Webster's Dictionary defines depression as sadness; gloom; dejection. Another way to define it is a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawl; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason.
Well I do have an objective reason to be depressed. Actually I have two of them. First, the obvious one is that my Kansas Jayhawks were upset in the NCAA basketball tournament by Northern Iowa University. To make matters worse, I have about 20 people text me about the game while I am full of sadness; gloom; and dejection. These are some of my closest friends. I'm reminded of Job in the Old Testament. His entire world had crashed down on him, and he had three friends named Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. These three men had good intentions to comfort their friend, but they did more harm than good. God eventually rebukes them for their stupid words of discouragement. So If you were one of the people who made fun of me because Kansas lost, watch out because God is probably mad. The second objective reason for me to be depressed is because as soon as I get home for SPRING break, it snows 6 inches. I am so tired of winter and coldness. I'm just depressed.
And to make matters worse, I'm getting older. I had my 22nd birthday this past Thursday. Now don't get me wrong. I was able to hang out with friends, and David Heffren even bought me dinner. I also had another friend, Jake Wiemelt, buy my lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was awesome to be around people you love, but unfortunately, I heard a song yesterday that brought everything back to earth. Five for Fighting has a song called "100 Years," and in the song there is a line that goes:
I am 22 for a moment...
The song keeps going on and the singer just keeps talking about how he gets older and older. He says things like,
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...
I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment.
Basically, life goes by quick and you keep getting older until you die. Here in about 2 months, I will be off my parents insurance...not cool. I'll have to start paying for all of my own stuff and cooking my own food. My Jayhawks lose to a Missouri Valley League team, and I'm supposed to be getting a tan outside instead of frostbite.
As I was complaining to my mom about the Jayhawks loosing and it snowing during my spring break she said, "Charlie-Bear (thats my nickname she gave me a long time ago), soon fans of 63 other teams will be feeling the same way you feel right now, and spring will be here to stay." My momma has always seen the good in things, and I admire that about her. Sometimes it is just so hard to see the light in times of darkness.
I know all of these things I'm complaining about really aren't that bad. If i put all my stock in a dumb sport team, I would say that I have greatly misplaced all of my priorities. If i get upset about how I leave Joplin, Mo when its 70 degrees and open my car door in Topeka, KS and it is 40 degrees, then I just need to move to Southern California. I guess what I'm trying to say is that our "dark" time maybe aren't so dark. I'm graduating in May, and God has allowed me to do a year-long internship in Indiana. I am so excited! The snow is already kind of melting, so by Tuesday or Wednesday, everything will be back to normal. And I don't know if there is anything good about the Jayhawks loosing, but at least I won't be stressed out not knowing if we are going to win a national championship? Yea, I really can't see the good in that one. But here is my advice to you, be like Momma Landis not like Charlie Landis.
Go Baylor.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
More than a Waffle House
Its time for a game! Word association. Ready? Waffle House. What is the first word that comes to mind. It the word that just jets out of your mouth probably isn't "clean." Most likely it wasn't "perfect" either. The word that I think of first when it comes to Waffle House is "dirty!" I still enjoy the waffles though. It is just kind of a grungy place. I mean it is hard to keep a place clean that is open 24 hours a day, but the atmosphere in Waffle House is not the most appetizing.
Last night I went to Waffle House with a couple of friends. It was a fun time, and we ate waffles! Our waitress was named Rene, and she was trying to memorize Romans 6:15-18 for a bible study she attends. In that passage Paul is instructing Christians not to become slaves to their sin, and Rene said she was memorizing it because she wasn't doing the right things when it came to her body. She was just being real and honest. She acknowledges that she doesn't have the cleanest life.
I have come to the conclusion that Life isn't clean. The more I think I am getting somewhere the more I realize I am going no where. When I finally feel like I have my life in control and living the life God wants me to live, I come to understand I still have a long way to go. I am the farthest thing from perfect. This isn't some new revelation. Just something I have been reminded of while reading Leviticus.
Leviticus is like an instruction manual for the Israelites and their interactions with God. Moses gives the rules for different kind of offerings and sacrifices the people should adhere to when it comes to their worship of God. Something that really just stuck out to me was God's strict restrictions for cleanliness. He wants his people to be a clean, pure people. Here is a list of things that God talks about when dealing with the Israelites spiritual and physical purity:
- What they are eating
- Childbirth
- Skin diseases (serious and not-so-serious)
- Clothing
- Houses
- Bodily Charges (eeww!)
