Stop Drinking Poison!

Things I have learned this Christmas Break, so far:

1) There is no greater relationship a person can have on earth than that with family.

2) Santa Claus isn't real.

3) Young married couples are very hospitable, but very nauseating using terms of endearment for each other like "Big Daddy" and "Sexy Momma" in front of everyone. (I love you James!)

4) You know you are getting older when your best Christmas present isn't a toy. (depressing)

5) A dog really is a man's best friend. They are always by your side even though you've already fed them...unlike Satan's creation the cat.

6) Apparently, I am going to live in Topeka for the rest of my life. (I took a quiz at www.findyourspot.com...Its pretty fun, you should try it!)

7) Ted Dekker is an amazing author...read him!

8) Losing to your Mom in picking who wins the NCAA football bowl games is very humbling....and embarrassing.

9) Boredom is an ever-present enemy waiting to take hold of you!

10) God is very patient.



Now I will admit that most of these things are pretty shallow but a couple of them have some depth to them. For instance, number nine is very true and real! Boredom is the best word to describe my Christmas break. Basically my days consist of waking up, watching college football, and reading. Here and There I have gotten out of the house to play some basketball or hang out at someone's house, but mostly it is just being by myself at home.

I just looked up boredom in my Macmillan Dictionary for Children and it says that it is the condition of being tired or restless by being uninteresting and dull. Someone once said that "Boredom is the deadliest poison." I could not agree with this statement more. Having been gulping this poison down for about 2 weeks now, I realized it is my own fault. How can I become "tired or restless" with this life God has given me. Of course there will be moments when we feel bored with things in this life, but we should NEVER be bored with our God-given lives. How can something as beautiful as life be considered "uninteresting and dull?" If we are dying from boredom, it is our own fault. There are many things we can do to make our lives full of purpose and anti-boredom. Instead of trying to entertain ourselves, we should strive to entertain others. This can come in many forms, but i think the best thing we can do is just to give other people our attention and focus by listening and talking to them. If we are bored with our own lives, then why not take the focus off of our own lives and try to dive into someone else's life? It sounds like a great cure to boredom to me, so lets stop drinking that deadly poison called boredom and live life!

Falling Bricks

Wow! I am hurting big time. I just got home from playing basketball at the church, and my knees are killing me! I had ACL surgery on my left knee about four years, but instead of fixing my ACL I think they just replaced my entire knee with one from a seventy-year-old. However, I can't blame my poor shooting tonight on my knee...that blame will go to the slippery gym floor. You could say i threw up a couple of "bricks." (I think thats gangster for a bad shot, but I will ask Jim later)

In life there are people you love, people you hate, and people you just put up with because you have to. Open Gym for Basketball at my church brings in a plethora of people. There are fifty-year-old man and there are teenagers. There are preachers and there are people who just got out of prison. There are Black people and White people. There are people easy to love and there are people how make it hard for you to like them. All of these people come together every Monday at Town and Country Christian Church to play basketball.

There are two particular people that play basketball who would be in the "people who make it hard for you to like them" category. All they do is whine about how they always get fouled, but they never foul anyone. Every time they get the ball, they either shoot it, or they drive to the basketball screaming "FOUL!" as they are going up to shoot. Tonight was particularly bad and annoying for these two guys. I finally had enough and whispered to a guy who used to be an elder, "I really don't like these guys." He replied with a quick, "Yea, me neither." As I walked to the other end of the court, it hit me like God had dropped a brick out of heaven to hit me right on my ignorant big head. These guys don't know Christ, and they are going to hell if they don't know Jesus. Open Gym on Monday night is not for me to come work on my jump shot and run up and down the court. It is a ministry to get them in the church, and then to bring them to Christ somehow.

Ironically, earlier today before basketball I went to lunch with David, Jim and one of my friends from K-State Rachel. We went to Subway, and all of us men got a 5 Dollar Foot long (I love those commercials)! Rachel wussed out and got a 6 inch, but I'm not holding that against her. Anyways, we sat in Subway for about 40 more minutes discussing discipleship and evangelism. It was an awesome conversation and great encouragement. Someone brought up the point that it isn't right how some people evangelize. Some people come off as door-to-door salesman trying to "sell" Jesus. Their motives are selfish and ignorant. They try to bring people to Christ because they feel like if they don't, God will strike them down with leprosy or something. We all came to the conclusion that loving God and loving people should be the only reason we try to evangelize. If we are not loving people, we become salespeople who try to sell a Savior.

