from the past...

I sorted out all the old drafts I've started but never posted on here, and found this one from November 2007:

I loved my summer in Brasil. It was awesome. Initially, while living there, I was thinking about STINT and totally seeing myself there. I have heard from the roommies that I talked about it a fair amount when I got home.

God has been doing some good stuff in my life, [which I'm not going to get in to because that would just make this post even more random & long]. He's making me more aware of the junk in my life -- one of those things is my pride. It's huge! Always has been a big thing in my life. I never understood the concept of having confidence in myself but not having a harmful amount of pride -- something I'm still learning about.

So how does that tie in to Brasil/Stinting, you might ask?



I say things that make me look and sound like a great Christian, while on the inside I'm not being true to what's really going on. Something I suppose we all do. When I got back from Brasil, I realized what a unique, fun & challenging experience it was. Here was my thought process:

I'm a Christian, I should think about full-time ministry...maybe in Brasil? And I had a great time there...I could live there. Wow, spending a year in Brasil makes me sound like this super-Christian who is really good at evangelism and loves it a lot (not so true).

I kind of got hung up on how good that sounded. While I was telling people I was thinking about spending a year there, in my head I was thinking, I'm telling this to people to make me look good, not because I am really feeling called to do it, at that point. I've been involved in Crusade stuff practically since my first day on campus, so it's natural to me to go from Trek, to Stateside Project, to International Project, to STINT-ing/Interning. But I need to stop thinking that I have to do these things to be a good crusade student, or even a good Christian, and that I'm bad if I don't want to/don't get called to.

beauty in simplicity

 

If you believe the beauty is there, you will find it. What I love about photography is that it gives me the chance to remember an event or an experience, a moment or a mood. It also gives me the chance to see beauty in the simplest things.

 

Photography takes faith. At least my photography does; I like to manipulate and edit photos, highlighting specific colors and lighting, making simple things stand out. I’m not skilled enough to know how to do that using cool effects on a high-tech camera. I hope to learn someday. I took this photo with a point-and-shoot digital camera in Newport, Rhode Island. Being in a new place caused me to really look at everything around me.

 

When we stop the busyness and retreat from the noise, we see that the simple can be beautiful. This little lesson I’ve learned in the last year or so has started to change the way I think about life, and about God. The simple things are so beautiful. A tree, a child’s laugh, a sunrise, a hug from a friend. It’s these small moments in life that are often so important to us. Like photography, sometimes we cannot see the beauty until we look back on it later.

God works in mighty, mighty ways. He’s the Sovereign King of Kings, orchestrating moments and movements all over the world. He also works in even the smallest details.

While big moments in my life have contributed to who I am today, it’s generally the small, day-to-day moments and opportunities that build my character. Here’s the same photo, after some editing.

Sometimes the small, simple things are the most important, and the most beautiful.

 

To see more of my photography, click here.

Worship & Creativity

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending an all-day satellite worship seminar in Sioux Falls from The Green Room; A Place Where Artists Gather. Speakers included Nancy Ortberg, DeWitt Jones, Nancy Beach, Ross Parsley, Efrem Smith, Dan Allender.

Wow, was it good! I thought I was going to learn about leading a worship team. I was secretly hoping for specifics, like how to select appropriate biblical songs, leading a team of different generations and musical styles and views, how to handle conflict. While there were elements of each of these woven into the different messages, I learned a much better lesson.



My strategic, business mind is so focused on the right song with the right words and the right number of verses and chori that I leave no room for creativity. Not only is there no room, I wouldn't let it in if there was! I am detail oriented, which is a huge asset when you're talking about implementing a plan and uniting a group of people for with one purpose. I can lead a team of musicians and a congregation in song. But to try to create an environment where people can enter into the presence of God in spirit and in truth is something I cannot do. Yet.

