Blog del Pelo Azul

Led by the Spirit

2010-03-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

I heard a quote of this today and it sparked a realization.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

Galatians 5:16-18

Paul has been writing about the laws Jews were required to follow. Some Jews who had converted to Christianity thought the laws should be carried over and enforced upon the Gentiles (non-Jews) Christians as well. After conferring with the apostles in Jerusalem, a consensus is reached that the old rules and regulations of Jewish tradition were not to be enforced upon the Gentiles, nor required by former Jews.

Paul delivers this message to the churches he travels to and explains it in part of this letter. The sentence I made bold is what caught my ear. It is the reason we are not subjected to religious law; mainly that we have the Spirit. The law was given to be a guide to righteousness. Part of the Spirit's work in us is to do the same only on a more intimate level. If we are led by the Spirit, we will have no need for the law because the Spirit will lead us to live in accordance with God's Will.

We can be sure of this because the Spirit wants what is contrary to the sinful nature; that is, what is contrary to God's Will. The Spirit of God will never lead us to do anything other than that which is in agreement with God's Will. It can even go beyond the law to guide us in ways the law does not. The law does not offer suggestions whether to let my friend who has lost a loved one simply cry on my shoulder without speaking or if I should offer empathy and encouragement. Both are good but one may be better for my friend at that moment. The law gives no guidance but the Spirit can.

In that case, I am able to better serve and comfort my friend because the Spirit is able to move and offer advice in narrower circumstances than the law which is broad and general.

tl;dr : When we are led by the Spirit, we are not lead into sin but into Godlier living. The Spirit is able to do this with greater clarity than the law. Following the Spirit will not only end up obeying the law but surpassing it in the end.

A Lesson in Product Testing

2009-10-12T18:39:00.001-07:00

We did some software testing at work last week and had about 25 people testing a couple of our products. The first was one that only a handful of people had worked on ever and it was obvious who they were. Many people were having difficulty setting everything up and it was those few who would come in, figure out what they were doing wrong, and show them the right thing to do. The creators of the software had a much better understanding of how it worked and knew what it needed to work well. The other people made their est attempt at it but often got it wrong.

This reminds me of us, God, and life. God made us and knows how we work. Much like the software, he designed us to work in a certain way. We, like the naive users, try all sorts of things that make sense to us but are not correct. We live life not as it was intended and we get results that are less than expected. God comes in and says "This is how to do it." Sometimes we dn't listen to Him or don't believe Him. It's like one of those users who was having a problem telling the expert they didn't want to fix it that way and so went on with malfunctioning software. Oddly enough, that didn't happen even once in our testing.

God designed us to work best under certain conditions and in certain ways. Matthew 5-7 lays out a pretty good manual for life. He's not trying to enforce some arbitrary rules, he's telling us how to get the most out of life. Rules aren't meant to restrict but to protect us from losing out on better things. We don't have law against using cocaine because we don't want people to feel good, we have those laws to keep people from killing themselves, being hospitalized, losing touch with reality, or destroying brain cells. You need those things to live and laugh and love, heck, even to drive a car. God's ways don't limit us, they unlock our full potential to experience all the things we were designed for. Jesus even says he will give us life to the full if we come to him.

Sometimes people make me sad

2009-10-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

not disappointed but sad and empathetic.

A guy I used to work with set his facebook status to "I'm in love. Waiting to get a new phone because I've got to have this one." I read the first sentence and though "that's neat;" then I read the second, not so neat anymore. This guy is in his late 20s and single. He's very active in his hobbies and pretty "happy." Any observer would think he's got all he wants. My first thought to the plot twist in his status was "He could gain a lot by being married." It seems to me like that's a huge chunk of life experience that's lacking from his life. I also thought "He's really missing out" meaning he's missing out on some of the best things in life by not being married.

Obviously(?) marriage provides a faithful companion. Someone there no matter what, in any weather, at any time. A consistency in life that is only trumped by God's. It provides a way of giving up ourself for someone else. We learn how to watch out for #2 instead of #1. We learn that love (not being "in love") has to work on the honeymoon and a lot more in the years to come. We learn consistency, faithfulness, service, perseverance, responsibility, communication, how to turn feelings into action. In short, we mature. All these things make we are made more like Christ.

All these seem obvious to me (maybe because I want them?) but he is probably completely unaware that marriage would benefit him. In fact, he probably views it the exact opposite, that it would be a burden, not a pleasure.

I then started thinking about what society means by being "in love" and how it can even be associated with inanimate objects like a phone. I can't help but wonder, is this "love" that people have for things (phones, buffalo wings, the cowboys) the same love they associate with people and, more specifically, marriage. What a sad thing to be able to say "I love you" to a phone and a person and actually mean the same thing. Some people treat their marriages like electronics though. "I love my iPhone 3G while it's the coolest thing out; oh but wait, the 3GS is newer and faster and better, I'm ditching my 3G and upgrading!"

I realized that my thought "He's really missing out" might be way off. If society looks at love and marriage like phone shopping, he, and his potential spouse, are better off not married. Marriage that way is no more than a business contract. An agreement that I'll stick with you while it benefits me (tax credits, cheaper living, status) but if I find something that suits me better down the line the deals off. I would argue that that isn't good business practice but it's a even worse basis for marriage.

It makes me sad the way people view and treat some things. Love and marriage, both essential to a stable society and longingly sought after by our society (we have a million love movies and they don't end with people single) are two of the things we get the most wrong. These two things, beautiful in themselves and made more beautiful by what they teach us about God and how they make us more like Jesus, are missed by so many people who long for them. God says if we seek we will find and if we ask we will receive. Society is asking all the wrong people and looking in all the wrong places. God knows both to their full potential, and designed us to experience them, society just doesn't want to ask Him about them. It's like walking around a ranch with a cookie, asking everyone but the cow for a glass of milk.

A Guide for Men

2009-08-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Things to think about when looking for a wife

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.

