THANK YOU FOR THIS

#6 - Yahweh

2010-08-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

This inspired me to draw close to our amazing God.

#5 - VNECKS

2010-08-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

I wear Vneck t-shirts. I've moved up in a few short years from the JV team to the varsity team, although I'm not one of the star players yet. I'd say my vneck stats land in the mid to low category. My friend Jonathan is the captain of the team. He's rockin' them low and well. Today, thank you for vnecks. Check out this link, today Jon Acuff says it best...

http://stuffchristianslike.net/2009/10/deep-v-neck-syndrome-dvs/

Also, this is when you should go into retirement

#4 Water and Fire EP

2010-08-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

I've had this little EP of mine sitting on the home shelf for months (ok it was on my computer, you get it!), waiting for a sunny day. Today I decided to release it! Water and Fire is a collection of acoustic songs that I put together for my lives shows. It's available on iTunes, follow the link:

ITUNES - Casey Parnell (Water and Fire)

I'll take just a second to pull apart the song "Don't Leave Me Behind" for you. Sometimes I feel like life is passing me by, like everyone else around are moving forward while you stay in the same place. I have also felt like God is moving, and I'm stagnant. This song to me is a plea for God to stick with me, to be patient me my shortcomings, and to move me when I'm stuck. The reality is God likes me. He likes you. He's not content to leave us where we've been, but sometimes I feel that way, so I wrote about it.

#3 Inside and Out

2010-08-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

I've been involved with music for a number of years now both inside church and outside church. What I've found that sets many artists apart is who they are both on and off stage. Years ago, we booked Mat Kearney to play at our alternative service. Watch out, this is basically a segment of VH1 "Before they were stars!" I drove Mat around in my 1990 Subaru Legacy that had a maddening squeak around the back window that I couldn't find or fix. So I just rolled with it, and apparently so did he :) Mat had the superstar quality even back then when he was independent of a label. When he spoke to people in private and performed on stage, he was smooth. You could tell he had star quality. People like Mat make me understand how incredibly goofy I am. Some people live life like butter, others are a sloppy pb and j. I appreciate both the smooth and the sloppy versions of life, although sometimes I want a little more butter. That said, what I appreciated about Mat was his genuine personality. He was the same on stage as he was off, treating people with courtesy and respect. Something was obviously different about him. All this to say, the best musicians in my opinion are the ones who walk humbly, graciously, and compassionately. It's really not about us is it? There's a bigger picture we need to see, something greater is being built around us. I hope that I'm fitting into that picture well.

Here's Mat fitting into this picture:

#2 - EPIC FAIL

2010-08-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Last night my buddy Evan told me a fascinating story from the early 1900's about the tumalo reservoir a couple miles away from my hometown of Bend, OR. A man named A.W. Laidlaw and his company sold plots of what would be irrigated farm land from the near by tumalo creek. They sold 17,000 acres of "irrigated" farmland to people across the nation. People moved their families west from random places like Conneticut, they spent months in their wagons getting here, only to discover that the watered farmland ran to only 1,000 acres of land. Not 17,000! Most people couldn't farm. They were angry and had to take action! Laidlaw couldn't be sued because it was the rugged west, instead they burned him in effigy. What it means is they stuffed a look alike of him with straw, wrote LAIDLAW on the front of it, put a hat on him like frosty the snowman and set it on fire in the city streets. Man, they really got him. Don't get burned in effigy. It's not good. The city of LAIDLAW lasted for only a few years, and later became what we now know of as Tumalo. Epic fail.

#1 - An Introduction

2010-08-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Today I met with a web genius. He proposed that I start blogging again, so I am. As often as possible I try to meet with people smarter than I am and do what they say. So here I am. Welcome to "Thank You for This". I have a few basic goals this time around:

1) Keep posts simple.
2) Post often.
3) Post with gratitude.

This blog will thank people, places, and things for their gift to mankind. Not all will be humorous, but I assure you, many will.

I'll start with something personal. This little gem was captured at one of my band's shows. See what fun a local high school drama department wardrobe can provide during your last song?

VACATION PICS

2008-07-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

And for those of you who have been wondering what I've been up to for the final days I've been in Mexico, here are a couple shots...Wish you could all come, maybe next time!

MEXICO 2008

2008-07-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Above the Noise and Oneighty Student Leadership headed to Mexico to participate in a few different outreaches. We met up with the amazing missionaries Ron and Donna Griggs as well as Seth Brown. Here are some pictures of the experience.

The Gathering with Above the Noise

2008-06-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

CD Release Party Pictures

2008-05-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Casey's CD Release

2008-05-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

MIA

2007-11-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry to everyone who's been trying to get a hold of me lately. An epidemic is upon me and haven't been able to get over it for days. It's truly an impressive bug that not even airborne, dayquil, nyquil, theraflu, or coldbusters from Jamba Juice have been able to conquer. Your prayers are much appreciated! Hope you had an amazing thanksgiving!

Visual Aid

2007-11-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

With camera cord in tact, here are a few images of the last month or so.

