Turkey Day

since it is the day of thanksgiving, i thought i would throw down in writing a few things i am grateful for:

• i am so thankful for friends; those who love me deeply and care for me in a way that is foreign to American society as a whole today.
• Family. there is nothing like having a family who loves and cherishes you for who you are.
• this nation. America is like no other nation on earth. the fact that i can sit in a nice cozy house in front of a 1,000 dollar computer sipping a 4 dollar Latte without any serious worries is testament to the prosperity and freedom this nation has been about since its inception.
• Grace. there is nothing like the grace and love of God. no-thing can compare. grace is the greatest asset a follower of Jesus carries, simply because we have received it ourselves. Thank God for his grace and mercy.

Welp, those are just a few of many. so, what are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving break

so, unfortunately, my parents live in Springfield, MO for the time being, while my dad finishes up his master's degree, (no offense to all who live there and love it. i just would rather be on the beach and consider every other place more than 45 minutes from the beach and/or cascading mountains to be second rate...to put it nicely) and were not able to make the 7 and a half hour trek up to the nasty nati (Cincinnati) where i currently reside. therefore, i decided to fly out to Springfield with high hopes of enjoying a quiet, relaxing four days of Turkey fest 2008.

Anyhoo, i landed not but an hour ago, and like any respectable air traveler, decided to relieve my bladder (hope i'm not being too frank) at the nearby bathroom before hopping into my mother's Maroon Mazda 3. as i walk into the restroom, i notice several napkins strategically placed throughout the men's room with the words "Jesus is coming soon!! Are you ready for His coming?" scribbled with unfashionable handwriting. first of all, these kind of shenanigans somewhat anger me for the simple fact that it gives followers of Jesus a bad wrap. therefore, i immediately threw away the first napkin i saw. THEN, i see another at the stall i conveniently occupy. in a moment of glee, i hope that i am the only one who saw these "homemade tracts" and therefore can and will dispose of them with little to no damage done. however, as i am about to throw the second napkin away, i am hit with a thought that i can only perceive to be the God i serve: "Sean, [often, God is very personal when He speaks to me] i can use this." now, just because i perceive it to be God does not mean that it was, and yet i felt the need to leave this particular napkin alone.
Do i love tracts of all kinds now? by all means, no. my feelings for these types of behavior's from my fellow lovers of Jesus have not changed, but i also know that God is my Lord and i must do what He asks, no matter what my feelings are on the manner.

so, i wonder: do things like a tract in the bathroom help or hurt the kingdom of God? Christians already have a bad wrap; do these "shenanigans" feed it? Or maybe God uses just about anything to accomplish his will, and the napkin in the men's room is just not that detrimental to His, and our, cause?
thoughts, comments, or concerns anyone?

old times

i just spent several hours reminiscing and goofing off with some of my closest friends: Jeremiah Cartwright, Eric Prior, and Tony Hankins, known as "the Roommates." this was the first time all four of us were together since Jeremiah's first deployment to Iraq (he is in the army) over two years ago.
on the drive back from Columbus, where we all met for an evening of shenanigans, i got to thinking about deep friendship. this is not just the "hey we are best friends" kind of cliche. no, it is much deeper. when i think of these three guys, i am reminded of the friendship David and Jonathan had in 1 Samuel 18. it says that The soul of Jonathan and David were knit tightly together. this implies more than just friendship, but BROTHERHOOD. it's blood. a mending of souls, not in a gay kind of way, but in a sense that there is deep seeded connection.

Whenever the roommates and i get together, it is like we've never missed a beat; we haven't lost a step; and it goes way too fast. one cannot buy this kind of connection, love, and covenant friendship with all the gold in Fort Knox. And if you would ask me what one of the biggest things that is missing in the Church, i would say deep connection. i do not know what i would do without my Roommates, my brothers.

Just some food for thought to go with this: "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." WHY? what's the point Paiul? I think...well, because that is the type of a community of faith people everywhere are starving to be apart of. Brotherhood...deep love and connection.

God on Mute

i have to give a shout out to a fellow blogger and good friend of mine by the name of Justin Chandler. about, mmm, i would say the late summer mid fall of 2007, my fellow minister in arms suggested, no.....strongly urged me to pick up a book by the name of "God on Mute" by Pete Greig. whelp, i finally did just that, only a year later, and i will now suggest this read to anyone out there who enjoys using their cerebral cortex. i am not too far into the book, however, it has struck a chord in me and i will not keep it to myself. no, i will compose, and shout from the rooftops: "read this book."...and by all means, after you do, tell me what you think.

challenges

all too often, our goal in life is to avoid tough situations or circumstances at all costs; or so it seems. being in a new, foreign (for the time being) environment, i have found myself in the middle of one of my life's toughest challenges: being a leader at age 24. with this challenge comes a lot of battles: pride vs. humility, insecurities vs. God-reliance, patience vs....well, impatience, confidence vs. thinking i suck at everything known to man dealing with leadership and building a youth ministry, etcetera.
and yet, there is this little voice inside my head, the one that stands out from all of the other voices in my head talking to me constantly, which states: "sean, be patient; and remember, often time the toughest challenges in life end up creating the greatest opportunities." i guess the point is that no matter what tough challenge in life, we can always grow. this is an important lesson: the trials create perseverance, which makes us better people. Isn't that written down somewhere?

lately my mind has been so busy thinking that i find myself engaged in conversations with...well, myself. I sometimes wonder if that kind of thing happens to anyone else. Am i the only one who does this? Now, i know that i am not the only one who is "a thinker", but the way it manifests itself can be so weird! For instance, this morning on the way to my office i find myself arguing out loud in my car about a situation that has not taken place and most likely will not occur. I pause half way through my rant and wonder why i am carrying an imaginative argument.