The first speaker, DeWitt Jones, is an award-winning National Geographic photographer and KOABD (Kind Of A Big Deal. Yes I just made up that acronym). Not until college did I realize that I have creativity. I actually can be a creative person. DeWitt's message was a huge encouragement to me when I think about all the aspirations and dreams that are important to me. I have to "fill my cup" by doing things I love so the creativity will flow. I've been ingrained with the belief that art isn't important because it doesn't make you money; the freedom that comes in college led me to discover creativity within myself - and to enjoy it!

Stay tuned; much more about this seminar to come!

Your turn.

I could share my thoughts on evangelism as a reflection of our walk with God.. but I'd like your thoughts on the subject.



I read this quote somewhere the other day: "Telling other people about Jesus boldly is a necessary and (in fact) loving expression of a healthy relationship with Jesus."

What do you think of this statement?
Do you think that someone who never talks about Jesus, has an unhealthy relationship with God?

infinite love.

The fact that all the people that have ever lived on this earth have been loved immensely and jealously by the God who also knows each and everyone one is incredibly hard for me to comprehend. He loves us, all 6.9852 billion people, and He loved the billions that came before us and those that are yet to come.

Why wouldn't you want to worship a God that has not even come close to beginning to run out of love?

the desert

Wikipedia describes a desert as a hostile environment that is potentially deadly when unprepared. The same words can be used to describe a spiritual desert. You all know that place (and if you don't, you will); apathy, distraction, doubts. You feel like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. The Word doesn't hold your interest, and you don't have the discipline to spend time with God despite it.

One of the biggest obstacles in the desert is lack of water. Much like humidity and high temps cause a loss of water in the desert, stressful situations and a dry spiritual environment can make the living water Jesus speaks about in John 4 disappear.



I tend to live my life in a way that pushes the water intake to the max. I'll gulp as much as I can for an amount of time, thinking that will last me for days. It never does, but I stretch it out as long as I can until I'm ready to pass out from exhaustion (emotional, not physical. well, sometimes physical!)

The absence of this living water results in dehydration, an abnormal loss of water.
When we're not regularly taking in this water, dehydration doesn't happen. Even a regular dose won't do in a desert environment.

And sometimes, we are so immersed in this desert and our thinking is so confused, we hallucinate. We see water up ahead, eager to do anything to get some relief, when in reality we are ready to drink a pool of quicksand. We think it will quench our thirst when it really just makes us more thirsty. I do this all the time; I use work, relationships, food, even blogging to give me a sense of purpose, comfort and enjoyment. This things aren't bad- they are actually essential parts of my life (well, I could live without blogging I guess :). But used inappropriately, they are detriments to my spiritual growth and relationship with God. Sun, wind, and hot, dry air are all elements that are ok on their own. But too much of them wreak havoc on the human body. (I love using that phrase, wreak havoc! wreak havoc!).

Another result of too much exposure in a desert environment is heatstroke. This is defined by dictionary.com as a "disturbance of the temperature-regulating mechanisms of the body caused by overexposure to excessive heat." Desert elements actually cause the body to work improperly. The stress and dryness in a spiritual desert can disturb the normal state of our heart and mind.

I was chatting with a good friend a few days ago; she said it was easy for her to believe that God is sovereign and in control of the lives of her friends, but it was hard to believe that He is in control in her life. It's so easy to believe things about ourselves, and things about God, when life is good. I'm not sure who said it, but 'we must believe in the dark what we learned in the light.'

well encounter

A few months ago I wrote a post about wells. I have been joking with friends that the best place to meet someone in the OT was a well: Isaac, Jacob, and Moses all met (or sent someone to meet) their wives at a well. I proceeded to discuss some of our modern-day wells; places at which we often meet guys. I talk about this joke a lot with a friend.

Sunday morning, this friend and I were sitting in a singles' bible study before church. It was the first time there for both of us. We watched a video from Andy Stanley titled "Defining Moments," and the message was based on a passage from John 4.

The woman at the well.

In the last two months, it hadn't occurred to me or my friend at all that Jesus is the most important man we will meet at a well. Talk about a neon flashing sign! We could not get over the irony in the message- at a singles' group (aka modern day well), nonetheless!