Proverbs 18:22

Start with yourself:

Are you a Godly man worthy of a Godly woman? (1 Timothy 3:1-10, Titus 1:6-9)

Are you capable of loving her like Christ loves the church? (Mark 10:45, 12:31, John 15:13, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 Peter 3:7, Ephesians 5:25-33)

Am I growing more like Christ? (Romans 12:1-8,9-13, Galatians 5:16-26)

In her:

Is she a believer? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Is she biblically qualifed to be your wife? (Mark 10:11-12, 1 Timothy 3:11, Titus 2:3-5, 1 Peter 3:1-6, Ephesians 5:22-24)

Does she exhibit Godly wisdom and characteristics for a wife?

Wise with money - Proverbs 31:16, 18

Hard worker - Proverbs 13:4, 31:17

Lives an upright life - Psalm 1, Proverbs 13:6,20

Encouraging - Proverbs 12:18, 18:21

Is she growing in the characteristics of biblical womanhood and what the Bible calls “true beauty”? (Proverbs 31)

Questions to ask yourself (and trusted advisors) to see clearly through the veil of infatuation:

Are you attracted to her for all the right reasons?

Can you foresee her being your wife for a lifetime?

Can you foresee her as the mother of your children?

Does she have a worldview compatible with yours?

Do you believe she will care for you well?

Does she show clear regard and care for others?

Does she show evident love for God in how she spends time and money, how she interacts with others?

Do you envision her being supportive of you in whatever ministry God may call you to?

The people who love you the most, your closest friends, think she’s good for you?

The people who love her believe that you are good for her?

Both:

Will we be able to serve God better together or apart?

Does the relationship drive you toward God and His people?

Live out the gospel on a daily basis, forgiving, serving, and putting others first in the most ordinary issues of life in such a way that you see yourself in training for godliness.

For some great articles, including an ebook which most of this was taken from check out http://www.boundless.org/guys/

Christianity is a Religion?

2009-07-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Pagan Christianity? was quite a thought provoking book. It brought a lot of accepted practices in the church into question and made me wonder back to the core of what Jesus came to do. One of the things the authors of the book mention is the lack of formalization or structure Jesus gave to the church and how different what Jesus came to restart (for it had been lost long, long ago) looked so unlike the systems of his day. Religion was a cornerstone of ancient civilization.

Everything back then revolved heavily around religion, whether in Athens, Rome, or Jerusalem, religion, with its priests, rituals, sacrifices, condemnation and exaltation, was king. It was highly structured and organized. There were people who intermediated between the gods and the people. There were specific rituals that were practiced at specific times, in very specific ways. There were strict rules governing what people could wear, who they could associate with, what they could eat. There were detailed instructions of how to make up for any infractions against these rules.

This is the system of religion the world knew when Jesus came. Even God's people had such a system (probably one of the strictest even!). What the authors point out in the book, and what had until then never crossed my mind, is that Jesus does not create for his followers anything resembling the religious pattern of his day.

The priest class is abolished. Everyone is now a priest, everyone has direct access to God, no more going through a "holy" man, everyone can be made holy by God.

Jesus mentions only one thing his followers should do regularly, remember him when they eat. Obviously eating is a regular part of one's day, unlike the many rituals required by Judaism, and so is hardly a burden. It is important to note that Jesus followed the rituals of Judaism in his day but he doesn't seemed to have had any intention of carrying them over to his followers.

Jesus didn't set up a set of rules to guide the lives of his followers. We have no book like Leviticus or Deuteronomy in the New Testament. The closest thing we have is the Sermon on the Mount recorded by Matthew and yet even there Jesus is decribing a better way to live, not laying out a set of rules.

Instead of a set of rules to follow, Christians are given THE SPIRIT OF GOD to guide them, to mold their hearts, minds, and body and to make them more like God's. The Jews needed the law as a guide. They couldn't be asking the priests what God wanted them to do every day so in order to give them some guidelines of what He wanted, God gave them the law. We CAN ask God what He wants, He can tell us directly, we no longer need the law. Instead we are guided by the Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:10b-11

Jesus didn't come to create a new religion. He didn't come to create a new set of priests or give us an updated list of rules God wants us to live by or a miriad of rituals to perform to be right with God. He came to close the gap between God and people, to reconnect Father with child, and to give us his Spirit to guide us from then on.

Christianity isn't meant to be a religion, it's a purpose and spirit for living. The purpose is to honor the One who gave us this life and to experience it in the fullness He designed us to (which also involves helping others do the same). The spirit is the way we go about life, not ungrateful but grateful, loving of others, wanting the best for all people, forgiving wrongs, being joyful.

For so long I've thought of Christianity as another set of rules to follow, not a spirit of living. It may sound like an insignificant difference but to me it changes everything! With selflessness it's the difference between punishment and joy. It's easy for me to think of the rule that we are to be selfless as closer to punishment or torture than as a gift and joy. Like another chore that I have to do and then check off the long list. But living by the Spirit I'm doing my best to be like Jesus (who, coincidentally, was selfless...) because the Spirit within me is causing me to desire it. Not only that but that same Spirit is causing that desire to be fulfilled. When my joy is to be more like Jesus, and I am eager to pursue that, and I know the Spirit in me (the only one that can actually make that joy possible) is working to make it happen, that is such a different life than one following rules. Perhaps it may look similar from the outside and may yield similar results but the journey is vastly different!

I'm not sure of all the implication of this yet (haha). It puts a completely new spin on everything (at least for me).

Apostles

2009-04-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked what the word Apostle meant. Turns out it means “one who is sent forth.” That makes sense with what the apostles did but how is that unique among the different “professions” of God?

Ephesians 4:11-12 - It was he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

How is an apostle different from a prophet or an evangelist or pastor or teacher? Hmm... well what did the apostles do?

They went around telling people about Jesus, especially those who didn’t believe. That sounds a lot like an evangelist though.

Paul teaches a lot through his letters but then why distinguish that from a teacher?

Paul goes and starts churches, looking over them and guiding the people of that city-church toward God. But that’s the general role of a pastor, to shepherd the flock, give them guidance.

The apostles gave messages from God but he wasn’t so much a messenger from God. A prophet is a mediator between God and the people. They spoke for God, were His messengers.

So while the apostles did many of those things, they are still given a separate title and Paul lists apostleship as a unique from the others. What’s left?

