Encouragement done Right

I awoke to a brand new day ready for the routine of life filled with the same old conversations and choices, not expecting many changes to this particular Thursday. I walked out of the door and the first thing I saw was a chalk message calling my apartment mates and I "Classy Men" which led to a collection of encouraging statements written all down the sidewalk from my dorm to our cafeteria. As I walked the encouraging path I thought to myself how much that had made my day, how much the simplest act of kindness can impact us, and the most troubling thought why does this impact us so much? That question may not seem troubling, but think about it: if those little acts of kindness make our days then doesn't that mean we do not expect people to be as kind? Doesn't that mean we expect people to not care or do anything like that? I am not saying we should not have little acts of kindness, but shouldn't our everyday lives be filled with little acts of kindness? Shouldn't we, as a Christian campus, be so filled with kindness and love that it is unexpected to do negative actions? I am hoping for that day, for the day when this campus is so filled with kindness and love that the only actions that are unexpected and shocking are the ones where people are degrading to other people or they lack their desire to care. How much better would our world be if we could have entire campuses so focused on love to do anything that would lack it? I am not in any way attempting to degrade the school that I attend, I just would like to argue that we can do so much better at following the two greatest commandments: Love God and Love your neighbor. So, overall my question for today is if Christians would put away their pride, anger, self-righteousness, and devoted all of their energy to love how much better of a place could we be?

One other note on this topic of encouragement that needs to be addressed. When people directly encourage ourselves we need to be careful not to allow that to fill us with pride. I know that I found that when my former mentor arrived on campus to visit yesterday, I constantly wanted to tell him "Look, people think I am classy!" and point out the chalk writing to him, but I would always stop myself because that was letting my pride take over. When pride takes over it corrupts our attempts at loving each other. To fully live out this life of love, we need to get rid of our pride as well which is one of the hardest sins to deal with because our society encourages and thrives off of it. In giving and receiving encouragement we need to stop our pride from flaring out and allow our love and mercy to triumph over that pride and judgment.

Lord fill us with your love in such a way that it is abnormal to be cruel, prideful, and judgmental. Let Us Love.

A Contrasting Life

I don't want to go to school was the thought that crossed my mind every day of middle school. Every morning I would dread awakening to another rough day as the quiet kid in middle school. I wallow through the hallways from class to class with the hopes that maybe somebody would take the time out of their day to show me that I mattered; to give more than the simple "Hi how are you?" "I'm fine" small talk that dominates the conversations of those who just pass you by looking for people who they call "friends." I sat in my classes, praying the teacher would not call on me so that I could just sit peacefully taking notes and paying attention to the lecture. Occasionally I would write out a little note to pass girls that I thought were cute, but I learned early on that that would only lead to being poked fun at for having a "crush" on the girls who I wouldn't stand a chance with. What is wrong with me? I'm a leader in Youth group, why can't I be outgoing here? I would ask myself as I'd walk back from another failed Shop class proving yet again that I could not function like all the "cool guys." Ever since 5th grade when I had enrolled in this school, after being home schooled all my life, I had felt isolated and alone. Most of the class mates all grew up together and seemed to be the best of friends, leaving the few who were like me the ones who were picked on. This was my life in middle school, this was why I hated going to school, this was a christian school. How messed up is that? I was attending a Christian school and everyone there seemed fake, there were so many issues that happened, and I was the lonely introvert who was just simply sick of it; so I transferred schools.

Flash forward to College

This is where I belong and where God wants me is the thought that has been on my mind since I first stepped foot onto campus. Every morning I get up exhausted from the time with friends the night before, but more than excited for what the day held in store. "Hey, it's great to see you today! How are you?" Are the typical conversation starters throughout my day; it always brings me joy to catch up with my friends whether it be in groups or one on one. Since day one I have developed so many friendships with both guys and girls that years before I would not have believed would happen; It seems like every week I have gained a new friendship in one way or another which just broadens my connections to activities on campus. "You're like the poster child for the perfect college experience!" one of my close friends from back home once told me which was ironic because in middle school she was the outgoing, poster child then. This campus despite its drama was a place of love and authenticity; I knew it needed work, much like any place does, but at the end of the day I would always defend it for it is the place that I belong during these four years. However, some of my close friends did not see the love on campus, often made comments about how awful the drama was, and most sad of all they always talked about how this Christian campus was filled with fakes and hypocrites.

