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Living Your Dream

I really like day dreaming. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the things I am best at. I could sit in my office, my apartment, a coffee shop or restaurant for hours and think about all the amazing and wonderful things I could do. Shoot, I’m pretty much an idea making machine! But that’s all most of those ideas have ever been; dreams of greatness that float around in my head. I know why this happens. I know exactly what has convinced me that it would be foolish, even dangerous, to put these thoughts into action.

Fear. Read more

Big League Dreamin’

One of the best things about summer in the Bay Area is that it’s baseball season and we have two teams. This past weekend I was really lucky to be invited to the A’s vs. Giants game in Oakland. We arrived pretty early and got to go down to the first row and see Tim Lincecum get some work in the bullpen. The first thing I noticed is that these athletes are really, really talented. The human body is capable of incredible things. I also noticed that Timmy, along with the rest of the players on the field, were suddenly “life-size” instead of the couple inches they appear to be when I measure them with my fingers from the upper decks. That’s when it hit me.

They’re people, just like you. People who dared to dream and then pursued those dreams with everything in them until they got there. Read more

Why Church Music Matters

A couple days ago my friend Dan posted this question on Facebook: Theologically speaking, why do we praise God through song / hymn? He then messaged me and specifically asked me to comment on his status. What ensued was a 30 minute process that produced the first thing I wrote (and liked) in months. It also got me thinking about the music we do in church, why it matters, and how it is directly effecting the education and theology of the people in our church bodies.

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I believe… At least I want to.

For the last few months I’ve sat down and tried to write, but I hated everything I wrote. In the midst of this frustration, I kept sensing God nudging me to be more vulnerable in my writing, like my last post about Chelsea. Well, here we go. This post is for everyone else out there who struggles with depression, anxiety, and any other issue affecting how we view ourselves in relationship to God and people.

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The Sum of Many Parts – My Friend Chelsea

There’s a lot of talk in many circles, both Christian and otherwise, that we were not made to be alone. “No man is an island” is something that came out of my pastor’s mouth many times when I was in high school. The more I study Scripture and the more I live on this crazy planet, the more I am convinced this is true. We need people in our lives, and not just so we can use them as rungs on our ladder to “success”. We need people to encourage and who will also encourage us when we’re down. We need to love and be loved, to serve and be served. We need, in a word, friends.

A few months ago when I started writing, one friend in particular was very encouraging to me. I joked with her that one day I would write a post about her. I don’t think she believed me, but today is that day. This will be the first post of many where I showcase one of my friends, who they are to me, and how they have helped shape me into the person I am. Read more

3 Keys to Thriving This Holiday Season

Every now and then I will read over a previous post and be really happy with it. Other times, I will wonder what I was thinking when I pressed publish. This post is born out of the latter experience. I just wasn’t happy with how the last post came out, so in many ways this is going to be what my last post was supposed to be: Three keys to thriving (not just surviving) this holiday season.

I previously mentioned that I work in a retail setting. Because of this I often see and experience the front lines of the Christmas craziness. We all have things we need to do, parties to attend, gifts to buy, and there’s never really enough time to make it all happen. All this hustle and bustle can leave us mentally, physically, and emotionally drained. We get sick, resentful, basically anything that is the opposite of the joy we’re supposed to be experiencing. The funny thing is that while we’re out there going crazy trying to buy gifts for someone, they’re probably somewhere else experiencing the same level of craziness and irritation. How did we get to this point? What happened to just looking forward to spending time with our loved ones? When did it become a season of lavish spending, gaudy gift giving, and this over all sense of bigger and better? If you’re at all like me, and you want to actually enjoy Christmas, to thrive and not just survive, here are three keys to help you get there this year. Read more

Seeking the Reason

Advent is my favorite season in the church calendar. It’s so easy to take Jesus’ life, death, and impact on the world for granted. Advent reminds us of Israel’s longing for the Messiah, for our need for Him, and that He came to change not just my own life but the entire world.

Advent also happens to coincide with my least favorite time of the year: The holiday shopping season. I work in a retail environment, so it’s really easy to be overwhelmed by the craziness of people rushing in and out of the store in what is often a frenzied dance of searching, grabbing, and trying to buy that perfect gift for their husband, wife, child, baby sitter, or even their second cousin’s friend. Sometimes they pick up extra gift cards just in case there’s someone they forgot about.

Is this really what Advent, what the Christmas season, is supposed to be about? Read more

Sounds in the Silence

A few weeks ago I helped lead a weekend retreat for the high school group I am privileged to work with.  One of the activities we led our students in was some quite time by a lake.  I remember really looking forward to this part of the weekend.  I had been working nonstop at my new job.  So much, in fact, that I was beginning to think I was putting too much energy into my job at the neglect of other things (this blog for example).  Filled with anticipation, I sat down, took a few deep breaths, and began settling into the silence.

But there wasn’t silence.

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False Community (Dangers of Social Networks)

Today, while using Stumble Upon, I came across an article about teens and social networking.  I definitely see the benefits of these sites for staying connected with family and friends, and they’re great for business networking which is why you can find me on Twitter and Facebook.  I have also been saying for a couple years that these sites have an inherent danger of fueling selfish narcissism and fostering a false sense of knowing people.  They pose the danger of being the exact opposite of real community.  Below is just one quote from a 14 year old girl.

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3 Facets of A Life Rooted in Love (The Greatest Commandment)

In the 12th chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we encounter an educated man who was listening to Jesus teach.  He asks Jesus what the most important commandment is.  Jesus gives a very interesting two part response.  The first is that “you must  love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”  He then gives the second part saying “The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  No other commandment is greater than these.”  Jesus is saying to love God with everything in you, love yourself, and treat your neighbor with the same consideration you would give yourself. But what does this look like? How do we enter into this lifestyle of love? Let’s take a deeper look at each of these three facets to Jesus’ teaching. Read more