Millennials:Taking Crap for the Generations

My generation (the millennials) were raised (intentionally or unintentionally) biblically. We were taught that you should care for the people around you, you were supposed to share everything, you were to be kind to others, and you were to treats others the way you would want to be treated. One could argue that these are just good morals and I wouldn't disagree but these are (while possibly over simplified) the things Jesus did and taught.

In contrast to the things we were taught daily growing up, there has always been a running narrative in America that is very unbiblical; pulling yourself up by your boot straps to be successful. This is the what America was built on, individuals working hard, taking care of themselves, pushing the boundaries, and eventually succeeding to build wealth and the many luxuries we take for granted in this country today.

So why are the things we were taught growing up and this idea of American success in contrast to each other? Well the first are purely communal acts: sharing with others, caring for others, being kind to others, treating others fairly. You cannot accomplish the things we were taught to do by yourself. It requires others! But the idea of "pulling yourself up by your boot straps" is purely individual. With this mindset you are the one who is creating success for yourself. The individual becomes the primary focus and drive.

Acts 2:42-47 describes to us what the first Christian communities looked like. They were gatherings of people who worshiped, learned, ate, and enjoyed fellowship together. They shared everything they had, sold their possessions and gave the money to those in need. They become a community of people, not individuals, that supported one another, lifted each other up so no one individual had to lift themselves up by their boot straps. Jesus gives us our marching orders as the disciples ask which commandment is the most important (Matthew 22:36-40). Jesus responds, "...love the Lord your God...love your neighbor as yourself...". How do we show our love to God? By loving God's creation as God loves it. Loving our neighbors and treating them as we want to be treated becomes an act of worship and love for God. We cannot love others without others! You cannot demonstrate love unless there is a person to act that love upon. Community becomes the way we encounter God at work in the world. And we do that by listening and following what our parents taught us: care for people, be kind, share, etc. 

I find it interesting that the "pull yourself up by your boot straps" generations are now voicing their discontent with the Millennials they raised to share and care for others. Millennials are being told to "grow up" and "life isn't fair" as if the caring and sharing lessons were really just for the kids but your an adult now and in the real world you have to "pull yourself up by your boot straps!" It is like the idea of sharing and caring for others was a Santa Clause story told to kids to make them feel good but once they get to a certain age we have to sit them down and tell them the truth; no one out there is actually flying around giving away presents to everyone. Mom and dad spend hard earned money on those gifts and sometimes the money is tight. 

But here is the thing, sharing and caring for others is not just a story we tell kids to make them feel good. It is a very real way of life. Caring for others no matter who they are is a choice we each can make every day of our lives. Sharing what we have whether it is a lot or not is a real choice we can make every hour of every day. We were taught these things as kids for a reason. Many of us were taught these things because of their biblical ramifications while others just because it was what was right. Maybe we were taught these things out of an idealistic mindset with hopes that we wouldn't have to experience the "real world". Maybe they thought we would learn these things and we could be the generation that could change it all.

And that becomes the irony of all of this. The same people who taught a generation (maybe with idealistic hopes of changing the world to a better place) that sharing what you have and caring for everyone around you no matter what actually matters is the same generation that is berating their kids and grand kids for doing what they were taught. Maybe no one actually thought that those idealistic things Millennials were taught would actually take hold. They would become just like every generation in the past, growing up and realizing they can't rely on the others and have to pull themselves up by their boot straps. 

But no, we were listening. We were watching. We were learning. You taught us an idealistic dream for the future and we liked what we saw. We realized that we are all in this together. We learned how good it felt to share with someone who had nothing. We learned how good it felt to accomplish a task with a team or even fail as a team. We learned that we can accomplish more when we have help. And we are learning how empty our lives can be when we are disconnected from the "other" due to technology. 

If you believe we are a monster in this world or an annoyance, then know that you created this, fed it, and taught it. But what I believe is that we owe all the generations before us a very big thank you! You have raised a generation that maybe, just maybe can begin to change the path of this world towards an idealistic vision which is God's vision for God's world. Because of what you taught us I believe we are taking small steps to making your idealistic vision a reality where no one will have to pull themselves up by their boot straps but instead are pulled up by their neighbors with love. So maybe it's time to stop complaining about the Millennials and remember what you taught us. We'd love to have you join us. In fact, you are the ones who taught us in the first place so really you are the experts! We are better together!

As a Christian I can't...

As a Christian I can't vote for Donald Trump. I also can't see how any other person who calls themselves a follower of Jesus could vote for him either. There is no way my mind can compute how those two things would work together. But like many Americans, I am also not a fan of Hillary Clinton and again as a Christian I struggle to see myself being able to vote for her too.

Full disclosure, I am an independent. I have been able to vote since 2002 and voted in my first presidential election in 2004. I have voted for both democrats and republicans (presidents, senators, congressmen, in all positions). I am probably close to being one of those socially liberal, fiscally conservative people. I am also a Christian; a Lutheran Christian. I work for a church. I am a youth minister. So here is the problem I have...

Christians are called to love everyone and fight for those without a voice and in need. Christians are called to give up everything so that those who have nothing can have something. The basic Christian message is to love God and love people: LOVE! Donald Trump does not speak love. And yet there are things I like about Donald Trump. I like that he is not part of the establishment. I like that he doesn't have to take money from large corporations (other than his own). I like that he is a businessman and could possible bring a fresh perspective to the white house. In fact, these are some of the main reasons I hear from many people about why they would vote for him. But despite these things and despite the fact that I am, again, not a Hillary Clinton fan, I can't vote for Donald Trump because I am a Christian.

All of the reasons I listed for liking Donald Trump really all come down to one simple thing; MONEY. (enter my fiscally conservative side) But here is the thing, if I am a Christian the love I have for other people trumps any conversation about money, period. Jesus talks more about money than anything else in the Bible and basically it all comes down to one thing; give it away! You see Jesus knows that money (things, wealth, the desire for wealth, etc) has replaced God in our world. We put money at the top of everything, even above God. You can't even talk about money in church (despite the fact that Jesus did it all the time). Money provides us with safety, food, housing, security, and comfort. But isn't God the provider of everything? Do you see how money quickly replaces God in our lives. All we need is a little more money and we will be happy and yet we never are. It's always a little more, just a little more. Jesus knows that at the end of the day, money is not going to save us.

So if money can't be my top priority then what? Well, LOVE! So while there are things I like about Trump, as a Christian, those things I do like don't matter or take a back seat to the top priority. The only thing that does matter is the love we have for our neighbors. The love we have for the stranger who is different than us. The love we have for the person who scares us and how we respond to hate with love.

