Today’s post will be… different. How about a history lesson?

…

To end World War I, the “Big Four” drafted the Versailles Treaty, imposing restrictions on Germany to prevent remilititarization.

October 18, 1933: Hitler promises in no uncertain terms to fulfill the treaty.

March 16, 1935: Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself, in direct violation of the treaty. The League of Nations discusses a reaction, but decides to do nothing.

May 21, 1935: Hitler again promises absolutely that he will maintain the Treaty of Versailles.

March 7, 1936: Hitler moves troops into Rhineland, a buffer between Germany and France demilitarized by the treaty. Poland proposes a reaction, but nothing is done.

March 12, 1938: German troops occupy Austria. Annexation is declared the following day.

…and we all know where this leads. You can’t help but wonder how much death could have been avoided had we agreed to uphold the Versailles Treaty before WWII began.

…

Sounds a little familiar, don’t you think? How many times did Saddam violate the sanctions put in place after the Gulf War? How many times did he receive a mild slap on the wrist and then promise to obey, only to turn around and do it again? Yet still the world did nothing (We now know why: do a little research in the oil-for-food scandal).

Do I support the War in Iraq? Absolutely. The scale is significantly smaller, but I think the principle is no different. This time we attacked in 1936 instead of 1941.

Blogging has been interesting the last month or so. I feel like so much of what’s going on in my life is private, now that I’m dating. It has been an incredible month, with several great weekends together. But I just don’t feel like spouting off on here about all the details. So I’m sorry if my posting has been aloof.

Though I do have to ask myself, what has God taught me through the past forty days? The entire shape of my life has changed, in so many ways. I plan on moving to Seattle this fall. Which also means finding a new church. I’ve had a lot of thoughts about pursuing ministry to high schoolers after that shift.

Somewhere in here, I’ve seen my hunger for him. Courtney gave me a “what are you thinking?” type question this weekend, at a point when I was being pretty quiet (something that usually means I’m deep in thought without realizing it). It was almost entirely off-topic, but I starting spewing all of these thoughts and longings for God and wanting to be back in that place where my relationship with God was about love, about romance (in the classic sense), instead of being about following rules or trying to figure out answers.

In those moments, I was able to articulate things that had been going on in my heart for upwards of two years, but had not realized until now. This post from this last December really hit on it. I knew something was up deep inside, but I didn’t really know what.

I’m ready to move. I’m ready for a new church. A new setting. A place where I can reboot and rebuild. Start new habits and strive to live the life I truly want to live. I want to be about people, pouring myself out to those God puts in my path. To let my devotionals be about knowing God and observing Christ’s life in the gospels, instead of about just reading for reading’s sake.

Change has hit. After years of waiting, in so many arenas of life, it’s here. Praise the Lord for life’s seasons. I’m excited to see what this new one holds.

Here she is. My new theme, which I’m calling Elucid.

This took a surprisingly small amount of time to do, though I’m still tweaking all the little things. For the most part it all seems to work, so I’m going to keep it online while I finish what I can. The “design” and “photography” pages above will come eventually. Let me know what you think!

(Note: I haven’t tested this is too many browsers yet, so let me know if things don’t render well for you. And of course I scripted a warning for IE folks: something that should just be plastered on every single page on the internet.)

Life right now seems to be measured in counting down the days… I leave for Venezuela in a little over two weeks. I am excited to go down again. It’s a bit sad that this is looking to be my last time down there (and possibly my last overseas mission team), so I am eager to make the most of it. I’m also counting down the days until Courtney visits this weekend.

Even at work it has been hard to keep my mind grounded. I know I’ll be job hunting as soon as I return from Venezuela, and I am definitely eager to get underway with that and start figuring out a life for myself on the other end of the state. I’m genuinely excited to land a job that is firmly within my field and to start a “real” career of sorts.

I’ve been thinking some about youth ministry, too. Yesterday the high school group “took over” the service and did everything from the music to a sermon by the high school pastor, including a few videos and testimonies sharing the work God has been doing in their midst. I realized how much I miss that now. Whatever church I wind up at next, I think I’m going to look for a place where I can serve in this sort of ministry. I could even see myself becoming a youth pastor at some point in the more distant future. I suppose for now my job is simply to wait and see where God shapes my heart.

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.

30:1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!