mondo the muse

sick

2008-01-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

So its been awhile since I've checked this or written. However, it seems that this is the only fun thing I have to do right about now. I've been in suffering from a sort of mystery rash (gross, I know). To bring anyone who cares up to date Ive been to the Urgent Care, the ER (twice) and have had 4 prescribed drugs inhabit my body. Not to mention the 3 Advil's every 4 hours, the benadryl and occasional Tylenol PM for sleep. I am currently residing on a air mattress in our living room bored out of my mind. Salena works in the day. I got one more Doctors appointment today. A specialist. Hopefully I will get some clarity.

love mondo

My friend adam wilson.

2007-07-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Has given me motivation to write more.

mondo

Finale final

2007-05-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight I will study
Tomorrow I will take my last college final
Saturday I will Graduate

2007-04-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

The wedding blog
click it

The knot.

2007-03-05T23:11:00.000-08:00

CHRISTmas

2006-12-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

A reading from the Gospel of John,
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it...14 (and) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Seasons Greetings,
mondo

Free thought writing :: part 2

2006-11-30T17:36:00.000-08:00

What does a life lived for God really look like? Does it mean that we continue in our dreams/job/profession as before? Do we sell everything and move to Africa? Do we share Christ with our Co-workers, and maybe justify our reasons for continuing life like normal? What does a person who comes to know God do with the rest of his life? I've realized that since I work in a church, I rarely think about this question. What would I do if I didn't work in a church? who knows? But I know that working in a church doesn't give me a speed pass to heaven. I still struggle to "get it" sometimes.

Jesus said that we need to deny ourselves, take up a cross, and follow Him. Jesus made the statement, "Unless you forsake all that you have, you cannot be my disciple." I ask myself, “Is that me?” I answer quickly, "I dont know." I tend to treat these verses as something that comes later in life, something that is part of sanctification. I say to myself, "I'll get there when I'm fifty,” thinking that this is something I will eventually understand. Yet the verses are in the context of pre-conversion. He's speaking to a crowd who was following him yet, they had not really counted the cost of what it means to follow him. Thus, this is something we decide before we become a Christian. Jesus spoke this very plainly. No smoke, no mirrors, no room for misinterpretation only the need for revelation. So why is it so hard for me (us) to get?
Sincerely frustrated with myself, Mondo

Free thought writing :: part 1

2006-10-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

Life is ordained and governed by God and yet we play our part. It's a mystery I will never fully understand and that's Okay with me. The secret things are His.
I always hear the statment, "No matter hard things may be, it could always be worst." Like warm soup when I'm cold, this statment makes me feel good for a little while. However, I've come to discover that discovery is what you make it. I believe that statment is so true, especially for a christian. We deserve a lot worst then that which we get. Apart from His mercy, were screwed. God said to Job, "Who has first given to me, that I must repay?" Nobody!
Anyone who has lived knows that the world sucks. Life is hard and full of disapointments. I say this impartially knowing that I have done my part. I say it from experiance. Sin is so ugly. Its so dark. Yet, from depravity God calls some to himself. We now exit darkness into light. So many times, I see the previous statement as just a metaphor and not a reality. We will always deserve more hardship than that which we recieve. Thats the beauty of God's Grace.

For more: click here

Im making a come back,

2006-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Boy do I have some drama. In the mean time, watch this..

Mondo

life @ 25

2006-06-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

So far I have been informed of a much-needed awareness towards adulthood. ThatÂs not a bad thing but can be scary. I have had my house broken into costing me my brand new ipod and lots more. Not to mention that yesterday I got caught in a domestic dispute between my troubled uncle and his troubled wife. Ohh man. 8 days in, 357 left.
BRING IT!
_____________________________
Revised 10/5

I Totaled my car. It wasn't my fault. Man did that traumatized me. I cant drive through an intersection without a stomach ache and my foot on the brakes.
My Parents are splitting up. This has been really hard to deal with.
My great Uncle died just as I was getting ready to ask my Girlfriend (Now Fiance) to marry me. So what's Next. At least I have a wonderful woman to share this with. Thanks babe! I love You!

