We were in staff meeting today at Twin Oaks CC and for the past couple of months we have been working through the book, "Hole in the Gospel" which tells the story of the directer of World Vision, how God called him into that position, and what God is calling his church to do to serve the poor. It is a great book that really brings to light what seems to always stay in the shadows. But this is not yet another book review. This is instead a story about what I hope to be Someday.
Our pastor at Twin Oaks has challenged us recently with the idea of Generosity and as someone who has been around the church for much time, I understand that each church does a series on money, giving, and what to do with it. Sometimes I have found myself to be desensitized to this because I have heard these messages so many times. But for some reason God grabbed my wife and I and said it is time to listen up.
He has not only brought to light the fact that we, as humans, have the cure to AIDS, water deprivation, malnutrition, poverty. This cure can be found in our bank accounts. But I did not feel that God said it is time for you to write a check, I mean he is probably calling us to do that, but much more he is calling us to change our attitudes. Change our attitude when it comes to money and possessions all together.
I have had a couple people in my life that I just feel exude God and what I feel like Jesus would be like. It all began with having a nature of a servant. Not just going on a mission trip here and there, but truly putting all others in this world ahead of their own needs. This means finances are included. Instead of thinking about how I am going to buy a new iPhone or how I am going to go on a vacation with my beautiful wife (both are much deserved), I would love to get to the point when I say how are we gonna pay for rent because we have spent all of our money helping our friends, family, or people that we may not even know. I do not think God is calling us to be irresponsible, I merely think God is asking us to change our attitude when it comes to money and taking care of ourselves.
He is asking us to truly say that all these things on this earth are rentals from him and we should never worry that we will be taken care of because we have always been taken care of, not because of anything we have done, but all because of Jesus.
I am not at that point in my relationship with Christ, but I hope that my wife and I can take the steps that we need to start to be more like him in this way. I hope that i can think of others first when I am paying the bills and how my money (not my excess) can go to help someone else.
till another day,
normallyINDIE
Indie Thoughts // Normal Mind
Showing posts with label Pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pain. Show all posts
Monday, November 5, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Book Review - Redemption by Mike Wilkerson...
As of recently I have spent some time being engaged by the Re:Lit group that is a part of the Crossway Publishing Company. Begin by Pastor Mark Driscoll, this program was built to collect a group of writers that are committed to speaking the truth about spiritual, biblical, and societal issues in a text format. Many of you may recognize this from the popular book Doctrine by Mark Driscoll. Although this book is on my list to read/purchase it is not the book I found myself reading recently. Instead, I got my hands on Redemption by Mike Wilkerson. Mike is a pastor at Seattle's Mars Hill Church (which Mark Driscoll calls home as well) and he lead their counseling program. With this in mind, I felt the author would bring a fresh perspective to the problem of pain that so many authors have tried to tackle over the years.
The format being some what interesting began with the author diving into the story of the the Israelites and their problem with suffering, idol worship, and death. Intermixed with this biblical story from the Old Testament are real life stories of christians and non-christians alike who are struggling with a God that not only allows suffering in this world, but has allowed suffering to take over their lives. The pages are covered in the tears and blood of those who are suffering because of the sins and destruction of this world. But what this book doesn't do is point the finger at each individual person's sin, instead, it focuses on the hope and redemption that can be found through a relationship with Christ and his church. It calls those who are suffering fall on their knees in prayer and call on the hope of a savior that died for their sins. It also calls the church to have arms open wide for those who are suffering to come running. The author's writers calls the church to get out of the judgement seat and instead kneel down with those who are suffering and love them.
I could not agree more with this idea. I have dealt with problems of suffering myself, as well as been involved with people who are suffering through personal sin, addictions, and other "idols" that seem to steal their worship. I have been encouraged to not only kneel down with these people, but to allow them to share the burdens they feel on the shoulders of the church. For the church is supposed to be a place of redemption and hope. Right now the church is a place of judgement and condemnation and I do not want to be that type of Christian. I am constantly in prayer that God will change me and allow the redemption of the cross to flow through me.
