These are the days. These are very much the days of wonder, the days of wonder, excitement, and joy.
I enjoy the season of autumn because the weather becomes cooler, though I must admit that the season of winter brings a sense of wonder, excitement, and joy that are unparalleled by the other seasons of the year. There is the sense of wonder set with the raising of Christmas lights and Christmas trees, the observations of Advent and Hanukkah and the lighting of Advent wreaths and Hanukkah Menorahs, among other things. There is a sense of excitement of the first winter snow (which, for athletes, brings the excitement of being able to go snowboarding and skiing), the excitement of being able to sing Christmas carols, being able to see the luminarias in Old Town on Christmas Eve. There is the joy of giving gifts to those we care about, the joy of seeing the eyes of children and foreign exchange students brighten with joy and awe of things that are new to them and the wonder of what it all means.
For those who believe in God, there is the wonder, excitement, and joy of the birth of Jesus the Christ and the expectation of Him returning to earth to usher His people into heaven.
In the midst of all of this, it's very easy to forget that there are people who, for whatever reason or reasons, are not experiencing these things, this wonder, excitement and joy. There are people who are sick and in the hospital and do not have any family to visit them. There are those who are new to town and do not have any family or acquaintances to spend the holiday with. There are people who are wondering if they will be able to pay their bills, let alone pay for Christmas presents. There are people who are homeless and wondering if they will survive the night. For these people (and many others who are ailing in many other ways), these are not the days of wonder, excitement, and joy. These people are vulnerable, they appear to be very strong on the outside, but are actually very frail. If there is someone who could benefit from the wonder, excitement, and joy of Christmas, it would be someone from this group of hurting people.
It is easy to volunteer one's time at local homeless shelters, soup kitchens, visiting the elderly around the holidays (I am not bashing this by any means, doing this does help many people tremendously). As I write this blog and as I think about this topic, I realize that volunteering at these places all throughout the year rather than just at the holidays will probably help create relationships between the visitor/volunteer and the person/organization that is being visited/helped, which then helps create the sense of wonder, excitement, and joy. Thinking about this makes me realize that I need to do this more often than I have. It is so easy to become so caught up in the wonder, excitement, and joy that I'm experiencing that I do not always share it with others who do not have it. Not only should I share the wonder, excitement, and joy that God has given me with them, but I should be sharing it with them throughout the year so that they may possibly be able to share it with others.
Is it always easy to escape out of our little bubbles to share the wonder, excitement, and joy of the season and actually share it year round? No, but it can be done. For some, the silver lining around the moon is not always seen, but we can somehow impact the life a person with hope and joy.
13 December 2012
01 December 2012
As hard as it is, I really shouldn't be wallowing.
I'm sitting at a desk that has a college algebra book, two anatomy and physiology books (one for lecture and one for lab) and the corresponding notebooks and I'm just staring at these books. I'm staring at them and wondering if I'm doing the right thing with my life by being in school. Again. All my life I have heard from people, whether I know them or not, that I should go to school and make something for myself, that I should find myself a good job that will help me become successful (whatever successful means). Live in ease.
Now here I am, at the age of 26, and I don't know what I'm doing with my life. I am at the age where I could easily have already received a Master's degree in something and already be working in that specific career area... but I haven't and I'm not. I have been in and out of the local community college so many times as a student that it's just ridiculous. I'm surprised they haven't told me to either stay put and do something with myself or leave and never come back. So I decided to stay put long enough and got my Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts and I was quite proud of myself... until I figured out that a degree in Liberals Arts will do absolutely nothing for me when it comes to finding a job.
I am now at the point of stressing out about finding a real job and whether or not I should continue this route of being in school and getting more classroom education and experience (in contrast to real life education and experience in the workforce). I've submitted the job applications and I've submitted the resumes without very much feedback and I don't like it. At all.
Am I wallowing? Yes, I'm wallowing. Though, I must admit that I have had two interviews recently, which is much better than no interview at all. I have very easily been stuck in a negative light, focusing on me and what I'm not getting, focusing on the interviews that are not happening. That's what's been happening rather than me focusing on God and who He is and looking on the fact that God has blessed me with the opportunities to have at least been called in to be interviewed and we'll see what happens.
Despite what God has blessed me with, I've been wallowing in self-pity like Pig-Pen from the comic strip "Peanuts". Wallowing allows for many negative feelings and if there are any words to describe what I'm feeling, the words would be depressed and anxious.
Am I wallowing? Yes, I'm wallowing. Though, I must admit that I have had two interviews recently, which is much better than no interview at all. I have very easily been stuck in a negative light, focusing on me and what I'm not getting, focusing on the interviews that are not happening. That's what's been happening rather than me focusing on God and who He is and looking on the fact that God has blessed me with the opportunities to have at least been called in to be interviewed and we'll see what happens.
Despite what God has blessed me with, I've been wallowing in self-pity like Pig-Pen from the comic strip "Peanuts". Wallowing allows for many negative feelings and if there are any words to describe what I'm feeling, the words would be depressed and anxious.
Then earlier this week, the pastor of the church that I attend posted a bible verse on facebook.com that just stopped me in my tracks. The verse that he posted was Philippians 4:6 and I have been thinking about it a lot over the past few days. So here's the verse, plus the surrounding verses to give some extra context:
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
After reading these verses, I realized that depressed and anxious are bound to happen in normal every day life. Despite that fact, depressed and anxious aren't to be wallowed in and they aren't things that are true or honorable or pure or anything good, which means that I'm better of giving the depressed and anxious feelings to God. In the end, I better be focused on God and talking with Him on a daily basis and asking Him to give me a daily reality check, because I'm not doing so well on my own.
02 August 2012
Dear Mom: Little letters that I write that never make it to her.
