Time Is Running Out!

God has been talking to me a lot lately. Or maybe I just now cleaned out my ears so I could hear Him. One of the main things He has laid on my heart is a sense of urgency. The phrase “time is running out” keeps popping into my mind and consuming my thoughts, and in turn, my actions.

For example, I have always loved quality time with people (Facebook will tell you that is my love language. Not that I rely on Facebook quizzes to dictate my spiritual life.) I LOVE getting together for coffee dates, even though I don’t drink coffee. I have had the opportunity to meet with new friends and old friends recently for lunch, “coffee” or just to chat under the pretense of food. Lately, however, I have felt a need to connect with people individually and to thoroughly appreciate the people God has placed in my life. I keep having the sense that I am running out of time and that any time not spent with people (or a productive, necessary activity) is time wasted.

So here’s the crux:...

A Tribute to See You At The Pole

I miss that time when
we were around the flagpole,
praying and crying.

backpacks and jackets
scattered the blank sidewalk cracks,
coloring us in.

holding strangers’ hands
had never felt more like home
than on that morning.

desperation cried
and passion shouted out loud.
voices sang so sweet.

tell me why that day
cannot be found tomorrow,
around a new flag.

with other backpacks,
and with other strangers’ hands,
and with singing hearts.

noise is praise sometimes;
all the time when noise is pure.
so give me noise, please,

and a stranger’s hand.
I would not be lonely then,
and we would smile more.

I think He’d smile too.
I think someone new would see,
and maybe they’d smile.

maybe changing lives
is not really hard at all.
it starts with a few,

maybe me and you,
holding hands or not at all.
just praying, praising.

Seeking God in the Wilderness

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all this angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked. Psalm 149:1-6

On a recent camping trip, as I looked to the sky of Colorado from the mountains and took in the beauty surrounding, the anthem of this Psalm really sunk in. God’s creation is praising Him constantly; Christ is glorified in all His handiwork. Sometimes I lose this sense of wonder: the power of God and the splendor of His creation. For me, it took a hike into the wilderness to rediscover the intensity of Christ’s glory. His beauty as revealed through His creation astounds me!

In Psalm 149, the psalmist is filled with an...

Facing the Unknown

Do you remember the first time you scaled the ladder of the high dive? I do. It was an incredible summer day, the water was fine, and I was ready to take the leap of death into the cool water. I felt both nervous and excited. I couldn’t stop shivering but I didn’t know if it was from anxiety or the wind against my wet bathing suit.

When my turn came, I began to climb, realizing how much empty space separated my feet from the ground. I became more nervous–fearing what I had never experienced. I had been told the high dive was the next best thing to the waterslides, but at that new altitude, I was not so certain.

As I shuffled to the edge of the diving board, my heart skipped a beat. I slowly felt the rail all the way to the edge, bounced on the board a couple times–mustering my courage, questioning my bravery–and finally jumped, flailing into the water below. As my head broke the water’s surface, I looked up at the board through wet eyelashes and wondered why I had never tried it before.

Since...

The Great Imitators

I remember a church camp I attended a couple of years back. The theme was two Greek words I was not familiar with: Phroneo Christou. Together these words mean “the attitude of Christ.” Through study of the Gospels we are able to see images of Christ’s attitude as He interacted with His followers and those who were in opposition to His teachings. We are able to walk through His trials and temptations and have the privilege of learning from His actions and reactions. Ephesians 4:22-24 commands us to “put off [our] old self” and “be made new in the attitude of [our] minds…created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” The first verse of chapter five directly commands us to “Be imitators of God, therefore, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us…” As Paul tells us in Philippians, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.”

I struggle with laying down my will. Crucifying my own desires is not something that comes naturally for me. It takes prayer and intentional humility to lay down...

The Fragile Life

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14

I remember exactly where I was standing when I got the call. “Do you remember Alan?” my sister asked. “He died.” Shocked, I managed a loud “What?!?” into the phone as my emotions swirled within me and I tried to collect my thoughts. I could not focus on the task ahead of me at work and instead made a few phone calls to my friends to confirm and mourn the news. Alan had graduated one year before me – he was known for his quick wit, brilliant humor, and enjoyable personality. He was so alive to everyone who knew him. Anyone who ever talked to Alan was his friend. He was unique in this way. And here was I, one week after a trip in which my friends and I laughed as we reminisced about days in class with Alan, and I was receiving details on his funeral arrangements. He died in a brutal car accident – crashing through the brick wall of a...

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving break is just around the corner. This means the campus will soon be deserted, carpooling will be arranged, and everyone will soon gather around tables across the country with their families. It is a time of celebration, relaxation, good food and fun. Yet somehow in this flurry of activity, I always seem to forget what giving thanks is really about. Sure it’s cliché to say that and come back with a list of people, memories, and possessions you are thankful for – but I had an experience the other day that reminded me of what it really means to be thankful.

The other day I received an email from someone in admissions instructing me on the scholarship renewal process. Not thinking much of it but noting the due date, I moved on with my email-checking. Later I went back and began to fill out the form systematically, plugging in my name, ID number, major and basic information. Then I came to a part entitled “thank you note #1.” As I read the description, I realized we had to write a note to...

Who Could Ever Learn to Love a Beast?

Next week, my school will be showcasing Beauty and the Beast, the classic Disney fairytale about a beautiful young woman who falls in love with a soul matted by an outward, beastly appearance. My director’s favorite quote and theme of the musical is taken from the narrator’s introduction in the opening scene – Who could ever learn to love a beast?

Let me give you another illustration: A man dripping with guilt and shame and fear and selfishness walks into an empty church, and somewhere inside his soul is a longing that beckons for a Higher Power. Somewhere within is the innate faith, however small, in a Power unseen. So he walks, burdened by his fear and guilty stains, beastly in his wretched sin, and stumbles towards the altar where he cries out for love, for someone to care for him despite his wretched appearance, his shortcomings, his decrepit form. He calls out for someone to rescue him before it is too late, because he is dying. If he does not experience true love before death, before “the last...

Sunday Morning Shoes

Sunday morning. Alarm clock rings. I swing my arm down upon the snooze button; a momentary lapse in noise, a momentary lapse in judgment. A few minutes of restless quiet envelope my sleepy frame before reality smacks me in the face. It is Sunday morning. It is SUNDAY morning! I am going to be late for church! I throw an outfit together and freshen up before heading downstairs to my family – some still decked out in pajamas. I guess I wasn’t the only one…

In my mind, church that week had just become another routine activity to check off my list. My primary concern was not anticipating a gripping message but merely on the routine activities I had to complete before I scurried out the door. My focus was entirely skewed and I didn’t plan on gaining anything from the morning service. However, nothing could have prepared me for the unreal experience that lay ahead.

I arrived on time with enough to spare to talk with some friends and get settled in the seats with my family. Soon the guitars cued the...

The Neglected

It was cold. That was the first thing I noticed. My socks and layers of sweatshirts and long-sleeve t-shirts couldn’t keep the deep chill from eating at my flesh. Friday night had come around and it was about twelve o’clock Saturday morning. There I sat on the cold cement cradling my knees in my arms. Beside me sat two of my friends and all around were another hundred students.

All was silent except for a scratchy voice filtering out of two black boxes. All was dark save for a flickering white screen, pouring forth the testimonies of multiple individuals all living on the street. That night, students from across campus came together to experience the harsh night and become better educated about the lifestyles of homeless people. We were able to feel the discomfort that these people feel every night. We sat listening to their stories, seeing the anguish written in their worn faces while we felt the biting wind stinging our own faces.

I go to school at a prominent university in Nashville. Our...