To all my fellow bloggers or followers through twitter or facebook, I am letting you all know that I will most likely be taking break from blogger and facebook for sometime.

This is for no specific reason, just my own sanity.

I have been wanting to move again, and I won't be able to till September.

So in many ways I have made a lot of things an "escape" if you will.

So in attempt to get away and discover more of myself, I am taking a sabbatical from certain things in my life.

I'll be back, keeping you all updated on life and the many things I walk through and think about.

So don't worry!

Much love, you will still be able to get ahold of me at my email address

abagato1@me.com

Thanks

Going

I have been a bad "blogger" these past few weeks.

So I'm just going to apologize and hope you all still read what I write.

Lets pick up here....

Health Care

Glen Beck being...Glen Beck

Getting a van (call me about that one)

Listening to Rap music lately

Getting work here and there

Oh and I really want to leave and go do stuff for people without the comforts I have daily.

And to go off that, I want to start with rough seasons of life....

I am in a very strange and foreign place, still....

A place I obviously don't belong....that's intended to be deeper then Clovis CA

But beyond that I want to be apart of any solution in the world right now.

This takes us as humans, dropping what we posses, and give.

That doesn't mean you need to give money to the poor or serve little kids in orphanages.

Although those things are great, not all of us may be in that place.

Myself...I'm not in place to give anything financially for example.

So as humans we pity ourselves and say there is nothing we can do....for whatever reasons.

Well the good news is that you can

Have you ever thought about giving yourself to others? (this has nothing to do with sex haha)

Its easy to go and serve a day at a place in need...but shouldn't our everyday look something like that?

Shouldn't we give up ourselves to better someone else...even if its in a drive thru at Taco Bell?

Who am I to demand or frustrate someone I don't even know on a personal level?

They may not be having a good day

They may have been through a bad break up

They may not have health care

They may not have a job

They may not have a family to go to when they are at a low place in life

THEY could be you...me...or the guy on a street corner.

Take the THEY, however you want.

I know I say things like this a lot

But we need to stop living by our words alone and actually GO

I'm tired of the established "church" talking about the life Jesus lived, when they stayed glued to the building they are in.

While I was in China 2 things happened that stood out

One: I went to a church where it was in a park and we just played games and ate meals with everyone around.

Two: I went to an underground church where we spent time hanging out and eating...AKA living in community, it was great.

These 2 things are important to how we live, believers and non believers.

Believers..... you should get up and spend more time with those that have nothing, then with those that you see a few times a week anyways (this also helps the people you go to church with to spend more time "outside" the church then within it basically because you aren't there..thus leading them to either join you or leave and stay bored somewhere else)

As non believers I encourage you to continue whatever it is that you do.

Go to parties, get togethers, and spend time with those people.

Because you all are a good example of what Christians should be doing.

We, as believers should want to spend more time outside the "church" then within it.

So, go people, and live amongst everyone..no matter who or what lifestyle they live.

"Belatedly I loved thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new, belatedly I loved thee. For see, thou wast within and I was without, and I sought thee out there. Unlovely, I rushed heedlessly among the lovely things thou hast made. Thou wast with me, but I was not with thee. These things kept me far from thee; even though they were not at all unless they were in thee. Thou didst call and cry aloud, and didst force open my deafness. Thou didst gleam and shine, and didst chase away my blindness. Thou didst breathe fragrant odors and I drew in my breath; and now I pant for thee. I tasted, and now I hunger and thirst. Thou didst touch me, and I burned for thy peace."
— Augustine of Hippo

I hate all your show and pretense
the hypocrisy of your praise
the hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show

Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stop up my ears when your
singing ‘em
I hate all your show

Instead let there be a flood
of justice
An endless procession of righteous
living, living
Instead let there be a flood
of justice
Instead of a show

your eyes are closed when you’re praying
you sing right along with the band
you shine up your shoes for services
but there’s blood on your hands

you turned your back on the homeless
and the ones that don’t fit in your plans
quit playing religion games
there’s blood on your hands

Ah! let’s argue this out
if your sins are blood red
let’s argue this out
you’ll be white as the clouds
let’s argue this out
quit fooling around

give love to the ones who can’t love at all
give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
stand up for the ones who can’t stand up at all
instead of a show
I hate all your show

Jon Foreman

"Instead of a Show"

This is how I feel about church, and people in general....

It has its good and bad. But there is something large that we lack

And that is justice and love.

Why cant we love and show hope to those that have none of that at all?

Or maybe they are the ones that have it and know what love and justice really is..

Some stuff to marinate on, and hopefully on your heart

Not just your mind...

More to come tonight....

Women, Men, and The Bachelor

So here is the deal..

Yes its on all that good stuff, like relationships, man & woman, sex, and dating.

My inspiration for this comes from one of the highest rated T.V. shows, The Bachelor.