Crazy Uno Night

Eric Parnell's Bachelor Extravaganza

The Other Parnell's

The Infamous Pone

The Last Days Before Snow

Casey Q & A

2007-11-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

Here's whats really stupid about this post - I am pretending to sit across the table from myself and ask questions to myself. This is like someone from a prestigious magazine or newspaper hosting an interview during which they ask someone famous or high in position (like a movie star or politician) to chat about their life. Since I am neither of these things prestigious or into cinema this is what we have to work with. Plus I am acting as both people which makes this experience especially asinine. Let me remind you, this is a blog, not spectacular by any means, barely read, with little content, and no stinkin' pictures to inspire the taste buds of the visual learner! I have to admit, I am in a bit of a crazy mood, it's Sunday afternoon and I'm relaxed and ready to ask myself questions. The mayhem begins...

Q: Hey why don't you blog more?
A: I feel like a blog without pictures is uninspiring and I can never find my blasted camera cord, hence the lack of writing! Although as soon as I find it, there will be memories...oh yes...memories there will be.

Q: What is the most ridiculous thing that's happened lately?
A: I've found that I have some type of mild sleeping disorder. I honestly can fall asleep, anywhere, anytime, no problem. It doesn't take long, keep Casey idle for a second and its over. Room full of people, bus, train, plane, earthquake, movie, public speaking (kidding)...it happens out of the blue. I have been getting less sleep lately but not so little that this should happen. Here's a quote I made up about it "From the moment I wake up in the morning my life is in a continual state of falling back asleep."

Q: Second most ridiculous?
A: Ok, so I'm been thinking a lot about this...you know how everyone you know always has all these conversations in the hallway that are just filler lines. Here's an example:

Person One: "Hey, how's it going?"
Person Two: "Good, how are you?"
Person One: "Good."
Person Two: "Good."
Person One: May switch after this between a "Good" or verbal "So..." which is never completed.
Both People: "Good."

Then both people leave going opposite directions thinking "Man, we know each other so well, oh my gosh we're like best friends now. We have so much in common, we're both so good! What the heck?!" I think these conversations are so lame but eveyday there I am again and again having them.

My friend Kevin and I discussed this in detail and we're going to start doing something different. Instead of these "hallway" filler conversations that everyone is having, we're going to switch up the questions to something deep immediately everytime. For instance, "Hey how's your mother's health?" Or "Are you reading any good books lately and did any specific phrase leap out to you and dig deep into your soul and cause you to change?" Ok, hope that was inspiring to you (even more than a well placed picture right here>>>)

Q: What bands are you into right now?
A: I actually really like the Robbie Seay Band (especially a song called "Love Wins") also Hillsong United's new album

Q: What have you currently been doing?
A: Working at Westside church in Oneighty as always. We just started our Student Leadership program again for the year and we have 22 students getting trained up to change their world. I've also been writing a lot of songs. Some are speaking into the state of the world, some are simply speaking out how much I enjoy and care about God.

Q: Any current thoughts that you are pumped about?
A: Speaking of that song "Love Wins" I've been thinking about the concept of Revolutionary Love. About how outreach and compassion are not something that we can just schedule in, they must be lived. Check out Mark 9:36 for Jesus' take on this. He was "moved" with compassion. I believe the word "moved" there originally talks about being moved to your bowels. Kind of grotesque, but true. Real love for others comes from a deep place. A place only God can cultivate and grow. I'm praying God will help me in this area.

Q: Casey, you're getting older are you dating anyone?
A: False.

Q: How should we end this Q & A time?
A: I think we should see if anyone else has a random question to ask. I mean it is awesome asking yourself questions and answering them yourself but honestly after doing this for a while you really start to feel silly.

The Gathering

2007-10-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

Recently we held a gathering of young people at Westside with Above the Noise. Here's a couple images from that event! - KC

OK OK OK - The Saga Continues...

2007-06-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Seriously I know it's been months. I have henceforth and forthhence made the decision to update you with moments from each month that I have not blogged. Watch and be utterly amazed!

ARTISTIC SHOT APRIL
--A Lamp--

--Sunset on the Oregon coast--

OK I didn't take any pictures in April. These are from another month just as good as April!

MOOGA BOOGA MAY
--All it takes to be in a boy band is the right hat--

--Casey and a Stranger giving out Candy...mmm.--

--Janna the Banana at Oneighty--

JUMP THE WAKE JUNE

June has been "premium" so far although it feels like we went straight from winter to fall again in beautiful Bend, OR. Where's the sunshine for real??!!! We've still gone wakeboarding a couple times, here are some highlights:
--EP Big Tricks!--

--TJ's Epic First Ride--

Eric gets an honorable mention but Tara takes the cake for originality. I especially like the move right at the start called the "swirly bird" or "water snake" or "Holy Crap I got up, what's next...!!" Tara Jean - props. EParnell - I want your skills! Until Mullet March, much love blogland.

Mustache March!

2007-02-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

We are finishing "Forget to shave February" and I decided to embrace "Mustache March" a few days early. Here are some unforgettable pics of my latest endeavor...

Be disgusted and thoroughly amazed! Your thoughts?!

