Being a Christian in a world full of non-Christians can be just about the most frustrating thing in the world. It is exasperating! The things that matter to us differ so greatly from the things that matter to them.
Money, power, ego, status- these things can matter so greatly to people- even Christians, that they become a god to the person. I won't lie- Martin and I have both talked about times when we've lost sight of what really mattered, and focused on what didn't. It hasn't landed us in good situations in the past.
But what's even harder, is focusing on what does matter- eternal treasures- when everyone else around you is so focused on what doesn't matter eternally. At one point, I enjoyed the company of those people more than the company of Christians. Now, I don't. Now I know what it means to be separate from them. That's what the Bible's talking about. We don't have to walk around, and pretend that they don't exist, or pretend that their way of life doesn't exist; but we surround ourselves with Christians, so that our mind-set becomes more "Christ-like", and suddenly, we just don't relate to their way of thinking.
Thank God for our church, our home group, and other Christians that we can surround ourselves with. Those who will keep us grounded in what truly DOES matter for eternity.
I am so thankful that God has been good enough to bring us to this particular church- Christ the King. He has used it to heal our hearts, and strengthen and deepen our relationship with Him. Just last Sunday, nearly the whole church was brought to their knees at the end of the service- feeling the presence of God in the place.
I can't say enough how important it is to be part of a greater Christian community. I've LEARNED this. I've been told many times, but I've LEARNED it now.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Practical Life Applications 101- Letters to the College Front
Okay, so today is Black Friday- Day after Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving was great, as always (we missed you, Tim), but I don't feel compelled to write about that today.
Recently, my extended family has grown by quite a bit, due to an Uncle's marriage. His new wife has added several great kids to the extended family, and I was lucky enough to spend a little time with them yesterday. Their current experiences range from middle school to college, and talking with them yesterday, made me want to unload tons of unsolicited, (perhaps unwanted) advice. Hence, today's post is Practical Life Applications 101. Targeted mainly to those on the college front.
Now, here's the deal. Most of you who would be reading this blog, know the basics already- do my life choices glorify God? Read your Bible, pray, etc. Here are some other things I've learned. Alot I learned in college- but I guess they could apply to real life sometimes, too. Believe me, I'm NOT listing these things because I did them.... I'm listing them because I DIDN'T, and payed for it. Hopefully, you guys are smarter than I was, and don't need to read this stuff.
#1- Take care of your health. Sometimes, this means going to bed, when everyone else wants to party. Believe me, you WON'T always be popular for this. But dragging yourself to class (or work) at 8 am is a little bit easier if you've had adequate snooze time. And if you're sick.... don't go out. Everyone will tell you to pop a Vitamin C or Ecinesea, and keep going, but take time to get better. As good as friends can be, sometimes they are very convincing- they would love nothing more than your company, and that can wreak havoc on your health, if you're pulling to many late-nighters.
#2- Prioritize. No one will tell you what order to put your activities in. Well, your Professors might try to do that, but no one can MAKE you. If you know you have a project due, don't think that you'll be able to go out tonight, and still get it done by 8am. It WON'T happen, or else it will, but your product will show it.
#3- Avoid the Credit Card guys that hand out free tee-shirts, duffle bags, and frisbees. If you need the tee-shirts that bad, go to Old Navy, and spend the 10 bucks. Trust me. You don't need 3 different credit cards for "emergencies". No one tells you this, (or maybe now they do), but that dings your credit everytime you apply for one.
#4- Pay your bills- ONTIME. It's easy to think that what you do moneywise, while you're young won't count. Believe me, it does. I remember when we bought our house, I had to write explanations on why a bill was late, like 3 years before. Like I could remember why.... that was college, I didn't think it mattered.
Which leads me too...
#5- Will you regret this decision? Tomorrow, next week, next semester, or 6 years from now.... Now, if we all lived by "Does this decision glorify God?", we wouldn't have this issue, but since I know we don't all ALWAYS do this, I thought I'd throw it in. Explaining yourself tomorrow, next week, next semester, or 6 years from now- to a friend, significant other, professor, boss, spouse, or God can sometimes get hairy.
#6- Don't take, or allow yourself to be in, any pictures that you don't want to see come out in 10 years or so.... I recently had to hide some photo albums from my four-year-old, and this too, can be embarrasing.
I know many of you might have some other valuable life lessons you'd like to share. Email them to me, and I'll post them on my blog.
I hope you all had a great Turkey Day!
Recently, my extended family has grown by quite a bit, due to an Uncle's marriage. His new wife has added several great kids to the extended family, and I was lucky enough to spend a little time with them yesterday. Their current experiences range from middle school to college, and talking with them yesterday, made me want to unload tons of unsolicited, (perhaps unwanted) advice. Hence, today's post is Practical Life Applications 101. Targeted mainly to those on the college front.
Now, here's the deal. Most of you who would be reading this blog, know the basics already- do my life choices glorify God? Read your Bible, pray, etc. Here are some other things I've learned. Alot I learned in college- but I guess they could apply to real life sometimes, too. Believe me, I'm NOT listing these things because I did them.... I'm listing them because I DIDN'T, and payed for it. Hopefully, you guys are smarter than I was, and don't need to read this stuff.
#1- Take care of your health. Sometimes, this means going to bed, when everyone else wants to party. Believe me, you WON'T always be popular for this. But dragging yourself to class (or work) at 8 am is a little bit easier if you've had adequate snooze time. And if you're sick.... don't go out. Everyone will tell you to pop a Vitamin C or Ecinesea, and keep going, but take time to get better. As good as friends can be, sometimes they are very convincing- they would love nothing more than your company, and that can wreak havoc on your health, if you're pulling to many late-nighters.
