Its official...I am now a cultured young man. I have been to New York City, and I have flown on a plane! The City was amazing! Never have I ever seen so many different people in such a small space. There were New Yorkers, Europeans, Asian, Hispanics, and Africans. There were poor people and rich people. The reason I went to New York was for a class that taught us how to exegete the city. Basically, we learned how to observe, understand, and adapt to different cultures, specifically those found in large cities.
Not only did I learn about exegesis, I would say that I learned 3 important facts about New York city:
1) I am not skinny enough to live there. Everyone is soo tiny! I once heard a statistic that 67% of Americans are overweight. The 33% that aren't overweight seem to all live in NYC. But there are reasons for this. People walk everywhere! Not everyone owns a car, so they rely very heavily upon the Subway and Bus transportation. This often involves walking a long way just to get to the Subway Station and places of living and work.
2) I am not beautiful enough. Now I'm not trying to play the pity party by saying I am an ugly dude. I am just saying that New York City is a place full of beautiful people! Of course, there are 8 1/2 million people who live there so there is a greater chance for more attractive people, but I still NYC has a higher attractive rate among its inhabitants.
3) I can pass gas in public, and no one will ever know. The city is a loud place, so no one can hear it. And it doesn't have most pleasing aroma either, so anyone can get away with the occasional passing of gas. (However, I give one warning: Do not do this on a subway.)
But on a Serious Note, I really did learn a lot of amazing things while I was in the Big City. Probably the most influential, life-shaking truth that I did come to learn is the fact that God is the God of all peoples. For as long as I can remember, I have always had this mentality that God belongs in this certain socio-economic style church...and of course this church is in the Midwest. One night while I was in NYC, our group went to a church called The Brooklyn Tabernacle. It was definitely not the socio-economic climate I was used to. There were black people from all over the world worshiping together. Mixed in were Hispanics and a few white people. But as I was singing, I realized that there was only one race...Christian. Just like when Adam and Eve realized their nakedness and shame after they had taken a bite from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, my eyes were immediately opened to my parochialism (this is a word I learned that week...it means a narrow way of thinking) and shame. My entire life I thought God was my God...basically, God was a God for middle-class white people. And I am going into ministry so that I might share MY God with people who were less privileged than myself. But when I entered through the doors of that church in Brooklyn, NY, those people shared their God with me. People were praying with eachother and praising God in the midst of their troubles. They sang to God with such vigor and passion that I had never seen before. They literally repeated the same chorus over and over again, but you would have thought that they were singing it for the very first time.
Shame on me....shame on me for ever thinking so arrogantly in myself and erroneously about the LORD. God is Lord for all peoples everywhere, and I, by the grace of God, have been chosen to take that message to those people.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Soldier
Well it is officially a new decade! Here is a list of things I have accomplished already this new year.
1) Acquired a cavity.
2) Eaten a "Five Dollar Footlong" from Subway (I have some inside information that I probably shouldn't be sharing over the internet...but heck, why not? I have just found out that the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich for Subway is going on the $5 footlong list February 5th. Spread the Word).
3) Saved America from being destroyed (Modern Warfare 2 on X-box...)
4) Shoveled snow off of 1/5 of a driveway.
5) Beat both my brothers in NCAA football
6) Finally, and most important...i learned how to make mashed potatoes.
This isn't a long list. In fact, it represents my entire break. I really haven't been doing anything of significance. My laziness in my actions have also bled into my thoughts too. My good friend, David Heffren, and I were talking about this the other day. I just feel like I am not thinking about anything of importance. Basically, the only thing I think about is when and where my next meal is going to come from......this isn't a good thing considering I don't live in Africa (not trying to make a poverty joke...please don't hate me).
