STL Here We Come...

Today Vitamin Z, Parker, and I leave for St. Louis for a week long seminary residency which should be fun and intense. I will hopefully have internet access so I can relay the happenings of STL and Covenant Seminary. Three things are on my mind though:

1. I am not the best flier, I am not sure why, I do not think it has anything to do with heights or planes, I think I just don't like not being in control. So that is obviously a sin issue I got to fight, so pray for me as we fly out today that I would trust God and that He would be my treasure and I would learn to be vulnerable more than I am.

2. The other thing on my mind is the weather in STL, I am a desert kid and anything below 40 degrees is way way too cold for me, and it looks to be pretty cold out there, not good not good at all.

3. The most important one is that my daughter is 2 years old today, we are going to have breakfast with her before I leave to celebrate. 2 years!!! Wow my parents were not kidding when they said that time flies.

Super Giants!!!!!

Before the Tampa game everyone said that NY had no chance and the TB was too good and Eli and the NY offense could not compete...Giants Win.

Before the Dallas game everyone said NY had already been swept by the Cowboys and the Romo was the QB of the future not Eli....Giants Win.

Before the Green Bay game everyone said NY could not stop Brett Favre and that the cold weather would do Eli in....Giants Win!!!


Before the Super Bowl everyone is already saying New England is unstoppable and that the NY Giants cannot do it, Eli is no Brady.....


KEEP TALKING!!!!

NFC Championship Game

Go Giants!!!!

Yippie Ki Yay.....

So being sick these past 2 days has meant 1. I am catching up on some reading in seminary, not as much as I like due to my sleeping for most of yesterday. and 2. Watching movies at home, today I watched 300 and then this evening Lauren and I sat down and watched "Live Free or Die Hard".

Needless to say I feel I need to punch something and go running into battle with a sharp object. I also realized John McClain from Die Hard could easily kill and bury Jack Bower from 24. Seriously though I feel like my manhood just rose 30 points tonight, Hey I live with a 2 year old so the most I normally get to watch is Dora the explorer.

So before I go to bed I am going to go rig up something to explode!!!

If I Were A Theologian I Would Be...

Hmm... who knew?

Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Karl Barth The daddy of 20th Century theology. You perceive liberal theology to be a disaster and so you insist that the revelation of Christ, not human experience, should be the starting point for all theology. Karl Barth 87% Anselm 73% Jonathan Edwards 67% John Calvin 60% Friedrich Schleiermacher 53% Martin Luther 53% Charles Finney 40% Jürgen Moltmann 40% Augustine 27% Paul Tillich 20%

At Home Sick...

I have been home sick today with either a really bad cold or stripe, I wonder if this was DSC's reaction too....

But She Still Felt Clean..

I have been reading the whole New Testament for my seminary class this past month and have learned a lot and also have a lot more questions. One of the questions I had as I was reading the gospels, was, what was life like after some of these people's encounters with Jesus.

I think especially on the woman at the well in John 4. This woman had been married quite a few times, and was now shacking up with some dude that she was not married to. More than likely at the start of each of those marriages there was hope that this would be the one. She now was gathering water at the well, probably feeling the pain of hopelessness and despair. "Am I unlovable?? Why can't I stay with a man? What is wrong with me?" those thoughts racing through her head daily. She went to the well around noon which was way later than when the other women of the village would have gone, probably to avoid the looks and the talking behind her back. A social outcast, the village whore, and a woman with no hope. She walks to this well seeing a Jewish rabbi sitting there resting from a journey. Her first thought could have been "oh great, a Jew, just get the water and get back home." Her people and the Jewish people hated each other, so if her own people considered her a filthy woman, what would this rabbi say?

Read the encounter here

The encounter changes her life, she is a new person, she is a hope filled woman as she leaves that well to pronounce to her village, the same people who she was ashamed to be around, she now goes and proclaims hope, redemption and a new life.

