So, what is next then for those who are disillusioned - those of us who see the brokenness of the world and particularly in those we thought we would not see it in - and then move on into life, trying to make sense of it all?
Well, as i stated in the last post, we need to begin with involving God in the moments of our lives - this is what More than more is all about - we are looking for something More than the usual in everyday American life. We need to see the wonder of God and have connection with Him in our everyday lives.
But, what does that really look like? What advice to those who struggle with the past and betrayal and know that God exists, but have trouble with connecting/finding Him except in their heartbreak?
Well, consider something amazing, like a life resurrected from the ashes - like we talked about last time we got together for More than more - when we had a conversation with Reuben Bible.
Reuben is a fantastic young man currently in his first year of studies at a Bible College in Indianapolis. But, his life was not always like this...
As Reuben shared, he was raised learning about God and over the years, he began to think that he had a better way - he would work hard and support his family (he never really wanted anything fancy, just to be able to take good care of them) and he would do it his way. Reuben was first a tree climbing lumberjack of some sort - not sure the name, but when offered a chance to move back to the midwest from Florida, they did. Then, he began to work with horses - he broke them, rodeoed them, then trained them, and borded them - about anything to do with horses and all in an attempt to stabilize his family and provide for them - he wanted to just be a good man - all he could be. The thing is, this pursuit became Reuben's "more" - he spent everything he had and all his energy on this and he has suffered multiple fractures from serious incidents with horses over the years - in the last one, he was really no longer able to deal with horses and so he formed his own business and was doing really well - making the most he had made in his whole life until one day he was mowing and he hit a downed tree with the bushhog and it came up and severed all but a small piece of his lower leg.
This has placed this hard-working, stubborn but unbelievably active man, flat on his back for months and months at a time - for most of that time he has been angry at God, frustrated at what he has had to go through - feeling as if he was finally about to make his dreams and now this has to happen. Not to mention that fact the Reuben was told he may never walk again, much less be able to do the heavy type of work he has always done.
But, what Reuben discovered was that at the end of his dreams, was something bigger and better than he had ever realized. He began to talk to God more and more and release his future to God and what he found was that God had something amazing for him. He was finding that people were coming to him and wanting him to help them find God. He felt inadequate for this, but found that God used him anyway and then he began to feel that he was to be going to study and learn - and that's how he ended up at the Bible College he is at now.
But, there was another problem, they did not have the money. Well, through some scholarships that seemed to come out of thin air, Reuben has his entire first year paid for!
At the end of the line, he found More.
So, what do we say to those of us who are disillusioned? Pay attention. Notice. Sometimes God is expressing himself in amazing ways right under our noses. When you notice, ask Him to help with your perspective - to help you see life differently and to be a part of your every day, every moment. I believe you will begin to find relief as soon as you begin noticing...
If you are sick of usual American life of get more, become more, achieve more, etc, we would love to have you join us this Thursday night, October 6th, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, Indiana, from 6:45-8:00PM - maybe there is something More.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Of (dis)illusions
I just returned from a crazy 4 hour drive each way that has returned me to questions I often wrestle with - this time I would like to share them with you...
We went on this adventure for 2 reasons - one was to see some very good friends and to share some time together - they have a fabulous family and we see them rarely and so it was good to catch up, laugh and say things like, "I remember when..." The second was to celebrate my wife's birthday - her birthday is September 11th and I know this is a really late gift, but I had given her tickets to see one of her favorite music groups on Friday night.
The time with friends was encouraging and fun, relaxing and crazy, but the concert was just amazingly unexpected. We arrived just as it was starting, to see a local youth group praise band play, which we enjoyed from a praise standpoint much more than from a band standpoint. Then, within a few minutes the group we had driven all that way to see came up on stage. It was a far more theatrical performance than we had expected, but the music was good and the ringing of their songs deep in our hearts was really powerful in some spots. There was one thing that I noticed was remarkably absent for a Christian music group, playing in a Church - there was no prayer - none. I had grown used to listening to their music and kneading those words like yeast into the lives of the people I lead and watching those peoples' lives be changed by God working through those words in the middle of their life situations - so to have no communication with God surprised me. It certainly did not keep me from jamming out with my family - praising God and enjoying the talents of the four gifted artists.
