Underwear and Sandwhiches

Merry Christams Eve !

I hope that Merry is a perfect word to describe your Christmas... lets be honest - the holidays are a tough times for a lot of us. We spend a lot of time thinking about the things and the people that are no longer in our lives. Maybe they passed away, maybe they are in the army, maybe its our first christmas without them... maybe its our twentieth and it isn't any easier. Or maybe we got a diagnosis that wasnt what we were hoping for, or maybe we are still waiting for the results... The holidays represent a season of family for most of us - we travel for hours and over seas to be with the people we consider our family. Our memories are consumed with our dads jokes or our moms gentle spirit. We look back and remember it being perfect when those certain people were still around...

Tonight at church our pastor's wife read a story about a little girl who was longing for the sense of hope to be renewed in her community. The cold and foggy atmosphere was becoming too much for her... she had to take matters into her own hands. Something needed to happen and she was determined to see that it did.

She was sick and tired of life being bland. She was hungry for some spice - some hope. She knew there had to be more to life than materialistic necessities... There had to be more to life than underwear and sandwhiches. She was convinced that there was something they were all missing out on... something big that would spice everything up, given the chance.

Mark my words, there is more to life than underwear and sandwiches. You can experience the fullness of God amidst adversity. In fact, hope stands firm when it seems that all else has fallen.

Jesus himself says this : "You will face difficult times. You will experience hardship because you live in a fallen world. You will have troubles. The road is not smoothe. You will fall and bleed and cry. Your heart will get broken. but...

take heart. I have overcome it all."

We have been redeemed - we have been restored. No matter our losses, no matter the schemes and plots of satan... Jesus has the final word. He came to show us his redeeming love, so that we would encounter Him and hold tight to the hope that he has given us.

Where ever you find yourself this Christmas season, remember that Jesus was born so that You would know his outrageous, unconditional, furious, overpowering love he has for you. He is gentle, and strong - He makes up for what is lost, and he understands where your heart is.

When you expereince his abundance amidst adversity, you wont be able to contain your joy. Your cup will overflow, and your peace will surpass all understanding.

May your Christmas be Merry, May you see the joy through the fog, and May you know that there is more to life than underwear and sandwiches.

Doubting Thomas & Slow Down, Quinton.

