What A Night

On Saturday, the Oakwood staff traveled to Cleveland to listen to Rob Bell speak at the Allen Playhouse. We began this journey by not using directions and just going by what we knew about the area which was very little. We actually got off on the right exit and ended up on the right road but turned off because of construction but later found out from a cop that we asked that it was the right road. From then I knew this night was going to be amazing.

Before going into see Rob Bell, we got coffee at this very cool coffee shop called Moko and ate at an amazing little restaurant called Otto Mosor. These places also solidified the fact that the night was going to be great.

When we went into the Allen Playhouse we looked for our seats. As we began walking toward the stage and with each row we passed I became happier and happier not because I thought that we were better than the people sitting behind us but because I am a people watcher so I knew that I would be less distracted by sitting this close. Once again confirming this night would be awesome.

This would be where I would talk about what Rob Bell talked about but I am going to save that for a later post.

On our way back we stopped at an Applebees and had appetizers and drinks. We had a super cool waitress and the people in the restaurant probably thought that we were either drunk or just absolutely crazy. We had a very good discussion at Applebees. All of this again proved to be another reason why this night was great.

After our stop at Applebees, we began our trek back to school and Travis, Steb, Joe, and I had a pretty cool discussion about weakness and sin which made the trip back seem very short (almost too short ha). Icing on the cake to top off an amazing trip and night.

This trip was one of the most amazing things I have ever been a part of. I wish every trip could be this awesome and I wish that everyone could be a part of a trip like this at some time in their lives. Oh what goodness comes from good fellowship.

Bonding

It is crazy to think that the guys in this dorm have grown this close in such a short amount of time and what is sad is that takes a bad situation for us to really realize it.

Recently a guy on my floor has had some major medical problems and it is amazing to see how the guys here have come together to pray for him. These guys have grown so close in such a short amount of time and it is absolutely incredible to see this happen and is the reason why I wanted to be a part of this community.

If you are interested in information about what I have talked about go to the link that I will post and continue to pray for a speedy recovery.

http://mvnu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7507502819&ref=nf

recognition

So tonight I went to a freshman seminar about relationships. I was just going to see how funny the video was and how they edited me into it. It turned out that I got a lot more out of it than just seeing a funny video.

While I was sitting there watching the video and listening to what the freshman had to say and their responses to questions that were raised, I realized just how much these freshman are just like I was when I was in the position.

Young. Immature. Naive. Unsure. Thinks that everyone should do what they say and believe what they believe.

Now being their RA it is my job to get them to the place where they are truely ready to learn about religion. relationship. life. respect.

How do I do that? How do I go from the person that is learning to the person that is teaching?

I guess the only way to answer that question is to be myself, be intentional, and pray that God will move through me to make a positive impact on the lives of these freshman guys.

God allow me to be transparent so that these guys that I live with will see You shining through me and work on these young men hearts so that they will be willing to see their need for You.

Break Me Week?

I guess I just don't understand it. I think it is a good idea. I think it raises awareness for the homeless and all that but I feel like something is missing.

For those who do not know what I am talking about my school does a simulation that puts students in a situation where they are "homeless" for a week. They sign up for it and all they have is cardboard for shelter, whatever food that they can find (and only if someone else offers them food), they can't shower and the only time that they can use a computer is to do homework.

Like I said earlier the people who do this for a week volunteer for it knowing that the end of it is very soon and they know where to find food. The real homeless don't have any idea how long they will be out on the streets, they do not know where to find food, and they have no idea what is in store for them in the future.

I heard someone say that one of the reasons they do this is because of the community that gets built with the people that are out there with them. WHY IN THE WORLD DOES IT TAKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO BUILD COMMUNITY WITH THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU?

I know that we should focus on helping others and spreading the Gospel but what happens when we neglect the people closest to us?

Sometimes I feel like we neglect those around us because we feel like they will be around us forever. What will happen when we graduate and move away from each other and get jobs and stuff? Is that going to be the time that we finally reach out to each other because we are not right beside each other anymore?

I guess I am just frustrated because all I have been hearing about lately is how we have to help all of these people when there is so much hurt going on with the people that we live with on this campus..

Your Life Matters

On Friday morning, Dave Curtiss spoke on the last day of Fall Revival here at school. That morning he spoke on the subject if "Your Life Matters". He used a few references from the book of Luke, mainly Luke 10:8-9 and 13:18-19.

He had a lot of quotes during the morning that I would like to share with you. The first one is "Your life can make an impact on the Kingdom of God." Although it is a phrase that many people have probably heard before it is always a good thing to be reminded of. Another quote was "Your life [once you are saved] is meant to be on display not just locked up in the church." I think that sometimes we get in the habit of saying that we are going to do all of this stuff but it never makes it past the doors of the church.

