I spent two weeks in Guatemala in July. Each morning, I woke up before anyone else in our house, and I climbed up the steps to the roof of our house in Santo Domingo Xenacoj. This is where I started my day with prayer, reading, and rooftop reflections.
Each morning, I recorded a video documenting my “Rooftop Reflections.” I initially posted these on Facebook, but I realize many of my readers aren’t connected with me on Facebook. Over the next several weeks, I’ll release these videos to you here on the blog. These videos provide another glimpse into my experiences in Guatemala.
Here is the third installment:
https://www.facebook.com/jonstolpe/videos/10210299346550328/
I spent two weeks in Guatemala in July. Each morning, I woke up before anyone else in our house, and I climbed up the steps to the roof of our house in Santo Domingo Xenacoj. This is where I started my day with prayer, reading, and rooftop reflections.
Each morning, I recorded a video documenting my “Rooftop Reflections.” I initially posted these on Facebook, but I realize many of my readers aren’t connected with me on Facebook. Over the next several weeks, I’ll release these videos to you here on the blog. These videos provide another glimpse into my experiences in Guatemala.
Here is the first installment:
https://www.facebook.com/jonstolpe/videos/10210299279788659/
The past few Wednesdays have featured video posts. This provides an opportunity to practice my speaking and to try something different. Here is today’s video post. After you watch the video, answer the questions in the comments.
Questions for the comments:
Watch the video to hear my responses.
Dave Sgro from GO! Ministries put together this highlight video of our trip to Guatemala. I shared it on Facebook when we first arrived home, but I don’t think I shared it here on the blog. Enjoy!
It has been a while since I featured a video blog post. Today seemed like a good time to bring it back. I share some thoughts following my morning run.
It’s true. We don’t take time to shut off the noise in our lives, yet this is such an important discipline. It’s important to practice the discipline of quietness, solitude, and listening.
I hope you’ll be encouraged today to take time to turn off the radio, take off the headphones, put down the lid on the laptop, and listen to the quiet.
Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.
I’m going to try something a little different again for this week’s ice breaker question. I’ll be leaving my response on video. I did this a couple of weeks ago, and the response was pretty positive. Let me know what you think. So here goes….
Question: If your house was burning down, what 3 objects would you try to save?
My Answer: You’ll have to watch the video below.
Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep STRETCHING!
Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.
I’m going to try something a little different for this week’s ice breaker question. I’ll be leaving my response on video. This is a great opportunity for me to practice speaking / vlogging. And it also provides an opportunity for The Stretched Community to see a different side of me. Let me know what you think. So here goes….
Question: If you could tell yourself anything 20 years ago, what would you say?
My Answer: You’ll have to watch the video below.
Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep STRETCHING!
From time to time, I like to revisit old blog posts. I think they can provide refreshment and renewed perspective on things. Here’s one I wrote over a year ago. Let me know what you think.
This morning, I woke up to make pancakes for our family before we headed off to church at Christ’s Church of the Valley. As I moved closer to finishing up the pancakes, I for some reason decided to grab a CD from my past and let it play as everyone else was waking up and enjoying breakfast. The CD I chose was Speechless by a favorite from my past Steven Curtis Chapman. For some reason, I was moved by track 4 – Great Expectations.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLKrxg1QDng]In this song, Chapman sings about believing the unbelievable and receiving the inconceivable – about having Great Expectations. It hit me that I often don’t expect great things when I go to church or when I have my quiet time. Why? Perhaps, I’m too comfortable with the structure, pattern, and repetition of these “times with God.” Maybe, I’m lazy in my approach to God. Or maybe the wounds of the past have tainted my level of anticipation for God to work.
Whatever the case, I was challenged this morning. I was challenged to approach my time with God (privately and corporately) with a renewed expectation that God has something great in store – for my church, for my family, for my neighbors, for my job, and for me. I believe this in my head, but I want to believe it in my heart and live it out.
Matthew 7:7-11 reminds us that God has so much in store for each of us. This is a reason to be excited about living, about working, and about spending time with God.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Thankful for a new day! Thankful for renewal! Thankful for the promise of great things! Thankful for an incredible, awesome, unbelievable, inconceivable God!
Do you have great expectations?
Last week, our church hosted Stretch Uncut 2011, a three night event for middle school students. You can read more about it here and here. Our church’s video team led by Dave Wasserman put together this great highlight video. Enjoy!
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/27165053]What do you think?