I don't know if anyone else out there in the world are like me, but I'm the kind of person who tends to create a schedule for my day and/or week and then completely disregard that scheduled. This is a really, really bad habit, I mean it's really bad. I'm pretty sure that this really, really, ridiculously bad habit of mine causes much groaning and gnashing of teeth for my parents. Now, no matter the situation, there have been times in my life where I have not said anything to my parents about the things that I've accomplished in the day, whether the accomplishment is big or small. Some of the accomplishments may seem trivial to some people, maybe they are, but an accomplishment is an accomplishment.
So, here it goes, the little letters from different times of my life to my mother.
Dear Mom,
You may not have noticed, or maybe you did and couldn't say anything due to shock, but I actually made my bed today.
Dear Mom,
I made the chocolate chip cookies exactly the way you told me to.
Dear Mom,
You will be so proud of me. When I was at school today, I was able to find a parking space where there was tree that provided plenty of shade to cover my entire car.
Dear Mom,
I went to school and actually went to my classes.
Dear Mom,
I washed and dried my clothes.
Dear Mom,
I folded my clothes.
Dear Mom,
I vacuumed my room (I haven't put my clothes away yet, but I'm working on it).
Dear Mom,
I put most of my shoes in my closet.
Dear Mom,
I washed my car.
Dear Mom,
I vacuumed my car.
Dear Mom,
I actually made the attempt to look feminine and wore make-up today, even though I had absolutely no reason to do so.
Dear Mom,
That guy that I think is really, really cute? I actually attempted to talk to him (talk, as in saying something more substantial than, "hey, how's it goin'?").
Dear Mom,
Today, I wore make-up to try to look nice for that really, really cute guy. I never saw him today.
Dear Mom,
I swept and mopped the kitchen floor and cleaned the kitchen counters and microwave as best I could after I made a really big mess when I was cooking (sorry for the areas that I missed, I really did try my best).
Dear Mom,
I'm really trying not to be a sensitive, self-centered, jerk-face anger ball; God's helping me realize that I'm more of one than I've been willing to admit to.
Dear Mom,
I didn't eat the rest of your Goldfish pretzels because I knew you might want them.
Dear Mom,
Even though this doesn't seem to happen a lot, I really do try to wake up, be out of bed, and cleaned up before 8am because I really don't like being unproductive.
Dear Mom,
A good day is when I say "I love you" to you and Dad and when we laugh about nothing.
So, here it goes, the little letters from different times of my life to my mother.
Dear Mom,
You may not have noticed, or maybe you did and couldn't say anything due to shock, but I actually made my bed today.
Dear Mom,
I made the chocolate chip cookies exactly the way you told me to.
Dear Mom,
You will be so proud of me. When I was at school today, I was able to find a parking space where there was tree that provided plenty of shade to cover my entire car.
Dear Mom,
I went to school and actually went to my classes.
Dear Mom,
I washed and dried my clothes.
Dear Mom,
I folded my clothes.
Dear Mom,
I vacuumed my room (I haven't put my clothes away yet, but I'm working on it).
Dear Mom,
I put most of my shoes in my closet.
Dear Mom,
I washed my car.
Dear Mom,
I vacuumed my car.
Dear Mom,
I actually made the attempt to look feminine and wore make-up today, even though I had absolutely no reason to do so.
Dear Mom,
That guy that I think is really, really cute? I actually attempted to talk to him (talk, as in saying something more substantial than, "hey, how's it goin'?").
Dear Mom,
Today, I wore make-up to try to look nice for that really, really cute guy. I never saw him today.
Dear Mom,
I swept and mopped the kitchen floor and cleaned the kitchen counters and microwave as best I could after I made a really big mess when I was cooking (sorry for the areas that I missed, I really did try my best).
Dear Mom,
I'm really trying not to be a sensitive, self-centered, jerk-face anger ball; God's helping me realize that I'm more of one than I've been willing to admit to.
Dear Mom,
I didn't eat the rest of your Goldfish pretzels because I knew you might want them.
Dear Mom,
Even though this doesn't seem to happen a lot, I really do try to wake up, be out of bed, and cleaned up before 8am because I really don't like being unproductive.
Dear Mom,
A good day is when I say "I love you" to you and Dad and when we laugh about nothing.
19 January 2012
The Labeling of the Servants
Hello all! I have finally returned to the world of blogging after an unnecessary amount of time away from it. The first thing that you will notice is the change in the name of my blog, which was originally "The Musings of a Muse." Why the change? Well, because I needed a change, though the need for change is not the biggest motivator. I have always seen myself as a person with a wild imagination and I have never really felt like a muse and I have probably never been someone's muse, which in my mind, disqualifies me from even calling myself one. Plus, when I went to Google and searched "The Musings of a Muse," what I found was a make-up company. I really don't like make-up. Well, I guess I should say that I don't like to take the time to actually wear make-up. Don't get me wrong, make-up is really fun to play with and it's fun to see all the different ways I can change my style with just a single stroke of eye-liner or by applying blush a certain way, but it doesn't bring me the same kind of joy that it brings to other women. I don't mind wearing make-up, but to some degree, I experience a little bit of dread when I think of wearing make-up on a regular basis and having to take the time to do so. This dread is probably what led to my not wanting my blog to be associated with make-up. And I don't want to get sued by a company who could probably put me in debt for five lifetimes and seven eternities for using their company's name for my personal blog. So there you go.
