Back in the day when I used to play video games,* I always enjoyed one thing the most. At the end of certain games (like Jak and Daxter, for instance,) they would offer you a glimpse at your stats throughout the game. These stats included "Enemies killed," "Enemies spared," "Shots fired," "Specials collected," and so on. The game kept track of almost everything you did during play, and then after the final cut scene you could look over it all and marvel at your awesomeness.
I was thinking the other day, what with the end of my first year in college drawing to a close,** about that feature in video games. What if we had that feature in our own lives? What if, at the end of big events like high school, for instance, we could look back over our stats. I wonder what stats I would be most interested in? I've decided on a few that I would want to know in regard to this last school year...
-Number of books read
-Hours of TV watched
-Time spent reading the Bible
-Time spent surfing the internet
-People I've encouraged
-People I've put down
-Money saved
-Money spent on entertainment
-Hours spent doing homework/studying
-Hours spent watching movies/internet cartoons
I wonder what those stats would be. I wonder how I'd feel about the answers. I wonder what I can do this day to improve them...
Thanks for Reading,
-Daniel K
*Now I'm much more sophisticated, what with longboarding and gallon challenges.
**WHAT?!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
New Discoveries.
It's strange how much you learn in doing even the most trivial of tasks. I'm making a cardboard standup of myself for no apparent reason,* and in doing so, I've already made so many new discoveries. I thought I'd share some with you;
1. I stood the cardboard up against a wall and sized my psuedo-self up. Wow, I never knew how tall I was...
2. Printing off a large picture of my face to adorn the cardboard neck, I discovered I am not too good at shaving.
3. Drawing shoes on to the feet, I wondered how I balanced on those little appendages so well.
4. Even though I sometimes consider myself to be out of shape, I spent well over a half hour trying to cut myself out of a refrigerator box. What a shape that was!
5. Hands are weird**
6. Clothes make the man. Especially when he's a cardboard man
7. The silhouette of my fist looks remarkably like a hamster
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Yeah, I'm totally not ditching an extremely important WOW meeting to go to Texas this weekend and so trying to make a standup of myself to fill in for my absence....
**Hans is, too, but that's a different story.
1. I stood the cardboard up against a wall and sized my psuedo-self up. Wow, I never knew how tall I was...
2. Printing off a large picture of my face to adorn the cardboard neck, I discovered I am not too good at shaving.
3. Drawing shoes on to the feet, I wondered how I balanced on those little appendages so well.
4. Even though I sometimes consider myself to be out of shape, I spent well over a half hour trying to cut myself out of a refrigerator box. What a shape that was!
5. Hands are weird**
6. Clothes make the man. Especially when he's a cardboard man
7. The silhouette of my fist looks remarkably like a hamster
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Yeah, I'm totally not ditching an extremely important WOW meeting to go to Texas this weekend and so trying to make a standup of myself to fill in for my absence....
**Hans is, too, but that's a different story.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Best.
So I just got back from a HUGE snowball fight* and I think I had an epiphany. I'm pretty sure it happened somewhere between my first snowbath and when I got full-on pegged in the eye from across the volleyball court. It was as follows: "Wow, I'm not good at a lot of stuff."
It's depressing to think about, really. I knew, coming into the fight, that I'm no good at throwing. But that was okay, because I could just run around a lot and get into a close-range fight, then do alright (except I also have terrible aim.) So I wasn't too put-off whenever I threw a snowball to have it land a few feet short of my target... I'm better at other stuff, anyways.
Later on in the fight, I decided to utilize something I consider myself good at - wrestling. So when we charged a group of my friends, I dropped the snowballs I couldn't really use too well anyway and tackled a guy. It was an okay little skirmish, and we both kinda got tired and backed off after a while. Then about ten minutes later, while standing on the volleyball court with some friends and lobbing an occasional snowball, I was suddenly blindsided by Vahn running full-force. By the time I had recovered from the initial shock, he was already on top of me and shoving snow in my face. Lovely... beat at my own game.
But that's all okay, right? I've never been too much of a fighter anyway. What I'm really good at is taking charge of a situation that needs taking charge of. Yet when a girl from the Sandlot stairwell came into some misfortune and fell to the ground pretty hurt, I just kinda stood there with the rest of the people and looked. It was Chad who stepped forward right away and made sure the situation was taken care of.
