just for the sake of blogging...

norman wants to see the world burn...
i've heard him say it about 30 times in the past 10 minutes...
i on the other hand, have another wish......

I'd like to build a world a home
and furnish it with love.
Grow apple trees and honey bees
and snow white turtle doves.

I'd like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony.
I'd like to hold it in my arms,
and keep it company

I'd like to see the world for once
all standing hand in hand.
And hear them echo through the hills
for peace throughout the land.

It's the real thing
what the world wants today,
That's the way it'll stay
with the real thing.

I'd like to teach the world to sing
in perfect harmony.
A song of peace that echoes on
and never goes away.

Put your hand in my hand
let's begin today,
With your hand in my hand
help me find a way.

I'd like to see the world for once
all standing hand in hand.
And hear them echo through the hills
for peace throughout the land.

I'd like to teach the world to sing,
in perfect harmony.
A song of peace that echos on,
and never goes away.

foot naked.

tonight i walked home from campus. it was just too pretty outside to drive. and while listening to Phil Wickham i decided to take off my shoes. and i talked to God. and he talked back.

i had a "collision moment" on a footpath along highland road.

"collision moments" (as i call them) are times when you feel the presence of God in an undeniable way. the name stems from Collision 08 night 2. if you were there, you know exactly what i mean.

ok, im going to get back to my laundry.

have a great day.

Ouch.

hello blogging world.
its been a while.
you look nice.
i see you've lost some weight.

why such a long hiatus you ask?
it really just boils down to the fact that i forgot that i had a blog.
and while pondering through something today (which is the point of this post, we'll get to it after the introduction) i thought to myself, "this would be good to blog about. i wish i had a bl... oh wait!"

so after 13 minutes of trying different passwords i finally found a winner.
and here we are.

now, on to the meat.

last tuesday, tnt (our bcm's weekly worship service) featured several students who participated in summer missions last summer sharing about their widely varying experiences. i heard lots of amazing stories and was inspired in so many ways, but the thing that stuck out to me the most was an off hand comment made by Jared Kingsley. Jared spent a large part of his summer in China teaching english at a school, and at one point while he was sharing he made the statement, "it just hurt not to be able to share the gospel."

i dont remember what the reason that he couldnt share was, whether by some rules or simply the language barrier, but that thought has been stuck in my head since then.

"it just hurt not to be able to share the gospel"

wow.

i live in a country where i have every right, as well as every ability, to share the gospel wherever i want, whenever i want, and with whomever i choose yet so often i just let this opportunities slip by me. i ignore the subtle nudge (as well as the occasional not-so-subtle shove) of the holy spirit. i tell THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE "nah, i really need to get to class" or "i dont want to create an uncomfortable situation" or my personal favorite "it isnt necessary for me to use words because im sharing the gospel by the way i live my life"
(i dont in any way want to hate on St. Fran, but i think this is often our favorite cop-out as Christians)

why dont we share our faith more?
fear?
pride?

Father,
create in us a void. a longing that drives us to share our faith. allow us to know the pain of not being able to share our faith so we will no longer take opportunities for granted. and give us the courage to act each and every time we feel your spirit lead. we love you, and we praise you for who you are.

amen

may 19

Every thought a thought of You No more thought I ought to do When there is thing we see or touch we trust it's true Every thought a thought of You Every look in search of You No need for books when we're with you Wear a thin disguise oh like within my brother's eyes Every look in search of You Every song in praise of You Our darkest nights are days to You The trees raise branches high like arms in church to grateful sky Every song in praise of You No one here to believe but You Everyone else is bound to leave but You When they swear their love is real They mean "I like the way you make me feel" No one here to believe but You There's no one here to believe than You

-Mewithoutyou

amazing band. new album out may 19th

jesus

well, this past week i had the opportunity to travel to san antonio to do some missions work with a group of students from our bcm. and it was an amazing experience, the lord truly moved.



we spent some time working in a soup kitchen that serves a free meal in the mornings to the people of san antonio. and when the people come for the meal they are required to sign their name so the the kitchen could keep track of how many had been served.

as we were flipping through the pages getting a count (we served 214 meals that day) i saw something interesting. one of the people had signed their name "Jesus" in the penmenship resembling that of a third grader. whether this was a joke or if it was someone's actual name (the majority of the people we served were hispanic, so its possible) i dont know, but God brought some scripture to mind that really made me think.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.–Matt. 18:20

The king will answer them, 'I tell you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.' - Matt. 25:40

Jesus was there

we were there in his name, and serving the "least of these"

he was there. in downtown san antonio. in a soup kitchen


thank you Lord for being an all powerful God who is willing to be among broken people.
amen

kevin

today God used a guy named kevin to encourage me.
(this wasnt the actual kevin that i talked to. but what ever)

he happened to be sitting at the same table in the cafeteria as some friends and i, and bec and i struck up a conversation.

i learned that he's from mandeville, and he wants to be a bio medical engineer...

after we had been talking for a while he said (referring to bec and i), "ya'll must be, like, church people or something."

to which i replied," well, what makes you say that?"

and he responded with this," i dont know... you can just tell."

thanks for the encouragement Lord.

good morning

Mark 1:35
"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed."

i doubt if Jesus had a nice cup of coffee to sip on, or a big comfortable chair to lounge in... but i have definitely found my desolate place this morning. my "secret place" if you will (thanks for that one Broussard). and i found it right in my very dorm room...

this morning i woke up before the sun. its not something i normally do, but im going to try to start. Jesus did it. and im supposed to be like him. so there you go. just that simple.

i woke up and had a fresh pot of coffee brewing with that precious aroma filling my room, giving it a smell more like a coffee shop rather than its usual locker room-esque scent. i poured myself a cup, sat down in my big comfy chair (courtesy ms. Ruth) and talked to Jesus...

so technically it isnt a desolate place, but i feel alone. not in a bad way, but nick is still passed out, and the only sounds i hear are the fan and the occasional car passing on the road outside my window. i feel like im alone with God. what a cool feeling.

i would challenge everybody that reads this to get up before the sun one day this week. it feels good, after you do it once you'll want to do it again. but just try it once. die to self. die to our desire to hit that snooze until 5 minutes before class starts (my normal morning routine). Get up early and talk with God. read th word. get your day going the right way. the way Jesus did.