Now for the real reason for my sitting at a computer and wasting precious time:
Starting this month, I will be volunteering a few hours a week as a receptionist at the Albuquerque Center for Peace & Justice. Yes, I said it, volunteer receptionist. I can hear everyone thinking to themselves, "But you hate desk jobs! And you aren't getting paid!" Yeah, I know. I also know that I need to give myself something to do that is not centered around me, but is something that is meaningful and educational. When I say educational, I don't mean it in the sense of sitting in the classroom of a college or university and making my GPA and official transcripts look amazing, though mine do need some improvement (but in the same breath, they're not as bad as they once were), I mean it in the sense being educated in social justice/humanitarian violations and how to go about bringing change to the world in a way that will help put an end to said violations. I want that education to be something that I use to not only educate others, but to encourage them to bring about change as well.
A big thing that I think is real nifty (yes, I said nifty) about this whole situation is that the Center for Peace and Justice is in a part of town that really needs the love of Christ: the university area. The Center is located on the corner of Harvard and Silver, which is just one block south of the University of New Mexico, and is easily accessible to anyone who is involved with social justice issues, anyone who is curious about social justice issues, college students, old people, in between people, and bums. Yes, bums. Bums as in homeless people. Mom, please don't scold me. Here's the link to their website if you're a bit curious:
http://abqpeaceandjustice.org/
Disclaimer: This is a very long post! Don't read this if you do not have the time!
Now, I have this feeling that most people are not really interested in creating "labels," or even think about creating "labels," for the different kinds of people who volunteer and/or do community service. Don't we have enough labels for people? Of course not! That's why I was thinking about these labels the whole way home from my algebra class (math doesn't hurt my brain like it use to, that's why I'm able to think clearly afterwards)! I came up with five basic categories of people involved in volunteerism/community service (please do realize that my perspective is a Christian one, so I will be writing as if this were a conversation to another Christian. I do not apologize for this.):
Category #1: The Religiously Obligated
I cannot speak on behalf of other religions, but I can speak on behalf of the Christian faith, so here's a little bit of background on Christianity's "social obligations." From the Old Testament, these obligations include things like taking care of the orphans, the widows, the foreigners, and the poor (Deuteronomy 10; Jeremiah 7 (Out of honesty and to give context, this chapter was written specifically to the nation of Israel and is about the covenant the Lord was making with them. I think that we can still learn from it.); Zechariah 7). The obligations from the Old Testament must be done hand in hand with the social obligations from the New Testament, which are to feed the hungry, give thirsty people a thirst quenching drink of water, give clothes to people who need clothes, house or find a housing situation for the stranger who needs a place to stay, visit the people who are sick, and visit the people who are in prison (Matthew 25:31-46). When we do these "social obligations" to and for other people, we're doing them to and for God.
The person who I am calling the "Religiously Obligated" is the person who volunteers and/or does community service because they have to do it and they have to do it because God told them to do it. This person serves with the bad attitude of "I don't want to do this, but I have to, so be grateful/thankful that I even showed up." But you know what? God also says that when it's appropriate, go live life with the stated people and live that life with these people with a glad and joyous heart and to sing songs of praise (living a joy filled life in an inappropriate way would be singing a happy song to a broken heart and making a grieving person do the happy dance. Totally not cool.). So the "Religiously Obligated" person needs to drop the legalistic, woe-is-me perspective, selfish bad attitude and allow God to open their eyes to see the true beauty in the people who live around them.
This person makes me want to tell them to stop being a jerk who is wanting to have a pity party and go to the Sandia mountains, find a field of wild flowers, and run through it with a young person who has never been to the mountains before and see the joy of a new experience flash across that young person's face.
Category #2: The Better Community Builder
In the eyes of those involved in the grassroots social justice scene, this person is the ideal person, perfection personified. In the "Non-Christian" community (in my mind, this is the everyday community that is not influenced by Christians in any way), this person is ideal because they love their community, they're involved in their community, and they're trying to find ways to improve their community. This is the person who others look up to because the "Better Community Builder" is the one who is trying to find ways to get after-school tutoring programs and before/after school meal programs in place the low(er) income communities; they're trying to open safer parks so that young people can have a safe place to play sports in low(er) income communities; they're trying to open medical clinics in the low(er) income communities, along with many other things. This person sees all of the horrible things happening in the world, this person truly cares about the world, they have a passion and desire to see positive change occur in this world, and they are working doggedly to do something to bring about that positive change.
This is the person who makes me want to go plant a tree or build a well for a poor community or something.
Now, I don't want to bash Christians as a whole, but it's heartbreaking to see how a good number of Christians tend to flock with only each other and not do everything that God says to do in the sense of not only helping people, but helping people who are "different," people are not the same as them and do not have the same thought process, beliefs, and way of life. If the Category #2 person was a prominent leader in the Christian community (by the grace of God, we do have some people like this, but the Christian community desperately needs more of Category #2 people leading, serving, living among us to help kick us out of our little Christian bubble and into reality), this person would be causing people to say, "That Christian dude is whippin' our butts in making the world a better place. I want what they've got." This is where the next category comes in.
Category #3: The (Good) Hybrid
This is ther person who is a gloriously good combination of Category #1 and #2. This person is someone who has a strong Christian faith and who voluntees and/or does community service because they desire to follow and obey the word of God. This person lives the word of God, and by living the word of God, they serving their commnity not because they feel obligated like Category #1, but because they desire what God desires, and some of the things that God desires are social justice and social involvement. A person who is under Category #3 does not feel obligated like a #1, but takes the "social obligations that are required by God," gets rid of the bad attitude and turns these obligations into being the love of God to the community. When this is done, and sometimes a person has to "fake it till they make it," the person slowly gains the ideals Category #2, which creates a Category #3 person.
This person (alongside of the work done by the Category #2 person) would become the destroyer of hunger, poverty, human trafficking, and pretty much every social injustice.