What about the next day?? Did she go back to the bed of the man she was not married to? Did she leave the man, did the man get saved and they married?? Although her life was new, and her despair had been turned into hope, she returned home to the same situation she had left that morning. What now??


Desiring God has a great article regarding the shame, and consequences of sin, but the liberation and freedom of the gospel.

They focus on the story of the adulterous woman who was brought to be stoned, here is what they shared, of what could have been after her encounter with the Lord:

As she turned and began to walk toward home she felt clean—cleaner than she could ever remember. How could that be? She hadn’t done anything to deserve to be clean. There hadn’t even been a ritual sacrifice or water cleansing according to the law yet. That rabbi had simply declared her guilt-free, and it was so. No one ever spoke like this man. She heard God when he spoke.

But after a few minutes of walking it hit her: “I have to go home.” Fear shot through her. She wanted to bolt. The rabbi had forgiven her. But waiting at home was her betrayed husband. And her children. And her parents. And his parents. She had shamed the entire family. Her life was like a broken pot; shards all over the floor. Because of her sin. She almost longed to be buried by the stones.

But she still felt clean

Click here for complete article.


Props: Desiring God

Happy Smurf-day!!! Smurfalicious

Smurfs are now 50 years old!! I grew up watching the Smurfs and even got to go see them on ice!! I am a big fan of the Smurfs and hope to indoctrinate my daughter in all things Smurf, hey better Smurfs than Dora!! There are reports of a Smurf movie coming out, that is freakin sweet, last year there was Transformers and Alvin and the Chipmunks and now the Smurfs!!!

Smurf Here for Article!!

iTastic! Look At Some of What Apple Is Bringing!!!!

I dedicate this to Z and his iPassion for all Mac!!

Movie Rentals on iTunes

Rip DVDs onto iTunes

Ultrathin Laptops

Second-Generation iPhone

High Definition

With the release of a 2nd Gen. iPhone there is talk that over providers will be allowed!! That is sweet for me to hear since I would love an iPhone but do not want to leave Verizon.

Here is the full iArticle

Having No Legs An Unfair Advantage??

That seems to be the case for this dude:

Track and field’s world governing body ruled on Monday that Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter from South Africa, is not be eligible to compete in Olympic qualifying events. The International Association of Athletics Federations explained in a statement that, after an independent scientific study, it deemed Pistorius’s state-of-the-art carbon fiber prosthetics “should be considered as technical aids which give him an advantage over other athletes not using them.”

Click here for the whole article.

Piper's Prodigal

Check out this great article from Abraham Piper about his days of prodigal-ness. I can relate to this, although my days were more of the 22 year variety. I always remember my father though there to talk to me about Spiritual stuff, I remember him having to come bail me out of jail, and being there when I had hit rock bottom in my college party lifestyle. The grace God gave me for my parents and all I put them through still brings tears to my eyes. I pray that I am as loving and forgiving to Jordyn and the boy due in March as my parents were and as my God is through the death of His Son!!

Click here for Abraham's Story

Also in the article on the sidebar there is a great note from John Piper, Abraham's father.


Props: Life Together

I'll Have a Shot of Church!!!

Interesting article here from Fox News:

To get people to attend his new church campus, Robbie McLaughlin is sending his message out to where the people are.

Next Friday, staffers from Next Level Church of Matthews will go to bars in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte to hand out shot glasses which ask patrons to "give us a shot" and bear the slogan, "Real church for real people."

The idea is to draw people to the Ballantyne campus, which opens next month.

McLaughlin is the pastor, and said he is confident that it will be controversial, but he said the goal is not necessarily to impress people who already go to church. He said it's to impress people who don't.

Next Level is a nontraditional church that encourages members to dress casually and snack on coffee and doughnuts during services.

McLaughlin said the idea has caught on, and in two years, the church has grown from a handful of members to more than 700.

I do not have a problem with this approach, although the truth is this is not really missional, although I am not sure that was their intent. It is a "come and see" approach, shot glass instead of Thomas Kinkade (Sp?) Calendar.

