Brick by Boring Brick

A photograph of some castle ruins that I saw in Wales during my family's tour of the UK in Christmas 2006.

Well, Christmas has passed; I'm sure all of you are perfectly aware of this. But, guess what time it is now that the holiday season is almost completely over? NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION TIME! Now that we've spent the last month celebrating the most joyous and exciting time of the year, we feel very ready to conquer the world and defeat our besetting sins, all in one fell swoop. 

In fact, if you're anything like me, you probably imagine this process of starting over and conquering weaknesses to be an empowering, exciting time. I always like to think of acing my New Year's resolution in a way that resembles the two-minute long sequence in Kung Fu Panda in which Po is training to be the dragon warrior and instantaneously becomes a kung fu master. This part of the movie is complete with flashy scene shifts, thrilling Asian-infused Zimmer/Powell music, and no real effort. 

But, in the end, New Year's resolutions aren't anything like that, are they? Our sins are so deeply engrained into our lives in so many different ways; as much as we'd like to just snap our fingers and change for the better as soon as the clock hits midnight on January 1st, we really can't. 

This whole concept reminds me of an old (well, old in my relative time frame), but very catchy song by the secular pop group Paramore, called "Brick by Boring Brick". The entire song is pretty much summed up in its chorus:

"Well go get your shovel

And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle

Go get your shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
We'll bury the castle, bury the castle"

"The castle" is referring to the fairy tales that we build up for ourselves, which are closely related to New Year's resolutions in some ways. See, at the beginning of every year, we imagine ourselves as fitter, happier, healthier, smarter, and greater individuals. This is similar to the imaginary happy endings that we can see in our favorite Disney films and fairy tales. 

Of course, I'm not trying to say that your New Year's resolutions are impossible and fanciful; it just seems that we need to start viewing our sin-conquering goals and desires to become more like Jesus in a different way. But, what should this new angle to the problem be?

Paramore gives us an answer in their song, believe it or not...

"Well make sure to build your home brick by boring brick
Or the world's gonna blow it down"

In other words, building up a beautiful castle and getting what you've always dreamed of isn't an instantaneous shift; it's a PROCESS. The Bible discusses this too:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Galatians 6:9

This all sounds so terribly hard, yes. But unlike what the song lyrics seem to say, WE don't need to build our own homes and crawl out of our sin problems by ourselves:

"We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
    and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth."

Psalm 124:7-8

Let's think of our resolutions in a new way this year. Instead of just flying forward on a high of candy cane sugar and leftover Christmas spirit, let's begin to pray for something crazy: patience. Why? Well, because this is a process; it's a lifelong, step-by-step, brick-by-boring-brick type of thing. This sounds sad, yes, but if we decide to just trust our Creator every single day and stop worrying about how long it will take to build the castle, it can become a joyous journey. 

As Psalm 116:7-9 says,

 "Let my soul be at rest again,

    for the Lord has been good to me.
8 He has saved me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.
9 And so I walk in the Lord’s presence
    as I live here on earth!"

(NLT)

His presence is enough; it will keep us content throughout the long process of becoming more like Him. So, day by day, let's "taste and see that the LORD is good." (Psalm 34:8)

And as the Paramore song goes...

"If it's not real

You can't hold it in your hand
You can't feel it with your heart
And I won't believe it
But if it's true
You can see it with your eyes
Oh, even in the dark
And that's where I want to be"

So this New Year's Day, as you are thinking through your resolutions, remember to SEE His presence first (you'll be sure to find it if you just open your eyes and look), pray for Him to give you patience in the process of your life change, and ask Him to always give your soul rest, in the bright and dark times.  

As 2015 dawns, let's keep this beautiful verse in our minds and on our hearts...

"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 7:24-25a (NLT)

A Thesaurus and a Hymn: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Turn

Change course, about-face, shift

Your eyes

Your vision, perception, sight

Upon Jesus,

Upon the Savior, the Creator, the Son of the Most High

Look full

Look completely, entirely, in every respect

In His wonderful face,

In His glorious, magnificent, brilliant face

And the things of earth

And the physical, temporal, corporeal things

Will grow strangely dim,

Will grow perplexingly weak, mysteriously muted, inexplicably faint

In the light of

In the illumination, blaze, radiance of

His glory

His splendor, beauty, magnificence

And grace.

And kindness, favor, acceptance

2 Corinthians 4:18

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Divine Encounters

I've never seen the musical Wicked, but I absolutely love the music in it. One particular song that impacts me every time I hear it is one of the final musical numbers known as "For Good". This song has been performed at almost every graduation that I've attended in the last two years and I haven't gotten tired of hearing it yet, mostly because of the deep truths in it. Here are some of the lyrics:

"I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good."

"It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you'll have rewritten mine
By being my friend.

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird
In a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you..."

"Because I knew you..."

"I have been changed for good."

Every once in a while, I'll look at a specific shelf in my room, where I store several sentimental items from various places and people. As I study it, I remember a few of the many friends, acquaintances, and classmates who have come in and out of my life and impacted me in some way. I know that I've met more people than I ever could've imagined meeting in only eighteen years of life, and I will meet infinitely more in my whole lifetime.