However, this whole break hasn't been all laziness and vegetation. I had the opportunity to hang out with my long-time friend. His name is Ryan Adams, and he is an airborne infantry scout for the Army. He was back for a short break before he had to head back to Fort Hood in Texas. I have known this guy for as long as I can remember. He has always been the crazy guy who lived across the street. I always used to give him a hard time his sister was hot. I'm going to be honest...I really did think she was beautiful, but not to the extent I led him to believe. Ryan and I have had good and bad times. There was a time during middle school when we almost got in a fight, but he scared me too much, so I ran away. I don't remember what we fought about, I probably made fun of his hair (we always used to call him "beaver pelt." We always use to say that his head resembled a beaver's pelt. It sounds stupid now, but we used to laugh about it all the time). I will always be thankful for the friendship I have and will continue to have with Ryan.
As I stated earlier, this break can be defined by less than heavy thoughts. But this was not the case one time I had the chance to hang out with Ryan. We were hanging out with our other friend, Jonathan, in his basement, and we were reminiscing about the good ole days like always. But then we started talking about life and how it is just so hard sometimes. Ryan is a great guy, and I will vouch for him as a person any day anywhere. But he isn't perfect, and he will be the first person to tell you so. He spent some time in Iraq the past year, and he told me about his experiences there. Not only are there no Christians among the Iraqis, but there were basically zero Christians at his base here in America. Basically, it was hard for him to be light in such a dark place, and he slipped from time to time.
I think it all came down to this. Ryan said, "Even the best Christian man will fall if you put him in the right situation." And I think there is some truth to his statement. Certain people have certain crosses to bear. For someone it might be drinking. Others it is lust or gossip. I couldn't help but think to myself, "What situation in life would make me fall so far as to make me start questioning my faith?" And I think this a question everyone needs to ask themselves. I have an answer for myself, and it really scares me...but luckily I know I have someone on my side who knows what I'm going through.
Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."
I love Ryan, and I want him to succeed in all aspects in life. He is heading over to Afghanistan in November...and my whole family wish he could just stay in the States or go someplace like Germany! But Ryan doesn't complain about any of it. He knows it is his duty. If I could tell Ryan one thing, it would be:
Ryan I love you and I want you to know that you have Someone on your side that understands everything you are going through and will ever go through. You can defeat the Enemy...Satan, but only if you rely on our God.
1) Acquired a cavity.
2) Eaten a "Five Dollar Footlong" from Subway (I have some inside information that I probably shouldn't be sharing over the internet...but heck, why not? I have just found out that the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich for Subway is going on the $5 footlong list February 5th. Spread the Word).
3) Saved America from being destroyed (Modern Warfare 2 on X-box...)
4) Shoveled snow off of 1/5 of a driveway.
5) Beat both my brothers in NCAA football
6) Finally, and most important...i learned how to make mashed potatoes.
This isn't a long list. In fact, it represents my entire break. I really haven't been doing anything of significance. My laziness in my actions have also bled into my thoughts too. My good friend, David Heffren, and I were talking about this the other day. I just feel like I am not thinking about anything of importance. Basically, the only thing I think about is when and where my next meal is going to come from......this isn't a good thing considering I don't live in Africa (not trying to make a poverty joke...please don't hate me).
However, this whole break hasn't been all laziness and vegetation. I had the opportunity to hang out with my long-time friend. His name is Ryan Adams, and he is an airborne infantry scout for the Army. He was back for a short break before he had to head back to Fort Hood in Texas. I have known this guy for as long as I can remember. He has always been the crazy guy who lived across the street. I always used to give him a hard time his sister was hot. I'm going to be honest...I really did think she was beautiful, but not to the extent I led him to believe. Ryan and I have had good and bad times. There was a time during middle school when we almost got in a fight, but he scared me too much, so I ran away. I don't remember what we fought about, I probably made fun of his hair (we always used to call him "beaver pelt." We always use to say that his head resembled a beaver's pelt. It sounds stupid now, but we used to laugh about it all the time). I will always be thankful for the friendship I have and will continue to have with Ryan.