Hmmm. Alright, alright, but I mean what I'm really, really good at is school, right? What I can beat anyone else at is excelling academically, right? Then I remember the fact that once again, there are so many people a whole lot better than me at that, too.
It's depressing to think about, really.
I guess I can take comfort in the realization that it's not so much what one thing I'm good at, but more of the fact that I'm made of so many different talents. And when you really think about it, there are very few people who can ever claim to be the best at anything.
I think the moral of the story is that I should spend less time comparing myself to others and more time focusing on who I am.
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Yeah... It's mid-April and we got 10 inches of snow today. Go Colorado...?
It's depressing to think about, really. I knew, coming into the fight, that I'm no good at throwing. But that was okay, because I could just run around a lot and get into a close-range fight, then do alright (except I also have terrible aim.) So I wasn't too put-off whenever I threw a snowball to have it land a few feet short of my target... I'm better at other stuff, anyways.
Later on in the fight, I decided to utilize something I consider myself good at - wrestling. So when we charged a group of my friends, I dropped the snowballs I couldn't really use too well anyway and tackled a guy. It was an okay little skirmish, and we both kinda got tired and backed off after a while. Then about ten minutes later, while standing on the volleyball court with some friends and lobbing an occasional snowball, I was suddenly blindsided by Vahn running full-force. By the time I had recovered from the initial shock, he was already on top of me and shoving snow in my face. Lovely... beat at my own game.
But that's all okay, right? I've never been too much of a fighter anyway. What I'm really good at is taking charge of a situation that needs taking charge of. Yet when a girl from the Sandlot stairwell came into some misfortune and fell to the ground pretty hurt, I just kinda stood there with the rest of the people and looked. It was Chad who stepped forward right away and made sure the situation was taken care of.
Hmmm. Alright, alright, but I mean what I'm really, really good at is school, right? What I can beat anyone else at is excelling academically, right? Then I remember the fact that once again, there are so many people a whole lot better than me at that, too.
It's depressing to think about, really.
I guess I can take comfort in the realization that it's not so much what one thing I'm good at, but more of the fact that I'm made of so many different talents. And when you really think about it, there are very few people who can ever claim to be the best at anything.
I think the moral of the story is that I should spend less time comparing myself to others and more time focusing on who I am.
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Yeah... It's mid-April and we got 10 inches of snow today. Go Colorado...?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Favorites.
My current favorite...
Song: "How He Loves," by John Mark McMillan
Book: "Sophie's World," by Jostein Gaarner
Class: Philosophy, with Professor DeVore
Place: The Ghetto (the stairwell, mind you)
Activity: Biking to downtown and sightseeing from high places
Food: Dill Pickle flavored sunflower seeds (I know... weird, right?)
Drink: Dr. Dew. (Half Dr. Pepper, half Mountain Dew, courtesy of Dan the Man)
Movie: Watchmen
Passage in Scripture: 2 Chronicles 32:20-21
Time of the day: 5:30PM, when I go to dinner with the Ghetto
Time of the week: It's a tie between Wednesday nights when I get to meet with my Junior High Boys' small group and Tuesday nights when we have Stiz Tiz*
Person to randomly talk to: Tiffany Harris
Person to hang out with: Scott Bollen
Person to be challenged by: Cooper Pasque
Memory from this semester: When we snuck into the library and spent the night masquerading around with Nerf guns and All-Campus Communion to kick off Spiritual Emphasis Week
Discovery: That people will give you lots of money if you can entertain them with a bucket and some drumsticks
Thought: 1 John 4:4
Thing to do when bored: Write in my blog or play Desktop Tower Defense**
Professor: A tie between the aforementioned Professor DeVore and Dr. Buzzel
TV Show: Pshh, TV?
Band: Caedmon's Call
Phrase: "What the (insert applicable word here)!"***
Game: Running Man
Feeling: When I get a big essay done on time (only four more left this semester!)
Sound: Thunder
Smell: Incense (any kind, really...)
