NoelHeikkinen.com

Trip Woes

Jul 15, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Tired, Very Tired…Oh, and Hungry | NOISE: Almost None, Finally }

How to even begin explaining our trip to Myrtle…I guess I’ll just dive right in…

Before we leave, Grace says, “If the van gives us any trouble you are buying me a new one.”

We hit the road late because, well, we always hit the road late. That put us a few hours behind schedule. That would normally not be an issue, but this time we reserved (and pre-paid) for rooms on Travelocity. So, we have a schedule to keep.

While driving through Ypsilanti, we have a tire blow out. Not just any tire, but the one we replaced after in blew out on our last trip to a conference in February. (See this video for a refresher.) I discover when trying to take off the bad tire that a) I do not have the right size jack (I bought a new one after the last one broke in Feb) and b) I don’t have the right tool to get the spare off the van. Luckily, Aaron and Eric were 15 minutes behind us with another Ford van that happened to have the same tool. Nice.

So, I call Discount Tire to see if they have one. The gentlemen gives me directions to their store. 20 minutes later, I call him back and he gives me the same wrong directions. So I call another Discount Tire and ask them for directions and they give me the right ones. I get to Discount Tire and they don’t have the right tire. They call around and noone does. So they give me the wrong tire and leave my spare on the car. They bag up the tire and put it in the van (just in case) and tell me to swap it out for the right one when I get home. Groovy. 3 hours wasted, but we are back on the road and flyin’.

We are about 15 minutes North of Charleston when Grace announces, “Something’s wrong with the van.” She was right. The tensioner (that holds on the serpentine belt) has disintegrated. Now we are dead. Luckily, our personal guardian angel arrived in a ’66 Corvette convertable. His name was Larry. Weird name for an angel, but I digress.

Larry the Angel says to come with him. I do. This seems like a scene from “Deliverance,” driving through the back roads with Larry the Angel in West Virginia. We come to his house and he presents me with his conversion van which he is going to loan us. In fact we “can take it to Myrtle Beach for all I care.” Meanwhile, we call for a tow and at midnight, the towtruck arrives. The kids think this is fun, my wife is enjoying her favorite new phrase (“I told you so.”) and I am watching my van get towed….again.

We spend the night in a hotel and get up the next morning to find it is not a big deal to fix. 12:30pm, we return Larry the Angel’s van. He reminds us that we “can take it to Myrtle Beach for all I care.” No, thanks, we gotta go.

Late in the evening, we arrive in Myrtle to discover the condos goofed up and they have not left us a key to our condo. We call the 24-hour line and they hook us up with a temporary room for the night.

So much for arriving early and settling in.

This morning, we got our new room and guess what? The van is not working. Apparently, our air conditioner (which is brand new) is mad at the van and when we turn it on, it turns the van off. Then, at lights and stop signs it dies again. Lovely.

Back to the mechanics tomorrow.

Needless to say, Grace still wants a new van.

HSLT

Jul 12, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Tired | TIVO: The Assistant }

We take off tomorrow morning for HSLT in Myrtle Beach, SC. It has taken awhile for me to get excited about it, but I really am at this point. Please pray for it. These conferences always have tremendous potential to be a “mountaintop” type experiences for the teens. Pray that a lot of kids would not only have this kind of experience, but would also make lifelong decisions.

I will continue to post as I have time because I will be colaborating with the evil AOL empire for a free month of dial-up while I am there.

This starts a crazy travel schedule for us. Here is our insane schedule:

Tomorrow – July 23 | HSLT in Myrtle Beach, SC
July 24 – July 31 | Vacation (we are staying in MB for a family vacation)
August 13 – August 17 | Prague, Czech Republic (with Grace for vacation)
August 18 – August 23 | Wisla, Poland (with Grace for the first ever Euro-HSLT conference)
September 24 – September 26 | Atlanta, GA (with Grace for a conference with Northpoint Church)

Crazy. Anyhoo, off to finishing my packing.

Xanga

Jul 12, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: OK | ITUNES: Kids Fighting Over Toys }

This might be one of the most interesting Xangas out there. It’s a one post Xanga about how all Xangas are pointless and pathetic. Then, there are tons of comments (31 as of right now) fighting a pointless and pathetic argument about this particular pointless and pathetic point.

