The Eternal Son Shine

Oh Light were may you be
Oh Day you are gone from this hour
The over cast blocks your glory
Distance impossible to perceive
Color impossible to see
Sorrow floods my day
Water is the plight of my feet
Grey is my prison
Destruction is near
I can hear it crash

Curse the light the clouds say
Curse the light for the Sun has been untrue
Sun come quick
Sun Come quick to my despair

Gorgeous Son you were there all the time
Glory veiled but never burnt out
Your warmth is never too far
Your glory dries the tears that engulfs my eyes

Blazing Sun when will your merciful ray cease to shine
Blazing glory in its fullness shown
What an ash I would be
Great Light you see it all
Great light you see the clouds
And say it is good for the rain to come
Greater than me
Bigger than me
Swallowed up in you I am

The Gospel

This is what I believe and is the core of what I believe. I have listened to this clip 5 or 6 times and it never gets old.

Responsiblity? What's that?

I read a great article on Desiring God the other day about more and more adults putting off growing up well into their late 20’s and early 30’s. I don’t think this is a good thing. Funny enough my friend Chris Barksdale had some similar thoughts on this article. Its some thing I noticed while I was in college. I am catching my self far too often my self caught up in being stuck in the same cycle. I am in the middle of repenting of this in my life right now (Yea, I am a loser still living at home). Far too many college kids are putting off responsibility in the name of education. Sure college is fun but far too often I find it only pushing people to mature in certain areas of life and is not very holistic in how it matures a person.
There are a couple of things I have noticed as the piece talks about one is the putting off of financial responsibility and just plain responsibility by spending 5+ years doing school. We rely on mom and dad or the government with loans to pay for school, room, and board. This, honestly, just not build a great foundation for financial responsibility later on in life and sets many people to be in debt for the rest of their lives.
The other major point is the putting off of marriage. Marriage (I am told) is a maturing process I often got this myth told to me you have to be super mature before you marry. You do need a certain amount of maturity but you gain so much in the process. I find my self more and more encouraging young dudes in college to find wives while they can now. There are many reasons why you see the premarital sex number so high and why everyone and their mom has to deal with porn these days and in part it is to blame on how long the average person is waiting till they get married. We were not designed for the most part to be single into our late 20’s. Listen I am all for people becoming smarter, and being educated. But as a good pastor friend of mine put it "Don’t let schooling get in the way of your education".


Album(s) of the moment: Watisha Wa – Eager Seas and Thrice - Alchemy Index Vol. 2 Water

Job Update

Hey guys, I thought I would update some of you on my current job situation. For those that may not know I am trying to move to Hollywood, CA to help and be apart of a church plant while going to seminary in September. I have been trying to get a job out there sense just before I graduated this past August. I have visited out there twice looking for a job already, with at best, mild success both times for interviews. The second time I went out to Hollywood I went to interview with AT&T. I had not heard any thing back from them in a while (I interviewed in the middle of Sep). Well yesterday I got a call back from their HR saying they need me to update some information on their website because they just switched databases and systems, for lack of a better word, human resource requisition (that sounds really official sounding, If you ever get a job in where your job is to give jobs names remember, I came up with that one.) But I would be disappointed if that’s all they wanted, but they wanted to talk to me after I update the info. This is definitely good, but I know I could be reading things wrong so I am not going to go get my hopes really high. I need times where I receive a little encouragement. And regardless of how things turn out I am still set to move there in Jan. So please be in prayer for me in that this job works out. I am really interested in the position.

A Blogger In The Ambulence

Lately I have been listening to allot of Thrice. One of the songs that has struck me is the title track off The Artist In The Ambulance disk. The song is about ones failures and desires to be more than just a bunch of empty talk to his listeners. He wants to actually reach out with his art and make a difference in their lives. (read the lyrics here) I kind of understand where he is coming from I want this blog to up lift you and hopefully mean some thing to you. I want to be the blogger in the ambulance.

I have been thinking about resurrecting this thing for a while now. I have thought and thought about what I want to put up here. Do I make it a deeply personal journal? Do I just do a bunch of music reviews? Do I write a bunch of post about what I think of issues facing Christianity? How about issues in this culture we live in? It could be so many things. I think honestly for right now I will just try to post on a regular basis, and honestly I hope its most of those things. I don't want you to watch me vomit all over this thing so I don't think it will be deeply personal but I do want to open up a little more on this blog. I don't know who has read this in the past or will in the future but I know me and I'll be a changing. But this I do know I want to be a pointer to Jesus that I know will always remain the same as long as his hand of grace is upon me.

A City,A Search, A Struggle

I love the city. I sit here in my last night in Hollywood, disappointed. Not in the city. If any thing it’s the fact that I can’t move in tomorrow to the city. It was every thing I had hoped it would be and more. Is the city of Hollywood perfect? By no means. Matter of fact I can think of no where else that needs Jesus more. Its stark honesty in how lost it is, is refreshing. It is the perfect soil for a new church. Part of the reason why I love it, is its diversity, density and design. It is a phoenix-like city that is starting to rise from the ashes of dirtiness and poverty and is starting to become a thriving city center. It even has its own feel and look that is starting to emerge. I have been at the home of gracious Chris and Sara (The pastor and his wife of the church plant here) who has been more than welcoming to me, showing me around the city and introducing me to people.

In so far as the job search goes. It seems to of been an empty trail this time out. One real interview and a lot of dead end streets, which for me is a great trial of faith, and contentment in where God has me. I just need more time. Something I don’t have much of. So my first request as you pray for me that I become content with where I am, and then to find direction on where to go from here.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. There is so much more I could write and I wish I had written over my trip. To those that prayed for me and helped me in trying to find a job thank you sincerely your prayers are very precious to me.