I have come to the conclusion that some of us just need to "work things out" and that is how i sometimes do it. However, i can easily transform my attitude into a defensive posture if not careful, because the mind and feelings ARE that powerful. I am done with my confusing opine. please forgive the lofty discourse.

"just do it" syndrome

A couple of days after my birthday and a couple of months into my first job as a youth pastor, feeling slightly over my head...which is a good thing :) i realize more and more as the days continue to pile upon each other that it is God who transforms hearts and lives; i CANNOT. i am also handicap when it comes to "running" a youth ministry. without the Holy Spirit;...well, i am in trouble and do everything in vain. i have found that it is all too easy to fall into what i call "just do it" syndrome, where we do things just because. To the point of forgetting why we do them or for whom.

i have learned that "just do it" can be dangerous, to a point that we keep ourselves busy by pursuing our own agenda or someone else's. My hope is to only please God and accomplish His agenda. And this is a worthy cause to pursue.

as i sit here contemplating existence, i am thinking about how little things can affect emotion and outcome of situations. as a guy, it is easy to compartmentalize feelings, but eventually, if stuff is not dealt with, an emotional train wreck will occur. i know i'm being vague; it is on purpose. try and follow. we try and keep ourselves busy with things so we do not have to think about the problems people are going through in our family. or, our neighbors are going through a crisis but we conveniently put a smile on our face, holler out a "good morning" everyday and ignore their obvious pain. why is this? i believe it's because we are selfish....we (humans) do not understand how to bear with one another like we used to. but it also occured to me that we will all be better off if we do not ignore the small things; if we don't compartmentalize our concerns, aches, pains, and problems. i believe that sharing and helping are two of the most potent contributors to overall health and healing. i may have gotten a little of track here, but that's okay. there's some truth to this maddness.

movie review...the dark knight

this was a really good movie. however, very deppressing, as you dit though it you realize that Heath is no longer alive and it bummed me out. he did a great job as the joker....best villan performance since Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs....even then, Heath still rivals Hopkins. go and see the movie, keeping in mind that it is dark, depressing, and entertaining.

while sitting in a not so typical (since we had a guest speaker) sunday morning service, my mind begins to wander, something that occurs more often than it needs to. i see around me all types of people; young couples, young mom's, old people, singles, and the list continues. we all make up the body of Christ and yet we are so different in all kinds of ways. we have different preferences, backgrounds, opinions, IQ's, etc. and yet there is one thing specifically that i could not shake...something we all seem to struggle with: we all buy into lies about ourselves and our Master (Jesus). in one form or another, christians and non-christians alike believe lies. we believe the lie that we're worthless, dirty, loveless, a screw-up, unlovable, incapable of good, have little or no potential, are a failure, have to something to prove, and you can pretty much go on forever about lies we entertain. it is only a matter of time that if we go on believing and living a lie, it will kill us. truth sometimes can be so difficult to trust, especially if you've believed something antithetical for so long. imagine what could happen if people believed truth and spoke it in love and grace to all those we come into contact with; many who have lost hope themselves. i guess i started feeling like we should not just act like we have the hope of the world at work in our lives but actually believe in Him ourselves. believing what is true is the starting point for revolution.

one lump or eight?

i have been thinking the past few days about blogging something profound...something life altering. but i keep putting it off. most likely because writing something life-altering shouldn't require a lot of thinking, but, for me, tends to reveal itself through trial and tribulation; through doing life. so, here are several little tidbits i think i have learned this week which is healthy for us all to remember...wheather it's life altering or not: life comes at you fast, so enjoy each and every moment. learn to never take yourself too seriously. and be full a passion in all that you do.

grace and peace

home sweet home

i felt all the information i learned the last week of my Israel trip was going to fall out of my brain since i was unable to blog. but when you walk the land and are tested over it, i think the important stuff really sticks to the brain. like being baptized in the Jordan River. it was a dirty river, but nonetheless, this is where John held some of his ministry and baptized the Messiah. furthermore, there is never a dull moment when you are walking the shorline of Lake Galillee, where a majority of Christ's ministry was held. Galilee is a beautiful place, lush and green, with springs and rolling hills (calling them synclines and anticlines). we decended down mount arbel and walked the board walk of Tiberious. it was also a pretty cool thing to dive into the Lake of Galilee and throw clams at each other. i then thought that maybe Jesus did this with the Diciples and some of their friends.

as i sit here to recall all that happened the last week, i can't help but ponder on the highlights and realize once again that there is nothing more rewarding than living a life of purpose. i hope that after this trip, nothing will be the same inside my heart and mind. i have found that there is no higher calling than being like our Master. i have had the opportunity to walk where He walked; i have had the opportunity to take a look into the depths of Jewish culture and the Old Testament like never before, to better understand the Savior. it would be foolish to be unaffected by this trip; to walk away without any kind of motivation for my future. overall, i will never read the Bible in the same way again. there is no way. while overlooking the Jezreel valley in Megiddo, i realize that someday this world will come to an end and our Master will return with a vengence to redeem His beloved. it is exactly this that pushes me to love the unlovable and to share Jesus with all i come into contact with. i have a new appreciataion for living like my Rabii.