For the record, the guys who thinks Xangas are pointless and pathetic liked Jason’s entry that reference me. Yeah buddy.

Politics

Jul 10, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Sweaty | NOISE: Kids coloring }

Going along with the political conversation, I just read this quote on Sojo.net:

“Religion should not be the exclusive possession of the Republican or Democratic Party, the right or the left, but must be able to critique and challenge both. And clearly, in this election, Christians will be voting both ways, because of their faith.”

Dads

Jul 10, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Caffeinated | NOISE: Ethan sword fighting himself }

I just read a stat in Men’s Health Magazine that 90% of men wish their dad was around more when they were growing up.

Spiderman

Jul 10, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Spidery | NOISE: Kids Playing }

Yes, someone has remade Spiderman 2 with Legos.

You can see more of their work here.

Camera Phones

Jul 10, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Gurgy | NOISE: Cole Talking }

This is really cool. It’s an online camera phone picture gallery. Very cool.

Government and Worship, Respectively

Jul 9, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Thoughtful | TIVO: Monk }

I just read two really interesting articles that make you say “hmmmm” on two topics I have been chewing on a lot lately. I’ll give you excerpts and links to the entire articles (which I seriously recommend you read if you get a chance).

God and Country or Christ’s Kingdom

Excerpt One

In recent years, a very vocal element within mainstream Christianity has been promoting a “nationalized gospel” — a gospel wrapped in an American flag. Unbiblical notions about patriotism and America’s “special” place in God’s plan abound in books, magazines, radio and TV programs produced by these religio-political zealots, as well as from their pulpits.

Christ did not call us to reform our country but to spread the only message that has the power to change lives. If we truly believe in the power of the gospel, we must not let it be weighed down by such unbiblical baggage.

Excerpt Two

As we have contemplated these issues, we have become increasingly convinced that it is a serious mistake for believers to identify with any political party or “ism” in this world. Rather than to show a commitment to certain causes, identification with. a particular political party has the effect of compromising the effectiveness of a believer’s witness. By aligning ourselves with a particular political party, we often unwittingly alienate those who may identify with an opposing party, thus unnecessarily erecting a stumbling block that can only hinder the credibility of our witness to Jesus Christ. We are certainly free to evaluate the relative merits of the various political systems in our culture and to hold whatever convictions about such matters as seem appropriate in light of the teaching of God’s word. But we also know that political affiliations are a source of much strife and contention all over the world. Should we not, therefore, avoid unnecessary alienation from those we hope to evangelize by not wearing such political convictions on our sleeves?

Worship in the church

Are you a BC Christian or an AD Christian?

You may say that the answer is obvious, since we live after Christ we must all be Anno Domini ‘in the Year of our Lord’ Christians; what else could we be? Chronologically that may well be true, but theologically, it is only too possible for people to be BC Christians to the extent that what they do when they meet together as church is more closely patterned on Old Testament practices than those of the New Testament. They act as if the coming of Jesus hardly makes any difference at all. And whether a church is functioning as a BC church or an AD church is shown by their view of what constitutes ‘worship’.

Spiritual Warfare

Jul 8, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Indecisive (Trying to decide whether or not to go biking today) | ITUNES: “Just Like Heaven” – The Cure }

My friend Matt has recommended very strongly an article entitled “The Principles of War: A Strategy For Group and Individual Evangelism”. Because of his strong recommendation, I gave it a little read. I feel like this article addresses some things that bear serious thought. Some, I totally agree with. Some, leave a horrible taste in my mouth.

Some of you will really care to read this, some won’t, so I will put my long post in an extended entry. If you care, just follow this link to the extended entry:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Church

Jul 8, 2004 Uncategorized Hodge Podge

{ MOOD: Decent | ITUNES: “The Remedy” Jason Mraz }

From my friend Pavi’s blog:

I’m here at TCS with Graham Tomlin, and he’s speaking on what the community of Jesus focused on. Simple things, yet so rich and exciting for me to reflect upon: living life together around Jesus, hospitality, eating together, wasting time together, practicing servanthood together, going on retreat together, interactive teaching and discussion, questions, scripture reflection, observing life together and reflecting together upon those observations, a commitment to the poor, to those on the edge, and a simplicity of life.

This is church, isn’t it?