New Year

Happy New Year!!!

I think this is a funny time of year; everyone gets all sentimental and starts questioning their life… But in reality this has been a big year for me and writing this is probably just good for me to look back but probably not that interesting sorry. The spring was pretty quite I guess the biggest thing was the development of my relationship with Justin (the student I work with). I really think it was early this year where he really started to trust me and this was a catalyst to the relationship. The begging of the summer was a little weird. Then this summer I got the chance to go to camp with Justin, it was a long week for him but we made it through and he really started to have fun by the end of the week. Probably the biggest highlight of the week was getting Justin to sleep, he was super nervous and to get him to settle down at night I would sing to him I ended up singing a song from the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. It was pretty sweat, it maybe strange but God has blessed me so much through Justin, he is by far the most interesting friend I have and I’m blessed to know him.

Also in the summer I started to help lead the bible study I have been attending for about two years. “Taking over” even just in part was a pretty humbling experience. Jake and Jonathan are these awesome charismatic leaders with extensive biblical knowledge, so in the summer Nathan, Mitch and myself took over most of the responsibilities. It was a pretty big deal Jonathan and me had talked about it before but when it came to it I was pretty scared. Then in the fall as the group multiplied Mitch and myself took on the leading responsibilities, as Nathan really needed to be focused on school. It has been a blessing to have this opportunity to have some shepherding responsibilities with Bethlehem. I am still humbled buy the opportunity to help lead this group. Many of us were apprehensive about the initial split but it has allowed us to go deeper in the two groups that evolved out of the one while also making room for new members. Anyway the multiplication did exactly what it was supposed to.

The end of year was filled with revelations about singleness, family, career goals, theology, and hope for the future. Anyway I’m thankful for 2005 God has used it to refine me and bring more consistency to my spiritual life.

So Happy New Year! Thanks for reading this, for praying for me, for being my friend. May God bless your 2006 and put things in your life that draw you closer to Him.

Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela

“This New Years Eve, something must change me inside,
I'm crooked and misguided, and tired of being tired.
This New Years Eve, I'm waiting for tomorrow.
My heart is on my sleeve, and yes I still believe, in You.”
R. Roper

We've got videos or I've got videos

O.K. so just click on the picture and you can see a video of Mitch's cat. I'm just learning how to use this stuff so it's not funny or anything but I guess that's all I really got.



Hey it works...
Hope you hate it,
Caleb M. Saarela

New Snow

I love new snow. It’s as close to a do over as we get. I love how it covers everything, hides everything, makes to world new, yes it’s just a cover but there is a whole new world to discover. My favorite song ever is a song called Every New Day. It talks about how every new day is new with God. Anyway here are some pictures and a little poem (very little and not very good) about new snow.










New Snow
I wake to find the world has changed
The dirt and grim have been exchanged
With white that covers, and keeps us warm
Spartan soldiers keep us from harm
A new life I’ve been given
Sins of old have been hidden
New snow a closer look at new earth
To remind us of second birth
From heavens hand to break our dawn
Caleb M. Saarela

Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela

Christmas reflections and other random stuff

Well I had a great Christmas season. I usually hate this time of the year. The over commercialization of Christmas, Santa Clause all the fighting about “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas.”

Anyway for me the season was great. Usually my Novembers are really crappy, but this one was great. God was totally protecting me and watching over me. Anyway early on in December I was struck with the awesomeness of the incarnation and overwhelmed with the joy of the season. This is a new experience for me maybe this happens for everyone else, I don’t know. So anyway I was really excited about Christmas this year. One thing that I do like about Christmas is singing the old Christmas Carols every year at church. I know the songs are old and routine and a lot of churches feel the need to jazz them up. As you can probably guess I’m not a huge fan of that.

One song that stuck out to me this year was Joy to the World. Simple song right nothing big. Anyway the song ends with Wonders of his Love. I spent a little time thinking about this. It is amazing. The wonders of his love, when we really think about the whole situation, His love is overwhelming. The Creator of the universe born in not just a dirty smelly barn, but also a dirty breaking down body. I don’t know I was just overwhelmed by His love for the glory of God, and for the redemption of man. Anyway I had an amazing Christmas it was great.

