God Days

January 9, 2006 on 5:15 pm | In Blog |

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It has come to my attention that some people do not understand how to use the Comments portion of this website. If you click on “Comments” then a small pop up window will show you who wrote what comment and when. If you would like to add a comment, simply start typing; it’s pretty easy to use. Oh and BTW, there is now a new Lex and UVa picture gallery.

Christmas was great. My siblings and I chose to sponsor another family so those kids could have Christmas presents. I got a blanket, an LL Bean bag, clothes, and a great candle. Being home was kind of weird at first and even now I’m still not exactly used to it. I’m living not at home anymore but at Ann and Ryan Frith’s house. They have an extra room and bathroom for me so the deal worked out well. Once again, Jehovah Jirah, the Lord provides.

Now the news. I’ve been busy/gone for a while now and today was the first day in a while that had a sense of normality. On December the 27, I packed up and drove to Charlottesville to spend the night. I showed up at the AFC (UVa gym) in hope of wireless and ended up shorting around on the basketball court. Kelly Scott happened to be there and offered me a place to sleep (instead of my car). Then next morning I rolled out to Arlington, VA, to the Crystal Gateway Marriot where Christmas Conference was being held.

Campus Crusade for Christ every year puts up a regional conference and Virginia’s lies right outside of DC. There were a few hundred people there to worship, learn, reenergize, and enjoy some sweet fellowship. There were about 30 of us students from UVa there for the week. Tommy Nelson led most of the talks in the conference. He spoke on how man must have God to be a true human. (Luke 10) He told us that the answer to “Who is my neighbor?” is anyone in need. “If Jesus can wash feet (John 13), I can ______.” Be a servant. (Luke 15) He spoke of how we love it when animals or stuff is found, but God rejoices when people are found. “When you rebel against God, you rebel against reality.” (Luke 16) And he spoke about the shrewd manager and how we must live so passionately that money becomes our servant used for eternal things. Use money to take care of people’s needs and to make friends.

It was great to see lots of people that I won’t see in a while as kinda my swan song from UVa. I’ll still keep in contact with some of them and I know I’ll make a visit sometime down the line. As I noted in the last entry (see Archives), I will miss them greatly. The last night there was New Year’s Eve and we prayed out 2005 and praised in 2006. The greatest moment was when someone mentioned that 2006 might be the year that Jesus comes back in all His glory!!

The next day I drove back to Lex and slept. I woke up, went to my church, and hopped on a bus headed toward Nashville for Passion Conference 2006. 18,000 people descended upon the Gaylord Center in the heart of Nashville for one of the most inspiring and rockin’ events in the world. David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, and Matt Redman led music during the sessions while Louie Giglio, John Piper, and Beth Moore gave the talks. The theme of the Passion movement is found in Isaiah 26:8 which says, “Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.” John Piper is famous for an idea called Christian Hedonism which basically means that God is all about God, all about His glory, and the way we can give Him the most glory is to be most satisfied in Him. Desiring God is his breakout book that describes these ideas more fully.

Giglio spoke on making God our satisfaction the first night. “Who gets the glory where I am satisfied?” “Our satisfaction and God’s glory are the same thing.” He then extended a fantastic metaphor from Jeremiah 2 about the well of living water. We have forsaken the well-spring of life and dug other dry wells for satisfaction. All we get is dirty. “Just put down the shovel.” The other two talks Louie made were on how BIG God is and how tiny we are, and we need to live our daily lives fusing secular and “sacred” in a way that what we do and our careers are done to the glory of God.

Piper talked about grace and suffering. “The universe/all of creation exists to display the greatness of the glory of His grace and that grace is shown most supremely through the suffering of His Son on the Calvary road.” He also spoke on how we will join Jesus in suffering to the glory of God’s grace. “Christianity being true causes us to choose pain and suffering.” “Christ’s suffering was for propitiation, our suffering is for propagation.” When Beth Moore spoke, she spoke on reaping and sowing. “Be deliberate for what you want your life to be about.” Don’t sow haphazardly because the present has profound consequences. “If we eat the seed – we will be full and it will taste good – but do not sow it into our reality, we won’t be changed.”

