A Prayer

What a great prayer ... it's time to find a dream worth giving our lives to ...

A Prayer by Erwin McManus

"Lord, I need a dream worth giving my life to.
I need a life worth waking up to each morning.
I need a mission bigger than me.
I want to believe for not only me, but also for this world.
Amen."

Don't be afraid that your life will end. Be afraid that it will never begin.

Elf

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone already. 2009 is just flying by! But the best time of the year is upon us. And you know what that means ...

Time to watch all the classic movies! On Thanksgiving Day, Home Alone was on in HD. That is definitely one classic movie. I remember watching that so many times when I was younger on VHS.

And did you know? I even watched that movie before my Sr. Prom haha ... before I got ready and put on that tux. I was rockin' the tie and vest just like Freddie Prinze Jr. in She's All That. :)

But this post isn't about Home Alone. It's about one of the best movies for Christmas ... yes ... that is ELF. It's so silly, yet heartwarming at the same time. If you haven't seen it yet, well ... you need to watch it! And I think this was the movie that really pushed Zooey Deschanel into the spotlight. I really like her singing. Speaking of which ... I wanna see 500 Days of Summer again. Another lovely movie.

As for other great movies for this time of year ... Serendipity is another good one. I'll write about that one another time haha :P

So ... go and watch ELF!

Questions to ponder ...

This past Sunday's sermon was definitely challenging stuff. I was just thinking that I've probably listened to hundreds and probably even thousands of sermons over the years.

And it was kinda sad to realize that I've forgotten most of them. I wonder how many of them I've actually put into practice. So many seem to go in one ear and out the other.

Hopefully the messages will become something more. The challenge is putting into practice what we've heard. True conviction should lead to a response.

Pastor Harrison gave us 4 questions to ask ourselves to determine whether we are trusting in our ourselves or if we are trusting in God. Simple questions ... but yet so difficult to do.

1) Which is growing more: my accomplishments or my relationships?

2) Are the needs of others causing me to neglect the care of my soul?

3) Am I growing more and more dissatisfied with my life?

4) Am I growing more and more impatient with others?

The downside with getting older is that we tend to become less patient, more dissatisfied and unfortunately, too easily satisfied with so many things other than God.

Then again, age doesn't really matter ... it affects all of us ... young and old.

God, may you be my complete satisfaction. May your grace and your amazing love cause me to be more gracious to others as the years go by.

Hello Hurricane

You know how sometimes you read something and it just connects? Some people just have this gift with words. The power of oratory. The way they write or talk speaks volumes. So intricate and deep ... it's quite beautiful really.

I was reading this excerpt from Jon Foreman of Switchfoot fame on his band's new record titled, "Hello Hurricane". It releases next Tuesday, 11/10. Reading about the album and the songs really makes me want to get this album now. Maybe because I know the story behind the whole project ... the struggles, the longings, the hope through it all.

Check this out ...

The storms of this life shatter our plans. They tear through our world and destroy our hopes and dreams. They ruin sunny days, flatten the structures we depend on, and shock our world views. Hello Hurricane is an attempt to sing into the storm. Hello Hurricane is a declaration: you can’t silence my love. My plans will fail, the storms of this life will come, and chaos will disrupt even my best intentions, but my love will not be destroyed. Beneath the sound and the fury there is a deeper order still- deeper than life itself. An order that cannot be shaken by the storms of this life. There is a love stronger than the chaos, running underneath us- beckoning us to go below the skin-deep externals, beyond the wind, even into the eye of the storm. Hello Hurricane, you’re not enough- you can’t silence my love.

Wow. Mmm hmm ... that's so true. Love. Whoa.

I'm sure you want to read more. I read the whole thing already. There's a part two and a part three too.

You can't silence my love. I'm feeling that. Believing it.

We're All In This Together

Looking forward to checking this out on 11/4.

For one night across the United States ... everyone will be tuned in at the same time to see how we can be a part of the solution.

Filmed over a period of 2 years, The I Heart Revolution: We’re all in this Together follows the worship band, Hillsong United, as they travel across 6 continents 42 nations and 93 cities in a cross-cultural journey of music, animation, interviews and live action documentary as they realise every story of hope, love, loss and sacrifice ultimately points to the one story.

We're all in this together. Let's do this!

Shine!

I was just thinking about why people love movies so much. Maybe it's because in a story, you are able to find yourself in it. You can relate. You've been there before. Or possibly, you're in that exact situation while you are watching that moment unfold in the movie. And you are secretly hoping for resolution in your own life too.