Many of these things seem kind of pointless. For instance, who cares if you eat an animal has a partially split hoof and doesn't chew the cud? Why is it a big deal if a person eats a winged insect that walks along the ground but doesn't have joined legs? Or why does a woman have to purify herself for 66 days after giving birth to a girl? All of the rules God gives to Moses seem a little bit OCD. God cares an awful lot about the small things, but why? I think the answer is found in Leviticus 10:10 which says
You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.
This is the definition of holiness! We are supposed to be clean and sacred. We are not to be common and ordinary. When Paul writes to one of the most disturbed churches in the first century when it came spiritual pride, sexual sin, and worship, he begins the letter, "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be HOLY..." As people and children of God, we are to be a holy priesthood. We can see in Leviticus God's will to make us Holy in every aspect of our lives. He wants to make us more than a Waffle House. If someone were to play the word association game with your name what would be the first word that would come to their minds? Would it be dirty and unclean? Or would it be Holy and clean? Don't be a Waffle House!
Last night I went to Waffle House with a couple of friends. It was a fun time, and we ate waffles! Our waitress was named Rene, and she was trying to memorize Romans 6:15-18 for a bible study she attends. In that passage Paul is instructing Christians not to become slaves to their sin, and Rene said she was memorizing it because she wasn't doing the right things when it came to her body. She was just being real and honest. She acknowledges that she doesn't have the cleanest life.
I have come to the conclusion that Life isn't clean. The more I think I am getting somewhere the more I realize I am going no where. When I finally feel like I have my life in control and living the life God wants me to live, I come to understand I still have a long way to go. I am the farthest thing from perfect. This isn't some new revelation. Just something I have been reminded of while reading Leviticus.
Leviticus is like an instruction manual for the Israelites and their interactions with God. Moses gives the rules for different kind of offerings and sacrifices the people should adhere to when it comes to their worship of God. Something that really just stuck out to me was God's strict restrictions for cleanliness. He wants his people to be a clean, pure people. Here is a list of things that God talks about when dealing with the Israelites spiritual and physical purity:
- What they are eating
- Childbirth
- Skin diseases (serious and not-so-serious)
- Clothing
- Houses
- Bodily Charges (eeww!)
Many of these things seem kind of pointless. For instance, who cares if you eat an animal has a partially split hoof and doesn't chew the cud? Why is it a big deal if a person eats a winged insect that walks along the ground but doesn't have joined legs? Or why does a woman have to purify herself for 66 days after giving birth to a girl? All of the rules God gives to Moses seem a little bit OCD. God cares an awful lot about the small things, but why? I think the answer is found in Leviticus 10:10 which says
You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.
This is the definition of holiness! We are supposed to be clean and sacred. We are not to be common and ordinary. When Paul writes to one of the most disturbed churches in the first century when it came spiritual pride, sexual sin, and worship, he begins the letter, "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be HOLY..." As people and children of God, we are to be a holy priesthood. We can see in Leviticus God's will to make us Holy in every aspect of our lives. He wants to make us more than a Waffle House. If someone were to play the word association game with your name what would be the first word that would come to their minds? Would it be dirty and unclean? Or would it be Holy and clean? Don't be a Waffle House!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Short, Chubby Toddler with a Weapon
Well I survived the day of love. Luckily I didn't get shot in the butt with one of Cupid's arrows..this is a good thing because I was hanging out with mostly guys all day. I think it is humorous how one fellow described Valentine's Day when he said, "I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon." I couldn't agree more.
I have never fancied myself a romantic. When I think of someone who is romantic, I think of a person who can creatively portray their emotions (hopefully good)to someone whom they care about very much. As my friend David Heffren talked about in his title in his last blog, I think romance is eating a heart-shaped pizza together with your loved one. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but for the most part I am not full of romance. But someday I am sure something will just click and I will be Romeo.
Besides thinking about Valentine's Day, lately I have thought about learning. I'm taking an online class called Creative Bible teaching. The class teaches a person how to creatively teach the BIble to students, and I have learned a couple of things. One thing in particular has really stood out to me while taking this course. Its the idea that a person can never stop learning, or they fail to live.
Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worthy living." We cannot go through life just living. There has to be some point of examination and thinking. If you are not examining and thinking, you are not learning. We must have this certain attitude- the attitude that we have not yet "arrived." We will never fully understand everything there is to know, so we must be in a state of continual-learning.
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the Holy Spirit and His role in the Christian's life. I have a lot of quesitons, and I have been praying to God that he will continue to open my eyes to the Spirit's power and leading. I don't know all the answers to my questions, but I'm trying to find them. I'm reading a book called Forgotten God by Francis Chan, and it is a very insightful book. I guess my question for you is what are you learning about? Are you examining your life? Because as soon as you stop learning, you stop living....You will also stop living if a real toddler shoots you in the heart with a real arrow. Just be careful.
I have never fancied myself a romantic. When I think of someone who is romantic, I think of a person who can creatively portray their emotions (hopefully good)to someone whom they care about very much. As my friend David Heffren talked about in his title in his last blog, I think romance is eating a heart-shaped pizza together with your loved one. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but for the most part I am not full of romance. But someday I am sure something will just click and I will be Romeo.
Besides thinking about Valentine's Day, lately I have thought about learning. I'm taking an online class called Creative Bible teaching. The class teaches a person how to creatively teach the BIble to students, and I have learned a couple of things. One thing in particular has really stood out to me while taking this course. Its the idea that a person can never stop learning, or they fail to live.
Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worthy living." We cannot go through life just living. There has to be some point of examination and thinking. If you are not examining and thinking, you are not learning. We must have this certain attitude- the attitude that we have not yet "arrived." We will never fully understand everything there is to know, so we must be in a state of continual-learning.
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the Holy Spirit and His role in the Christian's life. I have a lot of quesitons, and I have been praying to God that he will continue to open my eyes to the Spirit's power and leading. I don't know all the answers to my questions, but I'm trying to find them. I'm reading a book called Forgotten God by Francis Chan, and it is a very insightful book. I guess my question for you is what are you learning about? Are you examining your life? Because as soon as you stop learning, you stop living....You will also stop living if a real toddler shoots you in the heart with a real arrow. Just be careful.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Strong Biceps
I have never really been the type that just goes down to the gym to workout. I don't mind getting sweaty while playing some kind of sport, but I just feel like like it is a waste of time to get sweaty while working out. Maybe it is because I am really impatient. I workout one time, and I expect to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sadly, that isn't how it works out. Apparently you have to work out multiple times in order to see results. Well, one time I decided to go to the YMCA and workout with my little brother (the dude is a stud when it comes to working out), and we were doing a bicep curl exercise. For this particular exercise, you get the curl bar and place a 10 lb, 5lb, and a 2.5 lb. weight on each side. You do ten reps and then take 2.5 lbs. off after each set. You end up doing about 90 reps, but by the end you are only doing the curl bar because you have taken off all the weight. Well, I was on my last set of 10 and I was just just curling the bar (which is like 15 lbs.). As I struggle with the last couple of reps a very good looking girl walks in the door. As I look up, still continuing to struggle with just the bar, I make eye contact with the gorgeous girl. Embarrassed I finished up my reps of just the curl bar hoping that the girl didn't think I was as strong as a 5-year-old girl.
Sometimes all of us feel really weak in one aspect of life or another. In my case, I looked and i stress LOOKED weak when it came to lifting weights, but I think weakness is not always a bad thing.
In Luke 9:12-17 we find the feeding of the five thousand. It reads:
Late in the afternoon, the Twelve came to him (Jesus) and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here. He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We ahve only five loaves of bread and two fish- unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." (About 5,000 men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
This is a great story about Jesus' miraculous power and compassion for people, but this weekend at Believe Conference the Speaker for the weekend brought to light for me a new perspective of this passage. As the disciples told Jesus about the crisis, wouldn't it have been a lot easier for Jesus to have just called manna down from heaven? Or why didn't he just snap his fingers and POOF a carriage full of food for 5,000 people all of a sudden comes up over the horizon? But he didn't do either of those things. Instead he asked his disciples what they had? It wasn't much...just five loaves of bread and a couple fish. They barely had anything to offer Jesus, and I think He did that on purpose. You see, when it seems like we are weak and having nothing to give our Lord, he can and will use it to its maximum capacity in order to glorify Himself. But we still have that duty of offering whatever we have to him.