1 Corinthians 1:17a - For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel

1 Corinthians 3:6 - I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

Paul wasn’t sent forth (an apostle) to baptize but to preach! Paul planted seeds in people! Paul only stayed a little while (a few years at best?) in each place. He constantly has people travelling with Him. Sometimes he will leave one of those people behind to watch over the church (Timothy).

Paul wasn’t as interested in mirco things, he didn’t spend his time making one particular thing perfect. He started something off in the right direction, gave it a good foundation and then found someone to take that over while he moved on to the next deal. Like Jesus, Paul didn’t stay in one place, devoting all his energies to those particular people. Instead, like Jesus, he leaves a place once he’s just begun to make a mark, when the seed is just starting to reach maturity.

Paul prepared a group to follow God. He also trained up individuals to lead those groups in his place. Paul replaced himself in each city so he could move on. Paul trains Timothy to be a pastor over the church in Ephesus.

Perhaps the role of an apostle is to get things moving, to build something up, give it a good foundation, and set it in capable hands to take it over.

I think the need for apostles is still alive today. It’s easy to think of places like China, the inner city, etc as needing apostles to come in and build a Godly community, but I think there’s even a need around us. What about apartment complexes and neighborhoods? Why not get crazy: schools, support groups, traditionally anti-Christian groups, atheist groups! The house church movement seems to live through apostolic initiative.

I see the apostle exhibiting a part of each of the other “professions,” a bit of prophecy, some evangelism, teaching, and pasturing. The apostle has to be fairly adept at each of them because he or she must train other people to be better at those things than the apostle.

The idea of apostleship is intriguing to me. A life of training others to be God’s man or woman in the area they are called to be. It’s always new, and can get pretty intense. How crazy would it be to go to an atheist church (yes they exist) and start a house church there?!? To invade “enemy” territory (Note: “enemy” is used from effect, atheists are not our enemy, more on that in a future blog entry) and train Godly people from within! That’s a twofold return, not only are they not against God anymore (1) but they are for Him (2)!

2009-03-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

I was rereading Samuel the other day because it's my favorite story in the Bible. David just rocks, but he isn't what this is about.

1 Samuel 3:1a - The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli.

Samuel had become a priest under Eli. He ministered before the Lord. He had been dedicated for service to God:

1 Samuel 1:27-28 - I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.

His mother had prayed to have a son, promising God to give him to the Lord if He did (1 Samuel 1:11).

Quite a strong beginning. As I kept reading chapter 3 got me to thinking. In it God calls to Samuel. Samuel however thinks it's Eli calling him so he goes to Eli and asks what he needs. Three times this happens, Eli finally realizes God is calling Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1b - In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.) and tells him to answer the Lord next time he speaks.

Somehow Samuel is "ministering before the Lord" and yet does not know or recognize the voice of God! Was Samuel ministering before the Lord, whatever that means, without knowing God? Is it necessary to know exactly what God wants to please Him?

So often I wonder what God wants me to do, I expect Him to have a clean plan laid out for me so that I know I'll be on the path He set out for me. It doesn't seem like Samuel (or most people in the OT) had this expectation. So much in the Old Testament the idea of relating to God on a personal level is reserved for the dozen incredible people we read about like David, Moses, Abraham, yet millions of Hebrews never heard the voice of God, never saw his glory. All they had to go on was what scripture had already been written and what they were taught by the priests. Yet most of the great people for God we read about sprang up from the general population so in some way the people must have been doing pretty well without God's direct voice.

People pleased God without being superstars. David found favor in God while David was still a shepherd. He wasn't doing amazing things but his heart was rooted in God and was for God's glory. He takes on a giant in full confidence because the man had insulted his God and he wasn't going to stand for it. God gets Samuel to anoint David the next king BEFORE all of that happened, David hadn't even proved himself yet.

Do I make a bigger deal out of needing to hear God's voice to please Him than I should? Does God care about me getting it exactly right or is He more interested in my desire to get it right?

Birthday Wisdom - 23

2009-02-14T00:58:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday! In FOCUS that means it's time for birthday wisdom!

God had shown me a bit of wisdom this last year that has quickly permeated my thoughts and decision making processes. In the last year God has taught me that His way is the best one and only one He will tolerate. These lessons came amidst times of joy and, because of my stubbornness, times of pain.

As it turns out, God knows what He's doing, a lot better than me actually, and it's a wise idea to follow His plans and abandon my own when the two don't match. I've found that it's easy to say that I trust God and that His will for us is best but it's much harder to act in a way that confirms those words.

There have been many times in the last year where I faced a fork in my life, a decision point. Standing at these forks I often see two paths. Off that way is the one I know, I’m familiar with it, I know what lies down that path with its challenges and rewards. That’s the comfortable path I want to take. Off this way is the other path. I’ve not traveled this one before; it looks steeper than that one, more difficult. I’m not even sure where this one goes… maybe a serene sunlit meadow or a damp cave, or over a cliff. This is of course the path I sense God saying to take. He wants me to venture into the unknown, untested territory of His will.

Thoughts flow through me –

“Is God really saying this way? I like that way though, I like where it leads. I can take God’s path next time, no big deal. Maybe I can try that path and if it doesn’t go well I’ll come back to this one. But how can I say God’s plan is best and knowingly take the other?”

God then throws in a helping thought –

“You’re mere words aren’t good enough to prove your faith, either you act in agreement with them or they are false sayings and yours is a false faith.”

That gave a good bit of clarity to the situation. Ignoring my rebellious mind, I chose God’s path. It was much more difficult than mine. I had to get Him to help me many more times than that path would have required. But I knew I hadn’t made a hypocrite of myself before God and that was important.

As it turns out, I was right. God’s way has proven far better than my own. Now when I meet the forks of life and find myself with a similar choice, I rejoice in the chance to again prove to God that I trust Him and will stake my future on Him. I will jump off a cliff if asked to, without looking back, because I know Him and know He has my best interests in mind and is trustworthy.

Anyone out there?