Today at church we talked about all the names of Jesus. The Son, The Father, the Holy Spirit, Messiah, I Am, Abba, Healer, Protector, King of the Jews, and the list goes on... throughout the bible, Jesus was known and proven to be worthy of many different names. Today we talked about one in particular: Jesus as God. He was fully man, and fully God while he walked the earth. The sermon was about all kinds of different facts and miracles but there is one thing that struck me: The resurrection of Jesus is the one thing that leaves the world with no excuse to not believe. It was the way that God said to the world, "There is no way you can deny me now." The evidence is so clear. It is the truth that Jesus was beaten and hung on a cross, was burried in a tomb, and then three days later raised from the dead. It cannot be argued, over five hundred different people saw, spoke and interacted with Jesus after His resurrection. One man stood out to me the most. Thomas. We refer to him as "doubting thomas" but lets be honest, if one of your best friends and the leader of your pack was murdered and everyone came to you telling you that He was now alive, would you automatically believe? I think a lot of us are more like Thomas than we like to think. Thomas says, "I won't believe that Jesus has risen unless I touch his wounds with my own hands." He doesn't believe that Jesus is really alive... since Jesus is fully God, he knows where Thomas's heart is, and he understands what is going on through his head. Instead of writing him off because he has no faith, Jesus finds Thomas and says, "Come here Thomas, and put your hands in my wounds." He goes on to say that "those who believe without seeing will be blessed." but he loves Thomas and He knows the desires and the needs of his heart. He meets those needs by showing Himself real. Growing up my dad has always reminded me that God can speak for himself. When we were faced with tragedy or trial, he would tell us to ask God to reveal himself to us... He told us to ask and to wait and to listen. The Lord speaks. He is just as alive as we are. I wish the world knew that. I wish the world knew that Jesus cares about where they are. When you are confused and you have a doubting and unsettling feeling in your stomach, Jesus cares and he doesn't only care, but He wants to reveal himself to you. He wants to become real to you. Jesus didn't have to go to Thomas and say come and put your hands in my wounds, but he knew thats what made Himself real to Thomas, so He honored him and did it anyway. I love that about Jesus. -------------------------------------------- If you're a pretty regular reader, than you might recognize the name Anis Mojgani. He's my favorite poet, and though some of his work can be vulgar at times, he is an excellent writer... His poetry makes me think, and it inspires me to write. In his poem "For those who can still ride in airplanes" he address the issue of trying to figure out this thing called a man... He explains that his one desire is to find God everywhere. He says, "I spend most days making pictures or thinking about making pictures... I dream too much, and I don't write enough, and I'm trying to find God everywhere. I want to find God in the morning and the tired hands of dust. At the mouth of a river and down by its feet." "Tell me what my fists keep writing. My fingers open up like gates when I write, and the wind is swinging in the wake... I lift bridges with poems." He finds himself on a bus with a small boy named Quinton, and they take a glance into eachother's worlds... Quinton reads to Anis and he becomes so excited that his hands begin dancing back and forth across the pages, stumbling over words, skipping over lines because his fingers are moving fastser than they're showing his eyes... Anis listens. "Slow down, Quinton. You don't have to touch and go. You can see it all while your finger whispers on one word. Slow down and hold what you see for just a little longer. For in a world full of fast faces I'm looking for God everywhere..." We become so caught up in our agendas, and our hectic schedules. We have practices to be at and meetings to attend and classes that we can't miss and tests to study for and jobs to apply for and music to write and books to read and sermons to create and we forget to slow down. We don't have to touch and go. There are things we must observe along the path. The other day I was talking to Jesus and he said, "Kirby, I go before you each day, so look for the little things that I hide along your path. I put things out for you to observe and to rejoice over." The next day I was walking to class and I saw this big huge colorful pile of freshly raked leaves... I laughed and my cup overflowed with the memories of jumping into those leaves when I was little. Slow down. Observe the things the Lord puts in your path for you to sing about. They are there. It's a matter of whether or not you'll stop to notice. Pause. Observe. Rejoice.

For the Elephants

Happy Thanksgiving! I can not believe that it's already November 25 - the semester has flown by... only one month until Christmas!

It's nice to be home with time to relax. Usually, when I come home, I'm rushing to do all kinds of things before sunday afternoon rolls around, and I make my treck back to Norman. I'd much rather spend the hours that I'm in Tulsa laying in the living room with all 5 members of my family, laughing about random things...

Last night I was laying on the floor with the christmas tree next to me... It was lit up and beautiful with all kinds of white, red and gold ornaments and snow flakes and berries and buttons; For the past couple years, Barb has been in charge of decorating the tree - and if you were here, you'd be able to tell :) But, I was laying there laughing about something, when it struck me that most of the United States never gets to do this.

There are families with broken relationships - there are living rooms with elephants occupying too much space.

Some of us have dads that left when we were young, and moms that sit with Jesus today... Some of us were beaten and abused, some of us maybe still are. Some of us are dealing with self issues, and wonder if we will make it through the holiday, some of us have sisters and brothers across the world fighting for our freedom, and some of us have never known what it is to have a "thanksgiving meal".

The holidays aren't bliss for everyone. For some of us, it's hard to get through. The holidays bring back painful memories, and a sense of lonliness. We wonder what could be different if we had our mom or our dad back. We are angry at the family member who crossed the line of appropriateness when we were young and robbed us of our innocence, some of us have never had enough money to taste the famous pumpkin pie...

This is for the elephants in the room.

Today isn't the easiest day of the year for a lot of us... I hope the intensity in your living rooms are replaced by peace today. I hope that laughter and joy fill your homes. I hope there is something for you to PTL about.

Terrible things happen in this world, and most we will never know why; but rest assured that the Lord knows exactly what we need when we need it - and He takes care of us. Even though you are in immense pain, Jesus has not forgotten.

