Sunday, May 11, 2003 :::
Whoa.. Why isn't this posting on the website.. HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPP :oP hehe
::: posted by kittlesnbits at 9:10 AM
Saturday, May 10, 2003 :::
To whom it may not really concern, but are still reading this anyway..
I've been inspired by a friend to try to get this baby back on track, and he probably didn't even realize it. I'll give him a shameful.. er.. shameless plug (www.rothecreations.com).. So, I don't exactly agree with everything he says, and I won't ever get my right ear pierced like he did, but he is one of the most honest guys I know, and I'm convinced that the Lord's got some awesome plans in store for him. Tonight actually was his wedding day, which was pretty thrilling. I'll tell ya what.. I've been to many a wedding lately, and I'm not sure if anything tops the joy that I have for him and his lovely bride (I'm a friend of hers too). And hey, their ceremony wasn't a snoozer, which was definitely a bonus!! I usually bring my pillow to weddings... just in case... Anyway.. I pray that God blesses their marriage immensely. OH yeah.. immensely..
I'm learning a hard lesson about living "above reproach". Huh?? Let me explain. See, God has called me to be a family life minister.. To work in a church, get paid a meager amount of money (but very reasonable church work!), work long hours, and to put myself last and others first. Fun, huh? Actually, all of this is easier than it might sound. The real issue is that I have a lot of baggage from not being exactly the most popular guy in my childhood days, and so I have this persistant, nagging desire to be the clown, the entertainer, in every situation that I'm in. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. But the one great gift that God has given me is an ability to discern wrong from right - a conscience.. And when I go against that conscience, I'm obviously going against my Lord. Are you still following me? I'm not sure if I'm making sense.
To clear it up a bit.. I suck at following God's will, and I'm a champion of doing the exact opposite of what I should be doing. Actually, the apostle Paul said the same thing (well, not exactly in the same tasteful language)..
Basically, even tonight, at the wedding, there are a few moments where I could've been a better example of Christ. Just a few dance moves that the world could have done without, a few comments that could've just as easily been left unsaid. But Satan knows how to make me weak - he knows which of Josh's buttons to push. Ugh. To be honest, without going into specifics (you'll find I can't really go into specifics due to the nature of my job), I think I possibly lost a little credibility with some people tonight. Believe me, I wasn't terrible - I didn't get drunk (i didn't drink, period), I didn't give the groom a swirlie, I didn't kiss the bride.. It's just that, like it or not, my calling to be a family life minister is also a calling to live "above reproach", to live a life that no one could find blame in. Now, that's technically all of our calling - to be Christ to each other, blameless and without fault..But as someone who's employer is.. uh.. God.. , I naturally need an extra dose of God's strength to keep me from making a fool of his name..
Okay, it might be the Fruit Punch and Beef Tips kicking in, because I'm not making sense. But it's just that I really want to follow God's will for my life.. The biggest way we as Christians draw other people to Christ is through our behavior, through what we do and say. People are looking for excuses to call us hypocrites and liars. The only thing we have going for us as Christians is our credibility in Christ (and for Lutherans - it's also the potlucks). Heck yeah we'll make mistakes. Heck yeah Christ forgives us. But heck yeah, you better believe that people are watching us and we need to show them Christ. Lord, please forgive my subtle sins that might not seem big at the time, but in the longrun damage Your reputation.
This was quite the rambler tonight.. I just needed to get this off my chest..
I'll update this later..
God's Peace to ya'll!!
::: posted by kittlesnbits at 10:17 PM
Sunday, April 27, 2003 :::
I've neglected this thing like little kids and brussel sprouts and I realized that it's for my own good if I start typing my thoughts out again. I've always enjoyed the concept of a journal, but I just haven't been disciplined enough to maintain one. Bummer, huh?
::: posted by kittlesnbits at 5:50 PM
Tuesday, April 15, 2003 :::
One more time!
::: posted by kittlesnbits at 11:05 AM
Tuesday, September 10, 2002 :::
Okay, Okay..
So after much time and thought (well, not really), I've decided that I'm going to only update this thing on a weekly basis. A "daily" journal is a dead concept in my life. It will NEVER happen. I'd like to say it could, but it just can't - trust me. :) So while the "daily" journal has died, the "weekly" journal has blossomed like a venus fly trap (hmm.. they don't really blossom, do they?).. Anyway.. check back once a week if you want to hear endless ranting about my life and what God is doing with it!
This week was very long, but VERY productive - and even a lot of exciting.
