I have decided for now, to make this site my blogging home:

http://www.josephdworak.voxtropolis.com

Please come and find me there, and leave a comment, you don’t have to be a vox user to leave a comment.

See you at the city of voices - voxtropolis –

-JVD

PS:  Free blogs are available at voxtropolis….

Well it did not take long – my wife’s car was found today. Yesterday – car stolen. Today – car found. The 1994 Honda Civic is back in our family. It is currently residing at the impound lot at the Minneapolis Police Department and we do not know what kind of shape it is in. But, at least it is back. I do not think I will go back on what I said yesterday, we will sell the car – but at least it may be driveable for right now and not force us into a rash decision about a major purchase.

I don’t think Danielle ever wanted to see her car again – after being stolen twice, I don’t blame her. You get a feeling that you have been violated, your property stolen, someone taking what does not belong to them – So, I will make sure – if the car is driveable that we get it detailed and thouroughly cleaned. So – someone used our car for a day, and then abandoned it. I wonder where they went – were they caught? Who knows – but I am sure there is some random story. Thanks to those of you who sent your condolences, but the car is now back. It will not die.

JVD

Today was a good day to test a few things in my life.  1)  What is the state of my marriage to my wonderful wife.  2)  How tight, or loosely, are we holding onto our possessions?  3)  How do we react to stressful situations?  These are all interesting questions and cannot be fully answered unless you get into an event where life is trying and tries you.  How do you react under fire?

Today I was at work when right before an appointment I saw that Danielle had called twice on my mobile.  Danielle only calls twice if there is something that is fairly urgent, and that is a code we have to see what the seriousness or non-seriousness of the issue is.  So, I called on the way to my appointment to find out Danielle’s 1994 Honda Civic had been stolen.  The back story here is that her car was stolen a few years ago as well.  Her stereo was also stolen out of her car a while back in addition to all of that.  The first time Danielle’s car was stolen we were able to get it back thanks to a friend who saw her car and then called 911 and tracked the car thief until the cops came. 

We don’t know where Danielle’s car is right now, but the best guess is in the hands of a drug dealer, or gang member who is using it as currency for that trade.  Honda’s are great cars – but they are also very popular on the list of those who steal cars.  Well – I think we are done with that car.  We do not live a in bad area, and there were many more expensive cars within ear shot that were not stolen.  So, now we start the process of looking for a new car, probably a good used car. 

But I want to revisit our three questions of the day – 1)   Our marriage is strong.  We both were a bit annoyed but communicated well under pressure and did not become stressed out.  2)  We are not holding on to material possessions to tightly, because if we were more stress would have ensued for sure.  3)  We reacted well, considering somebody ripped off our car. 

So, annoying, but good to know I have a great wife (not like I already did not know that)  JVD

Over the weekend I was working with a group of pastors and lay leaders in Fresno, California.  It was a quick trip but traveling is tiring no matter how long or short the trip may be.  Often times when I am traveling I bring books to read – for work or school.  Often times these books can tend to be a bit on the dry side and I love to find books on the road and read them while I am traveling.  I just came across a book that I think is one of the best I have ever read. 

“A Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls.  This book is in a similar vein to that of Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, another great book.  This book was especially impactful to me as I am the child of an alcoholic who died of alcoholism.  Walls’ father, Rex Walls, is an alcoholic and one of the tragic figures in the book.  This book details the life of Jeanette Walls growing up with her Dad the alcoholic and a manic depressive mother.  The family moved around constantly as she was growing up ending up in West Virginia living in total poverty without running water or indoor plumbing in the 1970′s.  The father, Rex, was a smart man, but could not keep a job or, for the most part, help his family.  The mother was equally inept and kept the cycle of addiction alive being an enabler for the father. 

The book and story itself is tragic, happy, rewarding, and many other emotions all wrapped up into one.  The thing I most respect about the author is how she never blamed her parents for how they were, and helped get herself out of poverty by going to college and becoming a writer.  It is a great story of personal triumph in the face of such dire tragedy all around.  Many times during my own life I have been angry about the family I grew up in, the antics that my Dad engaged in, etc – but this book challenged me to let any remaining anger at my Dad go… in the year since my Dad died of alcoholism I have personally let most, if not all, of it go.  This book might be the final letting go piece for me, and for that I thank the author for her amazing story.  It is a great read and you will not walk away unmoved.  JVD

I will warn you ahead of time this has been brewing up inside me for some time. I will no doubt not make everyone happy with what I am about to say, but I realize that and am not here to make everybody happy. Enough caveats –

What is the deal with the Christian Evangelical Bubble? The more churches I visit, the more I realize Christian Evangelical community is set up for people who already believe X Y Z about the bible, Jesus, God – etc. We use Christian names for things that only insiders will understand. We invite other Christian friends to check out our church because their church’s worship is a bit off and the pastor just isn’t as good of a preacher anymore. I hear this all the time, I have said it myself probably, “I just don’t get filled up there, it doesn’t do it for me.” Ok, this is not my original thought but here is something – “Its not about what you get out of church, it is about what you give back to the world.” Chew on that for a minute.

Ok, here is another rant – if you use Christian language inside the Christian bubble you will not attract people who are outside the bubble. Have you ever been to a private club where there are secret handshakes and passwords and social mores that only certain people know? How do you think the outsiders feel? I don’t want to give up on church – I recently started attending a church that is just fabulous – not perfect, but really seems to care about the community around it, and wants to include those people in church. If the community that surrounds your church is not involved in your church you are missing something. If you have a church where people commute and no one lives in the community – something is wrong there. If you are friends with only Christian people and only meet people who ‘don’t believe’ at the gas station, something is wrong there.

I challenge every person who read this blog to be in relationship with at least one person who does not follow God. Many times on my blog I have issued challenges and I hope people will take them on. I am also challenging myself – but this is an area where I am working hard at. Also, once in a while people comment on my blog and offer no evidence of what they are doing, only theories. If you are going to theorize, spare me – give me some thoughts and a plan. And, this is not the first or the last time I will say this. “Get out of your bubble.” Peter got out of the boat, he jumped in fact to meet up with his pal Jesus who he thought was dead – what boat are you jumping out of today? Peace and Power – JVD