Guns, guns, guns

The tragedy at Oregon was tough. Some people might view it as the beginning of the persecution of Christianity. The end of a 'golden age' for America, and the inception of its impending doom. I view it as another incident of a problem that has gone on too long without a solution- school shootings.

Each time we see these events hit the news, there's a lot of talk (a LOT), but I rarely see much action taking place. It's always the same debate, mental health vs gun control. The fight is so vicious on both sides, that little ends up happening.

I'm really not one for politics. I can't really say I'm Republican, nor Democrat. Both sides fight for some of the right stuff, and both sides are egregiously wrong on other stuff.

I hope this goes over well...

Wow. I realize I started my previous post with the same word, but still... wow. I honestly am having a hard time believing that all of that just happened. All I did was write a blog post about the crazy dream, and wasn't even the first person to social-mediafy it. A few weeks before this event, the Google Doc barely had any sign-ups. But then, just a week ago or so, I looked again at the Google Doc, and was shocked to find only five or so slots not signed up for.

A few of my closing thoughts...

-Act/pray with the expectation that God will act. In Acts 3, we see Peter tell a lame beggar to walk.

God is so faithful

Wow. College life has been crazy in the past week and a half, but I'm already seeing just how amazing God is. As September approaches, so does the 100 Hours of Prayer. Alone, this is impossible. But God's plans are good, and immutable, and will ALWAYS come to fruition.

When I first wrote that post, I didn't even share it on Facebook or anything, and barely even published the post itself. It's such a crazy dream, that is impossible by all human standards. But then a friend shared the post, and it started to get a lot of support.

Eventually I made a Facebook event in order to try to gauge interest. Steadily more and more people responded. Just last week I checked who was going and was amazed to see that there were people on the list who I had NO MUTUAL FRIENDS. This might seem weird, but to me it was a clear sign that this was growing way bigger than me, and anything I could have possibly imagined.

And then, just yesterday I met with a couple of people. That's it.

No, I'm kidding, it was about 100 Hours of Prayer, and they continued to give shape to this vision. More details came together, and now there's a specific plan moving forward on how to bring this dream together.

Small things (and large things... you know what, let me start this sentence over). Things like this really amaze me, and really point out the fact that this is God's plan. My timidity, laziness, forgetfulness, and whatnot cannot frustrate God's plans.

And that's what's so amazing. Despite how incredibly far I fall short of a glimpse of the radiance of a speck of the glory of God, God still chooses to invite us to be a part of His plan for redemption. Because He only invites us, we CANNOT mess up God's plans. I mean, how small would God's plans have to be for us to mess them up? I mean, we're talking about GOD.

I was planning on attempting to describe Him, but I think that this video does a much better job. That's all. See you soon. Perhaps.

Your Love Never Fails...

At a church service recently, we sang this song, and it made me really think about the phrase, "Your love never fails, it never gives up, never runs out on me". And during that, I really got a deeper revelation of God's grace.

God's love never fails. God will never stop loving you, nor stop chasing you, no matter the circumstances.

At the same time, I realized that this love is not just for me, but is also applicable to anyone, and everyone. I know this might all sound like a sermon of sorts, or the rantings of a Jesus freak (well, this just might be that), but it holds such a deeper meaning when you take time to dwell on it.

Too many times over the last couple of months I've heard about "people like that". There's no hope for "people like that", nothing can be done. I can't continue this person, because this person is one of those kinds of people.

Each time, I wonder "What does that mean?" If we truly believe that God's love NEVER fails, then there is no lost cause, no hopeless situations.

Over the past number of months, my heart has really been breaking for one of my friends back home. Apathy, hatred, and lies dictate his lifestyle. But he's been one of my oldest friends, and he's been like a brother to me. My heart yearns so deeply, so painfully for him to know Jesus, but I have no idea what he would look like as a Christian. A couple of months ago, I wondered if he could even become a Christian. I mean, it almost seems like hating God is a part of him.

But now, I know that I CANNOT GIVE UP. God's love sure doesn't, so who am I to say that I know better? A couple of months ago, I blogged a bit about a vision I had about the final days, and God's glory being so evident that every knee would bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. The face that popped up in that vision, the first person I saw proclaiming the glory of God was this friend.

And I knew that he'd be PISSED if I didn't try harder, didn't pray more, didn't reach out to him more. This might sound a bit like striving, but I know that the outcome isn't in my hands. It's in God's hands. But I am so desperate for my friend to know God, that I bring it to Him in prayer each day.