I know that our options are not great right now, but that does not mean that we followers of Christ can't change the way we process our votes and prioritize what is important. I believe the most important thing to look for in any person whether it is someone running for political office or just a friend is, "How do they love?" No one is going to get it right all the time. No one is going to be perfect at it, but are they trying the best they can to love ALL the people around them like Jesus and is this what they find to be the most important thing in their lives? We have thousands of years of history that has demonstrated to us how putting money first and love later works and the results are there are still wars, there is still crime, there is still poverty, hunger, famine, lack of water, and so much more. We have one example of pure love in history and it won. Jesus died and was not kept down, he rose from the dead. Love conquered even death.

So I wonder what it would look like if we tried that instead. The truth is, you can't actually follow Christ unless you love. The definition of follow is to copy or imitate so if you are actually a follower of Christ you HAVE to love. If you are not loving you are not copying Jesus. That is the only way you can actually claim that title. And because of this I cannot vote for Donald Trump. I have not seen him love like Christ. I try very hard to be a follower of Christ, even though I fail often. I don't know who I am going to vote for yet but I do know how I am going to decide. I am going to see who tries the hardest to love like Christ. In the end, if they can attempt to love like Christ all of the other policies and decisions will follow.

A Christian Hating Christian Hatred

After this most recent tragedy in Paris, social media and the regular media outlets have been flooded with what has become the new normal rhetoric after terrorist attacks or almost any type of violent tragedy. There are those who are blaming the current politicians saying if "their guy" was in charge this would have never happened. There are those praying for all the people involved. There are the people who scream for war and revenge. There are those who talk about more guns, those who want to blame a large group of people, those who want us to stay out of the situation, those who say more security, those who blame history, and the list goes on and on. I truly believe that all of the reactions people have to these types of tragedies are initially justified. We all grieve and grieve differently. We are all trying to understand what type of evil could do such a thing. But after the initial shock of the event, things change...or the responses should change, but instead, too often, the responses become even more radical.

Full disclosure, I am a Lutheran Youth Minister. I am a Christian and a vast majority of my friends and connections are Christian because I work for a church. I heard about the Paris attacks on Friday night while on a retreat with 40 teenagers as we were preparing to worship. My heart sunk when I received a text message from one of the dads saying "FYI, Paris was just attacked by Terrorists." I quickly looked it up on my phone to see around 40 dead at the time with multiple bombs that had gone off and shootings. We began worship as planned and during the opening prayer we prayed for the people of Paris, the victims, the attackers, and pleaded with God for peace. As the weekend went on we slowly heard more details, the death toll rose, and we continued to pray. The weekend came to a close, we prayed some more, it was all we could do. I woke up Monday morning exhausted and did my daily Facebook catchup and of course my news feed was flooded with people's opinions of the attackers and what should happen next. Slowly an anger built up inside me as I scrolled through my news feed.

I discovered pure and utter hate. "Keep the Muslims out!" "Bomb them all!" "Kill or be killed!" These things coming from people who claim to be Christians.Friends, politicians, neighbors, and strangers alike not just condemning the acts but making their own threats of retaliation as if they have been given the permission to do just as horrible of an act and be deemed a hero. I don't know what made me more angry, the comments themselves or the fact that I am no longer shocked by these comments!

What really makes me angry is I have begun to feel hate for those Christians who spew hate towards anyone who is different than them! They have gotten under my skin so badly I have become one of them. I am a Christian who hates Christians who hate!

I struggle to really understand this hate that Christians have and how they can justify it while saying they are Christ followers (even though I apparently do the same thing). Jesus was not always clear on everything but somethings he couldn't have been more clear on. For example, Jesus was pretty clear on what to do with your enemy. He said to LOVE them! At no point did he say, "Seek revenge and make it even worse on them!" In fact he said the opposite, "if someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also." -Matthew 5:39. He even says, "pray for those who persecute you! For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good..." -Matthew 5:44. Hello Church! There is no possible way for Jesus to be more clear on this! Oh and if for some reason you read this and thought, "Maybe Jesus wasn't clear enough." Jesus actually goes and demonstrates his point to us! When Jesus is dying on the cross, being murdered, he musters up enough strength to call to God and asks God to forgive the people who are in the process of killing him! This could not be more clear, words and a demonstration!

So this is why I struggle when I see "Christians" calling for revenge or for war or for inhuman reactions to terrorist attacks and other types of tragedies. Those types of reactions could be some of the most unchristian reactions possible! As Christians we are supposed to be counter-cultural, different than the main stream, radical in our thoughts and action. Revenge is not different or radical, it is simple, gutless, and cowardice. But forgiving and loving someone who has taken everything from you, now that takes courage, guts, and faith! Faith that just maybe, God is bigger and better than all of our wars, stronger than our hate for one another, and powerful enough to bring change to a world that has gone horribly wrong.

As Christians, followers of Christ, we should believe that love conquers all. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." And yet we continue to respond to hate with hate. I am constantly reminded of the saying, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Hello world! Hello Christians! We have gone insane! Maybe it is time that we try a different approach and instead of revenge and hateful speech, maybe we try love and forgiveness.

We are always reminded as Christians that when we pray we aren't always given what we ask for but instead opportunities to practice what we need to do (ie. pray for patients and God will give you opportunities to practice being patient). I am pretty sure every single Christian at one point or another has prayed for world peace. I am sure most churches do so every Sunday when they gather. Maybe, just maybe these tragedies are opportunities for us to practice peace! (please don't hear this wrong, I do NOT believe that God let this tragedy happen so that a bunch of Christians can learn how to be peaceful, but I do believe that God can create opportunities for good out of any evil)

So Christian brothers and sisters, as I struggle to find love for so many of you right now, I am going to do my best to practice what I am preaching. I am going to try to forgive you and I am going to try to love you. I am going to try to forgive the men who murdered over 120 people in Paris this week. I am going to try to forgive the Islamic State for their continued evil they bring to this world. I am going to try to forgive those who have attacked so many other nations this past month, year, and beyond. I am going to offer up love and pray for them (along with all of the victims). And most of all I am going to ask God to help me. Some may see this as weak, but I truly believe that this is a radically different way of living that is harder than any war we could fight. Bombs and guns will never end any of this. History has proven this. Love is really the only answer and guess what, that has been proven as well. All you have to do is look at the empty cross. Love has already won.

(NOTE: I do have many Christian friends who have posted amazing comments of love following these tragedies. I give thanks for you and your example!)

The New Creation is Here

“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.”

~ 2 Corinthians 5:15-21



Our lives are not our own but lives that we live for Christ in his new creation. So many people think that heaven is this magical place that we reach when we die if we were really good and faithful. I can tell you, this is not my experience of heaven. In fact, I think Paul would argue this as well from his writing to the Corinthians above. He says that we are in the new creation now, “the old has gone, the new is here!” It is Christ who brought the new creation to us through his death and resurrection! God reconciled all of the sins through Jesus, they are gone and washed away.

