God is trying to teach you - Are you listening?

So I figured almost three full months of no blogging calls for a new one, yeah? Now because I am a psychology major and not a preaching/youth ministry/whatever else "Christian" major, I steer clear of cool analogies and just begin my blogs with thoughts using simple words (unlike my friend The Heff who always uses big words), so please mentally insert cool analogy and application here and I shall move on...

This last week I got to spend a week at my favorite place on Earth, no exaggeration... Winema Christian Camp. It was Christmas Camp led by some close friends and 28 high school students. With everyone there were only about 50 people at camp which is great, especially since the theme for the week was Unity and Community in the Body of Christ. I love being there for the kids to pray with them and answer whatever questions I can, but the coolest part of it all was seeing them taking what they've learned about the Body and ministering to each other. By the last day or two, I wasn't even doing much as far as leading prayers or talks, they did it on their own. By far the most rewarding part of camp this week.

There were quite a few times over that week that I thought, "Oh that's a cool concept! I should blog about that." So I figured I'd combine them all and give you just a taste of each because God was moving so much at that camp and teaching things left and right.

1. REJOICE - You hear a lot to "rejoice in the LORD" but how often do we keep ourselves from doing that? I do. A lot. Lots of times I get too caught up in the downer part of Christianity, the part where you "sit and think about what you've done" in order to repent and receive that grace. But somehow even after I ask for forgiveness, I still dwell on it. God forgives but I don't always forgive myself. And I find that this keeps me from being with God. I've convinced myself that I am not yet worthy to be in the presence of God forgetting that we don't make ourselves worthy, but God does, and He calls us to live a life worthy of the Lord (Ephesians 4). But the truth is that these things that I dwell on simply do not matter anymore, what matters is that Jesus has made it possible for me to sit back and enjoy just being, not doing anything specific, but just simply sitting back and being with the Father. It's easy to forget that sometimes God WANTS us to just stop thinking about things and sit in his lap and be with him, no strings attached. I can tell when I forget this because I find myself missing God. Sometimes I just realize, "I miss God." And I think God misses us too. So maybe sometime, take a moment to purposefully erase your mind of everything and just BE with the Father. God has already literally done everything to get you there, don't hold yourself back anymore.

2. HUMILITY - We get tricked into thinking that being humble means thinking we're crap or don't measure up to what we should be. But it doesn't mean that at all. Humility just means that we realize what is great in ourselves and we point it to God while using them for Him.

3. IDOLIZING - We do not idolize other things or people because we love them more than God. We begin to idolize when we forget how great God is and the things He does.

4. TEACHING - God is always trying to teach you something, but you learn based on how well you listen.

5. GODLY THOUGHTS - We try to figure out God or something God intends for His people, but we cannot muster up these thoughts on our own. Our thoughts are just puny human thoughts. We have to ask for thoughts that are not our own, things we could not possibly think up ourselves.

6. LIKE A CHILD - Most of you know I never want to grow up. I love being a kid. I still love chocolate milk, as well as camp, Transformers, forts, laughing at fart jokes, singing Backstreet Boys, and doing the part in Marvelous Light where you have to lift your hands and spin around. I’ve realized once I’ve grown up (well sort of) that we take life too seriously; and now that we’re grown up we’re supposed to have it all together, and when we don’t, we perceive ourselves to be inadequate and a failure. Adults have to have everything under control. They have to be the strong ones for other weaklings. But Jesus calls us to become like Children. Remember when you first became a Christian and nothing else in the world mattered because it was just you a God and you loved Him and you knew He loved you with everything He had. Sometimes I wish we could be like the Lost Boys in Hook and never grow old. Kids know how to have fun, they know how to trust with everything they've got, they're never hesitant to ask for help, they're not expected to have it all together, they live a simple but fun and extraordinary life, and most of all they don't take life too seriously. Mike Yaconelli, my favorite author, writes a fictional story about Jesus in his book "Dangerous Wonder" (which I highly recommend) that I think hits pretty close to the character of Jesus....