First I want to start with the concept and "idea" of this show.

Personally I must confess, I have seen the show numerous times. But I began to see something as I watched. These individuals claim multiple things:

"I love all of these women that are left in the competition"

"Out of these two I don't know who to pick because I love them both"

You get my point right?

Well this has many factors to it.

One being; This man or woman (bachelorette) say that they love multiple individuals.

I'm intrigued because I do believe you can love multiple people. I know I do, and I have.

I say this though, falling in love and being in love is intimate and rare....well at least it should be, especially in marriage. Because I think we can all agree divorce is not always the greatest thing.

Honestly.

So for him or her to say they love all or a few people is not correct in this context.

Last I knew we are made to either be single (1 Corinthians 7:25-31) or married and committed to one woman or man.

In fact it's better to be single if you can be, and that is truth. I'm sure we can all agree on that....(unless your between the ages of 13- 19, with the exception of those older, but that brings up another issue)

So what I am getting at with this is how can a man or woman fall deeply, madly in love with multiple people at the same time?

Oh so now you say,

"Well he chooses THE ONE at the end"

Here is what I say to that...

First, this is treated as some kind of competition from when they arrive.

A competition people!

The definition of Competition is "to strive for" or "be in rivalry"

This seems strange to me....

I want my future wife to feel I fought for her, but not literally fight or be in rivalry over her.

She is a human!

Shouldn't it be a natural thing that God ordained?

Yes, fight for your woman, stick up for her, but holy crap let her feel like a person!

I doubt any of these women went through the show without questioning if they were good enough...

Or if they were the right one...

Or if he loved them more then another one.

And in some ways that may be okay to do.....if you are confident in who you are,

but obviously that can't even be very true because they are on a T.V. show that picks these smoking hot babes that care way more about how they look then how they feel about themselves.

I'm just tired of really, really low self esteemed women.

But men don't off the hook, because we have been the problem!

We have created what women should be, and so they do that those things.

Because that's apparently what we want.

I want authenticity.

We all need to treat women and men for that matter as special human beings.

Not like they are just apart of a competition.

And lastly, this is to those that watch.

We watch it for entertainment purposes.

And that makes me sad...

This is how we spend our time?

Watching other people "figure out" who their wife or husband will be?

Why don't we get up and do something?

Go find and search for that person instead of getting ideas from a T.V. show.

Or instead of spending 1-3 hours of our life watching stuff, do something...

I'm not condoning T.V. or shows that we watch.

Maybe consider doing something of value before you watch a show.

Talk to people

Go for a walk

Read a book

Write

Ride a bike...I don't know,

Just do something.

For that wonderful woman he has chosen, best of wishes. I'm serious.

You are THE ONE

You stood out more then all those others and he picked the best which was you!

But he went through and did a lot of odd and wrong things to get there.

Women should never be compared to other women.

Nor handled like pieces of meat.

Men, we need to show more love and respect that gives that woman the feeling of confidence within herself.

I want to express my thanks for all those in Taiwan and here for your understanding, regarding my choice to stay. It was not an easy one to make, but I am great full to be here.

Your prayers and thoughts have meant the most to me.

At this time I am in the process of looking for and trying to get a job while I am still here...you could imagine how fun that is. ha

I am excited to be here though.

In some ways.....

I have been doing better these past few days then when I first got home. As many may know it was and still is a strange transition from Asia to America.

I miss China

I miss Taiwan

And I miss Montana

I'm in a good place though. Mainly talking about where my mind is at. There are things that come up in life and some how God has given me grace. And in that he allows me to discern what to do and where to go.

Today I sent off an application to the School of Biblical Studies in Montana. The school goes on for 9 months in places all over the world. The one in Montana starts in September of this year.

I know that learning and getting more into Gods word is what he has for me now. I want to continue to pursue those things more then anything else. One day putting them to use in a classroom setting or within a church....but I'll let him work that path for me.

I have just learned a lot about so many things and want to continue in those areas.

But with that for all that are reading this, I do not want to be looked at or taken as a "religious" person.

In fact I hate religion......and things perceived or actually done in the "church"

Things of that nature make me question why we are really followers of Christ or if people that are followers really are what they say they are. You follow??

Look people are messy and have a lot of things that just aren't right with them.....I am one of those people.

If we can all....all of us, believers and non-believers get our heads around that concept we might get somewhere.

None of us will ever have anything really figured out. I do know this, Love covers all things.

It covers our sin

our lives that are messed up,

our pasts,

and it covers how we treat each other.

So lets learn to love better. Leave out cynicism and "your ways" and ideas.

It gets you no where!

Someone once told me, "You should never have to burn any bridges"

Notice the words have to...

We have a choice. Lets make things better between each other and

learn to simply

love...

Also feel free to email me at abagato1@me.com

Twitter... @abag24