How come I had a great discussion with my friends about loving people and bringing them to Christ, and then turn around six hours later talk about how I hate two guys who might be going to Hell because I am too lazy and apathetic to show them Jesus? I have no clue, but I am thankful that God had a brick handy to wake me up from my stupidity.

Hope Not Fatalism

I love my brothers! I can't think of anything better in life than staying up until one in the morning laughing, talking, and dancing with Jim and Sam. I don't know what I would do without them here. I would probably go crazy from boredom, and I would just end up hanging out with David all the time...So I just wanted to let you know how thankful I am for my bros!

Lately, I have been reading a book by Ted Dekker called Blink. It is a very good fiction book that intertwines the life of a Saudi Princess and a genius named Seth Border. I don't want to give too much of the book away because I recommend that you read it, but something from the book has really stuck out to me. The plot deals a lot with the future and the character's choices to change the future.

This idea of changing our future made me start thinking about how some people have a fatalistic view of their future. They believe that no matter what they do, their future is set in stone. I, for one, was once guilty of this way of thought. When I was younger I remember settling into the belief that I was a sinner and there was no changing it. I knew that a guy named Jesus with a last name Christ died for me and my sins, but I thought to myself, "Hey, I am a sinner and will always be a sinner. I shouldn't have to change anything because there is no use." O, how ignorant I was!

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:17, " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation the old has gone, the new has come!" God is love, and love does not force the issue of love. Therefore, God does not force us to love him. He gives us a choice. We have a choice to love God and become a new creation. If we choose God, our outlook on the future changes. We are no longer stuck in a cemented future mixed with agony and death.

So, can the future change with the choices made by an individual? Yes! So I encourage you to choose to become a new creation in Christ, and your future will be full of hope not fatalism.

Hindsight Only Favors Good Vision

Its that time of the year! Everyone is happy and excited about the Christmas season. People are buying gifts for their loved ones, and humming their favorite Christmas songs as they walk from class to class. Overall, its a very joyous time for people!

I want to be completely honest with you guys. It really hasn't been all that joyous for me lately. For those of you that know me best, I haven't been myself. I have been thinking about a lot of things, and I guess I just don't know how to express them. Confusion would probably best describe what I am thinking. I thought I had my whole life planned out. Everything I thought was going to happen is not going to happen. Things are going to be different.

Today, I was coming back from church with my two favorite people, David and Jim, and we were talking about what we were going to do this Winter Break. When asked if we were going to do something in particular, David laughingly quoted James 4 when he writes,

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

This got me thinking about what I have been doing lately. I have basically told God, okay this is what I am doing and when I am going to do it. Fortunately, God decided to shake up my life and plans. I am hurting now, because I decided to follow my own plans without pursuing his will.

The Classic Crime has a song that says, "Hindsight only favors good vision." I have had many people tell me that things are going to get better, but they are not in my spot. However, it is hard for me to see things getting better anytime soon...I don't have good vision right now.

Good vision is God's vision. Things ARE going to get better, if i pursue God's will for my life. I am trying to get better at this, and I am thankful for God's reminder. Through this rough time in my life, I am striving to come out with God's vision, not my own.

Would Jesus be a Christian?

Tonight was a pretty good night. I went to a KU basketball game in Kansas City, but they lost to Syracuse. Even though the Hawks didn't come up with the win, it was a great experience. There were a couple of drunk guys who got beat up by some cops. Another guy bought a $10 hot dog, and my little brother spent about 75% of the game staring at his cell phone texting random people, probably girls. Overall, the night was awesome. The atmosphere of 16,000 fans screaming and cheering for their respective teams is amazing and indescribable!

As I was laying in bed reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, a thought crossed my mind. It was more like a question than a thought, "Would Jesus be a Christian?" I know this questions is redundant, "Would Jesus follow Jesus?" But i think it is a question that needs to be addressed.

