Live Out Loud

By now I think it's pretty clear that God loves to speak to me through my dreams. Here is a vivid dream I had after returning from the 2012 Undergrad Retreat. In the  dream , I was walking down State Street (towards Yost) when I realized I was being chased by some bad guys. In an attempt to escape, I ran into a barber shop (pretty sure it was  this one  actually) that ended up being a secret passageway to a UM hockey   game . As I was walking down the hallway from the barber shop to the ice rink, I noticed a copious amount of roadkill near my footsteps. I DESPISE dead animals (yet alone live ones :X) so I started getting really disgusted, repulsed, and discouraged at the sight of dead birds, squirrels, and dogs on-my-way to the ice rink. I thought I could avoid this discomfort by turning back, but was confronted with a flood of (live) dogs running right at me soon-after. I couldn't handle that either and ended up leaving the arena and the barber shop, back on the ...

WOW. As I was reading Romans 10-11 (the special Missions Week Bible reading plan) today, I was STUNNED by how much of what Paul talks about in those two chapters relates with my last post about lessons from running the Big House Big Heart 10K. Romans 11 verses 5-6 and 17-24 were especially relevant. 5  It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel [ c ]  have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them .  6  And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved. 17  But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. ...

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you?" (1 Chronicles 29:14) "But Lord... how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." (Judges 6:15-16) SERIOUSLY GOD. WHO AM I, that the LORD of ALL THE EARTH would care to know my name, yet alone save me from the guilt and shame of my sin. Even when I'm giving my 100%, A-GAME to please You, I SOMEHOW end up screwing it all up (and even bringing others down with me). SURELY all my righteous acts are like filthy rags before You. Why does God love me? Not because of who I am But because of who You are God doesn't just love, God IS love. Just believe it NY--stop feeling insecure, just live your life CONVINCED that God's love for you is real.

I ran a 10K yesterday at the Big House, right before HMCC's 15th year celebration--it was an INCREDIBLE run because I feel like God was speaking to me about my life as I was running. Here's what I mean: I was in awe and shock when I finished my 6.2 miles, because I have been extremely unfaithful with training leading up to the race. Despite my failure to be disciplined on a daily basis, I felt like I was given this supernatural strength to run til the finish and not give up. Because of that, I ran hard and ended up cutting about 20 minutes off of my time from June (crazy, I know). I think the 10 kilometers I ran yesterday greatly resembles my journey of following after Jesus. If you ask me about what has helped me to grow in my faith, I can give you a handful of HUGE commitments I've made in the past couple years--like participating in a summer missions project, serving in LIFEgroup ministry, or staying in Michigan post-graduation. But despite these sizeable deci...

I don't like saying things I don't mean, especially the term BLESSED, which is used very often in the church. I mentioned how cautious I am to use the word BLESSED in an entry back in April , and today I want to testify to how another promise has been fulfilled in my life. So.. what is a promise I banked on? [From a recent Creative Development exercise we did in Pubs] How was this promise fulfilled? Confession: I've heard this verse many times before and even memorized it--but despite knowing it in my head, I really doubted it in my heart. I knew Jesus said things like "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62) but I OFTEN looked back (and side to side) wondering if the way of following Christ was really the BEST LIFE I COULD LIVE.  If I had to describe this summer in one word, it would be affirming . I've been affirmed in my job, my ministry, my relationships and I truly FEEL that there ...

Of all the things in a typical week, my favorite meetings are hands down the times I have with my co-leaders. They are typically referred to as planning meetings in our church, but I'd rather avoid that term because that phrase is sometimes associated with :( emoticons or dreadful looks. After all, every lifegroup and leadership team (LT) handles planning meetings differently :P My first LT experience was with Eric and KT during Walk It Out--I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty upset when I found out they were the two I was stuck with for the entire year. I had contexts with both of them before I started serving with them and thought I knew them pretty well. Eric was the guy in my class who endlessly shared for 30 minutes whenever I asked a simple "How are you?", and KT was the ministry team leader that I had a distant relationship with, despite the fact that I had been a part of her team for 2+ years. I didn't see much hope for the future of our relationship, but God ...

A few weeks ago I mentioned how God has been answering my prayers for greater discernment in my life. Another one of those long-term prayer requests in my life has been to grow in compassion . And MAN I can't believe God has been answering! I mean, I must be really faithless to have doubted--after all, one of my fav verses right now is 1 John 5:14 which says "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." Jesus was full of compassion, so why wouldn't God want to grant me compassion if I asked for it, right? I noticed how much I lacked in compassion when I was with two particular people groups--children, and the poor. But over the past year and a half (since I started praying in November of 2009), God has thrown multiple opportunities to grow in an area of weakness. The first was in partaking in the social just!ce movement at our church last year where we brainstormed ways to raise awareness of social is...