So you might be asking, “Then why does this ‘heaven’ or ‘new creation’ have so much pain? Why does this “heaven” suck?!” Well here’s the thing, the new creation is here. I believe that to be true, however, sin still exists it is just that God has made it so we do not have to pay for our sins. Jesus already did that. So even though we do sin and we will continue to sin God has forgiven us and continues to do so because He loves us so dearly.

If this is the case, then where is heaven? Well I believe heaven is more of an experience and feeling than an actual place. Heaven or the new creation is the experience of living completely for God and in total harmony with Him and His creation. The complete lack of sin. This to me is heaven. Of course, sin is what breaks that relationship with God and keeps us from achieving heaven.

So how do we achieve this heaven? Well Paul gives us pretty good instructions in his letter to the Corinthians, “be reconciled to God.” Yeah, I know a pretty general answer and probably overly simplified. But if you think about it, if we really truly reconcile with God, completely accept His grace and trust in Him with our lives then we do not sin. We do not break relationship with him because we have complete and total faith. Now I know this is much easier said than done. I myself struggle in my faith all the time! And due to our imperfections we will never be able to completely give ourselves to Jesus and turn over all of our trust, at least in this life. The sin is just to strong. But we can fight it and work towards it.

Again Paul gives us some hints when he says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” We are His hands and feet out in the world. He wants us out there serving His people as He did with Jesus and continues to do through His blessings. And this is where it gets really fun! It is through this, through the lens of being God’s hands and feet that we accomplish heaven. When you completely give of yourself without asking for anything in return, when you listen and care for those less fortunate, not because you have to but because you get to, when you are God’ ambassador out in the world you are in full relationship with God. For a brief moment sin has no control over you and you are not breaking that relationship with God, rather you are fueling it and making it deeper. It is in these experiences of service that I have personally felt a small piece of heaven and I have witnessed it in our students as well. When we serve out of our hearts and not out of our duty we reconcile with God, we accept His love and we choose to share it with others and He works through that and our relationship with Him. It is amazing!

This is what our summer to come is going to be all about. We are going to discover the new creation that came with Jesus. The new creation that has been here for 2011 years. We are going to show this world this new creation and bring a new found life into His creation with our love and by His grace!

New Creation

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

~ 2 Corinthians 5:15-21

If you are a Solid Rocker going on the mission trip, you will hear this verse a lot over the coming months! This is our mission trip theme verse for 2011. We are gearing up for this trip, the money is rolling in, our Golf Tournament is weeks away, the planning as begun, the adults are being trained. Before you know it we will be loading up the bus and hitting the open road to Knoxville, TN! As we head to this beautiful area of the country, surrounded by mountains majesty, glorious trees, and nature all around you can't help but think of creation!

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul writes that if we are in Christ we are in the new creation that Christ has brought to us! This is the amazing and gracious truth about Jesus! We are all in Christ. And when Jesus died on the cross and rose up from the grave he washed away our sins which brought ALL of us into new life, a new creation! This new creation where we are not held captive to sin and death! We live because Jesus lived. We are invited into this community of Christ and get to live now in the present in this new creation!

The new creation is not something that will come in later times, it is not something we have to wait around for. It is here, now! We just have to live our lives in Christ. When we do that we get a taste of the new creation because we are like Jesus, we can be like him and see his glory in this world, now and today!

So how are you enjoying this new creation that you are in today? How are you working in and for Christ to show others this new creation? This is what we will be doing in Knoxville this summer, but why wait till then to be created new and enjoy the new life that has been so graciously given to you?!

May your week be filled with new creations and new life of Jesus. May you see him in all you do and show others the creation that he created, pure, true, and beautiful. May you enjoy this new creation gift!

To Much, Too Fast

So this week I am gearing up for a trip to Minneapolis, MN for a three day training to become a National Youth Gathering Coach for the Florida-Bahama Synod. As I write this I am freaking out a little, looking at the large calendars in front of my, the monthly calendar on my computer screen, and the weekly calendar hanging on my wall and they are filled completely. Friends and family are constantly asking what am I doing on this weekend or that weekend so that we can do some fun activity and my constant answer is, "I'm working." It seem to just be the time of year, the weather is nice so in youth ministry we gear up activities and do some extra longer events, Easter and Lent is upon us so mission stuff is all over the place, and its do or die time for all the summer trips. Of course it doesn't help that I've accepted this additional duty as the Synod's Youth Gathering Coach. I'm overwhelmed and I know you all can completely relate. If you aren't there now, you probably have been!

I keep on thinking to myself, "I've got to much going on." But everything I'm doing gives me life and fulfilment and if I had to pick something to drop, I don't know what it would be. I think we all have heard that God doesn't give us more than what we can handle and looking at the past few months of my life and the ones coming up I feel like all I can do is believe that to be true. I feel completely overwhelmed, yet every morning I wake up, I go to work, I function well, I see friends and family, relationships are going well, and so are the ministries. God is calling me to do these things and I believe he has his hand in all of it. Which means I'm not alone. God is challenging me and he challenges all of us. He knows us better than we even know ourselves...He created us! So of course he knows what our limits are and he doesn't seek to harm us so why would he give us more than we can handle?

I know that at times it feels like life is too much, we have a billion things thrown at us, but that is just he challenge of life and the joy of God's presence in our life (that's right, JOY!). If this was all simple and easy, well then what would the point really be? Nothing God has expected of anyone has been easy. Was it easy for Jesus to accept his fate of dying on the cross for us? NO! Now aren't you glad that God's expectations of you are just a little lower than he had for Jesus?!

So this week as you are drowning in a sea of stress and life, stop, and take a look around you. My bet is you will see God, present in your chaos, walking with you because He knows that you can accomplish what he has put before you, he has faith in you, now all you need is faith in him!

Growing Into New Life

Every year has it’s seasons and everything in life does too. We start out young and highly dependent on our parents for everything. They teach us the basics, how to walk and talk. Before you know it we are in school, mom and dad aren’t around us every moment of every day. It’s other adults that begin to have a part in our lives. We start to choose our own friends and we find social niches. We continue to grow into new seasons, we hit adolescents and a whole new world begins to take shape as we think differently, learn differently, act differently. Again, there is less and less time with our parents and more adults who continue to be a part of what we will become. We get active in sports and arts and all kinds of other things. We enter into high school and yet another season takes place as we find ourselves with more doors open to us then ever before. We learn how to drive and no long are we kept to a schedule that only our parents can accommodate. If we’ve got the wheels then all we need is ourselves. We experiment, we try new things, we have so many more options.


This is the way life goes. One season moves into another. Some are really good, some are really bad, and others just pass us by like we never even realized. This is God’s world for us, we wants us to learn and grow, but he wants us to do it with him.