Looking through the pages of Scripture, it is easy to see the continuous theme of God using people who had weaknesses for His purposes. David was just a boy when he defeated the giant Goliath. Moses couldn't speak clearly, but God used him to lead His people out of Egypt. In the New Testament, Timothy was to lead a church in an immoral city even though he was timid and weak. God was born a nobody in a city that had no significance. The Apostle Paul really sums this whole idea up in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
God uses people with weaknesses because if he used people with all kinds of strengths, then they would take all the credit for themselves. That is why God tells Gideon to fight a humungous army with just 300 soldiers. Without God, we could never do anything of significance for his Kingdom. Now I know that I am physically weak when it comes to lifting weights, but I also acknowledge that I have certain weaknesses when it comes to ministry. I am not the best speaker. I am not the most outgoing guy. I can't sing or play the guitar. But I know that when God does use me for his Glory, it won't be because of anything I did...For in my weakness, God is glorified.
Sometimes all of us feel really weak in one aspect of life or another. In my case, I looked and i stress LOOKED weak when it came to lifting weights, but I think weakness is not always a bad thing.
In Luke 9:12-17 we find the feeding of the five thousand. It reads:
Late in the afternoon, the Twelve came to him (Jesus) and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here. He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We ahve only five loaves of bread and two fish- unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." (About 5,000 men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
This is a great story about Jesus' miraculous power and compassion for people, but this weekend at Believe Conference the Speaker for the weekend brought to light for me a new perspective of this passage. As the disciples told Jesus about the crisis, wouldn't it have been a lot easier for Jesus to have just called manna down from heaven? Or why didn't he just snap his fingers and POOF a carriage full of food for 5,000 people all of a sudden comes up over the horizon? But he didn't do either of those things. Instead he asked his disciples what they had? It wasn't much...just five loaves of bread and a couple fish. They barely had anything to offer Jesus, and I think He did that on purpose. You see, when it seems like we are weak and having nothing to give our Lord, he can and will use it to its maximum capacity in order to glorify Himself. But we still have that duty of offering whatever we have to him.
Looking through the pages of Scripture, it is easy to see the continuous theme of God using people who had weaknesses for His purposes. David was just a boy when he defeated the giant Goliath. Moses couldn't speak clearly, but God used him to lead His people out of Egypt. In the New Testament, Timothy was to lead a church in an immoral city even though he was timid and weak. God was born a nobody in a city that had no significance. The Apostle Paul really sums this whole idea up in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
God uses people with weaknesses because if he used people with all kinds of strengths, then they would take all the credit for themselves. That is why God tells Gideon to fight a humungous army with just 300 soldiers. Without God, we could never do anything of significance for his Kingdom. Now I know that I am physically weak when it comes to lifting weights, but I also acknowledge that I have certain weaknesses when it comes to ministry. I am not the best speaker. I am not the most outgoing guy. I can't sing or play the guitar. But I know that when God does use me for his Glory, it won't be because of anything I did...For in my weakness, God is glorified.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
MARVE-lous
Don't trust Subway Sandwiches...I thought I would never hear (or see) myself saying (or typing) that statement. What is there not to love about a $5 footlong meatball marinara? Nothing. At least that is what i thought before Monday night. I will spare you all the details, but lets just say that I was pretty sick Monday night from Subway. Sad day.
My last post I wrote about my experience at the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in New York, but I didn't spend all of my time at the church...that was only one night! Another night we went and saw a show on Broadway called "Finian's Rainbow." It was really good! It was about how an Irishman travels to America and buries his gold in hopes that it will multiply and make him a very wealthy man. However, the gold was not the Irishman's gold in the first place. He stole it from a leprechaun, and the this little leprechaun comes searching for his gold. I won't tell you the rest of the story, because you need to see it sometime! But after we watched the show, a couple of us went into Time Square and went to Starbucks.
While David and I were waiting for Camille and Ray to get their coffee, we met this guy named Marve. He had just gotten some coffee, and we later found out that he was homeless but he was lucky enough to get some money from a man at church that night so he bought some coffee since it was cold outside. This guy literally had us laughing the entire 20-25 minutes we were with him. First our conversation started friendly enough with some small talk like, "What's your name?" and "What are you drinking?" But our conversation quickly changed!
