Galatians 6:7

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

This verse has been on my mind a lot lately. Last weekend the "boat docking" season officially began and we had some new recruits. One of them was a graduate of FM, like myself, and played basketball with me there and was just a year younger. I would never have considered us great friends by any stretch, but friends could work. At any rate, he got to talking and asking some questions about Young Life, and I gladly answered. He asked if I was a leader and how long I had been involved for and so on. When I told him I had done YL for most of my time in high school his response was one that has continued to haunt me, "Really? Why didn't you ever tell me you were involved?" And in his tone you could hear his disappointment and questioning of my motivations. I realized in that moment that I had missed a huge opportunity in high school with him.

I know not to dwell on the past, however, I can't get this picture out of my mind. I certainly invited people to come to club and such, but never with the reckless abandon that I should have. And now, four years later I find myself trying to lead kids in loving their friends and continue to keep feeling frustrated by it. Perhaps I'm just being pushed to look at these kids and see that I was in the same state of mind as they are. Maybe this is why God has brought me to this point, so that I might realize my own short comings and in doing so, teach and demonstrate a better way to the kids we're leading.

So, I guess this leaves me thinking that it is only through self evaluation and reflection on our own actions, while pursuing Christ, that we can alter our current walk. I think the last part is the key ingredient though. Its wholly plausible to reflect and be hard on yourself for past shortcomings, but to not include Christ in that will only lead to more guilt and frustration and no resolution to the problem. If we are truly seeking to change, we will involve Christ in that because we have no other way to change.

I saw the beginning of the Michael J. Fox special on ABC... I thought it was so interesting! My favorite part was when he went to Bhutan because it is said to be the happiest nation on earth. Besides rating GNP, they also tally up the GNH: Gross National Happiness. Now, I'm not sure how they really put that into numbers or how they record it, but I thought that was beyond cool. He felt so relaxed and happy in Bhutan that he could take less medicine for his Parkinson's Disease because his symptoms were so reduced. That was definitely the coolest part- such a simple thing as happiness can cure or at least lessen diseases! I bet that if they rated the U.S.'s GNH, it would be one of the lowest in the world. Why is that? Why do we Americans seem to be so unhappy? Is it our obsession with materialism that just leaves us empty? I think it has to do a lot with our inability to believe in anything. We're trained to be skeptics and to beware of scams (mostly because of advertising, which is sad...) but it is hard to wholeheartedly believe in anything or anyone anymore. I think that's why I myself struggle with doubt in Jesus so much. My mom is one of the most skeptical people I've ever known, and maybe that's why I'm afraid of trusting people with everything I have and everything I am. It's hard to believe that He cares about me that much, that He would die for me. It's something I accept, but not something I can really wrap my head around.

I don't know how to go about being an optimist. It's so ingrained in me to believe things are not what they appear to be or that they are not going to turn out the way I want them to. I need to accept the fact that they're not going to go my way, but His way.

Michael J Fox

Are we called to be optimists?

I watched this piece by Michael J Fox on ABC the other night and was really impressed by portions of it.

http://fep.abc.go.com/fep/player?src=abccomjs&show=205278

check it out

Jeremiah 9-

Also read:

Psalm 34:2
1 Corinthians 1:28-31
1 Corinthians 5:6
2 Corinthians 10-love it
2 Corinthians 11:30
Galatians 6:13,14
Philippians 2:16

____


How do we boast in Christ?
How does that change when we are talking to friends, family, Christians, not...?
what would you need to change to solely boast in Christ?
1Cor5:6- do we see that in our own lives? God enters one place and transforms everything tangent to it

Take a road trip

For my internship this summer I have to take a couple trips down to the city before it starts so that I can have different tests run to ensure that I'm healthy enough to be in an OR for the entire summer.

I left for the first of these trips yesterday afternoon and my mom decided to tag along for the ride. We stayed the night in Connecticut with her brother and then made our way into the city today just so I could pee in a cup and then head out (ridiculous).

Anyway, I was amazed by how the time my mom and I spent together effected her. I felt like we hadn't really been able to spend that much high quality time together. We were constantly on the move- either driving, running between trains or subways, or hauling across Harlem. Once we made it back to Syracuse, I dropped her off at home and was leaving to go back to my apartment when she had me get out of the car and welled up with emotion. She hugged me, really hugged me, and I realized how much just spending time together meant to her.

Throughout my car ride back to the apartment I couldn't help but think that that is what our lives and ministries are all about: spending time with people. It is such a simple concept but we so often forget it or just push it down on our priority list. I was reminded of the prodigal son and how the father seems to long to just spend time with his son.

Our friends/family long to spend time with us. They long for it not because we're the most amazing people, but because they can sense Christ within us. The greatest gift we can give to people is ourselves and our time, and in turn, Christ.

Who are you spending your time with?
Are you there or does your mind simply wander and not focus on the person/task at hand?
How can we invest time in others if we don't invest it in ourselves? Or in our relationship with Christ?

Summer...

I can't believe that today is my last official day of junior year already... Scary. At the same time its one of the most exciting times of my life.

I'm really pumped to spend this summer in NYC because (1) its NYC, (2) I may never come across another opportunity quite like this, (3) part of me feels like the only way I can have a "relaxing" summer is by being in NYC working 40 hours a week in a hospital and being separate from everything else.

Still, I'm nervous because I'm gone for a lot of things this summer. By not being in Syracuse I'm hours away from Julie, my family and so many of my friends. Julie is in so many ways my best friend, and being physically separate from that strength in my life is a scary prospect. Mary is just graduating and this is her final summer before college and I may not even be able to make it back in town for her graduation. My mom has just finally started coming to church more often, and I'm not sure she'll continue to go if I'm not calling her to come with me. And, in reality, this is one of the last real summers before the core group of friends I've had for the past 6 years will be together before "real life" starts next summer.

Plus, there aren't any free golf courses in NYC for me to play on.

____

I think that we've all expressed some thoughts/feelings about being able to stay in communication with one another this summer, and I feel like this can be a general, open, and safe environment to do that in. We are free to post verses, prayer requests, thoughts, cool things, lame things, or whatever else we may just need to write out.

I'm going to try my best to post every morning or evening with a thought topic for us. I'll be drawing from the sheet Gunner emailed us, Oswald, my personal favorite- CS Lewis, or whatever else may come up.

Well, I've delayed my studying long enough now. Catch you all later.

____

Today's thoughts:

1) How can we commit to Christ more in the summer?- come up with at least 3 ways
2) Are you fearful of leaving some of the fellowship you have developed this year? Where will you find your fellowship this summer?
3) Who will we focus on ministering/discipling/loving this summer? And how can that be balanced by the relationships we have formed in the past year?


You guys rock,
Sean