A different take on the morning.

After getting going this morning I had this thought… what if when we woke up in the morning we had the attitude of having a “new day” instead of “just another day.” I have been a victim of the latter to be quite honest for most of my life. I know if can be difficult with the busy schedules we have with work, school, the gym, kids, etc. but if we approach our busy days as just another day then what are we going to accomplish? Luckily, scripture tells us that we have new mercies every morning. To me, this is a just one example of the love that the Father has for us. He knows we are going to screw up because of our sinful nature and yet He choses to give us grace every day, mercy new every morning. I hope and pray that we can begin our days refreshed and renewed because of God’s mercy and His spirit inside us.

Lamentation 3:22-24

²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

A book review of “Forgotten God”

I’m not even really sure where to begin or how to review this book. I am going share a little bit of what the author, Francis Chan, had to say and also my thoughts on some of that. I’m saying these things, not as someone who has figured them all out, but someone who is humbled and striving each day to learn more about the God who saved and redeemed me by His grace.

“Forgotten God” is about the sometimes forgotten part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Trinity, it is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So many times we lose sight of this part of the Trinity, which is ironic since we are called God’s temple where His Spirit dwells (1 Cor. 3:16). It still baffles me that the Holy Spirit actually chooses to dwell inside me. I don’t get it! Jesus Christ also redeemed us so that by the faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit (Gal. 3:3-14). This is another thing that I have lost sight of… that God sent his Son, Jesus, so we could be saved and given life that we might have faith and then receive the Spirit to dwell in our bodies. Jesus came ultimately for someone greater than Him to come, his Spirit.

I won’t ramble to much on this book, as I could for days, but another thing I wanted to mention was a great mental picture Francis Chan painted. He told the story of a friend of his, Kristen. Kristen was adopted from Korea by her mother who she really loved deeply. This lady didn’t just pay for her food and give her a house to live in, she was her mother. Kristen took the death of her mom really hard and missed her dearly when she passed on. Chan says that this is the type of adoption God speaks of in Scripture. When I read this, it hit me really hard. God isn’t just some impersonal God way up in the sky in heaven looking down over his creation. He is our parent and he chooses to dwell, by his Spirit, inside of us. Because of the Spirit, we can experience and have an intimate relationship with God.

One last challenge I will leave you with that Francis talked about is don’t let your personal baggage keep you from enjoying this intimacy that both your spirit and God’s long for. I feel like I have done this many times in the past. I have gotten so distant from God that I purposefully distanced myself from him further because I was ashamed. We think that we need to get our lives back together and have a good track record, then we can get back on the right track with God. But this is the wrong mindset, He just wants us to come to Him. He desires communion and intimacy with us. In that oneness with Him is where He can change and shape our lives to what they were meant to be. God isn’t something we can just add our lives. We must make Him our lives, and the reason we live.

There is much more to this book and many other challenges, but these are just a few ways in which I am seeking to apply it to my life. I highly recommend it!

Franis Chan’s website is linked over to the right.

Here is a video where he tells a little bit more about the book…

What I’m looking forward to in 2011 (part 3)…

One thing that God has laid on both Laura’s and my heart is the Wabigalo slum in Kampala, Uganda. When we started going to Vintage 21 last January, their heart for the city and dedication to see it renewed by Jesus was one of the main things that attracted us to it. I can remember Pastor Tyler talking about the future plans they had to love this slum and the challenge he laid forth to the church… they need people to be willing to go. I’m not writing this blog to make a big announcement that we are moving to Uganda, but hopefully in 2011, we are going to be able to take a short-term trip with a small team from Vintage. We are in the works right now of planning this trip and it looks like it just might happen in late July/early August of this year..so exciting! Vintage is about to send a young woman over to the slum on January 20th to work with the church planters that are already living there. She is going to be heading up a child sponsorship program that will provide many students in the slum to go to school and have the basic needs of life. Her name is Rosalie and I’m sure she would appreciate the prayers of us all. I am so excited to see what happens with this new ministry, and also the possibility of Laura and I being able to go to Kampala this summer.

If you would like to read more about this visit here… http://www.vintage21.com/generous-people/international-generosity/

What I’m looking forward to in 2011 (part 2)…

One of the hardest types of questions that someone can ask is what is your favorite… whatever… whether movie, book, TV show, band, music type. I personally, have a hard time making decisions in the first place so questions like these are very difficult for me to answer. One thing I do know is that one of my loves in life is music. I enjoy listening to it while doing just about anything. At times, it can be a distraction, but for the most part I have a soundtrack to go along with whatever I am doing. Another “thing” I am looking forward to in 2011 are the releases of some albums from some of my favorite bands (since I can’t choose just one)…

*note: not all of my favorite bands are releases albums in 2011 sadly.

Kristian Stanfill – Mountains Move. This record comes out tomorrow (Jan. 11).

The Decemberists – The King is Dead. This album is set to come out next week (Jan, 18). I really enjoyed their last album “The Hazards of Love” as it was almost like a musical play from start to finish.