Now, we had been expecting to walk into a packed house - but there apparently are not very many people in that area who follow this group - there were only about 50. We were surprised but fine with it. The cool thing is that after the concert, because there were so few of us, the band stayed around and talked and had pictures taken, signed autographs and all - it was cool. Since it was my wife's birthday present, we decided to do the "groupie" thing and get pictures with the band. But, we couldn't just have a picture, we felt compelled to tell them the impact that their music was having on what we do. The lead guitarist was really touched - it was cool to see him light up when he heard of how the tunes he was playing were making a difference in the lives of real people. But the conversation with the lead singer really was a bit mind bending...
We had our picture, then told him how we invest our lives in helping people see the amazingness of God in everyday life and also in helping the people of our world see that there is More to life then the usual American way that so often leaves us feeling empty & 00unfulfilled. Then he asked a question. "So, you work with the disillusioned. Are you, as well, disillusioned?" He proceeded to tell us the story of his hurt and painful betrayal in his Church and how he had not even been back to church since - and it sounded like a long time.
So, here's a question: What makes a writer of fantastic songs about the strength and protection of God disillusioned by what he has seen in the American Church? Well, he has seen what we all see if we are around very long and if we look very close - in fact what we can't miss unless we bury our heads in the sand and deny/refuse to look at all. He has seen that people suck. He has witnessed the ickiness and pain and poor choices and other people harming actions and emotions and relationships of people. Now, it takes only 2 seconds to confirm that this should not have surprised him and it should not surprise us - people suck - all i have to do is look into my heart and my motives and my attitudes and i quickly find that suckiness is the norm - and i see it in everyone i know - including my wonderful wife, who many of you i'm sure are convinced is perfect - sorry honey! We do stupid things every day - sometimes it seems like every second. Yet, somehow, sometimes we are still shocked, amazed, hurt, even horrified at the fact that people have done bad things, cruel things, hurtful things, even illegal and evil things. Why? We don't seem to be too bothered when prison inmates act in evil ways. But, we speak so freely of our disillusionment with the church - we find ourselves reeling inside, when we hear of church people who have been behaving in sucky ways. Yet, we see it in ourselves if we will just look with enough humility to peer honestly and truthfully at our hearts - and most of us, in our honest moments, would admit this.
What was my answer to him? Yes, we have been and are, to some degree, disillusioned. But, we find that wherever we look, people suck. They are all messed up. They are selfish and pitiful and broken and it is not any different in the church, it just is a different look of the people and a different look of the suckiness and a different list of the issues.
So, if people are all so screwed up, why is he and why are we so many times so horrified by the church people who are sucky? Well, i am convinced that it is because we have this expectation that in their positions with their "connection" with God and their worship times and all that they will no longer be so pitifully sucky - but we are wrong!!! And we are judgmental and unfair to turn around the suck meter on them and turn it up to freaking ultra sensitive detector mode for them and if they come up with any suckiness then we hand our heads in defeat and become "disillusioned." Think about the word disillusioned for a second. What does it mean? "Dis" means the negative of something - like "dis"respect means not respecting. But what does illusion mean?
il•lu•sion ( -l zh n)
n.
1.
a. An erroneous perception of reality.
b. An erroneous concept or belief.
2. The condition of being deceived by a false perception or belief.
3. Something, such as a fantastic plan or desire, that causes an erroneous belief or perception.
So, to be disillusioned might mean the opposite of that definition - which really might mean that our original erroneous perception of reality or concept or belief (that church people don't suck just like everybody else) is now gone - we now see reality, we have a true concept or belief.
The thing is, the truth is not always fun and it is not always what we want to hear. We wanted church people to not suck - but the do. So, why do we find ourselves so lost and frustrated and screwed up after learning all these sucky things about the people of the church?
Well, that leads to the next thing i told him (honestly at this point not believing i am having this conversation with this guy who wrote these songs that have so touched my life, but plunging on anyway) was, "The thing is dude, people all over suck, in the church and out of the church, but God does not suck - He is amazing and if you keep coming back to Him - over and over and over again - your life will be the best life it can be!!! He, you see, is wonderful!"
And i think that's why it bothered me that they didn't pray.
