Psalm 1

I find Psalm 1 interesting.

It first starts out with a short list of bad sources of influence. I have had them in my life. The friends that got me into shop lifting in 7th grade... "5 finger discount is what we called it to be cool". The friend whose father had Girly magazines... I had to relearn how to have healthy boundries and healthy attatchments... Marriage for 12 Years has been for me better than all the chasing ever was... I Learned to distance myself from those who made it their full time job to put people down... If they are good at put downs... and you hang around... in time your turn will come...

Then It talks about the source of the "blessed / Good" life.

To be like a tree by streams of water... to be full on the inside... Nourished and fruitful... to be really allive...

Delight in God's word... and in the law.

Good Rules, best understood, are sign posts of care, caution, and protection. I was the kind of kid that tested boundries.

As a kid.. I Drank motor oil because I wanted to become a car... Got my stomach pumped.
I was of the mindset at first... If I was told the stove was hot I had to touch it... Got burned a lot with that mindset...

Obeying a rule because it is there has little joy in it.
Appreciating the good intent when my friend told me while working in a Chemistry lab... Glass can get quite hot and not show any signs of being hot... It saved me from getting badly burned...

A friend of mine named, Vishal Mangalwadi, wrote a book called, "Truth and Social Reform". He says that any society that consistently breaks the 10 commandments will be poorer than a society that follows these "laws of God".

Knowing what choices are going to turn out bad in the long run isn't a rip off or a bad thing. It gives a person a lot of room to explore all the other possibilities of life. There are a lot of ways to prosper...

It starts with a mindset that respects that there is a source of insight other than experience that can guide us towards... The Real Good...

Jesus said that the Law and the prophets could be summed up in this... Love of God, Love of oneself, and Love of neighbor... I wonder why we are afraid of The law???

I think it is because some mockers who were good at putting others down got ahold of the law of God and started using it to put others down... rather than explaining how one's quality of life is going to be impacted... and really helping people to connect with the good that is in life...

People end up dry, disconnected, and then blown away... when life gets hard... if they do not have roots in their soul that connects them with real resources greater than themselves... We need the inner resources that Psalm 1 is talking about...

Now that's why I go to the Bible...to connect with the God of the Bible... Not just the book... I grow in my capacity to connect with the source of love itself... I find in it real resources that inspire me to live, love, listen, and discover again and again... the streams of water is fresh... if I come to it to draw life from it.

Reading is not what Psalm 1 recommends... we get this from a lot of church folk... "Read your Bible"... Meditation goes deeper. It's what you think about after you are done reading. It's that inner space of thoughts, ideas, questions, and wonder... It's where we get those insights of discovery from; the AHA's of life that make us go WoW and want to dig deeper. It is in this space that God sneaks up on me quietly and shows me stuff about life and reveals entrances into fellowship with God.

I Go to the stream... the water is fresh... if I pay attention beyond the inK on the page... and let it illuminate life for me... Revelations are not in the ink on the page but rather it is what the light of the Word causes us to see connect with in life. (I Timothy 4:16, Hebrews 4:12&13)

Reading the Bible with Evelin and her Crew.

Evelin has invited me to read with her and her youth group these scriptures. More than that in talking with her... our hope and expectation is that doing this together will provide a context for God to use the scriptures to speak directly into our lives.

Ink on a page... Can Ink on a page make a difference in the content and quality of our lives??? Influence depends on a lot of things... The Bible keeps surprising me in it's depth and power.

Some aliens came to visit planet earth... they noticed that human often bought this large bundle of paper daily that they call the newspaper. When analyzed for it's chemiccle compounds all they found in it was paper and ink. To this day they do not know what the significance of the news is...

The frame of reference you bring to any task will shape what you see in it...

I hope some of you read with us and in it find some real "good news"...

