http://www.faceyourpockets.com/index1.html
A link to a very interesting project exploring the idea of people and their stuff. On looking through it just a little bit it's amazing to see the things that people carry with them everywhere/everyday. It only serves as a collection of images, and offers no thoughts past that; it leaves you to think about it yourself. As a person who is very drawn toward the sight sense, I found it very intriguing in light of the recent Sunday night series "Possessed, when the stuff you own starts owning you."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Gratitude
Chris Scott talked Sunday night about gratitude. There were different areas mentioned, including being grateful for our stuff, our church and a relationship with our God.
One of the things that has really been sticking with me and caused me to consider was the idea of being grateful about our church. Chris said that there is a need this place (the church) fulfills that is not being met anywhere else; that is why we come to this place.
This thought really stuck with me because it is so simple and true, yet the awareness of it becomes more faint the longer we are part of a church body. For me, this is why I came to this place, but I had lost awareness of that simple truth. The first night I attended, I came because I was seeking worship, I wanted to be fed and encouraged, I wanted community, I wanted to be part of something that was actually addressing the need for God in my peer group. It was a feeling very real for me, something I carried with me until I couldn't ignore it anymore, something that forced me way outside my comfort zone to find an answer for it. I can say that I did feel called to this place, and that I felt so overwhelmingly grateful for this place that was meeting a need I could not silence anywhere else.
As time has passed, the sharpness of the awareness dulled. Part of it is due to the fact that I am a part of something that was fulfilling those needs, so the painful edge went away. But sitting there Sunday night, when Chris spoke those words, I felt the complete weight of them. That is the reason I continue to come every Sunday, why my soul is drawn there even when my body and mind are weary. Needs of mine are being met at that place, within that body of Christ followers, that are not being met anywhere else in my life.
For that, I must say thank you to all of the people who come together to be a part of it. We are blessed to be a part of this. To those who gather and worship together and learn to grow together, my gratitude. And to those of you who feel a call to serve and make this place possible, my gratitude for you and for this place we share.
Consider what first brought you to seek out this place.
One of the things that has really been sticking with me and caused me to consider was the idea of being grateful about our church. Chris said that there is a need this place (the church) fulfills that is not being met anywhere else; that is why we come to this place.
This thought really stuck with me because it is so simple and true, yet the awareness of it becomes more faint the longer we are part of a church body. For me, this is why I came to this place, but I had lost awareness of that simple truth. The first night I attended, I came because I was seeking worship, I wanted to be fed and encouraged, I wanted community, I wanted to be part of something that was actually addressing the need for God in my peer group. It was a feeling very real for me, something I carried with me until I couldn't ignore it anymore, something that forced me way outside my comfort zone to find an answer for it. I can say that I did feel called to this place, and that I felt so overwhelmingly grateful for this place that was meeting a need I could not silence anywhere else.
As time has passed, the sharpness of the awareness dulled. Part of it is due to the fact that I am a part of something that was fulfilling those needs, so the painful edge went away. But sitting there Sunday night, when Chris spoke those words, I felt the complete weight of them. That is the reason I continue to come every Sunday, why my soul is drawn there even when my body and mind are weary. Needs of mine are being met at that place, within that body of Christ followers, that are not being met anywhere else in my life.
For that, I must say thank you to all of the people who come together to be a part of it. We are blessed to be a part of this. To those who gather and worship together and learn to grow together, my gratitude. And to those of you who feel a call to serve and make this place possible, my gratitude for you and for this place we share.
Consider what first brought you to seek out this place.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Who we represent
i'm watching this HBO documentary called "FRIENDS OF GOD".
It's all about evangelical christians in America.
ya.
it's rough.
Ted Haggard is one of the main people interviewed in the documentary...he's the pastor in Colorado Springs who stepped down after it was discovered he was having some sort of affair with a male prostitute...
Other interviews consist of people organizing Christian car shows, a drive-thru church, people who define homosexuality as the route of all evil, people who refute evolution and teach their children that dinosaurs didn't exist and a Christian Theme park.
SERIOUSLY!
It's in Orlando and it's called the HOLY LAND EXPERIENCE.
what? why do we need that?
there was also a bible themed mini golf course that was hella janky.