Reflecting on these thoughts makes me realize why I appreciate the song from Wicked so much. Every person who has come in and out of my life has impacted me in some way, leaving "a handprint on my heart" and rewriting my story. This is true of everyone in the world, I believe. We all meet people and each of them make some type of impact, small or large, on the way we view the world. Whether we realize it or not, we are being affected by the behavior of our friends, family, acquaintances, and even by strangers at every moment of every day. Since our encounters with others are so pivotal to our lives, it can obviously be concluded that our Heavenly Father is the one who orchestrates them all. 

I know I've mentioned this verse before, but I absolutely love it, so I'll mention it again...

"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)

This verse compares Jesus to an author- an author of our faith, specifically. 

What does this mean in relation to the whole "encounters with others" concept?

Well, a well-known verse, Jeremiah 29:11, talks about how He has a plan for each of us. This plan is ultimately a plan of our faith journey. So, naturally, part of the Author's plan is to introduce specific characters into our stories, one by one, little by little, to direct our paths and point our eyes back to Him in some way or form. He uses others to INITIATE each step we take in our walks of faith. 

One of my good friends and I were discussing God's plans the other day and we came up with a beautiful analogy for this...

What if God looks down on our lives like a two-dimensional timeline, drawn out on a piece of paper? He can look all around it, in three dimensions, while we can only move forward on it. AND, what if our timelines intersect with others? What if the Author himself is the one who chooses to intersect them, in perfect, indescribable ways. It's a giant network that He creates, far more complex than we could ever imagine. One of my teachers once called this phenomenon "divine encounters".

So, what does this mean for us? Well, it means that the people intersecting with our timelines are both an opportunity and a blessing to us.

First, they're a blessing because God put them there for a reason! I look at my core groups of friends from my various areas in life and can't help but smile when I think about them. We've done so many fun things together and unknowingly or knowingly, my friends have all taught me truths about my faith in Christ because of our interactions. And, they all came into my life "by accident", in a manner of speaking. Seemingly random circumstances, such as doing a difficult group project in my Discipleship class, having to stay after school and wait for my mom to pick me up in 3rd grade while most of the other kids went to eat lunch, being forced to join marching band by my parents, and switching schools in my junior year of high school have brought me some of the friends I have today.

But, "divine encounters" are also an opportunity for each of us. Think about it. If you are affected by the people you meet and do life with, then consequently, others will be affected by you. How will you use your time with others? The more time we spend thinking about how much WE can get out of the friendship for ourselves or who we wish we could be friends with instead (such as a popular clique or a person of the opposite sex who has "special significance" in your mind), the less of an impact we will be able to make.

Every "hello" or "goodbye" is for a reason. Sometimes, we don't want to accept these circumstances that cause "hello"s and "goodbye"s, especially if they go against the plan that we originally had. But, God has wonderful divine encounters planned for you within each of these changes. I look back at all of the circumstances that I mentioned two paragraphs ago. To be honest, I hated each of those circumstances to begin with, as silly as some of them were. But, as I remember who was brought into my life through each of them, I realize that it was worth it. The Author knows best and "I have been changed for good".

Heliotropes, Searching for Something More

Are you ready for my attempts to be deep? Here we go...

Over this last semester in my World Literature class, I've had a very interesting time trekking into the thoughts and dreams of many influential writers who have also tried to be very deep.  I know this is weird, but I have actually really enjoyed studying some of the works that I've read in this class, even though the reading itself was often a little too heavy for my liking.

I kept noticing one specific idea throughout almost all of these stories, especially after digging deeply into the texts and trying to understand the societal and personal desires that drove the writers forward.

This one concept can be summed up excellently by a great analogy that one of my friends once said. He explained that each of us have a hole in our hearts, shaped like a circle, and every time we try to fill it with something that isn't God, it's like trying to stop up this hole with little cubes. Instead, the only way we will ever be satisfied is if we let God, who is shaped like a cylinder, fill us completely and correctly.

So, that's what it is; that's the common thread throughout almost every work of literature I read this year: a deep desire for something more and an underlying feeling of unease whenever another "cube" was tried out in God's place. Of course, none of these authors really seemed to really mention God directly, but their deep, heartfelt yearnings and pleadings pointed to wanting...more.

And let me just say, as soon as I began to think about this concept, I began to see it, over and over again throughout art, literature, and essentially any type of medium that communicated the deepest yearnings of the human heart.

It reminds me of a word that I learned quite a while ago that has always stuck with me for some reason: heliotrope. "Helio" is the Greek word for sun while "trepo" is the word for turn. A heliotrope is a plant that always turns towards the sun; it sense the light and grows towards it.

In a manner of speaking, we as human beings are also heliotropes; looking at the thoughts and dreams of mankind clearly shows this pattern of turning towards the Son, knowingly or unknowingly, on our quests for something more.