So, what do you do with all this? if you are angry or frustrated at people who you thought woudl not be sucky and it proved out that they were over time - let it go - talk to God about it and realize that they are living up to their potential - they are going to screw up and the sooner you realize it, the better - if you are wallowing away in self-pity over the fact that the institutions that are supposed to be showing the amazingness of God are not, and maybe they have even hurt you - get over it - start looking to the God who will show you himself, if you will simply notice (check out www.morethamoremtm.blogspot.com) - talk to Him about it - get together with other people who are also noticing Him and share stories - pursue Him and invite Him into the moments of your life - it will make all the difference.
After all, this is the same God who carts families 4 hours across the midwest to see a music group in order to arrange a meeting of the disillusioned - what wouldn't He do to help his sucky, messed up creation to get back on track?
We went on this adventure for 2 reasons - one was to see some very good friends and to share some time together - they have a fabulous family and we see them rarely and so it was good to catch up, laugh and say things like, "I remember when..." The second was to celebrate my wife's birthday - her birthday is September 11th and I know this is a really late gift, but I had given her tickets to see one of her favorite music groups on Friday night.
The time with friends was encouraging and fun, relaxing and crazy, but the concert was just amazingly unexpected. We arrived just as it was starting, to see a local youth group praise band play, which we enjoyed from a praise standpoint much more than from a band standpoint. Then, within a few minutes the group we had driven all that way to see came up on stage. It was a far more theatrical performance than we had expected, but the music was good and the ringing of their songs deep in our hearts was really powerful in some spots. There was one thing that I noticed was remarkably absent for a Christian music group, playing in a Church - there was no prayer - none. I had grown used to listening to their music and kneading those words like yeast into the lives of the people I lead and watching those peoples' lives be changed by God working through those words in the middle of their life situations - so to have no communication with God surprised me. It certainly did not keep me from jamming out with my family - praising God and enjoying the talents of the four gifted artists.
Now, we had been expecting to walk into a packed house - but there apparently are not very many people in that area who follow this group - there were only about 50. We were surprised but fine with it. The cool thing is that after the concert, because there were so few of us, the band stayed around and talked and had pictures taken, signed autographs and all - it was cool. Since it was my wife's birthday present, we decided to do the "groupie" thing and get pictures with the band. But, we couldn't just have a picture, we felt compelled to tell them the impact that their music was having on what we do. The lead guitarist was really touched - it was cool to see him light up when he heard of how the tunes he was playing were making a difference in the lives of real people. But the conversation with the lead singer really was a bit mind bending...
We had our picture, then told him how we invest our lives in helping people see the amazingness of God in everyday life and also in helping the people of our world see that there is More to life then the usual American way that so often leaves us feeling empty & 00unfulfilled. Then he asked a question. "So, you work with the disillusioned. Are you, as well, disillusioned?" He proceeded to tell us the story of his hurt and painful betrayal in his Church and how he had not even been back to church since - and it sounded like a long time.
So, here's a question: What makes a writer of fantastic songs about the strength and protection of God disillusioned by what he has seen in the American Church? Well, he has seen what we all see if we are around very long and if we look very close - in fact what we can't miss unless we bury our heads in the sand and deny/refuse to look at all. He has seen that people suck. He has witnessed the ickiness and pain and poor choices and other people harming actions and emotions and relationships of people. Now, it takes only 2 seconds to confirm that this should not have surprised him and it should not surprise us - people suck - all i have to do is look into my heart and my motives and my attitudes and i quickly find that suckiness is the norm - and i see it in everyone i know - including my wonderful wife, who many of you i'm sure are convinced is perfect - sorry honey! We do stupid things every day - sometimes it seems like every second. Yet, somehow, sometimes we are still shocked, amazed, hurt, even horrified at the fact that people have done bad things, cruel things, hurtful things, even illegal and evil things. Why? We don't seem to be too bothered when prison inmates act in evil ways. But, we speak so freely of our disillusionment with the church - we find ourselves reeling inside, when we hear of church people who have been behaving in sucky ways. Yet, we see it in ourselves if we will just look with enough humility to peer honestly and truthfully at our hearts - and most of us, in our honest moments, would admit this.
What was my answer to him? Yes, we have been and are, to some degree, disillusioned. But, we find that wherever we look, people suck. They are all messed up. They are selfish and pitiful and broken and it is not any different in the church, it just is a different look of the people and a different look of the suckiness and a different list of the issues.
