India 2012: Day 5

Still on the train...

We are in the state of Punjab now. Another three or so hours to go. It's been a long ride.

We are diverting from Jammu-Kashmir for now because some opportunities for medical camps developed in Punjab, and we are taking them. We will proceed to Jammu City on Saturday.

I'm still in conversation with my new Muslim friend Mohamed. It seems that Christianity is not the direction he wants to go right now. But I have hope. We have exchanged email addresses, and desire to continue the conversation both on Christianity and business.

I have made another friend on the train: an Indian army soldier who is traveling to his new post in Kashmir. He is a believer in Christ, and has appreciated the encouragement. He is going to a very dangerous area, where terrorism is very prevalent, and there is one soldier for every two civilians.

Interesting note: That's where we are going too! In fact, we are seeing a greater presence of Indian army and security forces at the train stations the farther north we go.

(For any of my Indian friends following this Blog, we just passed through the city of Jalandhar Cantonment.)


Check in again soon for my next Blog post. My plan is to update daily. If you think others would like the read, share in your Facebook status, or send the link. Thanks for following!

India 2012: Day 4

I apologize. I was wrong. It wasn't intentional...

I had indicated in previous posts that our train journey from Andhra Pradesh was 37 hours long. I was misinformed. It is actually going to be 44 hours!

I am writing from the train even now. Pastor Daniel has a mobile connection for his laptop, so I'm connected!

Our team of seven began the journey Tuesday evening, boarding the train after a 30 minute ride to the station. We left around 7:00, and I survived the first night.

It's 9:30 am as I write this post, and we are slowing down as we approach a station somewhere in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

I have already connected with a young Muslim man from Srinigar, our eventual destination  We have talked about business, places to visit in Srinigar, import-export, and of course Christianity. Our connection will make the journey much more pleasant. I'm expecting more conversation, and a conversion!

I will update again as the internet permits. Until then, please continue to check my Blog for updates, and 'share', forward, and tweet this link.

India 2012: Day 3

A quiet day for the team as we prepare for tomorrow's 37 hour train journey to Jammu/Kashmir. I studied, read, and took a quick shopping trip this evening on the back of a motorcycle. Preparation tomorrow, then we leave for the train station in the late afternoon.

India 2012: Day 2

Today was a great day, as I was privileged to speak in three different churches, two this morning and one tonight.

I was taken by car across the city at 7:00 this morning and spoke in a small church with about 75 people present. They are people hungry for God's presence in a Hindu community. I encouraged them to follow the path the Lord puts in front of them, even if there are difficulties.

Then I was shuttled back to Pastor Daniel's church where over 750 gathered for worship and God's Word. I shared with this exciting congregation that God wants to use them to reach many people in this city, even as he already has.

Their mission is church planting, and they have been very successful at it. I prayed for about 250 people, and then had lunch and got to rest. It was a long morning.

This evening, I spoke at one of those church plants, where they held their first service in a newly constructed building. Well, it was eight pillars, a concrete roof, and half of a back wall, but it was their church building! They will continue to hold their worship services there as the construction continues.

The church is located in the middle of a large village, and as the only Christian witness there, they are over 250 strong while meeting for the past few years in the outdoors under a grove of trees. Wow!

Tomorrow is a day of rest and preparation for Tuesday's 37 hour train journey to Jammu-Kashmir in the north of India where we will conduct our medical camps.

Keep following this Blog, and if you think others would like the read, share it with them in your Facebook status, or email or tweet the link. Thanks for following!

India 2012: Day 1

The adventure continues...It began when I boarded the first of 4 flights to get to India. But I am here, safe, and tired!

I arrived in Hyderabad at 3:00 am on Saturday morning (India time), retrieved my luggage, proceeded through customs, then traveled by car for three hours to Kazipet.

I took a short nap, then spoke to over 500 at a the monthly Saturday service here at Ecclesia Ministries. After the traditional "garlanding", I spoke to the people, encouraging them to look to God in the face of problems with a story from the life of the prophet Elisha, accompanied by my faithful translator Jesher.

I then spent the next two hours praying for well over 300 people individually. They were hungry for a touch from God, and many had needs that I prayed for.

Every ten minutes or so we'd stop and listen to testimonies of people who had just been healed, physically or emotionally. It was a great beginning day to this trip to India!

Tomorrow I speak at three different churches here in Kazipet, beginning at 7:30 am. I think the "Biking Pastor" will be making a comeback (my mode of transport shuttling between churches)... I love it!

