Well, I got my first D...

Well it seems my ability to pull last-minute term papers and get decent grades has met its match with one Dr. Glen Scorgie.

Man, that sucks...

To be fair, though, I re-read the paper after I got my grade and it was total crap. I don't think I would have even given myself a D, to be honest. It was all spotty and obviously had more input from the caffeine than from my brain.

Lesson learned, though. I'm already about 40% done with a paper that's not due til Friday, but I still have a ton of work to do this weekend, even after I turn in this paper. A few more mini papers due on Monday, then a final Monday night, and then another final Tuesday night! Ugh. THEN I'm done til after the new year.

God, you're good, even when I'm bummed. Thanks for the lesson and encouragement.

Pray for me non-stop til next Tuesday night at 9:30.

at

My Credo

I'm listening to MuteMath and working on my Credo Paper for my Systematic Theology class. Crazy stuff, man.

There's so much what I'll call "head knowledge" out there--theological speculation and deduction, some of it--that I sometimes forget that God's actually calling me into relationship with him. A lot like how when you're growing up your parents buy you shoes that are a little too big for you because you'll "grow into them," some of us budding theologians seem to know so much about God that our relationship with God suffers. Right or not, it's something I've experienced, and I know I'm not alone.

I guess my encouragement for you today is to not think so much about the intricacy of the character of God or to wonder so much about the existence of God, but to find and rest in the presence of God. That's the place we should all want to be.

Honestly yours,
at

Class, Week 2

I should be brief because I'm actually in class as I write this, but class has been wonderfully stretching to my spiritual life.

I'm spending a lot of time in prayer, and just trying to attentive to God.

I'll be posting some notes from classes from time to time, but not now.

A pic of my current class:




Keep a soft heart, friends!

Aaron

Live from my iPhone

Backstage at PLNU's chapel and I just played my first electric guitar set since late May...

Then, at the end, Milton Karahadian came up on stage and prayed for me during the prayer time. That was really cool, and I'm still (and will always be) figuring out that my relationship with God includes that with those around me as well.

Give someone a call today and tell them you're praying for them, and maybe even pray for them over the phone!

May Christ's love compel you to mend and grow relationships today!

at

Zach's Craziness vs. Justin's Jealousy

There seems to be a bit of mayhem going on at the Chicago House, and we're not just talking pillow fights and chocolate shakes...

It would seem based on this blog that there's a bit of roomy jealousy going on, and I'm sitting squarely in the middle.

At first I played it off like it was just Zach being Zach, but then I read this little post and decided I was a much bigger deal (to these guys) than I had previously imagined.

My name (well...my last name...shows how well they know me...) is plastered all over these things, and it's not something I'm proud of. Love triangles are no fun, especially when you're the third point and you don't understand why the other two points are trying to draw lines at you.

See, this isn't the first time my roommates have fought over me, nor will it be the last. I just wish there were enough of me to go around.

Sorry guys, but I'm just one man... And I have a job, so I work. Unlike you.

xoxo

-at

Intimacy in the Middle

I'm reading "Life Signs" by Henry Nouwen, and it's a killer book to say the least!  One thing I've been thinking about a lot:

Nouwen writes about how there are two ways to kill real, true, honest, life-changing intimacy.  The first is being too far away from someone to really know them.  This phenomenon (well...actually not a phenomenon because it all too common!) is prevalent because it's easy to stay distanced from people.  

I have no problem avoiding people, and all it takes to really let a relationship go by the wayside is to not call someone, or email them, or text them (or return any of their attempts to get to you first).  We all know relationships take time, and the best, deepest relationships take time out of every day.  (In case you aren't really reading into what I'm saying, this also plays out in your relationship with God!)

So intimacy killer #1:  Distance

The second is like the first in that there's a proximity at work in the relationship.  Instead of being distant and standoffish, you can injure intimacy by putting up a false closeness to the other person.

This plays out in my daily life as I'm walking around my work seeing new and old faces all the time.  Some people I know well, and others I merely know their names, and still others are just faces to me...people who I say hi to as we pass but nothing more.  

Since I started reading this book, I've begun intentionally getting people's names, even if I have already gotten their names 5 times already.  After reading this book, I'd rather not pretend that I can remember their names and instead are enjoying the freedom that comes from being on a truly level playing field.

See, when you fake closeness or allow a separation to take place there's an imbalance of power.  Someone has control of the situation, even if they don't know it.  When I walk by a fellow Apple employee and just say hi (full well knowing that I DON'T know their name), they have power over me because I am completely cut down by my inability to remember their name!

So, intimacy killer #2:  Fake Closeness

And this outcome, this power stratification, leads to fear, and that's when people have to start making decisions not based on love, but based on what is going to make the fear and the pain and the awkwardness go away.

Today, don't be fearful of what someone thinks of you if you have to ask their name a few more times to get it right!  Just humble yourself and be honest, and the genuinely close relationships will flow!

All glory to God!

at

The Train, in Brief

Yesterday's train ride from San Juan to San Diego was pleasant.  I'm always more relaxed after riding on a train.  Maybe it's the ocean views, or the quick conversations I always have with the passengers around me, or maybe it's the way the conductors dress...

Whatever it is, I'm grateful for it every time.

Find God in the little things.

at

Live from Apple

Slow day today at Apple.

I was in back most of the day being the "Runner," which means I bring Apple Specialists the computers their customers order.  Not a whole lot of action, but I get time in back to do Learning Modules that teach you more about Apple products.  Good times for a nerd like me.