First, the term "Christian" should be defined. A Christian literally means a follower of Christ. There are great mature Christ-followers that i know. There are people like Robin Sigars, Bill Westling and Dave Kiger who i respect tremendously for their relationships with Christ. Unfortunately, there are people on the other side of the spectrum who have no business calling themselves Christians. I am not one to judge, and I am far from having a mature healthy relationship with Christ. But today in general most Christians in America can be categorized as nominal. They do not live out their faith. They are self-absorbed and live to please themselves. So how would most Americans define "Christian?" They see Christians as people who are normal people who live like everyone else, but they have religion in order to make their consciouses feel better.

So with this definition of "Christian", would Jesus be a Christian? NO WAY! Jesus did not teach self-absorption but self-abnegation, not selfishness but selflessness. So what can we do to change the definition so Christ would want to be part of his own following? I believe John the Baptist said it best, "He must become greater; I must become less." Before we can become selfless, we must first realize our lives do not belong to us. God has given us life, so we have no reason to go through life looking out for ourselves but for others. If God was human.....wait he was 2,000 years ago, and what was his life devoted to? It was devoted to helping others. Jesus became less in order for God to become great. So what kind of Christianity would Jesus belong? Christianity where selfishness does not exist, but true devotion to others.

Friends Will Never Leaf You Alone

Have you ever said yes to something without knowing completely what you are getting yourself into? Usually this doesn't happen to me, but yesterday was an exception. It started plainly enough. I got up early, so I could eat some bacon and eggs before my 7 o'clock class. As I walked through the breakfast line, the lady serving the eggs said that she had heard that i was looking to rake some leaves (the day before, I had asked Laverna, another cafe lady, if she needed her yard raked. I was looking for a service project my 8th grade guys small group could do, but she said she didn't have many leaves in her yard). With hesitation, I shook my head yes, and by the end of the conversation I had made a date to rake her yard that afternoon. Unfortunately, most of the guys in my small group wrestle for the school, so they couldn't help me...I was all by myself!

Later, I asked a couple of my friends if they could help, but they couldn't because they had too much homework to do. Then I thought to myself, I'll ask Blake Park...he is a hard worker and we are pretty close. Luckily, he said yes and by 2:15 we were on our way to 2611 S Oliver to rake this lady's yard. In my conversation with her that morning, she said her yard was kind of big, but nothing that a small group of guys couldn't handle. Blake and I pulled into her drive way and saw barely any leaves! We thought it was going to be a piece of cake, but we hadn't seen the back yard! As she took us around the house to the backyard, our eyes opened wide with fear of what laid before us: Several hundred square yards of leaves! To make matters worse, the rakes we were going to use were from the civil war era, my rake ended up giving me several splinters.

Blake and I looked at each other without saying a word and got to work. About twenty minutes later, I said, "Blake...my bad! I had no idea." He just shook his head with a smile and started raking again.

(The yard went past the shed.)

Blake is just one person I am grateful to have in my life. There are many others, and I thank God for those people he has placed in my life. These people build me up, and knock me down when I need it. They laugh with me and laugh at me, but no matter what...I know they love me. True friends will be by your side in the tough times. They will be there in the joyous times. But best of all, they will be there for you when you get into something that is way to big for you to handle all by yourself...like raking leaves!

Cutting in the Milk Line

School is beginning to wind down, and the school work is starting to slow down as well. I have four projects due Tuesday and Wednesday, but it will be smooth sailing after I turn those in for my classes.

Today I was getting some cereal in the cafe for dinner. I tried some cinnamon granola cereal which was surprisingly good and filling. As I went to pour some milk into my bowl, I realized I had cut right in front of somebody. Apologetically, I prompted her to go before me. She poured some milk into her glass, and as she walked away she said, "Thank you for acknowledging me." That statement blew me away.

As life gets tough and busy, it is really easy to focus on ourselves. School work piles up, and we start focusing on our tasks and our wants. We tend to block everyone else out. This evening with the girl i cut in front of, this truth hit me smack in the face. I have been told that I am really selfish, and there is no way getting around truth. But I want to be able to notice people in this world that never get anyone's attention. Jesus was great at this. He would often reach out to the outcasts, even if people judged him. For example, Jesus called a tax collector to become his disciple. Levi, the tax collector, was looked down upon by the Jewish people. He was not only a liar and a cheat (tax collectors often charged people more for taxes so they could pocket some of the money), but he was considered a traitor working for the Roman Empire. However, Jesus noticed Levi and brought him under his wing.

This world is a fast paced place where people can get lost in all the commotion. I urge you to take time and stop looking out for yourselves and realize people who are lost and lonely, because there are people who never receive love or attention.

