A Pick-Me-Up Monday

I love Jr. High students. Yes, they sometimes don't wear deodorant and they forget to shower regularly. Yes, they can be very awkward. And yes, their small attention span makes it hard to keep their attention longer than 30 seconds.....but....I love them! I don't know why God has wired me this way, but I'm glad He did.

We had our kickoff for fall programming yesterday, and it was awesome! There was a lot of energy and a lot of students! We had a biggest crowd ever, the students were excited to be back at LIFT. Cody (the youth pastor) and I decided to start the year of with a little bit of vision casting for our students and what we want our student ministry to be about this year. As we thought about what to name our series, the term WEIRD came up. It just seemed perfect for our students and what we want to accomplish. We want to create an environment where students can come and feel like they belong. The way we presented it to our students is that the normal thing to do in life is to surround yourself with people just like you and can offer you something in return. The weird thing is to let everyone in your circle of friends no matter who they are!

Yesterday after I was able to talk to our students about this idea of us being "Weird," we had them break out into groups and come up with ideas to make new students feel welcome in LIFT. We gave each group a poster board and a sharpie and told them to write down their ideas....and here is a list of things we got from them....I guess this is what we get for giving middle schoolers a sharpie and blank poster board. Remember, these ideas were supposed to make students feel welcome at LIFT.

- Say “Ello’ Governor” and run over them with a British taxi.

- Throw them out a window.

- Creepily stare until they talk.

- Beat the living snot out of them

- Taco

- Hold their hand

Now if these were the only ideas we got from our students, I would say we would be in big trouble (and so would anybody who decided to visit LIFT), but these were the minority. I just had to write them down because they made me laugh! I have another list about 5 times bigger with great ideas about making first time visitors feel like they belong.

Its a Monday, and so that means you just try to get through it the best you can because they drag on forever! I hope this helps a little and gives you a quick laugh like it gave me. Love you guys!

Shunned by a Sixth Grader

Last Sunday was our last Jr. High program for the summer. We tried something a little different than last year with our middle school students. Last year, we canceled programming altogether to give our leaders a break, but this year we decided to just do a scaled down version of our regular program. We didn't have worship or small groups. All we did was play a couple of games, taught a lesson, took communion, and did some group discussions. We called this summer program LIFT Remix. From an outside perspective, someone might think that Remix failed, because we only had about 50% of our students attend. But to be honest I thought it went pretty well!

Even though our number of students were down, we had several new students that started attending during the summer. That isn't the weird thing...the weird thing was that they kept coming back! Our usual students were doing a great job of befriending new comers and it was really cool to see.

I tell you all of this because we had one student our last week named Moses or Mo for short. He was a shorter kid and didn't talk very much. He was probably the youngest student we had there that Sunday because he hadn't moved up to 6th grade yet, but he still came. I tried to connect with him by asking his name, what school he went to, and if he knew anyone at Remix. Quietly he said no, and then just walked away. During Remix we had a time where we wanted all of our students to stand up and high-five ten people. As I was going around high-fiving like a mad man, I saw Mo so I went straight for him. I lifted my hand in the air...I had perfect high-five form and said, "Hey Mo! Give me some!" He looked straight at me and turned around and walked away. He shunned me in front of everyone. I was standing on stage when this happened and everyone saw a tiny tween totally ignore me....how did I recover? I stood there with a blank look on my face and then realized what I looked like. I shook it off and said to the other students, "Eh...that happens sometimes." We laughed about it and moved on.

I always tell people the reason I love Jr. High ministry is because even though I'm weird they still think I'm cool. The other day, I felt like the most uncool person in the world when Mo shunned me in front of everyone. Later I tried talking to Mo but he never opened up...but I didn't give up. I kept prying and prying for him to just talk with him. I really hope I didn't come off really creepy and annoying but I just wanted him to feel like he belonged. After about 10 minutes he finally said something to me, but what he said took me by surprise. I always thought that some students were just "loners" (students who go off by themselves and they don't like being in social circles. They like to be alone) and they liked being that way. Mo was a typical "loner." You could see it from a mile away, but what he said threw me. After playing some air hockey with him, he looked up to me and said, "I hate being the new guy." Then he did his usual and just walked away.

It killed me when I heard those words. This semester in our ministry we are making a big push for our students to make people like Mo feel welcomed and like they aren't just "the new guy." In Ephesians, Paul talks about how Christians have been adopted in God's family, and in a family people are (well they are supposed to be) loved and a part of something bigger than themselves.

This is kind of a random post, but it is just something that has been on my mind so I thought I'd share it with you guys. I guess the question for us is, "Are we making people feel like they belong in the family?" Who is your Mo that feels like "the new guy"?

The Answer

I know when you first saw the title of my blog you thought I was going to write an in-depth article on Allen Iverson, the former basketball player. But if I were to write about Iverson, I would title it, "Practice?" Or maybe you thought I was going to write about our nation's debt problem and my 7-step solution to recover 60% of our losses. Perhaps for you "The Answer" was going to be a blog post about a dieting program for those of us who still like to eat our sweets. Unfortunately none of the above will be discussed here, but I'm going to be talking about Batman and Robin...you know...scholarly stuff.

My whole life I have always felt like the second person. I've felt like a back-up. Being the oldest child in my family, I'm supposed to be pretty outgoing and have a lot of leadership qualities, but I'm not that way. In fact, my brother, who is one year younger than me, possesses all of those qualities. In high school, I was literally the back-up. I was second string quarterback my entire varsity career.

When I was in college, I lived in a dorm on a floor with about 30 other guys. It was great part of my life that I'll never forget. I loved those guys! One time some of us guys were hanging out in someone's dorm room, and the question came up, "If we lived in the wild west, what would each guy on the floor be?" For instance, we decided that Eric would have been the sheriff. Robert would have been the cool barber that everyone knew but didn't want to get on his bad side because he always held a razor so close to your neck. When I asked who I would be, they all laughed and agreed that I would be the boy in town that always wanted to join the fight but was always told no because I was too young.

Another time my buddies and I were talking about what each guy on our dorm floor would be if they were a superhero. Some guys were superman others were spiderman or the Green Lantern. I piped up and said i would be Batman, but they also didn't agree and said I would be Robin instead...I would be the sidekick. I've always felt like I should be the sidekick or the back-up, but to be honest with you I hated it. I wanted to be the star. I wanted to be the sheriff. I wanted to be the answer.

I think I have taken the same mentality into ministry. Because of how people have always viewed me as the sidekick, I have wanted to do better and be better. I've wanted to be the student minister that was fun and outgoing. I wanted to preach great sermons and be so good relationally with students that they would come flocking to me. I wanted to be their answer.