As I stated earlier, this break can be defined by less than heavy thoughts. But this was not the case one time I had the chance to hang out with Ryan. We were hanging out with our other friend, Jonathan, in his basement, and we were reminiscing about the good ole days like always. But then we started talking about life and how it is just so hard sometimes. Ryan is a great guy, and I will vouch for him as a person any day anywhere. But he isn't perfect, and he will be the first person to tell you so. He spent some time in Iraq the past year, and he told me about his experiences there. Not only are there no Christians among the Iraqis, but there were basically zero Christians at his base here in America. Basically, it was hard for him to be light in such a dark place, and he slipped from time to time.
I think it all came down to this. Ryan said, "Even the best Christian man will fall if you put him in the right situation." And I think there is some truth to his statement. Certain people have certain crosses to bear. For someone it might be drinking. Others it is lust or gossip. I couldn't help but think to myself, "What situation in life would make me fall so far as to make me start questioning my faith?" And I think this a question everyone needs to ask themselves. I have an answer for myself, and it really scares me...but luckily I know I have someone on my side who knows what I'm going through.
Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."
I love Ryan, and I want him to succeed in all aspects in life. He is heading over to Afghanistan in November...and my whole family wish he could just stay in the States or go someplace like Germany! But Ryan doesn't complain about any of it. He knows it is his duty. If I could tell Ryan one thing, it would be:
Ryan I love you and I want you to know that you have Someone on your side that understands everything you are going through and will ever go through. You can defeat the Enemy...Satan, but only if you rely on our God.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Chocolate and Chapstick
A wise man once said, "Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're gonna get." This year I have gotten the good chocolate. You know the kind that has caramel? But I have also received the bad chocolate, the ones with coconut in it! But let me assure you, the good totally outweighs the bad!
Just a little overview of the past year...
Last spring I played on the Ozark Christian College baseball team. I think our final record came to 8-22 or something like that. It wasn't the prettiest season, but i learned a lot. Regrettably I let some pride issues get in the way in the middle of the season, and I flipped out on my coach. Now I have always respected authority figures in my life, but ignorantly I decided to ignore my usual ways and began arguing with my coach in the dugout before our game. That was easily one of the times in my life that I have never been more embarrassed/ashamed of myself. After a few minutes of trying to justify my actions to myself, I quickly apologized for my insolence and disrespect. Bad Chocolate.
In may, our baseball team went to the national tournament as the #8 seed (we were the last seed because we received an "at-large" bid. Basically, we got really lucky and we were invited to the tournament). In our three games we played, I had never seen our team come together and play as well as we did that week. First off, we were beating the #1 team in the nation 4-1 in the 4th inning, but ended up losing. Then we won our next game by a large margin, and I was lucky enough to be able to pitch that game! Sadly our season came to an end when we lost to the #2 seed in extra innings by one run! It was an awesome experience that I will never forget. Good Chocolate.
About 2 weeks after school got out, I headed down to Derby, Kansas for my summer internship. (Here is the blog post that explains more in depth about a GREAT my summer was at First Christian in Derby...http://butonaseriousnote.blogspot.com/2009/08/shamoos-splash.html). In short, I met soo many great people...too many to name in this post. I will always be thankful for the leadership and guidance I received from Nick Pannone, the youth minister. Also, all the youth sponsors and students that I met and were able to hangout with this summer are AMAZING people. My summer in Derby would not have been the same without them. Good Chocolate.
This past semester was a good semester. I noticed something different about myself this last semester. I will be honest, usually I start to get kind of crabby as the semester wears on. Most of the time it takes about 10 weeks until I start turning into Mr. Hyde <----reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! But this year, I didn't turn into mr. crabby until the end of the semester if at all. And I think this is due to the fact of my friends! Every Monday, a few of my closest friends and I go bowling. I know it sounds a bit lame, but these times were really relaxing and I found myself looking forward to Monday nights. I awesome friends that I will miss dearly when I graduate (if you haven't noticed...I talk about graduating a lot :( I'm going to miss everyone so much!) But I will always cherish my weekly bowling outings at the 4th Street Bowling Alley. Good Chocolate.