Switchfoot/Copeland Show

2007-02-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

I went to Eugene last weekend with a few friends to see Switchfoot and Copeland! Pretty fun times, many memories, including: going to the Asian Celebration and watching old people do Tai Chi, eating at the Mandarin, walking around downtown looking for a restaurant, and some rockin' tunes from Switch and Cope (which are my nicknames for them because we are pretty much tight because they said that the crowd "completed" them from stage which means me and the guys in the bands are best friends and we'll hang out when their not on tour and I'll do Christmas with their families and things like that.) It's great being friends with the band :)

Here's a little video of Copeland for you to enjoy...

GET UP FOR GREATNESS

2007-02-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

Scripture
15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' " 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'"

Observation
This is one of the greatest introduction’s of all time...”Who are you? I am Jesus.” Oh and by the way, you’ve been doing it all wrong! Talk about a BIG LETDOWN! The BIG NEWS is that instead of torturing Saul for murder and persecution God gave Saul one of the greatest second chances in history.

Jesus doesn’t let Saul grovel in his sins, in fact there wasn’t much evidence of a “confessional time” like a person going to a priest. Jesus says immediately to Saul “now get up and stand on your feet” implying that He came to make Saul into something great. Saul didn’t need hours of groveling and mourning for his sins, all he needed was a life change from that moment on. I'm paraphrasing it to actually say "get over this quick, I have something amazing for you to do!"

Application
Confessing sins to God is good but a real true encounter with Christ happens when someones life turns around - when a noticeable change takes place. Instead of groveling in sins, GET UP and see what amazing things God has in store for you!

What kind of noticable "turn around" change is there in me? What can God restore or give me a second chance in?

Prayer
Lord, thank you for being an interactive God! You showed up in Saul’s life and he was never the same. Thank you for that because now the Gentiles have access to salvation! I have access! I pray for this kind of “turn around” life change that Saul experienced. I want the freshness that comes with it too. Not just an old, stale Christian walk, but a new life in Jesus.

Final Thoughts
I can take what Jesus said to Paul for myself today “now get up and stand on your feet, I have something amazing I want you to do!" This is the theme of restoration and forgiveness. When we mess up and mess up BIG, God says to not stay in your mess for long. Get up! Get up because God is about to do someting amazing through you. First He did something amazing in you by revealing to you how kind He is by forgiving you. Second, He has some big plans ahead.

For Paul is was taking the message of the Gospel to the rest of the world. The Jews were only part of it, God wanted to expand his program! God took it from local business to international corporation and the Holy Spirit was the catalyst for growth. Paul was the vessel that God chose for that task and now we see his influence throughout the world and history. What does God have in store for you and for me?

The Way I See It

2007-01-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

The first time I blogged I was at the beach. I figured that it was only appropriate while I'm here to rub it in. This is the view from where I'm sitting. Yep...it's 50 degrees at the Oregon Coast and beautiful as ever. Seth and Jesse have joined me on the trip...I'm sure there are more updates to come because we have little to do and we're loving it!

OK - beat me up later!

2006 - The Year in Review

2006-12-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Stats

0 Moves
1 New Job
1 Brother married
1 New Sister Added
3 Minor Injuries
8 Years I owned my 1990 Subaru Legacy
1,237,899 times the back of the car squeaked while I drove
201,000 Miles it had on it when I gave it away
3 Times I had my credit card number stolen and used
1 New Vox Amp
1 New Fender Telecaster Guitar
1 Hour Spent Actually Playing Them :)
1 Vacation to the Beach (Grateful bread pancakes!)
1 Trip to Cairo Egypt
150 People that came to Christ in Egypt!
1 Trip to the Fray (Piano rock remember?)
4 Close Friends move away from Bend (Uganda and Nampa represent!)
302 Times I was mistaken for Corey
40 Student Leaders in our first year of the program (rockin' the city)
1 Unfinished Acoustic Project
35 Unfinished Books
1 Finished Backyard
0 Times I was in an epic battle with Ninjas and Warlords

1 Too Many Stats

Blue Ribbon Burgers from Red Robin
Bills from the Emergency Room

Highlights

Egypt (watch this video to understand why!!)

The Fray

I'm just really enjoying bands like this right now. I went to their concert in Portland this year with a couple friends and thought it was great! Check out the band MuteMath - they are cool too.

Favorites

Books I was Into:

Searching for God Knows What - Donald Miller
Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
Culture Warrior - Bill O'Reilly

Music I was Into:

Jonny Lang**
Coldplay
Mute Math
Hillsong United
Thrice
Copeland
The Fray**
Delirious (revisted the old stuff + new)
Leeland
Keane
**bands I saw live!

Ok, that's a mouthful of what happened to me in 2006. What was your favorite part of 2006?

Hey Oneighty - Tell Your Story Here

2006-12-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

The ground rules:
Tell me in "one word descriptions" about a life threatening experience you had. After that include how God brought you through it...for examples look at the comments in the previous post. We'll read some of them next week at 1...8...0! Rock on!

Tree Hunt!