Sidenote:
Category #2 and Category #3 need to be careful and make sure to keep their egos in check because if they don't, it will be very easy to create more enemies than they already have. If #2 and #3 do not keep their egos in check, every single person who works with #2 and #3 will be more than willing to use stated egos as bullseyes for dart throwing practice. Don't let your ego get too big! This will defeat the purpose of all the good things you are doing!!!
Category #4: The Required Humanitarian
Ah yes, the "Required Humanitarian;" this is the person who is required to do community service. I cannot paint this picture with a wide brush because the situation of each person in this category is different, but they all have one thing in common: They have no way out of doing community service. As I said, each situation is different, so I will focus on the people who are required to serve due to eduactional obligations. In Albuquerque, I know that many private schools and charter schools require their students to work a certain amount of community service hours either by the end of a semester or by the end of a school year. Also, universities with honors programs also expect their students to be involved with their community through community service over the course of the students scholastic career. When a person is in the situation of requirement and not in the situation of choice, it can be a little bit harder to be passionate about the community service project the student is participating in, which could possibly lead to the student having a bad attitude about the whole experience, which can possibly lead to the student's parents not being happy with the situation because their child is not happy with it. If the required community service ever gets to the point of this last stage of "dissatisfaction" of the parent and child, I doubt (for the most part) the child/student is telling the parent(s) the full story as to why they're not happy.
Category #4.A
This first example is a student who is a completely spoiled and selfish child who will probably try to find every excuse possible to try to weasle out of doing community service and will probably only do the bare bones minimum hours required of them. This student probably has absolutely no desire to be involved with anyone who is not the student, "If you are not me, then why should I care about you?" The parents might argue in favor of the student and fight back so their child may not have to do community service because they don't want their child involved with "those kinds of people" and, possibly, because the family "does not have the time to do such nonsense." This student is acting like their parents because the parents are the primary models of action for the child/young person. These people need to get over themselves and lose the bad attitudes before someone slasps them for being selfish, egotistical, heartless snobs. If I came across this situation, I would try to tell the family to do the community service together. Why? Because this family has plenty of time. The parents have enough time to spend most of their time at work, the parents have enough time to go spend a couple hours at the gym and/or spa, the parents have enough time to argue with the school about whether or not their child should be doing community service. The child has enough time to be on social network sites like facebook and twitter, they have enough time to go to the movies, they have enough time to play video games. This family is reactive. They have the time, they're just spending that time elsewhere and not together as a family, let alone as a family that could create a lasting impact on its community.
Category #4.B
Then there is the student who is required to do community service, yet despite the "required" part, they find a way to be passionate about the community service, they try to find ways to be motivated about being involved with their community. They look up as many opportunites that not only fit into their schedules, but look for opportunities that they actually may be interested in. This student is proactive and involved in the community and they are this way because their parents are probably proactive and involved in the community. Depending on whether this person is a Christian or is not, they will either turn into a Category #2 person or a Category #3 person.
This young person is very impressive and should be applauded, though I think they should be careful because it would be easy for them to turn into a person in the final category.
Category #5: The Résumé Builder
Oh man, this is the person is going to try to find every possible community service/volunteer opportunity that is available. This person can either be a high school student who is required to do community service, a college student who is in the honors program at their university, or simply just a do-gooder. The only difference between this person and Categories #2, #3, and #4.B is that they are only serving others for the sake of making him/herself, and more importantly, their résumé, look absolutely amazing. Everyone and everything else is just a pawn on this person's chess board. Remember that sidenote about the ego earlier in this blog? This person is one of those people whose ego has become the bullseye for their peers' darts and they don't even realize it until someone's dart hits their ego and causes it to pop like a balloon.
This person was extremely impressive until their intentions and ambitions came out, then all of the respect I had for this person quickly evaporated. It is good to be ambitious and it is good to be involved, but people should never be used as pawns so that you may be able to succeed. In short, this person is a nice jerk, but a jerk all the same.
Now for the real reason for my sitting at a computer and wasting precious time:
Starting this month, I will be volunteering a few hours a week as a receptionist at the Albuquerque Center for Peace & Justice. Yes, I said it, volunteer receptionist. I can hear everyone thinking to themselves, "But you hate desk jobs! And you aren't getting paid!" Yeah, I know. I also know that I need to give myself something to do that is not centered around me, but is something that is meaningful and educational. When I say educational, I don't mean it in the sense of sitting in the classroom of a college or university and making my GPA and official transcripts look amazing, though mine do need some improvement (but in the same breath, they're not as bad as they once were), I mean it in the sense being educated in social justice/humanitarian violations and how to go about bringing change to the world in a way that will help put an end to said violations. I want that education to be something that I use to not only educate others, but to encourage them to bring about change as well.
A big thing that I think is real nifty (yes, I said nifty) about this whole situation is that the Center for Peace and Justice is in a part of town that really needs the love of Christ: the university area. The Center is located on the corner of Harvard and Silver, which is just one block south of the University of New Mexico, and is easily accessible to anyone who is involved with social justice issues, anyone who is curious about social justice issues, college students, old people, in between people, and bums. Yes, bums. Bums as in homeless people. Mom, please don't scold me. Here's the link to their website if you're a bit curious:
http://abqpeaceandjustice.org/
Disclaimer: This is a very long post! Don't read this if you do not have the time!