India: I Never Look Back

This Thursday I begin my journey to India. This will be the 9th time I will be going there to minister. I will be partnering with Pastor Daniel Kalyanapu, whom I have ministered with for seven of the eight previous times that I have been to this beautiful country.

Let me begin by saying I am grateful for Pastor Charles Schmitt of Immanuel's Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, whom I served with for 10 years before moving to Florida a year ago. Pastor Charles invited me to travel with him to India, and he put a passion in my heart for the Indian people. I have never looked back.

Pensacola, Memphis, Houston, Dubai, and Hyderabad is my air travel itinerary, then by car for three hours to Kazipet, Andhra Pradesh where I will begin speaking a few hours after I arrive.

After a few days of ministering in that area, our team will board the train for a 37 hour trip to Jammu in Kashmir, where we will conduct medical camps during the day, and then crusades in the evening.

We will make our way north by vehicle, conducting medical camps along the way, and ultimately end up in the beautiful city of Srinagar in the Himalayas for more ministry. This region is a very Muslim-dominated area, close to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Srinagar, Jammu, Delhi, Hyderabad, Dubai, Houston, Atlanta, and Pensacola are the stops for my journey home after 17 days.

I encourage you to follow this Blog during these days. I will be updating as often as logistically possible (travel and censorship restrictions might pose a challenge, but my goal is daily).

I ask you to encourage others to follow, to share my posts in your Facebook status, and to forward this link via email. I want you to participate with me on this trip.

Thank you for being a regular reader of Big Cloud Blog. I am honored.

Sound In The Silence

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We walk into the house and turn on the television. We start the car and turn on the radio. We sit down to study and put in our iPod ear buds.

It seems we are the most comfortable when there is some kind of noise going on around us.

Why is it that we gravitate toward noise and shun silence? What causes us to be uncomfortable in the quiet?

Perhaps it has to do with our inability to create our own sound in our silence. We need an outside source to stimulate our senses, rather than allow our imagination to inspire us. We aren't content with our quiet.

Or maybe in the silence we are forced to listen to what is in our hearts, and we've been avoiding that play list.

There is an ancient proverb that says: I've cultivated a quiet heart. I kind of like that: I've cultivated a quiet heart. In fact, I see four valuable truths in that short statement.

• I've - The responsibility is on the individual person to produce a quiet heart. No placing blame on parents, no indictment of upbringing, no criticizing the one's lack of educational opportunities. If it's to be accomplished, then I must work to accomplish it.
• Cultivated - A long-term strategy that requires discipline, consistency, and time. There are no shortcuts in cultivation. Farmers don't plant trees that already have fruit. They plant seeds, and do what it takes to produce fruit-bearing plants.
• Quiet - Herein lies the key. It is quiet that needs to be sought. Silence must be stronger than noise, stillness must be greater than commotion. To be satisfied with silence is to be comfortable with one's self.
• Heart - I believe that it is not the mind that is the center of the person, but rather the heart. That is why quiet needs to be cultivated in the heart. The same author of the proverb also said: Above all else guard your heart, for everything else flows from it.

I challenge us all to take the time to cultivate a quiet heart. Consistently turn off the noise and live in the quiet. Concentrate to your creativity. Meditate on God's Word. Receive what your Creator is saying to you. You will find plenty of sound in the silence.

Question: Do you find it difficult to be satisfied with silence? Share your thoughts below in comments.

   

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Best Day Ever

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I began yesterday expecting it to be a day of leading, influence, and productivity. It ended by me staying late at the office, and dealing with a no-win situation that caused me to feel frustration, discouragement, and uselessness. Definitely not my Best Day Ever.

Best Day Ever. I've heard that said many times lately. I've seen it in status updates. Sprint even claimed those words for its retail business on the day the iPhone 4S was launched.

Best Day Ever. Maybe you've heard it used, or a variation of it: Best weekend ever, Best night ever, Best worship service ever.

Best Day Ever. Have you ever had one? Can you declare with all certainty that today, or any other day for that matter, is your Best Day Ever? Maybe you've already experienced your Best Day Ever, but you've forgotten it: Your wedding day? The birth of a child? A Spiritual experience?

Perhaps the term Best Day Ever has become like other "common" pop phrases we hear so often: Final, Extreme, Epic. (Click on that link to read my recent thoughts on the subject.)