2009-02-08T19:56:00.001-08:00

Just checking to see if anyone still reads these. I'm planning on writing a few more in the near future. Leave a comment if you read this! :)

Coool

2008-04-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to talk to Dannye Welch today, one of the elders at the Northeast Church. Dannye is a guy I really respect and whose life I admire. He just does God. Serving God isn't some big struggle between himself and God. It seems to come naturally to him. He is super approachable, thinks everything is "coool," and leads the "redneck bible study" group full of bikers and truck drivers and all the people you wouldn't expect to be at a bible study. He does Christianity the way it was meant to be done, simple and real. Obviously I think Dannye is awesome and was really excited to get to talk to him and hear his ideas.

We talked about a lot of stuff but the main thing I want to share here is about our role as Christians (mainly in one-on-one studying) in connection with God and other people. I've learned -- especially through studying with people -- that I don't know much, don't have many of the answers, can't impart incredible wisdom, and can't do much of anything useful. Am I even necessary in this trinity between God, myself, and the other person?

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him...
John 6:44a

Ok so I can't bring anyone to Jesus, only God can do that. (So what good am I? Why am I here again?)

Paul wrote this:

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

1 Corinthians 3:6-9

Ok so God does the work of making it grow. But the one who plants and the one who waters still have a role to play. (Maybe(?) there's still hope for met yet!)

This was quite puzzling.

I know that somehow I have a key role in this three way relationship between God, myself, and the person I'm studying with, the question I've been pondering this whole semester is what exactly that role is... Apparently I can be a gardener for God, planting and watering, but what does that mean? God made the earth and the plants by Himself, He certainly doesn't need me to help Him make things grow, He can call them into existence. Back to being useless :(. There's something more though, it doesn't make sense but God chooses to use me (Christians) to reach out and touch other people. He used the apostles to spread the news about Jesus. He uses relationships to lead people to Him, somehow. People, for some unknown reason, are included in the equation.

Back to Dannye - I asked him about this. He said that God is always training us to be servants, from now until the day we die. The "coool" thing about it is that we just need to do what God tells us to and He takes care of the rest. If God wanted things to get done smoothly He could build robots which would be much more reliable than we humans. Luckily, God likes us for some reason and doesn't hold our flaws against us. That got me thinking, maybe God just wants us there for our warm-blooded, fleshy bodies (told ya I didn't have much wisdom to impart ;) ). Maybe He chooses to work through us because He wants to work through a PERSON. It's hard for people to relate to something they can't sense, even more so when they are being told that thing is a all-powerful deity that created everything. People can relate to people though. (Perhaps one of the reasons Jesus came...?) God Himself may not be visible to my friend but God can be seen in His servants (that's us). My sister can't touch God when she's crying but she can feel God's love in a hug from me.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
2 Corinthians 5:20a

So we get to play God! Not that we get to create stuff or punish/forgive sin, but we get to be His hands and feet! His tools to reach people! To my friend that doesn't know God, I am the closest they've come to God. That's a pretty big deal... *If people based their whole idea of God on me, what would their God be like? ...scary thought...* God doesn't send robots to do His work because He's a personal God so He uses people (now that's good news! I don't wanna be replaced by a robot). ...And I've lost my train of thought... Oh well, at least that's a good start to answering my questions and it means I'm not completely useless to God. :D

This is where my question first came from and how God's been teaching me about the answer:

I made a new friend this semester named Mahesh. He's the most encouraging, positive, energetic person I know; I love hanging out with him. He wanted to read the Bible together so I told him that would be great. He's from India and since I don't know much about Indian culture, I didn't know how I would go about explaining about God. We'd talked about it before and he had questions about the Holy Spirit and the trinity which I tried to answer but quickly noticed my explanations left something to be desired. If I can't explain these two things, how the heck am I going to explain Jesus? I decided (and felt God telling me) that since I didn't know what to say or do, I would leave that part up to God, I would let God do the talking Himself. With that plan we flipped over to the Gospel of John (I picked it because John's Gospel is quite useful for learning about Jesus) and just started reading. We read, he asked questions, I answered them as best I could, but I knew it wasn't my eloquent (not) answers that were going to show him God, it was God's Word that was doing the real work. God's Word was growing the fruit, which is fine by me, He can say it a lot better than I can. It's been great so far, we've both been learning a lot of "coool" things about God and life. Turns out "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," pretty sweet huh?

The "coool" thing is that even though I don't have much to offer, God doesn't need a whole lot. He did feed a few thousand people with a couple pieces of bread and fish (TWICE!). I don't have much to offer but like the little kid with the bread, when I do offer the little that I have, God can multiply it to as much as He needs it to be. Now that's freakin' awesome!

God's Promises

2008-03-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Joshua 21:45

Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

That's just awesome. And here I am worrying about whether what God said He would do is actually going to happen. I recently read Joshua and Judges. It's incredible how God watches over His people and goes out before them when they are following Him. (I guess that's one neat thing about following, it means God is always in front, going before us). Everything God does for Israel is meant to strengthen them and their relationship with God.

When they serve other gods, the Lord hands them over to their enemies to live in oppression until Israel turns back to God. Then He lifts up one man (or woman) to deliver Israel from their oppressors and peace is restored. God doesn't do that stuff to make the people happy (obviously being ruled by another nation wouldn't be described as a happy thing), but instead He does it to bring Israel to what is best, worshiping the One True God, their God, and living under His love and protection.

That gets me to thinking - God isn't so much concerned about my happiness. Not at all to say He doesn't want me to be happy, just that my happiness isn't on the top of His priority list. My relationship with Him IS at the top and consequently my relationships with others as well since He takes personally the way we treat others. Like with Israel, God is always at work deepening the intimacy between Him and I, whether that means covering me with blessings, sending me out as His ambassador, or even disciplining me, He is always at work for the best in my life.

Doing God's will and living under His lordship IS what is best for me. It is what will yield the greatest fruit in my life and give me the greatest joy. So maybe God is concerned about my happiness. Not in the sense that getting a new car will make me happy or having more stuff, this is just surface happiness. God is concerned about the long term, He's concerned about a much deeper happiness, contentment if you will. My heart can only be at peace when it is surrounded by the heart of God who is Peace and Love and Joy. By binding my heart to God, I rest it on someone who is unchanging, steadfast and constant. If my heart is rooted in God, nothing in this life, no force Satan can muster, can displace me from God because God is greater than the devil. Only in God can I find contentment, indeed that is what Paul says in

Philippians 4:11 - I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

So I will rest my heart on God's and set my life according to His will for I know that not one of all His good promises will fail, every one will be fulfilled.