First, Marve thought that Camille and Ray were dating. So when some random guy started talking to Camille, Marve became pretty upset. He kept saying "Camille, get over here girl. Get over here." When she wouldn't listen to him, he started talking to us guys about how girls are always playing games. After convincing him that Camille was not some flirtatious floozy, Marve went on to explain his wild escapades with women in Atlanta. We didn't let him get into much detail but he did start off with saying, "When I went to Atlanta...I had a shawty the first night!"
Then we went on to talk about nicknames for people. Marve didn't like it that we called our friend "Ray." He thought it would be more appropriate to call him Raymond. Then I told him that people called me "chuck" from time to time, and Marve proceeded to say "WHACK!" I guess he didn't think that was a good idea either. Then David told him that people sometimes call him "D-Heff." With some crazy eyes, Marve paused for a few seconds then exclaimed, "WHACK!" The moral of that story...don't have "whack" nicknames.
As our time with Marve was winding down, he finished with a story. He said, "One time while I was in Atlanta I was eating all of this food, and I passed out!" Kind of perplexed, we all waited for a couple of seconds and then I asked, "You passed out because you ate so much food?" Then Marve said, "Nah, man...from PCP!" Moral of the story...don't eat a lot of food and take PCP. You could pass out in Atlanta.
I know this post does not give the full effect of the real-life Marve, but i can only hope that you find some enjoyment out of it. This guy was hilarious! He was also really friendly and nice to talk to. My New York experience would not have been the same without meeting him. I didn't even mention that fact he called me a chipmunk and grabbed my cheeks. He also said I had a "body." I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that but I took it as a compliment. So if you are ever in New York City in Time Square in the Starbucks and you see a black homeless guy, tell MARVE that I said, "Hey...and I think your name is WHACK!"
My last post I wrote about my experience at the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in New York, but I didn't spend all of my time at the church...that was only one night! Another night we went and saw a show on Broadway called "Finian's Rainbow." It was really good! It was about how an Irishman travels to America and buries his gold in hopes that it will multiply and make him a very wealthy man. However, the gold was not the Irishman's gold in the first place. He stole it from a leprechaun, and the this little leprechaun comes searching for his gold. I won't tell you the rest of the story, because you need to see it sometime! But after we watched the show, a couple of us went into Time Square and went to Starbucks.
While David and I were waiting for Camille and Ray to get their coffee, we met this guy named Marve. He had just gotten some coffee, and we later found out that he was homeless but he was lucky enough to get some money from a man at church that night so he bought some coffee since it was cold outside. This guy literally had us laughing the entire 20-25 minutes we were with him. First our conversation started friendly enough with some small talk like, "What's your name?" and "What are you drinking?" But our conversation quickly changed!
First, Marve thought that Camille and Ray were dating. So when some random guy started talking to Camille, Marve became pretty upset. He kept saying "Camille, get over here girl. Get over here." When she wouldn't listen to him, he started talking to us guys about how girls are always playing games. After convincing him that Camille was not some flirtatious floozy, Marve went on to explain his wild escapades with women in Atlanta. We didn't let him get into much detail but he did start off with saying, "When I went to Atlanta...I had a shawty the first night!"
Then we went on to talk about nicknames for people. Marve didn't like it that we called our friend "Ray." He thought it would be more appropriate to call him Raymond. Then I told him that people called me "chuck" from time to time, and Marve proceeded to say "WHACK!" I guess he didn't think that was a good idea either. Then David told him that people sometimes call him "D-Heff." With some crazy eyes, Marve paused for a few seconds then exclaimed, "WHACK!" The moral of that story...don't have "whack" nicknames.
As our time with Marve was winding down, he finished with a story. He said, "One time while I was in Atlanta I was eating all of this food, and I passed out!" Kind of perplexed, we all waited for a couple of seconds and then I asked, "You passed out because you ate so much food?" Then Marve said, "Nah, man...from PCP!" Moral of the story...don't eat a lot of food and take PCP. You could pass out in Atlanta.
I know this post does not give the full effect of the real-life Marve, but i can only hope that you find some enjoyment out of it. This guy was hilarious! He was also really friendly and nice to talk to. My New York experience would not have been the same without meeting him. I didn't even mention that fact he called me a chipmunk and grabbed my cheeks. He also said I had a "body." I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that but I took it as a compliment. So if you are ever in New York City in Time Square in the Starbucks and you see a black homeless guy, tell MARVE that I said, "Hey...and I think your name is WHACK!"
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Taking a Bite of the Apple
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.
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.
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.
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