Thoughts???


Props:The World From Our Window

How 'Bout Them Giants!!!!

New York 21 Dallas 17!!!!!!!!!!

Rob Bell On His Critics..

"...There are around a billion people in the world who don't have clean drinking water, and 46 million Americans don't have health care. That means if they get sick, they don't have anywhere to go. Half of the world, 3 billion people, live on less than two American dollars a day, so the world is an emergency. It's on fire. It's drowning. It's an absolute crisis, and when followers of Jesus can think of nothing better to do with their time than to pick apart and shred to pieces the work of other followers of Jesus who are trying to do something about the world, that's tragic, and I don't owe these people anything. The would is desperately in need of people who will break themselves open and pour themselves out for the reconciliation of all things. When a Christian can find nothing better to do with their time in the face of this much pain and heartbreak, you start realizing that some Christians need to be saved. How a person would have energy to take shots at other Christians is just mind-boggling. You have to be totally disconnected from the pain of the world to think that blogging is somehow redemptive use of your time. I guess I have some strong thoughts on that." Rob Bell

This quote was taken from the most recent edition of Relevant Magazine. I realize that Bell has some things that we have to say are not great theology, but I do think he makes a good point. It often seems that Christians and particularly Reformed Christians, not all but some, get caught up in books and are not aware of the pain in this world. We sometimes get so busy arguing about whether Mark Driscoll is a reverent man cause he wears a South Park T-Shirt that we miss the fact that billions tonight will not eat as they have not for the past week and we are more concerned about what a pastor wears. I do think there are things we have to keep in our closed hand and not waver on, but sometimes we throw in things that we must have charity on and then burn people at the blog stake for not agreeing. What a witness to the world that is sick of bipartisan politics to show that the Church is no different and all those wacky Christians do is debate on whether we baptize babies or not.

Thoughts???

To Be Part of Something Bigger Than Yourself

"To be part of this fellowship is to know the sufferings of Christ and to be conformed to him in contrast to the surrounding culture, to be comforted and empowered by the Spirit, and to have the hope that the God of Israel, who is the Father of the Lord Jesus, will complete the new creation that has already begun. The church is the fellowship that speaks and lives that personal, communal and cosmic story." Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters, by Michael Gorman

This was one of the many great quotes from the chapter I was assigned to read in class. Here is another one.

"Love has a very specific meaning for Paul-conformity to the pattern of Christ's self-giving, sacrafical love on the cross.

...In fact, the love which he speaks overlaps with the Hebrew Scriptures' notion of justice: special, concrete attention to the weaker or needier members of the local or wider community. Furthermore, the love of God in Christ does not neglect outsiders and even enemies. After all, Christ's death was God's gift for those at enmity with God."

Click here to order the book!

Confessions of a Missional Pastor

David Fitch over at Reclaiming the Mission has this great article illustrating the past 10 years of his life as a missional pastor. This is a great list for those who are thinking about planting or going into ministry. I feel I am just starting on this journey and hope to learn from others, learn to avoid certain land mines that others have hit. That is the church after all, it is older men and women teaching guiding and leading the young punks like myself!

Here is a brief list of what David has learned click here for the detailed list:

1. Spend less time writing sermons, more time listening

2. Spend less time reading-writing on leadership and more time walking with/mentoring young leaders

3. Spend less time planning the worship gathering - more time in silence before God

4. Spend more time with the children, less time programming "entertainment with pizza.


5. Spend less time in meetings, more time in the neighborhood.


6. Spend less time in meetings figuring out details to make things work better, and more time in meetings where we ask "what is God doing?

7. Spend less time trying to please Christians


8 Spend less time answering bizarre twisted questions about outlier doctrines

9 Spend less time worrying about numbers

10. Spend less time frantically trying to catch up with all the words I have to write

The first one of spending less time preparing for preaching is the only one that I am unsure of as "good" advice, but again this is this guy's experience and may not correlate 1 to 1 with mine or yours.

thoughts??