Let me show you a few of the spontaneous examples that I've found over the last few weeks. They don't all have important significance or anything, but I personally enjoy them.

Music- Coldplay- "Cathedrals in my heart." (from Every Teardrop is a Waterfall)

I absolutely love this line from this song. It shows some type of yearning for a bigger purpose, a bigger look up into the expansive universe and our part in it. 

Writing- Henry David Thoreau- "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."

This was in the context of Thoreau's work called Walden, which spends several, rather difficult-to-read passages describing how we can come across new, unanswered questions about our very purpose  in life by going out in nature. But, towards the end, he says this outstanding line. It seems to ask the question, if we aren't conforming to the mundane life of this world and we're wishing for more, what if it's because there IS something more? He doesn't even answer who or what the different drummer is, but his words reach up and out, wondering what drives these inward desires for more. 

Film- Christopher Nolan- "Maybe we’ve spent too long trying to figure all this out with theory. Love is the one thing that transcends time and space." (said by the character Dr. Amelia Brand from Interstellar)

This film is incredible, first off. Second, this quote is absolutely amazing, despite the fact that Dr. Brand is talking about romantic love in this sentence. In fact, this mind-blowing film seems to pass right over light, typical mentions of romantic love seen in most movies and get to a deeper matter. What exactly is love? What can explain it and how are we somehow able to feel it for others? The characters in the movie even directly discuss how evolution can't explain the phenomenon of loving others. 

I feel like this blog post is going in so many different directions right now, and that's because I'm trying to talk about something that is so huge and cannot really be explained, just felt.

That is, again, this desire for something BIGGER.

I've come across opinions from people who refuse to believe in God and try to put everything into small terms. They almost seem afraid to stretch their minds into the unknown; they want to discover and know everything. But honestly, can't we all see and feel that there has to be something greater than ourselves out there? Science is constantly changing; there is nothing certain about our own knowledge, so we need to trust in something more.

Romans 1:20 says, "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

We ALL innately know Him; that's an absolutely amazing thought.

So what now? What do we do with this? Well, we can see evidence of our God through the circle in each of our hearts. We can also realize that every single person that we meet in the world has this same circle in each of their own hearts. What will we do with this fact? Will we point them to the ultimate Cylinder with our words and actions or just to another cube?

The Wind- another poem

A picture from the beach trip I was on this week, which is when I wrote this poem. Nope, it's not the best picture. But I chose it because it juxtaposes the wonder of the beach and the sunset with the normality of the random street and of everyday life, which is what I attempted to do in my poem too.

Background on this poem:

One of the strongest images of God that I've seen over the past few years is seeing Him as the Controller of the wind and where it blows. So, I decided to write a poem about a few of the situations in which I've felt God's presence strongly, through the wind. After writing this poem, I discovered that the Greek word πνεῦμα, pronounced as "pneuma", actually means both "wind" and "spirit"! I also came across this Bible verse, which seems to tie into the entire concept perfectly:

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Job 3:8

The Wind

[Awestruck wonder]

On the outstretched beach,

Toes in the sand

Endless, boundless sea.

Blasting my face with brine,

Making my soul come alive-

The Wind.

[Inexplicable peace]

On a sluggish, bobbing dock,

Notebook on my lap

Tranquil, swirling lake. 

Rippling my hair gently,

Breathing life into me-

The Wind.

[Daily joy]

On a ragged stretch of asphalt,

Feet moving methodically

Cheery, dancing trees. 

Turning my face to a smile, 

Warming my heart with joy-

The Wind.

[Calmed anxiety]

On an open, rocky field,

Shoulders burdened with unease

Dry, crackling grass. 

Brushing my face lovingly,

Blowing hot teardrops away-

The Wind.

They once told me

When I was too young to understand:

You're like the wind;

Unseen, unknown, unimaginable.

And full of power and love.

Maybe I'm beginning

To understand now. 

Sailing into the Dark World- a poem

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/odyssey1/ss/062508POdyssey_6.htm
A powerful scene from The Odyssey in which Odysseus is tempted by the song of the deadly Sirens.

Sailing into the Dark World

(inspired by thematic elements fromThe Odyssey and Ephesians 6:13-18)

As I sail into the dark world and enter a realm

Of evil and darkness and powers unimaginable

Lord, direct, control, take hold of my ship’s helm

Give me Your armor to battle against the one

Who wagers war again my soul

Whose deceptive guises shine brighter than the sun

I want the belt of truth strapped around my waist

To keep away the creeping lies

And their sharp-edged, bittersweet taste

Put a breastplate of righteousness over my heart

To guard it from flying arrows and piercing swords

That will try to attack me and tear me apart

Strap the gospel of peace tightly on my feet

To keep me calm, focused, and standing strong

Only hearing the sweeter song of Your perfect beat

Place the shield of faith in my left hand

So I can push forward without seeing the end

Trusting You to help me find where I need to land

Present me with the helmet of salvation to defend my mind

From the imaginings, dreams, faulty hopes

The sin-filled hallucinations of every kind

Lastly, bestow the sword of the Spirit on me

So I can respond to every threat with strength

Make me a crewman of Your word so I can truly be free

What's in a Name?

