Meet My Friend

I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine.
She's actually quite close to my family and me.
She lives a little drive away, but comes over often because she is my brother's bestest friend.

She loves to cook and be goofy.
She loves to swim and play her piano.
She loves to take pictures and wear feathers in her hair.

But most of all she loves Jesus.
She loves Jesus with her whole heart.

Her name is Emily Joy.
And her name is quite appropriate.

Here is her blog.
Read it.
I can't explain everything that's going on in her life, because it's a ton.
Just imagine horrible pain throughout your body and hundreds of medical tests resulting in a prescription in a radical change of lifestyle and habits.
The LORD has called her worthy to go through this and I am honored to know such a woman so willing to obey His command.

Emily's Blog: Because You Shine

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Dear Emmi,

I thank God whom I serve as I remember you in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother and your mother and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame...the gift of God, which is in you, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. You count it all joy, my sister, when you fall into various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let that steadfastness have its full effect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Blessed is the daughter of Christ who remains steadfast under trial, for when she has stood the test, she will receive that crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.

Blue Like Jazz Round 2

So I sat down for a second time to read the book “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. As I have stated before in my other ‘recollections’ of his writings, I’m not wholly on-board with his theology, but he does give good viewpoints and nuggets worth pondering.
This second time I read a few chapters. They were longer than the others, but had a good story line throughout.
They talked about his experience going to one of the most ‘god-less’ schools in America and how refreshing it was. He talked about meeting people, talking to them, and engaging them in intellectual conversation. He told a few stories, then climaxed with the redemption of a good friend who had turned her back on God. It was a beautiful piece of the book and probably one of the sections I would agree with most.
Miller especially hit on the problem of Christians today who sit in their perfect Christian bubble and don’t live their life among real, thinking people. Christians have stopped thinking and smart people view them as ignorant because they have no apologetic.
It was hard to find specific quotes from the section that stood out to me because you must read it as a whole and that is too much for me to type tonight (and possibly illegal ). But at the end of my section, I found this portion to hit me. Might not hit you in the same way as I, but it certainly has caused me to think about what I love and what I do.

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“And that’s the tricky thing about life, really, that the things we want most will kill us. Tony the Beat Poet read me this ancient scripture recently that talked about loving either darkness or loving light, and how hard it is to love light and how easy it is to love darkness. I think that is true. Ultimately, we do what we love to do. I like to think that I do things for the right reasons, but I don’t, I do things because I do or don’t love doing them. Because of sin, because I am self-addicted, living in the wreckage of the fall, my body, my heart, and my affections are prone to love things that kill me. Tony says Jesus gives us the ability to love the things we should love, the things of Heaven. Tony says that when people who follow Jesus love the right things, they help create God’s kingdom on earth, and that is something beautiful.

“I found myself trying to love the right things without God’s help, and it was impossible. I tried to go one week without thinking a negative thought about another human being, and I couldn’t do it. Before I tried that experiment, I thought I was a nice person, but after trying it, I realized I thought bad things about people all day long, and that, like Tony says, my natural desire was to love darkness.

“My answer to this dilemma was self-discipline. I figured I could just make myself do good things, think good thoughts about other people, but that was no easier than walking up to a complete stranger and falling in love with them. I could go through the motions for a while, but sooner or later my heart would testify to its true love: darkness. Then I would get up and try again. The cycle was dehumanizing.”

(page 77)

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(Sounded to me like Benjamin Franklin’s endeavors.)

Blue Like Jazz Round 1

Some quotes that intrigued me in my first sitting of a “Blue Like Jazz” reading.
The book was written by Donald Miller.
I just finished his “sequel” to this book called “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” and you can read my review of it here.
I’m not completely on board with his theology per se, but I connect with his writing style and the fact that he looks at the world through a right-brained perspective as I personally do.

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“Some people skip through life; some people are dragged through it…

I believe the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man’s mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God.”

(page 13)

“If you don’t love somebody, it bets annoying when they tell you what to do or what to feel. When you love them you get pleasure from their pleasure, and it makes it easy to serve. I didn’t love God because I didn’t know God.”

