can we not make comments anymore on the blogs ?? b/c i cant find the "add comments" button ... and i really like the post from today less is more .. and i just wanted to add to it something that i'm reminded of when i think about material things and what i "want" but dont "need" or what i have and dont have.. becuase of my mission experience ( considerably small compared to some other people) i have learned that it is possible to survive with next to nothing and be completely humble and content with that .. and i kinda think of it as you can either center your life around material possessions and "stuff' or you can put God and your faith that he will provide for you at the center of your life .. i guess i just wanted to make sure that somethin' along those lines gets heard when everyone reads that blog b/c sometimes we get so caught up in habits and we skim through and dont even bother to look for what God might want us to hear .. is this making sence? i'm just afraid that sometimes we just read it and dont think twice about the blogs and this blog really spoke to me and hit on one of my passions and taking advantage of our possesions bothers me but i'm guilty of it too ... I think as a group project we should keep track of the number of hours we spend on the computer for social aspects ( not work related like writing papers and researching etc. ) like checking email , myspace, facebook , blogs and w/e else we do on the computer and then the next week we try to spend the same amount of time or more in devotion, connecting with God in prayer, or community service ( not clubs at school or stuff we do normally ..) something extra we devote to something other than the computer ... idk just an idea we can either run with or throw out the window
wow .. this is way long than i realized it was .. sorry if my grammar and run on ideas and everything mushes together and doesnt make since ... have a great weekend !!!
Chelsea
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Sometimes becoming like Christ does not happen intentionally. Instead as we seek to know Him better, we become like Him.
Recently, I was riding in a large wooden trailer that was being pulled by a tractor. We were fast on our way to see a beautiful waterfall near Rio Dulce in Guatemala. A little boy from one of the villages came sprinting to try and catch a free ride down the road. As he got closer, he reached out and caught the trailer in the back portion by one hand and tripped. For a moment I watched the fear in his eyes as he was being dragged along. We were going too fast to let go, and he could not climb up into the trailer. Before I knew what I was doing, I was on my stomach laying in rocks and cow manure embracing this little boy and pulling him up onto the platform with our group. There was no time to think.
As I looked down at my scraped knees and the dirt that now covered my designer swimsuit, I was overwhelmed by emotion. My friends looked at me in shock. Blood trickled slowly down from my left knee. This is how Jesus loved us. I felt as if heaven had opened up and shown me the change that had taken place in a once callous heart. When we could not help ourselves up, Christ bled and was made dirty for us. In a small way, I realized how my relationship with Christ had affected my impulses. He soiled his perfect robes of heaven that we might me with Him and become like him.
To be like Christ, we should look at how He lived his life. He was kind to all regardless of beauty, career, or social status. He was not impressed by people with important titles. He kneeled to show compassion to an adulteress and dined with tax collectors and sinners. He was the essence of love. We must be like him in not isolating ourselves from those who need us most. Christian community is important but taking care of widows and orphans even more so. The world is broken and we are afraid to get our hands dirty and to pay a price. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us and being Christlike is not free. It is going to cost you something.
Jesus said that Christians would be known by their love for one another. We must do all we can to care for those around us. It begins right where we are. The key to reaching a lost world is not in a pamphlet or a video. These things are good things of course, but the key is to live our lives in the manner that Jesus did. We should show love and compassion to all not just to those we deem worthy. He thought that we were worth it, and we must live in light of that worth and pass the love shown to us to other people. ~Lizzy Fox.
"Didn’t want to post this online, but in response to your Church…? question.
I am one of the people out there in the world that do not currently go to church.
I grew up Methodist.
Until I get my head on straight and find a church home, you are my church on a daily basis.
So if you ever think your blog isn’t really “ministering” remember me and all of the other “non-church” people that read your blog and Heather’s blog and are touched. You encourage me to pray and think and converse with God.
Thank You!"
"THE BIBLE IS CALLED GOD'S WORD because it is what HE SAID. And when Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit came, and He is IN us as believers. So, if you aren't sure what the Bible says, ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO TELL YOU because HE WROTE IT and HE'S IN YOU." ~Lynn Sexton
"We have the Holy Spirit in us telling us what the Bible says. WE CANNOT BE EACH OTHER'S HOLY SPIRIT. There is a girl at our church who wears a bandana-like scarf around her neck and when we pray, she covers her head with it. I don't feel like I need to do that, but SHE does. She is not wrong. That is right for her. But it is not right for me. It is WRONG for her to tell me that covering my head is the right thing for me to do and it is WRONG for me to tell her that she doesn't need to do it. That is how BOTH of us interpret the Bible." ~Lynn Sexton
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
~ Ecclesiastes 7:10
The only thing we get by spending our time looking in the rear
view mirror is a big disaster in our front windshield! Our best
days as Christians are always ahead. Jesus has promised to return
and take us home to God — what better future could there be! So
let’s not get distracted with nostalgic cynicism. We can thank God
for his past blessings, but let’s not waste the present with
pessimism. Let’s make a commitment to redeem our time and trust
that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead also holds our
future in his hands.