The Hebrew spelling for "Yahweh"

As I've stated before, I am a writer; shaping my words into fiction or trying to put the musings of my mind into tangible material is one of my favorite hobbies. But, I have a favorite type of word, if it can be called that. One of my absolute favorite parts about writing is the study of names. In fact, during my free time, you might find me surfing the web for the most obscure names I can possibly find or combing through a thick volume entitled,"100,000+ Baby Names", for hours on end. 

So, when I discovered the significance of names in Jewish culture and how it relates to my faith, I was pretty thrilled.

 See, back in Bible times, people would name their children according to their current circumstances, inspiration from God, or hopes for their child's future. It was more than just a combination of letters or something that sounded nice; it was a hint into the rest of the child's life. A few examples of names and their correspondences to the destinies of their owners include...

Isaac- "he laughs" (since Sarah laughed when she was told about his birth), Moses- "to draw out" (since he was drawn out of the river as a baby), David- beloved (he was a man after God's own heart, according to scripture), Paul- humble (he discusses humility A LOT in his letters and proves his own humility through his actions throughout the Bible).

Isn't that amazing?! God would inspire the parents of these Biblical heroes to name their children such meaningful, relevant names. 

It's cool, yes, but you're probably wondering, what's the point of this, anyway? How does this relate to a relationship with God?

Well, this morning at church during our worship service, I began to think about all of the names given to God Himself. We say them day after day (in good and bad ways), read them over and over in the Bible, and hear them from the mouths of other people; eventually, they just become average words in our Christian-ese vocabulary.

But, since God's character is often reflected in the ways of His chosen people and the Jewish people value names so highly, why wouldn't God's names be significant as well?

So, today, I'm going to list three of the more frequently-used names of God and a few amazing things about each of them...

1. "LORD"- this is a generic word, yes. I remember when I first learned terms for social classes in medieval days and came across this word. Yes, the "lords" were a medieval social class! But, we need to realize that this is a very different word from what we picture alongside fearless knights and ladies wearing poofy dresses and cone-shaped hats. Whenever we see the word "LORD" printed in the Bible in all caps, that means that it's directly translated from the word "Yahweh" in Hebrew. Yeah, that sounds familiar, doesn't it? We use that in Sunday school culture sometimes, but we often neglect to realize the gravity of the word. Recently, I learned that "Yahweh" isn't even pronounceable in Hebrew! It was spelled Y-H-W-H. We just added in the vowels for clarity. This inability to pronounce YHWH meant something important to God's people; it demonstrated that God was so holy that his name couldn't even be said out loud! The literal translation of YHWH makes God's character even more cryptic than this. It closely means, "I am."

The name "I am" was first introduced after Moses receives the ten commandments and he asked God how he should introduce Him. God simply responded, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14)

Wow. Pretty mind blowing. God has such a unique, holy, and matchless character that a name can't even be given to define His glory! It would be like trying to find the end of pi. It just can't happen.

2. "Father"- we see God called this about a million times in the Bible and probably know it as a normality. But, when it was first introduced to the disciples, I'm sure it was a strange concept. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus actually has to TEACH his disciples to call God this name as he says the Lord's Prayer for the first time. It's the most paradoxical contradiction from YHWH, isn't it? Our God is somehow too holy to be defined, but personable enough to be called a term of endearment. The word "Father" brings a beautiful image to my mind. It reminds me of a comparison I heard from Mike Donehey, the lead singer of Tenth Avenue North, while at one of their concerts a few weeks ago. He explained that the reason why we some of us raise our arms during worship became fully evident to him when he himself became a father and saw his little girl raising her arms up to him. It was an unspoken request that meant, "carry me." 

By telling us to call Him "Father", God wants us to know how much He cares for us and loves us and won't ever hesitate to carry us when we need help. Psalm 91:4 illustrates this so well:

"He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

3. "Jesus"- Jesus translates to mean something like "savior" or "to save". While many people may make the argument that Jesus is an overused name that was given to hundreds of Hebrew boys back in the day and therefore has no significance, I think that it has more power than that. Of course, I need to make another Narnia reference at this point to explain why...

An incredible moment in this series occurs as the Pevensie children hear the name of "Aslan", the allegorical character for Jesus, for the first time. Here, let me quote it for you...

"And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning - either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer."

~Chapter 7, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

In the same way, the name "Jesus" has an inexplicable connection underneath it. While the words "God", "Lord", or even "Savior" can sound generic and unobtrusive, "Jesus" narrows down and defines our faith, shows that we identify with the incarnation of our God and His sacrifice for us.

In fact, Philippians 2:10 tells us, "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth."

Notice that it doesn't say that we will bow to "God", "Lord", or even "I am" or "Yahweh". This mere fact shows that the true "Author and Perfecter of our faith"(Hebrews 12:2) is Jesus Christ.

So, in the end, what does this mean for us? Well, it simply shows us how huge and matchless and mysterious our God is. He is YHWH, the inexplicable and glorious One, Father, the loving and personable One, and Jesus, the One on whom we build our faith, our salvation, and our lives.

