A Life Part 1

Well its now summer and I figured that since I have been sitting around and doing a lot of thinking I would share some of my thoughts. 

I had been reading a book called Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne for 2.5 years. It took me a long time but I finally finished the book. Seems kinda odd because a friend gave me that book in a time that I was struggling in my life and it seems that just as I finished the book I realized what was causing the struggle (I'll get to that later). 

As I was reading through the book I felt myself asking so many questions. Was what he was saying right or did I disagree with it. Half the book I felt 50/50 but the one thing that I think he changed my mind on was that doing just enough isn't ENOUGH for God. Just barely passing through life giving the little amount is not what God wants at all. He wants a life that is fully devoted to Him. A life that is radically living out for Him at every second of our lives. It was being a radical that the book was pointing towards as this Irresistible Revolution.

After finishing the book I looked back over what I had read and saw that my life wasn't there. I was just doing the things to just barely get by. Doing just barely wasn't good enough though. It didn't leave me with a life that was for God, it just left me with a corrupted life that was far from what I should have been doing. I tried doing things all by myself but we as humans can't do anything on our own. We were built to be in community.

This community is with God and with others around us. I believe that they both go hand in hand though. These two things are separate but also together. There are times when we need to just be alone with God and then there are times that we need to be together as a community either for worship or just for fun. These communities are what keep us to what our lives are to be for without them we will fall back into a corrupted life.

I know that because of my lack of trusting people and God I let myself think that I could do things all on my own. A friend pointed out to me though that it was the fact that I focused on overcoming my sin that I forgot that all I had to do was give it to God. I had to trust in Him and get over myself. I could do nothing by myself but with God nothing would be impossible. All I had to do was give God everything and live that radical life. 

Sounds simple but its still a struggle everyday if not every second. I am human and in this life I can do nothing alone.

The Mystery of the Cross

In our contemplation of the cross we discover the "sign of contradiction." The "cross" is at the heart of the Paschal Mystery. In the words of Saint Paul: "I preach Christ and Him Crucified" (1 Cor 2:2). In the mystery of the cross we have the coming together of apparent disparate opposites: suffering and healing, death and resurrection, defeat and victory, agony and glory.

And yet, they are really not opposites. Self-giving and self-oblation are necessary prerequisites for perfect freedom, and perfect freedom gives rise to new life and glory.

I think one of the most powerful and mysterious lines in Mel Gibson's popular movie: The Passion of the Christ, is the scene where our Lord meets his dear Mother along the Way of the Cross. As she comes to his side when he falls, yet another time, under the weight of the cross, our Lord looks into her compassionate and sorrowful eyes he tells her: "Don't you see, Mother, I make all things new." Now these words are not found in the Gospel, but are actually found in the Book of the Apocalypse (Rev. 21:5), and the film maker superimposes these words on the lips of Jesus for dramatic effect. Nonetheless, the scene conveys a powerful and mysterious truth.

Through humility and obedience to the will of God, we make all things new. The glory of Jesus, particularly in Saint John's gospel, is the glory of obedience and self-giving. The glory of the Resurrection merely crowns the glory which Jesus already obtained by his obedience to his Father's will.

Rev. James D. Conley's Homily on Good Friday April 10, 2009

A Tune to Hear

Every Thursday I go and spend time with my friend Sarah. She is taking this semester off cause she has to get some surgeries. Her first one is done and she is actually starting to walk again without her crutches which is great! Tonight we started listening to CD's that I had made for Matt that she got from him. She hadn't put any of the song names or artists in so we listening to about 100 songs and trying to figure out the name of the song and the artist. Its actually quite fun to try and remember all of those songs and remember all the memories that go with them. 

Music is one of my favorite things in the world. There is so much to it. There is emotions, memories, and just fun times. Music is filled with love, anger, happiness, sadness, and any feeling you can think of. The music I listen to depends on my mood and what helps me calm down. Music has body and soul to it. Sometimes I feel like the music is talking to me and is just taking away all of my frustrations. 

Other music is just fun. My favorite is playing rockband with a bunch of people and just having fun. Its great just for some laughs and just great time with friends!

Music creates great memories and emotions to last a life time!

