bitter. where's the sweet?

So if you're about to go sing a song of praise to God at church, but you get there and suddenly remember that your friend is mad at you, stop! Leave church, go find your friend, reconcile with him or her, then go sing a song of praise to God at church.

It's more important. Even Jesus thinks so.

Hold On, Please Hold On

Scenario:

A 3 year old boy is at the zoo and decides that he's going to do what he wants, when he wants. He doesn't need you anymore; you just limit him and impose pointless rules on his life (or so he says). When you try leading him, he kicks and screams until your heart breaks and you reluctantly give him what he wants: his "freedom."

So now what? The boy has fun for an hour or so. He loves not being accountable for anything. But can those monkeys really make him laugh for more than a few minutes? Do the lions really infuse a sense of awe for more than a couple moments? Is the clown fish really all that funny?

He finds himself lost, lonely, and worst of all... unsatisfied. No matter what he does, he hates being alone. He hates that you're not with him.

Dear boy, why did you ever want to let go?

Family

Yes. I love my parents and my sister. I love my home church. I love my Intervarsity community. But our God is not limited to a household, a church, or a campus fellowship. Certainly, His family is not limited to any boundaries that man can devise. His family does not consist solely of a working dad, a stay-at-home mom, and two and a half children. On the contrary, His family is huge!

So I move to Texas for the summer, and I immediately have family here. It's incredible. I love them dearly.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

"people are disappointing"

it's a refrain i seem to hear whenever one of my friendships starts growing. i often wonder if it's because i have accumulated unrealistic expectations. but then again, what's a growing friendship without growing expectations? i'd like to say that i don't feel as if i "deserve" what i expect. what does a broke sinner ever deserve? but, honestly, i do feel as if i deserve "better."

ok, so then i wonder... what if i'm wrong? what if i'm the problem? what if the friend didn't actually sin against me, but in my mind... things are just being blown magnitudes out of proportion. well that's when a good conversation comes in handy (and "good" doesn't necessarily mean "easy" or "happy").

talking is good because, while God knows our hearts, we don't know each others'.

as an aside, i wonder how often i disappoint others... i hope they tell me when i do. it sure is one of the hardest things to hear though (at least for me).

Burn Out Bright

shamelessly for Christ (Our Yoke is Easy)

Influenced by Patrick, I took a picture on my cell phone (and made it my background picture) of three girls who decided to let people smash raw eggs on their heads to raise money for their trip to Malawi, Africa this summer.

Quite a while back, I made my cell phone banner say "shamelessly for Christ" to remind myself that I should never let a fear of shame get in the way of God's Kingdom.

I thought it was apropos. Good job, sisters.

Dan Barker does not exist

Dan Barker once preached Jesus.

Now Dan Barker does not preach Jesus.

Therefore, Dan Barker does not exist.

-James White

I wonder what it must be like to dedicate your life against something: against God and Christianity. Maybe dedicating your life against something is similar to the "Christians" who are known only for being anti-homosexuality, anti-abortion, and anti-Harry Potter. 

Dan Barker is currently a co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He's written a couple books on his transformation from being "an evangelical preacher" (for 19 years) to "one of America's leading Atheists" (that's Atheist with a capital A).

My heart rends for Christ's influence in America. What has living and praying "in Jesus' name" become? It's possible to live "for Jesus" for nineteen years and magically turn away because you read some books? Where was your faith rooted?

Dan Barker, I will pray for you and your anti-ministry.

(and, apologies to the reader; I made a couple references that you may not understand unless you went to the debate last Thursday. you can ask me about them though. I'd be happy to explain)