Oh, and you should check out some of my photo’s from this year’s adventure to the Caboose at Snoqualmie Pass!

Christ is truly sufficient. This is a point that definitely rubs people the wrong way. For me to say that Jesus is the only thing I need is for me to say that others are wrong. That is unfortunately true. But Jesus is the great agitator. And if people are really honest with themselves, they would have to come to the realization that whatever their belief is, they would ultimately say others are wrong and their belief is right. Not everyone can be right. Just because I think I am right and someone else is wrong, doesn’t mean I think anything less of them, they should think I am wrong too. But when it all comes down to it, after all I have studied about Christianity, about other religions, about science (all of which have great aspects to them in their own right), it always comes back to Christ; Jesus is sufficient.

Christ was absolutely necessary. The Jews knew a messiah was necessary, the Old Testament spoke of one who would come to rule the world. They misunderstood what that would look like; a small baby does not seem like a conqueror. Whether Calvinist or not, we should all be able to see that we are ALL broken in some way. That we are lacking. We are not able to do this on our own. Being “good enough” doesn’t really cut it. Now, the old school (well OT) way of doing things would have been to sacrifice a lamb as a replacement for my wrong doings. But that just wasn’t enough because people are so much more important than animals. Our treason against God cannot be made up for through animal sacrifice nor can it be paid for by me doing good things. No one is good or pure enough. Well until Jesus came along. The Gospel truly is the best story ever written, mainly because it is non fiction narrative that was told so well, I don’t have to actually come up with the words (which is fortunate for you all!).

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.” (Revelation 21:5-6)

His Mercy and Grace has saved us all. And thank God for that, because we cannot do it on our own!

As Relient K said it:

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

Enter into Christmas with this: Christ has already come and died for you and me you cannot do anything to get Him to love you more than He already does right now.

Here are a few of my other selected Christmas posts: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Get the X out of X-mas - Dickens speaks Truth and Christmas a pagan holiday? Also, if Christmas is putting you in the charitable mood, please consider donating to either Blood: Water Mission or Potters for Peace and get clean water to those who need it in Africa.

God bless and Merry Christmas!

As a PS: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day has easily become not only my favorite Christmas song, but Hymn because it resonates so well with my own soul:

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

We’re a group of passionate people who have been inspired by our friends in Africa, friends who face unbearable challenges from the HIV/AIDS and water crises. We creatively and thoughtfully raise awareness and the necessary funds for the provision of clean blood and clean water in sub-Saharan Africa.

When they came out with their Christmas Clean Water Challenge, I was very interested in chipping in and helping out. This desire started a very insightful conversation between me, a few friends, and two different water filtration proponents.

The discussion started when Vimal, who has worked with water filtration systems in Africa, was curious about the $85 cost for the biosand water filter through Blood:Water Mission’s Christmas Challenge. This is the conversation that we had (hope you are ok with this Vimal!):

Vimal Shenoy: 85 bucks? How many filters? That’s an expensive filter for developing countries. When I did water filtration work in Africa, our filters cost less than $25 to make and distribute… But whatever.

Matt Jones: Here, watch this video, tell me what you think.

Vimal Shenoy: interesting… if it’s true that it’s good for 20 years, then it may be worth it, though wikipedia only cites 10 years. there’s a lot of factors to consider when choosing water purification means, so I’m not going to diss this means.

Matt Jones: What system did you guys use? I am curious what the differences are and if there are different benefits to either of them. They might be interested in checking out other options as well. Another guy I know used these filters in Haiti and passed on the link. I think this is an important discussion to have because I always get frustrated when non-profs are not using their money wisely. I trust Blood:Water Mission and would love to pass on any other info on what you used.

Vimal Shenoy: yeah, we used potters for peace. I could come downstairs and explain more… but for sam’s sake i’ll put a brief blurb. Basically what we used were what looked like flower pots, the most expensive parts being the plastic pot and spigot. We went to an organization within Benin and taught them how to make them properly and they make them in country with materials there (dirt, coconut shells, whatever else you use in pots). When we left them they were selling them for 25 dollars or so, but we calculated that if they made the plastic parts there, they could sell them for less than 10 dollars, which is a significant difference in that area of the world. Replacement filters after ~10 years is 4-6 dollars, so maintenance is low… take a look at this.