A couple of weeks ago we took our high school students to Panama City, Florida for a week-long conference. It was great. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach, got a tan (well I got pretty sunburnt), and learned about some godly men and women in the Bible. Christine and I were in charge of a small group of students the whole week. Basically, we were with them for about an hour each morning. That time was a time to get to know our students and to be able to teach them some different stuff. As the week progressed, I started to get really frustrated because we hadn't seen any fruit from our students. They would all just nod their heads in group and talk every once in a while. Don't get me wrong, our students were amazing, but for some reason I didn't feel like it was clicking with them. Right away I concluded that I was doing a horrible job at teaching them or not pouring into them enough...I wasn't being the answer.

On the second to last night, we had worship on the beach. It was dark outside and you could see hundreds of stars in the night sky. There was a couple playing guitar and singing worship songs, and it was just an awesome time to worship God. When Christine and I went down to the beach we just walked. After a while I started letting everything come out. I told her all about how I felt like I failed the students and that I wasn't enough. Christine did what she always does...she listened to me and then encouraged me. She reminded me that I am not the answer to the student's problems. I am not the answer. I let that sink in for a while...and to be honest...I felt like I was set free. For a long time I always tried to be the the funniest guy or the most welcoming guy thinking that if a student didn't connect it was my fault...all of the burden was on my shoulders.

I sat there in the sand next to Christine just talking about how we aren't the answer. Yes, God chooses to use us, but we can't expect to be the answer to all the students problems because we will come up short every time. Because I've always dealt with the problem of being second or being the sidekick, I started to tell myself that I needed to be THE one, but what I didn't know is that I was trying to take the place of the One.

That night on the beach was great for me, and the next day God showed me how he has a funny sense of humor. The very next morning after the night on the beach, a student in my small group came up to me and said he wanted to get baptized! I sat there and talked to him about it for a while, and then I asked if he wanted to pray. First you need to understand that this student is a great guy! He is a lot of fun and easy to talk to, but he isn't big on praying in front of people (which is a lot of students). When he bowed his head and started talking to God, I sat there in awe. He was praying one of the most heart felt prayers I had ever heard in my life. His prayer was so authentic and so real. And the truth is......it wasn't because of me. It was all because of what God was doing in his life. Later that day I was able to baptize Hayden with his friend Chandler, who first invited Hayden to come to our church.

So am I willing to be a sidekick for the creator of the Universe? Oh yea. God can do everything, and I can do nothing without Him. I am not the answer but He is The Answer.

Freedom isn't Free

Freedom is a great thing. Freedom is being able to do what you want when you want. Of course there are some exceptions. I can't go kill some right now because I have an itching for murder. There are certain laws of the land to keep order and safety for the people. But Freedom...freedom is something people die for. Martin Luther King wanted African Americans to have the same freedom and rights as white people. He ended up being killed for the freedom he so eagerly sought. King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 men died at Thermopylae to protect the freedom of his people from King Xerxes and the Persian Empire. There is story after story of men and women giving up their life because they want to attain and maintain freedom.

In the United States, the word Freedom is thrown around like a frisbee in a park. Everyone talks about it, but we really don't understand the meaning. We don't feel the significance. I say "WE" because I struggle with this just like anyone else. Now I know there are some people out there who know and feel freedom because they have had a loved one die overseas trying to maintain our freedom, and I want to say a huge thanks! There are also some people who have had a family member or friend die here on our soil because they were upholding our freedom as a policeman or fireman. I think you guys understand freedom a lot more than we do. I tell you all of this because I think Freedom is worth dying for.

Today I'm celebrating Freedom on two levels. First I'm celebrating the United States' Independence day, and our victory over Great Britain to become a Free country! But secondly, and most importantly, I'm celebrating my freedom from death! On July 4th, 1999 I decided to get baptized. I have officially become a Christian for half of my life...12 years, and I can say that I am free because Jesus thought that I was important enough to die for. He thought my Freedom was worth dying for.

Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Jesus thought it was important enough for us to be free from death and sin that he died for us. I think the next verse is really cool too which says, "Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Paul is telling us that Jesus has set us free, so don't go back to death and sin (living your old way of life). This sounds crazy to us. Why would anyone go back to being a slave after being free? But we do it everyday. In the Old Testament, the Israelites lived in the land of Egypt for 430 years, and for most of that time they were the Egyptians' slaves. They worked tirelessly for the Pharaoh. It was so bad that the Israelites cried out to God and asked for Freedom. God heard their prayers and sent Moses to set them free. After some time and plagues, the Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites free. The people of Israel were no longer slaves, but they were free! But after time passes and the Israelites are traveling through the desert we hear them crying out to Moses, "Let us go back to Egypt!!" Tough times had landed on the Israelites, and they were hungry and thirsty, so they wanted to go back into the life of slavery. Crazy! So Paul tell us..."stand firm and do not become slaves again!"

Another passage jumps out to me when I start thinking about freedom and dying. It is Philippians 1:21 which says, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." One of the hardest things to do in a Christian's life is to die everyday to self and to live for Christ. This means saying "no" to your own personal wants and pleasures and saying "yes" to freedom in Christ. And let me tell you something really cool...when you die to to yourself, you gain freedom! You gain a freedom from carrying your burdens all by yourself. You gain a freedom from living this life without a purpose. You gain a freedom from death!!!!! If we die to ourselves on this earth, we get to live free forever with Jesus! Freedom will be worth dying for.

So today as I sit here writing this I am so happy for my freedom as an American Citizen, but I'm reminded of a greater freedom that I have found in Christ. This freedom isn't free...it cost Jesus His life, and it costs us our own personal desires and wants. But I promise that it is worth dying for, because when you die to yourself you can really start to live a life of a freedom. I hope this makes sense for you guys. Love you all and Happy 4th of July!!!!

Hospital Visits and Jr. High Boys

I always hate starting out a post this way, but I just feel the need to apologize for not writing more. I wish I could give you guys a good excuse why I haven't blogged in a while. I wish I could tell you that I was climbing a mountain or that I was writing the foreword to Francis Chan's new book coming out on Hell. Unfortunately I can't tell you anything like that...all I can say is that haven't made time to blog. Before you start throwing erroneous things out like, "Charlie has blogged because he doesn't care about us" or "Charlie must be backsliding in his faith, so he hasn't written anything," let me update you on my life!

I am moved into my new apartment even though there are still boxes kind of scattered throughout my bedroom. I am in charge of our jr. high program this summer called LIFT Remix. I got a haircut about 2 weeks ago. I just got done drinking a Sprite, and I gelled my hair this morning. I'm a busy guy. I tell you all of this just to say, "I'm sorry for not making time for you, blog nation."

