The Forgiving Father

What is it that makes walking down memory lane so amazing? Simple. We learn things, things that we may have forgotten, things that we needed a more mature perspective to see, or things that we just needed to be reminded of. Today, I was doing an errand for my mom, when I found a little workbook from way back when. On the cover, is a picture coloured in in crayon in a collection of random colours, the picture coloured by an awkward 7 year old boy, before his first Confession.

As I flip through the pages of this book, I'm reminded of all the times I had as a child, that I recorded, and all those things I've done wrong. Many things come from this little book, and I'm thankful that I found it once again.

On the inside cover, the first thing you notice is the little smiles inside the "O"s and the whole framing scheme of the text there, that reads "Isn't it great that God loves us so much!"

A couple of pages later, there is a picture of a circle of friends, and inside the circle are the words "We are one big happy family!"

A page after that is where I stop reading, because it hit me so hard, how what I learned back then was really that important to what I know now. The story that I found on this page is as follows.

One day, a man asked Jesus
"Teacher, which law is the greatest?"
Jesus told him the following,
"There are two; first, love God with
all your heart, soul, mind
and strength.
Second, love your neighbour as yourself.
Upon these, everything depends."

I know this comes from the bible. But even still, finding it in this context means so much more. Looking on the other side of the page, there was an activity, as simple as it sounds, that was just a fill in the blank thing. All the words are used, except for love. I remember doing this book in class, having fun, talking to my peers and classmates about it. I didn't at the time, think about the things I do now, when I read something like this. I guess though, that what this means is, that I'm growing up, that reading it with so much value, means we're simply growing. I personally find myself, wondering how stupid I'm sounding right now. But I know that, no matter how many things just go up and down for me, I know that it's this love, which is to be at the center of it all.

Amen.

Trust in the Lord

So I came across a situation today that kind of got me frustrated. At the moment, I'm not really sure what's going on. I can only pray a prayer I learned in highschool, about being at peace with whatever comes your way.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Definition: Leader

Flashback? Maybe. For me, it seems to be the case. Today was community cluster 3's Leader Training. What came out of it? Well. Look at the picture below.

This is the result of a growing community. The one thought that ran through my mind at the end of the day was the one definition of a leader in the YFC community, that I gave myself ages ago: a leader among those in God's house, is a servant of the greatest kind.

So today brought me back to where it all began. I wish I were able to explain it, but it was kind of like taking a trip back to the past. Also, I've found the voice of worship that I heard from so many of the ones I look up to. But today, I pray that I keep in mind the following: " A Leader is only as good as his SERVICE."

Amen

Claiming knowledge as our own.

As a Philosophy Specialist, I come across many faith testing questions, like "are you sure?" and "how do you know?"

Often, it has to do with my faith. People ask why I care so much about God, how I know He exists, what makes me so sure.

All I have to say is this - faith is a different kind of knowledge, it's one that you claim for yourself.

This is part of what I was saying yesterday, about conviction. It's about knowing for yourself that God is there for you. You don't have to justify it by any means, to anyone but you. But that, I think, is too hard for a lot of people to understand.

I think that people who are skeptical don't have anything to be committed to, and those that listen without understanding are the ones who give in too easily. The thing I think I personally aim for as a philosopher, is wisdom, and as a follower of Christ, understanding.

My one prayer for people is that they find wisdom, and understanding, in the conviction and the things that they work for.

Amen.

Living with Strong Convictions.

I know.
I believe.
I'm persuaded.
I'm committed.

Many of us, in journeying through life, forget what's important. Over the past few days, I've been talking about commitment, but reading today, I realized that that isn't all there is to it. I realize that apart from being committed, we need to be convicted of what we want.

Especially in the Christian tradition, every week, millions upon millions of people attend services. The question is: are they convicted enough to serve God, by giving their lives for Him.