(page 14)

“It is hard for us to admit we have a sin nature because we live in this system of checks and balances. If we get caught, we will be punished. But that doesn’t make us good people; it only makes us subdued. Just think about the Congress and Senate and even the president. The genius of the American system is not freedom; the genius of the American system is checks and balances. Nobody gets all the power. Everybody is watching everybody else. It is as if the founding fathers knew, intrinsically, that the soul of man, unwatched, is perverse.”

(page 18)

“I think the devil has tricked us into thinking so much of biblical theology is story fit for kids. How did we come to think the story of Noah’s ark is appropriate for children? Can you imagine a children’s book about Noah’s ark complete with paintings of people gasping in gallons of water, mothers grasping their children while their bodies go flying down white-rapid rivers, the children’s tiny heads being bashed against rocks or hung up in fallen trees? I don’t think a children’s book like that would sell many copies.

I couldn’t give myself to Christianity because it was a religion for the intellectually naive. In order to believe Christianity, you either had to reduce enormous theological absurdities into children’s stories or ignore them. The entire thing seemed very difficult for my intellect to embrace.”

(pages 30 & 31)

Notorious

"After this He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth.

And He said to him, 'Follow Me.'

And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him.

And Levi made Him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.

And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at His disciples, saying,

'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?'

And Jesus answered them,

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.'"

~~~~~~Luke 5:27-32~~~~~~

What am I known for?
Do I have a bad reputation because I hang out with the social outcasts and crowds that people don't like?

Jesus did.

He partied with the "unspiritual" ones who the "faithful" ones despised.

These tax collectors and sinners were nasty to them.

Jesus' life orbited around these sinners.

What would Jesus do?

Story

So this is somewhat of a reflection on a book I recently read.
It's called "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" and it was written by Donald Miller.
I wouldn't say this book was "theologically sound," but it was inspiring. Inspiring for someone who is already aware of the ultimate fulfillment found in Christ alone.
The book is the story about Miller's experience of writing a movie script of his life. He realizes he is not a very exciting person and from this endeavor flows a desire to get off the couch, turn off the TV, and live life.
Miller believes in God and in heaven. However, I didn't gather he believes in the sinful nature of man. Sure, this is picky, but I kept waiting for him to get to the punch line that every man is desperately wicked and hope is only found in Christ. Instead, Miller comes to the conclusion of containing a positive attitude about people and that they are "good." Miller does take a small portion to talk about God as the Great Writer of our story, but does not run with that concept.
All in all, this book did inspire me to live a memorable life. To do things different.

I would not use it as a guiding source of knowledge, but it was a pleasant, quick read. Miller is a talented and artistic writer, so you might want to pick it up sometime if you have a few spare hours.

Here are some sections of the book I found interesting that caused me to think:

     "I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable, then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants.

     But I've noticed something. I've never walked out of a meaningless movie thinking all movies are meaningless. I only thought the movie I walked out on was meaningless. I wonder, then, if when people say life is meaningless, what they really mean is their lives are meaningless. I wonder if they've chosen to believe their whole existence is unremarkable, and are projecting their dreary life on the rest of us" (page 59, 60).

     "A lot of people think a writer has to live in order to write, has to meet people and have a rich series of experiences or his work will become dull. But that is drivel. It's an excuse a writer uses to take the day off, or the week or the month off for that matter...

     People who live good stories are too busy to write about them. Nobody ever strapped a typewriter to the back of an elephant and wrote a novel while hunting wild game...

     I only say this because part of the reason my life had become uninspiring is I'd sat down to earn a living. Literally, I sat in a chair and typed words. And that's fine, because I like the work, and it pays the rent...I didn't want to live in words anymore; I wanted to live in sweat and pain...

     My desire to live a better story didn't motivate me to do anything...

     Here's the truth about telling stories with your life. It's going to sound like a great idea, and you are going to get excited about it, and then when it comes time to do the work, you're not going to want to do it. It's like that with writing books, and it's like that with life. People love to have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it happen. But joy costs pain...

     A general rule in creating stories is that characters don't want to change. They must be forced to change. Nobody wakes up and starts chasing a bad guy or dismantling a bomb unless something forces them to do so. ..

     The rule exists in story because it's a true thing about people. humans are designed to seek comfort and order, and so if the have comfort and order, they tend to plant themselves, even if their comfort isn't all that comfortable. And even if they secretly want for something better" (page 97-100).

Sara

Last fall, a fellow student walked onto the stage of the Psalm Center.
Her name was Sara.
She had what looked like a knee that couldn't bend, short pixie haircut pulled back in a headband, and a beautiful smile that reached to the farthest seat.
Sara was a senior communications student and she was standing in front of us to share her story.

In the summer of 2009, cancer was discovered in her knee.
Many surgeries were performed along with chemotherapy.
She ended up with a titanium knee and hip in October 2009.
Then she went through multiple lung surgeries that winter.

She spoke on how it was so hard.
She wanted to give up and go Home to Jesus.
But it wasn't time yet.
Tears poured down my face as she shared.
She displayed love and obedience to Christ even through this fatiguing battle.

She returned in the fall of 2010 to finish her senior year at Corban University.
I never personally met her, but her positive attitude and contagious smile was encouraging to me when I'd see her around campus.

In January, the student body was notified that the cancer had made a resurgence.
It would not let up this time.
Corban decided to award her an honorary communication degree because of all her hard work and the work of other students who helped to fulfill her remaining community service credits.
A special ceremony was arranged in her living room with the school's president, vice president, and her family.


For a few weeks I hadn't heard an update on how she was doing.
This week,
          finals week,
                     the week before she would graduate,
                                             I got an e-mail from the school.

On Monday night, our prayers were answered.
Sara was completely healed.
This fellow saint was delivered into Jesus' arms to worship Him for the rest of eternity.
She is now dancing and praising Him in the absence of pain.

I don't pity her.
I envy her.
She's in heaven, free of the bonds of this fallen world!

Sometimes I think the church focuses on the earth too much.
Guys!
Let's get excited about heaven!

Sara can do anything now...
Save one thing.

She can't share her story with those still on earth.
She can't share the greatness of the One who carried her through the suffering.
While she was still here, she was faithful to do so

But it's our turn now.
I'm sure she doesn't regret any time she shared the Gospel with someone.
She can't witness now, but we can.
There's no telling what Sara's posthumous testimony can accomplish for the Gospel.

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For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face...

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;

but the greatest of  these is love...

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect,

that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing....

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,

for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life,

which God has promised to those who love Him.