Time to do homework: When I'm 'working' at the Admissions Office
Time to end this blog: Now
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Stiz Tiz is our weekly stairwell meeting where we share stories and get announcements and such
**Super addicting and fun... Google it sometime and give it a whirl
***Examples include: "What the heck!" when frustrated, "What the text!" when perplexed by a text message, or even "What the prank!" when you realize you've been had.
Song: "How He Loves," by John Mark McMillan
Book: "Sophie's World," by Jostein Gaarner
Class: Philosophy, with Professor DeVore
Place: The Ghetto (the stairwell, mind you)
Activity: Biking to downtown and sightseeing from high places
Food: Dill Pickle flavored sunflower seeds (I know... weird, right?)
Drink: Dr. Dew. (Half Dr. Pepper, half Mountain Dew, courtesy of Dan the Man)
Movie: Watchmen
Passage in Scripture: 2 Chronicles 32:20-21
Time of the day: 5:30PM, when I go to dinner with the Ghetto
Time of the week: It's a tie between Wednesday nights when I get to meet with my Junior High Boys' small group and Tuesday nights when we have Stiz Tiz*
Person to randomly talk to: Tiffany Harris
Person to hang out with: Scott Bollen
Person to be challenged by: Cooper Pasque
Memory from this semester: When we snuck into the library and spent the night masquerading around with Nerf guns and All-Campus Communion to kick off Spiritual Emphasis Week
Discovery: That people will give you lots of money if you can entertain them with a bucket and some drumsticks
Thought: 1 John 4:4
Thing to do when bored: Write in my blog or play Desktop Tower Defense**
Professor: A tie between the aforementioned Professor DeVore and Dr. Buzzel
TV Show: Pshh, TV?
Band: Caedmon's Call
Phrase: "What the (insert applicable word here)!"***
Game: Running Man
Feeling: When I get a big essay done on time (only four more left this semester!)
Sound: Thunder
Smell: Incense (any kind, really...)
Time to do homework: When I'm 'working' at the Admissions Office
Time to end this blog: Now
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Stiz Tiz is our weekly stairwell meeting where we share stories and get announcements and such
**Super addicting and fun... Google it sometime and give it a whirl
***Examples include: "What the heck!" when frustrated, "What the text!" when perplexed by a text message, or even "What the prank!" when you realize you've been had.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Makes You Think.
Austin, Vahn, Dustin and I were just out exploring campus* a few minutes ago when suddenly all the lights (except for at the Student Union and Waite Hall,) went out. Lucky for us, we had all brought flashlights anyway, so we continued to poke around all the nooks and crannies for treasure.
It was strange with all the lights out, really. I had never seen the "Academic Side" of campus without the street lamps and other types of illumination, since they always came on by sunset. Walking around the eerily quiet, uncharacteristically dark buildings turned out to be extremely fun. It reminded me of an excerpt from a book I'm reading for Philosophy Class, entitled Sophie's World. (Forgive me for not quoting it directly, because I'm typing this in the dark as my roommate sleeps, and my battery is too low to leave my desk and go to the livingroom.)
Anyway, in the book, Sophie's Philosophy teacher is telling her about Hume and his staunch empiricism. The teacher makes an interesting statement regarding nature's laws. According to Hume, natural laws such as gravity weren't able to be proven, because the only evidence we had was the fact that every time we drop something, it falls to the ground. Yet since Locke only believed what you experienced was certain, gravity was not certain because we can not experience things ALWAYS dropping. We can only assume that if we let go of a rock, it will drop because hat's what has always happened
Furthermore, what was brought to my mind because of the dark campus, was the next little bit of philosophy. The philosophy teacher gave the following example (again, excuse the lack of direct quotes... I'm paraphrasing.)
"Imagine you were in a room with a one-year-old, and a rock was dropped but it didn't fall. Instead, it just floated in midair. How impressed do you think the infant would be?" He asked.
"I suppose it wouldn't be too excited," Sophie answered.
"Why?"
"Well, it hasn't experienced a lot of things dropping, so its expectations were not set in stone."
"Good. Now, imagine you are at a magic show with the same infant, and you both observe a magician as he causes objects to float in the air. Who would be more impressed, you or the child?"
"I would be, because I have experienced things dropping so much that I would better appreciate how impossible it all is."