We need to know what we believe in, be persuaded by it, and be committed to it. For St. Paul, it was all about conviction:

"For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day." [2 Timothy 1:12 NKJV]

It is this very conviction which lead the Christian faith where it is now - with leaders and teachers of such great faith that they would give it all up for God.

What's amazing is how much a little conviction can do: think of Mother Theresa, of Pope John Paul II, of St. Paul and St. Peter. The faith of the church has grown because of the conviction of these people. This is why I'm praying for everyone to have strong convictions, and faithful convictions for their lives.

Amen.

Commitment cont'd

So this post is just a continuation of what I wrote yesterday about what commitment is. I had thought though, that maybe knowing what it is isn't enough to enable us to be committed. So what does it take to be committed? It takes a certain kind of attitude, one of resolve. To make it easy to understand, I've used common things that leaders say. Italicized is the things leaders should say.

1. I want to have fellowship. I will have a fellowship.
2. I want to let things happen. I will make things happen.
3. I want to do things when it's exciting. I will make it exciting.
4. I want my members to get used to sharings. I will set an example by doing a sharing.
5. I want to work with people I like. I will love who I work with regardless.
6. I want to do what I already know everything about. I will do new things, and learn as I go along.

As a side note, this was just the positive formulation. There is a more exact formula of the attitude of a committed person. It goes something like this:

1. I will not wait for things to happen. I will make things happen.
2. I will not wait for the work to be exciting. I will make it exciting.
3. I will not wait for somebody to tell me what to do. I will ask what I can do.
4. I do not have to know everything to be effective. I can learn as I go along.
5. I do not have to like everyone I work with. I can love them nonetheless.
   

This is what defines being committed - is being able to resolve where you are, take initiative, get out of your comfort zone, and making the mission yours. I realize that I need for myself to practice this better. Sometimes, I miss out on what the mission is calling for me, and where I'm supposed to stand. So what I'm hoping is that for anyone who seeks commitment, that they (as well as myself) finds it.

Amen.

Commitment

When we talk about relationships and "getting the job done," we usually refer to commitment. When we commit ourselves to getting a job done, what do we mean? Do we simply mean "we promise to get it done" or is it worth something more? What commitment means to me, is it's a promise, but more then that. It's a promise to give your whole self. Below are just three stories I dug up, talking about what commitment is.

Story 1 - Continental Breakfast (Involvement vs. Commitment)

For a continental breakfast, traditionally, there are eggs and bacon. The eggs come from chickens and the bacon are the pigs. We say that the chicken is "involved" in the continental breakfast, while the pig is committed to the breakfast.

Commitment is giving our whole lives, heart and mind, to the mission.

Story 2 - Burn Your Boats (Perseverance)

It's 1519, Spaniard Hernando Cortes sets sail for the Americas with 600 Spanish soldiers. He landed on the east coast of Mexico - the home of the Aztecs. His men heard stories of the ferocious nature of the Aztecs and asked to go home. Instead, he ordered his ship be burned. And with no way to retreat, the only thing they had the choice of doing was conquer, and so they did. This act gave Hernando Cortes the title of the "Greatest Conquistador in the Americas."

When you commit, you don't play safe. You don't think "I'll only stay here for as long as it's safe but I'll leave when its not." You jump in and fight for the mission until it's achieved, fun or not. It's about getting out of your comfort zone.

Story 3 - Civil War (Encouragement)

During the American Civil War, the Union army was pinned in a town by Confederate artillery positioned on an overlooking hill. The officers of this Union army decided to send a unit to make a diversionary charge up the hill while the rest of the army would escape. The unit was bound to be completely destroyed – it was a suicide mission. In the middle of the diversionary attack, one man in the unit decided, “If I’m going to die, I might as well make this a real attack.” He charged up the hill for real. The other men in his unit saw him and were encouraged by his act, so they charged up the hill, too. The Confederate forces were weaker than they thought, and upon seeing the charge, thought it was a full scale attack. The Confederate forces retreated, and the diversionary unit took the hill.

Your commitment will bring out the commitment of others.