These four memories from the past year are just 4 overwhelmingly impressionable occurrences, but they do not over shadow everything thing else that happened to me. I'm grateful for all the new friendships I made and many experiences I had in 2009. One quick thought that in no way ties to my post...Have you ever noticed that you never reach the end of your chapstick? I'm almost positive that I have had the same Burt's Bees chapstick since October...it just won't end! Or you wash your chapstick in the wash because you left it in your jeans. Or, the unthinkable, your dog finds it and eats it. At least I can sleep at night better knowing Bonnie won't be going around with chapped lips.
Well here is to a year full of Good Chocolate and Dogs without chapped lips! Bring it 2010!
Just a little overview of the past year...
Last spring I played on the Ozark Christian College baseball team. I think our final record came to 8-22 or something like that. It wasn't the prettiest season, but i learned a lot. Regrettably I let some pride issues get in the way in the middle of the season, and I flipped out on my coach. Now I have always respected authority figures in my life, but ignorantly I decided to ignore my usual ways and began arguing with my coach in the dugout before our game. That was easily one of the times in my life that I have never been more embarrassed/ashamed of myself. After a few minutes of trying to justify my actions to myself, I quickly apologized for my insolence and disrespect. Bad Chocolate.
In may, our baseball team went to the national tournament as the #8 seed (we were the last seed because we received an "at-large" bid. Basically, we got really lucky and we were invited to the tournament). In our three games we played, I had never seen our team come together and play as well as we did that week. First off, we were beating the #1 team in the nation 4-1 in the 4th inning, but ended up losing. Then we won our next game by a large margin, and I was lucky enough to be able to pitch that game! Sadly our season came to an end when we lost to the #2 seed in extra innings by one run! It was an awesome experience that I will never forget. Good Chocolate.
About 2 weeks after school got out, I headed down to Derby, Kansas for my summer internship. (Here is the blog post that explains more in depth about a GREAT my summer was at First Christian in Derby...http://butonaseriousnote.blogspot.com/2009/08/shamoos-splash.html). In short, I met soo many great people...too many to name in this post. I will always be thankful for the leadership and guidance I received from Nick Pannone, the youth minister. Also, all the youth sponsors and students that I met and were able to hangout with this summer are AMAZING people. My summer in Derby would not have been the same without them. Good Chocolate.
This past semester was a good semester. I noticed something different about myself this last semester. I will be honest, usually I start to get kind of crabby as the semester wears on. Most of the time it takes about 10 weeks until I start turning into Mr. Hyde <----reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! But this year, I didn't turn into mr. crabby until the end of the semester if at all. And I think this is due to the fact of my friends! Every Monday, a few of my closest friends and I go bowling. I know it sounds a bit lame, but these times were really relaxing and I found myself looking forward to Monday nights. I awesome friends that I will miss dearly when I graduate (if you haven't noticed...I talk about graduating a lot :( I'm going to miss everyone so much!) But I will always cherish my weekly bowling outings at the 4th Street Bowling Alley. Good Chocolate.
These four memories from the past year are just 4 overwhelmingly impressionable occurrences, but they do not over shadow everything thing else that happened to me. I'm grateful for all the new friendships I made and many experiences I had in 2009. One quick thought that in no way ties to my post...Have you ever noticed that you never reach the end of your chapstick? I'm almost positive that I have had the same Burt's Bees chapstick since October...it just won't end! Or you wash your chapstick in the wash because you left it in your jeans. Or, the unthinkable, your dog finds it and eats it. At least I can sleep at night better knowing Bonnie won't be going around with chapped lips.
Well here is to a year full of Good Chocolate and Dogs without chapped lips! Bring it 2010!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)