I know what it’s like to be in high school. Believe it or not, I was there once, and not to long ago! It is so easy to get caught up in who said what about that person, what’s the latest fashion, who’s doing what on Saturday night, and does that guy/girl like me? It seems as though it is so easy to forget about God when you step foot off of church property. I will be the first to admit, when I was in high school, sure I believed in God, but I didn’t understand him. I didn’t read the bible, I didn’t understand what faith really was, I didn’t truly know what it meant to be Lutheran. I really didn’t have a relationship with God. I went to church and youth group, but really only because there were some very pretty girls! That was enough to keep me coming back week after week, plus it was a time when I could get away from my parents and the adults in my life who told me what to do and when to do it all the time. How many of you can relate to this?!

What I didn’t realize at the time was even though I didn’t have a relationship with God, He had one with me. In my escape to youth group each week, this idea was never told to me. Maybe it was because I didn’t listen, maybe it’s because I didn’t want to know that, or maybe it’s because the youth group I was a part of lacked adults who invested time in us to grow us spiritually. Whatever the case, I went through high school and college struggling with my faith. I thought I had to act a certain way, attend church all the time, and read the bible each day. I was constantly going through relationships with friends and family, breaking ties, forgiving, holding grudges, being hurt, and not realizing that through all of that there was someone who loved me know matter what; something called unconditional love.

It wasn’t until a mission trip to Philadelphia with very close friend that I realized that there was nothing I could do to be in a relationship with God. God is relationship with me, with us, no matter what! And it’s not a matter of having to go to church, youth group, read your bible, or pray, we get to do those things because God’s love is so eternal and never ending that through those things and the relationships we build we get to experience this love, grace, and heaven that God has for us. It was in the community that was built in Philadelphia the I grew into new life. A new season started for me that week and I became new again. It was like a baptism for the spirit! I didn’t have to be on that trip as an adult leader, I was blessed to be there, in community with those adults and students because through them and those relationships I saw Jesus and I heard loud and clear, “He loves you!”

So my challenge to you, as we prepare for this summer and all the community that we get to build during this time through retreats, mission trips, and other summer time events, whether you’ve been coming to Solid Rock or St. Stephen or another church regularly or not, what is it that you don’t have to do anymore but what is it that you get to do? How is it that you are growing into new life realizing the relationship God has with you? When will this new season change for you and bring you forth in hope, joy, and peace, that no matter what God loves you? How will it be that you witness God through the community placed before you so that you can grab a hold of this new life and go forth with your flame shinning bright?

May you get these joys in your new life, the new season, that is brought to you through communities of faith, lifting each other up, loving each other, and witnessing God through their relationships! May you grow in this new life, knowing that Jesus is in relationship with no matter what or where you are! God Bless you and Peace!

No Doubt

Doubt is a pretty basic feeling for humans. At times doubt seems so natural, especially when we are down in the dumps or just in a negative mood (being a negative Nancy!). I doubt all the time! Generally this time of year for me is filled with doubt, I doubt that the mission trip will end up going well, I doubt my ability to do ministry as things slow down a little, people get stressed from a full year of ministry and students are getting burnt out between school, sports, life, and church! I even doubt my faith...a lot!...Okay, maybe a lot is a small exaggeration, but I do doubt it at times, and it's not just the, one time of year kind of doubt.

But what is doubt really? I would say it is the lack or absence of hope. It is believing that something will go in the direction you do NOT want it to go. Hope is the opposite of that. Hope is the desire and belief that things will go the way we want. Doubt is not necessarily a sin, however, I would like to relate the two. Sin could be defined as the lack of our ability to see God in our life. Doubt, much like sin, I think is also a lack of our trust in God being involved in our lives. God is always with us and his hand is on everything in this world. If we truly believed this then doubt would not exist because we would be hopefull that everything God touches would be safe, clean, beautiful, and loved and that is truly the case. But we doubt that God really does have his hand on everything which only creates more doubt for us in our world.

In my mind hope and belief are one in the same. If we have these in our lives then it eliminates the need to doubt. Unfortunately, that is not the way we are all wired. We forget our connection with God, we find worldly things easier to grasp and so we lean to them instead of God. This creates doubt in Him which leads to more doubt. Doubt is natural, unfortunately, but we need to understand that it is natural. If we can understand this and know that we are not alone in our doubt then we can support each other and encourage each other to faith and hope!

I pray this week that we do not need to be like Thomas, not believing until we feel the holes in His hands. But we can believe and know through the love that we witness, He is risen and we ALL are saved! May you find hope in your world today and may that hope spread to those around you. May the hope bring love and joy and defeat the doubt of the world!

Being Blessed

There was a pastor who served a ministry for the mentally disabled. There was one particular woman named Kathy who would constantly run into this pastor every day. One day she stopped him and asked him for a blessing. He did the usual cross on the forehead and mumbled some words and as he did this she smacked his hand away. She said, "No! Not now, I want a blessing during worship tonight!" The pastor found this to be a little strange but said ok. He went on with his day not really sure how he would do this blessing during worship that night.

When it came time to worship he still didn't know what he was going to. Before worship began he called Kathy forward to give her a blessing infront of the congregation. She came forward with a big smile on her face and once she reached the pastor she wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulder. The pastor was completely shocked by this and really did not know what to do. By habit he too put his arms around her and embraced her. Then we whispered in her ear, "You are a child of God, his beloved, and with you he is well pleased."

After the blessing Kathy had a large smile on her face and returned to her seat. The pastor thought all went well and prepared to go on with worship when another man in the congregation raised his hand. The pastor called on him and the man said, "Could I have one of those blessings?" Of course the pastor said yes, so the man came forward, wrapped his arms around the pastor, placed his head on his shoulder and the pastor said, "You are a child of God, his beloved, and with you he is well pleased."


When the pastor finished this blessing he looked up to find a line had formed behind this man. Everyone wanted this blessing! The pastor continued blessing the congregation this way until each person that wanted one recieved it.
 
We all are blessed by so much, but how often do we stop and embrace the things or people that we are blessed by? How do we bless those people around us? Are you taking time to stop and bless those around you? Are you taking the time to stop and be blessed yourself?
 
This week I challenge you all to take note of your blessings and give thanks for them. See how you are a blessing to others around you and most importantly stop. Stop and allow another to bless you, whether it be someone doing something nice or even someone embracing you, placing your head on their shoulder and hearing these words, You are a child of God, his beloved, and with you he is well pleased."You are a child of God, his beloved, and with you he is well pleased."
 
You all are blessing to me, peace and love!

Bridge to Baptism

So in worship we've been talking a lot about baptism and sin, so I thought I've naturally been thinking a lot about baptism lately. Actually my mind has been focused on water a lot. Maybe because it rained all day yesterday, maybe because the weather on the weekends has been perfect and I've been spending a lot of time at Wekiva Island just sitting by the water, or maybe it's because I'm having this strange mid-winter yearning for a beach trip! But water seems to be surrounding my thoughts lately...