2006-11-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

Recently I took the student leaders of 180 on a Tree Hunt. On the way I thought it'd be a good idea to get me and the students in my car into a life threatening experience. Once again let me explain in one word descriptions. Car. Me. Others. Driving. Driving. Ice. Slick. Turning. Mas Turning. Loudscreamingandcraziness. Safety. Relief. So I know that Loudscreamingcraziness isn't one word, but you know what I mean. So we hit ice and slid and that was real silly because I had students in my car and I felt like I put their lives in danger. So, I'd just like to shout out to Jesus for keeping us safe. Now it's your turn.

When have you been in a life threatening experience and how did it change your life? Feel free to try the one word descriptions method :)

Here's some pictures of the tree hunt that followed our life threatening experience. Props to Dalton, Kelsey, Karlee, and Andy who endured with me.

Hot or Not Pockets

2006-11-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

OK - New Discussion...How do you feel about Hot Pockets? Ready...Go.

MMMMM.

Hotpockets, Hotheads, and the Homeless

2006-11-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

So the other day I'm driving to church and I see this lady on the side of the road with a sign. The sign reads "Sober, Hungry" - thanks for the honesty. Let me preface this story by saying that I was very impacted by Mike Yankowski's speech at Oneighty a while back about the homeless in America (he wrote the book "Under the Overpass"). So, the light is red and I'm waiting while I see this sign. Ever since I heard Mike's speech about the homeless (because he lived it in a few cities in America voluntarily) I've totally changed my response to these situations. Praise God for the two Hotpockets and the sports drink that I had grabbed for lunch. I waved the gal over and she came out into the middle of traffic. As I'm giving her the hotpockets, I'm thinking "hopefully she can find a microwave." Anyways, this punk dude next to me in a really nice truck rolls down his window and yells "hey there's a labor ready a block down the street!"

Now I'm a youth pastor...he doesn't know that though:) So all of a sudden I'm like "Leave her alone!" This is not normal behavior for those of you who know me. I was seriously SO mad. This guy doesn't know her story. He doesn't know what she's been through or the heartache and pain that she has experienced getting to this point in her life.

I know many of you are reading this with your mind made up about the homeless. I used to feel like this. I would say, "I work, why can't they?" Or "they're just drunk all the time?" Or whatever thoughts you may think. I can't say that they don't actually prove these stereotypes to be true - so you may be totally justified in what you are thinking, but lend me your ear for a second.

When I heard Mike Yankowski speak about this issue - something clicked for me and it really came back to the words of Jesus. "What you have done to the least of these you have done unto me." Now put it in whatever situation you want - I'm applying this to the homeless lady that I see with the sign. I don't give the homeless money, God would have to really speak to me for that to happen. But I always try to give them food or whatever. Think about it, you're actually ministering to Jesus Christ when you do something for them. You may have had your decision made about them, but I'd just challenge you...I know we're busy, but it takes 30 seconds to help someone. Stop traffic, and change someone's day. Carry around McDonald's gift certificates in your car and give them out.

Back to the guy who made me mad...I think what made me the most mad was that he had no compassion. He was ignorant of her situation, and yes maybe she was a drug trafficker at one point from Costa Rica, maybe a stripper or a murderer. Now she's here on my street in Bend, and God says she's the least and when I give to the least I'm really giving to God Himself.

I'm working on this too... If you give them help and are afraid that they'll use it to buy drugs or alcohol (in this case they would have to sell the hotpocket for cash - - I say go ahead and try - - would you ever buy a hotpocket from someone on the street?) Just place it all in God's hands. You are really serving Jesus, give them a Hot Pocket (or what you have) and return the love that He so graciously gave to us.

Question: How do you feel about the homeless?

Here's a picture of a bus to inspire you (because you like pictures:)

Above the Noise Oct. 31st

2006-11-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

We held an Above the Noise worship concert with a stage in the middle of the room on Oct. 31st. Another attempt to bring all the fame to Jesus! Great things happened in people's hearts, here's a few shots courtesy of Benjamin Edwards (benjaminimages.com). Check 'em out! - Casey

Be a Reflector

2006-10-20T12:39:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture from Corey's wedding for kicks...

And here's my devo's for today...

Ready, Set, Go - Daily Bible Reading
Date: 10/20/06
Topic: Worship
Title: Be a Reflector

Scripture
Acts 12
22The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

23Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

24Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

Observation
God takes worship very seriously. As described in this passage, when the people's praise is taken to heart, like Herod, God can and will take drastic measures. The people were worshipping Herod saying “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” They were way off base in their worship. Worshipping anything other than the one true God is sin. What God seems to be highlighting in this chapter is that when worship is accepted by people (like Herod), that is a very serious issue to Him. God killed Herod for his robbery of worship.

Application
We all have a great responsiility to give glory over to God. To be a refector of worship up to God. I remember being in San Francisco's science/discovery building when I was young. They had this light disply and we could take these mirror blocks and shoot beams of light all over the place. When you set a block at an angle it would shoot straight up. That's what being a reflector of worship is like - shooting the glory and praise given by men back up to God. He's the one who gives the gift or talent in the first place. We must understand the importance of giving God all the glory for everything good that happens to us.

I want to be like David where he says, “Let God's praise continually be in my mouth.” When somone says “good job”, or “well done” my response should be “God is good” or “God has done well.” If I am a reflector of His glory, this is what pleases him.