"Jesus and the disciples were all in the river taking baths when the beloved disciple, John, reaches down to the floor of the river and brings up a huge mud pie. Preoccupied with their washing, none of the disciples notices. John takes careful aim at his favorite target, Peter. SPLET! The mud pie strikes Peter in the face. John immediately ducks underwater as though he is scrubbing. Peter reaches for his own mud pie, takes careful aim at Matthew, and lets it fly. WHAM! James wastes no time responding with his own mud pie, and soon bedlam breaks out amongst the disciples. A full-fledged mud fight is under way. Philip and Bartholomew sneak up on Judas, whom they didn't particularly like anyway, and nail him with two mud pies. Simon the Zealot, who has never been particularly close to John because he thinks he's a wimp, lets loose with a huge mud pie. John ducks and the mud missile hits Jesus right in the middle of His forehead. All the disciples freeze. After a long silence Thomas leans over to Simon and says, "You idiot! You just hit the Son of God with a mud pie... He'll turn us into turtles!" Jesus gazes slowly at each of the disciples, each one fearing the worst. With a knowing smile, Jesus stops when He sees Simon, who refuses to look in Jesus' eyes. Jesus reaches down into the mud and comes up with a very large mud pie and - BAM! - Simon is hit squarely on the top of his head, and as the mud slithers down his face, everyone, including Jesus, breaks into laughter."

These things, among others, are what God has been teaching me and I hope you are listening because I promise you He is always wanting to teach you something new.

Really God? Paul!?

"Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant."

2 Corinthians 3:4-6

I have to make this short because I still have massive amounts of homework to do for midterms this week but I have just been epiphanized (making up words is fun). It amazes me how inadequate we think we are to do God's work... or anything for that matter. We are the only ones that shoot ourselves down, because we let people get to us when we are discouraged. But it all depends on who you're listening to. Others might say stuff, but are you listening to what God is telling you? Who deserves to be listened to? Others aren't watching you through God's eyes. There are lots of times that God affirms us through scriptures and sometimes we (myself definitely included and maybe previously the leader of this pack) choose not to listen or brush it off. I get it though, it's like when your mom says you sing so well. She has to say it cause she's your mom. But God means it!

Look at Paul. God is so funny to me sometimes. I love the way He works. I'll bet God looked around and found the worst person to use and changed it all around, just to show that He has no limits. Paul didn't have a crappy faith, or not think much of God. Paul HATED God's people and what they stood for. He made a living destroying (or attempting to destroy) what Jesus was building and God used him to basically start the church! Is this not craziness to anyone else!? And the best part is that Paul didn't do any of it on his own. Jesus transformed him into the man of God he became. Paul didn't have to do anything to qualify himself. If anything, he did everything in his power to DISqualify himself.

Anyway, I really have to get back to homework but the next time you think you shouldn't do something for God because "it's not your thing" or you "don't have that gift," shut up and do it. :)

Don't try to qualify yourself, God has already done that.

Sometimes we just forget the power of asking...

This last summer, I honestly don't remember at all where I was, but I remember someone talking about passion. He was talking about how we have passions for things that we love, but also about passions and desires that God gives us in order to do His work. As most of you know, I have a passion and love for youth. Since high school, but more intensely just in the last year or so, God has taught my heart how to hurt for them and the things they have to deal with, things they should not be having to deal with, especially at their age (probably because I sang the song Hosanna one two many times... "break my heart for what breaks yours." Gotta be careful what you ask for).

Anyway, early this last summer, I was definitely feeling a lack of passion just in life in general. I was worrying a lot about my future that seems to be sneaking up on me. And this speaker said that passion doesn't just come from within us, it comes from God; and sometimes we just simply need to ask for God to renew our love for Him, for life, and for the things we are passionate about. I think it's easy to ask for things with little faith that it'll actually happen, or give some other reasoning for when this prayer is actually answered. But I can really say that since that day I asked God to renew my passions for Him, His Word, life, and youth, He really really has. For the first time I actually feel more excitement than anxiety about my future. I don't even care what He wants me to do or where He wants me to go. I believe He's given me this passion for youth for a reason and that He's going to take me through some crazy stuff; and I feel ready for it. It's that kind of excitement that makes me want to just jump out my skin. I almost don't want to do something that'd I'd feel comfortable in, because God's always got something bigger and better and crazier in store. Plus, our own stories are always so much smaller than His. Why wouldn't we want to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves?

