pretty simple, poking around donald miller's blog as usual and stumbled upon a little link to this website here. so if it is good enough for donald miller, it's good enough for me. so i read it and it was really neat because i think that it is easy to be apathetic. at the very least our culture doesn't necessarily encourage us to be all out gung-ho for things. we gotta be cool, calm and collected. but i think that God created us to be wildly passionate, do things on an impulse, live life without caring what others think. i think God created us to be screaming at trains, having others stare at us for knowing what a "snc52" is.
also, i can see nathan bofto being that guy.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
happenings.
man-o-man. it's been awhile so this will be a biggie. got my journal by my side to recount it all so grab a glass of ice cold squirt and sit down.
reading the post of the woman from the theater that cully threw up was so encouraging. because so often we hold to a prosperity gospel that God is good only when He allows good in our life. but more and more lately i want struggles. i don't want things to be easy. i want God to trust me with difficulties, tough stuff not because i can handle it. that is precisely why i want them, because i want to rely on God, pray to Him, lean on Him. and that woman was a real life example of what it meant to lean into the everlasting arms of our Savior.
in the car heading back to school, i had tons of time to think. that may even be an understatement. and as i reflected over the summer, i was so thankful for it. i got fun, got work, and got to be home. but honestly, i didnt feel as if i was as intentional about my relationship with my Savior as i could have been. i say this because of thoughts that elicited from a young life kid's reaction to hearing about Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. when asked why she was crying, she said, "i just don't know why i am not constantly thinking about what He did." so simple yet so eloquent. because if we believe in the sacrifice and the fact that Jesus gave his life, why should we not give our thoughts and actions?
and camp. whew! it has been "over" for 5 days and i'm still recovering. we had the same four guys from last year, gus / dane / kurt / chad + jacob / joseph / connor. so 7 soon-to-be juniors hanging out. the camp speaker's name was ken tankersley so everyone just called him tank. and he did such a great job making Jesus relatable, the gospel applicable, and life with Christ realistic. in his words, "we talked about life, we talked about God and we talked about life with God." it was just so great hearing open and honest conversation from the guys about the different aspects of the gospel and Jesus' story. even guys who didn't really want anything to do with the gospel said they enjoyed being able to be perfectly themselves at camp without having to pretend to be somebody else to please others. and that was awesome. getting to see guys who never are in the same social circle back home hang out, enjoy each other and learn about one another's lives.
one of the cooler stories that tank outlined from the gospel was the story of the rich young ruler in mark 10. i think i appreciated it even more when paired with the gospel. i'll get to why in a bit. but tank laid out that the rich young ruler came up and understood all the rules and regulations. he had kept the commandments and followed the 613 prohibitions from the torah. but when he came to Jesus, he was hoping he could add another title to his name. he wanted to become the rich young religious ruler. he wanted to keep the three other things that defined him but add onto his life. i can so often relate to desiring to add God onto my life instead of making Him my life. and that is how it related to the talk about the crucifixion. because when Jesus died for me, it was like a proposal for new and full life. it is easy to say "yes" but another thing completely to commit. i could say "yes" and change my relationship status on facebook but it won't matter until i change my lifestyle to reflect my commitment.
finally, jonah werner did music for the camp and he was the same guy who did music for my work crew session. it was so much fun hearing his music once again and his amazing story telling. he continually pointed his stories towards the message of the gospel and i loved it. it made me hope that whatever profession i choose / chooses me, that i can use it to the same effect. if you don't have his music, lemme know. because it's good.
and being back has been interesting because i'm pretty much alone without people at apu being here. summer classes are over, r.a.'s are on training, most researchers went home for the month and it's just me. in my super hot apartment because the a/c is broken. today it was 93 degrees. in. my. apartment. but it has been nice to walk with the young life guys through navigating home life after camp. because as great as camp is, it is mostly a glimpse of what life can be like it you allow it. camp represents the highs in home life while you still eventually come down (law of undulation - thank you westerberg).
so as disjointed as this was, that has been a mere glimpse of the past few weeks.
