Blessed by Him who I ignore.
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? -James 2:5-6
I wrote this down in order to jot down my thoughts on these verses. Our college bible study is going over James. We are now on the second chapter. In the first Chapter I was all over the place and totally jumbled. I ended up making no since so I figured that writing it down would help.
First thing that hit me in this passage was the word “listen”. I am not so great at listening. It takes me around three meetings with a person to remember their name. Its not so much a problem of remembering as it is listening. Its funny how this parallels with my walk with Christ. I will get into the word and skim through it, not finding much meaning. It takes me about three times of reading it in order to listen to what I am learning. I think I have a focus problem honestly. When I take the time to actually sit still and listen, I learn so much more than when I shut God off from the conversation. I realized that I would have really crappy conversations with people if i never listened. Prayer is a conversation right? Its like I get up in the morning, take out my magic genie bottle, rub away, and ask God for all the things I want. Who am I to question God when he doesn’t answer my prayers if I don’t actually listen to his input.
Poverty:the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine the quality of life.
-35.9 million people live under the poverty line in America, including 12.9 million children.
-Almost 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year. 700 million hungry human beings in different parts of the world would have gladly accepted this food.
-3.5 percent of households experience hunger.
-33 million Americans continue to live in households that did not have an adequate supply of food. Nearly one-third of these households contain adults or children who went hungry at some point in 2000.
The last point that was brought up when I was looking these up was that if we were listening to the call of Christ and if we truly loved him, then we would feed his sheep. I was hit with this question above all… “Do you love me?”
18 and loving it…
I finally made it to college and its awesome. It is so amazing how God responds when you simply ask. He filled just about every gaping question. So yea… It was dumb to ever worry.
The question of a good church group and friends was quickly answered. The first day I moved in I went to play frisbee with my sisters church group. From that moment on I knew that God had fulfilled my prayer. There was no doubt from there on that Bacon Heights was the church for me.
The first days of class were a joke. I showed up and left within fifteen minutes of entering. The second week was awesome though. I only have one 8:00 class and two lecture courses. My main classes consist of painting and drawing for three hours a day so I tend to enjoy my days. Of course this thought would not be complete with addressing the fact that God fulfilled this too…
So to put it short and sweet, God is good. In fact he surpassed every expectation. I haven’t been able to right through all the hustle and bustle (that sounded lame) so I apologize. Sorry to keep you waiting Matt.
18 and worried…
I often find myself worrying. I know it’s human but I think it goes deeper. God wants us to 100% trust in Him. I find that what I want doesn’t often match up with his plan for my life. I get this gut feeling like I’m missing something.
Worry is better than not feeling. There is an awesome movie out called “Henry Poole is Here”. I won’t give it away but Henry has nothing to live for. He doesn’t believe in anything and he doesn’t feel sadness. He became so bitter that he wouldn’t feel anything. So this gut feeling may in fact be that little reminder that I feel. Is this gut feeling in fact my lack of trust?
This worry sparks thoughts. I think we all desire to make our life have meaning. Looking at “the american dream” I see that we all have goals. Get a good education, make friends, get a well paying job, have a nice family, ect… I know these are all good things but they really dont bring ultimate fulfillment. As long as most of the above are going great in my life, I feel like things are going great and I can set the Lord on my shelf for awhile… I mean I must have things figured out. Then all of the sudden there is a slight hint of uncertainty and that worry comes back. Will I carry out my education? What if I dont get a good core group of friends? What if I dont get accepted further into the school of art? Ok I think you get my point… Im pretty sure im going to look back at these thoughts and laugh. But what do I do right now?! I found out that if I had been trusting in the Lord this whole time that no matter what the outcome is, it was His plan. I looked at Job and found a worse case scenario. He trusted in the Lord when all else was taken from him and he was rewarded in full. His plan is ultimate fulfillment if not on this life, than in the next. So what do i have to really worry about but worry itself?
It’s always funny how I look back at that thing that troubled me so much and realize that if I had only given it to God, I wouldn’t end up a fool…
“Do not be anxious [do not worry] about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?… 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Realize there is an ultimate judge, and it’s not us.
“Scripture states that the beginning of wisdom comes when we fear the Lord (see Proverbs 9:10). This fear is not simply respect; this fear is a comprehension of God’s ultimate authority and our need to daily confess our arrogance and seek to love Him and others humbly. Why would we adopt His Word and values if He were not the ultimate standard who always views things correctly? In the same way, unless we understand that He is the ultimate judge, it is difficult to develop a wise sense of justice in our lives. One of the characteristics of fools in our modern society is that they have made their own ideas of right and wrong the basis for their judgments. These, however, are weak at best when viewed in contrast to the justice of God Almighty.” -Mark Matlock
Sciurus carolinensis
So I was at the park, sitting on the bed of my truck after riding fifteen miles on this awesome bike trail when three squirrels ran up to me. I was reading a book about developing wisdom as a soon to be college student. I probably should say that they snuck up to me. They would run from tree to tree to get closer. They were closing in as I just stared. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried at this point. They finally stood about three feet from my dangling feet. I found their motive, sitting next to me. A bag of crackers. They weren’t just any bag of crackers… They were the buttery goodness that Ritz has to offer. After much debate, I threw some down. One even caught one in his hands! I was sad to see them scamper off with my crackers.