Passion is a conference designed to reenergize college students for a heart for their campuses. It was impossible not to be hyped for God at least once during the week and I know God gave me some nuggets to chew on as well. I’ve committed to reading the Bible through this year cover to cover. I hope to go to seminary this fall so I’ve bumped up the pace to reading it through in 8 months. It is still only 10 pages a day! If you’ve never read the Bible through, I would highly recommend joining me on the journey with Him.

Now I’m back in Lex and the settling down has begun. I hope to have a job secured by the end of this week and in the mean time I’ll be reading, hanging out, and sleeping. Last Saturday, a bunch of us went out to Sam’s granddad’s land and shot guns at a computer, a VCR, and some other fun targets. He was very safe with us all and did a great job at leading it. I spent about twice as much time with the bow and arrow simply because I found it to be much more fun and cool. Guns are powerful (thus destruction can be cool), but I’d prefer them be completely outlawed. I did shoot each type of gun (semi-auto handgun, revolver, and civilian assault rifle) once for the experience. There are two movies as well as pictures from this past Sat in the Lex gallery!

35 Comments »

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  1. sounds like an awesome month

    Comment by william — January 9, 2006 #

  2. DUDE!! That was so awesome footage you took! HAHAH! You take great pictures too!

    Comment by SammyK — January 9, 2006 #

  3. man, the video of me getting stuck in the creek makes it look so lame…

    Comment by william — January 9, 2006 #

  4. God is bigger than? What? The suspense is killing me here.

    Comment by Frith — January 10, 2006 #

  5. Daniel, Speaking of God being big and awesome. I have to show you something really cool next time you’re at my house

    Comment by william — January 11, 2006 #

  6. Daniel,
    Hey! How are you? I just found your blog so I thought I would say hi! Hey, thanks for the comment about guns needing to be outlawed! I am little upset that you went and shot them, but you are redeemed by that comment!
    How are things going? How is work? Can you give me your work schedule so that Jeremy and I can come see you there?
    I wish you were going to the movie with us tonight, but maybe another time. I think I might go to Crossroads tomorrow night at 5:30. Would you be interested?

    Karissa
    mkarissak@hotmail.com

    Comment by Karissa — January 13, 2006 #

  7. Don’t you think it’s about time to have that “k” changed to a “p.” Blog profiles indeed! You’re stinkin’ email says you’re not married.

    Comment by Daniel — January 13, 2006 #

  8. I have another account, Kporter@qx.net. Is that better? I changed my name on the hotmail so that when people receive email from me it says Porter! I kind of like Karissa K and didn’t want to get rid of it all together! You are little too sassy today! I tried to be nice by posting on your blog and you had to go and be rude to me. See if I come back and visit anymore! Just because you can’t see my lovely face, I am just kidding!

    Comment by Karissa — January 13, 2006 #

  9. This is MR. PORTER, and D-well, I think it is quite appropriate that you called my wife out on the lack of email change.

    Frith, God is bigger than (insert your own thought here). i’d like to see what you come up with!

    Comment by Jeremy P — January 13, 2006 #

  10. “God Is Bigger Than _____? Well, several things, Me, the universe, well everything to be honest. God is “Nothing.” Not that goes isn’t, God just isn’t a thing. God is bigger than anything, he is God over things. The universe consists of everything, and God is bigger than a thing. Does that make any sense?