The roles have been reversed; in college my life has become what I always wanted out of middle school. Some of my friends are the ones who are discontent of how fake people are and I am now the one defending it and looking for the love. What would my life have been like if I was more outgoing in high school? What if I had decided to try and change the status quo of middle school instead of just leaving? I am proud of where I am today, so how do I help others get to this point as I have done? This last question is one that I would like to focus on more, because what good are what ifs unless we use them to make a change. It hit me tonight how drastically these two times in my life contrast. I pray that many can come to see the love and authenticity in any surrounding regardless of the evil that takes place there for if we let the cloud of darkness discourage us from action than we'll slowly lose sight of love. These are just the thoughts from the dust of a man who has changed for the better.

Day without Shoes

Today I participated in Toms Shoes "day without shoes" while promoting donating shoes to Haiti and I had a few observations throughout the day with this idea of what people deal with every day of their lives. The first place I traveled to was the cafeteria for work and I was immediately told to put on shoes to enter. I see their reasonings because of the health code but I felt frustrated because if there are people who can't afford shoes they wouldn't be allowed to enter most food establishments. How messed up and sad is that a Christian food establishment would not allow someone who can't afford food in; but maybe I am over reading this and they just required us to wear shoes because they knew we had them. It's all about humility and realizing we are not in control of all our surroundings.

Then I noticed how not many people seemed to participate and those that did not seem to care as much. Some people inquired about it and said they would think about it, but there were also some who seemed annoyed; just something I noticed on a Christian campus. Then we ended the day with a foot washing service; it ended up being around 7 people because of the rain, but it was a very humbling experience. It had reminded me that where 2 or more are gathered God is present and tonight showed that. Tonight was a beautiful reflection of service to those we barely know. Tonight was also a night that made me reflect on Haiti more...but that's a story for another night.

So overall I noticed it is not always easy for people to go without shoes and so many of us have issues with giving up our comforts. Even though things may turn out smaller than you intended, God can and will still use those experiences. I challenge all of us to live a life of service in all we do.

Kittens.

Kittens. Lost, small, cute kittens. Sometimes in life we need kittens to distract us from the confusion we call life and bring us into full on feelings of content. I have been wrestling with confusions for days and today a group of us discovered a litter of kittens that were alone. So we took them to feed and look after until we could take them to the humane society. As we fed these kittens I looked around the room and everyone had the simplest looks of awe and wonder; it was a beautiful sight to see for there were even a few whose eyes began to water. There is something beautiful about seeing new life be fed out of a feeding tube. It is a reminder of the beauty that God makes and how he is making all things new. Kittens are like the simple things in our lives, they are the little aspects of joy that intercede into our lives in the very depths of our crazy, messed up lives.

So let us all find the kittens in our lives to allow us to be content in the midst of our confusion.

Here's to honesty!

Sometimes in life we will have to be brutally honest. Sometimes honesty is the most liberating yet dangerous thing you can do. Opening up to someone eventually leads to compete, raw, authentic honesty especially when they can sense that something is bugging you. We must all come to the right point in our lives where we can be completely and utterly honest with a few people in our lives because if we bottle everything up it will control us and consume our actions and beliefs.

I speak most recently of a time where I was completely honest and it led to hurt, feelings of betrayal, and a loss of composure. Do I regret this honesty? Not one bit, I hate the fact that I hurt said person but I know being truthful will ultimately lead to a better fulfillment in life.

So I challenge anyone and everyone to let honesty dominate your life. Be seeking the truth in all you do; whether it be relative or not do not stop seeking for truth. Be honest even when it hurts so that when someone needs to hear something from you they will believe you because you are always honest in every situation.

Here's to the good, bad, and ugly of being authentic!

Disregard the labels.

Why do we live in a world of sin? Why did we disobey Gods only request? I suppose if we're honest we'd all have moments in our lives that prove we would've done the same thing if we were the "first humans". I ask this question as I sit with a mourning friend who has put up with so much crap for the sake of someone he loves. Why do people treat others harshly and manipulate others to lie to cover up what they've done? What is it that causes people to act so deviantly? I am no way saying that I am don't make mistakes and freak out at people when my anger gets the best of me. Heck I'll be the first to admit I have so many things to work on, but what breaks my heart is when despite our struggles Christians cannot live with love fully in our lives. I just know there is so much good in this world, but sometimes the evil gets the louder voice and it drains you.