Now, I have this feeling that most people are not really interested in creating "labels," or even think about creating "labels," for the different kinds of people who volunteer and/or do community service. Don't we have enough labels for people? Of course not! That's why I was thinking about these labels the whole way home from my algebra class (math doesn't hurt my brain like it use to, that's why I'm able to think clearly afterwards)! I came up with five basic categories of people involved in volunteerism/community service (please do realize that my perspective is a Christian one, so I will be writing as if this were a conversation to another Christian. I do not apologize for this.):
Category #1: The Religiously Obligated
I cannot speak on behalf of other religions, but I can speak on behalf of the Christian faith, so here's a little bit of background on Christianity's "social obligations." From the Old Testament, these obligations include things like taking care of the orphans, the widows, the foreigners, and the poor (Deuteronomy 10; Jeremiah 7 (Out of honesty and to give context, this chapter was written specifically to the nation of Israel and is about the covenant the Lord was making with them. I think that we can still learn from it.); Zechariah 7). The obligations from the Old Testament must be done hand in hand with the social obligations from the New Testament, which are to feed the hungry, give thirsty people a thirst quenching drink of water, give clothes to people who need clothes, house or find a housing situation for the stranger who needs a place to stay, visit the people who are sick, and visit the people who are in prison (Matthew 25:31-46). When we do these "social obligations" to and for other people, we're doing them to and for God.
The person who I am calling the "Religiously Obligated" is the person who volunteers and/or does community service because they have to do it and they have to do it because God told them to do it. This person serves with the bad attitude of "I don't want to do this, but I have to, so be grateful/thankful that I even showed up." But you know what? God also says that when it's appropriate, go live life with the stated people and live that life with these people with a glad and joyous heart and to sing songs of praise (living a joy filled life in an inappropriate way would be singing a happy song to a broken heart and making a grieving person do the happy dance. Totally not cool.). So the "Religiously Obligated" person needs to drop the legalistic, woe-is-me perspective, selfish bad attitude and allow God to open their eyes to see the true beauty in the people who live around them.
This person makes me want to tell them to stop being a jerk who is wanting to have a pity party and go to the Sandia mountains, find a field of wild flowers, and run through it with a young person who has never been to the mountains before and see the joy of a new experience flash across that young person's face.
Category #2: The Better Community Builder
In the eyes of those involved in the grassroots social justice scene, this person is the ideal person, perfection personified. In the "Non-Christian" community (in my mind, this is the everyday community that is not influenced by Christians in any way), this person is ideal because they love their community, they're involved in their community, and they're trying to find ways to improve their community. This is the person who others look up to because the "Better Community Builder" is the one who is trying to find ways to get after-school tutoring programs and before/after school meal programs in place the low(er) income communities; they're trying to open safer parks so that young people can have a safe place to play sports in low(er) income communities; they're trying to open medical clinics in the low(er) income communities, along with many other things. This person sees all of the horrible things happening in the world, this person truly cares about the world, they have a passion and desire to see positive change occur in this world, and they are working doggedly to do something to bring about that positive change.
This is the person who makes me want to go plant a tree or build a well for a poor community or something.
Now, I don't want to bash Christians as a whole, but it's heartbreaking to see how a good number of Christians tend to flock with only each other and not do everything that God says to do in the sense of not only helping people, but helping people who are "different," people are not the same as them and do not have the same thought process, beliefs, and way of life. If the Category #2 person was a prominent leader in the Christian community (by the grace of God, we do have some people like this, but the Christian community desperately needs more of Category #2 people leading, serving, living among us to help kick us out of our little Christian bubble and into reality), this person would be causing people to say, "That Christian dude is whippin' our butts in making the world a better place. I want what they've got." This is where the next category comes in.
Category #3: The (Good) Hybrid
This is ther person who is a gloriously good combination of Category #1 and #2. This person is someone who has a strong Christian faith and who voluntees and/or does community service because they desire to follow and obey the word of God. This person lives the word of God, and by living the word of God, they serving their commnity not because they feel obligated like Category #1, but because they desire what God desires, and some of the things that God desires are social justice and social involvement. A person who is under Category #3 does not feel obligated like a #1, but takes the "social obligations that are required by God," gets rid of the bad attitude and turns these obligations into being the love of God to the community. When this is done, and sometimes a person has to "fake it till they make it," the person slowly gains the ideals Category #2, which creates a Category #3 person.
This person (alongside of the work done by the Category #2 person) would become the destroyer of hunger, poverty, human trafficking, and pretty much every social injustice.
Sidenote:
Category #2 and Category #3 need to be careful and make sure to keep their egos in check because if they don't, it will be very easy to create more enemies than they already have. If #2 and #3 do not keep their egos in check, every single person who works with #2 and #3 will be more than willing to use stated egos as bullseyes for dart throwing practice. Don't let your ego get too big! This will defeat the purpose of all the good things you are doing!!!
Category #4: The Required Humanitarian
Ah yes, the "Required Humanitarian;" this is the person who is required to do community service. I cannot paint this picture with a wide brush because the situation of each person in this category is different, but they all have one thing in common: They have no way out of doing community service. As I said, each situation is different, so I will focus on the people who are required to serve due to eduactional obligations. In Albuquerque, I know that many private schools and charter schools require their students to work a certain amount of community service hours either by the end of a semester or by the end of a school year. Also, universities with honors programs also expect their students to be involved with their community through community service over the course of the students scholastic career. When a person is in the situation of requirement and not in the situation of choice, it can be a little bit harder to be passionate about the community service project the student is participating in, which could possibly lead to the student having a bad attitude about the whole experience, which can possibly lead to the student's parents not being happy with the situation because their child is not happy with it. If the required community service ever gets to the point of this last stage of "dissatisfaction" of the parent and child, I doubt (for the most part) the child/student is telling the parent(s) the full story as to why they're not happy.