After learning all of this, I hope and pray that we'll all see the significance of God's name differently than ever before. Sometimes, it's easy just to minimize the importance of His name into nothingness or just see Him as a tiny genie in a bottle or an unapproachable, angry judge. But, He's neither of those things. His names tell us all about His real character.

(all information about names comes from the "So That the World May Know" curriculum from Focus on the Family and behindthename.com)

"For Aslan"- a lesson I learned while herding cats

Picture about a hundred 1^st through 3^rd graders, sitting together in a 200-person sanctuary, minus the chairs, at a 5-day kids camp. They are loud and wiggly, many of them are from hard situations that have already impacted them, even at such a young age. They are unruly and constantly trying to cross lines. Amongst the bouncy children, there are a few flustered, but determined teenagers and adults, struggling to contain the kids as the gospel is presented on the sanctuary’s stage. A few weeks ago, I was one of those teenagers, clad in a tie-dye t-shirt, surrounded by ten squirrely 1^st and 2^nd graders that were under my charge for five days. It was a difficult camp to work in, to say the least. We counselors nicknamed it the “herding cats week”. However, throughout all of the chaos, I learned an important truth about my faith: keeping my eyes on Jesus.

The director of the kids camp is an amazing, God-fearing woman who absolutely loves the camp and the kids in it. Over and over throughout the complications of the week, she reminded us of the camp’s mission: Kids camp provides a safe and fun environment to teach the gospel. She constantly emphasized “the gospel” throughout the week. Despite how futile it felt to tell unresponsive young children about Jesus, she still told us to do EVERYTHING with the gospel in mind. We were to plant seeds through loving and showing kindness to every child so that they would associate love with the gospel, since the two are directly connected.

 It made me start thinking. Shouldn’t everything we do as Christians be about the gospel? I believe that we often complicate matters a lot, trying to come up with confusing answers and explanations for our faith. There are philosophical debates that Christians wrestle with and argue over. Sometimes, we get so lost in the fine details of the Christian faith that we forget our driving mission and purpose: the gospel.

I’ve been reading through 2 Corinthians and I ran across a very profound verse. I love the NLT version of this verse, since that’s the version that I generally use. The beginning may be a little confusing, but I’m going to share the entire verse with you, just to provide some context…

“For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No”. He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascend to God for his glory.”

2 Corinthians 1:19-20 (NLT)

Jesus is God’s ultimate “Yes”. He is the answer to all of our sin problems and lost hopes and dreams. I think it’s a whole new perspective of our faith. When people come to us, lost and confused by the “no’s” of this world, or the “no’s” from seemingly unanswered questions, we have the ultimate “yes”: Jesus Christ.

But, what does this mean for us? I think that it means we need to focus everything on our ultimate “Yes”, the only way, truth, and life.

This entire concept reminds me of the numerous battle scenes from the movies based off of the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. Before the huge battle in The Lion, the Witch, and the Waredrobe, just as the orchestral score prepares to bring in the intense percussion features and the army is lined up in resigned silence, Peter, the leader of the army, lifts his sword and yells, “for Narnia, and for Aslan!”

What are we yelling before we charge into the battles of this cursed world?

Many of us are tempted to yell things like,

 “For my emotional experiences with God!”

“For avoiding hell!”

“For the literal 7-day theory!”

“For the doctrine of my church!”

All of these things are great, but they should never be our central focus. John 14:6 is a very famous verse that puts this well.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

No one can come to the Father except through Christ, so let’s make our battle cry,

“For Jesus.”

He is, after all, our savior, solution, and purpose, and as my pastor says, “the epicenter of our faith.”

Despite the complications of our human nature and the world around us, we need to always remember WHY we’re fighting.

Before a particularly difficult day at kids camp, all of us counselors sang a beautiful hymn that sums up this concept perfectly. To end this post, I’m going to quote its chorus:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace."

~ Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus by Helen H. Lemmel

10 Things I've Learned (and am still learning) during High School

Well, as many of you realize, I graduated from my fine arts school this year. Although my plans for next year are a little complicated (if you know me personally, ask me and I'll tell you all about it. If you're just a random stranger on the internet, just take my word for it because I'm not going to tell you details.), I am essentially starting a new stage of my life next year. But, as I reflect back on my past four years of life, I've realized just how much I have learned. So, here are ten important truths I've learned about high school. Please keep in mind that some of these aren't Biblical truths or anything like that; they're just practical, obvious, or nonsensical facts of life. Let's get started...

1. Take a walk (duh duh duh duh DUH, duh duuuh duh... only people who listen to Passion Pit will understand that).

Literally, I mean take a walk. If you're having a bad day for any given reason, just get up and move. I know lots of kids who will deal with their troubles by thinking about them repeatedly, listening to music, or writing them down. While all of these things are great, I've found that exercising in some way or form works A LOT better. I don't have a scientific explanation for this even though I know there are lots of them out there; just do it and you'll understand.