Joys of YouTube

2008-03-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

So I recently discovered how to upload videos to youtube (in case you couldn't already tell). I like this one:

I got one of those big styrofoam airplanes in as a white elephant gift. The Chris's and I decided to go out and play with it. These clips are of it's last flights (obviously) and extensive repairs, in the form of packing tape, had already been made. Before we started filming the nose came off (I had it in my hoodie and put it back on before the final "flight"). The last throw wasn't meant to destroy the plane, I just wanted to see what would happen when I threw it upside down. Turns out planes explode when you throw them upside down... who knew???

Snow!

2008-03-05T08:30:00.001-08:00

So Texas has the strangest weather... We had a mild winter, I don't know that it even got below freezing but somehow it snowed in March. Not only that but the snow stuck!
Some of us went around Waterview attacking people's windows with snowballs and recruiting people to help attack other windows. We ended up in Phase 2 with about 15 people all chucking snow at each other. Another group of about 10 people showed up and started throwing snow at us so we warred with them for awhile too. It was pretty much awesome. And it's supposed to snow again tomorrow (the high today is 70...). WOOHOO!

As a bonus, here's a video of Chris and I tackling each other (with Corey filming) in the snow. It's taken with my phone so the quality isn't that hot but that's okay.

Agape Love

2008-02-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

When we talk about love, romantic love is the first thing that comes to mind. We think about feelings and emotions. Those are certainly good things to have but they also pose some issues. Feelings and emotions waver, they fluctuate like waves in the sea. When God talks about love he talks about something different.

The Greek language has 4 forms of love and the one God chooses to make the greatest is Agape. Agape love is a love of the will, it doesn't rely on feeling. It means I chose to do what's best for others no matter how I feel about them. It was traditionally the lowest form of love, that of a servant for the master, yet God calls it the greatest. Why?

I struggle with this concept. So my love for God is supposed to be this agape love, this love of the will. I get the advantages of a love of the will: it's consistent, manageable, means I can do what's right even when I feel crummy. I am certainly glad shows this love to me. My life would be a disaster if God withheld his love for me every time I screwed up. I have to wonder though, is that it? Isn't something missing?

I want to more than choose to love God; I want Him to dazzle me, to blow me away with His majesty and power. I want to be _in love_ with God. I want to want to be around Him, to talk to Him, to listen to Him, to just sit and gaze upon His beauty. I want to be drawn to Him in the same way I'm drawn to earthly beauty.

This concept _is_ supported in the scripture. Moses asks to see God and is given just a passing glance because God's majesty is too great. Scripture speaks of the beauty of God. A quick look at Song of Songs will reveal God loves us in more than a decisional way. Jesus and John shared a love unlike that of the other disciples.

So often Agape love seems so bland, what joy is there in it? I think I would have agreed with the Greeks in making it the lowest form of love. Is not the emotional high that eros, romantic, love gives a good thing?

Yes, of course it is and like all things it has its place. It's at this point that I'm supposed to divulge some great wisdom, some magical saying that neatly answers my struggle. Unfortunately I don't have any such wisdom to offer. I can't ignore God's claim of agape love being the highest yet I am perplexed by the lack of other examples of love to God (or at least I'm not aware of any). I think many forms of love can be expressed to God. I can't imagine wanting to be captivated by God to be a sin. Still, I am struck by how often we ignore the other forms of love for God to focus on agape. Perhaps it's because the other forms come to mind first and are natural while I would imagine most people have not contemplated a love of the will. Have we fallen out of balance in our love to God? Are we missing out on other forms of love for God? Or am I just not seeing something here?

The Wisdom of a 22 yr. old

2008-02-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

So today is my birthday and we have a tradition in FOCUS to share birthday wisdom -- something we've learned in the last year. Ryan had the brilliant idea to put my wisdom on here so I am.

I've been learning that God's way is the right way, not _just_ best but right too. So often I have an idea of the best way something could go or the perfect plan for how to do something but it doesn't always go that way and I tend to realize that my plan wasn't God's plan. There have been a couple things in the last year that haven't turned out how I would like. When that happens I figure there are two options, get depressed about it (which is commonly my reaction) or I can trust God to be in control and know that He will make the most of the situation. Obviously the second response is better but it isn't usually my first thought. I have however been learning to make it my first thought.

I know God is big and is in control, looking back on the Old Testament history I can clearly see God in control of what's going on and working things to bless those that love and serve him. The difficult part is learning to trust in Him and that His way IS the right way. I've slowly been learning to stop asking "God, why did you let this happen to me?" and instead ask "God, what are you going to do through this situation?" It's a lot more bearable to look for the good that can come out of a situation instead of focusing on the negatives.

I'm not saying I'm excited that things have gone contrary to what I would have liked but instead that I know I can trust God to do the right and best thing and that I have seen some blessings come out of the situations.

God is big, God is good, God knows what is best, God's ways are right, God loves me, God does what is right and best for me (even if I don't know/think it's right and best). What could possibly happen to get me down if I know that?

For Freedom's Sake

2008-02-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

I wrote this after reading the chapter about Jesus temptation in the desert in Phillip Yancey’s book The Jesus I Never Knew and was inspired to post it by Christa’s post. The situation is hypothetical but not unlike some I’ve been in before.

To the Atheist saying God doesn't exist: That's the beauty of it; you can say that! You can believe God doesn't exist, He chose to make it that way. God is determined to offer us complete freedom because that is the only way we can choose to love Him and He wants us to love Him most of all. You cannot force love; you can force obedience but not love. Here in the USA we believe in freedom above all else. Americans are free to express love for their country as many do by flying flags and serving in the armed forces. Americans are also free to express dislike for their country as well by burning flags or mocking politics through writing or on TV. The funny thing is, even the Americans that dislike the way things are still enjoy the benefits of their freedom. They like what their freedom allows them to do (mock the system that offers it to them). We see a stark contrast in communist countries where freedom is denied for the greater good. People in these countries are forced to obey the law of the land. What love can come out of this? Does the child with controlling parents seek his freedom from them or run to their arms? Surely we can see from college kids' response that they seek freedom. It is easiest to control, to apply a heavy hand because that way we can predict the outcome. The danger is in giving others a choice because they can choose to reject what is best, can chose to reject us. Our freedom invites love, it does not demand it.