Category #4.A
This first example is a student who is a completely spoiled and selfish child who will probably try to find every excuse possible to try to weasle out of doing community service and will probably only do the bare bones minimum hours required of them. This student probably has absolutely no desire to be involved with anyone who is not the student, "If you are not me, then why should I care about you?" The parents might argue in favor of the student and fight back so their child may not have to do community service because they don't want their child involved with "those kinds of people" and, possibly, because the family "does not have the time to do such nonsense." This student is acting like their parents because the parents are the primary models of action for the child/young person. These people need to get over themselves and lose the bad attitudes before someone slasps them for being selfish, egotistical, heartless snobs. If I came across this situation, I would try to tell the family to do the community service together. Why? Because this family has plenty of time. The parents have enough time to spend most of their time at work, the parents have enough time to go spend a couple hours at the gym and/or spa, the parents have enough time to argue with the school about whether or not their child should be doing community service. The child has enough time to be on social network sites like facebook and twitter, they have enough time to go to the movies, they have enough time to play video games. This family is reactive. They have the time, they're just spending that time elsewhere and not together as a family, let alone as a family that could create a lasting impact on its community.
Category #4.B
Then there is the student who is required to do community service, yet despite the "required" part, they find a way to be passionate about the community service, they try to find ways to be motivated about being involved with their community. They look up as many opportunites that not only fit into their schedules, but look for opportunities that they actually may be interested in. This student is proactive and involved in the community and they are this way because their parents are probably proactive and involved in the community. Depending on whether this person is a Christian or is not, they will either turn into a Category #2 person or a Category #3 person.
This young person is very impressive and should be applauded, though I think they should be careful because it would be easy for them to turn into a person in the final category.
Category #5: The Résumé Builder
Oh man, this is the person is going to try to find every possible community service/volunteer opportunity that is available. This person can either be a high school student who is required to do community service, a college student who is in the honors program at their university, or simply just a do-gooder. The only difference between this person and Categories #2, #3, and #4.B is that they are only serving others for the sake of making him/herself, and more importantly, their résumé, look absolutely amazing. Everyone and everything else is just a pawn on this person's chess board. Remember that sidenote about the ego earlier in this blog? This person is one of those people whose ego has become the bullseye for their peers' darts and they don't even realize it until someone's dart hits their ego and causes it to pop like a balloon.
This person was extremely impressive until their intentions and ambitions came out, then all of the respect I had for this person quickly evaporated. It is good to be ambitious and it is good to be involved, but people should never be used as pawns so that you may be able to succeed. In short, this person is a nice jerk, but a jerk all the same.
12 June 2011
The Forest Burns, The World is on Fire
I had a vision, a very simple vision, but a vision all the same. It is not one to be proclaimed to the world, and no, as far as I know, the world will not be ending in October or on any specific date that some nut case preacher man proclaims to the world. The vision was for me and it was aimed towards my spiritual life and what God told me tore me to pieces.
I am standing in a forest and above the trees I see the light and smoke of a fire in the forest. I cannot run, I cannot move a muscle, I am paralyzed in place. A small voice speaks to me, saying, "The world is on fire for me," and I respond, "I see it, Lord, I see. Glory to you." The small voice then said to me, "The world is on fire for me, it burns for me, but you, you have died. Your have died, why have you lost my fire? Burn for me, live again." "But I am living." "Burn and live for me." The fire in the forest continued to burn, it burned big and bright.
When I came out of the vision, my heart broke. I have allowed myself to die spiritually, I have allowed the roaring fire in my soul to die down and become mere ash and charcoal, not a spark of light to be seen. The concept of fire is a big deal to me. Having been born and raised in the state of New Mexico, which is a desert stricken by drought, and in the midst of having to breathe in the smoke from the wild fires that are raging and ravaging the state of Arizona, I am very familiar with fires and how devastating they can be to not only the terrain, but also to personal property as well. Having this knowledge and having this image being used to describe my spiritual life was a devastating thing to experience. I'll be honest and open, one thing that is so hard for me is my pride, asking for help and admitting that I am not in a place that is good for my spiritual life (and for everything else in my life, for that matter). I don't want to be told that I am wrong, that I am not in a good way, that something is wrong. I like living my life the way I want to, but in the end, it hurts, it leaves me empty, broken, lonely, and searching for something to fill my emptiness. I know full well that there is a certain something that will fill this big hole, something that will reignite the fire in my heart, reignite my passion for life, someone who will resuscitate my dead heart, someone who will open my blinded eyes, a savior, a God man, the clover of my soul, the three separate beings in one being, the Christ, the King.
I did not want to hear what I heard, but I knew that Christ the King was right in calling my bluff and telling me I needed to get over my not so glorious self and let Him create in me a passionate fire for Him and Him alone. Over the past few weeks, there have been a few things that have happened in my life, whether it be an actual situation, a conversation I had or a conversation I overheard (I'm not a creeper, some conversations are just really interesting to listen in on), a sermon I heard, or a song I heard. These things have ministered to me in various ways, but all of those various ways have all lead me to one thing, that one thing being I need community, and not just community, but a Christian community. I need a Christian community where I can be ministered to and where I can minister to others, a place where I can take part in the biblical lifestyle of discipleship and accountability. Now it is time for me to truly be an active participant in that place, that community, that family atmosphere where I can reignite my soul's fire and help others burn for God.
I am standing in a forest and above the trees I see the light and smoke of a fire in the forest. I cannot run, I cannot move a muscle, I am paralyzed in place. A small voice speaks to me, saying, "The world is on fire for me," and I respond, "I see it, Lord, I see. Glory to you." The small voice then said to me, "The world is on fire for me, it burns for me, but you, you have died. Your have died, why have you lost my fire? Burn for me, live again." "But I am living." "Burn and live for me." The fire in the forest continued to burn, it burned big and bright.