Writing

Ive thought about writing a book. I'm not really sure what it would be about or if it would be any good, but I think it would be quite interesting to write a book. I have thought of ideas before but than I have thought that there is no way that I could fill up an entire book with thoughts about such a topic. I'll sit and read other books trying to get ideas or just to see how they actually can write about a certain topic or about multiple topics that focus around a central idea. I'm amazed every time because the book flows and it makes a statement that doesn't make you wonder what the write was talking about. To be honest I am jealous of writers cause they can write so elegantly and put their thoughts down so well. I think writers are some of the best communicators in life because they can write so well. They know how to put their thoughts into words and because of that many people can see those thoughts and can either agree with them or not. A writer can bring you into their world of thoughts almost like you were thinking them. It is such an amazing talent and can have such a great affect on those who read it. Thanks to all you writers who write such amazing pieces that give us a glimpse into your world!

A Feeling or An Action

I wish I knew how to love. Its something I take for granted. It seems to be right there but its become just like air. Its something you need to live but unlike air we need to actually consciously do something. Breathing in air doesn't always need a thought, your body just does it to stay alive. I think loving has become the same way. We need it to live so we just do it but without thinking. Love should be something more than just a subconscious action though. Its more than a thought or a feeling, its a choice that you make everyday. 

I've heard of love being described in so many different ways. The one that I agree with most was when I was talking to my friend about his relationship with his girlfriend. She was studying abroad and we were talking about how things were going between them and he was talking about how everyday he loves her. He wrote an email to her everyday even if it was just a small hello. He said that yes emotionally he loved her but it was even more than that. Everyday he made the choice to love her. It was more than just a feeling to him because he knew that those "feelings" wouldn't last forever.

 

Love is more than a noun to describe our feelings, its a verb, something that we have to do. We have to work at our relationships and show that we love the other person. You wouldn't believe a person who said they loved you if they just came up to you and said it. You love someone one by giving them time, caring for them, and getting to know them. You love through what you do.

I don't think that this is all there is to love because its the most complicated thing that can ever be known to man. Yet strive to love to your fullest. Let love be your way of doing things. Begin to know love so that love may know you. 

Living Like There's No Tomorrow

I have been thinking lately about what it means to really live as if tomorrow were to never come. Is it really a practical way to live life? Being in college it seems a rather odd thing to say that I would live like tomorrow will not come. I would quit school and go and give my time to being with friends and helping in homeless shelters. I would go on missions trip and be a light for Christ.
But then I thought to myself that this seems impractical. God has given me a talent for learning. It would be a waste to let that go and not learn to become something greater so I can use that gift later in life to live for God. Even if it means that my time is spent now studying and going to school, I believe that if I use my talents for God it is towards his glory. It might be in a different way but we are all apart of something and have a different talent to serve God and shine His light.
The question is how you will use it and what does it truly mean to live like tomorrow may never come. For me living like there will be no tomorrow is to be who I am because if I would live any differently then I wouldn't be myself. I would be trying to be someone that I am not and living a lie that was trying to be for God. Living my life like tomorrow is not going to come is just being who I am and using the talents God gave me for his glory!

So live like there is no tomorrow and be yourself!

An absolute right

Today in our philosophy class we started talking about whether or not human beings have an absolute right to anything. As our discussion went on we kept asking questions and defining terms and how those terms were defined would change how we perceived the answer to be. We talked about having an absolute right to life and how that right depended really on what you believe. I really still don't get philosophy at all because right before class ended the professor basically said that there is never really any right answer to anything which I totally disagree with. If we could never know anything than what would be the point of actually living. We were given the gift of life from God. A gift that was great and yet we sit and waste it away. 

This gift of life is like getting food when you are starving. Yet instead of taking that food and eating it to give yourself nourishment to live you set it aside and let it rot. We were given a life to live and yet we set it aside for our own selfish ambitions. 

We live in a world that always wants and asks for more and yet right in front of us is sitting the gift that could give us all that and yet we set it aside to try and find it by ourselves. We want the right to speak freely, the right to bear arms, the right to have money, the right to have anything we want and do anything to get it. We want so much that the original gift is piled so deep under so many other wants that how can we expect to actually be able to have anything else if we don't even have the gift of life to live?