Paul and Socialism

A couple days ago I posted a blog concerning the Christian community. I came to the conclusion that we are supposed to love everyone in order for real community to take place. Well, I was just doing some research for a paper in my 1 & 2 Thessalonians class, and my topic deals with idleness among Christians. Paul writes,

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

I have always been opposed to the idea of stealing money from the wealthy and giving to the poor. I know Robin Hood's motives were good, but in today's society, I have felt like people get what they deserve. If they don't have money, it is because they don't work hard enough. When I first read this passage in 2 Thessalonians 3, I felt like my viewpoint was correct, but i started looking at what Paul is actually saying, and I have come to a conclusion...I have been wrong all these years!

Earlier in his letter, Paul taught the Thessalonians to be generous with those who have need. He didn't require them to sell their houses and lands (as in Acts 4), but he did require the church to be committed to sharing with those who needed help. Each member should work at whatever occupation they could, so as to contribute to the welfare of all; and all should care for each...Does this sound like something to you? It did to me! SOCIALISM!! AHHH! Everyone is scared to death right now, because they believe Obama is trying push socialism into the American economy, but is really that bad? Paul seemed to be a fan of everyone contributing to the needs of the community.

Is this a bad thing? Not at all! The early church was committed to working for the community. In a perfect world, socialism would be great. Unfortunately, there are people like Paul talks about in 2 Thessalonians. These people are do nothing, and they feed off of the generosity of other people. In today's context, there are many people in the United States who cannot afford health insurance, because they honestly have no way of paying for it. For instance, Jayne told me the other day of a mom who had three kids. She works a couple of jobs, but still does not have the funds to pay for medical insurance. What would happen to her in the first century church? Believers would help pay for her insurance, so her children do not die from a sickness that easily could be cured through antibiotics.

Ashamedly, I have been a fan of not giving free health insurance to people, because it might mean i won't be able to go to Taco Bell three times a week or buy those new pair of shoes for myself. I also thought that a lot of people would take advantage of the system, and this will happen no matter what as Paul talks about in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-15. But is it not better to help the majority of people who honestly need help, than to not give them support so that the small minority of "do-nothingers" will not take advantage of the generosity?

What I guess I am trying to say is that Paul promotes the welfare of the community before promoting personal gain. Socialism would work in an utopia, but we do not live in a perfect place. When Christ died on the Cross, he knew people would take advantage of his grace, but he still died. So we too must die to ourselves fully knowing people will take advantage of us.

Community is spelled L-O-V-E

Today is Saturday, and you know what that means....COLLEGE FOOTBALL. Today I am rockin' the Faux Hawk for the Jayhawks. Their football game isn't on TV today. It is only on pay-per-view, so me and and a couple guys are going over to a Doctor's house to watch it on a Big-Screen TV! Prediction for the game: Jayhawks 35, Nebraska 24.


Last Sunday I had the opportunity to preach at my home congregation in Topeka, Kansas. It was a great experience. The best thing about the whole situation was not that I made it through the entire sermon without peeing my pants or running off stage from embarrassment, but it was the encouragement and support that people were giving me.

For example, minutes before I was to go on stage, Bill Westling put his hand on my shoulder and prayed for me. Bill is one of the greatest Christian men I have in my life. His example and the heart he has for Jesus really shows me what a man of God looks like. Bill was my Junior High Sunday School teacher, and will always be my friend.

The night before my sermon, I received a text message from Josh Reed, a friend from school. He simply wrote, "throw down tomorrow Chuck." Just to know that people were thinking about me made me realize how many people care about me. Josh is a great guy, and I know he will do awesome things in ministry, because he has a heart for people.

There were many other people supporting me through the entire situation. Jayne sat through my sermon a couple times as I practiced it in the Sanctuary Saturday afternoon. She also came to both services, so I would always have someone by my side when I got off stage. I love her, and I am so excited to see her heart for lost people, especially for teenage girls. She is a blessing, and I am thankful for God placing her in my life.

I tell you all of this to say that I am amazed when Christ's Body functions as it is supposed to. The Christian community is supposed to establish an environment where love and care thrive. In Acts 4, we find the early church sharing everything they had so that there were no needy persons among them. From the very beginning, the foundation of the Christian community was love. They loved each other through their generosity, and the people I talked about earlier loved me through caring and encouragement. My question to you is...How are you loving Christ's body?