Movie Reviews:
Movies I’ve seen and I’m reviewing so suck it up and read…
Fun with Dick and Jane: Funny really funny. I liked it a ton. It makes fun of mainstream America and big companies. It wasn’t like the most amazing thing I had ever seen but it was worth seeing. Yes it is a remake but at least it is a new take on it. And it is a ton funnier then the original. If you like Jim Carry you will like this and Téa Leoni has great comedic timing she is really funny.
Grizzly Man: Ah pretty good nothing special. It was all right. I had heard that ended differently so I was kind of expecting more. It was interesting though. What I found really funny was the idea that this guy really thought he was doing something and I guess I don’t think he was doing anything. In the end I just think the guy was crazy. Not inspiring at all. O.K. I’m done making fun of the guy who got eaten by the bears.
Shawshank Redemption: You have all seen it a hundred times, it rules.

Random thoughts on girls, dating girls is tough man my brain hurts. I mean I am not even dating anyone or know if there is any future for any relationships but man you ladies confuse the heck out of me. Marzipan why don’t you love me? It is so confusing, I am now accepting applications and advice on how to use my brain, Ha Ha I’m funny… (In case anyone is wondering I am kind of joking around)

Random Recommendations:
I have added a link on my blog. It is a blog called Google Video of the Day. Most of the stuff is pretty appropriate you can use your judgment. Some of the stuff is a riot; check out the Wallace and Gromit. Really funny, anyway I that is some of my ramblings I feel like my brain isn’t really working to well so if this is hard to understand sorry…

Hope you hate my ideas.
Caleb M. Saarela


“Just say 'Jack , do you adore me?'
Well I would Holly but love really bores me
Well I guess we should just be friends
I'm just kidding Holly
You know that I'll love you 'til the end”
J. White

Merry Christmas

Well Merry Christmas everyone. My parents are the best, I mentioned how cool it would be to have a digital camera and they totally surprised me with one for Christmas I was shocked and super excited. Here is the first picture.
Anyway I will be blogging this week on at least a couple things. I will be posting some Christmas reflections, maybe a couple more poems, and a post I'm calling why we study theology. Wow should be boring. I hope you hate them.
Merry Christmas
Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela

P.S. My mom hates this picture. Comb your hair...

Funny Quote about my life

So every week at Bible Study the guys from the group go upstairs and share prayer requests. This week I was talking about how it has become harder and harder to wake up in the morning. It is cold and dark and I just don't want to roll out of bed. The issue is that the longer I stay in bed the shorter my time with the Lord is, so that was my prayer request, but while I was describing the situation I was transitioning into sharing the request with the guys and it came out something like this.

"So I have been getting up later and later, I don't care that I'm lazy...bla bla bla, prayer request"

Wow, now that is a profound statement about my life. Laziness not a concern, got it by the truckloads...
Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela

"Up to now in my life I have failed
all I’ve tried, it’s too hard
I think I’ve found my calling now
laying down, in the yard
Don’t you cry Momma, don’t you even weep
‘cause you know your son excels at sleep."
R. Roper

A Saturday to Remember...

Well if you have known me long or haven't known me long it is pretty easy to figure out that I am a passionate person. No really the things I get excited for I really get excited for. I am still of the belief that the Lord of the Rings (although three of the greatest movies ever) should have been six movies of all the same length. This may not be the most practical idea but man that would have ruled. Anyway on Saturday I went to go see the first installment of the Chronicles of Narnia. I was really excited to see this movie but also pretty hesitant. I was read the books as a child, have re-read them as an adult, and generally love the writings of C.S. Lewis so I feel a pretty strong connection to these stories and characters

I was under the impression and still am that if the movie did not have the line that describes Aslan as "a wild lion" or "not safe" or "not tame" but "good" there would be no point in making the movie. This is such a great description of God and his relation to western culture. We can't control Him, tell Him what to do, contain Him, or make better plans than Him. Living your life by God's standards and following Him with all your heart is reckless and not safe. It will lead to the reckless love of others and to fearless joy we will make decisions that make no sense to our non-believing friends and family and sometimes even to our believing friends and family. God is not safe but He is good and His promises will endure forever. I love that... Our lives are so simple by faith, love God with all our hearts, and trust that His son Jesus died for your sins and cling to Him as your everything. The rest is well the rest... Thank God He is good, and we can trust Him above anything else *(I will be talking about the movie from here to the other asterisk so if you don't want to hear stuff skip ahead).