These are the people I represent in SANTA CRUZ.
oH and George Bush and every televangelist ever and every person with a "GOD HATES GAYS" sign.
When people hear Christian, they see those people.
It's awful...
I feel so discouraged sometimes knowing that.
I'm so tired of Jesus constantly being associated with these people.
If you have a chance to watch it you should.
It's hard but if anything it makes me want to love more.
I don't ever in my life want to assumed as someone who hates because I read the bible, or judges because I believe in God.
I feel like Jesus is so separate from that.
All these screaming people and giant church productions, loud politicians and angry congregations...
I guess our world has become such a loud and chaotic place that the church has responded in the only way tit knows how.
This sounds dumb but I seriously wish that people thought more about the quiet place.
I find myself having to find that place frequently.
Walking to class and driving in my car, waiting for the bus and reading at a coffee shop...i find myself searching for the quiet place where i am reminded fo who i truly represent.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. - Psalm 91:1.
this was a total rant.
i don't know where i'm going with this.
just that it's hard seomtimes...but you guys probably know that.
It's all about evangelical christians in America.
ya.
it's rough.
Ted Haggard is one of the main people interviewed in the documentary...he's the pastor in Colorado Springs who stepped down after it was discovered he was having some sort of affair with a male prostitute...
Other interviews consist of people organizing Christian car shows, a drive-thru church, people who define homosexuality as the route of all evil, people who refute evolution and teach their children that dinosaurs didn't exist and a Christian Theme park.
SERIOUSLY!
It's in Orlando and it's called the HOLY LAND EXPERIENCE.
what? why do we need that?
there was also a bible themed mini golf course that was hella janky.
These are the people I represent in SANTA CRUZ.
oH and George Bush and every televangelist ever and every person with a "GOD HATES GAYS" sign.
When people hear Christian, they see those people.
It's awful...
I feel so discouraged sometimes knowing that.
I'm so tired of Jesus constantly being associated with these people.
If you have a chance to watch it you should.
It's hard but if anything it makes me want to love more.
I don't ever in my life want to assumed as someone who hates because I read the bible, or judges because I believe in God.
I feel like Jesus is so separate from that.
All these screaming people and giant church productions, loud politicians and angry congregations...
I guess our world has become such a loud and chaotic place that the church has responded in the only way tit knows how.
This sounds dumb but I seriously wish that people thought more about the quiet place.
I find myself having to find that place frequently.
Walking to class and driving in my car, waiting for the bus and reading at a coffee shop...i find myself searching for the quiet place where i am reminded fo who i truly represent.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. - Psalm 91:1.
this was a total rant.
i don't know where i'm going with this.
just that it's hard seomtimes...but you guys probably know that.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
"The Clothes Don't Make the Man"
This quote sprung up in my mind listening to the message last Sunday about consumerism. Even though our society is so bent on a consumer lifestyle, there is still the recognition that what an individual buys is no measure of their character.
Wikipedia defines the phrase as "An aphorism meaning that you cannot judge a person solely by his appearance."
Have you ever heard that saying? It's usually followed by a "but the [insert thought-provoking attribute here] does."
It's true though, just as much for a CEO as it is for you and me.
I'm not going to get into the discussion of the satisfaction of money or buying things because that's for you to decide for yourself, how to be a steward of your money. You're the only one who can examine if the way you're living your life is fulfilling to you. I can't decide that for you; I can only wrestle with the question for my own life.
But I ask you to consider the truth of the statement "the clothes don't make the man." It applies to how we consume things, what it important in life, maybe even why we consume so much.
Wikipedia defines the phrase as "An aphorism meaning that you cannot judge a person solely by his appearance."
Have you ever heard that saying? It's usually followed by a "but the [insert thought-provoking attribute here] does."
It's true though, just as much for a CEO as it is for you and me.
I'm not going to get into the discussion of the satisfaction of money or buying things because that's for you to decide for yourself, how to be a steward of your money. You're the only one who can examine if the way you're living your life is fulfilling to you. I can't decide that for you; I can only wrestle with the question for my own life.
But I ask you to consider the truth of the statement "the clothes don't make the man." It applies to how we consume things, what it important in life, maybe even why we consume so much.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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