Prayer
Lord, today I reflect the glory up to you! You get all of it! No matter what songs I write, what books I write, what great events I put on, what I design, no matter how many people are in a ministry that I am involved in, no matter how great something is that I do, I will always be a reflector of Your glory. Bouncing the glory back up to You! You are good and you have done well!

OH the INJURIES!

2006-10-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

Recently a certain type of phenomenon has taken place in my life. I call it "injurious behaviourus." Or simply, beating the snot out of myself. Let me explain with the following examples:

1) The Water Incident

Picture the sun shining warm on Prineville resevoir. The lake is empty as most people are working. We are not:) It's Friday and wakeboarding is our aim. "Go big, or Go Home" is the theme. Testosterone is flowing. The airwaves are filled with sounds of hard hitting drums and squeeling guitar licks. It's perfect. Clif was just starting out and he surprised us all with his ability to ride. Dennis was driving and giving us pointers. A perfect day, for an incident.

It's goes like this...I was twenty feet in the air doing a whirly bird double sowcow with a half twist, a feat no other human being has attempted before. I crashed, and crashed hard. Now those of you who are not as educated as I am in the area of wakeboarding know how difficult this trick really is. I swing out wide, because I'm hitting the wake hard so I can go BIG! Now, I'm convinced that the Bigness was there. Clif and Dennis might not have seen it, but it was there. So I go big, and I crash hard, and I bend sideways in a spectacular spray of water. The ribs hurt, oh they hurt. I don't go to the doctor. I've told my friends time and again "not unless I've got a severed limb!" (last time I went to the ER it cost a fortune) So I crashed BIG and hurt BIG, and I went BIG and then went HOME.

2) The Golf Incident

My brother's bachelor party was a great one. We went to Portland and golfed at one of Portland's finest "Glendoveer West." Please keep in mind there was a sign outside of the Pro Shop that stated, "Please wear shirts inside pro shop." So you can imagine what the rest of the playing was like. My buddy Mike and I tee off on hole 7, not a difficult hole for most people, but let me remind you that this is an incident and in incident's nothing goes like you want it to. That would make it and incident inside of the greater "incident" know as this golf game. Let me get to the incident wrapped in the incident. So Mike and I tee off, we hit towards the right by the trees. My ball lands in front of his about 20 feet. The flag is way left of us so I'm thinking he's aiming there. I go stand by my ball and wait for his shot. I start putting on my sweatshirt in the middle of his swing, the sweatshirt is half on and I hear the whisk of a ball. Mike takes a full swing from 20 feet away and the ball hits right in my leg. This is sharp concentrated pain. I yell, "what happened to FOUR!" BIG pain, BIG bruise, all my friends are laughing. The main thing you must remember while golfing is, that "yes" it can actually hit you. You think it can't, but the golf ball has no regard for your feelings. When we play, it goes where it wants.

3) The Water Incident (part two)
Yeah, there are two of these. They both involve Wakeboarding and Dennis Sgetti's boat. So I try this new board called a "ROAM." It has no fins on the bottom so it's pretty squirly. You can bust out some sweet 360's outside the wake and do some butter slides and all that. They looked awesome when watching Tony. I thought I'd just give it a whirl. No more faking you out though with a huge description, instead I will use one word with a period and you will understand what happen. Start. Up. Slide. Turn. Cool. Again. Edge. Fall. Water. Face. Board. Face. Bleed. Nose. Cut. Ouch. Manly. Scar.

So I've been trying to keep the scar from being severe, but my modeling days are over:)

You may have felt one of the following while reading this:

a)Compassion - if you fall in this category, tears were shed at my pain. The agony I endured made you hurt right along with me. You are person who feels, who enjoys painting, poetry, and butterscotch ripple. You enjoy hot soup on a cold frosty night. You enjoy dancing in the rain. You feel alive.

b)Mockery - you have no heart. I will pray for you that you will get one. Just kidding, thanks for reading this. I got hurt a couple times but I'm healing up quick!

Devos to Share - 9/22

2006-09-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

I thought today I would share what I got from my Bible reading. Remember to keep getting into the Word, it will add life to your day. It's better that Wheaties!

Ready, Set, Go - Daily Bible Reading
Date: 9/22/06
Topic: Spiritual Growth
Title: “Deep and Wide”

Scripture
Daniel 9:13b “But we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth.” (New Living Translation)

Daniel 10:19a “’Don’t be afraid,’ he said, ‘for you are deeply loved by God. be at peace; take heart and be strong.’” (New Living Translation)

Luke 5:4-6
“4 Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish. 5 ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.’ 6 And this time their nets were so full they began to tear!” (NLT)

Observation
A couple verses stuck out to me today. First off, Daniel is incredibly burdened for his people. Chapter 9 starts by saying that he was studying and learning from the word of the Lord, then something hits him and he starts pleading for the people of Israel (as they were in exile in Babylon at the time). Then I thought about what Daniel thought about in the verse above...”they refused to seek mercy from the Lord.“ How? By turning from sin and recognizing the truth. It’s really what Oneighty is all about - the BIG TURN AROUND. Turning from our sin and our junk and turning to Christ. I’m challenged today to see the mercy of God in my life.

