Our Responsibility

Today's message at church was the second of a four part Jesus Mission series entitled "Our Responsibility." Upon hearing the title, I was very interested to hear more since I have committed myself to doing everything I can possibly do to play a part in Suncrest's journey toward changing lives. Over the next nine months, I will be praying for the church as well as fasting on Wednesdays. I am also keeping myself open to other possibilities as things move along and more opportunities come into view.

The main idea behind the message focused on how God designed the world with certain systems that followers can rely on to guide them in their journey to serve God. Just like other laws in nature, these systems will always hold true and should be used for direction as we are making decisions in our lives. I can see how a blatant understanding of these types of systems will better enable us to serve God and hold our actions accountable for the level of blessing in our lives.

In his most profound spiritual system, God blesses us expecting we will share the blessing. After living by this fact, we will be able to accomplish exactly what God desires for us in this world. We can all make a difference in the lives of those around us simply by making it a priority to promote positive energy and use our individual gifts to benefit the community as a whole. Also, the system continues with the recognition that our future blessing from God is going to be dependent on how we use our current blessing. We must trust God to replenish our lives by participating in a never ending cycle of receiving and giving blessing.

Our faith will be the cornerstone for the effectiveness of God's systems in our lives. In order to successfully carry out his will, we must all take an active role in sharing God's goodness existing in our own lives with others throughout our daily activities. We must take time to acknowledge the wonderful things God does for us and allow those blessings to permeate the world through our actions... which will then truly spread his glory far beyond our physical reach.

The Olympic Spirit

For the better part of three weeks, we have been blessed with constant access to one amazing story after another through the extraordinary sporting celebration known as the Olympics. Even though their programming is jam packed with commercials, NBC has done a wonderful job covering both the intense competition and the stories behind the games. I have sincerely enjoyed watching the wide array of winter sports and the featurettes that have allowed the viewers a glimpse into the lives of the athletes.

There has been some amazing and unbelievable stories unfold over the last few weeks. We have been exposed to many personalities that just radiate inspiration into our own lives. I have been especially moved by the story of Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette. She brought tears to my eyes with her emotional short program performance. I admired her courage for deciding to still skate after losing her mother to a sudden heart attack only a few days prior to the competition. Her determination which earned her a bronze medal will be forever etched into the history of the winter games and something that us fans will remember for the rest of our lives.

These games in Vancouver have really shown the power of the Olympic Spirit and helped to restore the sometimes questionable image of the human race. I am very grateful for all the fond memories made over the last few weeks and would like to congratulate all the remarkable athletes for their unrelenting Olympic journeys. Each and everyone of them deserve honor and recognition for their devotion to excellence and positive representation of their home country.

As the closing ceremonies quickly approach, I pray that people all across the world recognize these monumental moments and that we use the inspiration in our own lives as we each make the push toward greatness. I sincerely believe that the energy and emotion packed into the Olympic Spirit can help us live better lives regardless of each individual situation. No matter what may be in store for us, we should carry the mentality of an Olympic athlete by training, competing and celebrating each achievement like gold medal competitors. After implementing this spirited attitude, my guess is that we will suddenly see the same type of powerful, awe-inspiring stories begin to play out in our own lives.

Dr. God

After waking up with night sweats, I knew that my body was doing all that it could do to fight off the illness that has been plaguing me all week long. I have tried to carry a positive attitude through the episodes of chills and lingering headaches, but there has been no signs of improvement over the last couple of days. I have prayed for strength and guidance and have started to feel pressure about recovering. With anticipated interviews next week, my health will be very important to allowing me to put forth the best possible representation of myself.

I asked my Mom to drive me to a mandatory meeting that I absolutely could not miss this morning. After witnessing my symptoms and foul mood first hand, she offered to help me pay for a visit to the doctor and any medicine that he may prescribe. I stubbornly denied the generous offer keeping my faith that I could beat this evil sickness. However, she purposely took a wrong turn on our way home so we would have to drive by the doctor's office. I gave her a hard time since I could not wait to just get home, but she insisted we at least stop in to check for future appointment times. It turned out that my doctor had a last minute cancellation and would be able to see me right away!