So, if people are all so screwed up, why is he and why are we so many times so horrified by the church people who are sucky? Well, i am convinced that it is because we have this expectation that in their positions with their "connection" with God and their worship times and all that they will no longer be so pitifully sucky - but we are wrong!!! And we are judgmental and unfair to turn around the suck meter on them and turn it up to freaking ultra sensitive detector mode for them and if they come up with any suckiness then we hand our heads in defeat and become "disillusioned." Think about the word disillusioned for a second. What does it mean? "Dis" means the negative of something - like "dis"respect means not respecting. But what does illusion mean?
il•lu•sion ( -l zh n)
n.
1.
a. An erroneous perception of reality.
b. An erroneous concept or belief.
2. The condition of being deceived by a false perception or belief.
3. Something, such as a fantastic plan or desire, that causes an erroneous belief or perception.
So, to be disillusioned might mean the opposite of that definition - which really might mean that our original erroneous perception of reality or concept or belief (that church people don't suck just like everybody else) is now gone - we now see reality, we have a true concept or belief.
The thing is, the truth is not always fun and it is not always what we want to hear. We wanted church people to not suck - but the do. So, why do we find ourselves so lost and frustrated and screwed up after learning all these sucky things about the people of the church?
Well, that leads to the next thing i told him (honestly at this point not believing i am having this conversation with this guy who wrote these songs that have so touched my life, but plunging on anyway) was, "The thing is dude, people all over suck, in the church and out of the church, but God does not suck - He is amazing and if you keep coming back to Him - over and over and over again - your life will be the best life it can be!!! He, you see, is wonderful!"
And i think that's why it bothered me that they didn't pray.
So, what do you do with all this? if you are angry or frustrated at people who you thought woudl not be sucky and it proved out that they were over time - let it go - talk to God about it and realize that they are living up to their potential - they are going to screw up and the sooner you realize it, the better - if you are wallowing away in self-pity over the fact that the institutions that are supposed to be showing the amazingness of God are not, and maybe they have even hurt you - get over it - start looking to the God who will show you himself, if you will simply notice (check out www.morethamoremtm.blogspot.com) - talk to Him about it - get together with other people who are also noticing Him and share stories - pursue Him and invite Him into the moments of your life - it will make all the difference.
After all, this is the same God who carts families 4 hours across the midwest to see a music group in order to arrange a meeting of the disillusioned - what wouldn't He do to help his sucky, messed up creation to get back on track?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Love Your Feet Outreach - October 28th
Ok - so, it is set - On October 28th, Friday, we will be having our Love Your Feet outreach from 8-4:30ish - More than more will be providing lunches for volunteers that day - at the YWCA (6th street and Cincinnati, in downtown Lafayette)with
dinner and campfire at our house afterwards!
the night before (the 27th) we will have a setup time and dinner from 6-9PM at the YWCA.
We need someone to help by taking charge of the dinner the night before - it is a huge process getting all this organized and running smoothly and to do the dinner the night before too is too much for Melissa - there is a full kitchen for your use at the YWCA and lots of refrigerator space. More than more can help with the cost of supplies if you need us to
If you are a part of More than more, we need your help - This is a really good time, it is great to serve and to help lots of people see their value - but, it is also a ton of work - we have given away as many as 1000 pairs of shoes in 1 day in the past and this requires lots of hands and feet helping out! This is mainly for people who are part of More than more though or connected in some way - and generally not just for anyone - it is our way of sharing all the things we are learning about and receiving in More than more with other people - our chance to give back, or forward...and our opportunity to form relationships with people who need to hear/see what being really cared about is like.
If you are going to be participating (it does not have to be all day), please let us know and especially if you have not been a part before, let us know early so we can get you a More than more shirt to wear that day!
Please note, there will not be any childcare on Thursday night, we are happy to have you bring your little children and hangout, but you will need to plan to watch them - no babysitters - on Friday, kids old enough to really help are welcome and even encouraged because it is good for them to experience a day like this. Of course, all kids are welcome for the dinner after Love Your Feet at our house!
It is going to be a great time together - hope you can all make it for at least part of the day!
keep noticing...
Jason & Melissa
dinner and campfire at our house afterwards!
the night before (the 27th) we will have a setup time and dinner from 6-9PM at the YWCA.
