What are you learning?

Week 26

I like to ask my friends what God is teaching them. 

Not necessarily through a book or in  class, but just in life. What are you learning from the Lord. I am pretty convinced that there is always something. It is worth searching out and it is encouraging to share.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever For great is your steadfast love toward me..." (Psalm 86:11-13).

As for me, I am in this phase of learning that I cannot fix/solve anyones problems. Only Jesus can do that.

This sounds like common sense, but has been beyond hard for me to grasp.

When I have friends in need spiritually, suffering from illness, and dealing with pain, I let the weight of that fall on me. Not only is this not beneficial for me, but it is not living out a complete faith and trust in God. How can I expect to love these people well if I don't encourage trust in the Lord by example? I can't.

I am thankful that I am a work in progress. That God cares and loves and corrects my wrong thinking. He is showing me that I do have a responsibility to compassion, encouragement, and comfort. But my first responsibility is to point to Christ and rely on Him with every aspect of my being. Especially in my attempts to be a helpful friend.

This is one of the ways God is shaping my heart every day.

What are you learning from Him?

Please share with me :-)

Vantage Point

Week 25
Winter Meltdown #6 (the last one) is officially over.
Disappointingly, I got quite sick and spent most of it in bed. I was pretty bummed. I like being out there, meeting people, playing games, and going nuts.
Vantage Point has been the theme of Winter Meltdown. It is all about looking at everything; the world, people, yourself from God's perspective instead of our own limited perspective. You can probably guess that since the beginning of WM this idea of vantage point has been showing up everywhere and  I was quickly reminded again this weekend.
Even though I was bummed to be missing out, I realized that these weekends aren't about me. None of it is. God gets glory whether I'm dancing in the crowd or throwing up at home. From my bed, I could hear the whrr of the zipline, music, and the buzz of excitement. Those same sounds that made me feel like I was missing out are the same sounds that please God. From God's vantage point, those are the sounds of His great plan. He is in control. and He doesn't need me.
That's right I said it. He doesn't need me.
"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,  nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:24-26). 
I am the one who needs Him. How easily we forget.

Little bit of winter at RVR

Ephesians 4:29

Week 24

Winter Meltdown 5. Completed!

Oh man is growing hard. Just when you start thinking you're doing it right, you realize you're not. I suppose thats one of the best/worst things about learning. Once you start you can't stop. There is always more progress to make.

This week I was sorely amazed by my own attitude. Not necessarily in action, but behind my words. Out of nowhere I bubbled over with frustration. My words and thoughts all had a bit of sting to them. Not only did this effect my own relationships, but the group dynamic. It is so easy to make excuses and blame other people, but when I stepped away from it all, I saw my own heart in the matter. My own bitterness.

How can I expect to be in/lead true relationships with such a loose tongue. How can I expect to speak truth while spitting sarcasm from the same mouth. I simply can not.

Luckily, I am in a place surrounded by people who love and encourage.

Ephesians 4:29 says, "let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Only as is good for building up. That's it. Thanks for that reminder, Elijah.

This is a real way I can love people better. With my words.

Again, not just when it is easy, but even when my instinct is to snap back, make fun, or prove myself. Living in community is hard. But so worth it.

Thanks for the support and forgiveness, guys.

Colossians 3:15-17 reminds me "...and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

So thankful to have friends like you guys.

Give God His breath back

Week 23
Week #4 of Winter Meltdown was a success! We had some surprise snow (which I did not capture on film) and a power outage but hey... we're making memories! This is a video we watch every weekend during the program. And as staff members, we listen every time. It's that good.

All of the words to this can be found here if you care to read them all. I love it.
Here is a large chunk of them for you to read for now:


...But here’s where it gets interesting./ I hope you’re closely listening./ Please don’t get it twisted. It’s what makes our faith unique./ Here’s what God says is Part A of the Gospel:/ You can’t fix yourself. Quit trying. It’s impossible./ Sin brings death./ Give GOD His breath back. You owe Him!/ Eternally separated and the only way to fix it is someone die in your place/ And that someone’s got to be PERFECT or the payment ain’t permanent/ So if and when you find a perfect person, get that person./ To literally trade their perfection for your sin and death in./ Clearly, since the only one who can meet God’s criteria is GOD./ GOD sent Himself as JESUS to pay the cost for us./ His righteousness, His death, functions as…
PAYMENT./ Yes, payment./ Wrote a check with His life./ But at the Resurrection we all cheered, cause that means the CHECK CLEARED!/ Pierced feet, pierced hands, blood-stained Son of Man./ Fullness, forgiveness, free passage into the Promised Land./ That same breath GOD breathed into us GOD gave up to redeem us./ And anyone and everyone, and by everyone I mean…
EVERYONE...

Give God His breath back. You owe him. God created us with this breath. "Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature" (Genesis 2:7).
This is also the breath he traded in that we may have life. Jesus said, “'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!' And having said this he breathed his last" for us (Luke 23:46).
For us.
All of us. Not just our friends or the people we love. Every single person who has ever lived on this planet was created by the breath of God. Think about that.
This is the very breath we speak with and live by. We rarely even think about our own breathing. But we owe it and everything that comes from it to God. Every last breath.
Our lives.

We found some sunshine :)