God bless, Alan

The Hope of God in Prayer.

Hey guys, I am sitting in a coffee shop in Hollywood right now. I went on a tour of the city, and from what I have seen I love it. I want to move in here next week. I have not stopped smiling sense I got here. I love the life of the city, I love the diversity, I love the honesty of the city. The time I have spent with Chris has been up lifting encouraging and his insights have been water to my soul.
The time on the plane was interesting. The flight was completely broken up in to 3 1hour to 2 hour legs on a 737. The longest leg was from Huston to Phoenix and I was crammed as the last person to get a seat, so naturally the last seat on the plane is next to not one but between 2 guys over 200 lbs. (one guy weighed close to 300) I weigh about 240 lbs. Needless to say I was like a fat man in a chines subway. But other than that my trip was fairly painless and over all went off with out a hitch.
On my way their I had to have a time with God as you saw in my last blog post, I was anxious, stressed and worried about what to do with my time and how to go about looking for a job. How sweet the time I had in prayer on the way there (in between the two sumo's ). I also had allot of time to catch up on sermons. By the time I had landed, God had my heart set right and hope embraced.

Anxious in an Airport

Hey guys I am writing this in the airport in New Orleans on my way to go visit Chris in Hollywood. I wanted to share with you guys honestly where I am at and that is I don’t know a lot of things right now at this point. There is some thing funny about ones believes and their actions. I believe this is where God wants me, it’s just funny that I don’t know when and how. God is using this to show me how to trust him. The stress I have been feeling lately is actually worse than being in school. There is a certain structure and predictability to school. I have one interview and I am grateful to get that. But I have no clue how to go about searching for a job in a strange city when I have no job experience the thing that is virtually gold in my industry. Just thought I would share my thoughts here. I'll try to keep you updated though my blog on my trip.

Alan Munger

Hey guys I thought i would post this from the other day I wrote it right as i was in the airport
I will probably be writing at least several post while I am in Hollywood.

Dude, this thing is dead for right now. we shall see if it comes back come around the time I movie to hollywood. Or maybe after I graduate either way. Lots has changed so take what you find here with a grain of salt, when and if this gets back up it will be way different.

A hint to where I'm head'n..

A hint to where I am going......















Click here to get an idea of things to come.....

Yea, I'm alive, and yes I still believe in Jesus

I know I have never been the greatest at this whole regular posting thing, but I have a good excuse why I have not done so at all lately. One word, School. I am 3 months from getting my bachelors in Computer Science, with a concentration in Information Systems. But a bulk of the work will be done come May 5th when I walk and it will be all over come July 25th. So much has changed in my time being away from this blog and I look forward to telling who ever reads this rag about it. So I look forward to kick starting this thing again, I may even do some thing a little special with it, but then again don't hold your breath. Oh, and keeping with the whole random thing I think I'll leave you with a Spurgon quote that has been stuck in my head lately: "The default mode of the heart is religion"

The Me Monster

Hi, guys its been awhile but I thought I would post. Ill be honest I am not going to take 4 hours to edit this thing down to perfection(yea right they've never been perfect), and honestly I want it a little raw. I hope it makes sense cause I am not rewriting it. As you have noticed I have not posted here in a while I even stopped a series dead cold. Cause the God to honest truth is I have been dead. Dead spiritually, dead emotionally, just sinning my self numb. I have not wanted really to be around any one. I really did not enjoy reading my bible so I stopped. I was just eh. I hated it. It was constantly one day trying to keep my head above water(thank God for a strong Body of believers). I was aware of God, but I was just dead. That was the best way to put it. I did not love I did not hate I was just dead. I slept in, i ate to much i did no work or reading etc.

What caused it well I could give the easy breezy answer and just say “I’m a sinner”, or the typical “pride.” But honestly it’s those things but that would be like saying what killed that car accident victim and you saying he stopped breathing. In other words it’s not very helpful. No the truth is its more complicated. The truth is I grew board complacent and lazy with the truth. I stopped preaching the gospel to my self every day. And boy howdy what that will do to your mortification of sin. At this point I don’t go to God, I go to other things. Things like oh Things, material things. Mind numbing things, like tv, video games, wasteful hours on the internet. It’s amazing what drowning in the world will do to you. It will make you not care about things that used to just drive me. Like people, evangelism, the Gospel, Serving others, even teaching. I was dead, always watching the hand of God offering his grace and just simply passing over it. This is lethal when you are lost, this is torturing as a Christian, just a numb torturing on your soul.

But as always thank God for his Grace, Thank God for me being his child ( I always loved being called a child of God). What did this little funk in? Others, thinking about others. I have realized I had been so me centered lately, I have thought only how to improve my own wrenched self and that even as a person in this world not a child in a kingdom of greater promises. Tim Keller’s book, Ministries of Mercy helped(I just read the first part on who is my neighbor. humbling). So did reading in Matthew about the life of Christ and how others focused he was (matt 20:29-34). But most of all being others focused led me to be Jesus focused to live as ever before Him. My desires and my affections followed suit. It’s great to feel again and not just be numb to lost and dying people. It’s great to love friends again, to love God again, to dislike things again, to serve again with a real heart, and to worship with a clean heart. The hope of Christ has broken though the storm. Alan is a little wiser, a little more mature, and holds on to Christ a little more. Well God mission accomplished. Ill be broken yet.

God bless, and with all the love in Christ. Alan