#2- Prioritize. No one will tell you what order to put your activities in. Well, your Professors might try to do that, but no one can MAKE you. If you know you have a project due, don't think that you'll be able to go out tonight, and still get it done by 8am. It WON'T happen, or else it will, but your product will show it.
#3- Avoid the Credit Card guys that hand out free tee-shirts, duffle bags, and frisbees. If you need the tee-shirts that bad, go to Old Navy, and spend the 10 bucks. Trust me. You don't need 3 different credit cards for "emergencies". No one tells you this, (or maybe now they do), but that dings your credit everytime you apply for one.
#4- Pay your bills- ONTIME. It's easy to think that what you do moneywise, while you're young won't count. Believe me, it does. I remember when we bought our house, I had to write explanations on why a bill was late, like 3 years before. Like I could remember why.... that was college, I didn't think it mattered.
Which leads me too...
#5- Will you regret this decision? Tomorrow, next week, next semester, or 6 years from now.... Now, if we all lived by "Does this decision glorify God?", we wouldn't have this issue, but since I know we don't all ALWAYS do this, I thought I'd throw it in. Explaining yourself tomorrow, next week, next semester, or 6 years from now- to a friend, significant other, professor, boss, spouse, or God can sometimes get hairy.
#6- Don't take, or allow yourself to be in, any pictures that you don't want to see come out in 10 years or so.... I recently had to hide some photo albums from my four-year-old, and this too, can be embarrasing.
I know many of you might have some other valuable life lessons you'd like to share. Email them to me, and I'll post them on my blog.
I hope you all had a great Turkey Day!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Virtuous Woman
Yesterday, I attended the funeral of the grandmother of a friend. She was 92 years old, this Grandma, and was such a sweet person. She was always the first to open up the fridge, and offer something to eat... even if you had already told her you just ate. She was always hospitable, and cute as a button. She will be missed, I'm sure. I'm happy I had the chance to know her.
At the funeral, I was struck by the realization that this is the kind of legacy I'd like to leave. The Proverbs 31 kind, which is exactly how her grandson described her, while he officiated her funeral- he's the pastor of a church, now. The family that surrounded her is a testament to the kind of person she was. And this funeral was not the normal, sad, hopeless type. It was full of hope and happiness for the life to follow. And she made sure through communicating her wishes, that the life to follow was presented to each person there.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family, now, and in the days ahead.
At the funeral, I was struck by the realization that this is the kind of legacy I'd like to leave. The Proverbs 31 kind, which is exactly how her grandson described her, while he officiated her funeral- he's the pastor of a church, now. The family that surrounded her is a testament to the kind of person she was. And this funeral was not the normal, sad, hopeless type. It was full of hope and happiness for the life to follow. And she made sure through communicating her wishes, that the life to follow was presented to each person there.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family, now, and in the days ahead.
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Toilet Paper and Toothpaste
Okay, so we all have those days (weeks, months, etc.), when we think- Okay, God, enough already. I can't handle ONE MORE THING. Not to be dramatic, but come on, we all have them.
Well, call it post-partum, or whatever, but I've been there for about two months now. There just always seems to be one more thing. The kids are sick, the cat has to go to the vet... which leads to more bills we can't pay... the car's messing up... one more bill we can't pay... always something. I allow myself to wallow briefly in self pity, and then I go to our home group on Sunday nights, and I am brought back to the reality that some people face. Nothing like mine. We recently did a outreach opportunity where we collected toiletries for a local under-priveleged trailer park. TOILETRIES, people. I'm talking about toilet paper, tooth-paste. This isn't the Soviet Union, this is in the United States of America. Yet, there are people living in poverty that we choose not to see. And I'm complaining about the cat vet bill. Small potatoes, don't you think?
Well, I forget, so that might be why I felt led to take this post in this direction tonight. Martin had an "incident" at work, and had to go to the ER, resulting in the diagnosis of a sprained knee, and bruised hip, bum and ego. They will check him out at the Orthopedic Dr. in the next couple days to see if his knee is further damaged, as he already is in need of surgery, and could've worsened the situation. We both cringed at the idea of the co-pay that will follow. Then, I remember our outreach project and feel like an idiot for even comparing our situation to theirs.
Thank you, Lord, for insurance, jobs to pay for insurance, food at the end of a long day, and comfy bed to sleep in, and toilet paper, and tooth paste to make life just a tad more comfortable.
Well, call it post-partum, or whatever, but I've been there for about two months now. There just always seems to be one more thing. The kids are sick, the cat has to go to the vet... which leads to more bills we can't pay... the car's messing up... one more bill we can't pay... always something. I allow myself to wallow briefly in self pity, and then I go to our home group on Sunday nights, and I am brought back to the reality that some people face. Nothing like mine. We recently did a outreach opportunity where we collected toiletries for a local under-priveleged trailer park. TOILETRIES, people. I'm talking about toilet paper, tooth-paste. This isn't the Soviet Union, this is in the United States of America. Yet, there are people living in poverty that we choose not to see. And I'm complaining about the cat vet bill. Small potatoes, don't you think?
Well, I forget, so that might be why I felt led to take this post in this direction tonight. Martin had an "incident" at work, and had to go to the ER, resulting in the diagnosis of a sprained knee, and bruised hip, bum and ego. They will check him out at the Orthopedic Dr. in the next couple days to see if his knee is further damaged, as he already is in need of surgery, and could've worsened the situation. We both cringed at the idea of the co-pay that will follow. Then, I remember our outreach project and feel like an idiot for even comparing our situation to theirs.
Thank you, Lord, for insurance, jobs to pay for insurance, food at the end of a long day, and comfy bed to sleep in, and toilet paper, and tooth paste to make life just a tad more comfortable.
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