Archive — April, 2008
16 Apr
In Communion
This past Sunday, my church family celebrated the Lord’s Supper. As is our custom, the “body” of Christ was passed back and forth along the pews on silver trays, and each believer in the sanctuary carefully extracted a single piece to hold until all were served and the pastor had asked God to bless it. As I held the bread between my thumb and index finger, really more of a square, cracker-like substance than bread, I noted the powdery white residue that clung to my fingertips, and a thought began to grow in my mind. Yes, I know I should have been praying or meditating, but sometimes my mind has a mind of its own. (Is such a thing possible?) Anyway, I noted the fine powder on my fingers and began to think of how communion with the Lord should leave just as visible an impression on my life as the “bread” did on my hands.
15 Apr
Friendly Neighborhood Insomniac - Part 3
Over the past two weeks, I’ve shared how I reached a breaking point with my insomnia and how God responded in a miraculous way. However, despite feeling His comfort, I still couldn’t sleep at night. For three months I waited on God to cure my insomnia. I knew God cared about my situation, but I saw no reason why He wouldn’t help me. Then youth camp came along and put everything into perspective!
To cut through the awkward silence of our first nightly church-group sharing time, I spoke up, “Hey not to sound like a broken record, but my insomnia is as bad as ever. Could you keep praying? Maybe God will take it away…”
Why I Hate Malls…
I have a love/hate relationship with malls. When I go to the mall, I’m on a mission: I like to know exactly what I’m looking for so I spend the least amount of time in the mall as possible. I do this because nothing bores me more than the hustle and bustle of a busy shopping center.
14 Apr
Growing Above Maintenance
Rock climbing is my favorite thing to do. It’s technical; every problem is different and requires thought to solve. I also have to be strong enough. I have to rely on my strength to keep me from falling. The type of climbing I do doesn’t use a harness. If I lose my grip I fall. When I climb indoors the floor is covered with padding but outside the only padding I have is a small pad.
I climb once a week. It’s great! I get to climb with other climbers and see the progress we make as we climb from week to week.
Play/Pause Syndrome
We are constantly bombarded with new technology that can distract, calm, invigorate, nurture, and brainwash us. It is a constant temptation, always right at our fingertips, always beckoning our attention. We have learned to juggle and multi-task to keep various technologies functioning at once. If that is too much of a challenge for us, we can always press the pause button. Pause the iPod, pause the movie, pause the television show. The pause function represents control over our intake and output. While we occasionally pause the technological stimuli from overloading our minds, we sometimes forget to do the same thing in our every day lives.
11 Apr
Friendly Neighborhood Insomniac Pt. 2
Isn’t it funny how the seemingly littlest things can change your life? I asked my girlfriend the other day how she decided to pursue fashion design. She responded, “Well, I watched the movie 13 Going On 30 and I decided what I wanted to do with my life….” After one quick laugh from me and a quicker verbal slap-to-the-face from her, I realized how much little things can impact our lives. For me, it was a bright pink, flowery piece of paper…
10 Apr
Moving In!
I have been taught a lesson that I won’t ever forget. It brought an attitude adjustment as well as a spanking, spiritually that is. My lesson came through learning about the slave trade in our country. This lesson has changed my life-style. So here it is; check it out.
Masters of plantations in the South began to feel convicted about owning slaves and mistreating them so badly. There were masters who would get so convicted that in the middle of the night, so no one would know, take their slaves to the edge of the property of the plantation and tell them they were free. One of three things would then happen to those free slave families. One, they would be captured by others and put back into the slave circuit. Two, they would be shot by other plantation owners who felt threatened and feared an anti-slave movement. Or three, they would make it to the North and live a life looked down upon as a sub-human race. By setting those slaves free the masters weren’t doing much for them, just easing their own conscience.
9 Apr
Mike Blackaby Story
In an effort to let you learn more about the bloggers you enjoy reading, this is the first of several posts that give you insight into more of their world.
Twenty-two-year-old Mike Blackaby could easily be called a Jack-of-all-trades. He’s a full-time seminary student, the “unofficial” leader of the young adults ministry at his church, regular Josiah Road blogger, and he recently started a worship band. But his passion—preaching.
Breathe on Me
“Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
So many things inspire us: passionate works of art, literature that gives voice to our deepest thoughts, music that speaks a message of truth, the splendor of creation, the stinging beauty of sacrifice, and on and on. This world is full of things that move us and fill us with a bittersweet sense of longing. But a longing for what? Even we are hard pressed to express what it is we desire. More beauty, more song, more meaning, more purpose? God only knows; yet, instead of turning to Him, we rush from one activity to the next, feeling self-important and useful for brief shining moments. We almost manage to grasp that illusive treasure we seek; but, at the end of the day, sighing, breathless, and exhausted, we find ourselves as limp and useless as a deflated balloon. “Finally,” I can imagine Him saying. “Finally, you are still and ready to receive what I alone can give! Now, ‘stop your fighting—and know that I am God.’” (Psalm 46:10)
6 Apr
The End of Death
Fourteen years ago, I sat on Pensacola Beach as the tide moved in and out – but I barely noticed the ocean. I was too enamored with this gorgeous woman sitting next to me, my girlfriend for a couple years. We talked. We dug our toes in the cool sand. My heart thumped like a sledgehammer trying to break free. And when the time was right, I said, for the very first time, I love you.
Truthfully, though, I had little idea what those words meant. I didn’t know the kind of desire and pain and hope and disappointment that came along with such a simple declaration. We usually grasp the gravity of our profound experiences later, as we actually begin to live them.