"Mother, Please!"

2006-06-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

Mother, Please! on Transbuddha
It's Dope!

7 days till...

2006-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

...I turn 25.

amateur art...

2006-06-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

...up for interpretation.

One of the best nights.

salena's end result.

my end result.

BEWARE!!!

2006-05-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

not much to say right now! maybe tomorrow , maybe not.

I love this a latte'

2006-05-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

This comic artist is getting sued for the remake of Starbucks classic mermaid logo. Why? details here

What do you think? Should he be sued? As a former ex-barista of Starbucks, I would say he's not far from the truth but man do they make a good Grande, soy, 2 1/2 pump sugar-free vanilla, @ 168 degrees, 1 splenda latte'. Oh and there's supposed to be caramel on that!!!! Why blame the company? Its us! We want our lattes'
And we'll do anything to get them!

I recall this lady who comes in twice a day, everyday. Her drink of preferance was an Iced venti Non-fat, 3 pump mocha, with no whip. Thats about $4.50 a drink. Total = around $9 dollars a day. Well, one day I asked her how things were going (those are the rules, engage with customer and pretent you care), and she told me not so well, she had lost her job about two weeks ago & has had no luck finding another one but there was no way thet she would go with out her drink! (those were her words).
Starbucks is just giving the people what they want! Consumption - con·sump·tion n
1. the eating or drinking of something, or the amount that a person eats or drinks
2. the use of natural resources or fuels or the amount of resources or fuels used
3. the purchase and use of goods and services by consumers, or the quantity of goods and services purchased
4. any condition that causes progressive wasting of the tissues, especially tuberculosis of the lungs (dated)

Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Why hide the truth! Be real! Starbucks serve us while we serve ourselves!

church softball

2006-05-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

So last night, Monday (May 15), I went to go watch my Dad play Americas Greatest Past Time, baseball. Its accually softball, but thats not really relevant. What is relevant is that this was church softball. Anyways, he has been playing on this team for about 10 years and lives for it. The team belongs to my old church which my parents still attend. It is such a familiar place being ther watching my Dad. I remember when I was in Jr. high being @ every game. Even in High School, I never missed one of his games. However, as a kid I guess I never got to just sit and watch what really goes on. Man, what a weird group. First off, Ive never seen so much grumbling about nothing. "Was he safe or not?" It was accually really funny. There was 4 teams playing from from different churches. The group was mixed. It was one Assembly of God Church, one Foursquare Church, One Church of God church and one Catholic Church. All in all the game was some what good. I just thought it was very interesting how aside from the indiviual jersey's with the church logo's on them, a stranger could probably walk on the scene and not know any difference between this league and a secular league. The real concern was during the 6th ending. Two guys from the other team on another fielfd had a head on collision. It was bad. Both guys were knocked out on the ground. Both were bleeding pretty bad. Turned out that both had to be taken to the hospital by the ambulance. My problem is that while this was all happening the other two teams were still playing softball! What! It was hard not to be bothered by it because to me it was just a dumb softball game. These guys were hurt, bad! Not to mention the fact that these were all supposed believers (Im assuming). Ahhh, I dont know. Maybe Im to motivated out of my own frustration. I could go on but I would just be voicing empty opinions. Sorry.
P.S. I really do love the Church, seriously! Please dont take this as another raving on the failure of the church, becuase its not. Its merely situational. Much love.