It is with this insight that God chooses, even demands, to give us complete freedom. God seeks our love, not just our acknowledgement, not just our obedience. He could remove our freedom, set up His ultimate power on earth, demand our obedience; all of this is completely within His power. He made the universe, what isn't in His power to do? Surely it is even His right, as the creator of it all and only one worthy of any of it, to set up His commanding presence over it all, but He doesn't. He would rather give us the chance to love Him, to seek Him out and choose to follow Him than to force our hand. He even defends our freedom to deny Him. Satan offered Jesus the world, to be instant King of everything here, to be able to control everything and make everything right, but Jesus turned it down. Jesus chose our freedom over His control. It reminds me of Voltaire's conviction about freedom of speech - "I may not agree with what you say but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." Interestingly enough Jesus did defend our freedom to his death. He chose the cross rather than deny our freedom. He had the ability to come down from the cross. Even the people watching Him die acknowledge that with their jeers to save himself.

So Jesus defended our freedom to choose; we can acknowledge God and love Him or deny His existence and live our lives accordingly. That's the beauty of it isn't it? Our God isn't a ruthless and controlling God; He doesn't send lightning bolts to strike down the wicked; He doesn't treat humanity as his plaything. Our God is a god of love, compassion, and self sacrifice, one of self-restraint.

That's the funny thing though isn't it? It's God's self-restraint, His very character that non-christians enjoy when they claim God to be a lie. Seems like a crappy bargain for God, His greatest gesture of love for us gets interpreted as His absence but I guess God is no stranger to getting the bad end of the deal.

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Interview with Ronnie

2008-01-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

I got to have a long talk with Ronnie at camp (to the dismay of the other 3 people that wanted to talk with him too :P). He was on the top of my "Want to Interview" list so I'm very happy I caught him.

The other potential interviewee's are:

Danye Welch - I really love the way he leads a simple life for God and incorporates God into everything he does in a fluid manner. He just lives life for God, it looks so natural and I want to learn how to do that. I want to ask him about that.
Mark Mullings - Every time I see him he always has a smile on his face. We've never been formally introduced but he comes up to me at church and gives me a hug and asks how life's going. I guess he heard about me from Julie (his wife) after JAM Camp.
Kurt Rowe - He's the children's minister at NEC and I got to know him a little when I took over JAM on Sundays in July. He's a really neat guy with a huge heart for kids. I love kids and want to ask him about being a children's minister. I've been thinking of getting involved in that at some point in the future (whether near or far I'm not sure) but I'd like to know more about it.

So anyway, back to my talk with Ronnie.

The first question I asked him was what he though people need from God the most? He said that people just need God. God gives a sense of purpose, of security, and a feel for our worth. Every person has worth, we don't need to think we are valuable, we need to KNOW we are valuable. He said that was one of the greatest things people need from God.

I asked Ronnie what his favorite thing about God was (a weird question, I know). He thought for a bit and answered God's mercy and his briliiance in engineering the world. Not the answer I was expecting but still really cool.

Last semester was a rough one spiritually for me. I didn't felt distant from God and prayer was hard and awkward. I told Ronnie that and he asked me why I thought that was. I gave him a few speculations and he added that people go through seasons just like trees. There are times when our spiritual lives are full and lively, there are other times when it's winding down but can be beautiful (like Autumn), other times where it's dormant and looks like there is no life to it, and finally it blooms again with more life than ever. He said that maybe I was in the winter season (dormant). The thing to remember is that even though trees look dead in the winter, they aren't. They are still very much alive. I liked the analogy and it helped me get a better prespective on last semester. What's more is that this semester feels like Spring. The Experiencing God study has let God turn on a bunch of light bulbs in my head. I've also got to hang out with an Indian guy who is excited about God and the Bible and have had an amazing time with him trying to explain different things. He knows nothing about Christianity so in my talking with him I've had to reevaluate everything I try to explain and really think about why it's that way. I love it.

Another question I've been seeking an answer for and have asked many people so far is about the role of Jesus today. I've gotten many different answers, from I don't know to Lord of everything, and I wanted to get Ronnie's thoughts on the subject too so I asked. He answered that Jesus and God are one (along with the Holy Spirit). Jesus says that anyone who has seen the him has seen the Father. So anything that one of them does today all of them do. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to mankind after his ascent to heaven to act as counselor and to give us guidance of God's will. Surprisingly I hadn't received this answer from anyone yet. I'm still trying to put all the pieces together from the answers I've been given thus far, hopefully I'll come out with an answer eventually. I'm planning on asking the other people I interview as well.

We were talking about his past in ministry and the ups and downs and Ronnie said this, talking about God sending him to a dying congregation. "God often doesn't send us where we're winning, he sends His troops where we're getting our butts kicked." I thought that was pretty insightful and made a lot of sense. God doesn't need more people where everything's going well, the people already there are doing fine. God needs his warriors where Satan's winning, where lives are being lost. He sent Paul to the Gentiles because they did not know God and needed a guide. Jesus didn't come to the healthy but to the sick. God doesn't send us to the thriving peoples, he sends us where the people are hurting and need God. In this we can count ourselves as blessed, that God sends us where we can do great works for Him, where we can perservere in the face of adversity for his sake. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Whom to Please?

2008-01-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul says he is not trying to please men, He is trying to please God. Even trying to please men is not in line with being a servant of Christ. I don't think he means we should try to displease men but that if we are pleasing people without pleasing God our actions are fruitless, much like what he says about love in 1 Cor 13. I think Paul's contrast here is a good one to investigate in my life. Looking at the different things I do (good and bad) and looking at my motives and who I'm trying to please I can see that I wouldn't fall into Paul's "servant of Christ" category as often as I would like (even when including some of the "good" things I do). Peer pressure is a powerful tool and if used wisely can be extremely helpful. Many of the new things I try and times I step out of my comfort zone have been the result of positive peer pressure. It’s like an encouragement in the base sense of the word, to put courage in; I see some other people doing contact evangelism and enjoying it and I'm feel like I can do it too.