It's quite thrilling when you see that conflict being overcome. That scene when hope starts rising again in the movie and in you. That "aha" moment when everything just clicks.

I was watching Coach Carter and I love that scene where a student recites these lines about shining. So powerful. I was looking up its origins and wow, it's even better in its original form. And I was thinking that's all I want to do with my life. I want to shine. I want to enable others to shine too. I really want to be a shining star.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

-from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson.

It's time to SHINE!

Leave a trail

Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm ready to blaze a trail. Are you?

Risk

Haven't updated this thing in awhile, but life is good. :D Lately, I'm starting to find the things that really inspire me. I love when that happens. Don't you?

Whether it's an inspiring quote, a thought-provoking book, a deep conversation, a convicting sermon, a beautiful song lyric, or just the glorious moments of this life ... these are just some of the things that breathe life into my soul.

"Attempt something so great for God that it's doomed to failure unless God be in it." - D.L. Moody

As I recently read ...

Take big risks. Chance failure. Experience life.

Sounds good to me!

My Life

I was watching this video last nite and wow ... I definitely connected with it.

I found it to be so true of what I've felt in my own life. Have you ever felt this way?



The beauty of it is that there is a solution. We were meant to live for so much more. Your life matters.

And when you believe that, it really does change everything.

What are you dreaming about?

Humans are most fully alive when they dream.

Do you believe that? Somewhere along the way, we decided that as we get older, our dreams can no longer become reality. Why?

Dreams make life exciting!

DreamLab - Host Invite from Awaken on Vimeo.

I'm ready to imagine again. I want to pursue a dream that makes this world a better place. Do you?

There's a place for you.

Wow, it's finally here. Check it out ...



There's a place for you. Passion 2010. Can't wait!

Passion 2010 Livelink

Every generation lives for something. What are you living for?

For those of you that have followed my blog for awhile via the old site, you'll know that I'm very big on this ministry called Passion. God has used it to breathe hope in me when I felt so hopeless and fearful. And it has challenged me to live for something ultimate. If it were up to me, I would want every college student to be able to attend this conference. It is so worth it.

This Monday, 9/14, there will be a livelink (a nite of worship and prayer streaming live via the web) that we can all join. A few of us are meeting up at CBCSJ to participate. I'm trusting and believing that it'll be a great nite because our God will be there.

More details about the livelink can be found here.



Even though I'm no longer in college, I still believe so much in this generation. I know what it's like to wonder if I'm living for what truly matters. I long to see a generation rise up ... unleashed to do everything that God has dreamed for them. And to alter history in Jesus' Name.

So, come on out ... participate in the livelink and be challenged to live for the One who matters.

Press on

"The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me."
~ Abraham Lincoln

Really connected with this quote from Abe as I often feel like quitting. It's so hard to rally people together for something you truly believe in.

You pour out your heart and you share about it constantly, but yet ... people don't really care. However, if the cause is right and if you believe in it with everything you've got ... you must press on.

Why is it so hard to inspire people? Why is it that people are unwilling to try? Who knows, but regardless of the response, I will continue.

Because if one person is willing to go for it ... it will be worth it. Still believing that greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done ... in this generation.

500 Days of Summer

Finally was able to see, "500 Days of Summer" and I really liked it. Definitely not your typical movie. It's neat how they move backwards and forward with the 500 days ... very creative.

I've been a fan of Zooey Deschanel ever since her breakthrough performance in Elf. She was in Yes Man too which was a crazy, yet inspiring movie nonetheless. I actually heard about 500 Days of Summer awhile ago while reading this article in Relevant Magazine. Made me really want to check it out.

Listening to stories in general reminds you of what makes the world come alive. ~ Zooey Deschanel



So, if you haven't seen it yet ... definitely check this movie out. I think you'll find it to be hopeful in a way you might not expect.

And for those of you who have seen it ... what did you think? All I know is it made me want to be a greeting card writer. That would be a fun job!

Wide Awake

Got a chance to share this video with the class I've been helping to lead this summer. I don't know about you, but I find it really inspiring.

There's a reason we have aspirations, ambitions, and dreams. I wonder what it would look like if everyone pursued their dreams. Don't you think the world would be a better place?



Human history is dramatically affected by the dreams that we try to live out. The dream of one person can create a different future for so many people. It’s amazing how a dream can have the power to change an entire planet.