Is your Best Day Ever about what you gained, what you experienced, what satisfied you?

In an episode of Spongebob Square Pants, the wise philosopher Spongebob (who had planned a Best Day Ever for himself) laments "...'everything went wrong', and then gives an elaborate speech about how his Best Day Ever has been ruined. However, his friends tell him about how he helped them with their problems out of his kindness, and teach him that his Best Day Ever is not about 'perfect days', but about having friends."

Best Day Ever. May I challenge you to make every day the Best Day Ever. Do that by investing into the lives of other people, rather than seeking to get gratification for yourself. Don't let your problems and disappointments prevent you from experiencing the good that you are able to do, the positive influence you can have.

What may not be a Best Day Ever for you, may be great day for someone else.

Question: What has been your Best Day Ever? Was it for your benefit, or for someone else? Share your thoughts below in comments. 

   

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Don't Pay Attention

Creativity never stops. Sometimes we just don't pay attention to it.

Creativity doesn't leave us. Sometimes we just push it aside.

If you have a mind, you have an imagination. If you have an imagination, you are creative.

Even in the smallest, mundane actions, we exhibit creativity. What should I eat? What should I wear? What should I say?

Asking What if? and Why not? are creative endeavors. So is asking Why?

It's only when we say I don't care that we cease to be creative. But even in not caring we are being creative, because we are tapping into something within us that makes the choice not to care. And by choosing, we are creating a path by which to walk.

Creativity never stops. Sometimes we just don't pay attention to it.

Question: Do you ever feel you stop being creative? Share your thoughts below in comments. 

   

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Image And Reflection

This morning as I was driving in to work, I noticed a seagull standing in about two inches of water of the Santa Rosa Sound (the body of water that parallels the coast of Northwest Florida separating the mainland from the Island).

The water was like a mirror: calm and clear, and the reflection of the seagull was crisp, as if there were another below it. A remarkable, sight in my opinion.

I began to think about our reflection, and the image we project. How do we come across to others? How are we seen? These thoughts came to mind:

• We cannot control the backdrop by which our reflection is projected. We are not always going to have calm and clear conditions for our image to reflect against. Most of the time life is turbulent and changing. Would there be the same beauty had the water been choppy and grey?
• We cannot control how our reflection is seen and interpreted. At 50 mph, a quick glance at the water through a break in the trees revealed this picture to me. Am I sure it was a seagull? Could it have been two birds, close together?
• We cannot control when our reflection is seen. The bird was still, and I saw it as if captured in a moment. But how often are we still, and seen by others in a moment of inactivity and calm? And if we are still and seen, what are doing at that moment?

My conclusion: Don't focus on the image we project, or the reflection we cast. Rather, concentrate on who we are: our character, our relationships, our influence. Ask yourself: Do I want to be seen, or do I desire to affect others?

Question: What is more important to you: Who you are, or the image you project? Share your thoughts below in comments.

   

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Final, Extreme, Epic Creativity

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We are good at devaluing. Look at our economy: the value of the dollar is constantly falling. Property values are down, inflation is up, things cost more.

Your immediate thought may be to blame others (elected officials, political party, other countries). And in doing so, we devalue personal responsibility.

Human life? We have devalued it to the point where the argument has become about "choice" rather than about "life".

And what about our language? Words that had one meaning 20, 10, even five years ago have been devalued to commonplace.

Final used to mean ending, complete, conclusive. If that were true, how can there be a Final Fantasy XIV available for game systems?

Extreme used to identify the outer reaches of, the utmost, the farthest. Now what was once considered extreme in our culture is simply ordinary.

And then of course there is the term epic. Heroic, majestic, impressively great are original definitions. Now anyone can take an iPhone video and post on YouTube where it can easily be tagged as epic.

I am choosing the words Final, Extreme, and Epic to describe the creativity that God used in ransoming the human race (which by the way Christians are celebrating as "the Resurrection" this Sunday, as opposed to Easter, which has taken on a devalued meaning in our culture).

When faced with the enormous task of redeeming mankind, God conceived the most extraordinary and creative plan ever: sacrificing His own sinless Son for the sins of all humanity: past, present, and future.

It was final, in that it was complete and conclusive. It was extreme, in that it reached out to the utmost, the farthest. It was epic, in that it was heroic, majestic, impressively great.

Pretty creative, I must say.

Question: What are your thoughts on the final, extreme, and epic Creativity that God used in reaching mankind? Share your thoughts below in comments. 

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