Anyway, the point of all of this is just to challenge all of you to ask God for the desires of your heart. He gives those desires for a reason, He wants to use you! And He wants you to enjoy what He has in store for you. So just ask, knowing he gives.

"The prayer of a righteous man is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE."
James 5:16

"Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you."
Luke 11:9

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do and your plans will succeed."
Proverbs 16:3

"And in WHATEVER you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Colossians 3:17

"Devote yourselves to prayer being watchful and thankful."
Colossians 4:2

God doesn't guilt trip

Tonight I was lucky enough to get to do one of my favorite things in the world. A big group of us went to Newport beach for a late night worship session. I love people, I love the beach, and I love worship. It was such a good night.

My alone times with God have been few and far between the last couple of weeks. I've always had a problem with self-discipline in this area. As soon as I start reading I feel like I don't want to stop but for some reason, I have such a hard time reading regularly and before I know it, it's been a week or two since I've even opened my Bible! It's a constant guilt I take everywhere with me, and it effects my worship times. Tonight when I heard we were going to do worship on the beach, I was excited yet part of me was not looking forward to it. I felt as if I wasn't in a place to worship God. Like I was just picking up where I left off with God because my friends were doing worship. I feel like God wouldn't take this worship as right; like I have to wrack up some minutes in my Bible-time before I can worship. Sounds ridiculous right?

Even as I write this now, a part of me believes it. But tonight during worship God brought me back to His unfailing LOVE... his unjudgmental, pure view of me. He wants every piece of me I'm willing to give him. I think one of the most amazing things about God is that He is able now (because of Jesus) to look at us and not see us as we see ourselves. There has to come a time when we are able to push to be more and more like Jesus, but be okay with the fact that we will never achieve perfection. Striving for perfectionism isn't spirituality, knowing and loving Jesus is spirituality. Mike Yaconelli is probably my favorite author and he says in his book Messy Spirituality that, "Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality; because we let go of seeking perfection, and instead seek God."

I think sometimes we make our walks more complicated than they need to be. God appreciates simple I think. It's about Him, and about us loving Him, and about us letting God love on us.

One of the previous pastors at Rock Harbor Church, Ian DiOrio put it like this...

"God thinks more of you than you think of yourself because He knows who we really are... the sinful little mistakes you make now do not define you as much as the God who defines you! ... When we know whose we are, we know who we are... If you live out of the reality that you're a sinner, you're sick, you're broken, then that's all you're ever gonna be. But if you live out of the reality that your identity is firm in Christ and that there's nothing you can do to change His opinion of you then you will have freedom in your Christian life like you wouldn't believe because you know whose you are. You are accepted as you are, not as you should be, because you'll never be as you should be."

This is not the way we are taught to think about ourselves, nor is it the way we naturally see ourselves. I believe the only way to see ourselves this way, or even understand this idea of God seeing us this way, is through prayer. Prayer that asks God to help us go a little easier on ourselves. Prayer that asks a big God to teach us to see ourselves the way He sees us. Prayer that asks God to show us how to see others the way He sees them. And prayer that thanks our Abba for His Son, that made it possible for Him to see us this way.

I'm the new kid to blogging

So I have to be honest, I kinda always laughed when I'd hear that people actually blogged. It makes me think of Creed in the season finale of season 3 of the Office when he blogs about Pam and Jim at the beach outing. But there have been at least three or four blogs I've been reading from friends that have blessed me so much and even taught me a thing or two. Then it got me thinking, God doesn't teach us things just for us. He teaches us so we can share them with others and teach them too. That's fellowship. That's the Body.

So anyway, all this to say that I apologize to bloggers around the world for making fun of you.

I'll be using this to share with all of you the awesome things God is constantly teaching me. I hope you are blessed by it. :)