Second, I felt encouraged by Daniel 10:9, God reminded me of the Scripture he gave me out of Joshua a while back saying “be strong and courageous.” This was confirmation of that. We are deeply loved by the Lord. So often we can get caught up in the “don’t” of walking with Christ. Let us not forget that we are deeply, truly, passionately loved by the living God! Take heart and be strong. Be strong in the knowledge that Christ died for us when we were very unlovely. That’s why we know we are deeply loved.

Last, I saw in Luke 5 a couple things...

Luke 5:4-6
“Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish. 5 ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.’ 6 And this time their nets were so full they began to tear!” (NLT)

A deeper relationship with God will equal wider arms to reach people. I think what God is saying to me today is that the deeper I go in relationship with Him, the more it is meant to be share with others. Deep and Wide go together.

Just like Jesus said fish where it is deeper (or go to the depths of who I am), he also allow a supernatural catch of fish (or people). We go deeper, more people come to Christ and he brings the increase!

Application
Daniel - Turn from sin, accept his mercy, and walk in the truth of the word

Luke - Don’t forget that a deep relationship with God isn’t supposed to be ingrown. The love of Christ needs to be shared with the world, it’s too good to keep to myself.

Prayer
Lord, take me deeper in you. That you that you deeply love me, I love you back! As I go deeper, bring people into my path that I can impact for you. I’m excited about what you are going to do! Right on!

COMMENTS FIXED NOW!!

2006-09-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, not you can try to comment, if you still can't comment send your hate mail to casey@oneightybend.com! peace out.

The Power of One

2006-09-14T00:21:00.001-07:00

I'm actually sitting here at Wildhorse Canyon where we have our Wintercamps/Summercamps (except for last year). Tonight I was part of the ministry team at Cascade Life Commission's Encounter Retreat. Many of the folks we prayed for had their lives impacted in a truly amazing way.

Every time I come here I feel that God wants to speak to me specifically about the Youth in Bend. Last night Pastor Ken delivered one of the most amazing messages I have heard to date. Mostly what caught my attention was the challenge. He laid the vision out, 100 students stronger by the end of the year, 1000 by the end of 10. What do I think about it? You bet, God can do that easy!!

The thing about it is that it's not going to be the pastors or leaders that "convince" enough people to come to Christ. It's going to be the whole crew together going after God and then reaching the folks around them. If every person reached and discipled ONE person this year, in a few years, millions would be reached for Christ! We need to be intentional about this, reaching people.

For those of you reading this who don't know God, I hope that today you understand how much God cares for You. I do too, I know how impersonal it is through electronic words, but but I really do. I care enough to tell you today that God is only a step away from where you are at. All you've got to do is step His way! Try it, I dare you. You'll come to find the real life that you've been searching for.

This is just a quick update from where I'm at. Remember, ONE person this year! You can reach more if you want, but let's start there. You will be amazed and what you see in your life when you step out!

Summer Recap - Finally!

2006-08-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm more faithful at other things in life! For those of you that have been missing my blogliness (which is a word that is somewhat disturbing although it means nothing) I have been out and about all summer. It takes discipline and time to manage one of these things and this summer I have had neither blog discipline or blog time. Please forgive me for not being around...all of the 2 people that are reading this. Here's what's been happening...

a) CAIRO EGYPT TRIP WITH ABOVE THE NOISE

This picture in particular represents Cairo to me. Here I am at a Muslim orphanage with a ministry group made up of Sudanese, German, Austrailian, Egyptian, and American (me). I remember this moment because we were at a high point in the city looking out over this massive area with people from many different countries. It's amazing how this little team came together at the YWAM Global Youth Outreach and then went out to this orphanage even though we all had very different backgrounds and cultures. On the way back the Sudanese crew busted out some crazy African song and we all just laughed and sang together. What an amazing experience...

Above the Noise went to Egypt to lead worship at a conference right in the middle of Cairo. Around 1000 people attended from all over Cairo and the world. We had many exciting experiences here that I couldn't even fill on this blog. Here's some more photos to give you a glimpse...

Hopefully that will cover some of what we did in your mind. Truly an amazing experience in my life. Also did I mention that my brother Corey got engaged on the Nile to Whitney Stern? The wedding is in October and I'm pretty excited about that for them, Whit is really amazing and I'm stoked to have a sister finally!

b) SUMMER CAMP WITH ONEIGHTY AT TWIN ROCKS

Another reason I haven't blogged in because of Oneighty's summer camp at Rockaway Beach, OR. We had such an awesome time at this camp. The atmosphere of this camp was different than any we had previously. So many students encountered God. The main thing that I sensed was such an increase in the amount of community we had with each other as staff and also with the students. I think everyone came away from camp really feeling like the got to know many people on such a more personal basis.

