Whoa

Whoa! I watched this video below and two things happened: I couldn’t stop smiling, and I couldn’t stop crying. As I watched this man walk down the street worshiping God without reserve, I was inspired! It was brought to my attention that worship doesn’t have to be in the sanctuary; worship doesn’t even have to be led! I can worship whenever, wherever. I already “knew” that; but, it wasn’t until I saw this that I realized I had never done it.

We have a lot to sing about; we always have! In 1 Chronicles 16, beginning in verse 23, David declared, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth…Declare His Glory among the nations.” I can do that! I can declare God’s glory! I don’t have to worry about what people will think either. Since we receive strength and joy in His presence, worshiping benefits my relationship with Christ!

As 1 Chronicles 16 continues, I began to see the parallel in this Scripture and the video. What I see is this—the world proclaiming...

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. When I first started, everyone helped me…A LOT. Over time my grip got stronger, and I got better at solving each climb. Now that I’ve been climbing for a while I have to concentrate on maintaining my grip instead of getting it stronger. If I miss a week or more, my grip gets very weak; and as a consequence, it takes me a week or longer to get as strong as I was before I missed. Because I only climb once a week, I can only get so strong. In order to grow as a climber I need to climb more than once a...

Have I Trained Enough?

Have I trained enough? How long does training take? What will the results be? Those are three questions that haven’t stopped repeating in my head since learning about training my core. While I was rock climbing a boulder, I couldn’t get past a certain point. Every time I would reach for the next hold, I would miss it and fall about nine feet. I became aggravated, and a fellow climber suggested I work out my core that week. The next week after training I finished the route with ease. Working my core had strengthened my whole body!

I don’t train for fun. Training is to work my body to perform better in whatever it is I’m training for. I found out that my core’s strength helps other parts of my body, and that without it I am weak. That is why I needed to train my core, because it wasn’t strong in the way it needed to be, and it was hindering me from growing as a climber. When I wrote the post about training my core last week, I had learned I needed to focus on training my spiritual core, which is my...

Me + Math = Impossible

Math has not been my best subject in school. In fact, it is my worst subject. When I got my report card in the middle of this past semester, I realized I might not pass the class. To bring up my grade to a “C” I was going to have to get at least a “B” on the rest of my tests. The problem was I hadn’t even made a “C” on any of my tests! In higher math everything you learn builds on what you learn next, so passing was looking impossible. I knew that there was no way I could pass on my own. I came to the realization that I needed help.

In Mark 10:24 Jesus teaches about the impossible. “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God…With men it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

To me, passing math looked just about as much impossible as a camel walking through the eye of a needle. When I realized that I was incapable of passing on my own, I put it into...

Seeking to Pursue

Recently I went on a trip with some friends I like to hang out with. We were all sitting around one night and I asked my buddies, “What do you think it takes to grow in your relationship with Christ?”

Now I asked the question to stir up some conversation, but I have to admit I was very surprised at their answers. When I say “surprised,” I’m not referring to the good kind of “surprised.” I was saddened how they responded. My heart was hurt and I felt so discouraged. Their answers focused on church attendance on Sundays and “being a good person” the rest of the week. No one mentioned pursuing the love that God gives or becoming more aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The best word I can find in the Bible to describe the type of growing I was talking about is “seeking.”

I discovered that the word “seek” appears in the Bible more than 150 times. In order to grow in our relationship with Christ we must pursue that growth, and want it.

I am 17-years-old, as are the majority of my friends...

Training My Core

I spend a lot of my free time working out and training. Lately, I’ve been putting a lot of energy into training for bouldering (rock climbing without a harness, up boulders). Having strong muscles helps, but the secret to being a good climber is having a strong core. I was trying to climb a competition route when I found this out. After falling from the top several times, and finally giving up, an onlooker suggested I spend some time on specific muscles in my training. The next week I finished the route my first try! When I started focusing on what mattered, I got stronger.

When I trained my core, I got stronger. Your core is mostly identified by your abdomen, but includes your whole torso. A developed core brings unity to the whole body, and allows the muscles in the body to work at their best. Without a core, muscles work individually and rely less on help from other parts of your body. The daily activities we do all include full body strength that rely on our core. Just as I trained my physical core, I...

Stuff My Face

I started running cross-country the spring of my freshman year. By the time summer came around, I was running 50 miles a week! When school started back and our team began running together, I found I was in great shape! Because of the time and effort I had put into training, I was able to run varsity!

Yet, in all my training, I neglected one very important thing: good nutrition. My shins began hurting when I ran, and after many tests and doctor visits, I was told my shins had developed tiny holes throughout them. This was awful news; it meant I had to stop running.

Running 50 miles a week will get you skinny—for me, too skinny. After I was injured, I decided to gain weight. I read that to gain weight you needed to eat more, so I doubled my calorie intake, protein intake, as well as fat intake!

After about three weeks of no change, I started doing research. I came across a line that I’ve heard my entire life, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This simple truth echoed in my head, and I...

Seasons

Like many teenagers, I feel that cleaning my room is a waste of time. I mean—it’s only going to be messy again next week! Well today when I was trying to get ready, I couldn’t find my shoe. I ran upstairs and I asked my mom if she had seen it and, in return, I heard exactly what I expected her to say, “Maybe you should clean your room.” This afternoon when I got home it was “go time.” I started cleaning like I had company coming over!

As I began picking up and sorting old clothes that I don’t wear anymore, I found something—my journal. I had lost it several months ago and thought I left it at a hotel I had stayed at! As I began reading through my old entries, I realized something very startling. My spiritual growth comes in seasons. My journey is not smooth and comfortable as I seek to live the sanctified life that Paul speaks of in his writings (1 Thessalonians 4). In fact, I just realized this road is a battleground!

It wasn’t until I found my journal today that I even noticed how hard this path is to...

Timing is Everything

I have now realized that my timing is not always the best. Usually if I’m thinking it, I say it. Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to portray that I am offensive. Sometimes I wish I just thought a little longer before I began talking.

The other night I came home late from a football game. Instead of waiting for my parents to regain consciousness from their deep sleep, I just started telling them about my night. They told me to “stop yelling,” and I told them to “talk louder.” Since they had been asleep, and I had been at a football game, we were on very different volume levels. So within a very short time, the conversation was no longer pleasant and the sweet family moment ruined. It was all because of my bad timing. If I had waited to tell them after they had woken up or even the next morning, everything would have been much more pleasant for everyone!

I did not take into account where my parents had been. They had been in a silent room asleep, and I still hadn’t calmed down from the exciting...

Childhood Games

When I was little my favorite game to play was hide and seek. It was my favorite because I was good at it! I could fit in those hiding spots that people wouldn’t even think to look at! In my early days of playing hide and seek, if I wasn’t found I would get tired of waiting and just come on out. Sometimes I would make funny sounds to try and be found after what seemed like an eternity of waiting! As I played more and more though, I developed a love for being unfound, and could stay in my spot all day!

In the game of hide and seek there are two perspectives, the hider and the seeker. I see that we as followers of Christ are supposed to be both. We are supposed to hide away from distractions, to seek God! In Psalm 32, David proclaims the greatness of finding God! David declares that the Lord is his “hiding place” and how God surrounded him with “joyful shouts of deliverance.” What I love most about this is that God has promised us that we can also find Him! In 1 Chronicles 28:9, David tells his son...