Ink...

Tattoos are a huge part of my life and even more a part of my fiancé Jennifer Schroeder's life.  I started getting tattoos in 2007 for my 18th birthday.  This tattoo was really simple, but it has a great place in my heart as my first tattoo.  This tattoo is a wooden cross with thorns wrapped around and a sign that says "KING" at the top.  Although this tattoo is small and may possibly needs some more work added to it, it was my first and always will be. 

Left Shoulder Blade
Corey @ Artkore Tattoo Normal, IL 

My next tattoo came a couple of years later a few months after I started dating my now fiancé Jenny Schroeder.  This tattoo came 2 years later, this time a present for my 20th birthday from my fiancé.  This tattoo took a lot more thought and the basis behind this tattoo is Jesus Christ.  It is a price tag that is tattered and torn this symbolizing us as humans broken and torn without hope.  Printed on the tag is the word "PAID" symbolizing the fact that our tattered and broken lives are paid for.  Then as the tattoo continues there is a crown on the corner of the price tag with purple blood dripping down.  This symbolizing that Jesus has paid our sins and given us hope.  His blood is purple (purple being the color of royalty) and he is the true KING.

Right Chest
Skinquake Greenwood, IN

Now the addiction really began as my hope to get more and more tattoos grew.  This time it was about a year and a half.  This was much more spontaneous.  Jenny and I were merely feeling like getting another tattoo so I found some script that was meaningful to me.  This tattoo is actually traditional Greek and it is the word POWER referring to Acts 1:8 which states "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." Jesus is speaking to his disciples just before he ascends up to heaven.  This verse has been the center of my life throughout college and it has kept me focused on my future and my role that God has for my life.

Left Forearm
Artistic Design Indianapolis, IN 

My latest tattoo came much quicker and has meant more to me than any other tattoo I have.  This tattoo is a symbol completely for my fiancé Jennifer Schroeder who is an artist at heart and always will be the most talented artist I know.  This tattoo came just a couple weeks ago in August of 2011.  This is an artist's palette symbolizing her artistic talent, it includes four colors on the palette.  Starting from the left is the color red symbolizing how powerful, independent, and strong she is.  Next, is orange (one of her favorite colors) symbolizing her happiness, bright attitude, and the sunshine in her eyes.  Then comes Purple which symbolizes royalty and the fact that Jennifer is my princess.  the final color is turquoise which is her favorite color, this is also the color that is on the brush.  This tattoo came our of my dedication to her and the future e will have together.

Right Hand
T.J. @ Irish Ink Greenwood, IN

Tattoos are a huge part of my life and there will be many more to come with about 10 more ideas to come including a tattoo Jenny and I will be getting together in order to symbolize our wedding.  When I got my first tattoo I did not think I would be a heavily tattooed person, but as my journey in life has continued and my love of tattoos has grown I have begun to realize that this would become a reality for my fiancé and I.

Till another Day,


normallyINDIE

Childhood dreams...

I have felt a little like dreaming about the past recently.  With that being said, as a gift from Netflix (aka i payed $10.99 a month for it) I was sent Angels in the Outfield on DVD.  When I opened this envelope I was so excited because I had not seen that movie since I was 10 years old.  Seeing Danny Glover, "Maggie", "Roger" & "JP", and  the rest of the cast just brought back a flood of emotions from when I was a baseball playing star in little league.  A little leaguer with the dreams of becoming a Major League star someday dawning the colors of my favorite team only one day to play in the World Series.

But the most amazing thing about our lives is that our dreams and aspirations seem to change on a regular basis.  As many of you know, I am not a major league baseball player (still a big fan of baseball) and my dream to become so is no longer there.  But the thing is that my dreams and aspirations although different are still at the center of who I am.  These dreams not coming from a '90's childhood hit movie, but coming from the ever growing relationship with God.  Since 1999, after accepting Christ my life changed as well as my dreams.  My dreams to have an amazing wife and to have a great job, but with these dreams comes a lot of stress and worry.