If you are struggling with suffering, the problem of pain, or any other afflictions please speak with someone you trust or speak with me through twitter: @normallyINDIE or Facebook: Alec Tod.
till another day,
normallyINDIE
The format being some what interesting began with the author diving into the story of the the Israelites and their problem with suffering, idol worship, and death. Intermixed with this biblical story from the Old Testament are real life stories of christians and non-christians alike who are struggling with a God that not only allows suffering in this world, but has allowed suffering to take over their lives. The pages are covered in the tears and blood of those who are suffering because of the sins and destruction of this world. But what this book doesn't do is point the finger at each individual person's sin, instead, it focuses on the hope and redemption that can be found through a relationship with Christ and his church. It calls those who are suffering fall on their knees in prayer and call on the hope of a savior that died for their sins. It also calls the church to have arms open wide for those who are suffering to come running. The author's writers calls the church to get out of the judgement seat and instead kneel down with those who are suffering and love them.
I could not agree more with this idea. I have dealt with problems of suffering myself, as well as been involved with people who are suffering through personal sin, addictions, and other "idols" that seem to steal their worship. I have been encouraged to not only kneel down with these people, but to allow them to share the burdens they feel on the shoulders of the church. For the church is supposed to be a place of redemption and hope. Right now the church is a place of judgement and condemnation and I do not want to be that type of Christian. I am constantly in prayer that God will change me and allow the redemption of the cross to flow through me.
If you are struggling with suffering, the problem of pain, or any other afflictions please speak with someone you trust or speak with me through twitter: @normallyINDIE or Facebook: Alec Tod.
till another day,
normallyINDIE
Sunday, November 6, 2011
An Artist at Work...
As many of you know, Jenny, my wonderful fiancé, and I have begun to spend much of our time at the tattoo shop. We have built a relationship with an amazing tattoo artist named TJ Harmon. We originally met him at randomly when I wanted to get a tattoo to symbolize my love for my beautiful fiancé. We were referred to Irish Ink in Greenwood by a couple friends and I ran into TJ, TJ Harmon to be exact. He did an amazing job with the paint palette tattoo on my right hand and it was a perfect artist-client relationship after that.
Although this isn't the best picture (the Red and the Orange have since then come in much better) it was a perfect tribute to the artist that is my fiancé.
It then got us thinking, "What other tattoos are next?" Jenny then had the honor of working with him to create a truly beautiful memorial tattoo in honor of the wonderful Melvin & Doris Schroeder.
It was truly an honor to be a part of the tattoo process and to make this tattoo a reality. TJ Harmon at this point moved from Irish Ink to a new tattoo shop, because of a misunderstanding with management, called Main Street Tattoo in Old Town Greenwood. After this amazing tattoo, my beautiful fiancé gave me a gift for my birthday. Two Years Early on October 9th, my then girlfriend (Yes, is still Jenny :) ) gave me a tattoo for my birthday.
This year, October 9th 2011, she decided to continue that tradition by surprising me with a trip to Main Street Tattoo and a meeting with TJ Harmon. Seven Hours Later and a lot of pain, this was the product on my left upper arm.
This, still an unfinished piece, is by far my most detailed piece with the shading, deep lines, and colors. I was in awe of how wonderful this work actually turned out and I am so excited to add some color to finish off the shoulder cap and to continue to the elbow. But this is not all. Last week TJ had a special of $50 an hour and Jenny had the wonderful idea of getting a random tattoo that is small, but still important to each of us. so we got each of these tattoos respectively (Jenny on the left, me on the right).
Jenny, a tattoo based on the DCFC song "I'll Follow You Into the Dark" with the date 10-16-09 which is the day I officially ask her to be my girlfriend. Mine on the other hand, was the chi-rho symbol which was used by Constantine on his army's shields. This symbol meaning Christ or power and strength, thus it was placed on my left forearm under the word Power in Greek.