When I came out of the vision, my heart broke. I have allowed myself to die spiritually, I have allowed the roaring fire in my soul to die down and become mere ash and charcoal, not a spark of light to be seen. The concept of fire is a big deal to me. Having been born and raised in the state of New Mexico, which is a desert stricken by drought, and in the midst of having to breathe in the smoke from the wild fires that are raging and ravaging the state of Arizona, I am very familiar with fires and how devastating they can be to not only the terrain, but also to personal property as well. Having this knowledge and having this image being used to describe my spiritual life was a devastating thing to experience. I'll be honest and open, one thing that is so hard for me is my pride, asking for help and admitting that I am not in a place that is good for my spiritual life (and for everything else in my life, for that matter). I don't want to be told that I am wrong, that I am not in a good way, that something is wrong. I like living my life the way I want to, but in the end, it hurts, it leaves me empty, broken, lonely, and searching for something to fill my emptiness. I know full well that there is a certain something that will fill this big hole, something that will reignite the fire in my heart, reignite my passion for life, someone who will resuscitate my dead heart, someone who will open my blinded eyes, a savior, a God man, the clover of my soul, the three separate beings in one being, the Christ, the King.
I did not want to hear what I heard, but I knew that Christ the King was right in calling my bluff and telling me I needed to get over my not so glorious self and let Him create in me a passionate fire for Him and Him alone. Over the past few weeks, there have been a few things that have happened in my life, whether it be an actual situation, a conversation I had or a conversation I overheard (I'm not a creeper, some conversations are just really interesting to listen in on), a sermon I heard, or a song I heard. These things have ministered to me in various ways, but all of those various ways have all lead me to one thing, that one thing being I need community, and not just community, but a Christian community. I need a Christian community where I can be ministered to and where I can minister to others, a place where I can take part in the biblical lifestyle of discipleship and accountability. Now it is time for me to truly be an active participant in that place, that community, that family atmosphere where I can reignite my soul's fire and help others burn for God.
11 March 2011
God has me in an armlock and I'm tapping out (finally).
Okay, so persistence and stubbornness don't pay off when fighting with God, it just hurts a lot more in then end when God comes out on top with the win.
I'll be honest, I'm hurting, really hurting. I'm hurting because I've been fighting for so long to hold onto and hide so many things that are not for me to keep. I truly believe that what is in a person, what a person keeps in their heart, in their deepest, most inner soul, will come out of their mouth. Having this belief is probably why I am always convicted when I read and/or hear the verse Matthew 12:34 when Jesus calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers and that the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart.
Okay back to the hurting.
I know I'm not the only one that does this, but of all the people to do this, I really shouldn't do this due to my history of .... I shall refrain from sharing my issues (if you truly feel like you need to know, ask and I'll consider telling you), but I pent up all of my hurts, pains, and anger. I've held onto all of this ugly stuff for so long that it has seeped into my heart and has begun seep out of my mouth and I have tried my hardest to stay away from God's Word and have tried my hardest to push away the Holy Spirit because I don't want to hear that I've become a very angry, bitter, hurting, and emotionally ugly person to be around and that I tend to sucker people into my puddle of muddy ugliness. All of this got to a point when a cousin of mine got so sick and tired of how I treated people, and her, that she exploded on me and put me in my place. It hurt. A lot. It still hurts thinking about it, but how many people have I hurt? But it's a good kind of hurt, if there is such a thing, because it's a good reminder that I need to treat people so much better than I have and do (I guess there's a reason why Jesus said to treat people the way we want to be treated).
This situation was one of a couple situations that helped spark my realizing that I needed to study bible verses on kindness. There is one verse in particular that came up and it took me a little while to realize... no, that's a lie, it didn't take very long at all to realize that God was telling me what I was doing to people.
That verse being Job 6:14, which says:
I'll be honest, I'm hurting, really hurting. I'm hurting because I've been fighting for so long to hold onto and hide so many things that are not for me to keep. I truly believe that what is in a person, what a person keeps in their heart, in their deepest, most inner soul, will come out of their mouth. Having this belief is probably why I am always convicted when I read and/or hear the verse Matthew 12:34 when Jesus calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers and that the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart.
Okay back to the hurting.
I know I'm not the only one that does this, but of all the people to do this, I really shouldn't do this due to my history of .... I shall refrain from sharing my issues (if you truly feel like you need to know, ask and I'll consider telling you), but I pent up all of my hurts, pains, and anger. I've held onto all of this ugly stuff for so long that it has seeped into my heart and has begun seep out of my mouth and I have tried my hardest to stay away from God's Word and have tried my hardest to push away the Holy Spirit because I don't want to hear that I've become a very angry, bitter, hurting, and emotionally ugly person to be around and that I tend to sucker people into my puddle of muddy ugliness. All of this got to a point when a cousin of mine got so sick and tired of how I treated people, and her, that she exploded on me and put me in my place. It hurt. A lot. It still hurts thinking about it, but how many people have I hurt? But it's a good kind of hurt, if there is such a thing, because it's a good reminder that I need to treat people so much better than I have and do (I guess there's a reason why Jesus said to treat people the way we want to be treated).
This situation was one of a couple situations that helped spark my realizing that I needed to study bible verses on kindness. There is one verse in particular that came up and it took me a little while to realize... no, that's a lie, it didn't take very long at all to realize that God was telling me what I was doing to people.
That verse being Job 6:14, which says:
"He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty."
When I read this verse, I wept. I still weep when I think about it. This verse is tearing me apart because it's making me realize how much hurt, pain, and anger I've been holding onto and that it's coming out of my mouth and hurting others, especially the people that I care about the most. I know so many people that have this inner beauty that flows and blesses every person that they come across and I've come to realize that I used to be like that and the reason why I'm not like that anymore is because I stopped hanging out with God on a regular basis and it's hurting me, which in turn, is causing me to hurt other people instead of encourage and bless them.