But on a serious note, this week as been a really good week. I've got a lot accomplished for LIFT Remix, and I was able to hang out with students two days this week. For some reason, anytime I get to hang out with students it re-energizes me. I just love doing life with students. Recently I started meeting with 3 Jr. High boys once a week. We hang out and have fun, but it is also a time for me to be able to pour into these guys. What is really cool is that I am already seeing results! The 3 guys I've been able to hang out with have great potential for leadership, and we have been talking about what it means to be a leader. Well last week at Remix, one of the guys really stepped up and was leading his group during a time where other groups were just goofing off. Now to you that might sound normal, but this kid is usually the student who is goofing off the most. It was really neat to see that my time with them is already paying off, but I can't take the credit. God is moving in their lives, and he is allowing me to help.

Another thing that I was really encouraged by this week was an encounter I had with an older lady named Helen in a hospital. This week we had 4 staff members out of the office on vacation and 3 of them are ministers that make hospital visits, so when this lady needed someone to come pray with her there was no one available...except me. I have never made a hospital call before, so I was pretty nervous. When I got to the hospital, I nervously walked down the hall to her room and knocked on her door. She quietly said, "Come in," still tired from her surgery that morning. I walked in and introduced myself and asked how she was doing. We ended up talking for about 15 minutes, and she told me about her life how her surgery went. As I grabbed her hand to pray with her she said, "Oh...you have nice warm hands." Then she smiled and prayed for her.

I usually hate going to hospitals because it always reminds me of my grandpa, but this time I was smiling as I left. It was so encouraging to be able to just sit and talk with Helen. I hope something has happened to you guys this week that has reminded you of how much God cares for you and how involved He is today. Love you guys!

God's Report Card

I just set up my online account to start giving money to the church every two weeks. To be completely honest, my stomach is a little uneasy just thinking about it. I've never officially tithe before. I use to just throw a couple of dollars in the offering plat when it was passed, but that was only if I had enough money leftover in my wallet to buy a couple of cheeseburgers for lunch.

I'm not proud of the way I have handled my money in the past. Its been all about me and what I want. I remember one of my first days at Ozark Christian College as a freshman. There was a worship service on campus I attended that first Sunday I was in Joplin. When it came time for offering, I thought I should put some money in the plate that was being passed for the fear of someone noticing I didn't put any money in the plate thus making me less of a Christian. I opened up my wallet and put in what I thought was a $10 bill. You see, I am a spoiled guy. My parents gave me $400 every semester to spend on myself, and they usually gave me four $100 bills or a check. That day I also had other bills in my wallet, so I grabbed the $10 and put it in the plate. When I got back to my dorm room I noticed a hundred dollar bill missing from my wallet and that my $10 bill was still there. Then it hit me...I accidentally threw in the $100 bill instead of the ten. My stomach dropped and my face went pale. I thought to myself, "I just wasted one hundred dollars."

Looking back at that moment, I am not proud of myself, and yet today I have that same feeling in my stomach. I think it all comes down to faith. Do I have faith that God will use the money I give better than the double cheeseburgers I would but if I kept the money? Do I have faith that God will provide for me even though I have less money? Do I have faith?

Right now I don't think I have the faith I should have, but this will be good for me. Malachi 3:8-12 talks about how we should test God in our tithing and giving. Malachi 3:10 says, " 'Test me in this (tithing),' says the Lord, 'and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'"

I'm excited to see my faith grow, because I guess I am testing God in my finances. I think the odds are in my favor, because God has never failed a test. Of course I need to have the right perspective on this. The way God provides might not be the way I want Him to, but He always provides whats best for me. So does this mean next a $100 bill will show up on my doorstep? Probably not. God might just give me a content spirit or joy to be able to make it through tough circumstances. Whatever it is, I know God will pass the test...He's a straight A student. I think...I know he will pass the Test.

God Dreams

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm moving into my apartment. Right now it is about 10 o'clock at night, and my room at the house I've been living at the past year still looks the same. I haven't packed anything, and to be honest I think I'm going to wait until the last minute to do anything. It is just hard leaving a place where you have gotten so comfortable. The family I'm staying with has been awesome. I'm so lucky to have had the privilege to stay with the Lincks.

I remember this time last year, I was about to make another big move. This time instead of moving about 30 minutes away, I was moving 9 hours away...from Kansas to Indiana. It was the hardest thing I think I ever had to do. I remember the night before I left. I was sitting in the kitchen with my mom and dad just talking a little bit. All my things were packed in my car, so I could leave early the next morning. When all of a sudden, I just broke down. I started bawling like a baby, and I had no idea where it came from. My dad actually walked outside to our backyard and my mom came over to comfort me as tears were flooding down her face too. She just rubbed my back and told me everything was going to be okay. I believed her, but it was just so hard to picture life without my family close by. A few minutes later my dad walked back inside wiping tears from his face. It was such a tough time. It was a sad time.

But I sit hear one year later as happy as I hav ever been. I'm marrying my dream girl in November. I get to work with the same students and student ministry team for another year, as I accepted another year-long internship with the church. And I'm moving into my own place. Who would have thought this would all happen to average ole Charlie? Not me! Especially as I was sitting at the dinning table with my mom and dad that night as we said our goodbyes and crying, I would have never dreamt this for myself.

I have leanred a lot of things in my life. I've learned how to color inside the lines with my crayons. I've learned to make scrambled eggs, and I've even learned how to make a loud popping noise with my knuckles by slapping with my finger. But one of the most important things I think I have leanred is that God's dreams are bigger and better than my dreams. Why even waste time dreaming for your life when God has the perfect dream waiting to become your reality? God is the mastermind behind this plan. He is the designer of my life. I'm so excited to see where God takes me, because I could never possibly dream what God has in store! Are you going to let God dream for you?!

Finally I Become a Man

"April showers bring May flowers." This is the saying I always heard growing up. With the showers we had in Indiana this April, there should be a forests of lilies and roses popping up everywhere. It rained so much here. There was a two week period where it rained nonstop. In the office there were a couple of people complaining about it, and someone said, "Do you think Noah complained?" And if I was a gambling man, I would say Noah probably threw up a couple of complaints to the Big Guy. But the rain from the clouds has finally ceased here in Indiana. Unfortunately I haven't quit making it rain from my billfold....i just got an apartment.

That's right. Charlie is getting ready to go through yet another rite of passage. First it was growing armpit hair, then it was getting his driver's license, and now it is getting an apartment and living by himself. This will be the first time I have ever lived by myself. After graduating high school, I lived in a dorm with my good friend David, and for the past year I have been living with a family that has graciously taken me in...but now I must grow up and live by myself.

I'm going to be honest...I'm a little nervous. Here is a quick list of the reasons I'm nervous.

1) I don't know how to cook. The only things I know how to cook is frozen pizza and hot dogs. Last time I checked, man cannot live on frozen pizza and hot dogs alone. So I better get my Emeril on...soon.

2) I have never spent this much money on a consistent basis. I am now obligated to pay rent every month for an entire year! I think the last time I paid money on a regular basis towards something was to fix my sweet tooth in high school. Every day I spent 50 cents to buy a pack of nutty bars at lunch. Unfortunately my rent is going to be a little more than 50 cents.