***************************************************************************

To all the skaters and friends that are reading with me:

I know that a lot of you have been wanted to be challenged just in seeking the Lord and learning more of His word… and as well, as getting to know Him more. This year I want to be able and take this challenge with you and learning how to discipline ourselves in reading the word, and spending time with God. I know it is not an easy thing to pick up a book and read, specially sometimes our bibles are hard to read. But know that just as you and I are reading… others read with us and we will hold you accountable of this… just as you guys can keep me accountable of this. As you read weekly, think about verses, things in life, or things that God is doing in your life and come back to share, what stood out to you, or what God taught you from these readings… enjoy His word, and if you want to read together to be encouraged, let me know… email me or myspace me… lol… enjoy!!! As you read make sure to initial or put a check mark and maybe next to the chapter, write a word or a phrase or the verse that stood out to you. If you have any questions call me, my phone will be on the parent letter.

Scritpture Reading:

By the 9th of October you should have read:

*Genesis 43___X____
*Luke 1___X____
*1 John 1__X___
*Psalm 1__X___

By the 16th of October you should have read:

*Genesis 44__x___
*Luke 2__x___
*1 John 2__x___
*Psalm 2__x___

By the 23rd of October you should have read:
*Genesis 45__x___
*Luke 3__x___
*1 John 3___x___
*Psalm 3__x___

By October 30th you should have read:

*Genesis 46___x__
*Luke 4__x___
*1 John 4__x___
*Psalm 4__x___




By November 6th you should have read:

*Genesis 47__x___
*Luke 5__x___
*1 John 5__x___
*Psalm 5__x___

By November 13th you should have read:

*Genesis 48__x___
*Luke 6__x___
*2 John 1_____
*Psalm 6___x__

By November 27th you should have read:

*Genesis 49__x___
*Luke 7__x___
*3 John 1_____
*Psalm 7__x___

By December 4th you should have read:

*Genesis 50__x___
*Luke 8__x___
*Jude 1_____
*Palm 8__x___

By December 11th you should have read:

*Exodus 1_____
*Luke 9__x___
*Revelation 1_____
*Psalm 9__x___

By December 18th you should have read:

*Exodus 2______
*Luke 10 __x___
*Revelation 2_____
*Palm 10__x___






We had to cancel the 20th of November because there is a Thanksgiving dinner for some of the S.A.Y. Yes! Students and I won’t be able to make it because I need to be there but for the winter break I would love you to read:

By the end of winter break you should have read:

*Exodus 3____
*Luke 11__x___
*Revelation 3_____
*Psalm 11__x___

Let me know if you would like to study together or read together or if you want more readings… I can make sure to help you out with that! I love you guys… and I am excited to meet with you guys again and talk about God and share with each other what God is doing in our lives and going to skate parks!


Thank you so much guys for your patience and for waiting to come back for a new semester to the “Eyes 4 Christ” Skate movement. Remember we want to make an impact on others and we want others to know of Gods, word, love, and grace, and even more!!!
I need you guys!!! I am excited to see what God does in our lives together as a team, and as a family, to live a life of faith and to follow Him, and to rally make this a movement that will glorify Him. Everything we do in life should be for him!!! Be excited, and come with a positive attitude, lets have fun together knowing our Father!!!

God Bless you guys, and know that I’ve missed you and I love you guys… peace!

Sincerely,
Evelin Mendoza

(Ha, I have a new last name! ;D)

Thank you EVELIN!!!

Genesis: How Honest are we?

Read the book of Genesis like you would read a newspaper.

Notice how fragmented the Early stories are... that is that there is no effort to make flow happen when what is known is known in part.

Notice how honest Genesis is about how the Patriarchs of the Old Testament... More honest than most of us would like to be about our own families...

It is said that History is told by those in power in such a manner as to make themselves look good.

This is not the nature of the Bible or is it???

Try this with a small of friends...

Step 1 Read Genesis through together... Just read it without judgement...

Step 2 Figure out how to sanely and honestly talk with God and these select friends at the same level of honesty as reflected in this book.

Step 3 Learn what it means to be honest and real in the whole of your life... past, present, and future. Let your friends help you in this journey.