it seems like i’ve been around a lot of discussion centered around prayer in the past few weeks; more than usual. earlier in the week at staff meeting, our school principle shared about his experience seeking God with a request and at the same time being convicted of praying incredibly specifically. his thoughts have been with me a lot the past few days. on wed. night, the sr. high group got into a big discussion on prayer and hearing from God as well. one of the thoughts that came to me was why do can i so easily slip into praying in generalities, ie. bless this person, bless my job, heal her, etc. i’m not saying praying for blessing and healing are wrong – don’t go there. but am i praying in generalities out of apathy toward that person/situation? am i praying in generalities because then i’m not as invested in the outcome, so i don’t question if it’s not answered how i want it to be? am i guarding myself against that? maybe.
this came to a head this morning in the opening sentence of my utmost for his highest for today, march 30.
“the reason many of us leave off praying and become hard towards God is because we only have a sentimental interest in prayer.”
shoot. preach it Os.
if i’m passionate and invested in coffee, i take the time to be specific in what beans i buy, how i brew it, etc. if i’m passionate and invested in an xbox game, i don’t play it with only part of my attention – i’m dialed in. if i’m passioante and invested about praying and seeking God, maybe i should act the same way.
attendance: average topic: what do you seek? fun factor: average music: average lesson quality: average student response: above average
it was a really good night last night, even though we were short a few of our volunteer leaders due to health issues. our self appointed student hostess made s’mores in the microwave for everyone as they came in – tight. after that we went outside for a great game of ultimate (frisbee, that is). had a short time of worship, acoustic, just me and Salim. i lead sr. high through some OT & NT scriptures dealing with God not hiding from us when we seek him. That went into a time of group discussion on what we seek from Jesus. All in all, it was one of the better nights we’ve had in recent memory.
Quarters are like gold.
Two meals a day is standard.
Road trip whenever possible.
Going to the mailbox was never an ego booster/breaker before.
You will begin to nap again.
Your bookstore bill will almost equal tuition.
Squirt guns = stress relief.
E-mail becomes your second language.
It’s easier to IM your roommate than turn around and talk to them.
College students throw paper airplanes too.
You never realized so many people were smarter than you.
You will never rent more movies in your life.
No one is too old for video games.
Care packages are right up there with birthdays.
Campus is only clean for family weekend and freshman orientation.
Nothing you want to register for will be open.
Beware of the freshman 15. Or 30. Or 70.
Be creative in the dining hall.
You are no longer thankful that fire alarms are here to protect you.
Asleep by 2:30 AM is an early night.
Cereal makes a meal any time of the day.
New additions to food groups: Ramen, Pizza, and generic Mac & Cheese.
ATMs are the devils advocate.
Duct tape heals all wounds.
Keys have never been so important, yet you seem to lose them even more.
Showers become less important, sleep becomes more important.
You will eat anywhere that is a buffet.
You realize college is the ideal lifestyle, except for those pesky
classes.
Procrastination is an art form.
Jeans may be worn as many times as the wearer desires.
The only time to dress up is when all your jeans are dirty.
Youll eat anything if its free.
College football is the coolest thing on the planet.
Cartoons are for all ages, especially Scooby Doo.
There’s always time for Halo.
- vanilla coke was by far the best. period. they should not have ditched it to add more flavors.
- coke with lime. good with tostitos with a hint of lime.
- cherry coke zero is miles above coke zero or any diet variety.
- i’m ridiculously surprised by pepsi jazz. i don’t like diet soda, but i’ll drink pepsi jazz. my one shout out to pepsi.
- coke blak is good, but too expensive for what it is.
- one should always have a 2 liter of regular coke in the fridge at all times.
i’m sitting in the waiting room of an oral surgeon, waiting for bethany to have her wisdom teeth removed. hopefully it won’t be a long or painful recovery time for her…wisdom teeth are crazy like that; some people rebound almost immediately, others take a week for the swelling to go down. either way, we’re stocked with the soft foods at home. here’s to a great start of the week.
ghetro, adjective: A person possessing the qualities of both ‘metro’ (a heterosexual being of a high style, ie. high need for arrangement of belongings; multiple pairs of the same shoes in different clolors) and ‘ghetto’ (urban/inner city, ie. FuBu; L’il John). Coined on March 22, 2006 by Karl Fisher, this term was originally used to describe Randy Riesterer.
“we can’t expect an organization that isn’t a christian organization to act like a christian organization. that’s like getting mad at a duck because it acts like a duck; ‘all you do is quack. stupid duck.’”
i try to read a little ‘my utmost for his highest‘ my oswald chambers when i get into the office in the morning. this morning was titled ‘friendship with God’, which actually turned me off a little, since one of my all time least favorite worship songs is friend of God; more on that later sometime. ugh. anyway.
this is quote from the passage: “to be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will…all your commonsense decisionsare His will for you unless He checks…”
there are some great points in this passage, but this is what hit me the hardest. i’m facing some possible big decisions over the next months, and it’s been heavy on me as both a follower of Jesus, a husband, and a minister. what i want is hat chambers wrote, to be in such intimacy with God that i can discern and very much hear from Him in my direction and decisions…i don’t want to feel dependent on what others are telling me God is saying to them about me. if my wife has something to say to me, she’ll tell me. why? because we have an intimate relationship. she won’t tell someone else to then tell it to me. that’s what i want to have with God.