Props: Reformissionary

Yeah So There!!!! Culture, Smulture!!!!

UMM I am guessing this is not a emerging church, just a guess...I guess they did have cheesy, arrogant signs back in the day too, interesting...


Props: Crummy Church Signs

Second Thoughts on Obama...

Earlier I said that I thought Obama was a good choice, however I for the moment am taking that statement back. The reason? Well in light of how fiercely pro-choice he is, I realized he was, but not to this extent, read here...


Props:Between Two Worlds

New Hampshire Surpises..

Well the first primary over it appears that the funeral for the Hillary Campaign '08 has been postponed for now. Just like the McCain Campaign memorial service was put off too. These two candidates who seemed all but done at various times, McCain this past summer and Clinton last weekend are now once again back in the race. What were their keys to victory, here are my opinions:

McCain-not super religious that beats out Huck and not a creepy business guy that beats out Mit, and not arrogant and slimy that beats out Guliani. Plus he has previously won New Hampshire so his popularity was still there.

Clinton-this was a shocker here, I figured that Obama would win and just take over the Democratic ticket. What what Hillary's keys to victory? She claims it was the debate on Saturday night, I doubt that was the key, she came off as arrogant and very partisan and not an agent of change. I believe it was simply a display of emotion that the media feasted on this past Monday. She got choked up and I think that swung the female vote who finally could relate to a woman that had up to that point come across as cold and rather harsh. She displayed gentleness and passion something that I think is natural for woman to display and other women then could finally relate.

So now what?? Well I think Iowa and New Hampshire while good victories for the Huck and Obama, McCain and Clinton, are not exactly good predictors of where this race will go. My predictions remain the same. Republicans will nominate Huckabee a man that is honest, respectful of others but stands firm on the issues important to the American people. Democrats will nominate Obama for the simple reason that Hillary cannot win in the general election, and she is not an agent for the change America is seeking. She said that the change people want is a Democrat in the Oval Office and no more George Bush. NO! The change America wants and needs is someone willing to break down the walls of Democrat/Republican and she has shown that she is not willing or able to do that, just like George W. is fiercely Republican, she is the flip side of the same coin, and that is what America is sick of!


And finally our faithful, well maybe faithful is not the right word, but our governor Bill Richardson came in 4th once again with only 5% of the vote. He still is not dropping out and wants to continue onto Nevada and the west. Governor give it a rest and come back and govern your state!!! You have embarrassed yourself and the New Mexican people enough, come and do the job we entrusted to you and pay you for!!!

N.T. Wright On Jesus' Mighty Works

"the bulk of Jesus' might works, could be seen as the restoration to the membership in Israel of those who, through sickness or whatever, had been excluded as ritually unclean. The healings thus function in exact parallel with the welcome of sinners, and this, we may quite sure, was what Jesus himself intended. He never performed mighty works simply to impress. He saw them as part of the inauguration of the sovereign and healing rul of Israel's covenant god." (Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God")

A Church Community

I was listening to a sermon today by Matt Chandler of The Village Church in Dallas, TX and he was discussing the result of the Gospel and he said something that I think a lot of our churches in America miss, but by God's grace some are starting to speak of. He said this:

"(The gospel creates) a community where no one gets to brag, but where everyone is broken but being healed"

