Archive for category personal
Reflections on the Ministry : Rick McKinley
Posted by Todd Engstrom in leadership, personal on February 18, 2009
This was a convicting message for me to hear from Rick McKinley of Imago Dei in Portland.
The art of unbusyness and unneccesariness is essential to the being available to God. There is disaster awaiting the one who gets bogged down with doing good, and not dwelling in the excellent. It is our job to pay attention to God and life and to help others to do the same, this is the heart of the work as pastor. I am not suggesting that this means that we don’t do our work or have work to do. We have a lot of work to do, but what I am saying is that many times we exchange important things for urgent things and the important things never get addressed.
I am seemingly always in need of a breather, and have definitely struggled to place priority on “unbusyness”. God will teach me the discipline over time, but I am definitely terrible at it now.
Random Thoughts/Anecdotes on a Slow Day
Posted by Todd Engstrom in personal, random on February 13, 2009
Here are some random thoughts and anecdotes for Friday:
- GTB decided to go on sleep strike last night. He literally cried for five straight hours, and we have no idea why. He finally fell asleep at about 5 am, then woke up at 8 ready to go for the day. Weird.
- I’ve been thinking about forgiveness as I’m reading the first few chapters of This Momentary Marriage by John Piper. I’m convicted that I don’t often allow my forgiveness to be gospel-driven forgiveness, but it’s more of a dismissal and forgetfulness. More to come here…
- Twitter is a useful tool to connect with people, but it’s hard to manage when you start following a ton of people. To add to your insanity, you can follow me here.
- We hung out this morning at Kenny’s Coffee in our neighborhood, and there were a gaggle of moms there (and one dad too!). Neighborhood coffee joints are the place to connect with folks in suburbia, for sure.
- Sabbath rest restores your soul.
- I had forgotten what a normal week felt like. We only had two commitments during the nights of the week, and my days were balanced with only a few meetings and ample time to work.
- College students in general are thirsty for adult investment and leadership. They earnestly desire discipleship and mentorship, and will do things you never expect just to be around some adults. They serve harder than anyone in our body too.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Enjoy.
Why do I do stupid things?
Posted by Todd Engstrom in personal on February 11, 2009
A lot of times I feel like the kid in this picture. I do things people tell me not to, ignoring wise counsel, just to see what will happen.
Bottom line, sometimes you have to be stupid to learn the lesson.
Extreme Snowshoeing
Posted by Todd Engstrom in personal on January 25, 2009
One quick post from our vacation: fun on snowshoes.
Getting ready to jump
And we're off
Extreme snowshoeing is the only way to go!
vacation is over
Posted by Todd Engstrom in personal on January 14, 2009
the last night of vacation is always kind of a let down. you have to pack, clean, and start the engine revving to get back at it. also, why do i tend to feel more tired at the end of vacation…isn’t it supposed to be restful?
all in all though, it’s been fun to be back in the northwest and spend time with my family. the only bummer is that i don’t know yet when i will be back…hopefully it is shorter than a year!
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