We need someone to help by taking charge of the dinner the night before - it is a huge process getting all this organized and running smoothly and to do the dinner the night before too is too much for Melissa - there is a full kitchen for your use at the YWCA and lots of refrigerator space. More than more can help with the cost of supplies if you need us to
If you are a part of More than more, we need your help - This is a really good time, it is great to serve and to help lots of people see their value - but, it is also a ton of work - we have given away as many as 1000 pairs of shoes in 1 day in the past and this requires lots of hands and feet helping out! This is mainly for people who are part of More than more though or connected in some way - and generally not just for anyone - it is our way of sharing all the things we are learning about and receiving in More than more with other people - our chance to give back, or forward...and our opportunity to form relationships with people who need to hear/see what being really cared about is like.
If you are going to be participating (it does not have to be all day), please let us know and especially if you have not been a part before, let us know early so we can get you a More than more shirt to wear that day!
Please note, there will not be any childcare on Thursday night, we are happy to have you bring your little children and hangout, but you will need to plan to watch them - no babysitters - on Friday, kids old enough to really help are welcome and even encouraged because it is good for them to experience a day like this. Of course, all kids are welcome for the dinner after Love Your Feet at our house!
It is going to be a great time together - hope you can all make it for at least part of the day!
keep noticing...
Jason & Melissa
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Medical Outreach September 2011
So, yesterday was another great day to be a part of More than more. We spent 4 hours sharing the perspective and love that is growing inside us with about 15 patients who were not able to afford doctor visits or medications or both, along with the great, dedicated workers at Bauer Center’s Durgan location, here in Lafayette. It is a wonderful thing to be able to just share some care with someone else. You see, in our society, many times having a lack of money, insurance, resources, stuff, etc, tends to carry with it a stigma that many times leaves people feeling as if they have no value at all to society and, even worse, to the people around them. This kind of despair goes right to the heart – it leaves many people feeling as if they don’t really matter to anyone.
When we give from our hearts and our skills – whether it is medical care and medicines or nail painting or face painting or balloon animals or playing games or even just smiling and laughing and chatting about life, we do more than give medicines or good advice or give nice looking manicures…we instill hope…we donate life…we give love and purpose and the very real sense that the person we are investing in actually matters – because they do. In fact, each of us has had times in our lives (or we will) when we doubted our value, we doubted our lives and someone, somewhere, decided that they would invest in us and show us that value and that has changed everything.
Now, investing in people is not easy. We usually come face to face with the reality that we cannot possibly solve all the problems of even one of these people, much less all of them, much less all of our community, much less all of our nation, all of our world. This can leave us feeling frustrated and hurt and sad. But, we also must remember that it is not ours, alone, to work out all this – only to share our portion in our time – the rest falls to the same God we learn about in More than more and who joins us in our lives. He is the One who made hearing – who allows us to recognize faces and connects us to each other in such a wonderful way. He is the One who gives us the perspective change that makes life More than more!
I do not know what the people we served and cared for yesterday took away from the time we shared. I do not know their impressions of us, nor what is happening in their hearts today. But I do know that for those 4 hours yesterday, we were doing exactly the right thing! I also know that I have seen so many peoples’ lives changed by this idea – that there is More to life than the usual American more. That More lies in seeing the Truth in life – noticing the amazingness of the God who made us and having Him be a part of our lives. It lies in sharing life together, accepting each other, as amazing and messed up as we all are. It lies in noticing each other and sharing the amazingness with those who have yet to see it.
It is a better way to live! And if it sounds interesting, tempting, we would love to have you join us tomorrow night – 9/22/11, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
Hope to see you there – keep noticing…
When we give from our hearts and our skills – whether it is medical care and medicines or nail painting or face painting or balloon animals or playing games or even just smiling and laughing and chatting about life, we do more than give medicines or good advice or give nice looking manicures…we instill hope…we donate life…we give love and purpose and the very real sense that the person we are investing in actually matters – because they do. In fact, each of us has had times in our lives (or we will) when we doubted our value, we doubted our lives and someone, somewhere, decided that they would invest in us and show us that value and that has changed everything.