I often times find myself not feeling super broken, I mean I am a seminary student, work at a church and have a great family. I fear often I in my heart brag over people, think I am better and whole and complete, think I have found my best life now. Then I hear a sermon like this that rocks my foundation and makes me uneasy and shows the broken jar I am. Thank God for moments like these that help humiliate me and help break me again of all pretensions and haughtiness I have. I am broken, we all are, we will not be fully healed this side of heaven, but we are in process, something that we have to cling to. The cross is not this place where immediate restoration to all things take place, instead for us it is the foundation we always walk on as we our on our journey. Our journey often times will not look like it is going forward, but by walking firmly on the gospel and with the cross in front of us we press on to make it ours (Phil 3: 12-14). Tomorrow night we start up the spring semester at "The Well" a college gathering of Desert Springs Church, I hope to by God's grace to come with humility and brokenness and that others will begin to do the same. I hope that we see ourselves as messy, jacked up, broken punks that deserve hell, that do not deserve grace and salvation, but by the grace and the grace of God alone we come to Jesus as beggars, drunkards, horrors and wretches and cling to the foot of the cross as our one and only hope for healing. That our foundation is not longer in the law of right and wrong, but is the cross of Christ. And our cleanliness is not if we do not cuss or look at pornography but is in the washing of ourselves in the blood of Christ.

What a blessed way to start the week, not by saying I am good and everyone likes me, but by saying I am a piece of crap and the Lord loves me anyway!!!!

Such As....I Believe....Such As....

1 more post today to finish the week on a painfully humorous note:

One History

“We read [scripture], naturally, as part of our real history, secular history, the history of which we are a part. What other history is there? There are not different histories, but there are different ways of understanding history…it is clearly an illusion to imagine that there are two kinds of history - sacred and profane, salvation history and secular history.”
- Lesslie Newbigin in Foolishness to the Greeks

Props: Todd Hiestand

What, The World Will NOT End If Hillary Wins??!!??

According to Albert Mohler the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, as Christians we should be wary of thinking that putting a Christian or conservative in the White House will solve everything. In other words politics is not a basket we should be putting all our eggs, most of our eggs or really some of our eggs in.

The rhetoric of the race -- and the rhetoric of many evangelicals -- is disturbing. This race is important and necessarily so. We are talking about the next President of the United States, after all. But evangelicals have invested far too much hope in the political process. No government can make people good, transform humanity, or eliminate sin. The political sphere is important, but never ultimate. Jesus Christ is Lord -- and He will be Lord regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.

Does this mean that I will stop supporting The Huck, no, but what it means is that win or lose Jesus Christ is the only true hope for the world, for the country and for my soul. I believe as Christians living in this world we need to be active in the political sphere to an extent, I will not worship George W. Bush (sorry 700 club). I believe that we should be aware of candidates and do research on them on specific issues, such as abortion and poverty and yes even the environment ( God did tell us to be stewards over His world after all!). I am fiercely opposed to abortion in ALL circumstances and will not support a candidate that thinks killing a baby is a choice that should be protected by the constitution. However I do not believe that if we outlaw abortion which we should, that that would be an end in itself. Jesus again is the only hope for the drug dealer, the homeless man, the homosexual, the suburban soccer mom, Britney Spears, Carlos Griego and yes Chuck Norris too!

Click here for Albert Mohler's complete article, it is worth a read!

Props Between Two World's

John The Baptist's Message

Christopher Wright in his book "Knowing Jesus Through The Old Testament" has a great commentary on what John the Baptist's message was.

"One can imagine the stirring of hearts an quickening of pulses in Jewish homes and communities when, into this mixture of aspirations and hopes dropped the message of John the Baptist, and then of Jesus himself-

The time is fulfilled!(what you have been waiting for as something future is now here and present); the kingdom of God is at hand! (God is now acting to establish his reign in the midst of you); so repent and believe the good news (urgent action is required of you now)."

Wright's commentary within the message shed so much light for me on what John was proclaiming. To understand the magnitude of this proclamation one has to have a good historical, biblical understanding of the Jews in the Old Testament. This statement was groundbreaking, this statement was long awaited, this statement was not accepted. What does a statement like this have for us in the 21st century? Is this statement earth shattering for us who have no concept of something be long awaited??

I fear that we read this proclamation and we clap and maybe smile, but do we fall to our knees, do we see the amazing promise and faithfulness of God vividly displayed? Do we get the urgent action required of us? To repent and believe, do we?? Do I??