The philosophy teacher then went on to explain the danger of possessing these preconceived expectations for things. He suggests that perhaps we miss a lot because we always expect with certainty what will happen. As I strolled around the pitch-black campus, I realized that in a small way, I had the preconceived idea that campus would always be lit up at night. After all, it always was.
Yet tonight it wasn't. I wonder what else "won't." I wonder how much I expect to happen and in doing so miss the simply beauty or enormous complexity of it. Makes you think.
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*We were looking for storm drains, basements, or access to roofs. Anything fun, really.
It was strange with all the lights out, really. I had never seen the "Academic Side" of campus without the street lamps and other types of illumination, since they always came on by sunset. Walking around the eerily quiet, uncharacteristically dark buildings turned out to be extremely fun. It reminded me of an excerpt from a book I'm reading for Philosophy Class, entitled Sophie's World. (Forgive me for not quoting it directly, because I'm typing this in the dark as my roommate sleeps, and my battery is too low to leave my desk and go to the livingroom.)
Anyway, in the book, Sophie's Philosophy teacher is telling her about Hume and his staunch empiricism. The teacher makes an interesting statement regarding nature's laws. According to Hume, natural laws such as gravity weren't able to be proven, because the only evidence we had was the fact that every time we drop something, it falls to the ground. Yet since Locke only believed what you experienced was certain, gravity was not certain because we can not experience things ALWAYS dropping. We can only assume that if we let go of a rock, it will drop because hat's what has always happened
Furthermore, what was brought to my mind because of the dark campus, was the next little bit of philosophy. The philosophy teacher gave the following example (again, excuse the lack of direct quotes... I'm paraphrasing.)
"Imagine you were in a room with a one-year-old, and a rock was dropped but it didn't fall. Instead, it just floated in midair. How impressed do you think the infant would be?" He asked.
"I suppose it wouldn't be too excited," Sophie answered.
"Why?"
"Well, it hasn't experienced a lot of things dropping, so its expectations were not set in stone."
"Good. Now, imagine you are at a magic show with the same infant, and you both observe a magician as he causes objects to float in the air. Who would be more impressed, you or the child?"
"I would be, because I have experienced things dropping so much that I would better appreciate how impossible it all is."
The philosophy teacher then went on to explain the danger of possessing these preconceived expectations for things. He suggests that perhaps we miss a lot because we always expect with certainty what will happen. As I strolled around the pitch-black campus, I realized that in a small way, I had the preconceived idea that campus would always be lit up at night. After all, it always was.
Yet tonight it wasn't. I wonder what else "won't." I wonder how much I expect to happen and in doing so miss the simply beauty or enormous complexity of it. Makes you think.
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*We were looking for storm drains, basements, or access to roofs. Anything fun, really.
Friday, April 10, 2009
This Week In Ghetto...
Just thought I'd give you all a snapshot of my week thus far...
Monday
Wake up, roll out of bed, and start running. Light and Life staff meeting from 7:30 to 8:30, then straight to work at the Admissions Office until 10:00. Old Testament doesn't start until 10:50, so I take the 50 minute gap and start reading the book A Case For Peace by Alan Dershowitz... book analysis paper due on Thursday. Go to Old Testament, learn some sweet crud about The Writings, go to Philosophy, turn in Nietzsche reading questions, learn more about said philosopher, got to Creative Writing and peer review our stories, then go meet with academic advisor regarding scholarships. Spend the rest of the afternoon reading A Case For Peace, then go play Ultimate Frisbee for intramurals followed immediately by dinner with the Ghetto Ultimate Frisbee Team. Go shopping at Savers for props for the youth group set, get back around 9, spend the rest of the night reading, go to bed.
Tuesday
Wake up, roll out of bed, and start running. Breakfast at 7:30, then try to stay alert while reading in the Library until 9:25 when public Speaking starts. After class, chapel from 10:50 to 11:40. I have "lunch duty," so I meet up with the day's Preview Students after Chapel and chill with them in the Caf, exchanging various pleasantries and answering any questions. Read as much as possible between lunch and my 1:40 Middle East class, where I learn about Britain's conquest of the Suez, Egypt, and most of North Africa. Waited around for the Student Government meeting to start, only to realize that I had the wrong schedule and meetings resume next week. Go back home and continue reading, then meet up with Trash Club a little late. From there, I head to a D-Group meeting, then to Stiz Tiz. Since everyone in our stairwell has given their story already, we had a "Feats of Strength" contest, during which I successfully beat one of my roommates in wrestling but ended up with a really badly rugburned knee. Nurse my wounds while reading until bed.
