Crazy Love

I recently finished what has become, hands down, the best book I have ever read. Crazy Love by Francis Chan. About a year ago, I went to Memphis Tennessee with about 50 other middle schoolers, high schoolers, and leaders for the Live Love Tour. It was an AMAZING weekend!!! Kristian Stanfill lead worship, which was absolutely incredible! (WE ARE THE KINGDOM OF GOD; WE ARE AN ARMY OF LOVE!!) And Francis Chan was the main speaker. Most of what he talked about came straight out of his book, Crazy Love. And a few months ago, I finally picked up the book to go through with my small group. And was just able to finish several days ago. So, I got thinking that I'd like to share with cyber space some things I learned from the book.... Now, I'm a BIG highlighter/note taker when it comes to books. But when I flip through the pages of the book now, it looks like I underlined every single sentence.... It was THAT good. This causes a great dilemma though... because now I have to pick and choose what to share! I guess you'll just have to go read the rest for yourself!



"Men are never duly touched an impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God."

"It confuses us when loving God is hard. Shouldn't it be easy to love a God so wonderful? When we love God because we feel we should love Him, instead of genuinely loving out of our true selves, we have forgotten who God really is."

"If my mind is the size of a soda can and God is the size of all the oceans, it would be stupid for me to say He is only the small amount of water I can scoop into my little can. God is so much bigger; so far beyond our time encased, air/food/sleep-dependant lives."

"Intellectually we all know that we will die, but we do not really know it in the sense that the knowledge becomes a part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. One the contrary, we tend to live a though our lives would go on forever."

"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives."

"The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time."

"Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today's to-do list, this week's schedule, and next month's vacation."

"Lukewarm People do not live by faith; their lives are structured so that we never have to. They don't have to trust God is something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don't need God to help them-they have their retirement plan in place. They don't genuinely seek out what life God would have them live-they have life figured and mapped out. They don't depend of God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in god health. The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God." (This kills me... because I realize how much of this is true...)

"Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."

"Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives. Most of out thoughts are centered on the money we want to make, the school we want to attend, the body we aspire to have, the spouse we want to marry, the kind of person we want to become... But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it's about eternity, and nothing compares with that."

"God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."

"Joy is something that we have to choose and then work for."

"Christians are like manure; spread them out and they help everything grow better, but keep them in one big pile and they stink horribly."



Sooo, yeah, I kind of liked that book. Pick up a copy; it'll change your life.

Thoughts....

Do I go to church because I love Jesus or do I go because I love my church?  I've been thinking a lot about this question lately... Am I more in love with the church than I am with the one who created me?  It shouldn't matter where I am, as long as I am first and foremost worshipping God with all of my heart.  But then why does where a person chooses to be matter so much? I don't understand.  People become broken and torn apart by something that should bring us together.  I'm not proposing that a choice of church doesn't matter at all, because it does.  I want to be at a church where I can serve, and further my relationship with Jesus.  But my relationship with Jesus should still be as alive when i'm at home reading my bible as it is when i'm sitting in a church service.
I love Granger Community Church, I have grown so much there, however, if at any point I find myself just going simply because I feel comfortable there and i'm not challenging myself spiritually, it's time to move on.

It's ok to be uncomfortable, because in the end the wierd, awkward times in your life will make you that much stronger.

Questions.

Where is my lasor focus?
Are my priorities in order; do I spend more time digging into God's word than I do reading my US History book?  If you really are what you spend the most time doing, than I am an overly stressed out student just barely staying above water.  So how do I make my relationship with Jesus stay just as alive with all of my other school work, without completely burning myself out? Truth be told... I don't know.  I don't know how to balence the thing that is my life right now.
How do I "Love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, and soul" when the majority of my day is studying concepts that I might not even use the rest of my life? How do I include God is something like school? If I was God, I wouldn't want to be at school. I'm just sayin.

God, I have so many questions. Where are you when it seems like I can't get answers?

It's been a month...

A month since I've written a blog post. My sincerest apologies to those who are agitated that I haven't been on top of posting... (cough, dad, cough.)
Soooo what's happened in the past month...?? Lots.
How do you feel about a list? Cause I feel great about one...

--> Said goodbye to a dear friend, I was sad. He moved to Florida, so i'm sure he wasn't saddened by leaving boring northern Indiana.
--> My little (actually my BIG) brother turned 14!!!!! Crazyness!! He'll be a freshman at Penn next year and I can't believe it!
--> Watched my beastly brother at a few basketball games.
-->I WENT TO RENEWAL!!!! (more to come on that later...)
--> Purdue beat IU!
--> Purdue basketball started which is awesome because they're more dependable than the football team...
--> There was fog and I slept in.
--> Thanksgiving!! :)
--> Watched The Proposal... THREE TIMES over break.
--> No snow... :(
--> Went and cut down our Christmas tree!! And again... no snow.
--> Did tons of hw; studyed for lots of tests.

And currently I am mourning that fact that there is still NOT A FLAKE of snow in my yard.  Gearing up for a hard week; choir concert week (aka: the week I will die) and a plethora of tests, quizzes, and finals!!
Hard to believe, we're already nearing the end of the first semester... But I am more than ready for Christmas breakkk!!!

I will try harder to share with you relatively pointess stories about my life more often.

Bye, friends!

Camp Manowe

Last sunday my family went up to Camp Manowe in Michigan to spend some quality time together. Yes, my family wanders around the woods for hours... and likes it. Wierd.
Well, I hijacked the camera and snapped and few (hundred) pics and here's a few of my favs... These are the ones that left my in awe of how amazing God is and how much is cares about even the smallest of details.

I'm sensing a pattern...

I have begun to slowly realize that a lot of my favorite songs consist of the same words.



Take My Life.


Concidence... ha. No.

Let's just take a look shall we --->

Take my life and let it be
All for you and for your glory
Take my life and let it be
Yours

(Glory to God Forever -- Fee)

Take my life and let it be
Everything
All of me
Here I am
Use me for Your glory
In everything I say and do
Let my life honor you
Here I am
Living for Your glory

(Living for Your Glory -- Tim Hughes)

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to thee
Here am I
All of me
Take my life
It's all for thee

(Take My Life and Let it Be -- Chris Tomlin)

Take my life
Take my mind
Take my soul
Take my will
Cause I am yours now
I give it all to you

(Take My Life -- Jeremy Camp)

Take my heart
And make it new
And make it true
And make it like you
Take my hands
I lift them high
They're yours not mine to do
So do what you will

(I'm Ready Now -- Desperation Band)


Take my life; the common thread.  I try to make a concious effort, everytime I sing one these songs, to be intentional about the words I'm forming with my mouth.  It's a prayer, God take my life.  It's surrender.  I give my life to you, use it however you want to.  I'm letting go, it's all you, God.  It becomes easy, though, after a while, to not realize what I'm saying. It just beomes simply words in a song, instead of continual prayer.  I pray that I will never go on autopilot while i'm singing, that every word that rolls off my tongue will be an intentional, honest cry out to God.

Take my life, and make it all you want it to be.

I never wanted to leave this face...

I met her in Mexico. I look at her and I see Jesus.  She's one of the most special girls i've ever met.



And I didnt understood a word she said.