3) There is a good chance my apartment is haunted. My apartment is actually in a mansion that was built in 1870 for widows. The person who built this house was named Colbertson, and he also built another mansion just down the street from where I will be living. And that mansion actually has had reports of a haunting. I hope urine repels ghosts because I know I will pee the bed if I ever see/hear anything freaky.

So there are a couple of reasons why I'm nervous to live by myself. Are they valid? Oh yea. But I'm also pretty excited to have my own apartment. It will be nice to go home and not have to worry about anyone...plus I can walk around in my underwear. But on a serious note, I think this time will be really good for me. I will learn stuff about myself that I would never learn if I never ventured out and lived on my own. So I guess you could say I'm nervous and excited!

Have you guys every lived by yourself? If so, what did you learn about yourself?

Don't Forget

As I sit here writing this post, I'm reminded of the famous philosopher Charlie Sheen when he said, "I'm bi-winning. I win here. I win there." You see, tonight I am going to play some basketball with some friends, and there will definitely be some winning. Will I win? Probably not, but someone will win. Also, another win for me today...I get the day off! Tomorrow is Good Friday and the offices are closed, but my day off is usually Friday, so I get to take my day off today! Its going to be a "winning" weekend. I'm going to color Easter eggs, make rice crispie Easter eggs, and take Christine to the driving range for the first time (she might not win that one). But all I know is that it is going to be a winning weekend.

As I said earlier, tomorrow is Good Friday, and two days later it is Easter! I remember when I was younger, my brothers and I would get so excited to get up Easter Sunday and look for eggs! *Disclaimer* *If you are under the age of 8, please quit reading for your own good* *Disclaimer* My parents were really good at hiding eggs! There were always 1 or 2 eggs we never found because my dad had found too difficult a hiding place for us to find them. But I used to have a great time on Easter. And what kid doesn't like Candy?! That is what Easter is all about, right?! But now that I am older, Easter eggs and candy are not the first things to come to mind...

Every Sunday at LIFT, our middle school program at church, we have a time where we take communion. Usually Cody or I get up in front of the students and give a little spiel about communion, and this past week it was my turn. As I was trying to think of what to say, I was reminded of what Christine's dad says to her when she is getting ready to leave. Rick, Christine's dad, quickly says the words, "Don't Forget" before Christine leaves to go somewhere. When I first heard this saying, I thought she had to go pick up something at the grocery store and her dad was just reminding her not to forget to pick up some cereal. But after time I started to notice that he said, "Don't forget" almost every time she left the house. Finally I asked Christine about it and she said, "Oh, he wants me not to forget that he loves me!"

As this story played in my mind last week before communion, I could hear Jesus saying to me, "Don't forget..." Every week we go to church and we eat this stale, small piece of bread (unless you go to Carterville Christian Church in Missouri...best communion bread ever!) and drink a small cup of grape juice that is barely enough to get the stale bread taste out of your mouth...why? So that we "Don't Forget."

Tomorrow is Good Friday. I sure hope we don't forget about it because without Good Friday there would be no Easter. Without Jesus dying on the cross on Friday, He could not come back to life on Sunday. So tomorrow as you are going about your day, and for the rest of your time on earth...Don't Forget. Don't forget that he died for you and that He loves you.

My friend Adam, Christine's brother, wrote a blog Post about this a while back, and I don't do it justice compared to him. I Hope you guys have a good Easter holiday this weekend. Love you all!

Lessons From Plastic Army Men

When I was younger I used to love to play with my little plastic army men. I would go out in my front yard and build forts out of tree bark, leaves and sticks. For hours my friends and I would build the best and strongest fort we could. Then we would take turns throwing bombs (small rocks) at the other person’s fort, and whichever fort was left standing won.

Unfortunately now that I am older I don’t play with plastic army men. I have resorted to going to coffee shops and living a boring, mature life. But I think a lot of Christians live like they are the army men I used to play with getting bombarded by rocks, so they create this fort to protect themselves. They have this plastic army men fort mentality when it comes to living in the world.

I think it all comes down to how we want to respond to culture. Will we barricade ourselves into a fort so we don’t’ interact with culture? Will we just go with the flow of culture? Or will we drive culture?

Lately I have seen a lot of the first option. Christians are barricading themselves into their holy huddles so that they don’t interact with the culture around them. Instead of trying to escape culture, they actually create their own culture. This takes the shape of Christian t-shirts, Christian businesses or Christian music. I have heard of churches having a MORP. This is the opposite of the Prom. They dress up, bring flowers, take pictures and sit in church listening to Michael W. Smith. Some Christians think that culture is evil. They feel the need to create their own healthy version of culture.

But I don’t think this is the best way to go about it. Tom Shefchunas is the middle school pastor for North Point Christian Church and in his blog Coach Shef, he talks about this idea of Christians driving culture instead of hiding from it or creating their own culture. He says that 75 years ago, Christians were the ones driving culture, but things changed. In his blog he writes,

For most of Christian history that is exactly what we did (drive culture). It wasn’t until the last 50-75 years that we started to quit thinking offensively and started getting defensive. We gathered our flocks and went and hid behind our walls. We now longer sponsored Woodstock…we made our own little own Christian Woodstock. We stopped proclaiming truth through our art and talents and started pointing out what we didn’t believe was art.

What if we stopped making Christian music and created great music that proclaimed truth? I found this WEBSITE for Christians who want to listen to secular music but want the Christian alternative. It is just sad, because Christians aren’t driving culture. We are trying our best to look like culture, but we are just creating something that isolates us from the world we are trying to rescue.

What if Christians stopped getting offended and we became offensive? What if we stopped having the plastic army men fort mentality when it comes to living in the world? What if we started to drive culture again?

Follow Friday

I started my blogging journey in August 2008. When I first started But On A Serious Note, I didn't realize how popular it would become. Everyone was reading my blog...and by everyone I mean my mom and my best friend. But when I first started this thing, I really didn't read anyone else's blog except for David Heffren's blog. I didn't know how many people blogged! But now I sit here typing this almost three years later, and my ignorance of the blogging-sphere has changed. I just wanted to share with you guys a couple of the blogs I follow, and I hope you guys find them helpful for you!

First of all, I use a website called iGoogle to follow my blogs. For instance, if I want to follow the blog of Charlie Sheen (that would be an interesting/crazy/mind-numbing/inappropriate/time-wasting blog to read), I would put in his web address into my iGoogle account. Then from that time on, every time he posted a new blog, it would pop up on my iGoogle! It is very handy, and I would recommend to anyone who wants to start following people's thoughts on the internet.

Second, remember that these blogs are on the internet so people can post whatever they want. So be careful who and what you follow, because there is no accountability to what people are writing. They could be writing total nonsense, but they have no one making sure what they are saying is legitimate. Be sure to keep this in mind when deciding who to follow!