Wednesday
Wake up, roll out of bed, stumble on some dirty laundry, and start running. Eat breakfast at 7:30, then go to work at the Admissions Office from 8:00 to 10:00, at which time I take some Previews on a campus tour, then head to Old Testament at 10:50. Then Philosophy. Then Creative Writing, where a few classmates and I decided to ditch given that were once again peer editing and it was 70 degrees outside. Spent the class time starting my essay on A Case For Peace, then went to the WOW committee meeting from 3:00 to 4:00 (We finally got postcards to mail to registered students!). After WOW I grabbed an old-school typewriter and made the familiar 15 minute walk to church, set up the stage (using said typewriter, an overhead projector, a rickety old chair, and a retro leather jacket on one side, then a laptop, gaming chair, digital projector, and North Face jacket on the other.) Facilitated a game of good-old-fashioned whiffleball, the hosted my Junior High Boys' small group until 8:45, when I headed back to school to work more on my essay. Met with a friend in the library and worked on my essay, then headed back to the Ghetto around 12 and went to bed.
Today
Woke up, rolled out of bed, climbed over the mountain of dirty laundry, and started running. Finished my essay before 9:25 Public Speaking, then sat through some debates and went to Chapel. Excellent Chapel... it was Easter Communion so I had a blast. Came back to the Ghetto afterwards and hung out with Scooter and Cam (under the pretense of proofreading my essay,) until 1:40 when I went to Middle East class. I proudly turned in my essay, then learned more about Britain's Imperialism and Turkish Nationalism. Afterwards, I had a brief reprieve in the good weather as I stood victorious over A Case For Peace, then came back home and helped clean up for the night. At 8:00 I went to eat at Chili's with Dan the Man, Scooter, and Logan. By 9:30 we met up with a bunch of other Ghetto guys, some Cockpit guys, and a few La Plata guys for the revered Gallon Challenge. I plopped in a butt-ton of purple food coloring into my jug, and had at it. Managed to get about 7/8ths of it down and not vomit.. others weren't so lucky. The ground directly beneath our third-floor balcony is now colored with many splatters of food-dyed milk barf. Good times. Afterwards, urinated for the longest time in history, then sat down at my computer and tried to think of what to write.
Thanks for Reading,
-Daniel K
Monday
Wake up, roll out of bed, and start running. Light and Life staff meeting from 7:30 to 8:30, then straight to work at the Admissions Office until 10:00. Old Testament doesn't start until 10:50, so I take the 50 minute gap and start reading the book A Case For Peace by Alan Dershowitz... book analysis paper due on Thursday. Go to Old Testament, learn some sweet crud about The Writings, go to Philosophy, turn in Nietzsche reading questions, learn more about said philosopher, got to Creative Writing and peer review our stories, then go meet with academic advisor regarding scholarships. Spend the rest of the afternoon reading A Case For Peace, then go play Ultimate Frisbee for intramurals followed immediately by dinner with the Ghetto Ultimate Frisbee Team. Go shopping at Savers for props for the youth group set, get back around 9, spend the rest of the night reading, go to bed.
Tuesday
Wake up, roll out of bed, and start running. Breakfast at 7:30, then try to stay alert while reading in the Library until 9:25 when public Speaking starts. After class, chapel from 10:50 to 11:40. I have "lunch duty," so I meet up with the day's Preview Students after Chapel and chill with them in the Caf, exchanging various pleasantries and answering any questions. Read as much as possible between lunch and my 1:40 Middle East class, where I learn about Britain's conquest of the Suez, Egypt, and most of North Africa. Waited around for the Student Government meeting to start, only to realize that I had the wrong schedule and meetings resume next week. Go back home and continue reading, then meet up with Trash Club a little late. From there, I head to a D-Group meeting, then to Stiz Tiz. Since everyone in our stairwell has given their story already, we had a "Feats of Strength" contest, during which I successfully beat one of my roommates in wrestling but ended up with a really badly rugburned knee. Nurse my wounds while reading until bed.
