parallels in John and Phil

The incarnation is obviously important. I cannot get over the similarities of these two passages and am trying to dwell on the importance of the reflection of humility they raise. Two authors one message in two ways- Jesus condescended to become man, lived the life we should have lived, died the death we should have died and ascended into the heavens to sit at the right hand of the Father on high in power.

Parallels between Philippians 2 and John 13 that are intriguing:

John 13:3-4 - ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

Phil 2:7 - ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men

John 13:5 - ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him

Phil 2:7 -  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men

John 13:12 - ¹² When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place...

Phil 2:9 - ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

John 13:13 - ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.

Phil 2:11 - ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Here is a great video by my friend Isaac at The Village Church. Merry Christmas

Advent: God With Us from The Village Church on Vimeo.

move to austin- fall update soon to come... hopefully

We have moved to Austin.

I know that we had planned to write this in June however we thought better to wait for certain reasons.

 It all started way back in March….

I was looking for jobs knowing that Lindsey appreciated having a teaching position and even liked the teaching part but I was finishing school.  School number 2; Masters of religion school.  This meant I needed something to do, a place to earn money.  However, my future form of employment was more than just “I need to find a good company” and more like I need to find a “good church, with similar theology and philosophy of ministry, relational connection, and some money.” As we looked, this was almost impossible to find. The big issue seems to be lack of official titled experience, which I understand but is also ridiculous… no bitterness.

Anyway, in our search we decided that it would be better to go to a place where we knew that we would be cared for, with leaders that we trusted.  There would be nothing worse then going across the country for a random church job and learning that we do not get along and are stuck in a far away town with no friends, family, or church.  That would be bad news.  So, we decided on Austin. In Austin, we would have family, some friends, and a church (Soma Community Church)  Also, I was already in a hiring process for a job and if that did not work out (which it did not), there was always the prospect of continuing to work at the great Starbucks, doing ministry and coaching baseball.

On the baseball front, it baseball seemed to come out of nowhere.  I had never thought about getting back into the game but decided that this might be a good opportunity, great experience and fun. The opportunity came when my former high school select coach from Austin Baseball Club, gave me a call and asked me to coach for the summer. If I enjoyed it and it worked we could reevaluate it at the end of the summer. We prayed about it and thought it  was the right thing to do for now.

This became our plan.  We would go to Austin with the idea that I already had a job at sbux and coaching baseball.  All that needed to happen now was for Lindsey to get a job. Whoops. That did not happen...

Not could Lindsey not find a job but baseball was taking up the time that was available for church ministry or even attendance for that matter (remember that whole Masters of art in religion thing). Also, Starbucks continued to cut my hours, which would not provide enough income for us to live in Austin.  Luckily we had a back up, Rockwall.

We were prepared to move back to Rockwall. Having been praying and patiently/impatiently waiting for jobs in Austin. At this point however, there was no time left to decide because Lindsey started school in August 25 or so and it was already July 28^th. 

However, after waiting for the whole summer for something to happen on the job front for both Lindsey and I, the Lord provided. Within a week and a half of each other, we both were provided jobs. 

She is working with a company that is creating online chemistry teaching curriculum called Sapling. It is everything she loved about teaching but one that ends when she left the parking lot.

My is and will be interesting… a middle school counselor/teacher/coach.  One of the teachers described it as “Kindergartners on steroids.” Good times.  So far, however, I really enjoy it.  The kids are interesting and fun.  To go along with the official counselor position, they have me co-teaching Bible class and coaching the middle school baseball team in the spring. Perfect fits (it seems so far) 

We are thankful that the Lord has moved us here and provided such wonderful community.

Geneva then home again

Jimmy and I spent our last 2 days in Europe on our own in Geneva. Yesterday, was Jimmy's 1st full day off in a few weeks! It was great to finally have some time to relax together after a long school/work year. We spent most of our time at the Reformation Museum and the Archeological Site under the John Calvin's Church. We got lots of great pictures, which we can't to show everyone! We are back in the States now, about to board the last leg of our flight from Charlotte to Dallas! Can't wait to be home!