I found out that I have an infection that has been going around that seems to linger for weeks without the treatment of antibiotics. After receiving this news from my doctor, I was so grateful for my Mom's persistence and the unexpected visit to the doctor. It very well could have saved me from another full week of agony which could have also led to a blown employment opportunity.

I have no doubt that God heard my prayers and found a way to restore my health. Even though I started the day feeling helpless over my symptoms, he somehow made it possible to not only overcome my sickness but overcome it as quickly as possible. After a restful weekend with medicine, I will be able to begin a new week feeling healthy and ready to amaze potential interviewers.

Today's trip to the doctor shows how God can make unthinkable things happen when we least expect them. We just need to always trust his guidance and keep ourselves open to his solutions. Because with his help, we will be able to conquer any symptoms holding us back from reaching our best.

Watch Your Step

Last night, I had a conversation with my Mom as she was comforting our precious Pomeranian named Belle. Belle is getting older and seems to be having trouble breathing with intermittent seizures. She is the absolute cutest dog and has overcome a lot of obstacles in her life after being born as the runt of the litter. She is an inspiration to me and always brings a big smile to my face.

My Mom has done a wonderful job keeping Belle healthy. She has a huge heart for animals and gives her all to looking after them whether it be our pet dogs or the wild birds in the yard. God definitely blessed her with an amazing motherly gift, and she has made the most of her gift raising three healthy sons and numerous long living pets.

During our conversation, my Mom spoke of her experiences raising small children and tiny dogs. As she held Belle on her lap, she shared stories of how she had to always be very cautious throughout the years to avoid accidentally injuring her small vulnerable loved ones. She said that she still and will probably always live with that same attention to her surroundings as she goes about her day.

It was great to be able to have a sincere talk with my Mom. I will forever be grateful to her for her unconditional love and the wonderful life lessons she has provided over the last 28 years. Going forward in life, I will remember back to the conversation we had yesterday as she made Belle forget all about her discomfort. I realize that I may not have children or small dependent animals in my care, but I will always have important decisions to make as I move forward in my journey. If I apply a similar dedication to those situations, I am confident that I will be able to raise strong and healthy outcomes throughout my own life.

Sick... No Way!

Yesterday, I woke up with a tickle in my throat and a slight headache. I immediately thought to myself, "Oh no, I hope I am not getting sick!"

I absolutely hate not feeling well. Since the ominous feeling yesterday morning, I have been battling my body's urge to just shut down. I have forced myself out of bed and worked to continue on with my day as if I was feeling perfectly well. The soreness in my throat and pain in my head has seemed to increasingly intensify over the past 36 hours. However, I refuse to let myself succumb to this illness.

I remember a time back in elementary school when I really did not want to go to school. In order to stay home, I knew I would have to act like I was sick. Using my absolute best acting ability, I convinced my mother that I was actually ill. As the day went on, I continued to behave as if I had all the flu-like symptoms and thought I was just so slick while I enjoyed watching Tom & Jerry. However, I began to actually feel a headache and too much of my surprise ended up with a 102 temperature by the end of the day!

I am a firm believer in the power of the mind. I am absolutely positive that simply by thinking like I was sick, I was able to physically make myself ill. Ever since that experience in my childhood, I have lived with an understanding that I could accomplish extraordinary things with strength of mind. Looking back at my life, I can now see that I should have used this ideology in several situations to help me overcome the challenges before me. As I continue in my journey to be the best I can possibly be, I will use the power of my mind to to not only heal my current state of health, but overcome future obstacles that are vulnerable to my positive thoughts.

