The Word

Don't you love those moments when your heart and mind stumble upon a remarkable piece of truth or begin to understand a previously confusing thought or idea? I just had one of those moments.

One of the many things I learned from listening to Dale Bruner teach is the idea of Jesus being The Word. John 1 says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Here we learn that Jesus is God's Word. For most us (excluding those who believe they can "read" people), we have no idea what someone is actually thinking until they start talking. The person of Jesus Christ is God talking to us, and because of His resurrection, He is still talking. As soon as the Word became flesh, we could know what God thinks through His Word.

Later, in verse 4, John writes: "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." Putting 1 + 1 together, I end up with Jesus = Word = light.

John's decision to use of "In the beginning" to begin his gospel naturally points readers back to Genesis 1, which begins in the same manner: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Then, in verse 3, God begins speaking Creation. What follows the first "God said" phrase? "Let there be light...."

I'm not sure how, but this transforms my understanding of "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." I know it does.

Okay back to my paper. I'd share more thoughts, but I need to get serious about this paper. Also, I'm not sure that I have any more thoughts, at least any that make enough sense to include in this blog.

What do you think?

The cry of my heart

It's been quite the summer for me thus far.  I graduated college and began walking into a life that no longer had a predetermined route for me to take.  My life was about to change/transition into something new.  I was done with college, nearing the end of my time in Mason, and Shannon was taking off for two whole months to another continent.  

Before she left, Shannon and I decided that we had an incredible opportunity to draw closer to our God while she was gone.  And I really think we have.  I began trusting Him and relying on Him more than ever.  And I've been in so many situations and circumstances where God was my only comfort.  It's been crazy.  I've been praying to Him like I actually believed He was glued to every word I spoke (or thought).  I asked Him for guidance about what to do about a job, and He provided a red-haired friend and an opportunity.  Then I asked Him what to do about that, and He gave me great friends to tell me why I would be great at it and several reminders of why I love being a Young Life leader.  He gave me affirmation and a renewing of my passion.

Then I asked Him to grow my heart and take care of Shannon.  While she's been gone, we've been able to chat through Gmail most days, and we've been able to share our hearts while she's gone (hooray technology!).  Though it seemed impossible to grow closer while she was gone, it's happened.  And she's been through a lot of crazy things, but she's still safe.  It's not distance that has made our hearts grow fonder, it has been God.  I believe that with everything I have.

So over the past few weeks, Shan and I have been talking about me going down to Ecuador during her last few days there.  It wasn't that we missed each other so much that we couldn't wait a few more days to see each other, but that the opportunity to travel together was too good to pass up.  When else would be able to see a place like Ecuador, especially when one of us is already there?  So we discussed it, and ultimately asked God to make it happen or not make it happen.  And asked again, and again, and again.

So what happened?  I started looking at plane tickets and realized that, given my current financial situation, it was affordable.  I talked my good friend whose life situation 3 years ago is almost identical to mine, and he thought it was a good idea too.  After talking it over with Shannon again, we decided to go for it.  

Then I asked God for a round trip ticket that might include the same flight back as hers.  It was too expensive for her to change her flight, and I really wanted to be able to fly home with her.  It'd be kind of weird if we didn't.  But seriously, would that even be possible?  And then God happened again.  I found exactly what I was looking for, arriving when we wanted me to and flying home with the same itinerary.  So after freaking out about our luck (or our Lord), I went ahead and bought the ticket (with only 2 remaining at the time!).

At the time, I was also pleading with God to find a subleaser.  Since I was going to Crooked Creek with GP YL, traveling for 2 weeks, then moving by Aug. 1, I figured a subleaser would make sense.  And it would also help with paying for the plane ticket.  As it got closer to today, the day before I leave for Colorado with GP, I became more nervous.  Then, a few days ago, it appeared I had found someone.  But after a few days, several emails, and the advice of some friends, I decided it was a scam.  Kind of a long story that really doesn't deserve much blog space.  So after that conclusion, I was pretty down.  I asked God one more time for a subleaser as a last ditch plea.  And then He showed up again!  I was watching the NBA Draft and suddenly received a phone call.  After a brief conversation, it became known that this guy was

A. a real person

B. just as desperate to find a place to live as I was to find a subleaser

So we quickly reached an agreement over the phone.  I have a subleaser now!

AND...after buying my Ecuador ticket, I needed to set up an appointment to receive any shots and medications I'd need for my trip.  I called as soon as I could and booked the ONLY available appointment this week.  Which was huge since I need at least 2 weeks before I leave for the immunizations to be working.  And my appointment was exactly 14 days before I'd arrive.

So at this point, I'm a little overwhelmed; I feel pretty exhausted even writing all of this down for you to know about!  My relationship with God is hotter than Hansel right now.  I've seen God show up so many times over the last 2 months it's ridiculous, and especially over the past 8 days.  My only response is to stop what I'm doing, pick my jaw up off the floor, and praise Him.  For who He is, for what He does, and for how much He loves me.  

I hope all that makes sense.  I'm still feeling pretty woozy.**  Thanks for taking time to let me share my life with you.  

I'm hopefully leaving for Colorado with a ton of high school kids tomorrow afternoon.  So I'll be in touch in a week!

Where has God been showing up in your life?  I'd love to know!  Leave lots of comments.

P.S.  So on Tuesday night I was playing basketball and took an elbow to the eye.  The result: 3 stitches, a bad concussion, and a fractured right orbital.  I wasn't really praying to God for that to happen, but I've had this incredible peace about the whole situation.  I know it'll be okay.  And I'm anxious to see how God uses it.