This brings the total tattoo tally for me up to 6 and Jenny up to 7 with many more ideas to come. This long relationship with TJ does not seem to be stopping soon and we are so excited to begin to spend time with him. For all of this would not be possible without the talent and drive to TJ Harmon to do tattoos.
He is truly a master artist and a great friend of ours. If you ever need anything as far as tattoos go, please go to him. This is the beginning of a great relationship and I cannot wait to see how it continues. As Jenny and I grow and mature, so will our relationship with our tattoo master, TJ Harmon.
till another day,
normallyINDIE
Saturday, August 6, 2011
God, why me?
The Problem of Pain. This is a timeless question that is at the center of most people's lives at some point or another. I know personally I have asked God numerous times, "Why me?" Why do we have to be hurt even though we are followers of God? Why do we have to tragically loss those we love? Why are we sometimes treated like Job of the Bible? Does God truly care about us in the midst of suffering and how do we see God communicated in a world that is so filled with destruction, it is clouded.
I had the opportunity to recently read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis as a part of my study through the Signature Classics. This is a novel that is not unlike the rest of his writings, a novel that is describing the fact that our life is filled with hurt, but how does this communicate the love found in Christ. This is the question the Lewis wrestles with and what is interesting is that he never states that our life should be centered on our suffering or that our suffering is a flook, but instead our suffering is an opportunity for us to praise God.
Like the story of Job, Lewis illustrates the fact that our suffering is a testament to fall back on Christ. That our suffering is an opportunity to say Christ is the center of my life despite this suffering that seems to cripple. But these opportunities are the opportunities that truly build my character as a follower of Christ.
This past year I have personally dealt with suffering in the form of running into death face to face. On February 14th I got a call that one of the students that we work with at Bloc Ministries was shot and killed. Although this student was not my son or brother, I truly felt the weight of his death on our ministry and my life as a follower of Christ. I asked the question of "Why us God, why him?". It was not a few weeks later that my fiancé and I were faced with death again, when her grandmother died. This was devastating for my fiancé, just the fact that we saw death face to face. Again we asked the question "Why God?"
But after reading this book and looking back it does not make the sting of these tragedies any less, but it made me realize that in these situations my trust in God was built. Also my dedication to meeting the physical and emotional needs of others is what makes us true followers of Christ. For there is nothing more organic than life and death. And there is no better opportunity to seek God than in these two situations.
We Miss you Grandma Schroeder and Deore
Until Another Day
normallyINDIE
I had the opportunity to recently read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis as a part of my study through the Signature Classics. This is a novel that is not unlike the rest of his writings, a novel that is describing the fact that our life is filled with hurt, but how does this communicate the love found in Christ. This is the question the Lewis wrestles with and what is interesting is that he never states that our life should be centered on our suffering or that our suffering is a flook, but instead our suffering is an opportunity for us to praise God.
Like the story of Job, Lewis illustrates the fact that our suffering is a testament to fall back on Christ. That our suffering is an opportunity to say Christ is the center of my life despite this suffering that seems to cripple. But these opportunities are the opportunities that truly build my character as a follower of Christ.
This past year I have personally dealt with suffering in the form of running into death face to face. On February 14th I got a call that one of the students that we work with at Bloc Ministries was shot and killed. Although this student was not my son or brother, I truly felt the weight of his death on our ministry and my life as a follower of Christ. I asked the question of "Why us God, why him?". It was not a few weeks later that my fiancé and I were faced with death again, when her grandmother died. This was devastating for my fiancé, just the fact that we saw death face to face. Again we asked the question "Why God?"
But after reading this book and looking back it does not make the sting of these tragedies any less, but it made me realize that in these situations my trust in God was built. Also my dedication to meeting the physical and emotional needs of others is what makes us true followers of Christ. For there is nothing more organic than life and death. And there is no better opportunity to seek God than in these two situations.
We Miss you Grandma Schroeder and Deore
Until Another Day
normallyINDIE
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