reading the post of the woman from the theater that cully threw up was so encouraging. because so often we hold to a prosperity gospel that God is good only when He allows good in our life. but more and more lately i want struggles. i don't want things to be easy. i want God to trust me with difficulties, tough stuff not because i can handle it. that is precisely why i want them, because i want to rely on God, pray to Him, lean on Him. and that woman was a real life example of what it meant to lean into the everlasting arms of our Savior.
in the car heading back to school, i had tons of time to think. that may even be an understatement. and as i reflected over the summer, i was so thankful for it. i got fun, got work, and got to be home. but honestly, i didnt feel as if i was as intentional about my relationship with my Savior as i could have been. i say this because of thoughts that elicited from a young life kid's reaction to hearing about Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. when asked why she was crying, she said, "i just don't know why i am not constantly thinking about what He did." so simple yet so eloquent. because if we believe in the sacrifice and the fact that Jesus gave his life, why should we not give our thoughts and actions?
and camp. whew! it has been "over" for 5 days and i'm still recovering. we had the same four guys from last year, gus / dane / kurt / chad + jacob / joseph / connor. so 7 soon-to-be juniors hanging out. the camp speaker's name was ken tankersley so everyone just called him tank. and he did such a great job making Jesus relatable, the gospel applicable, and life with Christ realistic. in his words, "we talked about life, we talked about God and we talked about life with God." it was just so great hearing open and honest conversation from the guys about the different aspects of the gospel and Jesus' story. even guys who didn't really want anything to do with the gospel said they enjoyed being able to be perfectly themselves at camp without having to pretend to be somebody else to please others. and that was awesome. getting to see guys who never are in the same social circle back home hang out, enjoy each other and learn about one another's lives.
one of the cooler stories that tank outlined from the gospel was the story of the rich young ruler in mark 10. i think i appreciated it even more when paired with the gospel. i'll get to why in a bit. but tank laid out that the rich young ruler came up and understood all the rules and regulations. he had kept the commandments and followed the 613 prohibitions from the torah. but when he came to Jesus, he was hoping he could add another title to his name. he wanted to become the rich young religious ruler. he wanted to keep the three other things that defined him but add onto his life. i can so often relate to desiring to add God onto my life instead of making Him my life. and that is how it related to the talk about the crucifixion. because when Jesus died for me, it was like a proposal for new and full life. it is easy to say "yes" but another thing completely to commit. i could say "yes" and change my relationship status on facebook but it won't matter until i change my lifestyle to reflect my commitment.
finally, jonah werner did music for the camp and he was the same guy who did music for my work crew session. it was so much fun hearing his music once again and his amazing story telling. he continually pointed his stories towards the message of the gospel and i loved it. it made me hope that whatever profession i choose / chooses me, that i can use it to the same effect. if you don't have his music, lemme know. because it's good.
and being back has been interesting because i'm pretty much alone without people at apu being here. summer classes are over, r.a.'s are on training, most researchers went home for the month and it's just me. in my super hot apartment because the a/c is broken. today it was 93 degrees. in. my. apartment. but it has been nice to walk with the young life guys through navigating home life after camp. because as great as camp is, it is mostly a glimpse of what life can be like it you allow it. camp represents the highs in home life while you still eventually come down (law of undulation - thank you westerberg).
so as disjointed as this was, that has been a mere glimpse of the past few weeks.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Open Letter
brothas! dude's had to share this song. Probably one of the best i've ever heard. Yeah i said it. One of the best I've ever heard.....
It tells the story of letters that this artist (KB) has received from fans asking for prayer. The first one tells of a woman and her struggles and the next verse (my favorite) tells of a man and his temptations that I can relate to.
The other featured artist (Trip Lee) responds with a prayer of his own to God on their behalf. Just a beautiful picture of people coming and praying for their brothers and sisters in Christ. It just goes to show you that we as Christians have struggles. I'm realizing that more and more every day as God reveals to me some of my own. It is becoming clear how desperately broken I am and utterly dependent on God I really am.
For me this song really puts it into words how HARD it is to be a Christian/stay pure in this world. And how life is a battlefield and we gotta make some WAR!
