College

A couple weeks ago I packed our van full of boxes, suitcases, a bike, and my guitar and headed off for the great adventure known as college. Move-in day was the epitome of chaos, but Belmont had a great system in which volunteers moved all your boxes and “stuff” to your room for you, so getting everything off the curb and into the dorm took no time at all. As night fell and chaos loosened into a milder frenzy, mom and dad said their goodbyes and pulled away.

There I was left to a weekend of activities reminiscent of every summer camp I have ever been to. It was clear that intensive planning was the foundation for the various activities we were engaged in for the four days leading up to the start of classes. So far, college was a hunky-dory picture. Free food, good fun, late nights, no studies. But then my new reality set in as I rolled out of bed one morning and realized that my classes awaited me. College is something that I have been looking forward to for a while. Some say your high school years...

Touch Screen Living

Our culture is bombarded with technology. Our generation is not just touch-screen in the literal sense; figuratively, we always have everything at our fingertips. We have lost the mystery and suspense of delayed gratification –the art of postponing our wants and desires, the ability to deny false urgency. We have let the art of self-discipline grow lazy, giving ourselves over to whatever emotion or impulse seizes us at any given moment. It is so easy to become immersed in technology: text messaging, Facebook, Myspace, instant messaging, emails from our iPhones and Blackberrys…but when it comes down to it, are all of our relationships really as secure and deeply rooted as our texting thumbs are swift?

There was a time when my phone was glued to my fingertips and I thought my relationships were solidified through the numerous short texts I exchanged with my friends at the most inconvenient times (i.e. calculus lectures). However, I took a bit of a break from texting after realizing that such exchanges...

Mighty-Morphin’ Soul-Savers

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to live in a cozy neighborhood with lots of kids, a nearby sledding hill, and a pond a few feet from my house. When I was in the first grade, I received my first fishing pole – a pink Power Rangers pole with an emblem of the pink Power Ranger. While I hated pink, I loved Power Rangers. Although I wasn’t able to watch the program very much, I found myself sneaking in Power Rangers episodes at my cousins’ house. Needless to say, I was super excited about fishing with the skill of a Power Ranger, even if she was pink.

I have heard that most children learn to fish using worms but I learned to fish with corn. That’s right – frozen corn did the trick. We caught bluegill by the dozen in our little pond with the Green Giant special – fresh from the freezer. Then we’d throw the fish back and catch them again. (So if ever you are having a bad bit of luck with the fish, try some frozen corn for a change.)

Somewhere along the lines, my Sunday School material began to...

The Power of Prayer

The other night I had one of those awe moments that occasionally slips up on us. It happens when our spiritual being completely overpowers our analytical and physical being. For once, we are totally in tune to our Savior and are completely amazed by Him. We feel a part of Him entirely and pour out our thanks and praise. We experience what we are always meant to experience – a sense of wonder and awe in our marvelous Creator.

The other night I cried out to God and marveled at His wonder and glory. It is an amazing experience to look at the sky and realize that an incredible, spiritual Being breathed it into existence. It is incredible to realize that God’s fingerprint is all over my heart and life. It is so awesome to see His plans coming together and realize that He wants to use me to glorify Himself.

A little while ago, I expressed my disappointment and confusion in being unable to attend the college of my dreams in Indiana. However, over the past month or so, God has been working on my behalf...

Cultivating Community

Recently I marked the end of the seventh year of my FCA career. I have been involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes since elementary school and have always considered FCA a treasured part of my heart and life. I have always loved gathering before school once a week – Christians assembling in a public facility – to worship and glorify God. Because I have transitioned to different schools, I have been able to see different facets of FCA. I have been witness to various ideas and styles merging to create one incredible body of believers intent on pursuing Christ. In middle school, students would team teach lessons to their peers; in high school, various youth leaders and speakers joined us to teach us important life lessons. Throughout, I have met some incredible, godly men and women who have mentored me and inspired me to pursue Christ. This type of Christian community has been pivotal in my love for the Church as a body of believers and my desire to be an imitator of Christ, filled with the Fruits...

Training Wheels

I remember my very first bicycle: a deep purple frame, a white basket fastened to the handlebars, beaded spokes framed by white tires, and pedals that acted as the brakes when spun in reverse. I loved that bicycle because no matter how much I swerved, my bike always stayed on course. It never teetered or ventured from its straight, upright position. No matter how much I leaned to each side, my bike remained steady, held in place by a sturdy set of training wheels.

I looked great riding my bike with my colorful helmet, my elbow pads, and my woven storage basket. However although it seemed like I was a successful young cyclist, I was reliant on the training wheels to guide my every move. I was not responsible for maintaining the steadiness of my bike or from keeping it from falling. I merely steered and pedaled and the training wheels did the rest. But one August day, bike riding was transformed forever.

The time had come to remove the training wheels after a year or two of mastery with them...

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.

Like the endless array of colorful technology, our lives spin in a constant whirlwind of activities, commitments, and opportunities. Recently I have found myself so wrapped up in activities that I forget why I enjoyed them to begin with. As a whole, the activities become mindless and meaningless, causing me to detest my involvement in any of them, though at one...