Now here is a list of blogs that I have found to be interesting, insightful and...(oh, what is another "i" word), intelligible.

TonyMorganLive: Tony Morgan writes about the church and more specifically about leadership.

Stuff Christians Like: Jon Acuff uses Christian satire to point out funny things about the Christian faith. I have found this blog to lighten up my day!

Michael Hyatt: Michael Hyatt's blog is all about leadership. I have found this site to be one of the most practical blogs on leadership.

Donald Miller: Before Donald Miller writes a book, he writes about his ideas on his blog. He places a lot of importance on story, and he focuses on the Christian walk. Good stuff.

The Resurgence: This is Mark Discoll's blog, but he collaborates with several other writers. These guys focus on the theological side of the Christian faith, and it is very insightful.

Coach Shef: Tom Shefchunas is a middle school pastor for North Point Christian Church, and his blog a great resource for someone who focuses student ministry!


There are different blogs I follow too! There is David's Blog andAdam's Blog. These guys are two of the wisest guys I know, and I'm glad they blog! I hope this list helps you guys. What blogs do you follow?

Africa

March is almost over...less than 8 months until I am getting married!!! I am very excited, and I find myself trying to ignore the calendar so that time goes by faster. You know when you have a big date at night or there is a big game on TV later that day, and you are so excited to watch it that time just seems to move slow throughout the day? Well, I'm experiencing this phenomenon. Unfortunately, it is not for one day but for 8 months! I just want November to get here fast, but sometimes I forget to live in the moment. I need to enjoy where I am right now in life, and I hope you are doing the same.

Now that I'm done with my random outburst for the day, I guess we can get to my Africa trip. This is going to be my last post about my time in Kenya, but these posts in no way have been able to describe my entire experience....these are just blurbs. I hope you have enjoyed them!


Friday Night

"Kuna Kita Leo Nyumbani Mwababa." This means "There is something today in the house of the Father" in Swahili. One of my friends I have made here taught me this. Her name is Anne and she loves to sing!

Today was another great day in Kisumu, Kenya. However, I'm getting pretty homesick. I miss Christine! one of the pastors we are traveling with has a wife and her name is Christine. Today I tried to explain to him how I am engaged to a beautiful girl named Christine in America. This pastor's name is Francis, and we have made a good connection. Today while we were talking, he told me not to forget him when I'm back in America. I told him to do the same for me. Tomorrow we are exchanging emails so we can stay in contact. Also, we held hands! In the Kenyan culture, it is a sign of friendship to walk down the street holding hands. So Francis and I held hands while walking in the slums.

My time in Kenya today was a blessed day. This morning we went to hangout with the street children, and it was a blast! We played cards, soccer, volleyball and just talked to them. The kids were older than I thought they would be. We had 3 10-12 year-olds and about 18 eighteen year-olds and up. I got the chance to talk and pray with a 19 year old named Kevin. His parents divorced when he was young and his dad left him with the mom. The mom remarried and Kevin lived with his mom and stepdad. As time went by, Kevin's step dad started beating him, and Kevin finally ran away. Now he sleeps and lives on the street. It was a tough story to hear, but I prayed for him and then ate lunch with him. As I am writing this at night on my bed, I can't help but think where Kevin is right now. Which street corner is he sleeping on?

Besides Kevin, I met Jameson, Victor, Collins, Joseph, Victor and another Joseph. The last Joseph was 12 year old but he looked like he was about five because he was so malnourished. As we were playing "Go Fish" with him, we noticed something was on his forehead and in his hair. When we asked him what it was he wouldn't answer. Jameson, an older kid, told us it was glue. You see, street kids drink and sniff glue to get high so they don't have to feel the pain of living without parents and family. Joseph had been sniffing glue. It was just really sad, and it broke my heart.

Our time with the street kids came to an end at 2 o'clock. From there we went house-calling. The first lady we called on was a widow named Helen. She was probably in her 30's and had a boy named Joseph (different Joseph from the previous story) who was 9. She has a business where she sells goods, but her business isn't going very well. She can barely make enough money to put Joseph through school. I asked her about how she copes with her troubles and she said, "I can pray. That's all I can do." I have just been blown away on how much people believe in prayer and its power in Kenya. I want to pray with the zeal and fervor of the Kenyans.

After Helen, we visited a woman named Grace. Grace's husband left her twenty years ago and then came crawling back to her when he got sick. He ended up dying shortly after coming back and once again Grace was by herself with the children. She now supports her family with her semi-successful coal business. She sells coal, and when I say successful I mean she might make $5 a day. Grace is also putting 4 children through school, so that can get really expensive!

Next we visited Marguerite (Christine's middle name! I'm waiting to meet someone with Berry as a name now). Marguerite is 70 years old and has 5 children currently living; the other 4 have died. Marguerite was the most joyful person I've met her in Kenya! She was always making jokes and laughing. It was awesome to see her smile.

Linnett was the next widow we went to visit. She was very young, maybe 22, and she had a 4 year old. Linnett had a fruit business and she was doing very well for herself and little boy.

It was such a blessing to be able to go in and talk and encourage these four ladies! God is so faithful to His people. It just stinks that I had to see faith in these people before I could see God's faithfulness, but I rejoice in the fact that God showed himself to me through Helen, Grace, Marguerite, Linnett and Kevin.

Also, on the way back from doing some house calling, we rode bikes. Now we didn't drive the bike, we just rode them. A man named Stephen was my driver and I got to talk to him a bit. I found out he was a born again Christian and had a family! I asked him if I was the heaviest person he has ever drive and he said, "yes." Thinking he had only been driving for a short while, I asked him how long he had been driving, and he told me he had been driving for ten years...I guess I am fairly husky. But after he dropped me off, he asked if I could pray for him. I did, and it was good to meet a brother even though I'll probably never see him again.


I'm so thankful for my time in Kenya, and I'll never forget what God showed me. I hope you someday have the chance to visit Africa and to see God's church outside of the United States!

Asante Sana

I don't know how to start this blog post, so I am just going to jump into it. This is another journal entry while I was in Africa. This is probably my favorite journal entry while I was in Kenya. I remember that whole day, I couldn't wait to get back and write about it. I wrote this the Thursday night I was there, and I talk about some cool people I met and how the Africans pray!

Thursday Night

Asante Sana! Asante Sana! This means "Thank you very much" in Swahili. I am so thankful right now for my day in Kenya. We just spent all day in Kisumu with members of LIA and local pastors.