Our summer has been spent thinking about these dreams and the worry that comes with these dreams.  Where will our next pay check come from?, where are we going to live?, how are we gonna save for a car?, how do we furnish our apartment?, what city will we live in?.  All of these worries have consumed our conversation for the last several months and some of these worries have even dictated some future we have considered making.

But as I continue to think about it, the dreams of working in ministry and preaching to students about the passion I have for Christ.  This dream has begun to become tainted by the lack of response from churches and the ever growing need to pay the bills in the coming months.  But what we have come to realize is that these dreams, although they may change over the years, they are still at the center of who I am.  God has given me the passion and love to serve him, so if that means I serve him in the church or serve at some other profession, my motivation for my dreams will be to serve God daily.

Although my dreams have changed since Angels in the Outfield, they still have the hopes of being something amazing.  When I come to the end of my days I hope for God to welcome me with the words, "Welcome good and faithful servant, you ran the race and kept the faith."

Till Another Day,


normallyINDIE

Not much of a Camper...

So those of you who  know me personally realize that I am not much of a camper.  Jenny and I both do not really care to jump in an RV and travel to the Grand Canyon like the Grizwalds.  We are just not about the camping thing, so when I signed on to become the intern at MovementSM I found out that we would be going to camp.

Okay, before you think we are a country church that goes camping for a church retreat we went to camp at Woodlands Camp and Retreat center in Cleveland, GA.  From what I heard before I got on the wonderful charter buses (with DVDs & WiFi\) was that Woodlands was a plush camp that truly takes care of their campers.  So I was excited when we pulled up to the camp and saw the amazing cabins, the beautiful lake, the amazing trails, and the beautiful forest background.  Needless to say this would be a comfortable camp for myself to be at home for a week.  But what i did not realize going in was that God had a few lessons not only to teach our student ministry, but also us as a staff.

God gave me the opportunity to truly listen to his leadership in my life including trusting him with my career choices coming up (which seem to be a recurring theme in my blogs this summer).  God also gave me the opportunity to spend some time with Shane Combs, who is truly a blessing to my life.  Even looking back at the decision I had to come to Emmanuel, I began to realize that it was truly God who gave me this opportunity.

The final day of camp I was given the opportunity to worship God, but worship God in a way I had not worshipped in forever.

This summer God has truly become the center of my life, in my future marriage, my decisions, and my personal life.  God is everything that I am and everything that I seem to be.  God is my life and I look to serve him through everything I do in the future.

Until another Day,


normallyINDIE  

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

My Reading List

As many of you know one of my goals this summer is to read 50 pages a day everyday.  Although I have not exactly kept up with the goal to a T it has been great to go through my once unknown library of books and read through much of it.  Right now I have about 30 books that are still unread in my library and I look to finish all of these books by the end of the year.  Lofty goal, but I feel if I stay dedicated I can do it.  Here are some of the books I have read since my internship began 7 weeks ago: 


Love Wins - Rob Bell 
Poems - Emily Dickinson 
Jesus for President - Shane Claiborne 
Communicating for a Change - Andy Stanley 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling 
A Grief Observed - C.S. Lewis 
The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis 
The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis 


Each of these books have given me different nuggets of knowledge and truth that I have begun to try to include in my daily life, scripture reading, and sermons on a regular basis. 


I was given the privilege to purchase the Signature Classics by C.S. Lewis which includes the much heralded Mere Christianity.  But as well as this Christian Masterpiece, it includes eight other books that I have been dying to jump into:  Screwtape Letters (read), Grief Observed (read), Abolition of Man (read), Great Divorce (read), Problem of Pain, Weight of Glory, Miracles, and George MacDonald.  All of these books give the reader a deeper insight into the thoughts of C.S. Lewis not only as a writer, but as a person.  Int he book Grief Observed, Lewis tackles his feelings about his recently deceased wife.  You can just feel in the words that he is unable to handle this tragedy and is uncertain how or why a God who loves him would do something like this.  This truth just simply bleeds through his writings and you can truly feel the emotions he is feeling.  Each of the Signature Classics have this feeling of emotion and power to them unlike any other writer I have come across.  