I'm glad for this kind of influence in my life because it has helped deepen my relationship with God. There is a danger to it though. I find that I am coaxed out of my comfort zone with a sense of thrill but once the new experience becomes more comfortable and loses that thrill my motives can change. What I once did because it helped bring myself or others to closer to God (pleasing God) I now do out of obligation, because others expect it of me (pleasing men). What was once a joy to do now becomes a chore. I feel like this with the Bible sometimes. For awhile I read over 15 chapters a day. I read from Genesis through Song of Songs in less than 3 months. It was exciting. I think the reason it was exciting was because I was experiencing God and doing it to please Him (God wants us to above all love Him and what better way to learn how to love Him than to learn about who He is?). I was reading because I wanted to, not because I felt obligated. These days it's like I'll do anything to distract myself from reading my Bible. I think I've somehow lost the idea that I'm to please God and have thought I need to please men (obligation). Instead of worrying about what is best for God (such a strange thought that we can do something for God) I've started worrying about what's best for those around me. I'm not saying doing what's best for them is wrong but I really should be doing what's best for God, everyone else is second to Him. What I need to do is alter my thinking, to quit trying to please those around me and instead seek to please God and this should flow out of love for Him and a joy to serve Him, not out of a sense of obligation, which is good because joy is a much better motivator for me than obligation.

This of course begs the question "What is best for God or what can I do to please Him?" to which there are many answers but leaving it at that doesn't really help anyone. A few scriptures I've thought of are: when Jesus says to take up our cross daily, that religion that God favors is to take care of widows and orphans in need, to sing praises to one another. Now to figure out what each of those look like in my life and relationship to God. Y'all have any more scriptures that relate to ways to please God?

A musing on where it all started

2008-01-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this is really long, I realize that. I don't expect everyone to read it but if you are bored and want to it's here for you. I wrote this for my cousin in regard to a question she asked me about the debate between evolution and creation, about God's role in it, and why I believe in God. I want to preface this saying I'm no expert on any of this and a lot of the experts' arguments are above my head. These are based on my thinking through what I know, talking with both Atheists and Christians, Creationist and Evolutionists, and building my ideas. I'm open to corrections and opposing ideas if you have some. Hope you enjoy this if you read it. :) (HI MICH!)

Ah, the very popular debate about evolution. It's always interesting how it turns into an Evolution vs Creation debate which somehow turns into an existence of God issue. I'm not exactly sure why. Anyway, I've got some non-standard ideas about the whole thing but I'll give you the default Christian stance on it and then tell you my own view. I can tell you that a lot of this stuff is well over my head but I have a basic understanding of most of it.

Christianity strongly argues the Creation stance of course. The creation argument comes from the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible. How God made the earth and life and all that in seven days. Creation and Evolution have been portrayed as opposites, neither allows for the other to be correct. This polarization has split the theories into two different camps, as you have noticed. Christianity that evolution is incorrect.

The idea of evolution is attributed to Charles Darwin who came up with the idea of survival of the fittest in his book The Origin of Species. Evolution argues that species have evolved traits that aid in their survival. Survival of the fittest basically means that species have mutated in different ways and the ways that help the animal survive have been continued on by offspring and the ways that didn't help caused those animals to die off. It is argued that evolution has progressed from single celled organisms all the way up to humans today. Evolution argues that everything happens by chance. Molecular bonds happen to be just right to hold together things that need to be but loose enough to be useful in other ways. That it's by chance that animals breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide while plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

Now for my point of view. I have issues with both theories. Some Biblical scholars believe the seven days of creation was seven actual 24 hour days. I find that very hard to believe and think science has strong evidence to support that that's not how it would work. I don't think God has to follow the laws of physics or science but he did make them so I don't know why he wouldn't choose to work through them. I think the way stars and life and all that form has a beautiful artistic quality to it. I don't think the way things work is an accident. I think the way elements that differ only in a proton or neutron can have vastly different properties is no accident. I don't think it's by chance that physics works beautifully on both the macro, universe level as well as the micro, biological level. I think the fact that science can give clear equations that describe how things interact shows that the way everything works could not have happened by chance. I couldn't figure out how to design something like an atom even if I tried and knew what I was going for, how could that possibly happen by accident? Surely I've got a better chance at getting that right than pure chance and yet there is no way I could do it.

I think science gives a glimpse and an understanding into the beautiful way God designed everything to work together. The way babies are conceived and grow is incredible (that it takes two of a species to produce a third). Instead of being a direct replica of the parent, two adults of the species genes are mixed to create the offspring so there is always something new in the baby. That's a great way to have it work.

That was a long tangent; back to whatever it is I was talking about. It makes more sense to me that the seven days description is more of a poetic description of the process. But in whether or not it was seven 24 hour days or not I still think God was behind it all. I believe the Bible gives enough information for us to believe and to know who God is. It isn't supposed to be a definitive guide to all of history, science, or whatever. While it doesn't give the answer to every question, I think it gives us a good glimpse of the answers to some of the more important questions like how to tell right from wrong, what our purpose is here, etc. The writers of the Bible did not have anywhere near the level of sophistication in science that we have and there are a lot of things we can explain today that would have been completely unknown to them. It would be unreasonable to expect them to write about detailed things that they had no concept of. They wrote to their level of understanding at the time and some of that understanding was probably pretty vague compared to today. It's not fair to contrast the scientific details in the Bible with those of today any more than it would be to claim in 1,000 years from now that our present understanding of science was trivial and incorrect. Science tries to explain the world around us as best as it can.

