The Lord speaks to me. I know that He does, I've heard Him before, but there is always those certain times that am taken aback that the Great God of the universe, the Jesus who died for me and rose again, speaks to ME.
Lately, it's the word invitation. It is constantly on my mind. It all started in the year 2000, I wanted to sell all I had and live on nothing but Jesus. I did sell everything I could, and lived in Washington that summer. I guess ever since, I've always had a deep, yearning (if you will) to follow Jesus' words to the rich young ruler..."Sell all you have and give it to the poor."
I've heard so many give their opinion on what Jesus really meant.
"Well, we don't really have to sell everything, He just was making them an idol in his life."
Ya that sounds good, but when Jesus said, "Love your enemies" (Matt. 5:44) did he just mean some of them, or did he mean the terrorists too? Or when Jesus said "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19) did he mean some nations or all nations?
I, personally, know what Jesus means. He doesn't really seem like a guy to beat around the bush. He doesn't seem to sugar coat things either. I guess, from my interpretation, is that Jesus means what He says.
It is interesting because the rich, YOUNG (like me) ruler had everything, and yet... He said "all these things I have kept (the commandments); what am I still lacking." Lacking?! How can he say that!? He is lacking nothing. He is "perfect"; keeping all the commandments, rich, probably good looking. I mean he's got it all, but yet... He was lacking.
And Jesus says, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell you possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
That verse has haunted me for the past six years. There is so much there.
Jesus, the Son of the Living God, INVITES us to be complete...lacking in nothing, IF we sell all.
What is mixed up theology!?! But it is my dream. I dream of it all the time, I am consumed. Where some people dream of being rich, I dream of the day I actually have enough guts to sell EVERYTHING and give it to the poor. It is the most radical, moving, inspirational, and freeing invitation ever. It's an invitation to intimacy and simplicity into the heart and lifeline of the Father. He loves the poor, and He invites us into that beautiful simple life. Do you realize how freeing that would be to make a decision to sell everything?
"Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" -Matt. 6:25
To be continued...
Monday, February 27, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
No Substitution
This was supposed to be about a night of no substitution, but now it is a weekend. This weekend is the best weekend of my life...well, a great one anyway.
I CAN NOT believe I have waited so long to be a Youth leader. I mean seriously, it is the most amazing thing in my life. I went to the retreat, and everything I prayed for was answered... of course not ALWAYS in the way I want, but God is so beautifully faithful. I feel like a parent. I have so much love for these girls, it can only come from a God who IS love. I am in love with this amazing God that captivates us and stops at nothing to shake our world until we see Him. His eyes burn for them, He sees the pain, He sees the emptiness, and He weeps for them. But in it all, He is in love.... He will not stop until they are His.
Allison & Sarah... God loves them...and so do I !!!
Fun girly times: make-up, hair, & Jesus.
Now, I've been to, at least, 30 concerts in my life. (I wrote it down somewhere) But anyway, I've been to a lot, and COLDPLAY was the best ever! We went in expecting a good time. We prayed before hand in the car, and we walked in, the band of four (Carla, Me, Steph, and Paul) freezing our butts off, and then came the question. "If you could substitute any other band tonight for Coldplay, who would it be?" And I had none, NO SUBSTITUTION!!!! Ya! They put on such an energetic, fun, entertaining, moving show... it's awesome!
Here is the "surprise"... oh it was a good one.
And there is Chris, going to hold Rajev's hand....aww how cute;)
All in all, it was a freakin' amazing weekend. ( I realize adding "freakin'" to everything isn't always the best word choice, but I just have to use something to get the point across.) I am so blessed to follow Jesus, and to allow Him to move in my life. For Him to be involved in everything...even a Coldplay concert. It was not only a concert of no substitution... But the whole weekend. Thank You Jesus!!!
(photos courtesy of Lisa... Thanks!)
Friday, February 17, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The Opposite of Love
I sit next to them, you probably do too. Or at least you talk to them or see them around. The indifferent. The people who could care less (or more) about life. They could settle for less or just be average, it doesn't really matter. Because they are indifferent. They could care less about having their life changed or living life in this full embrace of intimacy and adventure. They have never felt the butterflies in their stomach or the true sensation of fully being loved. They have never known someone to care or someone to give them boundaries. The indifferent weren't born this way, but they've just settled somewhere between their passions and their rejections. They've felt safe in the grey, no disappointment but no expectations. Just pure emptiness. You see, indifference is the opposite of love. And it's the worst place to be.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
What Is Your Life's Blueprint? - by, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Six months before he was assassinated, King spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967.
