Walkin' Across the USA

i met a couple of guys, a few weeks ago at starbucks. we struck up a conversation as they were telling the people around me about their adventure across the USA. i thought they were joking at first, until they pulled out their business cards...they were all the way serious!

Daren started a non-profit organization called the earth expedition (www.theearthexpedition.com). He has already walked from georgia to canada in a previous expedition. But this time Brian has joined him to trek from california to georgia. The purpose of this walk across the country and eventually the world, is to raise awareness for blood-water missions. The purpose of blood water missions is to build water wells all over the world with clean, disease free water. the statistics supporting death due to unclean water is astounding and these two guys in their mid-twenties want to see change! 

i got the opportunity to take these guys to dinner a couple of days later and really got to understand their purpose. they simply stated that they are apart of something bigger than themselves. it really excited me to see the passion these guys had...to walk across the united states? that's awesome and insane and dangerous! i guess the best thing i took away from listening to their experiences is understanding that God really can change the world with his love! i'm sure if a conversation was started they would be happy to share their faith, but they want clean water...all over the world, so people don't die from something that can be prevented. I believe in this, because I believe that Jesus will change the world through this.

new semester, new year, new slate

Ok, so I have successfully made it through another semester. I had to make a 3.0 to get off of probation and continue on with this program. It was very likely that I would have wasted 8 months of my life, but I, by the grace of God, made it! I have already calculated what my GPA for next semester will be according to different possible grades...as you can see, I really pay attention in class. 

These past few semesters, I have struggled early in the semester. It always seems like I start out in a hole and have to dig my way out throughout. This causes stress! I can honestly say there were specific moments in the past two semesters that I had to surrender myself and my grades to the Lord. The problem is that I haven't done this at the beginning of the semester. This year, I have surrendered all of my cares upon the Lord and plan to have a semester filled with less stress. 

I know this is a simple and sensual but it's profound to me. I encourage you to do the same with this new year!

adrenaline into your soul

It has been a pretty rough semester. The fear of failure rolls through my head daily. I really haven't been reading the word much either, maybe 2-3 times a week. But, I want to share what I read the other night. I will bold and italicize what jumped out to me.

Strip down, start running--and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Hebrews 12:1-4 (Message)

So, I will be reading through the crucifixion from each of the gospels, item by item, in search of adrenaline to my soul...I will not quit!

sunflower seeds

Thinking back to the days of my youth, as long as I can remember, I have loved me some sunflower seeds. I remember my dad and I eating meals on seeds during double headers so we could drive home without having to stop for food. I was taught at an early age how to de-seed and spit with large amounts in my my mouth. I really haven't thought about it in a long time, it's just kind of second nature (or as they call it in rehabilitation sciences, muscle memory). However, I indeed was taught this very tedious skill/art form.

Monday, I was on the opposite end of this. A high school student manager and I were at football practice on when I pulled out my fresh bag of Jim Beam B-B-Q flavored seeds (if you haven't tried these, you must before the playoffs are over). He asked if he could have some and then asked what to do with them. To the best of my ability, I walked him through the proper technique. By the end of practice, he could even place 10-20 in his mouth at a time with no problem. He even went so far as to ask if flowers were going to grow in his stomach. I assured him no flower could grow without sunlight or in the acidity level of our stomachs.

A special thanks to my new friend for making football practice go by a little faster on monday!

ministry

I have been thinking about what ministry means a lot lately. I don't think it's my own idea, I'm sure I heard it from someone else, but one of the best definitions of ministry I have ever heard and hold to the most is to simply meet the needs of others. I love it because it is different for every person you come in contact with. For one it might be giving them a coat for the winter, for another, words of encouragement, and yet another being the only form of love they recieve. 

When Jesus did ministry, he always met needs first. Jesus healed, then many believed. He fed, then they believed. He died, he rose, then they believed. Jesus understood humanity, because he was human. He knew in order to save souls he must first deal with the present in one's life. I strive to meet the needs of the individual. 

I don't feel like my ministry is teaching and for the longest time, I wanted it to be so bad. However, over the past few years I have come to understand that I can do ministry by being what someone else needs me to be for them. And now, I am excited to be just that! Jesus will do the rest.

simple act of giving

There is a student where I work, one of my buddies, who has always impressed me. I recall the first time I met him, noticing a crack in his glasses running down the middle of his left eye (can you imagine basically being cross-eyed in one eye?). He's never complained or even acted like his glasses bothered him. No, he just deals with it. His mom raises him, his brothers, and sisters by herself and works hard to support them, but I don't guess a new pair of glasses are feasible...until today! Our trainer was instructed by the head football coach to take him to the eye doctor, get a new prescription, and to buy him any pair of glasses he wanted.

He could have taken him to Wal-Mart and gotten a free pair of frames from the lion's club or asked a booster member to help out or just acted like he didn't notice. But, he wanted to give! Coach S understands the joy of giving! It seemed so natural to him. He definitely did not do it for recognition and made sure those were really the glasses the kid wanted, because he thought the price was low (they are not cheap).

And oh man, was this student excited! I've never seen the kid smile this way as he explained what his new NIKE glasses are going to look like when he picks them up tomorrow! Complete joy!

I don't have a great story from biblical literature to inner tie with this story, but I did see Jesus through Coach S! He showed love to this kid for no reason, except for to love him. And I don't know anyone more deserving.

I can't wait to see T's new glasses tomorrow...

the word, alive

These words came alive to me in my bedroom last night! I have noticed over the past year or two that the message really compliments my bible reading. To be real honest, I haven't been reading much lately and have been feeling very apathetic. However, last night I suddenly got the urge to read and picked up where I had left off from a couple of weeks ago. This really spoke to me about not being given up on and how God's word is not bound to jail, my bedroom, or simply words being on a page. These words reassured me how alive my God and his word is!

Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It's what you've heard from me all along. It's what I'm sitting in jail for right now, but God's Word isn't in jail! That's why I stick it out here so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:

If we die with him, we'll live with him;
If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up--
for there's no way he can be false to himself.

2 Timothy 2:8-13 (message)

please share with me your thoughts