my conviction

2006-05-15T01:38:00.000-07:00

I have recently come across an interesting website. evilbible.com Im sure I dont need to explain much more. The name is says it all. It is a site completely dedicated to disproving and distorting scripture. The organization is very zealous in doing so. I do commend them on their study (as bias and false as it may be). They have done an extreme amount of reseach and have sufficiently supplied their opposition. As I sat and read every article my spirit sank. I looked at the carefullly selected passages (mostly from of the Old Testament) & watch as they were misused and distorted. I began to worry. I wondered to myself, "How many of the people in our churches could read these articles & not be shaken in their faith?" I couldn't help assume few. My second question was, "How much damage has this done in the eyes of unbelievers?" I have no doubt that the issues are from scripture. They do an excellent job of siting them. They even stick to good solid translations (NAS, NIV). However, they have taken these verses and tried to understand them with no guidance from the spirit. They concentrate on the wrath of God and how in their eyes this is unjust, and cruel. Some examples: RITUAL HUMAN SACRIFICE IN THE BIBLE, RAPE IN THE BIBLE, MURDER IN THE BIBLE, JESUS LIED, EVIL BIBLE QUOTES, & lastly a TOP 10 LIST on how to figure on whether or not your a fundamentalist christian (which was quite funny). However, I wonder how many of my high school students can read this and be ok?

The Problem:

The problem is not the site. In fact, they are asking some very important questions. Its just their in no position to explain them --- Then who should? Why does this suprise people in our churches? Are we avoiding these issues? Why does stuff like this directly oppose the heart of the American Christianity and its understanding of God?
I think that given a few years back something like this would have rocked me. I would have had no biblical foundation to stand on. Which seems to be the norm of some believers. I think that in order better see things like this one must see the motives of people/groups who propose such accusation. This shouldn't be a suprise when we face this stuff, Jesus promised it. What to do you expect from depraved people? We were in no better state before salvation. Don't expect non-christaians to act like christians. We can't even get some christians to act like chirstians. The second thing is to know your bible and know your God. Accuracy is key. Not all things God orchestrates and ordains make us feel good. However, we shouldnt hide these or avoid them.

My easy solution is to hope that people never end up on this site, but I know thats not the answer. The anwser is to prepare and equip the body for these things. Im not speaking from apologetics stand point but a biblical stand point. We must do it by simply teaching it and not avoiding it. Im not talking about a special class limited to those who care to take it but a weekly theme in our services (given thats the subject).

Concluding... who knows if im right or not. I just get scared. Im scared that I wouldnt be prepare upon somebody questioning these issues and looking to me to have an anwser. I dont know all there is but I do take this as motivation to know more.

To my suprise this whole issue has caused me to evaluate some other issues. I have a dear family friend who is converting to mormonism. Her baptism is coming up and I am figuring out whether to go or not. My instant thought to the situation is negative. I have many opinions about the religion. Most of them taken from carm.org, my infaliable, one-stop-shop for apologetic truth (sarcasm) . They have a nice concise 5 point nutshell on what's wrong with the religion. I don't doubt most of the things CARM notes as truth. I know mormanism is false but I dont want to rely on CARM for that conclusion. After seeing Evilbible.com and the way they handled scripture I can't help think thats what we do with CARM (although I dont at all think thats the goal of carm). We goto site's like these with a presupposition of finding the proofs to prove the religion wrong. Ironically, this is based on the research of others with that very goal in mind. I know that CARM quotes the very writtings of Joseph Smith and others but so does evilbible.com do with scripture. I know Im spliting hairs and most likely being unclear in exactly what Im saying. None the less, I have decided to study the material in which morman author's develope. I have actually begun this process and have already validated some of the data carm.org has already confirmed but I feel better doing so through their writtings rather then carm. My goal is to better understand the religoin in the context of how they understand it. At the same time I want to discover & and uncover what is hidden (the skeletons in the closet). This is really nothing against carm or apologetics but rather the way people use them. I just feel that we rely too much on these sort of things and are never allowed to question them. Imagine if thats what we did with evilbible. com.

goodnight! (its late, sorry about any misspellings)

communist party

2006-05-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

8:31 am

2006-05-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

my paper is done. Thanks to my first all nighter.

3:54am

2006-05-11T03:33:00.000-07:00

Church office
Church History
Greek Exegesis
Sugar-free red bulls
Iced Coffee
Donette's
hot Chocolate
beef jerky
ambient beats
lots more to go...

Tonight as I study...

2006-05-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

...i will be depending on these!

CHRISTIAN CRACK!

upgrading

2006-01-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

From Chatrooms to aim to myspace and now BLOGGER. I guess I'm playing with the big boys now!