Coldplay. I have read different places that they will be releasing an album in 2011. Chris Martin said the album will be about, “love, addiction, OCD, escape and working for someone you don’t like.” (via coldplaying.com)

Death Cab for Cutie. I couldn’t find anything but that they were supposed to release a new album in the spring this year.

Hillsong United – The Aftermath. Looking forward to their second studio album that will be coming out in February.

John Mark McMillan – I actually just recently bought his last album “The Medicine” which I really have enjoyed, so I look forward to the next album to see where it goes.

Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math. One of my favorite records of 2009 was “Mean Everything to Nothing” by these guys. They have a really raw sound that is very inspiring and gritty. Their new album is set to be out in the spring.

Mutemath. I added this on a whim because I love these guys and I read somewhere (probably just a rumor) that they are going to release an album later this year towards the home stretch, which would be awesome. I didn’t get into their last record “Armstice” as much as the two before that (both of which I was obsessed with) so I am looking forward to what they come up with next.

Mutemath live.

Any other releases in 2011 I am missing??

What I am looking forward to in 2011 (part 1)…

I will be graduating in 2011! I start my last “regular” semester at NCSU today. For those of you who don’t know, I am a Math & Science Education major for middle grades. I do have two semesters left, but my last semester I will be student teaching. It’s odd thinking that I am finally almost done with school and heading into the “real world.” This semester will be a full load with 18 hours plus another course for my degree that doesn’t count for anything. My classes consist of: Two education courses, Educational Psychology, Computer Science, and Great Works of Western Lit. I also will be tutoring, working, and a few other things on a weekly basis. I am going to need extra strength and much discipline to be successful this semester, but I am confident that I can get through it. It’s been a long ride, longer than some, for me to get through college with changing majors and taking some time off. I am excited for what the future holds, whether I end up teaching or not.

2011 Goals

One thing Laura and I decided to start doing 4-5 months ago was making goals. We decided then to make some goals that we wanted to accomplish by the end of 2010. One night recently we were able to look back at that list we made and see what we did and didn’t accomplish. Although there were some things we didn’t get to do, there were many we did. I think it is very healthy to make goals for yourself and your family. There’s just something that meshes in our minds when we write something down, it’s like the piece of paper holds us accountable.

Anyways, since we enjoyed doing this towards the end of last year, we made another list Sunday afternoon over lunch as our New Year’s “Resolutions”. Some of the goals we hope to accomplish are: omitting artificial sweeteners from our diets (no more coke zero!), keep working out regularly (side note: since high school, 2010 was the first year that I actually went to the gym on a consistent basis – thank you Laura!), find a community group at Vintage 21 that we attend weekly, have a weekly activity/date night Laura and I can do together, watch less TV (now that we have DVR we have WAY to many shows to watch), read more (Laura plans to read 20 books in 2011 – not me!), and there were some others as well. One thing we started doing last year was reading and praying together most every night, and this is something we definitely want to keep up and be adamant about. Doing this has helped our growth as a married couple a LOT.

The last thing I’ll mention is our awareness the past year of the importance of community (friends, family, etc). I think many times it is easy as married couples to just keep to yourselves and stray apart from close friendships and community you might have had before marriage/dating. Like I mentioned before, we hope to find a community group at our church to attend, and also hope to hang out more with family/friends, and meet some new neighbors in our apartment complex. Having a community around you as a married couple is very healthy and needed to get through marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time alone with Laura and we do often, but I believe having a strong community around us will help our marriage succeed even more.

Best of luck to you and achieving your 2011 goals/resolutions!

Beautiful Things

My new favorite album is “Beautiful Things” by Gungor. It actually came out in early 2010, but it is new to me. I was able to get it when I got some iTunes gift cards for Christmas! It is a great album musically and lyrically. One aspect of it that makes it unique is that there is not one distinct sound throughout. Some tracks sound like rock, some like folk, some acoustic, and there is actually one that sounds like a gospel song (probably the only song on the album I do skip). Many albums you listen to these days sound the same most every song and sound similar to some other band in their genre. On Gungor’s record, there are many different instruments, styles, and melodies involved that make this album a treat to hear. My personal favorites are the title track “Beautiful Things”, “Dry Bones”, “We Will Run”, “People of God”, and “The Earth is Yours.” Michael Gungor and his wife, Lisa, both write and sing the songs on the record, and they both have unique and beautiful voices.

One of the main reasons I enjoy this record is because of the heart behind the songs, and the God that the songs proclaim. I have heard many different worship albums before, but this is something new to me, fresh, and very sincere outcries of their hearts, and I really enjoy listening to it.

Here is a video that you should check out. The band does a little better job of explaining themselves than I can…

Back to Blogworld.

So I’ve decided to come back to the blogworld. I previously had a blog that I stopped updating a couple years ago… yeah I guess I just kind of gave up after awhile. I hope to mainly use this new blog as a way to journal my thoughts, fun/important events, and whatever else is going on. I am new to wordpress so it will take some time for me to figure it all out.. like for one – my twitter account is not wanting to work. Here we go!