God's love has, and will never give up on me. It also sure won't give up on my friend, and I guarantee you that there is no one that God's love will give up on. So keep praying, and wait expectantly for God to move.

It's the Final... part to the challenge!

It's the final part to the challenge! BTW, I thought of a solution to the fact that I don't know enough bloggers to nominate three bloggers a day (thanks Brianna Meeks of A Cool Glass of Lemonade)- if you're reading this, and blog, then CONSIDER YOURSELF CHALLENGED. DO IT.

Anyways, this quote if from Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline

"The moment we feel we can succeed and attain victory over sin by the strength of our will alone is the moment we are worshiping the will"

-Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

Titles are hard

Day 2 of the Challenge! (Thanks again Brianna Meeks, blogger of A Cool Glass of Lemonade)

This time it comes from a book I've been reading recently, Desiring God, by John Piper.

The evil Satan causes is only by the permission of God. Therefore, Job is not wrong to see it as ultimately from the hand of God. It would be unbiblical and irreverent to attribute to Satan (or to sinful man) the power to frustrate the designs of God.

-John Piper, Desiring God

[Insert (unique) title here]

My very first challenge! well, not my "first" challenge, I've faced many challenges before, but this is the first blog challenge. I've been nominated (or my blog has been nominated, whatever) to the "Three Days, Three Quotes" challenge by Brianna Meeks of A Cool Glass of Lemonade.

The rules of the challenge are quite simple:

1. Thank the person who nominated you (Thanks Brianna {again})
2. Post quotes for three consecutive days (one a day, keeps the doctor away. or something like that)
3. Nominate three new bloggers each day (I don't know that many bloggers, so, uh, gonna skip this step. Does this mean I failed the challenge? Meh, I'll just bend the rules, WHATEVS)

So, it's been many an eon since I've read a book that does not belong to the "Christian"/"religious"/"apologetics" genre, and I have a tough time remembering... well just stuff in general, so I'm gonna be slamming you with good ol' theological quotes that I've been running into that have challenged me.

[Insert (clever) title here]

So, a couple weeks ago, there was a certain Supreme Court ruling.

I proceeded to write an awesome post about it.

Blogger didn't save that post when I tried to publish it.

I don't really remember what I wrote down.



...awkward....

Update

Ah, the summer is upon us. It's been a while since I've done anything, I think the last post I did was in regards to the dream for 100 hours of prayer. It's amazing to witness the response, and to know that there are so many people who long for William and Mary to be revived. No worries, the dream is still alive (very much so), but I'm still praying for direction in regards to how it will take shape. I really wanted it to take place in a single place, but it seems like that might not happen. MIGHT. I'm not entirely sure, there's still a lot of time for details to come together, but I've been praying about it recently, and I'll be putting something out in order to get the process started. So keep your eyes open for that.

Anyways, I was thinking about it, and another challenge of a sort popped into my head. Incidentally it also was time-based. What came to my mind was 24 hours of Glorifying God. This isn't exactly a communal effort (well it could be), but instead a personal one. 

Dreaming...

First, thank you all again for reading. It really helps to further process thoughts by talking to all of you. If I might not seem so excited/thankful, it's probably because I'm not good at showing appreciation for words of affirmation. However, I appreciate it deeply nonetheless.

Anyways, earlier in the past week (incidentally when I was trying to study), God reminded me of the Moravain movement. I don't think I can do the story complete justice here, so if you aren't familiar with it, look it up for sure, it's an incredible story. But, the general gist goes like this. During the 18th century, a group of refugees (later known as the Moravians) came together and were baptized by the fire of the Holy Spirit.Desiring to keep the fire going, they started a non-stop prayer vigil that lasted

Most randomly good day... Ever.

I'm still somewhat reeling from the events of today, and I will most certainly be processing them as I go. It all started around 9:58 last night, when my friend messaged me, asking if I wanted to attend a sunrise worship event the following day. I saw 'sunrise' and 'worship' so I was totally on board. Next morning, I got into a different friend's (honestly, more like an acquaintance at the time) car, not knowing what to expect, and not really knowing where I was going either. Let it be noted, I am NOT recommending getting in a car with a friend of a friend, and not knowing where you're going. It may not always end well. But anyways, we get to a beach where there are a few more people waiting for us.