I don't want to withhold kindness anymore because it's not only hurting my relationship with God, but it's also hurting me and hurting the relationships that I hold dearly to my heart.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Thank you for your son and what he did for my soul.
I don't want to withhold kindness anymore because it's not only hurting my relationship with God, but it's also hurting me and hurting the relationships that I hold dearly to my heart.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Thank you for your son and what he did for my soul.
28 September 2010
Trust, Faith, and Saving People in the Process of Trusting and Faithing (is that a word?).
Much happiness to the blogosphere! How's it going for everybody?
Well, today has been a day for deep thinking for me. I guess it's more of a day that I'm actually writing/typing about some of my deep thinking. I'm pretty sure that most people have heard and possibly used the saying "blessed to be a blessing," and in my mind, it's a bit over-used (but I have to admit I have used it a few times myself). Though, there are a few times when we use the saying in concerns to a situation and everyone in the conversation will say, "Uh, yeah, hello, definitely a blessed to bless situation." One of the best examples of this that comes to mind is the story of Esther. Here is a young woman who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai, and is placed into a position by God to blow the mind of the King of Persia with her beauty and becomes his queen. Her being placed in this position allows her to become a blessing to her people, the chosen people of God, the Jews.
She trusted God and she trusted in the godly advise that her cousin, Mordecai, gave her. Because of this trust, this faith, when the time came, though she had fear, Esther stepped out in faith with the knowledge that she could possibly be killed for just simply approaching the king's throne without him summoning her to see him. When it was evident that she was in the favor of the king to approach his throne, she needed to have more trust and faith in God and in the advice given to her by Mordecai, faith that she was making the right decision to say that she was extending an invitation to the king and Haman, the official responsible to have a decree made to annihilate the Jews, to attend a feast she had prepared for them.
When the first feast had ended, she invited the king and Haman to a second feast. It was during the second feast that Esther had more faith than she probably ever thought that she had and unraveled Haman's hopes and plans to destroy the Jews. Because of Esther's faith, the king had Haman killed and had a second decreed issued stating that the Jews must do whatever it takes to protect themselves from what would come when the first decree would go into effect.
As Americans, how often do we allow ourselves to trust and have faith in God and godly people who advise us in God's wisdom when the time calls for us to trust and have faith and to step out in that faith? We probably allow things to get in the way, whether it is pride, fear, uncertainty, or whatever it may be, but we allow ourselves to be convinced that we're too good to stoop down to sit down in the mud and speak out for those who "aren't good enough" to hang with us (God forbid we might ruin our fancy Adidas shoes and Abercrombie and Fitch jeans), or that we're not good enough to speak up and say that something that may be happening is wrong and that the will that is setting wrongful things into motion needs to realize that those who will be affected will be affected for worse than for better. The list is endless.
Why do I not speak up when I know I should? Why am I so afraid of what people will say? I know that my family, friends, and co-workers support me in what I stand for, why don't I support myself? I need to let God whisper in my ear that I am His child and that He has chosen me to be apart of His will, and I need to listen to Him instead of letting Satan's weeds grow in my heart and mind.
Do I trust God enough to step out in faith? Do we trust God enough to step out in faith?
Well, today has been a day for deep thinking for me. I guess it's more of a day that I'm actually writing/typing about some of my deep thinking. I'm pretty sure that most people have heard and possibly used the saying "blessed to be a blessing," and in my mind, it's a bit over-used (but I have to admit I have used it a few times myself). Though, there are a few times when we use the saying in concerns to a situation and everyone in the conversation will say, "Uh, yeah, hello, definitely a blessed to bless situation." One of the best examples of this that comes to mind is the story of Esther. Here is a young woman who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai, and is placed into a position by God to blow the mind of the King of Persia with her beauty and becomes his queen. Her being placed in this position allows her to become a blessing to her people, the chosen people of God, the Jews.
She trusted God and she trusted in the godly advise that her cousin, Mordecai, gave her. Because of this trust, this faith, when the time came, though she had fear, Esther stepped out in faith with the knowledge that she could possibly be killed for just simply approaching the king's throne without him summoning her to see him. When it was evident that she was in the favor of the king to approach his throne, she needed to have more trust and faith in God and in the advice given to her by Mordecai, faith that she was making the right decision to say that she was extending an invitation to the king and Haman, the official responsible to have a decree made to annihilate the Jews, to attend a feast she had prepared for them.
When the first feast had ended, she invited the king and Haman to a second feast. It was during the second feast that Esther had more faith than she probably ever thought that she had and unraveled Haman's hopes and plans to destroy the Jews. Because of Esther's faith, the king had Haman killed and had a second decreed issued stating that the Jews must do whatever it takes to protect themselves from what would come when the first decree would go into effect.
As Americans, how often do we allow ourselves to trust and have faith in God and godly people who advise us in God's wisdom when the time calls for us to trust and have faith and to step out in that faith? We probably allow things to get in the way, whether it is pride, fear, uncertainty, or whatever it may be, but we allow ourselves to be convinced that we're too good to stoop down to sit down in the mud and speak out for those who "aren't good enough" to hang with us (God forbid we might ruin our fancy Adidas shoes and Abercrombie and Fitch jeans), or that we're not good enough to speak up and say that something that may be happening is wrong and that the will that is setting wrongful things into motion needs to realize that those who will be affected will be affected for worse than for better. The list is endless.
Why do I not speak up when I know I should? Why am I so afraid of what people will say? I know that my family, friends, and co-workers support me in what I stand for, why don't I support myself? I need to let God whisper in my ear that I am His child and that He has chosen me to be apart of His will, and I need to listen to Him instead of letting Satan's weeds grow in my heart and mind.
Do I trust God enough to step out in faith? Do we trust God enough to step out in faith?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)