hate mail

well, not really mail. more of a hate comment. apparently someone doesn’t appreciate the fact that i don’t like animals. this random commenter thought it was “really (not the adjective she used) stupid” that i didn’t like them…apparently, i’m one too. this is curious…does anyone know of a parakeet writing a blog? no? that’s because we aren’t the same. though i don’t like them, i can certainly appreciate them. i also appreciate that they are equipped to survive outside.

so, perhaps random animal props can be given at other blogs. not here. not ever.

i wish i was ashamed

i am fully aware that i have an extremely unhealthy fascination obsession with jon and kate plus 8. i’m watching it as i type this. they are being interviewed and kate is telling jon he breathes too loud. i think i could be her best friend. i don’t think i could…i know i could. i just know it. 

you may or may not be familiar with their music video…yeah, they are big time. you will find it below. i truly wish i was ashamed to post this, but i LOVE them too much not to.

’tis the season

two hours from now will usher in july. the thought of this month sends chills down my spine. i kid you not. three weeks from today 500 (hopefully) students and leaders will be in high springs, fl at camp kulaqua. this year, camp is my baby. i thought of “rockcamp” on the elliptical just before i popped a rib out of place…perhaps metaphoric of what was ahead? this year, we are trying to kick everything up a notch. we have camp stationary, awesome programs planned, and even slap bracelets…i mean, c’mon! kicking things up a notch is awesome; it does, however, require a bit more work and attention to detail (teams are no longer teams…they are “bands.” team time is now “sound check.” ya dig?). not to mention, we are working in conjunction with some other churches (who happen to be great friends).

do i sound like i’m complaining? i’m sorry, i really don’t mean to. i LOVE camp. i am actually genuinely excited for this year. it is so much fun planning things, thinking and dreaming of better ways to do things. its even better being there; seeing relationships being made, watching God transform lives, and experiencing people enjoy the fruits of months of labor. it is, however, days like today (9:30am-7:30pm) that remind me that camp doesn’t plan itself. my new mantra (as i recently heard kate gosselin say) is “i can make it through this day.”

so, camp season is upon us. i am excited, overwhelmed, and thinking ahead. july 1-25: camp is my life.

this is sad

with the exception of my name (spelled correctly), jon and kate plus 8 is how most people get to my blog from searches. of the top 7 search terms used to get here, 6 are variations of these wonderful people. perhaps i will blog exclusively about them. 

psalm 27

Late last night, I had a student text me asking for a good passage to reflect on while his parents were having problems. One of the passages that I always lean on is Psalm 27…I think it just shows the power, protection, and love of our God. So, I text back for him to read Psalm 27. This morning, I woke up with this psalm on my mind and have been thinking about the implications and truths for my life.

Psalm 27 (ESV)

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

Fear can be so paralyzing. It is so easy and enticing though, isn’t it? Sometimes, I think it is easier to live in a state of fear than it is to make an effort to overcome. The fact of the matter is that if our stronghold is indeed who He says He is…we have nothing to fear. Why do I fear failure, the future, the unknown?

When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

Not only are we called to not live in fear but with the end in mind. My God wins.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

There is great confidence in being a child of God. I tend to run to God hardest when my need for Him is most apparent. When I am fully running after Him in the “good times,” I will already find myself in His arms in the “bad.”

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

When is the last time I simply longed to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord…and found it satisfying?

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.” 

Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!

There is nothing that can seperate me from the love of God. Not the things I do, not the things done to me, and not the things I will do in the future.

For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.

Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

How hard is it to wait on the Lord? I am not a patient person by nature. I want instant results, I want to know the next step. For God, often times the next step is only for Him to know. No matter where we are now, He has not forsaken us. Instead, He is gaurding us, setting us upon a rock, hiding us in His shelter. What a good God. When I find myself not trusting God with my future, I should look to His faithfulness right now. He has been, is and will be faithful to His children. Oh, that I could be that faithful to Him.

something…the let down

in a previous post, i talked about a website that will send you a random…”gift.” well, it was the biggest waste of $10. i got a digital pen holder! are you kidding me?! the website boasts of fossil watches, designer jeans, and gift certificates. a digital pen holder was never one of the featured “somethings.” such is life, i suppose.

part of me wants to do it again and see if i get something good….

jon and kate plus 8…still

i cannot quit watching jon and kate plus eight! i don’t know what it is…i don’t particularly kids. as a matter of fact, thinking about being in a room with eight children makes me gag a little. i have a feeling that their are plenty of people out their afflicted with jon & kate syndrome…if so, please know that this is a safe place and i will not judge you.

we are not professionals

i wrote this a while ago, but it was a good reminder for me this morning…

“Ministers are not professional holy men or women, but representatives of the people of God. They are samples of what it means to open up one’ s heart to Christ, and let his work be done within one’s life. Ministers are examples of God’s work in progress — not the finished products.” C.S. Cartwright

Over the past few months, God has been teaching me alot about what ministry really is (and is not). I wouldn’t say that I have come to this jaw-dropping revelation, but He has been subtly but consistently nudging me along to understand why it is that we do what we do. In Acts 12:24-31, Paul is addressing the men of Athens who are an over spiritualized people, but are not believers:

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

As if He needed ANYTHING! What a humbling and freeing idea. The God who has called me into the work of ministry doesn’t even need me. By His grace, He chooses to use me, but it is important that I not forget my human hands could never prepare a sacrifice worthy of God.

I have also been challenged by the idea of where ministry takes place. Ministry is not so trivial that it needs a building or facility. Does God use buildings and facilities to call people to His name? Absolutely. Does He need them? Absolutely not.

“I simply argue that the Cross be raised again at the centre of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a Cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town garbage heap; on a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew and Latin and in Greek; at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where he died and that is what he died about. And that is where churchmen should be and what churchmen should be about.” G. McCloud

I don’t know what ministry is all about…I definitely don’t understand why God chooses to use people like me. (That’s not totally true… For when I am weak, then I am strong - 2 Cor. 12:10). I do know that God uses the weak so that His power might be the only thing to which we can cling. It is with unparalleled excitement that I look at the work that God does in and around us every day.

If nothing else, I do know that ministry must be built on a few foundational principles. Our aim must be to help people fall more in love with Jesus Christ. Ministry does not need a place to occur, only an open heart. Ministry is not a profession, dare we take Christ’s completed work and tarnish it for our own advancement.

 

something…the order

i found an interesting new website. basically, you pay $10 for a “something” that you get in the mail in a couple of days. i know it seems weird, but its also kind of fun..you could literally get anything. i’ll let you know what i get…i can’t wait!

what is love?

i love the Church. i really do. to think of the Church as an extension of the body of Christ in the world is an amazing image. this is the image Paul gives us in Ephesians 4:1-16. the nature of a body is that it grows. the Church is to grow or build itself up in love (v. 16) so that its members might be more like Christ. the role of the Church in the world is to be a group of people who love one another in a way that points others to Christ and push each other closer to the image of Christ, who is love. so, it seems that the common theme is love. and what is love?

love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it  does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

it hurts me that so often those qualities are far too absent from the Church. (please understand that i am not talking specifically about the church that i happen to work at. i am speaking about the universal Church.) i am the first to admit fault in this. i am pretty given to cynicism. it is easy for me to not be patient and difficult for me to bear all things. when i introduce into the Church something other than love, i sin. sin is a perversion of God’s model or His will. when i “attack” the Church on non-essentials (what translation is in the pue, expository vs. topical teaching, worship style) i not only insist on my own way but i also exhibit arrogance (that’s 2 strikes…if you’re counting). as bearers of the name of Christ, our duty is to live a life worthy of the title (in word and deed). i think its also easy in “church world” to look down on the unfamiliar. just because its not what i know doesn’t make it bad. if we are all striving for the same thing (to point others to Christ and become more like Him ourselves) maybe i can extend a little more grace.

it has just been weighing on my heart how much the Church needs our unity and support. i could stand to be more gracious, patient, meek, hopeful, and trusting of different members of the Body. could you?