Now, investing in people is not easy. We usually come face to face with the reality that we cannot possibly solve all the problems of even one of these people, much less all of them, much less all of our community, much less all of our nation, all of our world. This can leave us feeling frustrated and hurt and sad. But, we also must remember that it is not ours, alone, to work out all this – only to share our portion in our time – the rest falls to the same God we learn about in More than more and who joins us in our lives. He is the One who made hearing – who allows us to recognize faces and connects us to each other in such a wonderful way. He is the One who gives us the perspective change that makes life More than more!
I do not know what the people we served and cared for yesterday took away from the time we shared. I do not know their impressions of us, nor what is happening in their hearts today. But I do know that for those 4 hours yesterday, we were doing exactly the right thing! I also know that I have seen so many peoples’ lives changed by this idea – that there is More to life than the usual American more. That More lies in seeing the Truth in life – noticing the amazingness of the God who made us and having Him be a part of our lives. It lies in sharing life together, accepting each other, as amazing and messed up as we all are. It lies in noticing each other and sharing the amazingness with those who have yet to see it.
It is a better way to live! And if it sounds interesting, tempting, we would love to have you join us tomorrow night – 9/22/11, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
Hope to see you there – keep noticing…
Friday, September 16, 2011
Can you HEAR me?
So, last Thursday we had a great time hanging out, laughing and being together - if you missed it - you missed out, but you can join us next Thursday night, Seoptember 22nd!!
We talked aboout how amazing our hearing is this last week. You see about the only time that most people notice their hearing is when they have a bad codl and their ears are stopped up or when they try to talk to their grandmother and she can't hear them very well. But, some of themost amazing times in our lives are because of our sense of hearing.
For example, if you hear your baby cry for the first time...or if you have waited forever to hear the words "I do"... or if you heard the wind in the trees or the song of a bird or the voice of smoeone say, "I love you." You see, our hearing is always there, doing its thing, and we do not appreciate it. Nor do we appreciate the amazingness of the God who made it so perfectly. Ever considered how amazing it is that you can hear a sound and see a picture in your head? Maybe you hear a voice on the phone and you can picture immediately the face of the person you are talking to? This is because our brain immediately connects what we hear to our thoughts - it is amazing! God made you hearing amazingly.
I have attached a link for you to check out - do not know the web site well, but the diagram is cool and the descriptions of hearing process -amazing!!
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/ear/
So, don't take your hearing for granted!! The God who went to all this trouble to make your hearing perfect did not make you to be abandoned - He made you because He wants to be involved in your life - so...thank Him. The next time you hear something just thank the God who made your hearing - and invite Him into your world - ask Him to join you in your day, to change what you notice and what you don't. It just might change your entire day!!!
If you are sick of like as usual - only noticing the things in life that you have to get done - always striving for more and more and more, consider joining us - we will be hanging out next Thursday night 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister Recreation Center,just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - as always there will be laughter, acceptance, and free childcare - we hope to see you.
We talked aboout how amazing our hearing is this last week. You see about the only time that most people notice their hearing is when they have a bad codl and their ears are stopped up or when they try to talk to their grandmother and she can't hear them very well. But, some of themost amazing times in our lives are because of our sense of hearing.
For example, if you hear your baby cry for the first time...or if you have waited forever to hear the words "I do"... or if you heard the wind in the trees or the song of a bird or the voice of smoeone say, "I love you." You see, our hearing is always there, doing its thing, and we do not appreciate it. Nor do we appreciate the amazingness of the God who made it so perfectly. Ever considered how amazing it is that you can hear a sound and see a picture in your head? Maybe you hear a voice on the phone and you can picture immediately the face of the person you are talking to? This is because our brain immediately connects what we hear to our thoughts - it is amazing! God made you hearing amazingly.
I have attached a link for you to check out - do not know the web site well, but the diagram is cool and the descriptions of hearing process -amazing!!
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/ear/
So, don't take your hearing for granted!! The God who went to all this trouble to make your hearing perfect did not make you to be abandoned - He made you because He wants to be involved in your life - so...thank Him. The next time you hear something just thank the God who made your hearing - and invite Him into your world - ask Him to join you in your day, to change what you notice and what you don't. It just might change your entire day!!!
If you are sick of like as usual - only noticing the things in life that you have to get done - always striving for more and more and more, consider joining us - we will be hanging out next Thursday night 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister Recreation Center,just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - as always there will be laughter, acceptance, and free childcare - we hope to see you.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Just FACE it
Ever wonder about faces?
