Blue Like Jazz

Tonight I saw the movie, Blue Like Jazz.

My favorite book was turned into a screenplay. Like most books turned into movies, it was nothing like the book for those of you who were wondering...same kind of message, but the plot is totally different. Apparently, Penny and I look alike. Jennie and Penny...thats cute. She's awesome, so I guess I feel good about it.

Word of the day: "authenticity"

Authenticity: undisputed credibility; not false or copied; genuine

Like the book, this movie reminded me of a severely lacking authenticity of faith in our culture. At our private, Baptist University, faith is so easily copied. Its so easy to walk out your door every morning and be the same person you were yesterday. To smile the same smile and say the same things to the same people without them ever knowing how different you feel every day. This sameness kills me. A copy is the same, but not the real deal. Its value is depleted and unoriginal.

"Even our beliefs have become trend statements. We don’t even believe things because we believe them anymore. We only believe things because they are cool things to believe."

 -Donald Miller

Its cool to believe in Jesus here. You hear things like, "Jesus is my homeboy", "Me and Jesus are tight", "I don't need a boy, I'm datin' my man, Jesus"...I'll be the first to admit I have for sure said these very statements in complete sarcasm.

But, when do we ever talk about the hard things? When do we ever talk about the undisputed credibility of what it really looks like to believe and follow Jesus, especially when life gets hard? When do we admit our struggles with lust, greed, pride? Humans are a wretched breed, fallen and broken, every single one of us...we all need saving from ourselves, but we are so scared to show our own struggles and need for something bigger than anything we think we can control.

The college scene in Blue Like Jazz displays a place about as far from the "fake college christian bubble" as you can get...its the most radically different environment where normal is not cookie-cutter christian, normal is everything absurd, everything rebellious, everything anti-cliche christian. But, what most people inside the bubble don't understand is how Jesus dwells there too. Sometimes we have to let ourselves fall into complete disorder and chaos before we find meaning...there is order in chaos.

"And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time." 

-Donald Miller

So let me remind us, you and me, to get out of the boat and walk on water...do not be afraid to leave what is comfortable and safe. Do not settle for a life in the safe-zone of no challenges and like-minded people. Challenge yourself, surround yourself with people who are different than you every day. Be bold, be brave and let God show you what life is like when you die to yourself and let Him live in you. Oh and please, oh please, I give you full permission, if I am not out of the boat when you see me next time to throw me overboard and let me experience the wind and the waves...even if I appear afraid, I want nothing more than a life of walking on water with my man, JC. 

"Dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. Living for something is the hard thing. Living for something extends beyond fashion, glory, or recognition. We live for what we believe.”

-Donald Miller

"To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." 

1 Corinthians 9:22

God's plan is not a roadmap

A wonderful friend shared this with me and I want to share this with you...

"God certainly gives us glimmers of clarity, and assurance that we are where He wants us to be—but that doesn’t mean we suddenly become omniscient. Our knowing always remains in part, leaving us weak and dependent. In other words, embracing our finitude and limited understanding is exactly where God wants us to be so that our strength is in Him and not ourselves. But this wanting to know how things will play out lingers in the recesses of my mind. Perhaps it’s because I am easily fixated on what I’m doing rather than on who I am becoming. Without a doubt, when someone asks what God’s will is for their lives they really mean “what does God want me to do with my life?” They assume there is some direct bat-line to the Holy Spirit to answer that question, or there is a trick to knowing God’s will."

Read the rest of this article... http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/28933-gods-plan-isnt-a-roadmap

A Matter of the Heart

There are many things going on in my life from preparing for Teach for America Institue to graduating from college and leaving relationships and a place I have come to call home. I have found myself uneasy and in a place of little control. Time is passing quickly and I cannot, even if I want to, control several things in my life. I want it to slow down. I want it to speed up. I want to know what will happen in the future. I want to know what city in South Carolina I will be. I want to know the children's names and faces and smiles I will encounter in the duration of the next 2 years. I want to know if I can even handle this. I want to know my friends will still be there when I come back.

God has been teaching me a great deal about understanding the matters of our heart. The things we do every day, the emotions we feel, the things we seek and desire, even the littlest trivial things we say...they are ALL reflections of the condition of our hearts. Our day to day lives and what we choose to do with them are a powerful way God speaks to us.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

What it all comes down to is, do I really trust Jesus? Do I really believe in His faithfulness? We can live our lives in constant worry and anxiety about what will happen or we can reach out and grab hold of His hand. We can walk blindly knowing not where we are going, but who is leading us.

Look inside yourself and ask yourself why you care so much about where you are going? Who you are dating? Why you are feeling this way or that? What is it you are really seeking?

Perfect relevant example: we seek relationships because we really "like him or her" or "just need a boyfriend/girlfriend"...No, no really you just crave to be cared for, you crave to be loved and to know you are not alone. You want someone there to encourage you and adore you and help you on the good days and bad days. These things are not bad to desire in and of themselves, but seek Him first and these desires will be met. Relationships, whether plutonic friendships or romances, are not a means of securing your value and discovering purpose, they are a reflection of the way He first loved us. They are a reminder of Him. The way we love others should be a natural response to knowing Him and what He has done for you. Relationships are about sacrifice in response to the way Jesus loved and continues to love you.

What are things you crave today? What are your insecurities and what can they teach you about what God is trying to say to you?

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

..and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure. Isa. 33:6