First, we met at the LIA Kisumu office and learned about what they were doing in the Kisumu area. They noticed a big need for the kids. I guess HIV/AIDS has tragically effected the Kisumu area, so a lot of people have died because of this nasty disease. Unfortunately, most of the people who died left behind children, and these kids end up on the streets with no one to take care of them. So LIA decided to do something about it. They wanted to empower churches in the area to serve their community in a wholistic manner. This entails spiritual, physical and emotional nourishment. They also started a program for street children to get reconnected with families or teach them a skill so they can support themselves. LIA is doing great things.

After meeting with the LIA team, we went to a church to meet with 5 local pastors and their staff (more like serious volunteers). At first it was really awkward , but then we split up (1 Pastor and staff with 3 of us) and we ate lunch and got to know the pastor and his team. We were with Crispin (pastor), Ellie, Francis, Anne, Wilson, and Mary (LIA team member). We made small talk during lunch, and then finished eating. Then we went with the Crispin and his team to go to visit his house.

As we left the church I noticed we started walking into the slums. The houses, I don't even know if you can call them houses, were small. Some were made with cement and others with mud and tin. I started to think that the pastor decided to switch our plans and now we were going to make house calls to people in the congregation instead of going to his house. It didn't hit me until we walked into an 8x8 house and Crispin said, "welcome." I leaned over to Anne, and I asked here whose house we were in. She quickly said, "the Pastor's home." I was blasted away. I don't know why I thought it was weird for the pastor to live among the people he was leading, but it took me by surprise. When we all entered Crispin's house, they asked one of us to pray for the pastor's home. After a long awkward silence, I volunteered to pray. I was a little nervous.



Now I need to take a break and talk about the Kenyans and prayer. Their prayers are indescribable. The Kenyans pray with so much power, so much zeal and authority. Before we left Nairobi, a man named Paul prayed for our trip. We grabbed shoulders, and I happened to be standing next to Paul. As he began to pray, he was quiet and he paused often to gather his thoughts. Then as he began to pick up speed, his voice grew louder and louder. He was squeezing my shoulder as he prayed with intensity. It was awesome! Tonight during our debrief time one of the LIA team members summed up the relationship between the Kenyans and prayer. Efontez said, "Prayer means a lot to the people here, because it is the only thing we have." Now do you understand why I was a little nervous to pray for my brother Crispin?

Our time with Crispin and his family was a blessing. I learned that he is married and has 4 kids all under the age of eleven. Crispin does live in the slums, so he doesn't make much money. Most of the people in his church, Pentecostal Deliverance Church, make under $1 a day. I've heard that statistic, but I had never seen it...until now. We talked for a while longer, and then it was time to leave. But before we left, we asked Crispin about any prayer requests he might have. He explained about different hardships (injuries, money, family), but the first thing he asked for was peace. I was blown away! He didn't ask for healing or money but peace! Christians in Kenya have a different perspective on life. They don't see life as a way to advance themselves, but they want to advance God's kingdom.



We finished up with our time in Crispin's home and walked to Wilson's home. He is a single guy, probably about 28 years old. He also lived in the slums. His house was smaller than Crispinn's, but he was ashamed at all. I could tell you all about or time with Wilson, but I would be up until Midnight writing. We left his home encouraged, and then we took a taxi (a three-wheeled small motor car) to Francis' house. Still in the slums, we went inside his house and talked about the chruch and his family. When it came time for us to pray for Francis he asked for one prayer request, and it was simple. He wanted us to intercede for him and to ask God to make him help the needy. I had to do a double take. I wanted to say, "You are the needy, Francis! We should be helping you." It is very humbling to see the attitude and perspective of the Christians in Kenya. I'm loving this trip. I just hope I'll be able to share it with everyone back home. Tomorrow we are going to play with the street children! I'm so excited!




I am so thankful for the opportunity God gave me to meet new people in Africa. I'll never forget the relationships that were forged in Kenya. One of the last times I saw Francis (he is the one in the yellow tie in the picture above), he told me never to forget about him. Francis, I'll never forget about you. I'll never forget about Africa. Asante Sana.

My Reason for Mondays

I love Jr. High ministry! Right now we are in the middle of a teaching series on love and dating. Its called the "Love Shack." Someone people think this title is a little questionable, because it came from a song that is about having, as Bill Clinton puts it, "sexual relations." But the whole purpose of this series is to talk about how our view of love is skewed and misguided. As imperfect people, we often tend to reside in a run-down, dirty shack instead of a strong, stable house when it comes to love. Basically, we are just trying to teach our students about healthy relationships and God's love.

Yesterday we had a question and answer session with our Jr. High students about dating. We sat them all down and talked to them for about 10 minutes about healthy relationships, and how our relationship with God has to be the number one thing in our lives. Afterward we gave them each a piece of paper and asked them to write down a question they have about dating and relationships. Here are a couple of questions we received:

How many girlfriends do boys have on average?

Is it wrong to smack your boyfriend?

Why are girls so complicated? They ask so many questions!

(this one is more of a statement) Why kiss so many different people? God has already picked the one for you. Oh and by the way, I can't date until I am married.

If you have a wedgie is it okay to pick it on your date? Or should you excuse yourself??

Are there more girls than boys?

Why do teens have sex knowing they may have aids?


These are only a few of the questions we got, but I just wanted to share with you guys why I love Jr. Highers! Mondays are sometimes hard to get motivated for, but I just love looking back on Sunday and seeing why I come in on Monday. Middle School students make me laugh and smile all in the same moment. They are in this stage of their life where they are becoming who they are for the rest of their lives. They're bodies are changing physically and emotionally, and it is amazing to see them change spiritually. This is when their faith is no longer just their parents faith, but they start to grasp this idea of God on their own.

This is why I come into work on Mondays. Why do you get up on Monday?

Redefining "Blessed"

I have already been back from Africa for a full week. Time is flying by! It just seems like yesterday I was in Kenya hanging out with leopards and elephants drinking Coke and singing the Lion King theme song. But since I have been back in the States, I have had some time to process everything I saw in Kenya.

For those of you that don't know, I had the great opportunity to travel to Kenya and see what God is doing overseas. We partnered with an organization called Life in Abundance (LIA) that goes into an area and partners with local pastors to help create a wholistic ministry in their churches. They help to educate these pastors on what it means to minister to people spiritually, physically, and psychologically. At the end of every day I wrote in my journal so I could remember everything when I went back to America. For my next couple posts I'm going to share with you guys those journal entries. Enjoy!

After that first night in Kenya, I had a real hard time with the word "blessed." I don't know if you have ever caught yourself calling yourself blessed, but I catch myself all the time. We throw the word blessed around so much that we don't realize exactly what it means. When Jesus uses "blessed" in Matthew 5, he doesn't connect it with happiness, material possessions, or family. He connects blessed with those who mourn, those who are meek, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. While in Africa, I came to the conclusion that the people I saw in Africa were blessed way beyond anything I could imagine. I think it is our American mindset that the more stuff we have, the more God has shined his favor upon us. Or I know I have thought that just because God allowed me to be born in America, I am blessed. But maybe it is more of a curse than a blessing? We could write a whole post about how hard it is to have a faithful walk in America, but we don't have time for that. Now I am not saying that the people of Africa don't have struggles and that I hate living in America. I love the United States, but we can all agree that we are not blessed just because we are citizens of the U.S.A.