So baptism, many of us have done it, or been baptised. Many of us don't remember it though, but we know that it happened to us. So my question this week is what brings us to baptism? You might be thinking, "Well my parents did because I was a baby!" but that's not what I'm talking about. We all come face to face with our baptism every day and we have experiences that many would consider re-baptizing them. Experiences like powerful worship, babies being born, mission trips, etc. These things bring us new life, new energy, and a new perspective on our faith that is much like baptism. These types of things have the Holy Spirits finger prints all over them and pouring out on us as they happen.

So maybe the better question is, what is the bridge you walk across to refresh your faith and remember your baptism?

I consider myself lucky, in that, my career seems to be one bridge after another the forces me to relive my baptism. Retreats with students, meaningful worship, mission trips, serving students every single week, these things are like gushing waters pouring out on to me that bring me life and help me to remember the amazing gifts God has for me. But I wasn't always in youth ministry and this was not always the case. The original "big" bridge for me was a close friend, a church youth group, and a mission trip. After college I returned home to find a very good friend of mine leading the old youth group we were a part of. She pushed me to join her and be a part of the things she was doing. I did it hesitantly. After a year, I was growing but nothing to significant, I was probably only a few steps onto the metaphorical bridge. Then the opportunity of a mission trip came up. I was very hesitant as we had only a few months to plan this elaborate trip and none of us had done something like this before. But again my friend pushed me and continued to lead me across this bridge and the next thing I new I was in Philadelphia with 16 students doing all kinds of mission work, tired, stressed, and yet full of energy and excitement! The last night of the trip was the baptism moment. I had crossed the bridge and water was being poured over my head and the cross being made as our group sat on the back steps of the Lincoln Memorial crying, laughing, sharing, and hugging. The Holy Spirit poured out on all of us, new life reigned, and for a moment we were all clean. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. The bridge was long, bumpy, and creaked a lot as i walked across it but sure enough, it led me to the water.

So what is your bridge in your life? We relive our baptisms every day. Sometimes its a big long bridge, other days its a short small one. But at the end we find that water waiting for us, giving us new life, new hope, and new energy. May you find your bridge often and recognize the waters of baptism pouring over you each and every day!

In His Image

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

~Genesis 1:27

What does God look like? Well he looks like you!...and me...and your best friend...and your mom and dad! It's right there in Genesis, one of the first things we read in the Bible, he created us in his image! We all have God in us whether we know it or not, or believe it or not. This is the way God created us.

I've always found this to be interesting insight because if we are all created in God's image and he resides in each of us that means when we interact with each other we interact with God. Okay, maybe it's not a direct interaction like pray is but we are still interacting with him because he is present spiritually and physically as we are in his image. Plus as I am writing this and realize I continue to use the pronoun "he" or "his" or "him" and realize that is not necessarily the correct pronoun. Because both man and woman were created in God's image so God could be either or. But I digress, if we are truly created in God's image and when we interact with another person and build a relationship with that person what does that mean in regards to our interaction with God. When we flick off that person that cut us off in traffic, are we flicking off God? When you yell at your mother or father is that yelling at God? When you hold the door for your girlfriend or boyfriend is that holding the door for God? I would argue a resounding YES!

So the question then becomes, how does this change your interaction with people? I think we all would agree that we wouldn't flick God off. We might get angry with him at times but he is still God. I think most people, if they were face to face with God, would treat him or her or whatever with respect, love, and honor. So what happens to your relationships and interactions with people when you stop looking at them as Joe Schmo and start seeing God in them? And maybe the more difficult question is, how do we see in God in every single person we meet, even the bully at school? What do you think about these questions?

So in this new year and new decade may our resolutions be about God and may we strive to see the good and love of God in each and every person we meet. May we treat everyone as we would treat God. May the image of God be so brilliant in you that others will shine too! Peace!

Christmas Has Come

"Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."

~Luke 2:10

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my last post of 2010! I decided this morning as I sat to write this I had to go with this verse from Luke. When I read it I am always reminded of Linus from the Peanuts Gang reading the Christmas story during their Christmas play in the Charlie Brown Christmas (probably my most favorite Christmas movie!). My grandfather was a big fan of the Peanuts and nicknamed me "chuck" and now my Aunt and grandma continue the tradition with snoopy cards for most holidays. But there was always something that struck a chord with me when hearing Linus read these words. I think it was the innocence of his voice and the confidence that he read it with.

It is that attitude that I think we all should have about the Christmas story! An excited innocence that has no hesitation that YES! a child has been born to US and he will be our savior. If you really truly believe that this child is our savior I believe you can't say those words without excitement and joy. And it is through the innocence that allows us to not second guess this, not look back and say well what about this and that. Children have this amazing way of just hearing a story and saying, YES! And isn't it interesting that Jesus, our savior, comes to us in this innocence of a child?

To often we get caught up in the details of life, religion, and the world around us. But if we just look at the simplicity of it all, a child, born to us, our savior, the Messiah, and we don't let all of the complexities through it because a miraculous event of peace, love, hope, and joy! So this Christmas I invite you all to approach the coming days as a child, excited for the simplicity of the message and the event. Come to this day with a heart of innocence  and excitement. See the child that is for us as a child and see the miracle of this Christmas!

May you be blessed with peace, love, hope, and joy this Christmas and New Year. May God bless you with the simplicity and joy of a life filled with Him and His grace! May this child born to us live in you from this day on. Christmas has come! Merry Christmas!

Lying in a Manger

She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.Luke 2:7

All of us should use the gospel to evaluate ourselves. How near or far are we from Christ? How are we doing in faith and love? Many become inflamed with dreamy devotion when they hear about how impoverished Christ was when he was born. They grow furious at the people of Bethlehem and criticize their blindness and ingratitude. They think that if they had been there, they would have served the Lord and his mother. They wouldn't have allowed them to be so miserable. But these people don't even notice their own neighbors who are nearby and need their help. They ignore them and leave them as they are. Who on earth doesn't have miserable, sick, blundering, or sinful people around them? Why don't they show their love to these people? Why don't they do for their neighbors what Christ did for them?


Don't deceive yourself by thinking you would have treated Christ well when you don't presently do anything for your neighbor. If you had been at Bethlehem, you would have paid just as little attention to him as everyone else did. You only want to serve him because you know who he is. Let's say that he were to come, lie in the manger, and let you know that he is the one you now know so much about. Of course you would want to do something to help. But before that, you wouldn't have done anything.


