I wanted to remind you...

I wanted to remind you that...

There is really no such thing as "normal." What does that even mean?
It's perfectly acceptable to talk about eating healthy and then go eat a cheeseburger. Talking about eating healthy is just as good as doing it, right?
Sleeping with a stuffed animal is absolutely okay, no matter how old you are.
Most people are afraid of the dark; you are not alone in this.
Wearing high heels around the house to tone your legs is probably a much better work-out than actually going to the gym and toning your legs. Not to mention, it's efficient and environmentally friendly.
Most conversations are much more enjoyable when participants talk in some sort of accent.
Even Jesus needed time to just be by himself to just chill out.
It's not so much about finding someone to live out your crazy dreams with as it is about finding someone who will dream crazy dreams with you.
Not having all the answers can actually be quite relaxing. There's never an explanation that has to follow "I don't know."
The person you are with should be someone you want to be seen with... and associated with... and everything else with... duh.
It's okay to not want to stay alone at home, even if you're "grown." Who wants to stay alone? Where's the fun in that?
Rich people do not have it all.
It's never too late to make a change.
Your job is something you should be thankful for. It should also be something you don't hate doing... at-least not more than you like doing it.

And that...
Math is not a necessary skill... unless you're going to be some kind of math person.. which I don't advise.
People used to live without cell phones and internet... successfully.
What really matters is in no way material.
Unassuming is always better than expecting.
Google Chrome is the best internet browser.
Some things just cannot be explained.. and that's okay.
A pretty pair of shoes is absolutely necessary, even if they just sit on your shelf, even if your significant other cannot understand why.
A good purse is much like a good man.

And that...
Life is too short to be anything but happy. It is exhausting to be angry or sad or stressed, so give yourself a rest every now and then. Tomorrow is for taking care of things you don't want to do today.

Modern Day Disciples?

Here's a thought for you: What would the disciples of the Bible (John, Peter, James, Matthew, etc.) be like today?

If you took these great followers of Christ, and even Jesus himself, and put them in today's world, what would they be like? Would they travel by plane? Bus? Train? 15 passenger van? What kind of clothes would they wear? Would they dress from Target, or Wal-Mart, or the mall? Would they were Buckle jeans and converse and gel their hair? Would they have long hair and wear flip flops and be "green?"

Would the disciples of the Bible belong to a church? would they belong to a denomination? Which ones? Would they be missionaries? Domestic or International? What would they think of today's "Christians?"

Do you think they'd go to college? What would they major in? Would they go to a Christian college? Would they join fraternities? Where would they live? Would they be modern-day nomads?

Would they tweet? Would they have Facebook? Would they announce their next destinations? Would they have followers? Would Jesus watch cable television and listen to the radio? What would they think of us and our lifestyles?

And what would we think of them? What would we think of their miracles and their teachings? What would we think about Jesus' sermons and his words? What would we think about their lifestyles? Would we call them "losers" or would we be jealous of them?

Would we love Jesus the same if He lived in our world? Would we love Him the same if He were here, today, now? Or would we be like the people of the bible- the ones who turned against him? Would we doubt Him, or would we follow Him the same?

How would he live? How would we live? How would He love? How would we love? Would things be different, or the same? Tell me what you think. I'm fascinated by this.

Compassion. Matthew 14

Matthew 14:11-14 :

"...His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. They then went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard about what happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick..."

Jesus had just lost John the Baptist. I cannot fathom the grief, or sorrow. I cannot imagine the weight of losing such a person in such a way. Jesus withdrew from everyone. He wanted to be alone. 

The people heard, and they wanted to be with Jesus. They followed him, on foot, to where he went. They were devoted to his cause, and wanted to hear him, see him, be near him. They needed him to heal them.

When Jesus saw the crowd, after he had gone to be by himself, he felt compassion for them. Through his own pain, he felt compassion and the need to reach out and heal these others. 

How comforting to know that we serve a God who, even through his own anguish, has compassion for us and wants to heal and comfort us. It is so exciting to think that even in the midst of tragedy, our savior will heal and provide. He will never leave and never forsake us, never. Not even in his own grief and hurting would he pull away from us.