Plus we were pumped about the beach! We had bonfires and skimboarding and all kinds of sand in our shorts! Worship rocked, the speakers rocked, but most of all God rocked the whole place. I came back changed.

c) NEW JOB AS ONEIGHTY HIGH SCHOOL PASTOR

Last thing on the list and biggest news for me of all is that I am taking the new High School Pastor position in Oneighty. Bo Stern, our Pastor for four years and a close friend of mine is passing the ministry off to me. I feel very honored to be a part of what God has been building in Oneighty. I'm mostly excited about what God is about to do in the youth of the city of Bend this coming year. I officially start Sept 1st and as we link this BLOG to oneightybend.com I hope many High School folks get to know me better through it. Please post your thoughts homeys!

I make this commitment to you...I will blog more frequently. Summer is past, Fall is almost here, and I'm stoked that you've been reading this. Keep it up, and keep making Jesus NUMERO UNO as he should be. - Casey out

It's Cool to be Old School

2006-05-17T16:46:00.001-07:00

Seriously have I talked about Old School Nintendo yet? My roomates and I are freaking out about all the games we have just acquired from our friend Andy. Nintendo has had a resurrection of sorts in my life...for years video games were dead to me. I considered them time wasting devices that only the true blue stereotypical "game nerds" spent countless hours on, ignoring their mom and the outside world all together. You know the type...crazy hair...X-men T-shirt. Yeah. And man do they love video-games. Well, I ignored video games for years. I felt like they were the enemy. Hiding in trenches, behind bushes, ready to attack my time with hours of pixlelized digital annimation. Recently, when a Nintendo somehow found it's way into our living room, we became once again...entrigued..

For those of you who received your first Nintendo for Christmas or a Birthday in the 80's, you know what I'm talking about. I mean what's better than two games in one, Super Mario and Duck Hunt. Don't you just hate that dog who laughs at you everytime you miss the ducks? Were you always the one who got up one inch from the T.V. with the gun and still couldn't hit those blasted ducks. Me too.

Now there's also Contra. It's a shooting game where these army guys shoot and do flips at the same time. It's sweet. My roomate Phil is crazy about this game. He told me tonight if he could leave church and play Contra he would. There's something totally wrong about leaving church to play video games. Can't say I didn't think about it...that's why at Oneighty we have video games here. All these new systems we have, the 360 and Playstation...they cannot compare to what is vintage and true.

OK Here's the real deal. I'm totally a huge geek for writing the last 3 paragraphs and should not be allowed to blog anymore. Those of you with grace, please note I have recently found that Nintendo is fun again. I don't play it all the time, but for the brief moments that I do I am brought back to my childhood (those carefree days with bowl-cuts and hammer pants) and until the day I put the Old School Nintendo back in it's box and let it again collect dust for 20 years I will cherish these moments. Random thought ending now.

I'm Not that Good at Basketball

2006-05-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately about how much Jesus talks about His Kingdom a lot in the New Testament. How many of us have visions for our lives and our visions seem so BIG and GODLY and all that.

Before you tune out here's a story...When I was ten years old I wanted to play in the NBA with Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. I would shoot free-throws for hours in my driveway, dreaming, hoping, wishing...it really was a beautiful thing. Then I got to 7th grade and tried out for the basketball team. Turns out there were about 50 other dudes shooting free-throws in their driveway wishing they could dunk like MJ too. It also turns out that I was better than like 10 of them, so it left me to thinking that if these pubescent youths were mostly better than me at basketball that my hopes of being the NBA superstar were slightly less likely than I thought. I say slightly because I still hold on to this dream today, wearing my headband and Reebok's pumps every Sunday afternoon at 3 on the church basketball court. Dreaming, hoping, wishing...getting stuffed by my small group guys:) You know, things like that.

I say all this for one reason...many of us out there having been dreaming for years that someday we would accomplish the vison that God has put in our hearts. At least we say that God has put them in our hearts. Or there's this entirely different group of people in the world who have no idea what they are supposed to do with their lives. They move from one job to the next, hoping, dreaming, wishing that this one could be the right one. Whoever you are, you've probably wondering if these dreams are from God.

The truth of the matter is this, that God has already given us a vision statement for our lives. It's found tucked away in Matthew 6:33 and it says plainly, "Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be added to you." Jesus says this in the context of people (like me) trying to heap up wealth and possessions in order to satisfy themselves. He says earlier, "Look at these flowers, God takes care of them and they are stupid flowers! God clothes them, he'll take care of you. (obviously Casey translation). Still the point is that God is saying "Quit worrying about all this!" Here's what the real vision of your life should be: First, Seek My Kingdom and Righteousness. I'm learning to make this the headline of my life, instead of "Save the World" or "Be a Rockstar!"

We go around searching, in meaningless pursuits, or even things that may seem worthwhile. Are we truly hitting God's will for our lives? I'm not saying that everything you ever dreamed is wrong. I am saying if it is not in correct order underneath
God's Vision statement, that you've got mixed up priorities. Here's how it should look:

First, Seek His Kingdom and Righteouness
(place Visions and dreams here)

This way the thoughts in your mind and your actions are advancing God's Kingdom and not your own. This is a good filter system if you're not sure if what you're dreaming is God's dream for You. Now I know this is not as easy as it sounds or you may be thinking "Hello, I already knew that years ago!" Well...this is my blog, get your own:)

Seriously though, wake up tomorrow, with one thing in mind: His Kingdom, His Righteous (don't forget that holiness is huge!) then watch how the ambitions of your heart align with His. You'll find such joy in it, and you may find that you're not good enough for the NBA anyways:) I think you're great for reading this.