So, last time we were together, I placed a picture of a face in front of Deb’s face. I gave her 1minute to look at it. At the end of 1minute, I removed the picture and then asked her to describe the face in detail – traits and all – that it might be redrawn. She was not able to give any of the details to a significant degree. Then, i handed her a photo book and asked her, instead of describing the face, to simply identify the lady in the picture (who, incidentally, she did not previously know). She flipped through the pages and easily identified the lady.
Now, this may seem perfectly obvious to you that this would happen this way, but have you ever thought about why? Have you ever stopped to notice?
What is remarkable about this is that we can easily recognize the pattern of a face without being able to describe all the details of it. Why? Well, we were made to see the importance of and the uniqueness of, people! We were made to recognize the pattern that is a human and how it is different and wonderfully created. This, in fact, is the first step in any relationship! We see someone, recognize them as unique and wonderful and then begin to know them more from there!
This is a reflection of how God made us – it is not an accident – you see, God thinks that people are the most important thing in the world and he puts that in us – hardwired into us.
You ever see someone in the mall or something and you think, “Where do I know them from?” You probably have seen them before and you are recognizing their uniqueness! This is a beautiful thing!
So, the next time that happens, consider thanking God for making you so amazingly – and for putting this value of people in you. And, invite Him into your world – ask Him to share the day with you.
Also remember that the same God who made you so amazingly would not invest all that energy in this part of you, only to abandon you in the midst of your circumstances – He made you like this because He loves you so much and that will only continue – He will not let you go! No matter how bad your circumstances are, he will be with you. And this is way cool!
Now, i realize that it might be hard to imagine that something like this could actually change your life, so many of us have so many difficult times, and this just seems so small...but at More than more we are determined to live life better than the everyday, usual American way of get more, buy more, achieve more, etc. We have found that in order to live for More, it helps to notice - and as we notice, to invite God into our lives - as we do this in lots of different places - we find that life opens up and even though our circumstances are still not necessarily any different, we see life differently.
If you are sick of the usual American life and are looking for something More - even just some people who will accept you for who you are - we would love to have you join us this Thursday night, September 8th, 2011, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
So, last time we were together, I placed a picture of a face in front of Deb’s face. I gave her 1minute to look at it. At the end of 1minute, I removed the picture and then asked her to describe the face in detail – traits and all – that it might be redrawn. She was not able to give any of the details to a significant degree. Then, i handed her a photo book and asked her, instead of describing the face, to simply identify the lady in the picture (who, incidentally, she did not previously know). She flipped through the pages and easily identified the lady.
Now, this may seem perfectly obvious to you that this would happen this way, but have you ever thought about why? Have you ever stopped to notice?
What is remarkable about this is that we can easily recognize the pattern of a face without being able to describe all the details of it. Why? Well, we were made to see the importance of and the uniqueness of, people! We were made to recognize the pattern that is a human and how it is different and wonderfully created. This, in fact, is the first step in any relationship! We see someone, recognize them as unique and wonderful and then begin to know them more from there!
This is a reflection of how God made us – it is not an accident – you see, God thinks that people are the most important thing in the world and he puts that in us – hardwired into us.
You ever see someone in the mall or something and you think, “Where do I know them from?” You probably have seen them before and you are recognizing their uniqueness! This is a beautiful thing!
So, the next time that happens, consider thanking God for making you so amazingly – and for putting this value of people in you. And, invite Him into your world – ask Him to share the day with you.
Also remember that the same God who made you so amazingly would not invest all that energy in this part of you, only to abandon you in the midst of your circumstances – He made you like this because He loves you so much and that will only continue – He will not let you go! No matter how bad your circumstances are, he will be with you. And this is way cool!
Now, i realize that it might be hard to imagine that something like this could actually change your life, so many of us have so many difficult times, and this just seems so small...but at More than more we are determined to live life better than the everyday, usual American way of get more, buy more, achieve more, etc. We have found that in order to live for More, it helps to notice - and as we notice, to invite God into our lives - as we do this in lots of different places - we find that life opens up and even though our circumstances are still not necessarily any different, we see life differently.
If you are sick of the usual American life and are looking for something More - even just some people who will accept you for who you are - we would love to have you join us this Thursday night, September 8th, 2011, from 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette.
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