I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?
Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint. Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint. I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint.
Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you feel that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.
Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be. Set out to do it well. And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, "If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door." This hasn't always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don't drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you're forced to live in — stay in school. And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better. If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.
Don't allow anybody to pull you so low as to make you hate them. Don't allow anybody to cause you to lose your self-respect to the point that you do not struggle for justice---how ever young you are. You have a responsibility to seek to make your nation a better nation in which to live. You have a responsibility to seek to make life better for everybody. And so you must be involved in the struggle for freedom and justice.
I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?
Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint. Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint. I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint.
Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you feel that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.
Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be. Set out to do it well. And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, "If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door." This hasn't always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don't drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you're forced to live in — stay in school. And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better. If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.
Don't allow anybody to pull you so low as to make you hate them. Don't allow anybody to cause you to lose your self-respect to the point that you do not struggle for justice---how ever young you are. You have a responsibility to seek to make your nation a better nation in which to live. You have a responsibility to seek to make life better for everybody. And so you must be involved in the struggle for freedom and justice.
Friday, February 03, 2006
The Cleverness of Commercial Con-artists
The creative geniuses that come up with ways to make our mouths water or make us think something is better than something else just makes me laugh. I kind of think it is actually hilarious. Like a little inside joke between you and them. Like when you buy something, knowing full well that you are buying it for the sole purpose of the name or picture on the box, then it is nasty; HA, jokes on me!
For example: I am staying with a couple of adorable girls (one is 17, the other is 13) while their parents are in Costa Rica, and so one of them works at Starbucks. I am addicted to coffee, and I need some in the morning. My only choice here is Starbucks nastiness. So out of my MANY choices in the cupboard, my eyes catch on one kind in particular. It looks AMAZING. Creamy chocolate colored bag, with beautiful writing, all cloud like, and it is called "Casi Cielo". WOW. Since I speak a little Spanish, I know that means "Almost Heaven." Well, with a name like that, How can I pass this up! I've always wondered what heaven tastes like. Maybe it will taste like pure smoothness, pure ecstacy. I will be whisked away in one sip, and all my dreams will come true. I will be taken into the clouds, and Look! there is my little personally angel to assist me in my Caffeine Cloud. Aww, and there is all the other angel friends. They surround me as I take more sips of this pure delish delight in a cup, and behold, they take my feet and hands and begin to pamper me with a heavenly manicure and pedicure. Oh what delight!
But alas.... the joke was on me. HA, for when reality hit, and just as I was pouring this "Almost Heaven" into my cup, I could smell the always familiar smell of Starbucks nastiness. And I thought, "well maybe it TASTES good." But no, it tasted like any and every other Starbucks coffee does... NAAAASTY. Of course I drank it, and I still choose this "Almost Heaven" every other morning, but I know deep down, that I've been fooled. I think it was a good con though. Keepin' with the Starbucks name... We keep on con-in' ,as long as their buyin' !
For example: I am staying with a couple of adorable girls (one is 17, the other is 13) while their parents are in Costa Rica, and so one of them works at Starbucks. I am addicted to coffee, and I need some in the morning. My only choice here is Starbucks nastiness. So out of my MANY choices in the cupboard, my eyes catch on one kind in particular. It looks AMAZING. Creamy chocolate colored bag, with beautiful writing, all cloud like, and it is called "Casi Cielo". WOW. Since I speak a little Spanish, I know that means "Almost Heaven." Well, with a name like that, How can I pass this up! I've always wondered what heaven tastes like. Maybe it will taste like pure smoothness, pure ecstacy. I will be whisked away in one sip, and all my dreams will come true. I will be taken into the clouds, and Look! there is my little personally angel to assist me in my Caffeine Cloud. Aww, and there is all the other angel friends. They surround me as I take more sips of this pure delish delight in a cup, and behold, they take my feet and hands and begin to pamper me with a heavenly manicure and pedicure. Oh what delight!
But alas.... the joke was on me. HA, for when reality hit, and just as I was pouring this "Almost Heaven" into my cup, I could smell the always familiar smell of Starbucks nastiness. And I thought, "well maybe it TASTES good." But no, it tasted like any and every other Starbucks coffee does... NAAAASTY. Of course I drank it, and I still choose this "Almost Heaven" every other morning, but I know deep down, that I've been fooled. I think it was a good con though. Keepin' with the Starbucks name... We keep on con-in' ,as long as their buyin' !