On the whole, commitment is about being fully willing and able to do God's will - it's about serving with all you are, fearlessly, never turning back. And in those tight spots, it's about committing anyways, because if you commit, others will too, and in the end, it will only bring about good things.

Amen.

Learning How To Pray

Lately I've been thinking about how to get close with God. I realize that the one thing that everyone turns to is prayer. I know even I do it. But do I really know how to pray? All these years of reciting empty words, have I really learned the meaning of prayer? Can I really talk to God without fear of mockery, without fear of saying the wrong thing, without fear of forgetting what I'm supposed to say, without fear of forgetting to make the sign of the cross?

I read a little story that I had archived in my emails, and it tells of a man who always went to church to pray during his lunch break. This is how he prayed;

"Dear Jesus,

I just came again to tell you
How happy I have been
Since we found each other's friendship
And you took away my sin.

I don't know much of how to pray
But I think about you everyday

So Jesus,
This is me, checking in today."

This is probably the most simple prayer anyone can say. It's a prayer so full of love, of meaning. It's like that saying, "pray with the heart of a child, but live a life that follows Christ." (Okay, so maybe I just made that up, but still.)

The thing is, I've been thinking about things I've done, things I'm doing. The people who I consider my friends now, they all fully support me in my faith. The thing is, as I read the rest of this story, I saw a little response to that prayer, from God. As I read it, I heard a voice actually saying these things to me. Here's the response;

"My Dear and Beloved,

I'm always here and I love you
Oh how happy I have been
Since we've found each other's friendship
And I took away your sins.

I always love to hear you pray,
And I think about you each day.

So my child, this is Jesus,
Checking in today."

And I know God loves me. He loves all of us. He is proud of each and every one of us. All He really expects from us is obedience. That's when He will give us the world, if that's what we want.

So what I guess I really learned was that the most important thing to keep in mind is that to pray, is to talk to God. It isn't like presenting a speech or a petition to a million people. It's just like talking to your parents, your siblings, your friends. Keep it simple. Keep in real.

Amen.

Fearless

To be fearless...
Is to know that God is there
Is to believe He will never let you down
Is to remember that with Him you can become unstoppable.

To act fearless...
Is to stand up for those values which God places in your heart
Is to always be at least two steps ahead, but willing to turn around and strike for God
Is to be a fool for God even when it physically kills you

To pray for fearlessness...
Is to remember how much you love and need God
Is to keep in your heart how important God's love is to you
Is to know you are never alone.

This is what it means to fearlessly BAP BAP!

Yesterday's pre-conference was so amazing. Never have I been so close to God in my entire life. I honestly feel myself getting closer more and more each day. But what was amazing what that it was when I prayed for my friends and family that I got closest to Him.

I pray that those who seek Him, will be fearless, will find help in those who care, and will find Him fearlessly!

Amen.

Purpose One

Some of you may be wondering why I've started this blog. Some of you probably don't care.

For those that do care, my answer is this:

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I've been working on (creative writing projects and things of that sort). So this blog is dedicated to all my projects, and projects of those who have inspired me.

The first piece I intend to put up is an extract from my book...a piece that really got me thinking a lot lately.

"'Pick the memory that you remember with most happiness.'
Happiness…
I wasn’t even sure what that meant anymore. It’s been so long since I last experienced happiness that, I didn’t know the real meaning of the word.
This passage is one that I'd been reflecting upon a lot lately. When I wrote it, I seriously thought hard about the consequences of doing so. I wondered what I'd end up feeling in the future when I re-read this. Now I know.

The reason for feeling like this is different though. This isn't a feeling of remorse, or a feeling that I don't know happiness. But that word. For me, I can equate happiness with passion... a passion to serve.

I've been quite grateful lately to be able to understand what it means for me to be happy, for me to truly be happy.

So today, as I began this post, I titled it Purpose One - because the number one purpose in our lives is to be happy, and to understand the peace that comes with it.

Amen.