Being a Patient of Patience

I wrote this a year and a half ago at a church camp. I was a counselor for the 5th and 6th grade week of camp, and I wrote this early one morning.


Patience...something I have not really had to deal with in my life. Sometime I have trouble being patient with people or objects, but for the most part I can be patient. Lately, patience is something I have been lacking. Here at 5th and 6th grade camp, I have met some great kids! CJ loves God and wants everyone around him to feel good about themselves. Just yesterday a couple of kids, including CJ, and I were playing Slap Jack. The game ended with one boy never slapping a Jack, and I didn't think much of it. As everyone walked away from the table, the little boy stayed in his seat with his head down. CJ noticed he was upset so he took the deck of Cards and found a Jack. He flipped the Jack over on the table, and said, "Here! Here! Its a Jack!" The boy raised his head with a huge grin on his face, and he slapped the Jack as hard as he could.
There are many other kids like that here at Camp Solomon. It is the other types of kids that push my patience. Everything was fine until Tuesday morning. I woke up about an hour before the kids so I could take a hot shower. All of the kids had taken a shower the night before, so I had plenty of time and HOT water! As I walked to the bathroom, I saw a sign on the entrance of the men's restroom that read, "NO SHOWERS TODAY." I couldn't believe it, and I went to go see the man in charge of the camp grounds. He told me that a water line had busted so their 500 gallon tank of water that supplied the camp was empty. That lovely piece of information did not make me very happy to say the least! I was ried, sticky from sweat a day old, and now they have the nerve to tell me I can't take a shower?! AAHHH! My patience was beginning to thin. To make matters worse, I forgot to bring my phone charger, and my phone had just died.
So back to the word I started out with...Patience. It is something I will need in the future for sure, But I wished I had it now. Ironic? Its very funny becuase i want something so bad but I'm not trying to make myself learn patience by just wanting it. This is a good saying, "If you want to learn something, all you have really done is learned to want." If i want to receive patience, I need to practice everyday...even if it means I have to go two days without a shower!


Its been a while since I have written this, but I still struggle with patience. Patience is a lifelong process that I'm trying to achieve. I need to be more patient with my fellow man, because God is every so patient with me.

Pain in Vain.

This semester has been a good semester so far...a lot of laughs. Just to point out one example, in Personal Evangelism class we are watching a video on Evangelism. Evangelism is no laughing matter. But when coupled with poor acting and mullets galore, bringing people to Christ is hilarious!! This class is also at 7:00 in the morning, so that also aides to the comedy. There are plenty of other things that have produced laughs this semester, but I will save those for another post.

But on a serious note...Have you ever heard that someone "died in vain?" Some movies include this phrase. The characters will say something like, "Don't let him die in vain!" Basically, they don't want the person that died to die for no reason. Everyone wants to die a noble death. I don't know of anyone who wants to die knowing that they died for nothing.

A good example of this is seen in the movie Saving Private Ryan. A group of men are sent on a mission during WWII to find Private Ryan and bring him home to his mother who has already lost her other sons in the war. Unfortunately, a few men die along the way to rescuing Ryan. Sometime into their mission, a few soldiers want to quit and go home because the mission seemed impossible. John Miller (Tom Hanks) tells them that they cannot quit or else their friends who died would have all died in vain.

Luckily, the squadron finds Private Ryan and takes him back to his mother in the United States. I know of another man who died not knowing if he was going to die in vain or not. When Jesus was on the cross, he knew he was taking on the sins of all humanity. Romans 5:6 says, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." The Godly died for the ungodly. The Creator was crucified for the created.

As I was meditating during Communion last Sunday a thought popped into my mind, "Did Jesus die in vain?" A better way to ask that question is, "Did Jesus die for people who would not accept his love?" It just shocks me that Jesus would die not really knowing if anyone would accept his free gift. He trusted God, and by obedience allowed himself to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. I guess you could say that Jesus did die in vain in some people's perspective, because they ignore His grace. Even though these people will not accept Jesus' crucifixion, he still died for them just for the chance that they might call him their Savior.

So did Jesus die in vain? Absolutely Not! He has graciously saved me, a disgusting sinner, and for that i am so grateful.
Thank you God for crucifying your son on the cross. Your love is outstanding, courageous, and powerful. I will not let your pain be in vain.
Amen.