Wednesday
Wake up, roll out of bed, stumble on some dirty laundry, and start running. Eat breakfast at 7:30, then go to work at the Admissions Office from 8:00 to 10:00, at which time I take some Previews on a campus tour, then head to Old Testament at 10:50. Then Philosophy. Then Creative Writing, where a few classmates and I decided to ditch given that were once again peer editing and it was 70 degrees outside. Spent the class time starting my essay on A Case For Peace, then went to the WOW committee meeting from 3:00 to 4:00 (We finally got postcards to mail to registered students!). After WOW I grabbed an old-school typewriter and made the familiar 15 minute walk to church, set up the stage (using said typewriter, an overhead projector, a rickety old chair, and a retro leather jacket on one side, then a laptop, gaming chair, digital projector, and North Face jacket on the other.) Facilitated a game of good-old-fashioned whiffleball, the hosted my Junior High Boys' small group until 8:45, when I headed back to school to work more on my essay. Met with a friend in the library and worked on my essay, then headed back to the Ghetto around 12 and went to bed.
Today
Woke up, rolled out of bed, climbed over the mountain of dirty laundry, and started running. Finished my essay before 9:25 Public Speaking, then sat through some debates and went to Chapel. Excellent Chapel... it was Easter Communion so I had a blast. Came back to the Ghetto afterwards and hung out with Scooter and Cam (under the pretense of proofreading my essay,) until 1:40 when I went to Middle East class. I proudly turned in my essay, then learned more about Britain's Imperialism and Turkish Nationalism. Afterwards, I had a brief reprieve in the good weather as I stood victorious over A Case For Peace, then came back home and helped clean up for the night. At 8:00 I went to eat at Chili's with Dan the Man, Scooter, and Logan. By 9:30 we met up with a bunch of other Ghetto guys, some Cockpit guys, and a few La Plata guys for the revered Gallon Challenge. I plopped in a butt-ton of purple food coloring into my jug, and had at it. Managed to get about 7/8ths of it down and not vomit.. others weren't so lucky. The ground directly beneath our third-floor balcony is now colored with many splatters of food-dyed milk barf. Good times. Afterwards, urinated for the longest time in history, then sat down at my computer and tried to think of what to write.
Thanks for Reading,
-Daniel K
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Reflections on my Spring Break.
I was once asked what my favorite attribute of God was. Grace? Love? Power? Justice? I answered, "His sense of humor. I love how God possesses this pure, divine sense of humor that takes a lot of getting used to and requires one to pay a lot of attention, or you might just miss it."
To set up the story, let me give you some background: over spring break, I drove with seven other CCU students and one professor down to Los Angeles to help out with several ministries on Skid Row.* We left here Friday the 27th and spent a week and some days in LA, serving at Hope Again, Set Free, and the Dream Center. While there, I was doing what's called an "e-fast," which is basically fasting from anything electronic.** I therefore took notes and wrote down thoughts in a notebook. Looking over it today, having arrived late last night, I decided to blog a little about what I experienced. Enjoy.
-I wonder how much impact I have on the world. Like many things in life, I think that answer to this has to do with a balance. by this, I mean that way too many people in the world think, "I am one person among billions. I have no impact. I will live my life as such." I consider this to be one of the saddest states of mind ever. Yet at the same time, someone would be foolish to think that they alone posses the power and skills to impact the world in whatever way they want. As I experienced Skid Row, I thought about how much sway I could possibly have on this world. I re-realized that the world isn't always changed by professionals or experts. It's changed by people who want. To. Do. Something.
-How do they know it's winter in Southern California? I asked several locals about the weather patterns and received a lot of the same answers; "Well, January is pretty much like it is now (gestures to the blue skies and 65 degree weather,) We get some rain and cold winds occasionally, but it pretty much stays the same." I'm not a fan of the winter, but now that I think about it, it would be kinda disconcerting to not be able to tell what time of year it is strictly by the weather.