Wednesday Night

My first full day in Kenya is complete, but we really haven't interacted with many Kenyans. This morning after breakfast, we heard from the LIA team, but first we heard from Julius, a local pastor. He gave us a word from John 17 on Jesus' 9 "I Have" statements in his prayer to God. It was hands down one of the most encouraging, challenging message I have heard in a long time. Julius said these 9 "I have" statements were Jesus' commitments on earth. It was great.

After Julius we heard from Paul and James, leaders for LIA. They explained what their ministry was all about and how they were advancing the kingdom. These people are so full of humility and the Spirit.

We then ate lunch and jumped in a couple of vans that had little space to move. We drove for 6 1/2 hours to Kisumu where we are going to be for the next 5 days. On the ride up here, I was able to see a little part of Africa. I saw beautiful mountains, one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen, miles and miles of tea plantations, and lots of zebras! I also saw four-year-old kids walking all by themselves down a busy highway, houses made from mud and tin, men just laying down on the ground, and many other disheartening things. As I was taking all this in I found myself saying,, "I am so blessed." But why am I blessed? Just because I have a lot of crap in my house doesn't mean I'm blessed. Just because I was born in the United States doesn't make me blessed. I'm blessed because I have Jesus. When Jesus said, "I have come to bring the good news to the poor," he doesn't mean those who don't have a roof over their heads. He came for the spiritually poor, for those who don't know Him.


After that first night in Kenya, I had a real hard time with the word "blessed." I don't know if you have ever caught yourself calling yourself blessed, but I catch myself all the time. We throw the word blessed around so much that we don't realize exactly what it means. When Jesus uses "blessed" in Matthew 5, he doesn't connect it with happiness, material possessions, or family. He connects blessed with those who mourn, those who are meek, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. While in Africa, I came to the conclusion that the people I saw in Africa were blessed way beyond anything I could imagine. I think it is our American mindset that the more stuff we have, the more God has shined his favor upon us. Or I know I have thought that just because God allowed me to be born in America, I am blessed. But maybe it is more of a curse than a blessing? We could write a whole post about how hard it is to have a faithful walk in America, but we don't have time for that. Now I am not saying that the people of Africa don't have struggles and that I hate living in America. I love the United States, but we can all agree that we are not blessed just because we are citizens of the U.S.A.

I think it would be smart for all of us to make sure our definition of "blessed" is correct. Seeing the people of Africa really helped me to redefine my view of "blessed." I guess I'm just trying to save you a trip halfway across the world in order for you to see that we aren't as blessed as we think we are...but if you do have the chance to go to Africa, GO!

Ms. Macaughlen

There are several older guys at the church I work at that go around the building and fix things. If there is a hole in the wall, you let Geep know, and by the next day it is all fixed. If the drain in the baptistery is clogged, Geep will have it flowing again by Sunday. Geep is a real handy man. He can fix about anything. But then there is Wayne.

Wayne is about 70-something. He always wears denim overalls with a plaid t-shirt underneath. Wayne is a little overweight, so he tends to wobble more than he walks. He comes to the church about 3 times a week willing to do whatever needs to be done around the building. When Geep is wiring lights and building something for the children's ministry, Wayne is taking out the trash. You see, they don't give Wayne the important stuff. He is always doing menial tasks like taking out the trash or moving a chair from this room to that room...never anything too major.

Everyday Wayne comes to help out at the church, he always makes his way into the office. He might say a couple of words to me, but he usually bypasses me and heads straight to Mandy's desk where he will proceed to tell her some corny joke. As he walks away, you can hear him quietly chuckle to himself as he goes to do some small chore.

Up until today, this is all I have ever known about Wayne. While I was rearranging a classroom this morning for the college bible study we have at our campus, Wayne decided to pop his head in to see what I was doing. After telling me a joke I had heard him tell Mandy about five times, he just stood there and watched me move some chairs out of the room. Then when it came time for me to move some tables out of the room, he came over and helped me. He didn't do much. All he did was hold on to the tables to make sure they didn't fall over. But then he said, "One time I heard a Baptist preacher tell a great story. Want to hear it?" I told him sure and continued with my work.

He went on to tell me a story about a lady named Ms. Macaughlen...

One day a deacon in a baptist church went up to his preacher and said, "Pastor, a lady by the name of Ms. Macaughlen died yesterday, and she left a note saying she wants you to do her funeral." Thinking out loud, the preacher said, "Well, her name doesn't ring a bell. There are 1,500 members in this church." Then he asked the deacon, "Tell me some things about her so I'll have something nice to say about her during the funeral. Was she a sunday school teacher?" The deacon didn't think she was. "Was she in the choir?" the preacher quickly asked. The deacon once again replied in the negative. Quesiton after question the preacher asked the deacon about how Ms. Macaughlen might have served at the Baptist church, but they couldn't think of anything she had done besides that she attended every Sunday. The preacher thought to himself, "Regualr attendance is a good start. I'll be able to throw something together for her funeral."

The next day happened to be Easter Sunday, and the Baptist preacher was preaching a great emotional sermon. However, when he reached down under the podium to grab his glass of water to relieve his dry throat, he found nothing. No glass of water. He abruptly ended his sermon because he didn't have any water, and he walked off the stage. After the service the deacon walked up to the preacher and said, "Pastor, you were preaching a great sermon. Why did you end so quickly?" The preacher replied, "I didn't have my glass of water under my podium that I have ever Sunday." Then it hit the deacon. He said, "Oh, yea. That is what Ms. Macaughlen does every Sunday. She gets you a glass of water.

After telling the story, Wayne said in his raspy voice, "You see, the preacher never realized that Ms. Macaughlen filled up that water for him every Sunday. It is those little things the really count...Those small things that people do that matter."

I just sat there amazed at the simple story I had just heard from this old, simple man. I was currently moving table and chairs, something I have to do every week and I sometimes complain about. Wayne doesn't have beyond a 5th grade education, but that old guy has more wisdom then this Christian college graduate typing this post. Thanks Ms. Macaughlen. Thanks Wayne.

First name Just. Last name Intern

A lot has happened since I last posted. My Kansas Jayhawks lost their first basketball game. Riots have erupted in the Mideast. My mom and dad both turned 50. Puxatony Phil didn't see his shadow, so spring should be getting here any day now. I think that's about it...oh, and I got engaged!