2. Realize that most Disney movies are secretly aimed towards high school students. 

There's nothing like sitting down and watching Emperor's New Groove, Lilo and Stitch, or Mulan just for kicks. You'll discover a lot of jokes that you never understood until now. 

3. Be strange and own it.

If you decide in your heart to be tastefully different and do it in an unashamed manner, you will probably find awesome friends. Some of my best high school memories with friends include singing songs from the musical Annie while at the top of a roller coaster, spontaneously dancing in a parking lot at midnight, wearing renaissance clothing to school just because, and having wet napkin-throwing wars with friends in another car while at a stop light. 

It's much more fun than doing whatever normal people do in high school. 

4. Understand that your views of people will change a lot.

Some of my best friends today were some of my greatest annoyances a year or two ago. A few people that I only consider my acquaintances right now were my buddies at the beginning of high school. That's the way it is, so don't put too much weight on your current good friends. Take each moment in your friendships as they come and don't be easily offended. 

5. Understand that people will change a lot. 

The really angelically nice kid you know now could become a jerk by his senior year and the irritating, freshman brat that peeves everyone might just be the coolest girl you've ever known when graduation comes around. Don't ever believe that peoples' behaviors right now are the be all, end all of life. 

6. Understand that friendships shouldn't just be about you. 

This is the application of truths #4 and #5. Because people are constantly changing and your view of them is constantly changing, you will be sorely disappointed if you are only trying to make your own life better through friendships. Instead, see how you can benefit others. How can you INVEST in your current friends? Ask questions during conversations instead of just talking about yourself, pray for your buddies, and do spontaneous things for them. If your friendships aren't just about you, then when your friends mess up or change, you won't be nearly as frustrated with them.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, 

"Two people are better off than one, for they can HELP EACH OTHER succeed."

Notice that it doesn't say,

"You are better off with friends because they will make YOUR life better."

It's a two-sided deal. 

7. Invest in people that really matter.

In the summer of 2012, my sophomore year, my parents left for a week-long trip to Bermuda. My brother and I had the opportunity to spend half of the week with some of our good friends that we've known for years and the other half with our grandparents. However, instead of enjoying my time with my brother, my good friend, and my grandparents, I spend a good amount of the week texting some of my friends from school. When I look back on that week, I realize something sad; I don't remember anything that I did with my grandparents or my good friends. The only memories from that week are the text conversations I had with my temporary buddies. Today, I'm not keeping in touch with any of those friends. So, here's my challenge to you: put down your phone for an afternoon and spend time with your siblings. Decide to send a "what's up" text to one of your cousins who lives across the country instead of scrolling down your news feed again. Get in contact with an old friend rather than sending yet another text to that someone that you're temporarily interested in. 

I'm not saying that it's bad to invest in temporary friends. I just think that it's also very important to upkeep friendships and family relationships that really matter. 

8. Stay attentive to God's calling for your life.

You will change a lot during high school. God won't. Malachi 3:6 says this clearly,

"I, the LORD, do not change."

So, keep good habits such as daily devotions. Pray and read your Bible regularly. It's elementary, my dear Watson. By keeping your eyes on God, you won't be so focused on the storm around you. 

9. Don't be a drama queen. 

So many teenagers like to dramatize everything. Don't be that person. If you can appropriately add #firstworldproblem to a description of your current issue, then stop telling everyone about it. 

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again- rejoice!"

Philippians 4:4

If Paul could write this during one of his many stays in prison, then there's no doubt that you can be joyful in every situation that life throws at you.

10. Have fun while staying busy. 

Join clubs or teams that allow you to have fun with friends WHILE doing something useful with your life. Marching band did this for me and I absolutely loved being able to spend time with friends at football games, band competitions, car washes, and Dairy Queen visits. It's better to be doing useful things with friends than to just "hang out". Unoccupied idleness is never good in the teenage world. I've seen some of the best, upstanding kids get into trouble, simply because they were bored or restless at unstructured social events or get-togethers.  

So, there they are, the ten things I've learned over the past few years. I'm continuing to learn some of these lessons even now and I hope that we all can continue to take them to heart throughout the rest of our lives- especially #2, because no one is ever too old for Disney. 

Courage, Dear Heart

She wore a yellowed wedding dress and her entire demeanor seemed to represent her lost past. Surrounded by relics of what had never been, her entire life rotted away slowly. The only thing she ever lived for was plotting revenge on other helpless souls, hoping to avenge her own pain and suffering. 

I know, she sounds like a nasty person, doesn't she? 

Well, the character I just described is the main villain in the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Her name is Miss Havisham. 

She was rejected unexpectedly by her fiance. At the last minute, as she was preparing for the wedding, he ran away and eloped with someone else, leaving her with absolutely nothing. Because of this, Miss Havisham became bitter, turning against any forms of happiness or joy. She locked herself in the depths of her house and kept up all of the things from the wedding, allowing them to all slowly rot away. Miss Havisham even adopted a little girl and trained her to purposefully break little boys' hearts, in some form of sick revenge.