The Dark Knight

The new Batman movie looks sweet!! I thought that only Jack Nicholson could pull off the role of the Joker, but Heath Ledger looks to be a good fit. This summer is going to be a sweet summer for movies!






Click here for the Official Dark Knight Site.

Knowing Jesus

I know that Z just recommended this book, but I am doing the same. Knowing Jesus is a great book for anyone that struggles through the Old Testament in how it to the New. Here is a cool quote:

"When Matthew announces Jesus as the Messiah, the son of Abraham, then, it means not only that he belongs to that particular people ( a real Jew, as we have just seen), but that he belongs to a people whose very reason for existence was to bring blessing to the rest of humanity. He shared that mission, and indeed, as the Messiah, he had come to make it a possibility and a reality at last. A particular man, but with a universal significance."

Here is another quote where Wright is discussing the line of Jesus and how only a few women are named and these women are not jews.

"But probably more significant is the other thing they (the women of Jesus' genealogy in Matthew) all have in common. They were all, from a Jewish point of view, foreigners."

"The implication of Jesus being the heir of Abraham and his universal promise is underlined: Jesus the Jew, and the Jewish Messiah, had Gentile blood!"

The Griego's Year In Pictures

Thanks Z For The Idea, and Thanks Brad for Giving Z the Idea!

Bhutto and the Campaign...

Over at the Riddleblog, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger from "The White Horse Inn" and writer of books such as "A Case for Amillennialism" posts a great response to how these candidates in this year's election are using Bhutto's death to show they are good presidential credentials. I think ALL candidates blew it on this one, and here is what Dr. Riddlebarger says, and I agree:

"Is anyone else as as disgusted as I am at all the presidential campaigns for using the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto as a way to shamelessly tout their own supposed foreign policy credentials?

These guys (and a gal) have spent the last two days knocking each other over to get before a camera or a mic to pontificate about something they obviously know very little about. Unless you are already in the White House and privy to hard intelligence, you probably don't know squat about what really happened and who did the dastardly deed

The most egregious examples so far are ambulance-chaser turned senator, John Edwards telling a rally that he just got off the phone with President Musharraf in Islamabad. Can't you just see that conversation from Musharraf's end? He's in a high-level meeting with his nation exploding all around him and an aide walks in and says, "Mr. President . . . There's a John Edwards on the phone for you. He says its important . . ." Can't you just imagine Musharraf's reaction. "Who?"

Then there is John McCain. "I knew Benazir Bhutto. I've known Musharraf for years. I've talked with general so and so . . . I talked with Moses and Abraham." And then McCain has the nerve to tell American voters what Musharraf should do, as if McCain was a candidate for Pakistani generalissimo. McCain's an America hero, but recounting the names in his address book on camera to jump-start his campaign is pretty cynical.

Huckabee didn't even know marshal law in Pakistan had been suspended. Hillary tells us she knew Bhutto well, but only because Hillary had contact with her as first-lady, not in any meaningful political/policy sense. Now Hillary wants an "international investigation." Like the UN is competent to investigate this . . .

Yes, I know American voters benefit by seeing their presidential candidates react under pressure and respond to world events. But so far I'm not impressed with any of them.

The only candidate who has made any sense to me on this is Ron Paul. "Why should we be telling the Pakistanis what to do? Pakistan is a sovereign nation." And Ron Paul is not exactly what you'd call "presidential" nor is he remotely electable.

And we wonder why less than 50% of Americans vote? The cynicism shown by the lot of them is disgusting to me. And just why is it that we are going through this eleven months before the election?"

Props: The Riddleblog

What Would Jesus Buy? Interview With The Rev.

I am interested in seeing this movie although currently am unable to, due to its lack of distribution. These are some good things to ponder, thoughts???