Vimal Shenoy: the greatest downside is the rate of water filtration. only 2.5 liter per hour as opposed to 40 in the other system. but if you distribute these on a household level, they are definitely worthwhile. 2.5 litres x 10 hours is enough for everyone to drink in a household.

Matt Jones: Awesome! That is good information to have. I imagine that the most expensive part of the biosand filters is the “biological layer” (whatever that is). I will definitely pass that on. I am assuming they have looked at other options as well, but have other options available is always good.

As you suggest, there could definitely be benefits to either system and context probably means a lot. It would be good to hear from the organization about how they picked this particular method.

Matt Jones: Got a pretty good response from the Blood:Water Mission people, here is a part:

“As a part of this program, every family wanting filter sends a family member to a three day training held at the compound. As a part of this training, the family member learns about biosand filters, how to maintain the filter, as well as the basics of hygiene & sanitation (there are complete hygiene & sanitation trainings done in villages separate of this training). They also make their own biosand filter, which is then installed in their home at the end of the week. This is a much more intensive process in terms of space, personnel, and time than is typically used in biosand filter programs, but we have found that it is very effective in terms of local empowerment and sustainability. This cost also pays for some follow-up from staff to make sure that everything taught in the training is being implemented in the homes.”

Vimal Shenoy: ah very good. i see now why the cost is somewhat elevated. but with that follow up that’s really good. interesting.

Matt Jones: Indeed. I suppose the important part is not just the cost of the filter at all, but the cost of training and providing resources to help with sustainability and positive practices.

Matt Jones: I just got this from Potters for Peace:

“On our website there is a comparison study, at least one, on the ¨filters¨ sub page ¨studies¨ Yes, the ceramic filter is less expensive, the price varies but generally retails for $15-$25 ready to use with sustainable profit and all costs included. The ceramic filter also usually is more effective at removing bacteria than the bio-sand. One could argue also that the ceramic filter is more user friendly in terms of maintenance. The idea of using terra cotta clay for water treatment is easily accepted and something with a long history in the developing world, many users claim that they prefer the taste of water passed through clay.”

Here is the link to the study he mentioned.

The study was actually quite interesting, you should read it. I am actually going to write up a post about all of this actually, it has been quite helpful.

I would recommend reading the study: Comparative Analysis of the Filtron and Biosand Water Filters. Here is their conclusion:

The Filtron [the ceramic Potters for Peace filter] is more effective in removing E. coli and total coliformes than the biosand filter, but a flow rate of only 1-2 liters per hour and the frequent need for cleaning limit its ability to meet UN minimum requirements. The biosand filter’s flow rate is adequate to meet this standard for quantity, but not consistently for quality, as defined by the WHO. It is, therefore recommended that the filtered water from the biosand filter be disinfected in some manner, such as UV radiation or chlorination, before being consumed.

The cost of the Biosand filter is more expensive but can handle a larger load, but the Filtron system seems to remove bacteria better. One comment from the study suggests that the biological layer (the “schmutzdecke“) of the Biosand filter could take time before it becomes most effective (they saw better and more consistent results near the end of the trial). Also, a disadvantage to the Filtron system (aside from the lower flow rate) is that it requires frequent cleaning to be effective. This could be a huge problem for areas that not only have contaminated water, but small amounts of water.

Anecdotally, both filters have support. Vimal has personal, positive experiences with the Potters for Peace ceramic filters and Nathan had this to say:

biosand is overall the best for family/in-house use. its super simple, super low maintenance, and with a little training can last for 20 years with no costs. so… i’ve yet to hear of anything that can beat that… it’s because it mainly uses a biological layer to eat all the nasty bacteria… however, it does not filter pesticides and other chemicals… which are not usually present in 3rd world countries… so its usually highly effective

Clearly, there are a lot of factors that go into choosing a filter and providing support that goes along with it.