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
The World is Ineffective
The brain can't take it all. The stimulation of war, religion, speeches...I just can't keep up. I've felt before like I want to; I want to be informed, but seriously I can't hold all that information. I read up on Israel, what's going on over there is VERY significant (I suppose what is going on anywhere is VERY significant also) none the less, I like it there... so, I like to pray for that place. But then I think of Iraq, and the crazy "Crusade" like clash of Republican Christian radical extremists fighting on behalf of freedom for the American dream, against our enemies; the enemies we only presume to love if it does not hurt our American pride.
But really, who am I? I don't know all the answers, I only know that this is not any different from some of our past ways of trying to solve wars that only got worse.
It makes me think of my own wars. See, it is easy for me to blame the government, or them, but not look at myself. I think what is so disappointing to me is that I know I am a part of this. My everyday choices effect the world. I sometimes think there is nothing I can do about it, but I know that the truth is I can and have the ability TO do something about whatever IT is. I am so filled with a passion to speak out, but do I speak love and truth to my enemies in the here and now, right around me? I hope so. All this to say, I am really sad we are in war, and I dedicate this to the Iraqis dying, suffering, being held hostage, or interrogated. And to the Americans fighting, and the families waiting in questions.
Crying Shame - Jack Johnson
It's such a tired game,
Will it ever stop?
How will this all play out
Out of sight out of mind
By now we should know how to communicate
Instead of coming to blows, We're on a roll
And there ain't no stopping us now
We're burning under control
Isn't it strange how we're all burning under the same sun?
Buy now and save, it's a war for peace
It's the same old game
But do we really want to play?
We could close our eyes its still there
We could say it's us against them
We could try but nobody wins
Gravity has got a hold on us all
We could try to put it out, but it's a growing flame
Using fear as fuel
Burning down our name
And it won't take too long
Words all burn the same
And who are we going to blame now?
It's such a crying, crying, crying shame
By now it's beginning to show
A number of people are numbers that aren't coming home
I could close my eyes it's still there
Close my mind be alone
I could close my heart and not care
But gravity has got a hold on us all
It's a terrific price to pay
But in the true sense of the word
Are we using what we've learned?
But in the true sense of the word
Are we losing what we were?
It's such a tired game
Will it ever stop?
It's not for me to say
Is it in our blood or is it in our fate?
And how will this all play out?
Out of sight, out of mind
Who are we going to blame all in all?
It's just a crying, crying, crying shame
But really, who am I? I don't know all the answers, I only know that this is not any different from some of our past ways of trying to solve wars that only got worse.
It makes me think of my own wars. See, it is easy for me to blame the government, or them, but not look at myself. I think what is so disappointing to me is that I know I am a part of this. My everyday choices effect the world. I sometimes think there is nothing I can do about it, but I know that the truth is I can and have the ability TO do something about whatever IT is. I am so filled with a passion to speak out, but do I speak love and truth to my enemies in the here and now, right around me? I hope so. All this to say, I am really sad we are in war, and I dedicate this to the Iraqis dying, suffering, being held hostage, or interrogated. And to the Americans fighting, and the families waiting in questions.
Crying Shame - Jack Johnson
It's such a tired game,
Will it ever stop?
How will this all play out
Out of sight out of mind
By now we should know how to communicate
Instead of coming to blows, We're on a roll
And there ain't no stopping us now
We're burning under control
Isn't it strange how we're all burning under the same sun?
Buy now and save, it's a war for peace
It's the same old game
But do we really want to play?
We could close our eyes its still there
We could say it's us against them
We could try but nobody wins
Gravity has got a hold on us all
We could try to put it out, but it's a growing flame
Using fear as fuel
Burning down our name
And it won't take too long
Words all burn the same
And who are we going to blame now?
It's such a crying, crying, crying shame
By now it's beginning to show
A number of people are numbers that aren't coming home
I could close my eyes it's still there
Close my mind be alone
I could close my heart and not care
But gravity has got a hold on us all
It's a terrific price to pay
But in the true sense of the word
Are we using what we've learned?
But in the true sense of the word
Are we losing what we were?
It's such a tired game
Will it ever stop?
It's not for me to say
Is it in our blood or is it in our fate?
And how will this all play out?
Out of sight, out of mind
Who are we going to blame all in all?
It's just a crying, crying, crying shame
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