Similarly, if you could see your neighbors now as they will be in the future, and if they were lying in front of you, then you certainly would take care of them. But because you only see them for what they are now, you ignore them. You fail to recognize Christ in your neighbors.
                        ~Martin Luther

Christ is in all of us. We were created in His image. Therefore, what we do to others we do to Christ. Doesn't this change the way we interact with each other? It sure makes you think differently about your bother or sister or mother or father and how you just treated them. Or how about the guy you just flicked off for cutting you off in traffic? Martin Luther beautifully illustrates how we are to treat each other, with love and kindness. I think he is absolutely correct in saying that if we were in bethleham 2010 years ago we would have done the same thing the people there did. We would have been to invovled in ourselves to realize who was knocking on our doors, who was right next to us, and the miracles that were happening. So are we still that blind? Who is the person next to you in line at the grocery store? Who is that waiter or waitress serving you food? Who is driving the car in front of you? Maybe this Christmas Season is our time to meet these people; to help them and love them. Maybe this Christmas miracle will be the one where we see Christ in everyone, even the tiny little baby born in a dirty old manager to a teenage girl from a poor town and we invite that baby into our homes instead of keeping him out in the cold hay. Christ is alive in us all! Joy to the world, and peace to you all!

Observing the Silence

As we enter into the Christmas season and approach the start of a new year it only seems natural to move into a mode of reflection. We look back to the past year, the good, the bad, the fun, the boring and we talk about how we can improve ourselves and our lives for the coming year. If I may, I would like to make a suggestion on something I think we all can improve on and that would be silence. In the month of December Solid Rock will be focusing a lot of our time on silence, listening to God and through that listening, figuring out how to respond to God. Sitting in silence is not easy. Try sitting in complete silence for 5min. Go ahead, give it a try right now, I’ll wait……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Good, I bet that felt like 20min! But over time as you do it more, it becomes easier. You learn to focus your breathing and your attention. Of course I speak as if I am a pro at this and I am most certainly not! I, like many of us, need to work on finding quite time.

So what do you do during this silence, you ask. Well focus on God of course! You see in your silence, you are able to speak with God more clearly. To often we pray a quick prayer as we are driving to and from where ever, or we rush through grace at dinner. There is nothing wrong with any of this, in fact it is terrific that you are praying! But praying is a two way street. God wants us to speak to him, but he wants us to hear him speak back! (Did I just blow your mind?) Yes, God is speaking back to you and when we pray in the midst of the craziness in our lives, it is very difficult to hear what God is saying back to us. And here in lies the most important part. God is speaking to us. Not necessarily spoken words or through angels like in the bible, but he is speaking to us in our hearts. It is not obvious and not always clear and this is why silence is so important.

When we are able to disconnect ourselves from the craziness of the world, shut off our phones, power down the computer, and turn off our brains to the billions of things we need to get done, or are worried about, we are able to better understand and hear God. He is not always easy to hear so the fewer distractions we have the better the chances are that we will hear him!

When I was a senior in high school, the church did a 24 hour pray vigil during holy week. People could sign up for 30min slots in the chapel and the youth would host it by staying the night and welcome people who came to pray in the middle of the night. My senior year I decided to try this out. I signed up for a 30min slot and around 3:30pm my time began. It was just me and God in the small chapel of the learning center. I had a lot going on, I was 3 months from graduating and preparing to head off to college. I hadn’t decided on where to go yet. It was between a very expensive private Lutheran college or Florida State. I wanted to go to the Lutheran college so badly but the financial burden it would have put on my family would have been very difficult. I couldn’t understand why God wouldn’t want me to go to a Lutheran college. I was struggling with a lot!

So my time started. Silence. Just me and God. It was funny because at no point did I feel alone. I began to have this conversation in my head...or maybe it was my heart. I don’t really recall, but I remember processing everything and throughout this 30min things seemed to become clear. I’ll admit, the first 10min were tough. I cried and fought for a little while. But after I settled down and listened to the silence things became easier. I remember the knock on the door at the end of the 30min. It flew by and I wasn’t ready to leave but the next person was there and ready to start their time. I left the chapel feel more comfortable then ever before. All of my problems hadn’t gone away, but I felt a comfort about things. The only way I can explain this is God’s presence speaking to me through my heart, calming me.

Since that experience, I’ve better understood the path God has led me on. Of course, I didn’t learn my lesson and I still do not spend as much time in silence. But every once in a while I do and that feeling of comfort comes back.

So what is God trying to speak to you about? Are you listening to what he is saying? Are you really sitting in silence or are you just sitting in a quite place thinking about the work you need to get done and what you are going to wear tomorrow at school? I challenge you all as we prepare for the birth of Jesus, spend time with him. He is the greatest gift we have and why waste it?! You wouldn't let that new Xbox 360 just sit there after Christmas morning would you? The silence rejuvenates you, allows you to operate smoother. It’s like when you’ve had your computer hooked up to a bunch of printers, the internet, and lots of other peripheral things. It operates slower and doesn't’ function as well. But when you disconnect it from everything and all you are running is just the hard drive, all of a sudden it is able to function at a higher level and handle tasks better. We need to disconnect from everything once in a while and just run off of God. When we do that and we plug back in, everything seems to run smoother.
So may you find silence in the craziness of this time of year. May you observe God working in your life and more importantly hear what he is saying and respond accordingly! God loves you and I do too!

Thank Goodness for Christmas Music

I know this week I'm probably expected to write about thanksgiving and how we are to give thanks, not just one day of the year but every day, etc, etc, etc. But I feel like that has been done. So being the "rebel" that I am I've decided to focus on something a little different; Christmas music!!

A while ago I decided that i would not start listening to Christmas music until after thanksgiving. Some years I start on thanksgiving, but I just felt like its wrong to listen to Christmas music before the Macy's day parade and Santa comes rolling into town! But I LOVE Christmas music! I am chomping at the bit to pull out my Christmas Cd's this week, blast the carols and sing them loud every where I drive! It just puts me in such a good mood and best of all, so many of the songs are praising God!!

So that got me to thinking, what if we listened to Christmas music all the time? This time of year, things are different. People become so generous and friendly. Joy is almost everywhere you look and there is more giving in this one month than many years see in total. It's an awesome site to see, plus you throw up some big trees and lots of lights and decorations and things just look beautiful! Why wouldn't we want this feeling all year round? I think that is what having Jesus be a part of your life is like, Christmas all year round!

This summer as our student leaders scheduled our calendar they decided they wanted to do some time of service every month. Then we got to December... We started discussing the options we could do and the list was endless, we could feed the homeless, do toys for tots, package meals, raise money for a family, decorate houses, sing carols, the list goes on and on. So I said, "What if Solid Rock was THE group that didn't do anything during Christmas, but instead did Christmas all year?" The students stopped and thought about it for a second. Then they all smiled and shook their heads in agreement and we moved on to December. The decision was made quickly and I'm not sure if the students fully grasped what had just happened. They had made a decision to go against the grain of their culture and be different in the name of Jesus.