What would happen if ... all of us began to discover our God-given dreams? What would happen if all of us began to live wide awake and began to live our lives in such a way that everything we did ... every choice, every act, if all of it was used to fulfill those dreams and make the world a different place?

If all of us began to live wide-awake, if all of us began to live out the dreams that God created us to live, the world would never be the same again.

Oh, and the book by the same title, is pretty good too (only $8 on Amazon ... sweet!). Definitely challenging if you've ever wanted to stop living a mundane life.

Simple Pleasures

• Coca-cola with ice on a hot day = pure bliss. Refreshing. It's the simple things that bring a smile to our faces.
  
  

Here are more of my simple pleasures in life.

• Beautiful flowers
  
  
  
  
• Blue skies
  
  
  


• Crème brûlée
  
  
  
  
• Spectacular views
  
  
  
  

• Candy
  
  

• What are your simple pleasures?
  
  What is it that causes you to smile? What do you enjoy?
  

Live Inspired!

This blog update is coming a little late, but last Sunday, I got a chance to lead on one of my favorite topics ever. I've been helping to co-lead a college/young adult class and while the material has been really good, there are some lessons that you love just a little bit more. Mainly because it connects with you so much. This was definitely one of those times.

I had an opportunity to ask the question, "If you could do anything with your life, assuming time and money were no object, what would you do?" It's always fun to read the responses to this question because you get serious answers and some not so serious answers. Here's a sampling of what people wrote down on post-it-notes ...

• Create a cure for cancer
• Eat every kind of meat on earth (except humans)
• Work with youth in ministry
• Go to a culinary school & work at a restaurant or open up a patisserie/shop
• Inspire young & old to do hard things to restore & repair the world
• Become a concert pianist
• Go to outer space
• Work for Dunder Mifflin
• Discover & eat the world's best chocolate chip cookie
• Eat at every expensive restaurant in the world!
• Travel around the world & serve God along the way

Don't you love it when people share their dreams? There's a reason we have dreams and passions in life. I truly believe we have these desires not by accident, but for a greater purpose. And when we pursue our passions and do them for something bigger than ourselves, that's when life truly starts to get exciting.

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness
and the world’s deep hunger meet.
~ Frederick Buechner

It was really beautiful to try to inspire these students to go for their passions with a greater purpose: to glorify God. Like the quote from Frederick Buechner says ... The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done.

I just know I want to be a champion of that. We, as the church, should be the ones who are unleashing others to pursue their God-given passions, gifts, and abilities for a higher calling. It was never meant to be for ourselves. Life is truly found when we give ourselves away. And the beauty of it is that we'll find it was God's will for us all along.

How about you? If you could do anything with your life, assuming time and money were no object, what would you do?

Where did that come from?

In my effort to get this new blog up and running, I realized I didn't even take the time to explain the title.

Life is an interesting thing ... filled with moments that take your breath away ... moments of joy ... moments of despair ... struggle ... change ... yet I find it's in the power of one moment that seemingly can alter our lives forever.

I remember having one of these moments. I was listening to the cd, "Ending is Beginning" by Downhere and there was just something about the track called, "Hope is rising." I know what it feels like to stop believing ... whether it be for a moment or for a season of life.

And yet, there is something so incredibly beautiful when hope rises up again. It's this sense that no matter what comes our way, the future will be better. There is optimism ... a belief in greater things to come. And most of all, it is grounded in this huge confidence in everything that God can do. I love moments when hope becomes real ... when it rises up in you and you feel ready to rise up. You begin to live the way God has always intended.

So, if you're tired of reading ... check out the song and may you live filled with hope. Because really ... there is no other way to live.



I've lost all my earthly optimism,
That it's all going to be alright,
That the good will win this fight.
Somewhere between youth and disappointments,
The dream became despair, the love became a lie.

Just now, I've reached the end of my line,
Just now, I'm too tired to keep on trying.

Chorus:
Hope is rising, it's a sunrise, for the end
Hope is rising, and it's breathing for me again,
Hope is rising again.

Soon beneath the roses I will lie,
All the memories of my days, gathered to the sky,
Soon all my work will find it's worth,
And all my strength returned, to the water and the earth.

Just when I reach the end of my life,
Just when my eyes dim out the last light.

Set Apart

Reviewing the lesson for Sunday and I really connected with this quote:

"Christian holiness is not (as people often imagine) a matter of denying something good. It is about growing up and grasping something even better." ~ N.T. Wright

How do you respond to that statement? Do you find it to be true?