Domino Joy

It's been a whirlwind of a week. I got to spend a few days at camp at the beginning of the week, which was so refreshing. I got to spend quite a bit of time with my closest friends there. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to spend it with everyone that wanted it, but that's life.

I have written about this so many times, but I have seen so many answered prayers this year. This week is no different. I was feeling quite down on Thursday; mostly missing camp and friends in GR. Then Tyler told me that he led a camper to Christ. There was no better way to brighten my day. Not just my day, but my summer. It gave me unspeakable amounts of joy. It is a longer story than this, but it turned out to be a huge answer to his and my prayers.

It just keeps going though, because of this story and my lifted spirits, I've been able to encourage many people since Thursday night. It's kind of a domino effect. I hope it keeps going. Would you pray that it keeps going? If there is one thing that God is teaching me this year, it's that He answers prayer.

Disciple

I posted a Facebook status about this yesterday, but I wanted to get into this a little more. I've been discipling 2 guys for a year or more now and I've realized something important. I am forced to grow exceedingly when I am in this position. When I am a leader and a teacher I am held to a higher standard than otherwise. When otherwise it seemed so easy to plateau and coast through life, I now find myself with no where to go but to grow spiritually. It's really cool.
This isn't why I started this journey of discipling, but a much welcomed side-effect. I started because I care a lot about these guys and I wanted to help them grow closer to the Lord. Yet, what kind of a leader would I be if I wasn't doing what I was teaching? Talk about motivation.

If you are not making disciples and being a spiritual leader in someone's life, you are seriously robbing yourself of massive growth. If you want to get serious about becoming more Christ-like and serious about improving your relationship with God, then you need to mentor someone. Don't wait until you have time, because it will never happen.

Tyler and Alex, if you're reading this, you mean so much to me. I love you guys.

Community: Die to Yourself

Right now I'm reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I'm almost through it, and I could have been finished with it a week ago if I didn't spend so much time playing Minecraft. I am enjoying the relaxation though.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book so far.

I just finished a chapter where he talks about living in a house with 5 other guys. I can relate. He talked about the struggles of sharing space and sharing lives. I can relate.
I love this though; this is how he ended the chapter. It was a dialogue between him and someone he had observed. "I asked him how he kept such a good attitude all of the time with so many people abusing his kindness. Bill set down his coffee and looked me in the eye. 'Don,' he said. 'If we are not willing to wake up in the morning and die to ourselves, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether or not we are really following Jesus.'"

I'm not suggesting that my friends at the Man Sanctum abused any kindness I might have shown. What I am suggesting is that this is the only way that Christian community works. We have to die to ourselves daily; part of which means realizing that the world is not a play staring me. No legitimate Christian community takes place without this; and if you read the New Testament, you see that Christian community is vitally important in our lives.

Sometimes that means doing the dishes all the time because no one else does, even if I didn't make any of them dirty. But I'm not tooting my own horn here; this comes with the realization that I neglect other things and fall short of people's expectations in other ways. I have a habit of leaving my junk around the house; the list could go on for a while. The key to community is grace. A grace that only comes from the ultimate grace that Christ has shown us.

If you don't die to yourself - in other words, kill your pride - then you have to ask yourself if you're really following Christ. "He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a Cross."

An Internship Away

This has always been my blog for contemplating and sharing my personal life, thoughts, and questions, and it will continue to be that; thanks for being here with me. I have a separate blog now for times when I want to write about my thoughts on a scriptural passage or other studies like that. If you are interested, you can find it here:
http://cecilandmeridith.blogspot.com/
The first 6 posts were an assignment on Genesis 3:1-7. Nevertheless, they should be interesting.


So here I am. The only thing left for college is an internship and one 3 credit course that I will take at the same time. I guess I'm all grown up now. It feels a little strange. I'm a little anxious because I don't know what I'm going to do with my life yet, but I have a new peace about that. I am more relaxed now than I can ever remember. There's nothing hanging over my head. It's wonderful.

I feel very blessed right now.

A Different Approach

I would like to make an amendment to my previous post. I'm not disagreeing with anything I said then; I would just like to add to it.

I've spent a considerable amount of time seeking the Lord's will for my life; earnestly seeking what He would have me do, where He would have me go, and how He would have me do it.

I'm changing my approach. I don't care about these things. I desire to know God more. That's all that matters to me. God, reveal yourself more to me everyday.

It seems so obvious now. As I grow in my relationship with Christ, His will for my life will become clear. In the meantime, as a wise friend told me, "just keep doing the last thing God told you to do until you're sure that he's told you to do something else."
I can do that. So much stress just left my life.

-Nate

Decisions

It's late, but that's when my brain tends to think deeper.

I had been fasting and praying, which concluded at the prayer gathering at the Deltaplex Saturday night. The purpose was two-fold. The secondary purpose was to seek the Lord's will in my up-coming major life decisions. I had a small list of options of what I could do after my internship is over this summer. The small list rapidly became a long list.

I was earnestly asking the Lord to make it clear which option would be best. Because I honestly want His will for my life. In other words, I was hoping He would narrow it down to one somehow.

The Lord taught me something in those days. I think that God delights in letting us decide. If the option will bring glory to God, our motives are pure, and the door is open, then it's within God's will. I think we tend to make these decisions harder than they need to be. I simply need to examine my motives in each option to make sure they are pure, and then pursue the option I want most. If God does not want me there, I trust that he will close the door.

Full time ministry, ready or not, here I come.

Priorities... keeping them straight.

A long time ago, at the beginning of the fall semester, I listed my priorities. I set up a basic order of priorities in my life that, when push came to shove, would decide what would ultimately demand my time. I knew, going into a school year of 40 credits, that I would encounter days where I would not be able to do everything I wanted to do.
Interestingly, school work found itself at #3 on the list. So far, by God's grace, I had managed to accomplish the first 2 and still have enough time to finish all my school work. This week it didn't happen. Priorities 1 and 2 left school work in the dust. I still got some of it done, just not all of it.
I'm at peace with how this went down. I am proud that I kept my priorities as I had wanted them. I had a great weekend with Tyler and Alex. God continues to bless my socks off.

Keep running the race.