So what does Solid Rock do now? Every month we celebrate God's love by serving people in our community. In fact, this week we will be going to serve dinner to 80-100 kids at the Ronald McDonald Houses in Orlando! But in December we are going to take a break from all of that. We will sit back and watch everyone else serve and we will get to see them being Jesus' hands and feet. Every once in a while it is great to see others doing that because sometimes you can better see God moving through others than in ourselves. Once January roles around we will get right back to it though. We will begin to celebrate Christmas in January and February and so on in hopes that others will catch on to the joy that it brings us and others and maybe one day we will all take December off and see Christmas as a year long holiday.

So may you hear that Christmas music all year round, playing hymns of joy and peace and happiness and may these feelings you experience this December be ones you experience for the next 11 months as you experience Christmas year round! Thanks Goodness for Christmas music!!!

2012...The End or the Beginning

I just got back from a 4 day cruise to Cozumel, Mexico in which I went on a tour of the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. It was an extremely interesting tour that was led by one of the most passionate people I think I've ever met. His name was Angel, a descendant of the Mayan, and long time tour guide (possible post about him in the future). The tour involved a 45min. bus ride to the site, an hour long guided tour around the ruins and then a 45min. bus ride back to the dock. During this time, Angel shared with us the incredible history of the Mayans, their culture, their beliefs, and their way of life. One of the more interesting facts was about the Mayan calendar which has become the center of discussion about the end of times. It is said that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21st, 2012 and many think that the Mayans knew that this was the end for us all. Well here is the funny thing...the image that everyone associates the Mayan calendar with is actually not even Mayan! It is Aztec!! The picture above is the actual Mayan calendar (or a simplified version)! Here is the other thing because of the way leap years work and the lose of hours and days throughout our earths rotation the actual last day on the Mayan calendar would be equivalent to our December 22nd! The one thing that this myth has correct is that the Mayan calendar does in fact "end" in the year 2012.

But here is the thing, the Mayans did not believe that this was the end. Everything in Mayan culture is cyclical. For every end there is a beginning, for every up a down, male female, left right, earth moon, ying yang, and on and on and on. The Mayans were advanced beyond their years with mathematics, astronomy, and astrology. They understood the lunar cycles, the earths rotation around the sun, the seasonal changes, all of that sort of thing. They had it all mapped out mathematically and numerically. This was their way of life, it is how they functioned and all of the things in their lives fit into this calendar which was 360 degrees and the cycle of their lives.

So why 2012? Well their calendar and the way they viewed the world mathematically made their calendar around 5000 years long in full circle. The Mayans existed sometime in the 3000BC area. Fast forward to 2000AD and guess what, a 5000 year long calendar is reaching the end! But that's not really the important part. What's important is the circle. So if we were Mayan following this calendar and we get to 2012 (which if we were Mayan would actually be in the year 5000 something) we wouldn't think that the world is coming to an end because in a circle there is no end! You just start back at zero! For the Mayans, this number was just that, a number! It was a cycle of life that happened naturally in the world and the way it fell mathematically on a piece of paper, or a piece of stone in this case! The cycle in their calendar is just starting over back to zero. Life goes on!

So why is it that we always have to be concerned with the end? Why do we as humans find this constant need to fear the end? What would it be like if we just let God deal with that stuff (He's the only one with any control over it anyways!) and we focused on today? It is said that only God knows when the kingdom will come to earth. So anyone who claims they know this is calling themselves God, which in case you were not sure is not a good thing! So why do we try to figure the impossible out? I guess it is just our inability to let go of our lives and turn it over to God. This is what it really all boils down to. So as we head towards 2012 I invite you all to join me in seeing this date as the Mayans did, not the end but a new beginning. Challenge yourself to let go of your life, leave it up to God and just live for him and his creation! We've got two years to prepare for this new beginning so lets start now and let God do his thing through us and for us! Let's start believing he's got this. If we turn away from all the doom and gloom it's amazing how bright life ends up being! God Bless you and the new beginning we all get each and every day!

Tempting...isn't it...

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful: he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

~ 1 Corinthians 10:13

Temptation is all around us. It is not something that goes away with age or maturity. So it is one of those things that we must learn how to deal with because if we don't it will eat us alive. There are so many things that can be classified as tempting and for each person it can be different; sex, drugs, alcohol, candy, food, and the list goes on and on. Some temptations are small and wont really effect our lives in great ways, but others could completely alter our lives forever. The verse above should give us comfort though. We ALL are tempted. It is one of those things that every single human on this earth has in common. Jesus was even tempted (Matthew 4:1-11)! So we can take comfort in knowing that this is a normal part of life and NONE of us are different or weird because of our temptations.

But even more comforting is that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. An interesting question was posed this past Sunday night with our high school students as we discussed this verse; "How do we know that we can handle the temptation that is in front of us?" Terrific question! But not an easy one to answer! Really, like many other things in our lives, it comes down to faith. Just like we have to believe that God loves us no matter what and that he is always with us taking care of us, we too HAVE TO believe that God is walking through temptation with us making sure that the situations we get into are manageable by us. We have to have faith that this is true. This doesn't mean that we wont be challenged (I don't know of many situations that God doesn't challenge us!). We might have to call on our friends and family for support, but maybe that is how God is working. Maybe because we have to lean on others to get through temptation, that is God working in us to build relationships and spread love. Boy does He work in some crazy ways!!

So fear not, God is always with us. Have faith and remember when you are tempted you have the ability to defeat it! Maybe not on your own, but with God anything is possible. All you have to do is have faith...maybe cave into the positive temptation that is out there, and that is being tempted by God to fully believe that he is present to you all the time, walking with you, and loving you NO MATTER WHAT!!!

God loves you and so do I! Peace!

Knowing WHO God Is

"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."

~Romans 1:22-23

Martin Luther says, "There's a big difference between knowing there is a God who exists and knowing who that God is. All of creation teaches us that there is a God. This is already written on all of our hearts. But only the Holy Spirit can teach us who that God is."

This is a major clarifying point of Christianity! This is what separates Christians from other believers. Many of us live, work, and play with people who believe that there is a God or a higher being. In fact I would argue a very great majority of people across the world would believe this. BUT not as many know WHO God is. It is the WHO that makes us distinctly Christian. The WHO is Jesus, God as flesh in human form. He suffers like us, He's tempted like us, He bleeds like us. Jesus pleads with God to not let him die on the cross. Our God became human so that we can have life and see His love for us! That is WHO God is. It's not until we understand WHO He is that we can fully grasp our faith.

Our faith is built around this relationship with God. Just like any relationship, it can't exist unless we know who the other person is. Thankfully, through the power of God, even when we don't know who He is, He still has a relationship with us, we just don't know about it. But He is present to us. When we do find out who He is and we understand this relationship, that is when we are able to understand the kingdom and draw near to it; draw near to heaven on earth! It is through prayer, worship, service, and praise that we find who God is. The relationship goes from there. He is always working through the Holy Spirit in and around us.