::: posted by kittlesnbits at 6:01 AM
Monday, September 02, 2002 :::
Hey guys!
Speaking of hot air balloons, I got up close and personal with one last night.
Yesterday I was at a congregation member's cottage over on Devil's Lake (hehe.. yeah, what a great name for a place where a bunch of Lutheran's gathered, right?). The lady who invited me was definitely blessed with the spiritual gift of hospitality. You know the type - the Lord has blessed her immensely with a beautiful cottage on a popular lake, a pontoon boat, a swarm of kids and grandkids, and a talent for making good food. Well, she didn't hesitate at all to share her gifts with us, so there I was on a pontoon boat, soaking up the warm breeze at Devil's lake.
The big action of the night came when a Re-Max hot-air balloon came soaring in from the distance.. It quickly made its way towards the lake, and the multitude of boats started gathering at the point where the balloon seemed to hover. We were no exception. We kicked the pontoon into hyperdrive (hehe.. yeah right), so that we could get in on this rare spectacle. A little girl in the pontoon with us, Vanessa, didn't seem to appreciate the fact that we were getting closer to the balloon.. *laugh* she asked all of us if it was going to pop..! Well, this wasn't your momma's birthday-sized balloons, that's for sure. This was a giant mass of glory (okay, so i'm a little overly poetic) hovering over the water.
Well, with its audience in place (a swarm of boats, pontoons, and waverunners), the balloon-engineer (hehe) slowly lowered the balloon yard by yard, foot by foot, inch by inch, until the basket of the balloon was hovering just a few feet above the lake. Well, we were all going crazy by then - you could hear the 'hootin' and hollerin'' of all of us intrigued balloon gawkers. It definitely seemed like this last bit of space between the basket and the water was the hardest to overcome - this would be a tricky procedure.. (Not to be anti-climactic or anything), but after a minute of careful maneuvering, the balloon finally touched down to an eruption of rowdy applause. The balloon pilot and his female passenger gave a polite nod and wave to the audience, and then the pilot produced some serious flame-age and the balloon darted up into the sky and soon vanished.
I don't want to sound like i'm full of hot air (*wink*), but that was such an awesome moment. To a lot of people, it was probably just a balloon.. but to me it was much more. The atmosphere there was electric. I'm pretty confident in saying that this was the first time anybody on that lake had seen something like this.. It was unique, It was unusual, and it was just really really cool.
I guess on a deeper note (i'm getting serious now), call me crazy, but I'm just starting to really feel like this is where God wants me to be. Nonono, not on Devil's lake.. but at St. John's. It's been great getting to know how everybody at that congregation lives their lives and has fun. It's awesome seeing the many different ways that the Lord allows people to give of themselves. Like this wonderful woman who invited me up to this big shindig last night.
Anyway, a lot of the time we just can't see whether God is working in our situations. Other times, we KNOW He's working but we don't necessarily feel it. And then there comes those rare God-given moments when you KNOW and FEEL that you're where He wants you to be. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, we do have to be careful because feelings can be extremely misleading (i have oodles of stories about that), but I also know that God gives us reassurances that He is with us, and that everything is under His control. If this is bad theology, feel free to discuss it with me, josh@kittleman.org .
Okay.. I've written too much about Hot air balloons and stuff.. I'll talk to you later.. I'd love to hear what's on your mind, feel free to drop me a note.
Josh
::: posted by kittlesnbits at 7:55 AM
Sunday, September 01, 2002 :::
Back in action..
Yeah.. so, I'm realizing that the life of a full-time church worker is pretty crazy and unpredictable.. My schedule is filling up faster than helium in a hot air balloon (okay, so that's not really fast.. but it's pretty gradual)..
There's so much about ministry that i can and WILL eventually write about. One thing is pretty sure - I need a place to sort my thoughts out, so I'm definitely going to keep this journal updated regularly, er.. at least more regularly than the last time i tried this.. yeahhhhhhhhh.. Here's the thing.. for those of you expecting this journal to be stuffed full of Iditarod commentary and random ranting... well, I hate to disappoint, but i'm going to have to say "No soup for you!!".. I'm kind of switching gears a bit. Sure, i guarantee you wild bits of randomness, but I also guarantee a little more depth to this site.. i know, Josh kittleman and depth might not go together as well as batman & robin, but we're going to give it a good ol' Concordia shot!
Good times.. Good Times..
Until tommorrow
Jigga J
::: posted by kittlesnbits at 1:18 PM