My challenge is for anyone who wants to make the world a better place, anyone who is a self-proclaiming Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, peacemaker, disillusioned college student, liberal, democrat, Calvinist, evangelical, postmodern, modern, person to live a life of love. I hate the fact that we have all these labels for everyone, but we let these labels define us and separate us. Lets move beyond these labels and live a life of love bringing Gods kingdom to this earth showing love when it would be easier to show hate. Showing patience when all we want to do is yell. Showing the heart of a servant when our brother is need.

The world needs to be reminded of who we were intended to be. Let us be truly alive in acts of love.

Prioritize.

Prioritize. That is one of my biggest realizations I have been wrestling with recently. Often times in our lives we try to get involved in so many projects and events that we slowly neglect what we are already connected in. After my missions trip over spring break I returned home with the idea of getting involved in "new activities" to keep what I learned on the trip. I had great intentions of what I was going to get involved with, but no sooner than a week later did I get back to my regular routines including neglecting my intern responsibilities which I had accepted so ambitiously.

Through the form of a parable my pastor called me out on this and showed me that I need to get my priorities straight because if I truly cared about my internship I would stop at nothing to get to church. I realized that day, once I let go of my embarrassment, that I didn't need to get involved in more activities but I needed to give more of myself to what I was already involved in and let God use me there. I need to develop relationships in my internship to help motivate me to lead my small group; to let my extroverted self out in the midst of that group. If I am not able to adapt in my current setting how will I be able to as a full time youth pastor? I pray that God will help me put all of my priorities where they belong.

Overall I want to focus on developing relationships I have and fixing my priorities to what I am already involved in.

How do you like your coffee? Black.

"I drink black coffee because it is bitter like life. If life is bitter than why try to water down my coffee with flavors when I can't water down my life?"

During the beginning weeks of my breakup this was my go-to-line as to why I only drank coffee black. As the weeks progressed and I continued my angsty periods of black coffee I grew to enjoy it. Now 2 months later I alternate between black coffee and watered down coffee simply because I enjoy both.

Oftentimes in our lives there are things that appear bitter at first but we grow to love them. We persevere through the hard weeks where all we feel is bitterness until the very essence of our bitterness brings us new found freedom. We realize the beauty in our situations and they no longer make us feel bitter, much like how persevering through black coffee leads to another cup of enjoyment.

Let us Be.

There are times in our lives where it feels as though nothing is certain; but I do not mean times when nothing truly is certain, but that the amount of confusion welling up in our inner most being makes life appear to lack certainty. Does that make sense, I often wonder to myself if I am just constantly rambling hoping for even a smidgen of philosophical thought; sometimes I luck out, others not so much. During these times where we feel a lack of certainty, it is the times that spontaneity is most needed.

There are times when we have a few options of ways to go in life, but are afraid to make the first move. Whether it be fear of not being ready yet, fear of choosing wrong, or so many other fears. But fear is a deadly vice that holds us back and we must not let fear control us as it is so easily prone. It is typically easy to block out the confusion and continue on in life without making a decision, but then one day it can fill you on overload.

There are evenings where you are packed with homework all day, barely got any sleep the weekend before, and your mind becomes invaded with all the thoughts of confusion simultaneously. It can be the hardest endeavor to concentrate on studying for an exam alone in this horrible state. Naturally, one who loves to learn, such as myself, would excel in studying a topic of my major and passions; but when it involves a general education course the trial for my attention ensues. In my tired state, my brain felt like it was in overload and that was when the spontaneity happened.

There was a knock on the door that led to a long, nice, refreshing philosophical conversation with my dear friend the dream motivator. There is something about our conversations that refreshes the inner most part of my mind, there is something that brings me peace. We need these conversations in life, these moments of unexpected refreshment of the mind and soul. I understand everyone functions differently and philosophical thought does not typically bring relaxation to people, but there is some activity that does; some conversation topic that does. We need to find those modes of tranquility and allow spontaneity to happen when our mind is in "lock down." Sometimes that tiny unexpected conversation can calm your thoughts enough to just be.

Let us just be in the present, together, ready and hopeful for what each new day prepares.