I am still sold on supporting Blood:Water Mission’s Christmas Challenge. I want to purchase at least one Biodsand filter and have a few people already willing to help out. I would love to purchase more, so please let me know if you are interested in helping. My family is also interested in supporting this cause sometime this year (as a group we are supporting Heifer International this Christmas). If you would like to join me, please let me know and I can coordinate OR feel free to donate directly to them or to their Christmas Challenge. OR, if you feel the Potters for Peace method is more to your liking, you should donate directly to them. Either way, I highly recommend that you be giving this Christmas season (and all year really) and spending less on “things.”

Hard to believe, but it was three months ago that I was in Greece! Oh the time has flown! School is back in full force and I have really enjoyed my classes (some more than others…). I figured it was time (well way past time, really) to post my pictures from the European adventure to Greece and Germany!

The bulk of my pictures have been post up at Flickr:

I was extremely fortunate to join up with some great friends from high school and their families on this trip and it couldn’t have gone better (well could have done without the missed flights and lost luggage…)!! Here is a Google Map of my itinerary.

Please check out my European adventure photo collection at Flickr! It was such a great experience!

Today (well it got posted early, so tomorrow) is the 15th anniversary of his death and is also significant in that I have spent half of my life without him. Time really has gone incredibly fast but he still lingers in my thoughts, mind, and prayers. Andy put things well in talking about the passing of grandpa Withrow when he said (if I might paraphrase) that we don’t mourn for he who has past, for he has gone on to a better place but we mourn for those of us left behind who now have to continue on without them. And gone on we have. He is missed and I truly look forward to seeing him again. I just hope he is proud of who I have become and who I will become. Thanks to dad for being the person and example he was and continues to be. It has been a hard 15 years, but a blessed 15 years.

The Jones family out at Northwest Trek.

Since I found out I had a job, I also hopped on board Boutry and Kim’s travel plans to go to Greece! Tomorrow morning I will be heading out for 20 days on an adventure to Greece and Germany! I will visit Kos, Crete, and Athens, then head over to Boutry’s place near Frankfurt and venture out from there. You can view my itinerary here at Google maps. I have never been to Greece and am really excited to go! I will try and send updates if I can. What a great way to end a fun, difficult, tiring, exciting, and a number of other adjectived year!

Period 1!

Period 2!

Period 4!

Period 5!

Period 6!

They were all such different classes. What an experience!

I hope to see you there, I am looking forward to seeing the ladies together again! Is it strange to still have a crush on Dana? Ok, don’t answer that.

Check out my Late Tuesday page for other various Late Tuesday stuff from the past.

Should you desire to take a gander at the various things I have written about, check out the MattJonesBlog.com / Random Acts of Verbiage Archive and drop a note!

To go along with this anniversary, I am also happy to say I had an incredible night/weekend with some amazing people celebrating my and Stacey’s 30th birthday. I am supremely blessed to have the wonderful friends I have. Thanks to everyone who made it so special!

We started the night at Anthony’s on Pier 66 on Seattle’s waterfront then went back to our suite at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel for swimming, eating, and just general enjoyment of each other’s company. It was a night to remember! Please stop by Matt and Stacey turn 30! @ Flickr for some pictures from the evening.

I wonder what the next few decades will bring! I am looking forward to it!

Songs of social justice, to insomnia, to thoughts of suicide turning to visions of beauty all around can be found in We Sing the Body Electric. Something for everyone. The album’s first (?) single, We Sing in Time is a song that looks hopefully forward to a time where our society isn’t broken. “In Time the trees die and light will fade. But I hope for a new breath, a new life to take me away…” On to Something is a harsh and ironic critique of materialist nonsense. Golden Apples of the Sun parts I and II encourage love in any context, no matter the situation. Julia’s Song deals with addiction and ends with John’s grandmother’s lullaby: “I’m little I know, but wherever I go I give I give… I give (away).” Borders and Towns is an oldie (ask me if you would like an old acoustic version!) but goodie and a classic love song. WSBHBWA is another ironic attack against the superficialities of much of our culture, concluding, “You’re beautiful but you’re empty.” Mt. Constitution suggests we take a moment to pause and think about our life. The album coming to an end full of reflection:

Breathing is a blessing
A variable we take for granted
One quick second
It’s blown away with all your happiness

Hope lies in the proles
That’s how they made you.
But not how they wanted you to be…

I could go on and talk about every song, but they are all worth a listen to and read through. Head over to the Burning Building Records store to purchase We Sing the Body Electric, you won’t be disappointed. Oh, and you can listen to the entire album at the Lonely Forest band page at Burning Building Records.

