Something to ponder...

So I've been reading the book The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning (HIGHLY recommend if you haven't read it already!!!) and I read something today that really made me think so I thought I'd share it...

We all know the "Golden Rule" and then there's Jesus' teaching of "whatever you've done to the least of these, you've done to me." In the book, Brennan brings up a reflection on this passage by Carl Jung. It says, "What if you discovered that the least of the brethren of Jesus, the one who needs your love the most, the one you can help the most by loving, the one to whom your love will be most meaningful - what if you discovered that this least of the brethren of Jesus...is you?"

Interesting...

Also, later in the book, Brennan is reflecting on the subject of failure and how we live in a society where failure is not looked at favorably. Then he offers this thought, which really hit home being the perfectionist that I am...what if God expects more failure from us than we expect from ourselves?

No regrets

Everything happens for a reason.

It's a mantra of sorts that I hear all the time and I tend to agree with. This weekend I had, what I guess you could call an epiphany or maybe just a reaffirmation of what I already knew. At the DTC on Saturday night, Dan was teaching on the goodness of God and that because God is good, everything that comes from Him is good...even though it may be considered bad by the world's standards. It made me think back on my life and the things that have happened that weren't exactly the greatest, whether by my own doing or not...things you might say I regret: not marching my final two years of drum corps; majoring in business management seeing as how I'm not using it at all; moving to Chicago; staying at the church in Chicago for 5 years; not taking a job in Phoenix that I was all but offered. I look at these things and can talk for hours about the negative aspects of each...why I regret each thing.

But what I realized this weekend was that, had one thing been different in any of the situations I listed, I would not be where I'm at today and it's probably one of the best places I've ever been in my life. God has taken so much of what was hindering me away so that all I have left to do is what I've neglected to do for so long...to seek Him wholeheartedly and come to know God for who He really is, not just the watered down, pretty version that I've clung to for almost 27 years of my life.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ~Romans 8:28

Worship?

So I was thinking that I was going to write about a completely different topic today but last night a question came up during Bible study and I just had to blog about it (right Kelli?). The question landed hard on the subject of worship and what exactly this whole thing called "worship" is.

A few years ago I found myself (a lot because of my own doing) right in the middle of a worship war. Now, this wasn't just a small little argument or quarrel or even a battle...I'm talking all out war...not pretty! Anyway, having been involved in a church for pretty much my entire life and working at one for 5 years, I will admit that I had a pretty narrow definition of worship, and it wasn't until just a couple years ago that God started opening my eyes to a broader definition of worship. Last night at Bible study God brought worship into a whole new perspective. I didn't get a chance to share it with the guys...so here's the next best thing (actually probably better cause I'm guessing most of you wouldn't have been there to hear it).

The question was this: How did the disciples worship Jesus back in the day? Did they sit around and sing worship songs to him? Seems kind of silly at first, but it does make you think. Here's my thoughts...

When I was thinking about this question, I remembered a Nooma video by Rob Bell called "Chosen." In the video Rob takes a closer look at what exactly it meant to be a disciple using the Jewish tradition. In a nutshell, boys growing up in the Jewish tradition spend the majority of their childhood studying the Hebrew scriptures, hoping to be chosen by a Rabbi to be his disciple. Once selected those disciples devote their lives to learning the ways of their Rabbi so that they can carry on his teachings...essentially they want to become just like their Rabbi.

Now put that into the context of Jesus (Rabbi) and his disciples. See where I'm going? How did the disciples worship Jesus? By following him wherever he went, listening to his teachings, and learning to be just like him. Take a look at Romans 12:1 -

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Jesus gave of his life to save the world from sin and death. What better way to worship him than to follow his example and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice...to further his kingdom.

Worship has always been very close to my heart so I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on this topic.

I just can't help it...

So this has been on my mind all day today so I had to blog about it...

I got to see Kelli Rolfes 3 times this weekend!!! How cool is that?!?!?!

Confession...

I am a selfish person. I carry a lot of pride in myself and I often think of the benefits to me and not others.

I was reading about the King stage of the masculine journey today and something in there really convicted me...a King does everything for the benefit of others. It made me think about my reasons for doing a lot of things that I do, and I felt that I had to share this confession...get it out there for all to see as an act of humility. You see there are a lot of times people would ask me to do something and I would ask myself, "What's in it for me?" If I saw that there was a benefit to me: people would notice me, I'd get to meet certain people, I would be publicly recognized, I'd win something, only then would I agree to it.

Doing this triathlon is a huge step on my road to a humble heart. First, there's the whole issue of winning. I tend to shy away from things that I know I won't win. That was the first step. Then there's the training. I knew from the start that it would be hard work, but I can handle it. I'm an athlete...and humbly speaking, a pretty good one. Well, here I sit at the end of week 1 of training and I'm hurting: physically and emotionally. I've got a long road ahead of me, but by God's grace and strength and I'll get through. I can't get through this on my own...but I've got the King of kings on my side.