Sounds awful, doesn't it?

However, as I read this story, I saw a bit of reality in it. I've met people who hold onto their pain in a similar way, allowing bitterness to rot them away and paralyze them from living life. It makes me especially sad to see Christians like this since their bitterness goes against an amazing promise given to us by Jesus in the book of John:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV)"

So in other words, Jesus has given us all we need to live life to the full. But, if we're constantly holding onto our pain and grief from the past, we won't be able to truly move forward and live the life he has planned for us.

This isn't as easy as it may appear; after all, the verse tells us that there is a thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy; he will do everything in his power to steal away our joy. He knows how to whisper lies to us, convincing us that we must dwell on our own pain and suffering. But, God has given each of us a gift to help us battle these attacks: courage. 

The dictionary defines courage as,"strength in the face of pain or grief." 

King David talks about this in Psalm 29:11,

"The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace."

This whole concept reminds me of another book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis from the Chronicles of Narnia series.

In one scene of this book, the crew of a ship (the Dawn Treader), must sail into a giant patch of darkness, in search of a man who went missing. This scene used to always scare me as a child, especially since the darkness itself had some magic within it that caused the poor crew to see mirages of the things they feared most. But, after sailing through darkness and fear for quite a while, one of the crew members, a young girl named Lucy, makes a breakthrough. The following passage is especially meaningful to me since an allegorical character representing Jesus, a lion called Aslan, makes an appearance.

"Lucy leant her head on the edge of he fighting top and whispered, "Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now." The darkness did not grow any less, but she began to feel a little- a very, very little- better...

"Look!" cried Rynelf's voice hoarsely from the bows. There was a tiny speck of light ahead, and while they watched a broad beam of light fell from it upon the ship. It did not alter the surrounding darkness, but the whole ship was lit up as if by searchlight...Lucy looked along the beam and presently saw something in it. At first it looked like a cross, then it looked like an aeroplane, then it looked like a kite, and at last with a whirring of wings it was right overhead and was an albatross. It circled three times round the mast and then perched for an instant on the crest of the gilded dragon at the bow. It called out in a strong sweet voice what seemed to be words though no one understood them. After that it spread its wings, rose, and began to fly slowly ahead, bearing a little to starboard...But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt surer, was Aslan's, and with the voice a delicious smell breathed in her face."

Chapter 12, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This passage describes courage in such a profound way. In the midst of darkness and adversity, Lucy called out to Aslan and he answered by whispering, "courage, dear heart."

In the same way, God gives us courage to face our troubles, whether they be big or small.

Over the past two months, I've seen this truth manifested in three of my friends' lives. Adversity hit them in shockingly unexpected ways as both of the families represented by these three friends lost a parent. Seeing their lives get turned upside down in this way made me realize that they have every reason to be bitter and every right to dwell in their grief. However, they have done just the opposite. I've seen each of these friends step up in COURAGE, continuing forward in their faith with strength. In fact, one of my friends told me this in a text only days after his mom passed away:

"God's plans are perfect and wonderful, even if we can't fully understand them at the moment."

Seeing their endurance through these hard weeks made me realize something important; while there is a time to grieve and learn how to live through such events, God didn't intend for us to live in our sufferings. As John 10:10 said, he has given us life to live to the fullest. My pastor actually talked about this a little while ago; he explained that we can either use our hard circumstances to keep us weighed down and lost in adversity or we can let God take the troubles and use them for His glory.

As C.S. Lewis once said,

"hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny."

As I look at my three friends' lives and see how their faiths have grown immensely through their courage, I can already tell that God is planning extraordinary destinies for each of them.

The question is, will you let Him do the same for you?

Beware the Wadis

Psalm 23:1-2

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters,

He refreshes my soul.”

I’m sure you, like me, have heard these verses many, many times. I know that whenever I read this passage in the past, I pictured the fluffiest, greenest fields imaginable, something like the rolling hills of Ireland or a nicely-groomed lawn in the late spring...

However, I just learned something very interesting about the actual green pastures in Israel, the ones that inspired David to write this Psalm. They actually looked like this...

 Because about half of Israel is made up of a wilderness region called the Negev, it’s very, very unlikely that David ever laid eyes on a nicely-groomed lawn or a rolling Irish hill. In fact, the shepherds in Israel are constantly on the search to find enough grass for their little sheep to eat. The sheep aren’t swimming in luscious grass all the time as some of us may have previously pictured; they only have just enough for the moment as they are eating. But, all the same, the sheep are never concerned that they’ll starve, even when the land around them may seem barren and lifeless. They “know” (as well as sheep can know) that their shepherd will find them more grass when it’s time to eat again.

I think that this imagery of the “green pastures” in Israel is much more realistic to our own lives. After all, we aren’t surrounded by a luscious green field, always filled with everything we’ll need for life. This is why we need to trust our Shepherd to lead us to what we need, every moment. I know that this may be a hard concept for some of us to swallow, especially those of us who may be thinking about colleges and future plans. Our natural inclination is to try and find tomorrow’s grass today. We want to go forward and form an “eating plan” for ourselves. This can be very dangerous. Let me go back to the Negev to explain why.