There are plenty of pictures and video clips from the show!

All of the videos have been posted to my YouTube channel.

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

Do you understand how big that is? The veil of the temple separating us from the Holy of Holies, the people from Yahweh, us from God, is torn in two. We are no longer apart from God. We no longer have to perform special ceremonies or rituals to talk to Him. We are in his presence because of Christ. What amazing grace! It doesn’t matter who we are, where we are, or what we have done. We are accepted into his presence because of the price He paid. We can all say thank God for that!

I hope everyone has a great and thoughtful Easter. Share this gospel (good news) with others. It is a blessing to the world and people desperately need to hear it! I wrote (a number of time) about Jesus’ last words: Τετέλεσται: Some thoughts on John 19:30 that I found enlightening. Feel free to take a gander. Also, I would recommend a fairly new book by Craig Evans and N. T. Wright based on a few lectures they gave about the historicity of the death by crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus: Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened.

Blessings and Shalom on this Easter’s eve.

Nanotube Tech Transforms CO2 Into Fuel:

Powered by sunlight, titanium oxide nanotubes can turn carbon dioxide into methane, which can be harnessed as an energy source

It goes on to point out that,

One big advantage of methane over other hydrocarbons like hydrogen gas is that an infrastructure already exists for methane… “It’s a clean and sustainable cycle as long as you have sun and water.”

I dig it. The abstract can be found here: High-Rate Solar Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 and Water Vapor to Hydrocarbon Fuels (if you have ACS Journal access you can read the full thing) via the journal, Nano Letters.

Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants.

This is a pretty bold statement. To Spencer’s credit, he is not claiming that this is news or necessarily backed in research; it is his commentary on the way he sees things. That being said, it is still a bold statement. Here are the primary reasons he thinks Evangelicalism will collapse:

Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake.

While I think this was especially true in the 80s and 90s, I think this has lessened as of late. Many want to distance themselves from the religious right. While I am conservative in my politics, I don’t really associate myself with them, and I know that many others don’t either.

We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught.

I completely agree. I do think that the youth need to be aware of culture and how it impacts the church, but they also need to know where their faith comes from and what it is based on. They should be able to articulate what they believe and why just as easily as they can articulate what happened on the latest reality show.

There are three kinds of evangelical churches today: consumer-driven megachurches, dying churches, and new churches whose future is fragile.

I don’t think that my church really falls into any of those categories. I don’t feel I am saying that just because I am biased, but because the church is vibrant, relevant, and has a real, meaningful impact on our city.

Despite some very successful developments in the past 25 years, Christian education has not produced a product that can withstand the rising tide of secularism. Evangelicalism has used its educational system primarily to staff its own needs and talk to itself.

I am not exactly sure what he means by that. Is he saying evangelical seminaries or graduate schools are not proper educational institutions? Regent might disagree with that (and so would I).

The confrontation between cultural secularism and the faith at the core of evangelical efforts to “do good” is rapidly approaching. We will soon see that the good Evangelicals want to do will be viewed as bad by so many, and much of that work will not be done. Look for ministries to take on a less and less distinctively Christian face in order to survive.

This is another statement that I cannot totally buy. I think that many churches now see the need to work in their communities, not just because they want more people to come, or even people to come to Christ (even if they would like that to happen), but because they are understanding that there is a huge need in their community. There is always “good” to be done and churches are starting to realize that more and more.

Even in areas where Evangelicals imagine themselves strong (like the Bible Belt), we will find a great inability to pass on to our children a vital evangelical confidence in the Bible and the importance of the faith.

While Evangelicals aren’t really “strong” here in the northwest, this is definitely a concern. Instilling values in our children in the midst of many conflicting world views can be a difficult, but necessary task that we are all responsible for.

The money will dry up.

Well, sure, that is possible. But wherever people find value, their money will follow.

