Truth with a Capital "T"

Autumn holds boundless beauty and many Truths. They are everywhere.

I came to the realization today that death is just as beautiful as life if you look at it from the right perspective. The gold and red, crinkling leaves that cling desperately to the trees are beautiful. The ones already fallen and browning are also beautiful - holes and all. Amid these dying beauties were flowers in full bloom: pink and red near the prayer chapel and purple (again) on the pathway toward Wengatz. Just as the blossoming flowers were beautiful in their vividness of life, the leaves were beautiful in their dying. That is what we are called to: beauty in life and death.

I sat on a large rock next to the purple flowers. I just sat and appreciated the beauty. It was effortless to fall more deeply in love with my Creator when I simply took a moment to slow down, to be still. Sure, when I was walking I saw the beauty, too, but there was not as much peace, hope, and reassurance in it as there was when I let it overwhelm and encompass me. We must do that: let God's glory overwhelm and change us. If we stopped long enough to gaze at His glory and beauty, no other response would be possible.

We can accomplish a lasting beauty of life and death, but not on our own. We must be still. We must seek God. We must seek Him first. It is the dying that is beautiful in us. Dying to ourselves so that Christ may live in us. We, as the leaves, become most beautiful as we die.

Blessed

When I say that I'm blessed, most people don't think about softball, but today, as it often has, softball has blessed me. Or, to put it more accurately, I have been blessed by God with the ability and opportunity to play softball.

My team dominated tonight, but that's not the point. There are actually two points.

Today, my coach made me lead-off batter. We got smashed twice last week, so he changed up the batting order a bit, and I was first because I have 1. the best batting average (over 80%) and 2. I have the highest percentage of time spent on base. I was blown away. My team is full of great players, but here Jerry was telling the team how good I am. I was honoured, but the pressure was on me like you wouldn't believe. I've always hated being lead-off batter, even if it's just an inning, but the whole game? To put it lightly, I was nervous. However, I stepped up to the plate and smashed the first pitch into the outfield. I proved myself worth of the spot for the rest of the game. (This is also not the point.) The point is this: a certain verse popped into my head when coach pulled me aside to tell me that I'd be leading off.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." - Luke 12:48

I have been given a lot of talent in sports, and therefore a lot is expected of me, but that's not my main job on the team. My main job is to glorify God. A majourity of my teammates are not Christians, so it is my job to be different, to reflect God. If I can earn their respect as a player, I also earn their respect as a person, and they are more likely to take into account the things that I say. God has given me the talent, and now I must use it for His glory.

A little bit of extra wisdom: Do not let fear stop you. When much is entrusted to you, it's only natural to have some apprehension, but don't let that keep you from going out and doing what needs to be done. After all, "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31

Point 2. I got to talk a bit about faith with one of the girls on my team tonight. I did not get to share very much, but now I know more of what she believes. I have been given an amazing opportunity to pour into this girl's life. It was great that she was honest with me. The real blessing tonight was that I got to begin something important with this girl. I am so lucky that God will allow me (me, of all people!) to use something as insignificant as a game of softball to do His work. We are blessed to bless others, even if our blessings seem outside of the realm of His work.

My Opposite

Hello, my few readers. I know that I have not been writing since the late fall, but today I just couldn't not write. Though I am not always faithful in writing, God's faithfulness is as strong as ever.

It's been quite the week. I finished up my first year of college, made the Dean's list again this semester, came back home to great jobs and friends, and an awesome softball team. I went to my old high school's graduation last night, and it was good to see everyone again. Today at my church we (a few other alumni and I) prayed for this year's graduates, and someone got baptized.

I didn't know him, but it hit me very close to home. You see, it was exactly a year ago today (well, maybe not by date, but by the fact that it was the day after my graduation) that I was baptized. I have been a Christian for 3.5 years now, but it was just last year that I got baptized (it was a big deal with my parents, having been raised Catholic and baptized as an infant, yada yada, yada...)

So much has happened this past year. I've changed and grown so much. I finished high school, and spent time in the Dominican Republic on an amazing mission trip. My softball team won the tournament for the second year in a row. I started college and made new friends. One of my friends was committed to an insane asylum for a brief period of time, and I continued to attempt to get over the loss of a friend of mine to cancer. My brother spent the year struggling with jobs, college, his girlfriend, and getting over his best friend's death (from cancer). I got published all kinds of places, including Guidepost Books. A really close friend of mine tried to kill herself, I learned to play violin, and I learned a lot from school and my academics.

But one thing has not changed at all. God has remained faithful throughout everything this year. Never once did He falter. Truth is, He's never faltered ever, and He never will. He is unchanging in a way that we, as humans, cannot ever understand. Hebrews 11 talks about several people from the Old Testament who were faithful to God and to whom God was faithful. Then, Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sins that so easily entangles, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

In light of God's faithfulness, we need only respond with sincerity, love, and adoration. Take this opportunity to think back on the year and see how God has been faithful. You will be surprised at just how amazing God has been this year (though you should not be. After all, why should we expect anything less than perfect faithfulness and love from God, who has never been anything else?)

Steering Through Chaos

Recently, I have been given the opportunity to review a great book, Scott Wilson's, "Steering Through Chaos." It focuses on how churches can find direction in the midst of change.

While the book is focused toward pastors and people in leadership positions, it is also worthwhile for Christians in general. Wilson has developed a great principle that he calls "chaos". Chaos is the area where transition happens, but Wilson urges leaders that the time for change is before rather than during hard times.

Change is a scary and hard thing for most people, so Scott Wilson has devoted his book to helping leaders ease the transition for the rest of the church body. Anyone in a leadership position has much to learn about Wilson's theory of chaos.

Not Your Typical Thanksgiving Day Post

Today is Thanksgiving, and I have much for which to be grateful. However, that's not what this post is going to be about.

I've never been a huge fan of holidays, but Thanksgiving sickens me. Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger, and it is estimated that around 800 million people in the world go hungry every day.

Please check out this website, it won't take more than a minute, and it updated in real time: http://www.stopthehunger.com/

Ridiculous.

When I have a family of my own, I don't want to celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional way. Sure, it's great to get together and have a nice meal, there's nothing wrong with that, but to gorge oneself to the point that most people do is just flat out gluttony. And the worst part of hunger is that it won't kill you right away, oh no, it tortures and torments you for a long, long time. Hunger is a pain unlike any other; one that many people can't even begin to understand. So many people are suffering greatly while we cook enough food to eat for days, and even then end up throwing leftovers out.

Imagine yourself in the D.R. where I or some other third world country. Now imagine trying to explain Thanksgiving to the people over there. Tell them of your yearly holiday devoted to food where you eat until you pass out on the couch. Can you see the look on their faces?

Now comes part two of my rant: As I was watching the Packers game, some of my relatives were talking about how much it would cost the Bears to get a certain new coach. Millions of dollars, and that's just for one year. Millions of dollars to coach people who play a GAME professionally. I love sports, don't get me wrong, but there is something seriously distorted about these numbers. I literally feel a bit like throwing up thinking about how many people we could help feed, clothe, and educate with that money (and trust me, that's not from eating too much because I didn't).

Think about how much of your food you waste on a daily or weekly basis and then think of the money also wasted. Now think of the money you waste on other stupid, petty things like football. In the time it took you to do that, several people died of hunger. I urge you, nay, I beg you, use your resources wisely. We have been blessed to bless others. From now on, think about Thanksgiving differently, act differently. Try feeding others instead of focusing on yourself.

"At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality" - 2 Corinthians 8:14

Does your giving reflect this? Or do you not trust God to provide for you if you give generously? Make a choice to act.