HT: Think Christian

Post Christmas Report

This Christmas was probably the most stressful and fun Christmas ever! Let me start with the stressful part, it was stressful for me probably because this is the first Christmas that I have been off for in a long long time. Not just Christmas day, but all the days leading up to that faithful day. Our Christmas began on Sunday with a trip to Lauren's parents.

Lauren's aunt and family came up from Socorro (a town 90 miles south of Abq) and we had an early Christmas dinner and present opening. The best part though aside from the "Guitar Hero" was seeing the 2 cousins pictured above playing together and enjoying the festivities for their first time, a year ago they both were too little to really be pumped about Christmas. There was also the fine art of sharing that is to be learned by each cousin, more of which will be learned in the years to come.

Christmas Eve was anything but quiet, as our day was low key but our afternoon and evening were not. We had 2 services at Desert Springs, both of which Lauren was singing in the choir. The first service was packed there were probably close to 900-1000 people in attendance. That is always cool, not because we had that many people at our church, but because that many people heard the gospel!! Lauren singing in the choir meant that we would be late to my grandmother's, going to my grandma Ruth's house is a family tradition going on for as long as I can remember. There were lots of my cousins and of course great, yummy grandma food, such as posole, menudo, homemade cookies and fudge, yep pretty stinking tasty! We got there late and in my own selfishness I was not happy about that, I do now look back and see that the time we did have there was special and fun. My in-laws did come over to my grandma's house too, that is always fun because our families are so different. I imagine it can be overwhelming for them, but hopefully they feel welcome and part of the Griego clan!

Christmas Eve came and went and then was the big day, Christmas! Yesterday was fun, we started the day off with some time with my folks eating some good breakfast food and opening presents. It had been a interesting year for my family, in May my mother's cancer had returned and had spread. In Feb my boss was fired although I got along well with the new guy, Steve Alford, I took a job at Desert Springs as the Young Adult Minister and have seen "The Well" grow from 7 kids to 60 over the semester, all to God's glory. Through it all the highlight of the year was not the cancer, but my parents response to the cancer. My mother and father were not crushed by it, but leaned on Christ as their hope and treasure, not to say there were no tears in this, but their hope and anchor was in someone else, Jesus Christ! That was the highlight for 2007 for me, that God had worked in their hearts in such a way that they had a peace and joy that cancer could not touch. My mother's cancer is 94% gone and Lord willing 2008 will bring in 100% clean tests, but either way, I hope that my family leans not on tests or health, but on Christ!

After leaving my parents house we all headed over to Montebello retirement community to visit my Nana who lives there. It was the first time I saw her new home and was very happy she was in such a nice and comfortable place. My cousin Ryan and his new family were all there and it was great to be there with them, even if it was a short visit. I hope to visit and talk to my Nana much more than I did this past year, I hope to learn to focus on my family and those around me more so, this has been a huge failure of mine that I hope to improve on this coming year.

We then headed off to my Auntie's house to see some cousins I usually only get to see at Christmas. That was fun and refreshing, being around family usually is.

After that Lauren and I went on an afternoon date to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks", it was a cute an fun movie, I recommend it!

The day concluded at my in-laws as we has stew and hung out with Lauren's brothers and sister-in-law. We also played a fun game called "Curses".

All in all it was a busy holiday, a stressful at times lesson about 2 becoming 1, and a great time to reflect on the true meaning and hope of Christmas, Jesus Christ.

Our hope was not in Santa, or posole, but in the cross, the reason for that baby in the manger. We celebrate Christmas because of the cross and resurrection, we celebrate our liberty from death and victory over sin that baby's death! What a day, what a Savior!!!

And to all a good night!!!

Merry Christmas From The Griego's!!!

Taking a Christmas Blog-Break...and to all a goodnight!!!