That being said, I have committed to reading all nine of his Classics in hopes that after reading them I will have gained a new insight into the God that he and I both serve.  


If you may hear anything in this post hear this, Lewis' writings will give you a new and profound look at the God you serve and will open your eyes to an entirely new being you otherwise did not know existed.  His passion, emotion, and dedication for the living God is unparalleled and these same feelings will surely be a product of your reading these Classics.  


Till Another Day, 


Alec

Pain ...

So there I was excited about the final softball game of the year and it hits me, running to first base, over stepping the bag and falling slamming my head, back, and left arm on the ground.  Thinking i was okay just lying there for awhile, realized the rest of the night that my arm was hurt pretty bad.  Playing through the rest of the game, the pain intensified.  Got home and I realized that it is worse.  My beautiful fiance and I went to the St. Francis Hospital in Southport, IN.  After a couple hours of testing, x-rays, and waiting we received the verdict that it was no fractures, but severe bruising and swelling of the tissue in my elbow.  After a day of rest and pain, I realized that the pain is still pretty bad.

So what this means is nothing, but what I have realized is the unconditional love that comes from it.  My fiance Jenny spent the night at the hospital with me as well as got me donuts from Long's Bakery this morning, iced my elbow, and watched golf with me as I was still in pain.  Now this is not just about someone doing nice things for me, but the unconditional love that comes from this.  Jenny loves me so much that she would not have thought any different about it.  He first instinct was to help me and it was so because she loves me.

This love she has for me is not just for the feelings that may come from it, but her love for me is about sacrifice and action.  In order for me to really understand her love I have to see it through her actions.  And she proves it to me everyday that she is truly in love with me.  My fiance is the most wonderful and sacrificial human being in the world.

This love makes the waiting 7 months to get married harder than ever.  Everyday I get more and more excited to be with her.  She is the one and I am awaiting the moment I can show her my unconditional love for her someday.  I am waiting...


Till another Day

normallyINDIE

Networking & Things of other Nature

Jenny and I had the opportunity to take the week and head to the North American Christian Convention on Tuesday - Thursday of last week.  Those of you who don't know what this is, it is a Christian Convention of churches, mission organizations, bible colleges, publishing companies and everything in between.  For most this convention is an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, pray, and learn alongside those who are also involved in the ministry.  For me all of this took place, but in a another way "networking" was at the center of the convention for me.

Normally this is not something that I enjoy doing, I tend to spend much of my time listening and learning rather than trying to make contacts with people.  But this year was different, for I am searching for a job in the future and I am truly seeking to make some contacts in the Christian Church realm.  With this being said, I spent much of Tuesday walking around the convention center, seeking out opportunities to mingle and meet people of influence in the fields I am seeking to move into in the future.

One such group I was able to speak with just by chance was One Mission Society of Greenwood, IN.  Much of the conversation with Garrath who works at OMS I had no idea that they were stationed in Greenwood, IN.  But when I found that this group was located in Greenwood, it peaked my interest.  My fiance and I have set a meeting with this group in order to speak about any job opportunities they may have available in the future.  A group opportunity for me to seek out employment with a God centered group.

But what I find most interesting about this whole situation and my continued job search as a whole is the role that God is playing in the whole situation.  As I was walking around the entire convention, the one booth I happened to stop at was a society that is within 5 miles of were I currently work and is also seeking out employment of someone like me.  I do not think it was a coincidence that I happened to stop at this booth, but it was God who was leading me to the place I was called to go.  God continues to do so throughout the process of choosing a job as well.  I have continued to ask for trust in God and he is giving me opportunities to do so and I truly believe that God will continue to provide for me and my fiance.

When it comes to "networking" I am not necessarily a fan, but when it comes to "networking" God has become the center of my contacts and trusting in him is at the center of all that I am.

For another day,

Alec