Evolution, though attributed to Darwin, wasn't thought of as a reasonable explanation by Darwin. He didn't think survival of the fittest explained how we get from monkeys to humans; he simply noticed a pattern in animal life at a micro level. I do think his hypothesis of survival of the fittest makes sense when applied on the micro level, species could develop a mutation that make it easier for them to survive and therefore would be more likely to continue on those traits. I don't understand how evolution can explain how different species are created and I don't understand how survival of the fittest could apply on a larger scale. I wonder, and I believe this is a popular argument against evolution, that if humans evolved from monkeys through Neanderthals or what not, what happened to the Neanderthals? If survival of the fittest works, shouldn't the Neanderthals still be around? Aren't they supposed to be "more fit" than the monkeys if they are the next step in the evolutionary process? Why are they gone and the monkeys still around? It's when evolution gets applied on a larger scale that I think it fails to solve some of the questions. It's not a complete theory. Even if evolution is correct, I don't think it and creation have to be completely disjoint. I don't see why God couldn't have used evolution. I don't see evolution as a counter argument to Creation; I think it could be another way creation might have worked.

As for a list of scientific reasons I believe in God… I think your teacher’s question is flawed. Why do the reasons have to be scientific? Science doesn’t hold all the answers, it once thought the earth was flat. Science is also not qualified to answer spiritual questions. Taken from dictionary.com – science is the systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation. Science is limited in what it can prove. It can’t even prove history. Science can’t prove Napoleon lived. We have historical documentation and accounts but there is no way to prove Napoleon lived through the methods of science. Science can’t prove my parents love me but I will swear on penalty of death that they do. God and spirituality aren’t areas where science can offer much help and it’s goofy to try to use science find answers to spiritual things. Anyway, here’s a list of reasons I believe in God that may or may not include scientific reasons.

· The other theories don’t offer good explanations about how life started or anything got here. The Big Bang idea that what was once nothing exploded and made something makes no sense to me.
· I’ve seen people’s lives changed in ways that I can’t explain any way besides through God. People in my church that we prayed for have been healed of cancer immediately where the doctor’s had no explanation.
· I can see in my own life how I’ve changed after really starting to seek after God. I used to be very shy, very quiet, didn’t really like being around people and had a small but close group of friends. I don’t think it was bad to be any of those things and I’m still quiet and shy sometimes but I’ve grown a lot in those things. I actually like people now and like being around them. I like meeting new people because I know I have something of immeasurable value to give them. I have a knowledge of and relationship with the God who loves me and them. God has lead me to the best friends I could ever asked for, helped me see more of the good than bad in things, and has really given me a greater purpose than to just exist and try to be happy doing it. I don’t have to base how I feel on my circumstances, which are external and outside my control. Through knowing God I can be content with life, even when bad stuff happens, because I know God is bigger than any problem I have and he loves me and always looks out for me.
· The Bible actually has thousands more preserved manuscripts than much classical literature today. I don’t have exact number but what I remember from a speech I heard was that the Bible has over 24,000 manuscripts of different sections of it that have been found. Books like the Iliad, the Odyssey, Socrates’ books, etc. all had less than a couple thousand, most only a few hundred. What’s more is that across the 24,000 manuscripts of the Bible in existence, none contain significant differences, meaning people haven’t added or subtracted from its content over the last several thousand years. We have more evidence of the validity of the Bible than any other book today.
· I can see that the wisdom given in the Bible provides better results than what we as humans instinctively think. Humans came up with the idea of an eye for an eye, punishing someone who does something wrong by doing it back to them, revenge in other words. That only makes the problem escalate and everyone ends up hurt. The Bible says to turn the other cheek, don’t hit back but do what’s right for the other person. So my sister used my toothpaste, that doesn’t mean I have to use hers or do something more destructive; the toothpaste isn’t even a big deal, but we find the injustice of the theft of toothpaste to qualify as grounds for harsher treatment. Retaliating only broadens the gap between my sister and me. Instead I can say “Hey, if you need to borrow some toothpaste you are welcome to, I’ve got some Listerine in the drawer too if you want that.” Instead of spreading the distance between us, I’ve brought us closer by offering her not only what she took but even more (another idea from the Bible “if a man asks you to walk a mile with him, go two.”). This way I’m not frustrated by the toothpaste and a negative situation has been made positive. It’s wisdom like this that I see as coming from a wiser being than what humans have put forth.
· The Old Testament has several things in it that were only “recently” discovered. The earth is a sphere; how to get rid of mold; don’t eat meat with blood in it, because it has disease; and several others.
· The question of whether Jesus actually existed was not put forth any time close to after his death. The non-Christian writers and politicians of the first few centuries AD did not deny Jesus existed but actually mention him in some of their writing. They didn’t believe him to be Son of God but they did say he existed.
· If for no other reason, I think the idea that there isn’t a God is harder to believe than that God does exist. I’ve heard it related that it takes more faith to be an Atheist than a Christian. Like I said earlier, when I look at the world around me, I don’t see a bunch of random occurrences and chance happenings but I see a beautifully crafted system in which everything fits tightly together and each piece is important to the whole. To me, the belief against God offers no good answers for purpose in life and how to define good from evil.

I have several Atheist friends whose friendship I have valued and I have discussed both my questions about their faith(?) as well as their questions about mine. I have not heard a compelling reason to change my belief that there is a God, that he loves me and you and everyone else, and that He sent Jesus to die to pay the cost of sin so that God could be with us.

Thanks for reading!

2008-01-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

We're only two days into the school semester and I'm already excited about everything! Have I told you how excited I am about camp? ;)

Each of the Linkfas have been given the objective to plan and execute some sort of outreach project for the whole FOCUS ministry. I've chosen to do a thank you letter writing project for the different academic school advisers. I learned of this opportunity after talking to some staff and faculty on campus about ways we could help out on campus. They said that registration time is a crazy and hectic time for the advising staff every year and that there isn't a lot of appreciation going around then. Obviously the advising staff has to work like mad to accommodate the 14,000+ students all trying to sign up for classes in a 3 week period. My proposal is to get a list of the advisers for each of the different schools and organize a night, perhaps after FOCUS or something, where we can spend some time writing quick thank you notes to all of them and then deliver the notes to the different offices around registration time.

The Linkfas have also been tasked to interview several people about their spiritual lives. Some of the people I would like to interview are Ronnie Worsham, Dannye Welch, and Mark Mullings from Northeast Church. I'd still like to find two more so bee on the lookout for an update!

Peace out Y'all!

Tada!

2007-12-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

El numero uno!