We all stood on the beach, and watched the sun rise. It was a beautiful sky, not many things around to obstruct our view, so we could see what felt like almost the whole sky. Not a single cloud anywhere to be seen. Just... Amazing. It was all so simple, and that was the beauty in it. We started worshipping as the sun continued to rise, and it was great. After that, the man who lead us in worship brought out two rolls of paper. One of them was an old map of the College of William and Mary, and the other was a copy of the charter.

Easter! Woohoo!

I've started writing this at 11:25 p.m. on Easter, so whether you read this on Easter or not, I hope you enjoy it! This one will be pretty short, as it just kind of popped into my head. Now if I can just remember it...

Right, there it is. Think of something (This is not me talking to myself, but talking to you, just so that you know). Anything. Something, someone, or...uh... something (these list-sorta-things always sound better in threes). Think of someone that's important to you. Think of something that's important in your life. Think of what seems to be an insurmountable situation. Think of what seems to be the inevitability of things to come. Now consider this.

Getting back on track... (part 1)

I'll start this off by apologizing for not posting recently. It's been a strange series of weeks, including spring break, a broken computer, and an ultimate frisbee tournament.

So, with that out of the way, what has God been doing in my life? Answer: A whole lot! I'll start out with a few weeks ago during spring break. During that time, God really revealed to me the importance/uniqueness of college campuses. College is the only place where people from all over the world come together for a 'relatively' short amount of time (also during the 'formative years'), and go back out into the world. I felt like God was saying that the College of William and Mary will not be just a lamp shining into the darkness, but a torch shining from the top of a mountain- drawing people near, and sending lights into the world. Here is where I think I might've started to wander off-track a bit.

Spring is coming

While there's still snow on the ground here, supposedly the weather will warm up soon (if the science of meteorology can be trusted at all). Super excited about that, mainly because I really want to play ultimate frisbee again. More importantly though, Easter comes with the season of spring.

Today, the pastor of the church I go to spoke about John 2:1-11. This passage is about the first miracle Jesus did at the wedding at Cana. The pastor talked about how using the water jars (specifically designated for Jewish rites of purification) was not so much symbolic of forgiveness, but of sanctification. As this was the first Sunday of the month, we also partook in communion. Because of this, I was thinking about the relationship between this 'holy wine' that was Jesus' first miracle, and the wine that Jesus and his disciples drank at the Last Supper.

Thanks!

Thanks so much for all the support! I appreciate it a lot. I honestly wasn't expecting that much support. It's really great to see that people are enjoying this. I'm trying some new stuff for the end of the post in order to try to motivate myself to post regularly. Let me know by comment, or message, or email, or smoke signal if you have any suggestions for what I should, or shouldn't put in my blog and I'll consider it!

Today, it's a more 'controversial' topic. Or at least, I think it is. So, if anyone has a quality rebuttal, I am more than open to hearing it. I am more than capable at changing my mind. Anyways, today (Sunday) a lady gave a sermon from the perspective of temptation. She talked about how sometimes we aren't always tempted to do the wrong thing, but to do the seemingly right thing. Her basis for this

College!

Alright, I'll be honest, I just wanted to put this post here to transition from my updates to another purpose. If you're not interested in the boring minutia of college life (really nothing that interesting), just hop down to the second-to-last paragraph. I know that I won't be the first/best 'blogger' (I don't really consider myself a blogger. Though I suppose that I completely fit the definition.) to post about theological ponderings or whatnot, but I'd like to put some of the amazing things that God reveals to me somewhere before I forget. So I guess you could call it an open-book journal. Or practice writing on things that I'm interested in. Or a brain-exercise. Or- well I think you get the point. It's more for me, but if other people can benefit from it or enjoy it also, then all the better!

Anyways, college is interesting. I'm definitely glad that I took a year off, but because I joined in the

SBFM update

I started writing this a few weeks after I got back from SBFM, and now I've decided to return to finish it. Soooo, without further ado, here comes my long-winded update. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it!

First of all, I'd like to start this by thanking all the people who supported me along this trip, whether it was through prayer or through financial means. I am incredibly thankful that I was blessed to be able to go on this trip and get my life changed even further. Second, I want to apologize for not giving any updates during my trip. In my defense, we had a lot of work, and the time went really fast. Still, there was probably enough down time to work on a few updates.

I'm going to try to keep this short, but knowing me, that probably won't happen. Anyways, these past few months have been incredible. So, without further adieu, let's begin. (p.s. if you are not caught up with the small details, check out my previous post)

Our SBFM school!