~~~~~~~~1 Corinthians 13:12-13, James 1:2-4, 12~~~~~~~~

One Year Ago Today...

Probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
Yet one of the most joyous one as well.

• Saying "goodbye" "See Y'all Later" to some of my most beloved friends and favorite people in the world.
• Squealing "EEEEEEEEK" and waving my hands back and forth with Stina because of Wiebe.
• Oh ya, I forgot a sliver of that heart...

I'll never forget the times I spent as a student at Jackson Hole Bible College.
The good, the bad, and sometimes even the ugly.
I learned so much more than how to study Greek, Hebrew, Church History, and Romans.
I learned how to live.
How to work hard and play harder (Mr. Pellerin).
How to love, laugh, cry, and grow.

Some of my dearest memories include, but are not limited to...

• Late night euchre
• Settler weekends with Tim, Shannon, Tom, and Izze
• Teaching P.E. to a dozen wonderful young ladies
• Hiking and skiing the pass
• Shuttling the sick and maimed to the E.R.
• Playing music at church
• Long road trips (18 hour bus ride! Ya!)
• Creating the perfect woman...
• Blowing up water bottles in the guy's dorm - that I definitely didn't enter ;)
• REPRESENT! JESUS!
• Work days and country music
• "What about Mars?!" complete with customized tees
• I'M WEARING GREEN, YOU'RE WEARING GREEN, WE'RE ALL WEARING GREEN...I LOVE GREEN!!!!!!
• Dancing the night away with Dance Master Caleb
• "I'll tell you when you're older..."
• Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy, Phlegmatic 
• "Shiprolouse!"

Mr. BAM Bot also lovingly gave a speech at graduation that pretty much sums up the school year.

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"O LORD, You have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

You discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay You hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high;

I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from Your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from You presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there!

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there You hand shall lead me, and You right hand shall hold me...

For You formed my inward parts;

You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are You works;

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes say my unformed substance;

in Your book were written,

every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with You...

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

~~~~~~~~~Psalm 139:1-10, 13-18, 23-24~~~~~~~~~