foundation, Love146, Call and Response, Renewal Forum, Fondation Espoir, Salvation Army, Olive Branch International, Doctors at War on Trafficking, Equitas Group, Gracehaven, World Hope International, Beyond Borders, Restavek Foundation, and Fondation la Limye Lavi announce a first response campaign to develop and distribute simple, clear information campaigns designed to prevent human trafficking after the earthquake.

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Read more about what we are doing in HAITI on our website www.thehomefoundation.net/blog