Humbled By Acts 2:45

Acts 2:45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

This past week Lauren, our daughter Jordyn and I (pictured) have been humbled in how someone in our body at Desert Springs Church lived out this verse in front of us. Ron one of our elders called me into his office on Wednesday to tell me that there is a certain couple at DSC that "adopts" a young married couple each year and gives them a Christmas gift. This couple went to Ron and asked if he knew of any couple that could use a monetary gift and Ron thought of Lauren and I, knowing that my salary as a DSC Intern was not quite Kobe Bryant status. This couple wanting to stay anonymous gave Ron a check for a very, very generous amount and asked Ron to give us the gift, which he did.

Needless to say Lauren cried, I was speechless and felt very humbled. I would not consider us poor or "in need" per se, Lauren and I have more than a few pairs of shoes, we are not worried that we will not be able to eat this week, we drive cars, we have lots of clothes and we live in a house. Above that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been given the gift of God, by God to be with Him forever!!

This does not mean that we do not love and appreciate this gift, we are so thankful for this gift and it does provide for us in ways that we can not. What we do not want to do though is let this idea of Acts 2:45 stop with us getting this gift. We are not going to spend this money all on ourselves, what we have decieded to do with some of it is sponsor a Compassion International Kid, that through the blessing of this couple, we can bless a child with means to food, schooling, medicine and the basics that we in America take for granted.

I believe this is what the body is supposed to look like, where we are all providing for each other with what we can. This older couple could provide Lauren and I a gift that blesses us in ways we could not. We in turn hope to bless a child in the same fashion. This is not to pat ourselves on the back, the reality is one of my first reactions was to be selfish and to go get something for myself, but to say that in Christ what we have is so abundant, how can we hold on to things like money and possesions so tightly when others are in need in the world?

Covenant Mercies

There is a great, great, great ministry that New Attitude has been talking about called Covenant Mercies. Here is a note explaining the heart, and hope of the ministry.

"Covenant Mercies is a gospel-centered nonprofit organization established for the purpose of serving the poor, the orphan, the widow, and others facing severe adversity in its own Pennsylvania community and beyond. Please click the links to the left to learn more about the initiatives being undertaken through Covenant Mercies.

In His grace, God has been exceedingly merciful to us. Our Savior did not sit idly by while the world agonized in the ravages of sin, but in compassion He came and suffered with us. As His visible expression in the earth today, it is our joy to minister the compassion of our Lord Jesus to those around us who are in need. We invite your prayers for Covenant Mercies as we seek to walk in the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10), to the praise of His glorious grace."

In light of John 1 that Ryan Kelly our teaching elder at my church spoke of last week it makes sense to seek the welfare and care of the orphan.

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
John 1:9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. " (John 1: 1-14)

LOBOS 83 nmsu 69, The Pit is Back!

UNM beat up on the small junior college looking kids from down south known as the New Mexico State Aggies last night. It was great from seeing Coach Alford simply outclass and outcoach Marvin Menzies to Roman Martinez scoring a career high 24pts. it was a great night to be a Lobo!! The Pit was loud and sounded at times like the old days of rowdiness!

What a Christmas gift, I mean beating up on the Aggies is a gift that just keeps giving and giving all year long!

Click here for article from the Albuquerque Tribune about last night's game.

The Doctrine of God

"Without the love of the Son for the Father, which impelled him to make the sacrifice in the first place, without the corresponding love of the Father for the Son, by which he accepted the Son's work and pronounced the world of forgiveness for us, our salvation could not have occurred. Furthermore, without the love of the Holy Spirit for both the Father and the Son, by which he brings this message to us and sounds the very depths of our hearts, Christ's work of love would have no practical meaning in our lives. The inner lover of the persons of the Trinity is the very ground of our redemption, and at the heart of this love we meet both the wrath and the mercy of God." (Bray 223)

A great quote by Gerald Bray from his book "The Doctrine of God", on the primacy of the Trinity and also God's wrath from a book I am reading for class.

Lobo vs aggie Basketball Game Tomorrow Night...

in the Pit, this is a fierce rivalry here in NM and it will be fun. Here is an advertisement for NMSU in case you were wondering "Who Are The Aggies???"