Thoughts from the Beach

2006-04-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm at the beach and it's beautiful outside and I'm staying at this house that is two story and it's overlooking the whole coastline. I'm sure you're sitting there thinking, wow I'm at my computer at home, sounds great (unless you live in Jamaica)! I wish I was there! Ha Ha I would be thinking that same thing and I probably will in a week or so when I'm back...But for now I will sit here with my sunburn and gloat!

It's nice to clear out my schedule and come here to get away. You just need to get away sometimes and hear God speak. I've been reading books, writing songs, thinking, trying not to watch T.V. Here at the house we're staying there is a T.V. with like 500 channels. Still for some reason I just love reading more. I'm reading a lot of Donald Miller. He's the author of "Blue Like Jazz". I like his style. I like how it's funny, straightforward, and random. He's a thinker. It takes time for someone like me to just sit down and think. I want more than ever to experience the deepness and realness of God. I want the religious actions and attitudes to be stripped away. I want to think about Scripture in a way that is applicable, not some knowegable thing that I surprise people with. Like "hey wow, you sure know your Bible", or "Casey, you know the Bible, where do you find the genealogy of Christ." I want people to know me as someone who knows God. Not knows about Him, but knows Him.

I used to be a religious freak. I used to think everyone was wrong and I was right. Kind of like the verse in the Message translation that says something about thinking everyone else is wrong except those in your own little group. Well, that was me a few years ago. When I came back to Bend, OR a few years ago, I met a lot of people who weren't very spiritual, but they knew God. They didn't pray like I thought they should, or read the Bible like I thought they should, they just knew God. They knew His ways, they knew His power, they knew His love.

I started thinking, "why does my life with God have to be so systematic." Donald Miller calls this a sort of "formula Christianity." Where if you do A (pray) + B (read Bible) = WOW YOUR A GOOD CHRISTIAN! I never could actually sit down in one place at one specific time constistently and read my Bible. I thought I was a bad Christian for years because this wasn't working out for me. After my move back to Bend I realized something, God is more concerned with my meeting with Him than where and how it's done. It's relationship.

Take relationship with a great friend. You do things together. You eat, you laugh, you dance freely, you can be yourself (this is huge for me, I value just being me, I shut down when I feel I have to be something else). So back to being friends...You mix it up, you go snowboarding, camping, you talk over coffee, donuts, Costco hot dogs, burritos, whatever. You just do stuff. That's how my life with God ought to be. Once I let go of this idea that in order to be a good Christian I had to wake up every morning at 5:00 AM sit down and read my bible at my desk in my office and then go on with my day, I felt such FREEDOM! This Freedom was found in Relationship and not some religious formula. Now I just want to go to coffee in the afternoon with Jesus, or walk through Drake Park and pray and hang out. It's such freedom. It's the type of relationship that I think God wants with us as well. I life lived out in joy, together learning awesome things from an awesome God.

About Me

2006-04-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

So I suppose I should do a more adequate job of explaining who I am...I am a 24 year old from Bend, OR. I graduated from Mountain View High School in 2000 and went to college in Idaho at Northwest Nazarene University for 2 years. After two years I felt God leading me to a church intership at Capital Christian Center in Meridian, Idaho. I took a step of faith, dropped all my financial aid at NNU and started the intership program. It was there that God changed my heart, showed me about the Bible, filled me with passion and set me on fire for His name! A year later after working in a deli at Winco Foods wearing a hairnet and apron:) I got a call from Steve and Bo Stern asking me to join the youth staff at Westside Church.

I've been at Westside as part of the Oneighty staff for almost three years now. I've grown incredibly during the last three years. Mostly from hands on experience, making mistakes and learning from them, and watching the pros!

I lead a lot of music at our Oneighty and Alt (young adult) services and I speak as well. I own a home in Bend and am currently working on my district pastor's license. I see myself helping people, writing songs, getting married, and in general attempting to make in dent for Jesus in planet earth before I die. Hopefully I will get a chance to travel someday as well, we'll see what God does...end blubbering about myself now.

WELCOME

2006-04-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

WELCOME to the beginning of BLOGDOM where every once in a while you can sneak inside someone's brain and see what they are really thinking. This is only the beginning of many random comments, thoughts, pictures, games, scriptures, and ideas that I will post. I would like to welcome all you ONEIGHTY folks who have just stumbled onto something truly frightening. Yes, not only Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, but now everyday you can peek into a mysterious world...Casey's Blog - WOW! I made that sound so much cooler than it actually is.

For those of you checking this out...thanks! I'm excited that you came. Hopefully this will work out for both of us. Tell you what, I'll make you deal.

You check in and read this as often as I post stuff.

Another profound statement from Casey...Expect more Blog's from Oneighty staff members as well. Even if our lives aren't that interesting we are sure going to make it sound like they are!

Oneighty is the Youth Ministry of Westside Church in Bend, OR. Check us out online at www.180bend.com.