Read the lyrics as you listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=widSI1aQN8s
It tells the story of letters that this artist (KB) has received from fans asking for prayer. The first one tells of a woman and her struggles and the next verse (my favorite) tells of a man and his temptations that I can relate to.
The other featured artist (Trip Lee) responds with a prayer of his own to God on their behalf. Just a beautiful picture of people coming and praying for their brothers and sisters in Christ. It just goes to show you that we as Christians have struggles. I'm realizing that more and more every day as God reveals to me some of my own. It is becoming clear how desperately broken I am and utterly dependent on God I really am.
For me this song really puts it into words how HARD it is to be a Christian/stay pure in this world. And how life is a battlefield and we gotta make some WAR!
Read the lyrics as you listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=widSI1aQN8s
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Midnight Movie Madness
So the other night Austin, Chloe and i went to "The Dark Knight Rises"...first off it was epic and my first midnight showing ever (made it even cooler to me). Then i heard about the shooting the next morning, shocking, sad, confusing, and angering.
I was browsing the internet machine and discovered this article due to the never-failing share button on @facebook...but i was glad because this article really portrays a godly viewpoint on the past situation: check it out vvvvv
http://aminiatureclaypot.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/so-you-still-think-god-is-a-merciful-god/
I was browsing the internet machine and discovered this article due to the never-failing share button on @facebook...but i was glad because this article really portrays a godly viewpoint on the past situation: check it out vvvvv
http://aminiatureclaypot.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/so-you-still-think-god-is-a-merciful-god/
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
The Good Life.
What is it? When the words run across your eyes what do you think of? The good life. The Life. When someone asks, "how ya doing?" And you respond with, "I'm living the life." While your answer may be laced with some humor, what's hidden in that response is what has been driven into us by our culture. Culture, media, the "American Dream" have all told us what this good life is: Get rich, grace yourself with dapper clothes, grab a few honies along the way, drink it up. Basically....live lavishly and get other people to respect you for it.
I find it interesting to be in a position where one year can change a person's financial position in the blink of an eye. One day they are playing collegiate football and barely scraping by, the next they have just signed a 6 figure contract and are playing in what most consider the highest league of all professional sports in the U.S. To put it plainly, they got it made. They are now living the "life" they dreamed about and what our culture has sold us on what life's supposed to be like. Fancy cars, louis vuitton handbags club appearances, large twitter following.
But is that all? Is that right there the life we were created to live? No. Not even close. The true Good Life is this:
John 10:10-11
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have LIFE and have it abundantly.
How?
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." [emphasis added]
Jesus calls us, not to a dour, lifeless, miserable existence that squashes human potential. Let's face it. That's all the world promises. It leaves you broken and destroyed. It kills you. But Christ calls us to a rich, full, joyful life, one overflowing with meaningful activities under the personal favor and blessing of God and in continual fellowship with his people. That's the life I wanna be living. I wanna be livin the Good Life.
I find it interesting to be in a position where one year can change a person's financial position in the blink of an eye. One day they are playing collegiate football and barely scraping by, the next they have just signed a 6 figure contract and are playing in what most consider the highest league of all professional sports in the U.S. To put it plainly, they got it made. They are now living the "life" they dreamed about and what our culture has sold us on what life's supposed to be like. Fancy cars, louis vuitton handbags club appearances, large twitter following.
But is that all? Is that right there the life we were created to live? No. Not even close. The true Good Life is this:
John 10:10-11
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have LIFE and have it abundantly.
How?
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." [emphasis added]
Jesus calls us, not to a dour, lifeless, miserable existence that squashes human potential. Let's face it. That's all the world promises. It leaves you broken and destroyed. It kills you. But Christ calls us to a rich, full, joyful life, one overflowing with meaningful activities under the personal favor and blessing of God and in continual fellowship with his people. That's the life I wanna be living. I wanna be livin the Good Life.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Church Clothes
Lecrae says it better: "Don't worry too much about what you wear today. Today is about Jesus getting up. Not us getting dressed up."
free download bros.
http://www.datpiff.com/Lecrae-Church-Clothes-mixtape.348497.html?utm_campaign=piff.me&utm_source=http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FGx7DtSRz&h=BAQF1XZdD&utm_medium=piff.me
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