I proposed to Christine on January 22nd. Now there are rumors flying around that the only reason I asked Christine to marry me was because it was my good friend's birthday, but those rumors are false! I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Christine. I honestly thought I might spend the rest of my life single once I graduated Ozark not dating anyone, because who graduates Bible college single? Most of the girls who go to a Christian college go there just to find a husband, right? But thankfully God had a girl in southern Indiana picked out for an awkward boy from Kansas. So if I had to sum up how I feel right now in one word it would be: IamSoExcitedToMarryChristineBerry.

Besides finding out who I'm going to live with the rest of my life, I also found out what I'm doing after my internship is over in May...I'm going to do another year-long internship at Southeast! I really love the students and sponsors. It would be so hard to leave them, and after Cody talked to me about the possibility of doing the internship again, I knew Southeast was the place I could best serve God this upcoming year. So I guess I'll be just an intern again...but I'm completely fine with that. Honestly, it will keep my head from getting to big. It's important to remember we are "Just" a person who God has chosen to further His Kingdom, because he could do it without me.

Sorry this was a short post. I guess you could call it an Umpa Lumpa post.

Knowing

Metamucil.

This is fiber supplement older people often take to help with their…um…bowel movements. Since I’m not much of a trendsetter, I have decided to start a new trend. I’m going to start taking Metamucil. I’m not doing this out of necessity or because I want to be more regular. Just want to start a trend…please believe me. The last time I tried to start a trend it didn’t work out so well. I tried to bring back “courting.” But every time I asked a girl if I could court them, they walked away. Another time I tried to make skip racing popular again. Back in the day, people would skip all the time. Then I thought to myself, “I’m competitive. Maybe I should race someone in skipping.” So I did, and I won. But it didn’t catch on. Maybe Metamucil will be more successful.

Now there really is no way of knowing whether or not I’m going to be successful in my attempt at making Metamucil a daily habit for 20-something year-olds, but there is one thing I do know. Humans have this longing sense to know. We want to be in the “know,” or we butt in conversations because we want to know what people are talking about. If you are every around little kids, they are always asking, “why?” They are so curious as to how the world around them works. Or they want to know the reason for why people do what they do. I remembering growing up I would always ask my parents “why” after they told me to do something. They would always quickly reply, “Because I said so!” After living in almost 23 years, I still want to know! I went to college and paid tons of money (well, my parents paid….thanks mom and dad!) just because I wanted to KNOW! I honesty think that we just never quit wanting to know.

In his book, Knowing God, J.I. Packer gives a great metaphor about how you can know something. He says that inanimate things are very easy to know. You can study it, and you can tell people what it looks like. You know the object. But it gets a little trickier when you try to get to know a living object. For instance, it will take you a little longer for you to know a horse. You would have to study its behaviors until you could finally tell someone that you know the horse. It gets even more complicated when it comes to knowing a human. Unlike a horse, humans can keep secrets and things hidden. You can know someone for 10 years, and they could do something totally out of the ordinary that you wouldn’t expect. So you really don’t know that person. In this instance, the ability to know a person falls on to the person who is getting known. It is up to them if they want to divulge knowledge about themselves. Are you following me? I hope so because this is very similar to our relationship and our pursuit of knowing God. The first thing we must understand that is that God has allowed us to get to know him. Jeremiah 24:7 says, “I will give them a heart to know me…”

I am humbled and very thankful that the God of the universe has allowed me to get to know Him! I hope I never miss the opportunity to get to know Him more and more each day.

Not so Noisy in Boise.

Yesterday I was privileged to be in my good friend's wedding. Ryan and Tasha got married on January 1st at 1 o'clock in Boise, Idaho. So their anniversary will be 1/1/11...smart move on Ryan's part. He should never forget that date, right? I think I'll probably get married on 4/4/44, so I'll never forget my anniversary. I don't want my wife beating me with her walking stick.

When we first landed in Boise for the wedding a couple days ago, I started making this joke about how we are going to get crazy while we were in Idaho. At the airport I said, "Let's get noisy in Boise!" Then this older man over heard me and said, "Boise isn't noisy. New Orleans is." Then he walked away. What a kill joy. Despite the Old man's warnings, I still tried to make it noisy in Boise...

On the flight from Denver to Boise, I was reading a chapter out of Pete Wilson's Book Plan B. The whole chapter dealt with something that I am horrible at dealing with. WORRY. If you are close to me at all, you know that I don't handle stress very well, and all the stress is directly connected with worry. I don't know about you guys, but I always tend to worry about really dumb stuff...stuff I can't control. Motivational speaker Earl Nightiingale said that 40% of the things we worry about never happen. He adds that an additional 30% are things that happened in the past and can't be changed anyway. Needless concern about our personal health occupies 12% of our worries, and 10% of our worries are petty, miscelaaneious items. In other words, according to Nightingale, 92% of our worries have no substance at all. Only about 8% of our worries are legitimate matters worhty of our conern! I know this is very true in my own life. I always worry and stress out about stuff that I have no control of. I met a guy named Seth at the wedding I was in yesterday, and he is one of the most laidback guys I have ever met. Besides being sick the past couple days, he had to travel about ten hours back to Oregon rigth after the reception because he had to teach on Sunday morning. When I asked if he was freaking out about it, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "There is really nothing I can do about it...so no worries." Man I wish I could respond to worries like that.

Even though Seth did admit that he might be a little to lax when it comes to worry, I still wish I could be more Seth-like instead of totally freaking out and getting worked up. Can I ask you a question? Well, since I just did, let me ask you another. Do you like watching birds? My friends sometimes make fun of me because I love just sitting out on the back porch and watch birds with my parents. I just love watching them interact with each other and eating from bird feeders. They live a pretty simple life. Besides living a simple life, did you know that most of the birds' brain space is taken up by their eyes? So they are not the brightest animal in the animal kingdom. Matthew 5:26 is Jesus talking in the Sermon on the Mount and he says, "Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds." So despite their seeming lack of purpose and intellect, Jesus says God takes care of them.

In the previous verse Jesus plainly states, "do not worry." So is Jesus saying not to worry at all? Does he not want you to be concerned about your parent's pending divorce, the tanking economy or a dying love one? Absolutely not! I think Jesus just wants to give us a different perspective. This new perspective gives us a better understanding of what is truly important: Life! The fact that God has blessed with the ability to live for Him is truly the best gift we could ever ask for.

So the next time I start worrying, I need to take a breath and think to myself, "Is this just something that fits into the 92% of worries that is meaningless or do I really need to be concerned at that moment? Right now, I'm sitting on chair in a living room in Boise, Idaho. After the wedding yesterday, it really hasn't been so noisy in Boise. Just a lot of sitting around doing nothing. At first, I was really stressing out about this because I knew I could be at home with my family instead of sitting here doing nothing. But I really can't change that because my flight doesn't leave until tomorrow, so it does me no good to stress out about it. I don't know if you struggle with this stuff like I do, but if you do, let's focus on that 8% instead of the 92.