If you don't know WHO God is, spend this week finding out. He is worth knowing and He is in your life whether you know Him or not, so you might as well say, "Hi!"

God, the Holy Genie?

Last night I attended worship at Northland. I go there every once in a while to worship on my own. Sometimes its nice to go someplace and not be known and just focus on God. They are in a sermon series called "Respond to God" and the weeks theme was prayer. This seemed to be fitting as my prayer life isn't the best and I'm preparing to lead a prayer night in December with my high school students. It was powerful worship with great music and a pretty good message. The main thing that stuck with me was Pastor Joel Hunter speaking about what prayer really is; a conversation with God that builds relationship. A conversation like any we would have on this earth. One like we would have with a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend. And more importantly, it is practice for the day when we reach the kingdom and are in front of God. Pastor Joel asked the question, "Will you know what to say and how to say it when you are right in front of God on the other side of this creation?"

It is through prayer that we practice these conversations. And that is a great way to think of it, but really truly, it's not just practice, when we pray its the real thing. We believe that God is present to us (maybe not physically but spiritually) and when we pray we are having a conversation with him. But what Pastor Joel was saying is true, I believe when we reach the kingdom it will be different because God will be physically present, visible in front of us and that does seem to change the conversation a bit, doesn't it?

So we pray, because practice makes perfect...but what are we saying when we pray? Generally people turn to prayer when they need something. That is OK. God asks us to pray and wants us to ask for things, but that is not the only reason to pray. God is not some Holy Genie that we can just ask for something and poof it is there. It is about conversation with Him, present to you in your life, right then and there. So you are talking with him about your day, whats good, whats bad. You are asking him questions, asking him favors, thanking him for blessings he has brought to you. Letting him know your frustrations, sharing your praises, crying to him, smiling with him. It's NOT just about asking for stuff that you think will make life better for you. In fact, many times when we ask for something, God gives it to us, just not in the way we expected it! If you ask for patients, God isn't going to just magically make you patient, He is going to give you an opportunity to practice patients so that you can learn how to become patient! That's a little tricky isn't it? But it's just like parenting. For all those parents out there, or those kids who had parents, when your kids are of a certain age and wanted a new toy and it wasn't their birthday or Christmas there probably came a point that you didn't get it for them. Instead you gave them an opportunity to get it for themselves. You talked with them about how they could work and earn money which would then allow them to buy the toy. God does the same thing with us! He is our parent! And when you think about it, what a phenomenal way for God to work, He is allowing us to grow and learn!

So do we pray because we have to? No, we pray because we get to! God gives us this instant line to Him that we can use anytime and He wants us to use it all the time! We can't bug God. In the bible He tells us to pray to Him! How great is it that no matter where we are, what we are doing, and who is around us, we always have God present ready to listen and to hear us. But we need to take advantage of this offering He gives to us. So I challenge you to pray this week, not just when you need something but all the time. Talk with God when you are in the car, in your office, in school, at home. Let Him know how things are going, what you need, and what you are thankful for. Share your life with Him, He is ready and present and already sharing with you, you just need to recognize that and say hello!

May you pray the prayer your heart is seeking each and every moment of your life, leaning on God, praising God, thanking God, crying to God, smiling with God, and being with God!

The Miracle of Serving

Over the past four years in youth ministry I have discovered a passion for serving. I have seen how actually doing Jesus transforms lives, not just talking Jesus. In fact, it was my first mission trip to Philadelphia, PA with 16 students that sealed my faith and my heart in ministry. Four years later I've relived that mission experience three more times and have led/participated in countless other service experiences that have touched my heart, changed my world view, and allowed Jesus to clearly move and show himself in the world I live in. And now, He has blessed me with a job where these types of things are in the job description!

Really, when you think about it, it all makes sense and is pretty easy to understand. In the bible we are told that Jesus is the model for us. We were created in His image and we all have the ability to be Christ like. When we are Christ like in action and word we tap into Him and that is heaven! So when we are caring for others, serving those less fortunate, and fighting for injustice in a peaceful manner we are becoming Christ like and tapping into heaven. For brief moments of time, the kingdom is coming near and not only can you feel that, so can the others around you. You are opening the proverbial flood gates that we as sinful humans have built up and allowing the kingdom to flow through the way it should. In the end, it is nothing short of a miracle and the feelings, relationships, and experiences that come out of that kingdom presence can only be described as a miracle.

This past weekend Solid Rock (our youth ministry) had our monthly MD (Mission Day). The idea was to go on a scavenger hunt around town with a list of things like canned goods, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, soap, etc. and see which team could collect the most for the Christian Sharing Center. Each item had a point value and each team had $25 that they could spend. They could also collect money donations that would go to the Sharing Center. When we first gathered moral was low. The students didn't seem to be all that excited about a scavenger hunt and they hate asking for food or money! The adults had a similar view, but they were more concerned about time and where they were going to go. But like always, everyone rallied and off they went to their separate cars, speeding out of the parking lot because whoever got to the "hour long light" leaving the church would have such an advantage! I was home base and backup so I began to prepare things for the rest of our evening and get some work done. Two hours flew by and the next thing I knew the herd of students came rushing up the stairs to make sure they were all on time, hands filled with bags, that were filled with all kinds of donated items! Just two hours ago, there was 9 students slowly walking down the stairs, tired and unexcited along with 6 adults and all of a sudden those 9 students and 6 adults were smiling, laughing, and full of joy! Then we began counting. I was amazed at how much these students had gotten donated from just knocking on doors and asking for things. 484 items!!! 9 students, 2 hours! And then the biggest shock of them all...they begin pulling out wads of cash! People had given these students money to donate as well! $95 in total!!! Honestly, when making the scavenger hunt I just put the cash on their as a last minute "what the hell" type thing. I really didn't expect the students to get money donated, but they did, and a lot!! In the end every student told me how much fun they had and the adults the same. I heard stories of the relationships built in the 2 hours stuffed in a car and all the joy that they brought, even to people's homes that they went and stopped at! The only way I can explain this 180 is a miracle, a miracle of God, moving through these students as the Holy Spirit as they became like Christ and the kingdom drew closer, the sin pushed away and God reached out and touched everyone involved!

It is these experiences that confirm my faith that God does exist and that it is possible for us to reach the kingdom. I had said on a mission trip in 2009, if everyone could experience what we had just experienced then maybe we would be that much closer to heaven, because what we had experienced that week was heaven. It is my prayer that everyone is able to let go of their own needs at some point and lift up those who are truly in need, serve like Jesus, break down the sin even just for a moment, and let the kingdom come near. All it takes is one time for this miracle to happen, then you become addicted and there is no turning back...and it is awesome!

May the kingdom be brought close to you, whether through the serve you are doing or the service others are doing for you so that you might find the comfort and joy that the kingdom brings!