With the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey noting that “non-religious” populations are on the rise and many Protestant denominations on the decline, evangelicals definitely have reason to worry. But, in my opinion, there aren’t actually fewer religious people, but merely more people who are being more honest with their affiliations and beliefs. It would be my contention that nominal Christians (of which there are definitely many) are realizing that they no longer have to identify themselves with Christianity if they don’t actually believe the things that are part of the faith. Regardless of why the numbers are declining, I doubt that those of devout faith are willing to let their churches die.

Spencer’s article is well worth the read because he does end on some helpful and hopeful notes.

We need new evangelicalism that learns from the past and listens more carefully to what God says about being His people in the midst of a powerful, idolatrous culture.

While I am not as worried about our impending doom, I think his cautions should be heeded.

Hummm… I feel like this post has been a bit of streaming-of-consciousness… but there ya have it.

I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

Grace has been extended to us in our brokenness, try extending grace and love yourself.

It has been a strange week here in Seattle. We are used to the rain and the cold. We are used to snow as a novelty or as something you seek out somewhere else. We are not so used to it as a way of life. We have about a foot of snow here at The House and the roads haven’t been driven on much. We walked up to QFC and it was packed with people seeming to prepare for the end of the world. It is just strange for us. I enjoy it, it is peaceful I think. We have had 3 snow days at school with one more tomorrow and (most likely) one more on Tuesday (we had to go Monday and Tuesday as make up days for our strike… that we now have to make up because of snow). The days off have been nice and relaxing, which is what a break is supposed to be. Hopefully I can get down to Southern WA for Christmas without any problems… we’ll see how that goes.

But the title of this post brings me back to what I really wanted to share. For some reason I had never heard the hymn “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” written in 1964 by Henry Longfellow and my life was lacking because of it. This song really struck a chord with me. The King James translates Luke 2:14 in this way: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” While a more modern and scholastic version renders the Greek slightly differently, the intent behind “Peace on Earth, Good will to men” has never been exposited so beautifully. The complete lyrics of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” are worth of your pondering, but I wanted to share two of the verses:

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

These words, written during the civil war, are difficult, yet filled with the hope that comes again this Christmas. (I would recommend the Casting Crowns, Johnny Cash, or Jars of Clay versions, they are done wonderfully!) In the broken world we live in, what all the difficult things we go through, experience, and see, it is easy to get stuck in that first verse. But in reading the Gospel and delving in to the person of Christ, we are left with hope and grace. That is a good place to be this Christmas.

Selected Previous Christmas Posts:
I Celebrate the Day by Relient K
Dickens Speaks Truth
Get the X out of X-Mas!
Always Winter but Never Christmas
Christmas a Pagan Holiday?

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

In case you missed it, there should be a window there. Oh, and a CD player. (Oh, and this is after I cleaned the loads of glass shards off my seat…) Nice.

Yep, I managed to make an appearance! Totally awesome and creepy, all in one!

Enjoy:

View Larger Map

Again, this is a digital album that can be downloaded by going over here, sending $10 her way and then checking your email for the link!

As a little treat and to wet your appetite, you should listen to a little preview: Tara Ward: Live @ The Triple Door: What is Good. Good stuff, isn’t it? Now go download it. And spread the news and share with your friends!

Good intentions do not guarantee good results. Idealists often stub their toes on the wayward rocks of reality, and fall on their faces. And the world doesn’t respond to benign behavior benignly.

The main reason this will be a “coming of age” moment is that now Obama and the Democrats have to put up or shut up. Obama got elected by making himself a blank slate, with vapid promises about “hope” and “change” — but now he actually has to do something.

I only ask two things of you: 1) Go vote. Check maps.google.com/vote for your local polling stations. 2) Don’t vote for superficial reasons. “He’s cool” or “he sucks” or “he isn’t this” or “blah blah blah” are NOT good reasons to vote for someone. Become informed. Take a look at what you really believe and vote that way. There won’t be any one candidate who ever fits for idea, but you can decide what is most important to you and vote that way.

You should also stop by Google’s 2008 Election Coverage. Here is a cool map that will be displaying poll information as they report (and some other cool election maps).

Vote well.