    Comment by Frith — January 13, 2006 #

  11. I am bigger than “no-thing” and GOD is bigger than any-thing and every-thing. Is GOD no-thing? No, for GOD is bigger than me and I am bigger than no-thing. Also, HE is beyond the concept of “thing” and yet allows HIMSELF to embody “things.” And Karissa, I do hope you come back often. I do so enjoy your thoughts on most anything. ;)

    Comment by Daniel — January 13, 2006 #

  12. The issue is not over a thing, nothing, or anything. Perhaps God is so great that size, or “bigger than”, is all together inadequate. But, I agree that fill in the blank is the best way to go. Maybe God is greater than______!

    p.s.- And D-Well, you are sassy by nature.

    Comment by Todd — January 13, 2006 #

  13. “That than which no greater can be conceived” = GOD

    Comment by Daniel — January 13, 2006 #

  14. God is bigger than… the air I breathe, the world we’ll leave. God… will save the day; and all will say {go back to top}

    What about THAT? HAHA! I think that should be a song or something…

    Comment by SammyK — January 16, 2006 #

  15. I have refrained from adding that….
    God is bigger than the “boggie man, he is bigger than godzilla and the monsters on TV…” brings back good memories of children singing…I think it is wonderful that you all think so deeply - but to me… God is creator, master designer and builder of all that is good - loves the imperfect as well as the perfect - care giver to his creation.

    Daniel, is your pic a sunrise or sunset? I would think sunset cause I doubt that you were up early enough for many rises…. Mom

    Comment by Mom — January 17, 2006 #

  16. Sunset, it’s deeper redish colors are due to the light’s refraction in dust in the atmosphere kicked up throughout the day. I enjoy sunrise, I just wish it weren’t so stinkin’ early.

    Comment by Daniel — January 17, 2006 #

  17. yeah, thanks a lot God… making sunrise in the morning. Why can’t it be in the afternoon?

    Comment by william — January 17, 2006 #

  18. Hey! I heard that you had a good cross-cultural time at my house on Sat.! I wish I could have seen the 4 of you! Jeremy said the only communication issue was between the two of you! For those of you who are lost, D Well and Jeremy did some work around our house with Mickael from France who speaks little English and Mustapha from Liberia who speaks broken English and a little French! Hearing about it was a joy for me!
    I guess that means “God is bigger than” language barriers and culture. Boys can be boys in any language!

    Comment by Karissa — January 17, 2006 #

  19. sunrise can be fun :cowboy:

    Comment by Serene — January 17, 2006 #

  20. tiekileroms’taht

    Comment by nity now! — January 17, 2006 #

  21. 21st comment!

    Comment by william — January 18, 2006 #

  22. 22nd !!

    Comment by SammyK — January 18, 2006 #

  23. 23rd!

    Comment by Frith — January 18, 2006 #

  24. only the 21st was cool, you guys just ruined it…

    Comment by william — January 18, 2006 #

  25. I’m going to half to post a new update just to stop this record-setting, comment-posting frenzy.

    Comment by Daniel — January 18, 2006 #

  26. “half to?” Weard yu leern haw tu speell? Probably the same place I did. Public Shkools. :(

    Comment by SammyK — January 19, 2006 #

  27. :nerd: This guy is my favorite of the funny faces.

    p.s.- 27th

    Comment by todd — January 20, 2006 #

  28. :monkey: This one is a monkey.

    p.s. 28th

    Comment by SammyK — January 20, 2006 #

  29. :alien: i don’t know what this is

    29th!

    Comment by Frith — January 21, 2006 #

  30. Hey, that last one was from me, Frith browser apparently saves his info in this window…

    30th oh my gosh!

    Comment by william — January 21, 2006 #

  31. 31st es major!

    Comment by SammyK — January 21, 2006 #

  32. me gusta treinta y dos

    Comment by william — January 21, 2006 #

  33. UPDATE!

    Comment by SammyK — January 25, 2006 #

  34. yeah! i want to see pictures of snakes

    Comment by william — January 25, 2006 #

  35. lots of big thoughts….tons of perfect gifts of God but. why are we asking these questions?

    Comment by Yo Yo Ma — June 25, 2007 #

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