Throughout the past two days, I have been speaking healing words over myself and praying for restored health. I have faith that I will defeat the physical symptoms that are threatening my ability to enjoy the wonderful day God provided for me. Only time will tell how much longer I will have to endure... but I am confident that I will endure and in the mean time will live at my best.

American Pickers

I really enjoy watching "American Pickers" on the History Channel. Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz search for America's lost treasures in this new program where a television crew follows them as they scour the country determined to find interesting items and antiques for their company Antique Archaeology.

As I watch the show, I am struck by their passion for the work they do as well as their relentless determination to pull valuable relics out of obscurity and back into stores, museums and living rooms across the globe. I feel inspired by the way they are able to make a living with a job that they absolutely love. It is evident through their attitudes and actions that they have been blessed with a rewarding career that brings a great deal of satisfaction to their daily lives.

I also admire their extraordinary determination as they search for the undiscovered gems that fund their business. They have developed their own "picking science" that provides a sort of method to their memorabilia-seeking mission. They often find themselves way off the beaten path in rural towns across the country digging deep into abandoned barns and scrounging through junk filled basements.

I believe that everyone could benefit from living a life full of this same type of intense determination. We all have 'hidden treasures' in our lives that are just waiting to be discovered... we just need to 'dig deep' to find them.

Also, antiques are often discovered on the show covered in mildew, dust and dirt. However, the pickers are careful not to overlook these items. They concentrate on uncovering these filthy treasures and reap the benefits often through large financial gain.

Just like the pickers do in their search, we must take time to evaluate the opportunities in our own lives. We may think they seem unattractive at first glance, but if we take the time to 'remove the dirt' we may just discover a chance to 'uncover a hidden treasure'.

"American Pickers" encourages me to chase after my dreams and work to discover my true passion in life. The program helps me recognize that determination will be required to discover blessings in my life and also makes me realize that I may need to 'dig deep' and 'remove the dirt' to find them. I look forward to watching more episodes on Monday Nights at 8pm... and as the pickers continue searching for their next valuable piece of American history, I will also be out there determined to find treasure in my own life.

Fruit of the Spirit

I have spent much of my life searching for a seemingly elusive notion of 'happiness.' I would look for things that brought a smile to my face and indulged repeatedly in those activities with expectations of experiencing continuous joy. However, I found that my desire to satisfy my urge for instant gratification always took me down a path toward future disappointment. It was these selfish ambitions that eventually took over my life and destroyed any chances for me to enjoy lasting joy in life.

Galatians 5:22 reads, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

After reading this passage for the first time, I immediately felt a rush of emotion that fueled an intense drive to find this 'fruit' in my own life. I remember thinking to myself that I could experience things such as love, peace and joy simply by replacing my negative tendencies with a more positive attitude. I knew I was struggling with problems in my life, but thought I had the power to conquer them relying solely on my own determination. I became committed to living a life geared toward being kind and good thinking that I would be rewarded with a new life free from the evils that had taken over my ability to find 'happiness'.

I eventually came to realize that my determination in itself was unable to conquer my sinful lifestyle. I failed in my attempts to discover the 'Fruit of the Spirit' and found myself suffering from the same wickedness, over and over again. I soon reverted to questioning God and wanted to give in to the desperate nature of my ill-framed mind that worked so hard to divert my attention away from an honest hunt for the truth.

Luckily, God continued to fight for his glory in my life and provided an eye opening realization that would lead me to finding the missing link to my happiness. I began to see that the 'Fruit of the Spirit' was not something I could receive through my own strength and determination. After giving my all toward developing a relationship with Jesus, God rewarded me with all the love, joy and peace I needed to live the fulfilled life I desired. The more I followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the more I experienced things such as patience, kindness, and self-control in my life.

The key to enjoying the 'Fruit of the Spirit' has been practicing obedience over my sinful nature. By turning to Jesus, I have been able to move away from the notion of success as taught to me by society and overcome my selfish desires. I have learned to trust God and realize that he will provide everything I need to live an abundant life.