Intoxicating

So today was multicultural day or something like that in Chapel. For some people it’s a day off, for others it’s a chance to represent your heritage and culture, and for others it’s just another day. For me it was just another chaotic-three hours of sleep-day. However God decided to just turn my day upside down. All I knew going into today was that there was going to be songs in Hmong. It turns out that there was a song in Hmong, Spanish, and English. There was scripture reading in Thai and prayer in Chinese. It was really amazing to worship God together in one heart but different languages.
Galatians 4:3-6 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
What really struck me was afterwards I had a few minutes so I was walking around chatting it up, and I saw this girl all by herself just crying. Now this was only slightly awkward. So I was going around trying to find a girl to pray with her and finally found someone. It turns out that this girl was so moved by God and this chapel it just brought her to tears as she sat there and sobbed for a good five minutes. How amazing is that? It’s been a while since I have taken time out of my busy life to stop and just bask in God glory to the point that I cried. God is so bigger than we give Him credit for. This just really touched me that someone was so touched by God this morning that I had to blog about it even though I’m in class
My prayer for today comes from the David Crowder’s Intoxicating “Inebriating You are to me. Completely captivating You are to see. Sending my world spinning You are, You see”

Questions and Prayer

So tomorrow, well today, I am starting a Bible study with a group of guys. It is in these moments that I begin to wonder a lot of things and begin to ask more questions that usual. I begin to wonder things like, “will anyone actually show up”, “will this Bible study be beneficial to those who attend”, “am I prepared enough for this”, “am I the right person to be facilitating this”, “am I going into this for the right motives”, and “will God be glorified during this time through the growth of fellowship and discipleship”? It is in these times that make me question myself even more beyond the realms of this Bible study and ask hard questions about myself. I wonder “am I really becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ”, “am I an effective tool for The Kingdom”, “do people truly accept me for me with all of my faults as well as my gifts or am I just being humored”, and “is the Simpson Community, and those around me better off and being built up from God working through me”, or “am I just doing what I want, ignoring God’s desires for my life, and tearing people and this community down”? Some of these questions I feel God has answered, some left unanswered, and some are yet to be seen. I know that I want to serve God with all my heart. I want love God more every day and become a better disciple of him, and I want to help others do the same. There is however a difference between intentions and actions.
Now I’m sure this might sounds rather pessimistic or even self destructive, but I believe that it is good for us from time to time to sit back and ponder such questions as these. It is good for us to turn introspectively and examine our life and our motives for what we do. I ask these questions not to bring myself down, but I ask these questions in the hope that I might continue to be sharpened so that I might be a more effective tool for The Kingdom. As for the Bible study, I am excited about it, slightly scared but excited. One would think that you would get use to things like this after leading Bible studies for years now, but part of it still scares me.
My prayer is this that God would be in control. I pray that my motives would be pure, my heart would beat in sync with God’s heart, and that I would follow his leading always. I pray that God would be glorified, and that true community would be formed. I pray that this group would find true communion amongst each other and put God at the center.
Sorry if this blog was a little confusing, I’m quite tired and now I’m off to bed.

Good and Hairy Moments

So I am now back at school and into the full swing of things. Today was our first chapel and it was a praise and worship chapel. In all honesty I have been slightly dreading this chapel because whenever there is music for chapel I only get 3-4 hours of sleep and most of the time that means that two nights a week I get no sleep. So I realized yesterday how much I had actually been dreading this thought. So yesterday I decided that I need to train someone else to set up at night so I can get more sleep because my sleep, health, and sanity are worth far more. I will still do sound, just not setup. Anywho because of this fact I got up at 6:15 this morning so I could shower and pack my bag for class. Part of my getting ready this morning involved shaving, which normally quite the mundane task is a challenge with little to no light as so to not wake my roommate up. Now fast forward to the middle of the day when I had to go to the bathroom and upon looking in the mirror I realized that I had missed a large spot on the bottom under my chin. I was now faced with the realization that I had gone around all morning with one awkward and hairy splotch under my chin. Now I like to think that I’m not really a self-conscious person. I wear what I want because I like it, and yes I love my pink shirt, and I act the way I do because… well there is probably something wrong with me. I like to think that I don’t care about what other people think of me, but I was surprised at how self-conscious I became upon realizing my rather hairy mistake, and that NO ONE had said anything about it. There was nothing I could do about it except wait for class to be over, which was several hours from this point. In all reality it probably wasn’t that noticeable and for the most part it really did slip my mind for the rest of the day. I guess this whole ordeal is just an eye opener that, I’m not as perfect. It is also good to know that my friends are my friends not because of what I am on the outside but who I am on the inside. Either that or my friends are not as close as I give them credit for, but I doubt that because they all are truly amazing people. So back to this morning, we had some technical difficulties during chapel, but the band did amazing and God was glorified through song, prayer, communion, and fellowship which was absolutely amazing, and makes the three hours of sleep I got last night worth every moment to know that I could be an instrument in helping provide that time for others. God is good all the time even when the world around me isn’t.

Marinating in God and Work

I guess I begin to write this because I am in writing mood. Odd I know, I guess I must be ready to go back to school or something crazy like that. This break has been not what I would have expected, but it has been awesome. I spent the first week doing absolutely nothing but watching TV and hanging out with people. The last two weeks have been overrun with work. I was blessed to pick up work with my old boss (in construction) who is currently trying to finish off his house, so we have been going full bore. Between Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I work 30 hours and if you include Monday, that makes it an even 40. Needless to say that I spent my Christmas trying to catch up on sleep and fell asleep by 12:20 on New Years. It has been good though, despite still being a little tired and sore. My favorite part of this trip has to be going with Matt, Brian, and James to Jenna and Ian’s hometown of Oakhurst, for their 24 worship session. I can’t think of a better way to work my way into this next semester than by serving God with the gifts and talents that he has given me and by taking time to worship Him with my friends. Maybe its being tired, maybe it’s the joy of having a day off of work, I’m not sure, but right now of is one of those moments where I feel completely wrapped in the love, peace, and joy of God. It’s amazing to just feel at peace and full of God’s joy. It may be only for a short season but I am enjoying it while it lasts. I do look forward to going back to school, I miss all my friends there and I am excited to see them again, but it is always odd when one season comes to an end and another begins even when the season to come is good. In the mean time I will enjoy hanging out with my friends for this last little bit of carefree time marinating in God’s love and praising Him with my heart, my soul, my mind, and my strength. God is good. And the worship team did an absolutely amazing Job, it truly is a blessing to serve along side you guys.