Soli Deo Gloria

It's a battle out there...

In the book The Way of the Wild Heart, John Eldredge talks about 6 stages that guys go through in their masculine journey: Beloved Son, Cowboy/Ranger, Warrior, Lover, King, Sage.

The Beloved Son is basically coming to know and accepting that you are loved and adored by your father, and more importantly, your heavenly Father.

Cowboy/Ranger is all about adventure. It's answering this question, "Do I have what it takes?"

I was reading about the Warrior stage this morning, which basically is building on the Cowboy stage and taking the confidence that you have and putting it to action...fighting for what's true.

Now this book is not just a book about growing up to be a man...it's about growing up to be a man in Christ. As I was reading today I kept thinking that this is where I'm at in my own faith life.

College, for me, I think was my time of accepting that I'm a Beloved Son of God. When I was called to Chicago, that was my Cowboy/Ranger stage...do I have what it takes to minister to these kids? Looking back on my experience I can also see quite a bit of the Warrior stage as well because there were many battles I had to fight, and as with any battle I came out wounded. But through it all I think I proved to myself that I do have what it takes...I do.

Now...I need to know how to fight. The devil is a strong enemy and he doesn't fight fair, which means I need to be that much stronger in my own convictions, in my own faith. I need to stand up for what I believe and for what I know is right. I think God has me in a great spot to help me build.

I've been very lucky in life. I've been blessed with a natural talent for almost anything. People have always joked around with me about it because things have always come easily to me: athletics, academics, the arts. I've never really had to work super hard to be good at anything. I could do well with minimal effort and if I tried, just a little bit, I could do really well. But that's not a good thing...at least not totally. Don't get me wrong, I really like being able to do a lot of different things...but I've never really had to fight for something.

As I said before, I'm training for my first triathlon...and it's kicking my butt HARD!! This is going to be a huge test for me. The training is hard. It's basically all new to me. I'm learning how to swim correctly. I'm learning how to race on a bike. I don't think I've ever run 6 miles at one time (I was a sprinter in track...not a distance runner). If I'm being honest...it sucks right now and it's only the first week. AND...I'm going to go through all of this training, all of this hard work...and I'm not going to win! There I said it. June 28, when I run this triathlon I will not be the first person to cross the finish line. I won't be second or third...I may not even be in the top half, but I'm going to finish and I think that's the lesson God wants me to learn through all of this.

I'm not going to win every battle. There will be times when I want to quit. But if I do the training. If I try my hardest. If I push myself to new limits. If I fight like I've never fought before then I will cross that finish line. I will be victorious....

I will be a WARRIOR!!

Welcome...

I've thought about doing this several times but have never actually taken the time to set one up. I've tried the whole journal thing and I'm not very dedicated to it...we'll see how I do here.

So what made me decide to start a blog now? Let me tell you...

The last couple months I've thought a lot about journeys, especially my own life's journey. I'm not going to write out the whole long novel but the very abridged version goes like this: I spent the first 18 years of my life in Nashua, Iowa. I went to college at Luther College (aka Heaven on Earth...Go Norse!!) After college it took me to the Chicago-area. Five years later it brought me back to Iowa...West Des Moines to be exact. 5 months later, here I sit listening to news reports of the bitter cold winter going on just outside the walls of my house, wondering..."Why the heck did I stay in the midwest?" Suffice it to say, however, that I probably wouldn't be writing this if I weren't here in Iowa right now...funny how God works.

Hmmm...God. Now there's another rollercoaster of a journey. Again, like my life story I'll give you the very abridged version. In college I saw my faith grow exponentially. God and I were like "peas and carrots" (thanks Forrest Gump). So when I moved to Chicago I was on a spiritual high. When I left Chicago I was on a spiritual low. Interesting considering I spent 5 years in Chicago working as a Youth Director at a church. So without going into any details I'll just say it was not the most pleasant of experiences (but God still moved). I came back to Iowa hoping to get recharged, but not without taking some time off...it was time well spent.

After much encouragement from my friends and a relentless onslaught of invitations from my sister, I started going to church again. All I can say is...God is GOOD!! To all my new friends at the DTC...you guys are AWESOME!!

Anyway, right now I'm currently reading the book The Way of the Wild Heart by John Eldredge, which is conveniently subtitled "A Map for the Masculine Journey." Again...how does God do it? I've also begun the long and what looks to be like very difficult journey of training for my first triathlon this summer.

All of this combined together has brought me to this point of deciding to finally sit down and start a blog. I feel like God has brought me to this...crossroads in my life so I thought it would be a great way to catalog my journey and share my thoughts and experiences with anyone who cares. I hope you enjoy it!!