Something I Noticed

It was an interesting and full summer for The Latvian Brookses. God did some pretty amazing things and He taught me a lot. But there was one particularly small (but very important) trend that I noticed this summer...

When a group of people who are following Jesus pray, work, and focus on the same thing >>> God brings lots of fruit!

Hmmm... Don't know how I never caught onto that before. Pretty simple.

Does that have any application in our daily life? In our families? In our churches?

Who are we following? Who are walking with? And what are we focused on?

Propaganda

I've been a fan of this man for awhile. He used to come to spoken word nights at Biola and I remembered him to be an extremely skilled poet with an obvious love for Jesus and heart for social justice. Here's a glimpse;

He has has recently been popping up as a guest at different conferences and was featured in an interview on iamsecond.com. He also happens to make good music. You can download his last two albums for free here and if you like it, leave him a tip! His latest album "Excellent" is some of the best new music I've heard in a long time.

Debriefing

At the end of every summer we (JV staff + interns) take a few days to pause and reflect on what God has done that summer. This is a healthy "rhythm" of life and always a good time of fellowship as we share how we saw God at work. We also eat a ton and get to sleep in a bit! Can't beat that. Here are a few of the people who I got to serve with this summer (minus a few who had to go back early)...

God loves Latvija! Grateful for how He continues to send His people from all over the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Thank you Jesus!

My Current Jam(s)

A friend of mine told me about Lowercase Noises a few months ago and I've been playing his stuff all summer long. Beautiful ambient music, and for the next few days you can get all his albums for free! Of course, if you like his music you can also spend some $.
Check it out at lowercasenoises.com

YouTube of the Month: August

Don't agree with everything here, but nonetheless a moving short film about sacrificial love.

"The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning

I just finished reading this book and would say it is a must read!

Brennan Manning emphasizes the need for the Christian church to return to the basic Gospel that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. If in fact we are all "ragamuffins" in need of a gracious Savior, the playing field is level and that should free us to be gracious with others. Manning often parallels experiences from his own life where he has faltered with those of the early disciples who at times weren't the picture of perfect faithfulness. But the Good News for us all is that Jesus always welcomes us back! He always holds up His end of the deal, even when we don't.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book;

"Do you really accept the message that God is head over heels in love with you? I believe that this question is at the core of our ability to mature and grow spiritually. If in our hearts we really don't believe that God loves us as we are, if we are still tainted by the lie that we can do something to make God love us more, we are rejecting the message of the cross."

A refreshing read!