Let’s say one of the sheep gets worried that the shepherd won’t lead him to more food when he needs it. He looks around and sees that he and the rest of the flock have just finished off the grass in an area, and now he’s REALLY worried. So, he decides to wander off and find some more food on his own. But, since Israel is a desert, Mr. Sheep runs into an instant problem within half an hour of his excursion; he gets thirsty. The only places to find water in the Negev are in small canals called Wadis. Here's a picture so you can visualize a Wadi...

 Mr. Sheep sees a nice little pool of water in the Wadi and he steps down into the canal to get a long drink. But, unbeknownst to Mr. Sheep, the Wadis in Israel are prone to flash flooding; if a heavy rain comes through some of the mountains surrounding the open fields, water will quickly run down and fill the Wadis within a matter of minutes. So, if Mr. Sheep happens to be inside a Wadi, getting a nice long drink when the flash flood happens, he has a very likely chance of drowning.

However, staying with the shepherd completely prevents this calamity from occurring. By sticking with the rest of the flock and allowing the shepherd to lead them all to water, Mr. Sheep won’t have a chance of drowning. The shepherd himself has something that none of the sheep have; he has FORESIGHT. He realizes that the Wadis can fill up with water and he watches the weather carefully so he can be sure to move his sheep out of the canal and back onto solid land before the flash floods come.

I think this is why verse 2 of Psalm 23 talks about “quiet waters”. I looked up the definition of quiet in the dictionary and it means, “without much activity, disturbance, or excitement”.  I think it’s cool how well that relates to the concept of the Wadis. It can remind us that our own Shepherd has foresight that we could never have. By trusting in Him to provide for our needs in every moment, we are keeping ourselves from the danger that comes with trying to live all on our own.

 To conclude all of this information, I came up with a short blurb to sum all of it up:

“Beware the Wadis;

Don’t look for tomorrow’s grass today because the Shepherd takes care of you in every moment.”

King David said it well, when he wrote Psalm 23, didn’t he?

Atlas

"Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, lower and lower to the ground, the sky's weight crushing me."
- The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan, page 269

Atlas was a deity in ancient Greek mythology. He was the god believed to hold up the earth itself, keeping the sky and the sea from melding together and killing all of humanity. In the scene I just quoted, a mortal boy, Percy Jackson, temporarily takes the load of the earth in Atlas's stead to save one of his friends (I won't tell any more; I wouldn't want to spoil the book for you).
Even though the Percy Jackson series is completely based off of pagan gods and whatnot, I was hit very hard by this short description. Somehow, I was able to relate to Percy's plight because I too have tried to carry the weight of my own world all by myself.
Any time we as humans say something like,
"I've got this."
"I have the strength to get through this."
"I can do this on my own",
we are actually saying that we can, in fact, carry the world on our shoulders, all by ourselves. But, just like Percy, we soon realize how excruciating it is to actually hold up the world and keep it from crashing down on us.
I know I've definitely felt this way before. However, I came across a verse in Psalms that addresses this concept perfectly. Because I just got a spectacular copy of the Message Bible as a gift, I've had the chance to read the Bible from an alternate perspective frequently and this verse in particular stood out to me:
"I took the world off your shoulders, freed you from a life of hard labor. You called to me in your pain; I got you out of a bad place."
Psalm 81:6-7a (MSG)
Wow. This verse is so comforting to me. It means that no matter what I may be facing in this life, God will carry it for me. He will bring me through the rough time, holding up my world and preventing me from getting crushed by it.
Another Psalm discusses this some more:
"They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them."
Psalm 44:3 (NLT)
To summarize these thoughts, we are not strong enough to hold up our own worlds. That is a fact of life. No matter how hard we try, we CAN'T do it. God is the only one who's strong enough to lift the weight onto His shoulders. So, the next time you feel overwhelmed, don't try and say, "I've got this. I can do it" because honestly and sadly, you can't do it. This is why we need our savior, Jesus Christ, to step in and be our Atlas, holding up the world on his strong shoulders, yet carrying each of us in His loving arms. One of my favorite Coldplay songs, titled "Atlas", reflects this promise,
"Carry your world, I'll carry your world."
And he will carry your world, but only if you place it on His shoulders. You must ALLOW God to take your world and hold it with His strength.
I know that I've quoted a lot of random books and such already, but I came across a beautiful prayer about this topic in a compilation book of Puritan prayers and devotions. So, to end this blog post:
"O Lord of Grace,
The world is before me this day,
 and I am weak and fearful,
but I look to thee for strength;
 if I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,
but on the Beloved's arms I am firm as the eternal hills;
if left to the treachery of my heart I shall shame thy Name,
 but if enlightened, guided, upheld by thy Spirit,
I shall bring thee glory.
Be thou my arm to support,
my strength to stand,
my light to see,
my feet to run,
my shield to protect,
my sword to repel,
my sun to warm."
- "God All-Sufficient" from The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett