"God, bring me closer to You.... whatever it takes."
Francis Chan challenges his readers to ask God to bring them closer to him, whatever it takes.
This statement really hit home with me, I ask God to bring me closer to Him constantly... but do I truly mean that I want to be closer to Him no matter what it takes, no matter how uncomfortable that it could be, or no matter what I lose in the process. Until I recited these words, "whatever it takes", I don't believe I truly understood what I was asking God to do in my life.
It's scary to ask God to do whatever it takes to get your full attention, because there is no limit to what that might mean. Would I be more focused on my comfortable way of life, or would I let God get my attention by taking some of my comforts away? I don't know, I want to say that I would be open to God working in my life even if it meant being uncomfortable... but I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that God has to make us uncomfortable to get our attention. However, if there are more people out there like me (and I am sure there are), becoming comfortable with wear we are often distracts me from further pursuing God in my life. I don't necessarily want to be uncomfortable, but I want to be closer to Him... even if it means being uncomfortable.
I heard a friend of mine's band on the radio the other day, they recently released their new single, "You Can Have Me" by the Sidewalk Prophets. I never listened to the lyrics that closely but when I sat there listening... I realized it was talking about the exact same thing I had been thinking about.
The Lyrics-
If I saw You on the street
And You said come and follow me
But I had to give up everything
All I once held dear and all of my dreams
Would I love You enough to let go
Or would my love run dry
When You asked for my life
CHORUS:
When did love become unmoving?
When did love become unconsuming?
Forgetting what the world has told me
Father of love, You can have me
You can have me
Jesus wants all of me, not just bits and pieces... But am I willing to give up everything for Jesus if God asked me to... Or would I be okay if God took everything away to get my attention? Or as the song puts it, "Would I love Him enough to let go, or would my love run dry, when He asked for my life?"
I want to say that I am rooted enough in Christ that I could let go, I hope it never comes down to it... but when I ask God to draw me closer to Him, whatever it takes... I want to mean it.
God, bring me closer to You, whatever it takes.... Father of Love, you can have me.
Matthew 4:19
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Just a little update...
Sorry for the gap in any blog updates. The last few weeks have been crazy with a road trip to Utah and the beginning of our summer soccer camps. While I have been busy, my experience has been invaluable... even in my second season with the Seahorses.
As my last blog includes some information regarding our trip to Mexico, Don Godwin (the pastor of Hope Chapel) wrote a great summary of our six day trip in their Church's blog titled Seahorse Crazy. It is quite extensive, but if you have the time I greatly encourage clicking the provided link and checking out his summary of the week, accompanied by some great photos as well.
Simply being able to encourage the Godwin family was already incredibly rewarding, when you include all the relationships that were built and the opportunities that came up, the trip itself was simply unbelievable. All those who participated came back with a new perspective of being a Sports Minister, and how useful soccer can be to engage people and culture.
As far as the soccer goes, I've been fighting a few minor knocks... a couple of ankle sprains and the last week getting a nice big dead leg that spread over my entire thigh (I do not expect this to go away any time soon). Fortunately, I can still play... but some days it's a bit more of a struggle than others. Hopefully I'll be back to 100% here soon, we've got a few important games coming up against the Fresno Fuego.
As of now we stand 3-5-1. After starting out 2-0 this is not exactly where we had planned to be, but we can't go back to the 'what ifs' now. Time to work out our own kinks, do the little things right... no excuses, no explanations (Tony Dungy).
Our topic for SMT tonight was "Taming the Tongue"... It was a nice time to reflect over James 3, analyze the power of our words (not just our actions), and how we might take Salomon's advice a little bit more to heart... being quick to listen and slow to speak. It's crazy what words can do to a person. And from conversation your words are the hardest to tame because they are a true representation of the condition of your heart. However, we can gain self control over what we say. We don't always have to express the condition of our heart, and sometimes it would be best not to because someone may take offense to what we say... I believe that control only comes from giving God our best and our first, seeking after Him, and pursuing His love. This brings me to the verse of the week (or undetermined period of time):
Proverbs 15:4
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,
but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
I know I have left a lot out, but time and sleep are hard to come by these days so I will hope to update again this weekend. Please keep praying for my time here in California as well as for those we met in Mexico.
Blessings,
Cyrus
As my last blog includes some information regarding our trip to Mexico, Don Godwin (the pastor of Hope Chapel) wrote a great summary of our six day trip in their Church's blog titled Seahorse Crazy. It is quite extensive, but if you have the time I greatly encourage clicking the provided link and checking out his summary of the week, accompanied by some great photos as well.
Simply being able to encourage the Godwin family was already incredibly rewarding, when you include all the relationships that were built and the opportunities that came up, the trip itself was simply unbelievable. All those who participated came back with a new perspective of being a Sports Minister, and how useful soccer can be to engage people and culture.
As far as the soccer goes, I've been fighting a few minor knocks... a couple of ankle sprains and the last week getting a nice big dead leg that spread over my entire thigh (I do not expect this to go away any time soon). Fortunately, I can still play... but some days it's a bit more of a struggle than others. Hopefully I'll be back to 100% here soon, we've got a few important games coming up against the Fresno Fuego.
As of now we stand 3-5-1. After starting out 2-0 this is not exactly where we had planned to be, but we can't go back to the 'what ifs' now. Time to work out our own kinks, do the little things right... no excuses, no explanations (Tony Dungy).
Our topic for SMT tonight was "Taming the Tongue"... It was a nice time to reflect over James 3, analyze the power of our words (not just our actions), and how we might take Salomon's advice a little bit more to heart... being quick to listen and slow to speak. It's crazy what words can do to a person. And from conversation your words are the hardest to tame because they are a true representation of the condition of your heart. However, we can gain self control over what we say. We don't always have to express the condition of our heart, and sometimes it would be best not to because someone may take offense to what we say... I believe that control only comes from giving God our best and our first, seeking after Him, and pursuing His love. This brings me to the verse of the week (or undetermined period of time):
Proverbs 15:4
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,
but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
I know I have left a lot out, but time and sleep are hard to come by these days so I will hope to update again this weekend. Please keep praying for my time here in California as well as for those we met in Mexico.
Blessings,
Cyrus
Friday, June 11, 2010
PDL outreach to Rosarito Mexico.
Even though we made it back on Monday, it's taken me a week to get these photos uploaded onto my computer. I won't say too much about the trip, I'll let the photos do most of the talking.
Overall, there were 11 of us total who made the trip (with the addition of 2 others on the weekend). We partnered with a missionary family from Huntington Beach California, the Godwin family. Our role: play soccer. After a few of our games we would tell people about our ministry, have food, and invite them to events and game later that week. A few of the people we would play against we saw more than once.
The Godwin family and the associate pastor Carlos were very encouraged by how soccer simply allowed us to get places (like a local school) that they have been hoping to gain access to for quite some time.
While most of those of us who were able to go shared many of the same thoughts... we didn't think that we did anything spectacular on this trip, but we were encouraged to see how God used a game we love to help encourage the Godwin family and open new doors for them to share the good news.
There will be plenty more thoughts to come, but enjoy the photos for now.
View from behind the Church
Talking to the youth group about the Seahorses and about why I play soccer.
Hosting a clinic to the school in Vista Marina.
The kids at the Vista Marina school just before the Clinic started.
Getting ready for a game of "Shooter Keeper"
After our first game at Primo Tapia.
Playing in our second game at Primo Tapia.
Playing a game of "Head Catch" with the young ones while we waited to play on the court.
A group photo after our tournament on the "Cancha Rapida", we hosted an indoor tournament with Hope Chapel and had a great turn out. Afterwards Nate Wood was able to share his story.
We also played a game against the team the Godwin's sponsor. "Hope Chapel".
We played a game against some locals of Vista Marina on the big field as well.
Coach Todd using the "evangecube" to share the story of Jesus to the kids after a game of Head Catch.
This was my "room with a view" for the week. I decided to sleep outside after the firs night inside. It wasn't bad waking up to the ocean every morning.
Overall, there were 11 of us total who made the trip (with the addition of 2 others on the weekend). We partnered with a missionary family from Huntington Beach California, the Godwin family. Our role: play soccer. After a few of our games we would tell people about our ministry, have food, and invite them to events and game later that week. A few of the people we would play against we saw more than once.
The Godwin family and the associate pastor Carlos were very encouraged by how soccer simply allowed us to get places (like a local school) that they have been hoping to gain access to for quite some time.
While most of those of us who were able to go shared many of the same thoughts... we didn't think that we did anything spectacular on this trip, but we were encouraged to see how God used a game we love to help encourage the Godwin family and open new doors for them to share the good news.
There will be plenty more thoughts to come, but enjoy the photos for now.
View from behind the Church
Talking to the youth group about the Seahorses and about why I play soccer.
Hosting a clinic to the school in Vista Marina.
The kids at the Vista Marina school just before the Clinic started.
Getting ready for a game of "Shooter Keeper"
After our first game at Primo Tapia.
Playing in our second game at Primo Tapia.
Playing a game of "Head Catch" with the young ones while we waited to play on the court.
A group photo after our tournament on the "Cancha Rapida", we hosted an indoor tournament with Hope Chapel and had a great turn out. Afterwards Nate Wood was able to share his story.
We also played a game against the team the Godwin's sponsor. "Hope Chapel".
We played a game against some locals of Vista Marina on the big field as well.
Coach Todd using the "evangecube" to share the story of Jesus to the kids after a game of Head Catch.
This was my "room with a view" for the week. I decided to sleep outside after the firs night inside. It wasn't bad waking up to the ocean every morning.Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Profile of the Lukewarm
So we've been reading this book for our SMT discussions, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. While everything that Chan writes about is straight from the Bible, there is something about how he puts things that make his words so convicting.
The God of the universe, does not need us, yet He still loves us so much He continues to pursue us. The reverse is what we most commonly see. We need God, but often times we act like we don't want Him or that we don't really love Him, we just love his stuff.
"Even though we could die at any moment and generally think our puny lives are pretty sweet compared to loving Him, He persists in loving us with unending, outrageous love."
-Francis Chan, Crazy Love
In Chan's fourth chapter he gives various examples that would categorize different profiles of the "Lukewarm", or people who have become useless to God's cause through their actions and lack of conviction. The problem (or the answer) with the profiles that Chan presents, is I fall into just about everyone of them at some point or another. I struggle with some more than others, but I still know that I am guilty of just about everyone of them. Now I hope it is not just me, and I am pretty confident that I am not alone in this, but so many of us struggle to understand Christ's love before we are able to show it.
Is this because we are unable to fully understand unconditional love, or that our God would give us a gift of grace that we often times knowingly reject? Francis Chan starts our one of his chapters by saying just that... "Most of us, to some degree, have a difficult time understanding, believing, or accepting God's absolute unlimited love for us."
How could something so great, be so easily forgotten?
My best guess, and personal understanding, is that we relate our experiences with "love" (from friends, family, and even the love of ourselves), to God's love. We have trouble separating conditional, from unconditional.
Still, we know it... but we don't always act on it. Do we change our thoughts and actions, or do we keep on doing what we are doing without God. While I wish I could say that I love God so much that I am always aware of His love for me and that I live my life in accordance with His will and not my own, I cannot. Like so many others I have fallen into all of these categories of Lukewarmness. Here's Chan's short list of what many Christians do, believe, or think on a regular basis. Just a warning, it may hurt.
LUKEWARM people may still...
attend Church fairly regularly (it is what they believe a "good Christian" does)
give to charity and to church (as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living)
LUKEWARM people...
Tend to chose what is popular over what is right (they care more about what people think of their actions more than what God thinks)
Don't really want to be saved from their sin (they just want to be saved from the penalty of sin, is this new life really better than my old sinful one?)
Gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing their lives to others' (being better person does not make you a Christian)
Only allow Jesus in a section of their time, money, and thoughts... He isn't allowed to control their lives.
Love God, but not with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind.
tend to focus their love on others who will "love" them in return.
Do whatever is necessary to keep them from feeling to guilty.
Probably drink and swear less (but other than that they aren't much different from most other unbelievers)
Basically, we are all guilty of a lot of these things... but a life characterized by a pursuits of God and not a flee from punishment is the kind of love God wants from us. I had a hard time reading this chapter without trying to justify why I fell into some of these categories, And i kept thinking, "No way am I LUKEWARM."
The reality is, as Francis Chan puts it, none of us are immune to these actions and thoughts. The difference is a life that is characterized by these actions versus someone who consciously struggles to correct these issues of lukewarmness. I hope that I am struggling.
This leads me to my verse of the week.
James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Draw near to God, pursue Him wholeheartedly and you will realize how He is in constant pursuits of you.
The God of the universe, does not need us, yet He still loves us so much He continues to pursue us. The reverse is what we most commonly see. We need God, but often times we act like we don't want Him or that we don't really love Him, we just love his stuff.
"Even though we could die at any moment and generally think our puny lives are pretty sweet compared to loving Him, He persists in loving us with unending, outrageous love."
-Francis Chan, Crazy Love
In Chan's fourth chapter he gives various examples that would categorize different profiles of the "Lukewarm", or people who have become useless to God's cause through their actions and lack of conviction. The problem (or the answer) with the profiles that Chan presents, is I fall into just about everyone of them at some point or another. I struggle with some more than others, but I still know that I am guilty of just about everyone of them. Now I hope it is not just me, and I am pretty confident that I am not alone in this, but so many of us struggle to understand Christ's love before we are able to show it.
Is this because we are unable to fully understand unconditional love, or that our God would give us a gift of grace that we often times knowingly reject? Francis Chan starts our one of his chapters by saying just that... "Most of us, to some degree, have a difficult time understanding, believing, or accepting God's absolute unlimited love for us."
How could something so great, be so easily forgotten?
My best guess, and personal understanding, is that we relate our experiences with "love" (from friends, family, and even the love of ourselves), to God's love. We have trouble separating conditional, from unconditional.
Still, we know it... but we don't always act on it. Do we change our thoughts and actions, or do we keep on doing what we are doing without God. While I wish I could say that I love God so much that I am always aware of His love for me and that I live my life in accordance with His will and not my own, I cannot. Like so many others I have fallen into all of these categories of Lukewarmness. Here's Chan's short list of what many Christians do, believe, or think on a regular basis. Just a warning, it may hurt.
LUKEWARM people may still...
attend Church fairly regularly (it is what they believe a "good Christian" does)
give to charity and to church (as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living)
LUKEWARM people...
Tend to chose what is popular over what is right (they care more about what people think of their actions more than what God thinks)
Don't really want to be saved from their sin (they just want to be saved from the penalty of sin, is this new life really better than my old sinful one?)
Gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing their lives to others' (being better person does not make you a Christian)
Only allow Jesus in a section of their time, money, and thoughts... He isn't allowed to control their lives.
Love God, but not with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind.
tend to focus their love on others who will "love" them in return.
Do whatever is necessary to keep them from feeling to guilty.
Probably drink and swear less (but other than that they aren't much different from most other unbelievers)
Basically, we are all guilty of a lot of these things... but a life characterized by a pursuits of God and not a flee from punishment is the kind of love God wants from us. I had a hard time reading this chapter without trying to justify why I fell into some of these categories, And i kept thinking, "No way am I LUKEWARM."
The reality is, as Francis Chan puts it, none of us are immune to these actions and thoughts. The difference is a life that is characterized by these actions versus someone who consciously struggles to correct these issues of lukewarmness. I hope that I am struggling.
This leads me to my verse of the week.
James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Draw near to God, pursue Him wholeheartedly and you will realize how He is in constant pursuits of you.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What defines me?
Back at it... while I am enjoying being back into a regular training schedule with a solid group of guys, it's a lot harder getting back into shape then I ever remember. But, I've learned where I am at physically has changed over the last few months. My time spent climbing, and backpacking doesn't really prepare me to be physically fit for a soccer season (not that I thought I was preparing for soccer by climbing). However, with not being as prepared as I thought I had been, it has shown in my performance on the field.
With my performance being below expectations, I have this crazy notion that I can no longer lead if I am not playing to the best of my ability. Instead, I've been challenged to remember that I am not defined by how I perform on the field. What will really show my true colors is how I react to my performance both in words and in actions.
The easy part is knowing that I have some ground to make up for as a player... but the hard part was conitnuing to lead new players as a player and as a sports minister. I found myself struck by silence, I felt that because I was not playing well I couldn't say things that needed to be said. With the encouragement of a teammate and some reflection, I was able to talk to the team and aplogizie for my unpreparedness as well as challenege everybody to pick up the slack in their own lives and training.
While the season is still early, we have 11 games left to come out of this 3 game losing streak and make a playoff run. Something that hasn't happened in 5 years. Still, whatever the end of the season has for me I have re-learned a valuable lesson. My identity is not in how I play, but how I reflect Jesus in my response to how I play. It is not how I perform at work, but how I glorify God while I at work. It is not from doing good things, it is from being loved by a God who is deserving of all my love and oftentimes doesn't recieve it.
I recently read in a book by Francis Chan, Crazy Love, that the ironic thing about God is that He doesn't need us... yet He still loves us. The reverse is that we need Him, and often times we do not give Him the love He deserves. Sometimes it has to start with remembering to love ourselves in our imperfections because God loves us in our imperfections. Shouldn't that be enough reason to love God and live a life free from sin?
Verse of the week:
Galations 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
With my performance being below expectations, I have this crazy notion that I can no longer lead if I am not playing to the best of my ability. Instead, I've been challenged to remember that I am not defined by how I perform on the field. What will really show my true colors is how I react to my performance both in words and in actions.
The easy part is knowing that I have some ground to make up for as a player... but the hard part was conitnuing to lead new players as a player and as a sports minister. I found myself struck by silence, I felt that because I was not playing well I couldn't say things that needed to be said. With the encouragement of a teammate and some reflection, I was able to talk to the team and aplogizie for my unpreparedness as well as challenege everybody to pick up the slack in their own lives and training.
While the season is still early, we have 11 games left to come out of this 3 game losing streak and make a playoff run. Something that hasn't happened in 5 years. Still, whatever the end of the season has for me I have re-learned a valuable lesson. My identity is not in how I play, but how I reflect Jesus in my response to how I play. It is not how I perform at work, but how I glorify God while I at work. It is not from doing good things, it is from being loved by a God who is deserving of all my love and oftentimes doesn't recieve it.
I recently read in a book by Francis Chan, Crazy Love, that the ironic thing about God is that He doesn't need us... yet He still loves us. The reverse is that we need Him, and often times we do not give Him the love He deserves. Sometimes it has to start with remembering to love ourselves in our imperfections because God loves us in our imperfections. Shouldn't that be enough reason to love God and live a life free from sin?
Verse of the week:
Galations 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Good 'ol Californ-i-a
As history will show I am not the best at updating my blog. With what feels like 3 months of my life has been lived in the last week and a half, I'll give myself a break on this one. For those who have supported me in my work this summer and want to keep tabs, forgive my lack of responses... I hope it won't happen again.
Starting a week ago from Thursday (8 days ago) I was still in the great state of Tennessee, since then I have driven through 10 different states, made a two day visit to Colorado, Listened to Tony Dungy's book Quiet Strength on CD... twice... moved into my summer California residence, got situated in the Seahorse office, made it to 3 days of training and played in our match this evening... No wonder it felt like 3 months
While I could go into details on a lot of these events, time is just now starting to catch up with me and hopefully I won't find myself nearly as busy to where I can't make a weekly post, if not more regular than that.
The most recent event, our road game against Ventura County Fusion, was a lesson in itself. I found myself back in the action, exactly where I left off from last season. Unfortunately, my season ended last summer with a Concussion on the same field with a run in with the keeper... I had almost wished I had been knocked out this game. We lost 3-0, and I can't say I was pleased with my performance. We'll just say I had a lot more kinks to work out than I thought, and I took home quite a few lessons from this game.
Coach had enough confidence to start me at left back, which I thought may happen because I had a decent week of practice... but I still wouldn't bet my house on it, or my lunch money. The team seems to be a lot different from last year, we appear stronger in some areas and may need to focus more on different areas from last year. Either way, today was not only a bad day for myself... it didn't seem to be anyone's day in general. The performance overall was tough to watch I am sure, but hopefully we can put this one behind us and look forward to our Sunday game against the O.C. Blue Stars.
It's always hard accepting not playing (or performing) to your potential... and not only in soccer, but in other aspects of life. I don't believe anything in life is guaranteed, and that often times the best things in life require a lot of work. I was definitely reminded how much more work other players have been putting into their soccer than myself. I was also reminded of a few things Coach Dungy said in his book, which I listened to twice on my way to Colorado and California. First, I have to take this loss just like any other loss, learn from it and move past it. Second, I can't blame anyone team member, the officials, or even myself for our loss (no excuses, no explanations). And lastly, if I want to get back to where I want to be as a soccer player, I need to start doing the easy things (simple things) better than anyone else... and that my friends, is where I am going to start- the basics.
Hopefully the overall attitude of the team recognizes the areas in which we need to change, but also understands that we have to cut our loss and move on to Sunday's game and try it again, but this time doing the simple things more consistently and with more energy.
That's it for now. Hope to update you all soon about my job duties and other cool things happening in the Seahorse office.
Blessings,
Cyrus
Starting a week ago from Thursday (8 days ago) I was still in the great state of Tennessee, since then I have driven through 10 different states, made a two day visit to Colorado, Listened to Tony Dungy's book Quiet Strength on CD... twice... moved into my summer California residence, got situated in the Seahorse office, made it to 3 days of training and played in our match this evening... No wonder it felt like 3 months
While I could go into details on a lot of these events, time is just now starting to catch up with me and hopefully I won't find myself nearly as busy to where I can't make a weekly post, if not more regular than that.
The most recent event, our road game against Ventura County Fusion, was a lesson in itself. I found myself back in the action, exactly where I left off from last season. Unfortunately, my season ended last summer with a Concussion on the same field with a run in with the keeper... I had almost wished I had been knocked out this game. We lost 3-0, and I can't say I was pleased with my performance. We'll just say I had a lot more kinks to work out than I thought, and I took home quite a few lessons from this game.
Coach had enough confidence to start me at left back, which I thought may happen because I had a decent week of practice... but I still wouldn't bet my house on it, or my lunch money. The team seems to be a lot different from last year, we appear stronger in some areas and may need to focus more on different areas from last year. Either way, today was not only a bad day for myself... it didn't seem to be anyone's day in general. The performance overall was tough to watch I am sure, but hopefully we can put this one behind us and look forward to our Sunday game against the O.C. Blue Stars.
It's always hard accepting not playing (or performing) to your potential... and not only in soccer, but in other aspects of life. I don't believe anything in life is guaranteed, and that often times the best things in life require a lot of work. I was definitely reminded how much more work other players have been putting into their soccer than myself. I was also reminded of a few things Coach Dungy said in his book, which I listened to twice on my way to Colorado and California. First, I have to take this loss just like any other loss, learn from it and move past it. Second, I can't blame anyone team member, the officials, or even myself for our loss (no excuses, no explanations). And lastly, if I want to get back to where I want to be as a soccer player, I need to start doing the easy things (simple things) better than anyone else... and that my friends, is where I am going to start- the basics.
Hopefully the overall attitude of the team recognizes the areas in which we need to change, but also understands that we have to cut our loss and move on to Sunday's game and try it again, but this time doing the simple things more consistently and with more energy.
That's it for now. Hope to update you all soon about my job duties and other cool things happening in the Seahorse office.
Blessings,
Cyrus
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Count your blessings...
"Count Your Blessings"
The words I found on a mud-covered sign at the first home we had worked at while helping flood victims here in Nashville. The sign seemed to have been left hanging for a reason. As home owners threw out nearly all of their possessions and gutted the inside of the first floor to just rafters and wires, this sign was still displayed on the front gate right inside the carport.
The whole time we were helping these people, I couldn't keep from thinking how terrible the whole ordeal must have been. So many families have lost hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of dollars in possessions... countless items of sentimental value... and some lost family members... Even in spite of all these losses, the overall attitude did not seem to be beyond hope, despairing, or even portray the slightest bit of "oh poor me". The general attitude truly seemed to be- "Count Your Blessings".
The volunteer efforts from the Nashville community has been incredible, and those affected by the flood have noticed... and they've taken this whole ordeal as an opportunity to focus on the love and generosity that complete strangers have shown to them. For some unknown reason these people know that they have lost a lot, if not everything, and they show confidence that they will recover from this. The countless volunteers that have gone into affected communities has helped, but in the end the Nashville flood victims have shown much more livelihood than I could ever imagine anyone could even "put on" in their position.
Cheers to you Nashville, thanks for the simple reminder to keep counting my blessings...
Verse of the week-
II Peter 1:3,4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
The words I found on a mud-covered sign at the first home we had worked at while helping flood victims here in Nashville. The sign seemed to have been left hanging for a reason. As home owners threw out nearly all of their possessions and gutted the inside of the first floor to just rafters and wires, this sign was still displayed on the front gate right inside the carport.
The whole time we were helping these people, I couldn't keep from thinking how terrible the whole ordeal must have been. So many families have lost hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of dollars in possessions... countless items of sentimental value... and some lost family members... Even in spite of all these losses, the overall attitude did not seem to be beyond hope, despairing, or even portray the slightest bit of "oh poor me". The general attitude truly seemed to be- "Count Your Blessings".
The volunteer efforts from the Nashville community has been incredible, and those affected by the flood have noticed... and they've taken this whole ordeal as an opportunity to focus on the love and generosity that complete strangers have shown to them. For some unknown reason these people know that they have lost a lot, if not everything, and they show confidence that they will recover from this. The countless volunteers that have gone into affected communities has helped, but in the end the Nashville flood victims have shown much more livelihood than I could ever imagine anyone could even "put on" in their position.
Cheers to you Nashville, thanks for the simple reminder to keep counting my blessings...
Verse of the week-
II Peter 1:3,4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
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