So the movie and my thoughts:
Cons - One thing the movie has going against it is that the four stars are all children and for children to have to convey the emotions sometime required in these stories is tuff. On top of that it is usually the youngest of the four that has to convey the most emotion. You have to believe that Lucy is crushed by Edmond's lie, you have to believe that Lucy and Susan have never seen anything worse then the death of the great lion. Overall I think they did a good job considering it was the first movie for all of them with the exception of Anna Popplewell (Susan). Another con is the CGI was average it was no Lord of the Rings but it was better then some of the Shots form the first Harry Potter or the second Matrix which both had parts that were horrible. So none of it was appalling but it could have been better. Third con and this is getting a little picky, there is so much explanation of Aslan and people's reaction to him in the books. It is arguable the best parts of the books and I could have done with more of that, talk and reaction to how amazing Aslan is.

Pros - They did a good job of holding to the books. The allegory of redemption through a savoir is very evident. The line(s) that had to be in there were. "He is not a tame lion but he's good." Yes!!! I almost cheered out loud. Especially since they made me wait the whole movie for it. The death and resurrection at the stone table was great. The professor who is not a major character was just right. I have the feeling that if you are not a lover of the books you might not enjoy the movie quite as much but even without them I still think it is a great kids movie. I just feel they got the right parts right. I would endorse it 100%.

* O.K. I'm done talking about the movie. The other cool thing about Saturday involved free trade coffee. I found out a while ago that Dunn Brothers sells free trade coffee. Even before that I had chosen Dunn Brothers as my coffee shop of choice (both Caribou and Starbucks are evil). So while we were having coffee and talking about the movie I thought I would check it out. The thing I was worried about was the price. I want to try and buy more fair trade products but I've heard some of them get pretty expensive, but to my surprise and joy it was not a bad price. So anyway you should check out maketradefair.com and the next time you buy coffee you should at least check out Dunn Brothers fair trade stuff. It's worth looking at.

Anyway all in all it was a great weekend busy but fun thanks to everyone who planned cool stuff to do, I'm glad I got to have fun with you. Hooray for having friends...
Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela

P.S. Dunn Brothers website and the recipie for Turkish Delight bellow, man does that stuff looks gross...

http://www.dunnbros.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Delight

Darkness, Light, and Christmas

Well I have taken on Ugly things, the institute of Marriage, and American consumerism, so what's next. Well I'm taking on Darkness. Well I just wrote a little poem about darkness light and Christmas it is based off of Isaiah 9:2-6. It's nothing amazing but Isaiah filled me with such joy and this was the result. So I thought I would share it with anyone who wants to listen... Merry Christmas see you all soon...
Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela

Isaiah 9:2-6
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
3You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.










"In the darkness"
In the darkness we have walked
In the darkness, souls are locked
Sitting in pale unbroken cold
Sitting, longing, anything to hold
The darkness finds me rotten
The darkness leaves me forgotten
Evils are hidden from sight
Evils are hidden from the light
Never ceasing, bitter, biting
Never ceasing, slowly killing
Endless darkness, endless night
Endless darkness, listless sight

We have seen a great light
We have seen darkness take flight
A spark, a change, kindled heart
A spark of light, a new start
Exposing injustice, wailing
Exposing sin, constant failings
Light burst in, cuts through
Light breaks in, makes all things new
Cleansing, healing broken people
Cleansing, giving strength to the feeble
Daylight sets us free
Daylight given to me
To us the useless, the scorn
To us a child is born

His name brought light for us to see
His name has set us free
His name shall be,
Wonderful Counselor, Might God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Caleb M. Saarela

An open letter of update...

Well I know I haven't posted in a while sorry life has been busy and there was some good discussion on the money stuff. Anyway the big news is that I got into the classes I wanted to for the spring so it looks like Caleb is a student again. Thank you to anyone who has been praying for me to get into these classes and also who has prayed for me over the last three years that I would get my life together.
Today as I was walking out of the office with my little piece of paper saying, “I was on my way” I had such and overwhelming sense of God’s faithfulness. How many times had I started to doubt and question what God was doing in my life. Anyway thanks to everyone, especially my family, for sticking with this loser I’ll let you know how things go…
Godspeed,
Caleb M. Saarela

P.S. Those are the same lyrics as before but they just fit so well, sorry I'm lame. I'm working on a little poem it's almost done and then I'll post that soon...

"Fathomless your endless mercy,
weight I could not lift.
Where do I fit in this puzzle,
what good are these gifts?
Not a martyr, or a saint,
scarcely can I struggle through.
All that I have ever wanted,
was to give my best to you.

Lord, search my heart,
create in me something clean.
Dandelions
you see flowers in these weeds.

Gently lifting hands to heaven,
softened by the sweetest hush,
a Father sings over his children,
loving them so very much.
More than words could warrant,
deeper than the darkest blue,
more than sacrifice could merit,
Lord, I give my heart to you."
R. Roper