I just moved at the beginning of the summer. I dont really know anyone here but I have found that this gives more time to the Lord. I often notice things when I sit quietly in the park. I noticed that we are often like squirrels, running around concerned only for ourselves. We know that there is one who can feed us yet we run around finding trash to feed on. We finally sneak our way up to him. We accept his gift and run away, only concerned for what he has to offer. We dont pursue a relationship with him. But we got what we want and we will run with it… Until we are hungry again.
Fun facts about the Sciurus carolinensis (squirrel)
-They live in treetops called Dreys. These Dreys can have two rooms and a nursery!
-Baby squirrels are called kittens
-Squirrels need to eat about two pounds of food every week.
-Squirrels need calcium to keep their teeth strong or they will die from starvation.
-They can live to be 10 to 12 years old.
-Their predators include red-tailed hawks, raccoons, foxes, opossums, wildcats, and owls.
-Their tails will heat up when a snake is after them. This heat throws off the snake.
-They use their tails for balance and to cushion high falls
It took a Century… DFL
Waking up early Saturday morning, I got ready for the Cow Creek Classic bike ride/race. Dad, Rachel, Laura and I all went. The Oaks church (where Rachel and Laura attend) partnered with the Cow Creek ride in order to raise money for clean water wells in Africa. They cleverly called this ride “Ride well”.
There were some hard core people when we showed up… Everyone was in their nice spandex tights and crazy nice bikes. Dad and i wore homemade cutoff tees and bandannas. We looked pretty ghetto.
You can choose the distance that fits you. There was 19, 36, 46, 75, and 100 mile tracks. They all peeled off one another. Dad and i signed up for the 46 mile one. We ran back to our bikes, realizing that the 100 and 75 milers just set off. We got in line with the 36ers and had to catch up to our group.
Every 15 or so miles there were rest stops. They offered oranges, all kinds of Gatorade, bananas, water, honey, and surprisingly enough pickle juice. Dad thought the pickle juice was Gatorade and took a huge gulp of it. They said the pickle juice helped prevent cramps.
We soon found out that this trail was not so flat… Dad and I got shown up by some large old men and women that trucked up most of these hills. By the second stop Dad decided to go 36 miles instead. I wanted to go 75 so we split up. after about 40 miles i realized that i was all alone. Most of the roads were now country roads going up and down and weaving through corn fields and pastures. God showed me how amazing he was in this simple scenery.
At the next stop i met Michael. He was around 38 though he looked like he was about 27. He had coasted the first miles with some friends that were doing the 36 miles. He said he had a bet on the hundred. We were both far behind and we both decided to do the hundred. We set off, passing a few stragglers. We noticed as we got close to the 50 mile break that everyone we passed ended up on trucks going home. By the 50 i found out that pickle juice is amazing… no joke, I drank tons of it. Everyone at that stop decided that the 105 degree heat was too much and they decided to call it quits. The last 50 miles was the hardest part of the adventure yet. By the 75 mile mark we were almost dead. The black top road temp was about 119 degrees (Micheal had a cool computer on his bike that told us). We were the last ones left. Some people at a rest stop told us its not bad to be “DFL”… Meaning “dead freakin last” but not that “F” word. We pushed on to what seemed to be a never ending journey and eventually made it. The trip all together added up to around ten hours. We kept a steady 15 miles per hour except for the up hill moments. All together about 30 miles of the hundred were flat. My butt hurt a lot after it but surprisingly enough, I wasn’t that sore. By the end I was pretty burnt. It was awesome! I finished my first century.
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
“Love is watching someone die.”
Being my first blog, I hesitate writing something so grim.
Last night I arrived at my grandparent’s house. In this place I set my life aside and relax. I love my Papaw and Mamaw dearly and often take the time I spend with them for granted.
I beat the sun to rise in order to paint their garage roof. Gathering my supplies and rolling up the sleeves of my papaw’s tobacco scented shirt I wore, I set off for the roof. I popped in my Ipod earbuds and scrolled down to whatever happened to catch my fancy. Death Cab For Cutie showed up. I started up the album and started slapping on paint. Papaw passed by on his golf cart every now in then to make sure I wasn’t making a mess of everything. Mamaw was working in the yard. A song started playing titled “What Sarah Said”. The song described a person waiting in the ICU for the news of his friend/love to die. He says, “Love is watching someone die.” followed by the words, “So who’s going to watch you die?”.
I won’t pretend to know the feeling the artist of this song is trying to portray but it did get me thinking. I have never thought of love this way but this kind of love is one that lasts to the end. It’s wierd to think about and i wish I found the answer. But who have I shown the love of Christ? Who have I loved when they were in need?
Who is going to watch me die?
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8