And the Winner is......

Okay. It has been a while since I have written in my blog, and I am sorry for the two of you the actually read this thing.

It is Saturday, a.k.a. College Football Gameday, and there have been some amazing upsets so far this week. The #1 team in the nation, USC, lost to the unranked Oregon State Beavers on Thursday. The #4 Florida Gators lost to Ole Miss, and even the #9 Wisconsin Badgers lost to Michigan. I guess you could say that it was a weekend of upsets in the college football world.

These unranked teams that have beaten ranked quality football teams are called "sleeper teams." No one knows they are going to win. They catch the other team metaphorically "sleeping," and end up beating them. These teams are what make college football exciting.

But on a serious note...some people believe that Christianity is a lost cause, a team that won't win. It is just a religion of "do's and do not's." Christianity is not relevant with today's culture. It is for people who are weak and have nothing else to do with their lives. But let me tell you this stereotype is wrong! We, Christians, are not a people who live with a lost cause. Its a religion of love and spiritual warfare. The truths of the Bible are timeless principles. And Christians are warriors fighting in the trenches of saving souls. Christianity is not a weak man's religion.

I guess you could say that Christianity is a "sleeper team." People believe that this way of life Christians are called to follow is futile. It all comes to nothing in the end. No one can beat death. But let me tell you, Christians, we will beat death, because our Lord and Savior defeated death almost 2,00o years ago. We already know the outcome of this life and its not death. Even Satan knows Christ is going to reign over the earth victorious, but he wants to take us down with him. One of Satan's greatest lies is that we can't beat death. People think they have sinned too much that they have gotten too far away form God's grace...thats not true at all!! We are winning this battle. We are going to win. Thank God Almighty for counting me worthy enough to play on his team, the "sleeper team."

Hallelujah, Its Morning!

I hate morning people. There is no reason for people to be as happy as some are in the morning. Yes, of course God has made the day and all is good, but don't be so happy that it becomes annoying. Its like morning people know you don't want to be bothered, so they attack you with a, "HEY CHARLIE! HOW ARE YOU?" with a huge smile on their face. They know exactly how I'm doing...tired! They probably think I am mean, but all i do is look at them and continue brushing my teeth. Morning people are actually the ones being mean trying to shove their happiness on me...what are they thinking?!

For those of you that know me best, I'm not only a negative person in the morning but also when it comes to life in general. I guess the official term would be "pessimistic." I say that the nice cold glass of chocolate milk is half empty, not half full. If you ask me an outcome to a KU football game that will be a good match-up, I will probably say they will lose. Why? Because if they do lose, I was right, and if they win I am happy. In either cases its a win/win situation. Pessimism is the way for me!

But on a serious note, no one should allow pessimism to rule their life. Paul tells a young preacher named Titus about "the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time." Why should I look at life in a pessimistic way if what is promised to me is eternal life?! I shouldn't and neither should you. The God of eternity has promised eternity to us.

Today in Youth Ministry class, we talked about the ways people look at the world. Some view it with false optimism. They look at the world and all the evil. They say, "Don't worry, everything is going to be just fine. it will all work out." And so the people who say this don't do anything. They just hope things will get better. But they don't. Another view of the world and its state is habitual pessimism. They look at the world and say, "Things are terrible. It's so bad that there is nothing we can do about it." These people who say this don't do anything either. They forfeit any influence they could have had because they see it as a lost cause. Both of these views do nothing to change the world. They sit their and hope or complain.

However, there is something we can do! We can tell them of the hope we have in Christ. The benefits of being a Christian is awesome! Love, peace, and eternal life. Of course, the Christian life is not all peachy. Jesus didn't promise a perfect life, but its benefits totally out weigh the setbacks. We need to change the world that is crying out for help. Death is not the end of existence, and we need to let people know! We have hope in eternal life with our God. So is Pessimism a valid way to live? No Way! Will I start being nice to those "Morning People" in the morning? Never!

A Cookie-cutter Lifestyle

I love my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies! If you guys remember the old TV show Rugrats, than you will remember Angelica. She was obsessed with cookies, so if i could compare myself to any nickelodeon cartoon character, it would be Angelica. I'm usually not around when my mom bakes the cookies, but I'm almost certain of the steps to cook them. You throw some ingredients together in a bowl, and then roll up the dough and put it on the cookie sheet. Let them cook in the oven for like 12 minutes and ta da, a sheet of awesomeness.

My mom doesn't use special cookie cutters to make pretty shapes out of the cookie dough. All she does is roll the dough up into a ball and cook them. I don't see any reason to make something look attractive before I devour it.Don't get me wrong. I don't hate cookies that have been cut into particular shapes for appeal. I actually like the idea. I think i am just to lazy to ever form my cookies in a particular shape (actually, I'm to lazy to even bake cookies, so I leave that to my mom).

But on a serious note...I thought about those Christmas tree-shaped cookies everyone eats on Christmas, and how before they were made, the cookie dough was pressed through a certain mold to reach a certain outcome. In this case, the mold was a cookie cutter and the outcome was a Tannenbaum. Jesus tells us that our lives need to go through a mold in order to reach the outcome Christ calls us to. This mold is no holiday symbol, but a cross. The outcome is a mature follower of Jesus. Mark 8:34 says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." The cross is no longer a symbol of our religion but a lifestyle.

I will be the first to admit that my life does not always follow the way of the cross. In fact, most of the time I decide to use the world as the pattern for my life. It's easier and usually benefits me. A lifestyle mimicking Jesus' path to the cross is not easy...it is difficult. Being shaped by the cross never benefits me...it benefits others and the kingdom. This lifestyle when correctly lived out results in death. But if I truly die to myself, I will receive life and I KNOW that eternal life is better than my momma's cookies!

Peter, James and John are college athletes?!

Everybody has something in their life that brings them enjoyment. Some people enjoy watching birds early in the morning. Taking a walk on a nice spring day makes some people smile. Still others somehow find enjoyment reading the Harry Potter books. For me...watching college football is the apex of good ol' fashion fun.

What could be better than athletes giving all their energy and heart for the satisfaction of victory? When I watch college football, I smile. It is amazing to watch someone perform the sport with perfection. I think the reason I am so infatuated with college football is the simple reason: they can do what I can't. Thats the reason so many kids love a man who has super strength, can fly, and wears spandex. Superman can do everything a young boy can only dream about. It is a thing of beauty when a quarterback executes a perfect pass to a wide receiver streaking down the sideline or when a linebacker stuffs a running back on the one-yard-line on fourth and goal. I love college football.

Lately, I have had the 12 Apostles on my mind. I am in my third year of Bible College training. The Apostles were with Jesus for three years before he was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to Heaven. They basically had three intense years of learning with Jesus. I am in the same boat as the Apostles, but will I be ready after my schooling to lead God's people, particularly the youth? The Apostles stepped up to the challenge as shown at Pentecost.

Just as I admire college football athletes, I admire the 12 Apostles and their work for the kingdom. But I shouldn't admire them because they did what i cannot. Sometimes I get in the mindset that I won't be able to do great things for God like the Twelve, but i know that with perseverance, hard work, and LOTS of prayer I one day will be able to be a shepherd to a lost flock. Peter, James, and John were great men, but they aren't college football athletes...they were just men who were willing to be used by God.

By the way, the Kansas Jayhawk football team is 1-0 baby! Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU!

Pressure=Creation

God didn't create the world because he felt pressured into it from the other two members of the Trinity, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He created the world, so he could have a relationship with all of us. Unfortunately, I'm not embarking on my blogging career because i want to a have a deep personal relationship with anyone who reads my blog. In fact, pressure is why I created this beast.

The other night in the student center, a couple of people said they thought it would be interesting to read what goes on inside my head. So they urged me to make a blog and write about my thoughts. This blog's title, "But On A Serious Note...", basically explains what I am going to be writing about. Lately I have found that people do not take me seriously, and this is my own fault. For those of you who know me well, you know i can act kind of childish from time to time. Maybe this takes the form of saying inappropriate things while playing cards, or just not wearing enough clothing in the dorms. I want to become a leader not only on my dorm floor but also in my faith, and for me to become a leader I need to start being a little more serious about things. So even though i can be a little immature, I do have a serious side.

So thanks to David and Caitlyn, you all get to read what I'm thinking. I hope you all enjoy what I have to say, and leave me a comment to know what you guys think. I'm heading to bed now because i have to get up early for breakfast....its biscuit and gravy day.