-Do people in cities realize the beauty around them? I think it's a more subtle brand of beauty, but it's beauty all the same. I sat on the curb outside Hope Again*** one night and just listened to the sounds for a while. I realized I was sitting in the middle of millions and millions of stories, all swirling around me, emanating from buildings or streets or cars, but most importantly people. Stories so unbelievably different from one another save for a few things. Looking up, smog and light pollution formed a bubble-like shell around the enormous city. Yet I could see planes and helicopters, high rises and antennas. Raw, unadulterated humanity spilled from every corner, every window, every desolate alleyway in the huge maze that was LA. A different kind of beauty, but beauty all the same.
-I met a man named Lenny who was the cook at a church we visited.**** After the day's work was done, Lenny took time to explain to use something about his kitchen. "You see this?" He said, pointing with his elbow to the kitchen. The floors and countertops were immaculate, everything was stored neatly away, and no obstructions burdened the floor. "You know I keep it this way? Because I want to be sure that if Jesus ever walks in and asks to eat with me, I'll be ready. I want to be sure that if He comes in and is hungry, that I can treat Him like the King He is." I realize how much of my stuff I treat with a lack of respect because, well, it's mine. But what if Jesus ever came to my apartment and asked to spend the night? Would I be ashamed to let him see my room? Hmmmm....
-As it happens, you need a lot more than 8 bottles of food coloring to dye Biola's fountain. Either that, or the water doesn't flow in a complete circle - from the bottom straight to the top - and goes out of the system somewhere along the line. Who'd have thought?
-I went to somewhere around twelve church services during my week in LA, and noticed some interesting things about each. During services in Skid Row, I felt a strange feeling throughout. When I attended Mosaic,^ I found the feeling was absent. At first I thought the feeling was nervousness... At Mosaic, I wasn't sitting next to a 40 year old man who smelled of alcohol or a woman in and out of consciousness due to some drug. But I came to the realization that it wasn't nerves at all. It was a sense of Biblical belonging. Let me explain... In the book of Acts and throughout the other books of the New Testament, the Church is almost always the audience. Paul writes to critique or encourage the Church, and the book of Acts even takes a lot of time to describe the Church. Yet I had never really experienced a church like the Church of the New Testament. I hadn't realized this until this week, but it seems like a lot of modern churches have slowly gotten away from the original intent of Church. Now, don't hear me saying that modern churches are evil or whatever. They've just changed. And going through a Church service down on Skid Row, where the music or the lighting or the attendance or the location honestly DIDN'T matter, I realized the extreme likeness of those churches to the Church of the Bible. And I loved it. I'm still unpacking what exactly made those services so different, but I can tell you right off that the most noticeable thing was the openness. I guess when people realize that money or clothes or social status or whatever don't really change that fact that we're all human and we're all experiencing life, they can let go of their self-centered privacy and really open their lives to others' help and encouragement.
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Skid Row is an area near downtown LA, known for the nation's highest concentration of homeless persons. Interestingly enough, it's also about eight miles from Beverly Hills.
**This included, but was not limited to, my cellphone, iPod, computer, any TV and even my watch.
***That's where we stayed during the week. It's kinda like a halfway home for people getting our of prison or off the streets and back into the flow of society.
****Yeah, the church had a cook. It's pretty necessary when they serve thousands of pounds of food each week to whoever wants to indulge.
^This is Erwin McManus' church, who is a moderately famous author and Christian speaker. It's held in a nightclub called The Mayan, and as such has a full array of lights, a top-notch sound system, and an incredible ambiance. It attracted a lot of white, middle to upper-class attendees.
To set up the story, let me give you some background: over spring break, I drove with seven other CCU students and one professor down to Los Angeles to help out with several ministries on Skid Row.* We left here Friday the 27th and spent a week and some days in LA, serving at Hope Again, Set Free, and the Dream Center. While there, I was doing what's called an "e-fast," which is basically fasting from anything electronic.** I therefore took notes and wrote down thoughts in a notebook. Looking over it today, having arrived late last night, I decided to blog a little about what I experienced. Enjoy.
-I wonder how much impact I have on the world. Like many things in life, I think that answer to this has to do with a balance. by this, I mean that way too many people in the world think, "I am one person among billions. I have no impact. I will live my life as such." I consider this to be one of the saddest states of mind ever. Yet at the same time, someone would be foolish to think that they alone posses the power and skills to impact the world in whatever way they want. As I experienced Skid Row, I thought about how much sway I could possibly have on this world. I re-realized that the world isn't always changed by professionals or experts. It's changed by people who want. To. Do. Something.