Maybe I'll post some pictures sometime soon!  

Catching Up

"It's been a while since I've last posted, and I know this because I've received several comments about my lack of posts (cough Emily, Sween, and Shan, cough cough) :)

So what better time to post than a quiet Friday night back at home? I've been all over the place lately, which has been a good and bad thing, but mostly good. So here's a short (but most likely long, by the time I'll done) recap of some thoughts that I deem blog-worthy, but just have been too lazy or forgetful to talk about, in no particular order:

1. One of Jesus' promises/qualities is that He is the Bread of life. I realized why He is not the "Chicken Queso Burrito of life" a couple Wednesdays ago because an experience I had at basketball practice. I had one of these little pieces of Heaven for lunch, then a couple hours later found myself participating in a full court drill for about 10 minutes with freshman boys that had much more energy (and probably 1 less chicken queso burrito sitting in their stomach). Let's just say it wasn't a good feeling. But man was it tasty.

2. I went Christmas shopping the other day by myself at the Meridian Mall, and it surprisingly wasn't too bad of an experience. It was actually really funny, on top of being productive. I saw a lot of my friends from Mason HS, including watching two guys walk out of Victoria's Secret. If I had a picture of one of the guys' face (the freshman guy I know, who also happens to be on my basketball team), I'd post it. Probably a face worthy of an American Express "Priceless" ad. But I also took a few minutes to check out the line for seeing Santa, and I was disappointed. I'm sure the little old man posing as Santa couldn't do much more, but he definitely didn't look too much like Santa...at least as I imagine him. Now obviously this is somewhat of a subjective criticism, since Santa's about as real as the Lions' playoff chances, but still, he wasn't quite plump enough, his beard didn't look right, and he was either 10 years too young or 10 years too old (I couldn't decide which was actually true). And he wouldn't even let kids sit on his lap! The poor little kids had to stand awkwardly in front of him, sharing their condensed wish lists. That was another problem with him...I think his lap was too small.

3. Mason Freshman basketball is now 2-3, after a 38 point win over St. John's. Obvious evidence of a great coaching job :) And (read: in reality) our point guards are studs.

4. Played a game of movie charades with Woj, Shan, and the Granger boys. Our movie selections were limited to the movies on their shelf, which the boys have affectionately memorized. Here's a video of my beautiful girlfriend acting her little heart out (I only caught the tail end).



I love this video because of
A. The confidence and passion exuded by Luke Granger
B. Shan's lion impersonation
C. "Can I see that?" This quote ended the video, mostly because Jay grabbed my phone and almost broke it in half

5. I watched "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" again, only because it's one of Shannon's top 5 favorite movies. I guess that's just what happens...either I love her so much or I have lots of time on my hands. Or both.

6. Speaking of Shan, I spent a weekend with her family in Grand Rapids, and had a blast. We saw a movie, went out to eat with her whole family to celebrate her grandparents' anniversary, watched a family slideshow, hung out with her brother and his friends, went shopping, and many other fun things. It was memorable, and hopefully the first of many more memorable moments with Shannon and her family.

7. Finished my 7th semester of college!


I'm forward to tomorrow. I'm planning on finishing my Christmas shopping, cheering on the Spartans to a win against Texas, and maybe watching Charlie Brown Christmas, the G.O.A.T. of Christmas movies. Miss you all.

Beginnings

I told Shan that I decided to start a blog tonight and she said "I'm surprised it took you so long." I used to think that blogs were kind of ridiculous, but for some reason this afternoon I decided that I wanted to have one. For some reason, I felt this need to have an outlet to capture my thoughts. And that maybe, people would find it worth reading. And now that my MacBook is half-way to being a golden calf, I'll hopefully be able to post frequently.

I spent a while thinking about what my blog would be titled. I actually spent much longer than I'd like to admit to. I thought about using a phrase from one of my favorite songs, "From the Inside Out," but each of my favorite lines on it's own sounded weird. "My soul cries out" and "The cry of my heart" sounded emo-ish. And that's not what I'm going for. So I ended up with "toe the line," which is the title of a song by Stephen Speaks. Here are the lyrics:

"Toe the line again to see how far
I can run and still see where You are
Feel I've run this race a thousand years still I fall
These dirty feet calloused with the tread
And my eyes the eyes of dead men
Running far enough from my salvation
But only far enough to dip my feet

CHORUS: I am not pretending anymore
I am not at home
I am knocking at Your door
I am not at home, I am not at home, I am coming home

Toe the line again to see how far
I can run and still see where You are
Knowing full well what this grace has cost...
Seems this safety net's not made of lace
But the flowing river of Your grace
And who am I some selfish kid
To abuse this perfect love You give."

"Toe the line again and see how far, I can run and still see where you are." So much of the last 5 years of my life can be characterized by that line. I'm almost done with my 7th semester of college, and soon enough I'll have a job. A real job. I'm in the midst of my fourth year as a Young Life leader at Mason High School, and I have a lot of great relationships there...so much of my heart is invested there, and soon enough, I'll be moving on. But as some wise person noted, the end of each chapter in our lives means the beginning of a new one. As I sit here now, I've got opportunities (at least, the opportunity at opportunities) for a job, meaningful relationships that will last well past college, and specifically, one with a girl that I care about more than myself.

As many of you know, I'm 'that guy' that often needs to be retaught a lesson before it sticks, if it ever does, but here's hoping that as I toe this new line, I'll have my head up and focused on what's important. And I'm not talking about my blog :)

Thanks for reading. If you continue to tune in, I hope you find this humorous and insightful. Go to the well on the comments...I'd love to hear from you all.