My Monday morning was drastically improved after watching this new viral video from Coca-Cola. Maybe some of you have already watched it since it was added about a week ago. Already the video has over 1 million views. Way to go Coke, this is an extremely creative way of marketing, and an inspiration. Where will happiness strike next? Happy Monday!
On Monday night I returned from a short term missions trip to Nicaragua, more on that experience later. Last night at the dinner table my phone vibrates with a CNN push notification about an earthquake in Haiti. Last night the pictures and news was hard to come by, in fact you could find out more from twitter sources then CNN or MSNBC etc. This morning when I started to see the pictures, video and hear the stories I was totally wrecked. Because of my experience in Nicaragua I could so quickly identify with what was happening in Haiti and the crisis that was unfolding. Knowing how little these people live on and how fragile the economy is my heart is hurting for the people of Haiti.
CNN is now reporting that over 100,000 deaths are expected. The people of Haiti are experiencing massive devastation and despair.
Today I was so focused on trying to catch up on on my work, telling people about the successful trip to Nicaragua, creating message series graphics and even going out to eat (spending $10.00) and getting a cheeseburger at lunch. I didn’t need to spend money on that cheeseburger and to be honest I spent only a few minutes today praying for the people of this world who are in crisis. The fact is I need to recognize that I am selfish. I spend so much time focused on me and my life and the things that I need to get done. It’s really easy when you are serving in missions to focus your attention on the people right in front of you that need love. When I contrast that to the way I live my life today in the United States I become selfish. It’s way to easy for me to disconnect myself from people who need love and my attention.
My prayer is through my experience in Nicaragua and this disaster in Haiti I will be striving towards spending more of my time loving others and caring for the hurting in our world and less time on myself. I pray that God will work within me and stir within me a discontent and show me where I need to take action. My understanding is that there is a great need for water and supplies in Haiti right now. Money is needed to buy and transport those supplies. Join me in donating to MCC, Compassion or World Vision and helping these trustworthy organizations who are already on the ground bring aid to this hurting country and may we take our focus off ourselves and onto this immediate need. Remember also to set aside time to pray for those who are suffering right now.
My blogging on this site will slow down for the next 10 days as I travel to El Viejo Nicaragua. If you are interested in following my journey in Nicaragua I will be blogging on our Pequea Church website with daily updates and photos from our work in Nicaragua. You can bookmark the blog by going here. You can also follow more micro-blogging updates by following me on twitter. I will be bringing along my MacBook Pro, and Canon 7D to capture all of the moments and report home on our progress. For the most part this will be a bit of a technology sabbath for me as I work in ministry outside of my normal realm! When I return I will share some of my most memorable personal moments as I am anticipating God to work in my life through this experience.
Working in full time ministry can make it extremely hard to manage priorities. I have come along way since my first few years of ministry. In recent months I have really needed to evaluate where my priorities lie. I am engaged and set to be married in June of 2010 and recently I have needed to make some challenging decisions on where my priorities lie.
One thing I have learned since working full time in ministry and I had wished I had figured out a long time ago is that God is not the same as Church. God has to be number one on my list. Personal time spent with God is of upmost importance, and this does not include the times that I am working in full time ministry at “Church.”
My second priority must be my family. In 1 Timothy 3:4-5 the Bible says “He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)” When I make a commitment to marry my wife Lea on June 12, 2010 I must make her, and someday my child(ren) my second priority in life. I believe that if I am not honoring and prioritizing my family I should not be making a commitment to full time ministry, it’s a biblical command.
I will be the first to admit that this is not going to be easy to balance. In recent years my I have put the churches ministry above my time with God. During those times I see my personal relationship with Jesus suffer and this effects my attitude towards others and my job. Just because I work in full time ministry and am reading the bible or studying scripture for an upcoming message series or video idea it doesn’t equate to setting aside specific times to personally spend time with God.
It’s time to announce my technology choice of the year. This year the choice is clear, it’s Canon’s 7D camera. In September Canon announced the release of a 18.0 Megapixel dual digic 4 image processing 12,800 ISO HD recording piece of awesomeness. Not only does this camera take stunning images it also records full 1080p HD video recording at 24p, 25p, and 30p at a price that is really hard to match.
I have shot quite a few Canon cameras but one of my favorite things about this camera is that everything is completely new. The all new 19-point autofocus system, the new LCD screen with overlay goodness. Although this is not Canon’s first go at HD video in its DSLR family the video in the 7D is awesome. Video is defiantly a full out feature of the 7D unlike some of the comparison Nikon models who just seem to “add it in”. The 7D provides for fully manual operation of the video system.
I will note that I am just getting started with the 7D. I am totally excited about taking it on my upcoming missions trip to Nicaragua in the new year. This is truly an amazing piece of technology and I am looking forward to all of the moments that I will capture. I will note that one thing I have noticed using Canons new 18-135 IS lens is that noise reduction can get pretty aggressive at higher ISO speeds which can obscure some detail in photos. The Canon 7D is also not full frame which might put some people off but for me this is a solid camera that produces the video and image quality that I need!