-How do they know it's winter in Southern California? I asked several locals about the weather patterns and received a lot of the same answers; "Well, January is pretty much like it is now (gestures to the blue skies and 65 degree weather,) We get some rain and cold winds occasionally, but it pretty much stays the same." I'm not a fan of the winter, but now that I think about it, it would be kinda disconcerting to not be able to tell what time of year it is strictly by the weather.
-Do people in cities realize the beauty around them? I think it's a more subtle brand of beauty, but it's beauty all the same. I sat on the curb outside Hope Again*** one night and just listened to the sounds for a while. I realized I was sitting in the middle of millions and millions of stories, all swirling around me, emanating from buildings or streets or cars, but most importantly people. Stories so unbelievably different from one another save for a few things. Looking up, smog and light pollution formed a bubble-like shell around the enormous city. Yet I could see planes and helicopters, high rises and antennas. Raw, unadulterated humanity spilled from every corner, every window, every desolate alleyway in the huge maze that was LA. A different kind of beauty, but beauty all the same.
-I met a man named Lenny who was the cook at a church we visited.**** After the day's work was done, Lenny took time to explain to use something about his kitchen. "You see this?" He said, pointing with his elbow to the kitchen. The floors and countertops were immaculate, everything was stored neatly away, and no obstructions burdened the floor. "You know I keep it this way? Because I want to be sure that if Jesus ever walks in and asks to eat with me, I'll be ready. I want to be sure that if He comes in and is hungry, that I can treat Him like the King He is." I realize how much of my stuff I treat with a lack of respect because, well, it's mine. But what if Jesus ever came to my apartment and asked to spend the night? Would I be ashamed to let him see my room? Hmmmm....
-As it happens, you need a lot more than 8 bottles of food coloring to dye Biola's fountain. Either that, or the water doesn't flow in a complete circle - from the bottom straight to the top - and goes out of the system somewhere along the line. Who'd have thought?
-I went to somewhere around twelve church services during my week in LA, and noticed some interesting things about each. During services in Skid Row, I felt a strange feeling throughout. When I attended Mosaic,^ I found the feeling was absent. At first I thought the feeling was nervousness... At Mosaic, I wasn't sitting next to a 40 year old man who smelled of alcohol or a woman in and out of consciousness due to some drug. But I came to the realization that it wasn't nerves at all. It was a sense of Biblical belonging. Let me explain... In the book of Acts and throughout the other books of the New Testament, the Church is almost always the audience. Paul writes to critique or encourage the Church, and the book of Acts even takes a lot of time to describe the Church. Yet I had never really experienced a church like the Church of the New Testament. I hadn't realized this until this week, but it seems like a lot of modern churches have slowly gotten away from the original intent of Church. Now, don't hear me saying that modern churches are evil or whatever. They've just changed. And going through a Church service down on Skid Row, where the music or the lighting or the attendance or the location honestly DIDN'T matter, I realized the extreme likeness of those churches to the Church of the Bible. And I loved it. I'm still unpacking what exactly made those services so different, but I can tell you right off that the most noticeable thing was the openness. I guess when people realize that money or clothes or social status or whatever don't really change that fact that we're all human and we're all experiencing life, they can let go of their self-centered privacy and really open their lives to others' help and encouragement.
Thanks for reading,
-Daniel K
*Skid Row is an area near downtown LA, known for the nation's highest concentration of homeless persons. Interestingly enough, it's also about eight miles from Beverly Hills.
**This included, but was not limited to, my cellphone, iPod, computer, any TV and even my watch.
***That's where we stayed during the week. It's kinda like a halfway home for people getting our of prison or off the streets and back into the flow of society.
****Yeah, the church had a cook. It's pretty necessary when they serve thousands of pounds of food each week to whoever wants to indulge.
^This is Erwin McManus' church, who is a moderately famous author and Christian speaker. It's held in a nightclub called The Mayan, and as such has a full array of lights, a top-notch sound system, and an incredible ambiance. It attracted a lot of white, middle to upper-class attendees.
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