A part of his "sermon" that I thought was especially interesting was when he talked about Luke 13:18-19. The verse says "Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." Curtiss said that there is more to verse than most people realize. Mustard plants actually have a very large root that keeps them planted firmly in the ground. I don't know how many of you have seen a mustard plant, I know I haven't but when I think about it for some reason I think of a small plant that isn't very big. I looked it up just to see a plant for myself and it is pretty big and the root base is very big. I guess Jesus knew what He was talking about. ha ha

The big thing that stuck out to me in Curtiss' message on Friday morning though was when he told a story about a women who was a nonbeliever in his church in California. She had watched one of the Left Behind movies and said to Dave that in the movie when all the Christians are taken off of the earth that the world was just the same and it might have upgraded. It just looks like you guys aren't having much of an impact because your presence sure wasn't missed. WOW!!! I know she got that from a movie and not all movies are real and blah blah blah. The thing that I get from this is that we need to get out and make an impact on the people around us as much as we can. There are many forms that this can take on and I might get into that in a different blog because I think that this one is long enough.

Thoughts from the last two gatherings

2 Cor. 12:7-10

In verse 9 Jesus says that His grace is made sufficient to us and that His power is made perfect in our weakness.

This is said after Peter talks about his visions and how God allowed Satan to put a thorn in his side and after Peter asked God to take it out.

Peter goes on to say that he will no longer boast in the great things but upon his weakness because God's power is made perfect in our weakness.

How many times do I boast about how great I am or how awesome I am and never give God the credit for anything?

A question asked during our last gather was "Does offering grace result in death?" How crazy is that question?

I think that this question is not talking about physical death. I think that it is talking about a death to our worldly selves and a death to what the world thinks of us.

The question that immediately came to my mind after thinking about the answer to that question was "If offering grace result in death, does offering grace result in life?" I believe so. I believe that when we show grace to others we find new life in Jesus. In Matthew 25:40 Jesus says "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." I believe that this is saying that when we show grace to others we show grace to God because He shows us grace all of the time. So it becomes a sort of cycle type of thing. That since God shows grace to us we should show grace to others like God shows grace to us. Through showing grace to other I believe that Jesus is giving us new life and thus offering grace results in life and not just life here on earth but also eternal life in heaven.

I am not saying that works is the way to heaven but that offering grace is a way that we show God's love to people.

Studying......

So most of today was spent studying....not only for tests but also what God has been doing and will continue to in my life and the life of others.

Tonights discussion was about what grace is and what grace looks like.

One of the things that was said and is something that i never really put much thought into is that grace looks different to everyone. To one person grace is being taken out of a bad situation. To another grace is the impact that someone had on them.

God's grace is with us all the time whether we recognize it or not. How crazy is that? How does God show everyone grace all of the time and and in ways that everyone can recognize it?

A question raised in this discussion was "How do we go about being bearers of grace?"

The more I think about this question the more I think about how I interact with the people around me everyday. Am I a "grace bearer" or do I just go about my day doing what is best for me? I just wonder what I can do better to be that "grace bearer" for the people around me.

I guess that is prayer....Lord allow me to be someone who brings grace to people everyday and show everyone I come in contact with the love that You show me.

Fellowship

Fellowship is something that I had always struggled to understand until I came to college. Being thrown into a small dorm with a large number of guys that you have never met before and trying to get along them and live with them.

My freshman year I didn’t experience it.

My sophomore year I experienced a little bit.

My junior year I am experiencing more than ever.

Maybe I should talk about what I think fellowship is. I think that fellowship is just giving your time to others and having conversations with those people. These conversations can be meaningful or just talking about sports scores or just talking about anything. I think that amazing things can come from fellowship.

Fellowship can reach people in a way that a lot of other types of ministries can't. I am excited to see how he is going to use the ministry of fellowship that he has allowed me to be a part of to affect those around me.

Thank you for this opportunity

thoughts

i had an interesting conversation with a random person last night.

it began with the question of why does God make us think so much. her thinking was that God wahts to see how far we can use the power of intelligence that He gave us.

that made me think a little.

what if God gave us the ability to choose one option but made us think of all of the option before we can choose one.

i know that i will never be able to answer this question but it is something to discuss and think about.

(hey what do you know something to make us think)

New and different

This is very new and different for me.

I am not good at expressing what i think and feel in words but i am willing try.

So this will be where i express things about me and what i am thinking.

Hopefully it will be insightful and sometimes funny.