idols, kids, trams and gyros

Worship me only.  Idolatry has always been the downfall of My people.  I make no secrets about being a jealous God.  Current idols are more subtle than ancient ones, because today’s false gods are often outside the field of religion.  People, possessions, status, and self-aggrandizement are some of the most popular deities today.  Beware of bowing down before these things.  False gods never satisfy; instead, they stir up lust for more and more. 

This was the beginning of the entry for July 11^th in Jesus Calling and was very relevant to current teachings and thoughts.  Mars Hill church focuses a lot on the idols in people’s lives.  At first it is kind of like, “whoa calm down a little bit lets not get too worked up here” but the more I attend Mars Hill and am exposed to the teaching, the more I realize just how many idols I have in my life.  Mars Hill is great at calling something what it actually is- sin is sin, not a character flaw, idols are idols not “well that’s just who I am and what I favor”.  Its amazing when you really think about it- in everything we do we are worshiping something- the question is, is it God or something/one else…it will always be one or the other.  A few months ago I would have said I am “working on” dealing with the idols in my life- but lets be honest here- the idols are idols in my life because I constantly choose them, so why all of a sudden would I be able to stop choosing them?  The answer- Christ.  I cannot “work” on dissolving my idols, but Christ can.  So I will seek the guidance of the Lord through prayer and wait to see how He best leads me to worship Him.  Thanks Mars Hill for showing me that Its All About Jesus. 

This past weekend was full of good connections.  Friday night helped us feel a little more established in Seattle as we had 2 social events to attend: a housewarming party for ladies in our Community Group and a birthday bonfire near the beach.  It was refreshing to see people outside of church and CG and in “real life”.  It was a night to realize we have friends!

Saturday we took a day trip to Portland to visit Bridgetown Inc. again.  The second week we were here in Seattle we went down to spend 5 days with the Snider family who started Bridgetown.  We were able to experience Night Strike- the ministry night under the bridge, but not B-town kids.  B-town kids happen every Saturday at three different sights located next to apartment complexes.  The program runs from noon to 3 and all kids (and their families) are welcome to a free lunch, and games.  Each site is given the same tools, but each is executed very differently, as it should.  The programs are appropriate to the people who live in the neighborhood- meeting the actual needs of the people who attend not meeting the needs of the people who run the program.  Afterwards we headed downtown Portland.  One of our stops was the Sky-Tram.  We wanted to do it last time, but did not make it before it closed.  To our great delight when we arrived at the base to buy our tickets and board- there was a sign posted saying all rides were free that day! Score!  I did not want to ride it because when the car went past one of the poles it would swing back and forth- not enticing for a gal with motion sickness.  But realizing it was a quick ride and we may never have another chance we boarded and it was totally fine.  We then made our way to the Saturday market to buy a DELICIOUS gyro for dinner.  We had one together last time and devoured it- so this time we each got our own J oh and while we were eating we heard a snippet of a conversation between two people passing by: “so when you say you scoured, you mean you scoured over the whole state of Minnesota”  AHH what are the chances… While our two trips to Portland have been fun and beneficial- my heart still lies in Seattle.    

view from tram of Portland

greek food cart

YUM!