Spent a lot of time talking with people too.  That was absolutely wonderful.  I gave out a lot of smiles today, which was wonderful too.

I will post later tonight. 

Lovey love love.

at

I Dare You to E-Fast

I spent most of the day up in Mission Viejo today with Katie.  It was a fun day of being with my beautiful girlfriend and her family.  I appreciate the way the Saalbergs go out of their way to see each other, and I definitely want that for my family some day.

The best part of the day was hanging out with my little niece, Sasha. 

Sasha turns 2 in mid-September and is just now starting to understand what it means to speak in sentences.  A vast majority of her words are mumbles and slurs--with the occasional real word--but she talks up a storm when she has something to say.

We also ate popsicles (which I haven’t done in I don’t know how long), and did some watercolor painting (same), and then I got tired and sat on the couch while she spun circles in the middle of the living room.

What a beautiful little girl, and what an awesome reminder of the simplicity of life.  We complicate it with deadlines and paychecks and emails, but the more I think about it the more I just want to get back to being appreciative

      a)     that I even exist

      b)    that I am loved by and reconciled to God

      c)     that people allow me to love them

      d)    that people love me

I encourage you to simplify your life at least for the next 24 hours by doing a little E-Fasting.  Only let yourself check MySpace or Facebook one time.  Only have your cell phone on you after 4 pm.  Only check your email twice (once in the morning, once at night).  Maybe even stay off your computer unless it’s for work!  And when you start to wish that you could check your email, or Facebook, or check your cell, talk to God and ask him to put someone on your heart to pray for, and maybe (this can be your cell exception…) call them and tell them you’re praying for them! 

A little encouragement goes a long way, and a little spiritual investment reaps a benefit infinitely bigger than the principal.

Go on an E-Fast with me.  I dare you.

May Christ’s love be on your heart today!

at

Long Day = Good Day

Today was a whirlwind day for sure!

Hope's service this morning went well.  The set list was:

Rain Down (D)

Forever (A)

All to You (an oldie but goodie, in D)

Just a very calming set even though the first two songs were up-tempo.  I was really being spoken to as I led the singing time, and I just had a ton of fun leading others in singing to God!  

Jump to California Pizza Kitchen ("CPK" for those in the know...).  I got a Sicilian Pizza for the 2nd time ever.  Not as good as the first, but still delicious.  

After lunch I got to ride a Segway scooter.  Check out the pics:

These things are ridiculously sensitive, and I had a blast trying to figure it out in the 60 seconds I had to run it around.  I even took it on the main parking lot road and got it up to 15 MPH.  

Good times.

Then it was off to Mission Viejo for a little Saalberg family time (love those guys!) at the MV Lake.  The water was in the mid 80's and we swam for about an hour and then had chicken dinner.

Then we fed ducks, which I'd like to officially go on record as saying I love feeding ducks.  I think it's in my genes, but it just takes away all the stress and extra concerns and puts all the attention on making the ducks as full and happy as possible.

Now it's back at the house and I'm continuing to work on the TSF site.  Slowly but surely it comes.

Gotta run.  Fro-yo time.

Remember to love!

at

Being Faithful by Being Yourself

Have you ever had one of those moments where you totally and completely acted like anyone else other than yourself?  You put on a front, you said something that just "wasn't you," or you acted a certain way even though you know you're not being authentic?

I was hit this morning with how inauthentic I must seem at times to God.  I tell him one thing, but my life doesn't reflect it.  Or I'll say something to a friend, and later I think about how what I said doesn't really reflect my personality, and was actually just an attempt to fit in with someone else.

That kind of thinking, and even the language of "fitting in" just isn't real.  There's no better person you can be than to truly be the person God is asking you to be.  You don't have to smile when you're sad, you don't have to say certain things so people see you in a certain light, and you certainly aren't impressing God by making big promises with low delivery.

Today ask God to help you be authentic.  And while I don't know what that is going to mean for you, I hope you feel the peace and the rest that comes with "fitting in" your own skin and being embraced by God just the way you are.

Read Luke 15:11-24.  I realized the other day that this is not the story of the Prodigal Son as the translators' title would suggest, but rather the story of the Father who Runs.  (More on this later.)

Genuinely yours,

at

(Tall Latte, 1/2 Raw Sugar)

Dinner with Katie. ...Macbook for Dessert

I worked at Apple yesterday from 7-4.  It was Temporary Tattoo Day, so I jumped on the bandwagon and got this little pirate piece on my arm:

Needless to say, I felt like a rebel.  Side note:  The ribbon around the skull near my wrist said "Shiver Me Timbers."  If there's one thing I won't get tattooed on my body, it's probably the phrase "Shiver Me Timbers."

Then I went home and hung out with Zach for a bit.  He's one of my heroes, plain and simple.  Arguably the most business-smart intelligent guys I know.  We're working together on one of his ideas that I think can REALLY take off.  Details to come...  

This morning was a lot of fun as

a) I slept in for the first time in a few weeks

b) I got an iced chai

c) Katie got a macbook!  (She's been adding items to iCal ALL MORNING)

Next it's up to the OC for Nana's bday party, then Charli and Ryan's wedding reception.

Should be fun.

Peace in Christ,

at

p.s.  Currently working on the Tucker Signature Films website.  You can keep up on my progress (changes daily) at web.mac.com/aaron.tucker