Why I Didn't Deliver God an Ultimatum

It's Spring semester of my junior year. I have to do my best to prepare for multiple standardized tests – taking and retaking the ACT, SAT, and SAT Subject Tests – and the more I study, the more I realize that I will never be able to cover every single subject that the tests could ever throw at me. Not in a year, and certainly not in a meager two months. A poem that I wrote on a dark day describes the situation aptly.

But the Man Who Has Doubts...

I was reading in the book of Romans today, and I happened to land on chapter 14. Paul is talking about how we will sometimes hit “disputable matters” in our walk with God – things that may or may not be healthy for each of us, depending on our level of faith. For instance, Paul says, some people believe that eating meat is wrong. And, “if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.”

Back to the Gold Standard

“I feel pretty, Oh, so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and fine...” I just finished watching West Side Story with my mom and dad, and I can't get this song out of my head. Oh, well. It's message is rather pertinent to the moment.

Tonight, Pastor Nate gave a sermon about planting our roots in God – about spending every possible moment in prayer and worship so that we may see the fruit in our lives sometime down the road.

I know that God has been wanting to give me more joy. Ever since LA, I've been trying to make space for Him to do His work in my life. Tonight He showed me some of the fruit of that work.

When I try to fix my own problems...

A man is driving down a long dirt road. He wipes beads of sweat off his forehead, then dries the back of his hand on his stained and tattered utility jeans. The thermometer reads 90. The AC whines and sputters overhead.

The man glances down at his watch. He frowns, and eases the gas pedal down a little. The speedometer climbs in steady increments. The rear-view mirror reads all-clear. The man's face relaxes a little, and the furrows in his brow recede into pleasant, weather-worn wrinkles.

Then a loud BANG rattles through the windows. The man looses control of his truck for a moment, and spins off the road into tall grass. He utters and involuntary curse as the truck grinds to a halt.

Create 4/11/13

For the past few months, I've been a part of an awesome community service project called Create. We meet every other Thursday at the Manter House – a beautiful, yellow house in the middle of the roughest neighborhood in Anderson – and we host games and art projects for all the kids who live nearby.

Today, sadly, was one of our last days for this school year. We played tag, cut out a bunch of paper transformer masks for the kids to wear, and started making word-stencils for one of our biggest pieces of art yet: a set of paintings listing the four core values that the kids have learned throughout their time at Create. When those are done, we're going to hang them on the walls all over Manter House.

Don't Be Like A Thunderstorm

It's springtime. Long, sunny days roll by in endless repetition. The world comes alive with a fresh new vibrance. New colors, new smells, new sunshine. All is serene, peaceful.

The lakes and rivers twinkle, smiling as the land cannot, like a giant eye moist with ecstacy. Then slowly, imperceptibly, the water turns to gas and rises high into the air where it gathers and waits.

The new sun must take its toll. The earth sweats. The air sighs and heaves, carrying the clouds on its back to shelter the land. But the world is still so happy - children and animals frolic, delighting in this season of beauty. The skies give not a hint of their struggle.

Until, one day in early April, the seams rupture. Suddenly, dark and agry clouds clothe the atmosphere. The great, stoic strength of the sky caves in all at once, and the earth is pelted with tiny water droplets, tinged with the pain of a slighted hero.

Means of Self Expression (Why Do I Want To Blog?)

Life has long been taking me down a path of discovering who I am, what my talents are, where my weakness lies, what to do with my talents and weaknesses, etc. Lately God has put me in contact with many people who have helped me take tremendous leaps and bounds toward that goal.

I love it when people speak prophetic words over me (who doesn't!). It helps me shape a picture of what God wants from me in the present moment. Please allow me to give a couple quick examples before getting to the point.