How do we show compassion? When we are mad and hurting, are we able to look on others with compassion? Are we able to put aside our own grief and sorrow for the benefit of others? To live compassionately is not to give to the hurting in our time of strength, but to give to the hurting in our time of grief. 

Rants about when.

Matthew 5:40 (message) 

"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

"...Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city..."-God of this city 

This world amazes me. The hatred, the anger, the hurt that is everywhere, the despair that people wear around their necks- it pains me to see. You can look into a person's face, and even through their smile, their hurt comes out. It's like there is no hope. People are living for this world, but how? How do they not know that this world is temporary, as temporary as a passing day? How can a person wake up each morning if they are living for nothing more than this world? How can they fight death, sickness, loss, brokenness, stress, how can they fight anything without the hope of something greater? 

How can we as Christians live in this world without a broken heart for these people, for this world? How can we drive so happily to our schools and our jobs, how can we laugh so loudly and so heartily and live so freely when our neighbors, our brothers, our friends are desperate and drowning? 

I know how. I know hope. I know joy. I know that we can laugh and live and be free because hope and joy are in the Lord which cannot be changed or moved, but how can we watch without screaming out, without running to them, without grabbing their shoulders and crying for them? How can watch a world be so broken and lost and angry and sit in our churches and read our bibles without doing more? How can we think that we are doing our part by going every Sunday to OUR church, hoping that maybe someone new will come through OUR doors, but being content in ourselves, even if they don't come through our doors because at-least WE were there? 

How? Why? When will we wake up?

When will we realize that we are NOT the church; that we have become a building that wants to sit and wait for people to come through our doors so we can hand them a pamphlet and shake their hand and watch them leave, without even really learning their name. We feel good about ourselves because THEY came through OUR doors and we smiled at them. We feel like we've done our job when this happens. We feel like we are the church when this happens. We are NOT the church.

The church, the CHURCH went to THEM. The church didn't have doors. It didn't have a building. It had people. It had people who WENT to ALL NATIONS who reached OUT, who cried and begged and pleaded and gave their LIVES to bring the kingdom to the lost world. The church was not content with their membership. The church was not about a STEADY congregation. They were about a LOST congregation. They were about winning outsiders, not coddling insiders. They were about hearts broken with those hearts of the broken. They were about not being comfortable WITHOUT strangers. They were about OUTREACH. We say we are about outreach, but a hand shake is NOT outreach. A text message, a friend request are NOT outreach. Being comfortable with OURSELVES, IGNORING the strangers is NOT outreach. It is not what Jesus had in mind when he told us to GO to ALL nations. 

OUR church is no church at all. Our church is an establishment that claims to advance the kingdom. I love our church. But when will we become THE CHURCH? When will we want more? When will we become uncomfortable? When will we GRAB the LOST? When will our hearts TRULY break for them? When will we be hurt for THEM who are hurting? When will we GET it? When will we get UP? When will we GO? When will WE become THE CHURCH?

Just wondering. My own convictions. 

What counts?

Words, promises, what or who you claim to be, only go so far. What counts is not what you say. What counts is what you do. It's what you stand behind, and what  you spend your time fighting for. What counts is where your priorities lie, what you make a priority, what gets your money, your attention, your time. What counts is where your investment lies, in people or in things? What counts is, if you live for this world or more? If you are trying to fit in, or trying to be yourself, or if you are trying to be something else. What counts is what your goals are, what you want from life, what's important to you.

What counts is not what you tell people. It's not the show you put on. It's not the face you let people see. What counts is who you are behind a closed door, at home when no one's watching you. What counts is how you treat people, how you love, how you give, and how you show your love, your giving, your respect. What counts are your motives. It's not your intentions that count. It's your follow through, your direction, not the path you should take, but the path you do take.

What counts is what you back up. It's what you, not only hope for, but what you gain, not what you plan, but what you carry out, not what you want, but what you do. 


What counts is not what you want to be known as, but who people know you as.

What really counts though, is what lies behind what counts to you.