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. Psalm 146:4

Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. For this is God's will for you. 1 Thess 5:16-19

Happy Thanksgiving - I hope that is exactly what it is.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

One night, The Lord spoke to a man about what He had planned for this man's life. The man was just an average joe, just like the rest of us... No better, no worse. To the eyes of the world, he was a normal man. To God, he was a willing heart - a heart that dared to say "Lord, wherever you want me and whatever you want me to do - I'll do it." the Lord replied...

"Raise up your students to hear My voice, to go where My light is dim, where My voice is heard small, where My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in this I am well please."

The man was Oral Roberts - Oral Roberts University is an internationally known school. Great leaders have come off of that campus - all because one ordinary man said "yes" to an extraordinary God.

The other day I was having a conversation with my friend and we were talking about how we want our lives to be worth something - We want to do outrageous things for Jesus... there is one issue that tugs hard on both of our hearts and it's the issue of human trafficking and the growing industry of the sex trade.

Women and children are being sold, beaten, and raped day in and day out. Planes, trains and automobiles are carrying these innocent people who have been stripped of their innocence, their youth and their rights. A young female who has been kidnapped and trafficked lives, on average, for three years after the day she was kidnappped. Her body, her fearfully and wonderfully made body, becomes absolutely mutilated due to the number of times she is raped daily.

We have got to put an end to this.

"...He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he deteremined their boundries... for in Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17: 26-28

God annointed each and every one of our lives for this time period. For this year. For this week. For today. None of us were born in the wrong decade, or the wrong era. He decided beforehand when we would rise and when we would fall. He already determined our boundaries.

Some of us long to travel the world and to bring the message of Jesus to the uttermost bounds of the earth - others of us are terrified of leaving the U.S. The Lord created us and wired us exactly the way he wanted us to be... When we offer our bodies as living sacrifies to God, we are worshiping God in the truest form.

When my friend and I were discussing our plans of how we want to serve God, he began to tell me a story - there was a man and a wife and they were serving as missionaries in the Dominican Republic. She was pregnant and her babies were born deaf - they ended up having to leave the Dominican for one reason or another and the man cried out to God "Lord, why is all of this happening? We are serving you with our lives as missionaries! Why would you take us out of the Dominican... this country that our hearts have grown to love?"

Brace yourself.

The Lord replies to the man, "Are you going to serve me the way you want to, or the way I call you to?"

"We seek selfish ambition far more than we seek the will of God." - Tim Mannan

I want my life to mean something - but I want to serve Him the way He calls me to... not the way that I want to. If He calls me to the uttermost bounds of the earth, I'll leave in a heartbeat; because that is my dream. But what if he calls me to stay in Oklahoma City for the rest of my life? Or what if He calls me to run a children's day care? - This is when you discover your true motives...

Are you going to serve God the way he calls you to, or the way you want to?

Shine

Have you ever been to a broadway show or a football game or any sort of performance where the people you were watching seemed to be having so much fun that you couldn't help but want to get up and play or perform with them? Those are always the best kinds of shows - the players and dancers are shining with something contagious... makes me want to sing, or dance, or jump... stirs something in my heart - gets my adrenaline pumping.

For the past nine weeks i've been practicing with 49 other freshmen to perform an absolutely stellar show in front of hundreds of people. Nine weeks ago, the perfomance weekend seemed forever away - but now it's here and looking back, I can't believe it has already been that long! Everyday our directors tell us that our facials and our sharpness aren't in our muscle memory yet, so in order to do those things we have to think about them. With every practice our desire to win skyrockets... We want to be the best - we want to show everyone that we are the best; just as all the other teams want to.

Last night was our dress rehearsal in front of all the other teams. Before we took the stage my friend prayed over our performance - not asking for favor, but simply that we would have so much fun on that stage, that the crowd would be blown away by the light of Jesus shining through us. He prayed that we wouldn't be pretending with our giant smiles and big facials - but that through our performance the light of the Kingdom of God would be seen; it seems that would require great authenticity. It might require a change in heart for all of us.

don't get me wrong, our desire is still to win! But even more, we ask and we hope that through our ridiculous amount of energy, God will be glorified.

Think about if that was our souls desire, our hearts cry, in every single thing we did... What if in every day, in every office or classroom we step inside, in every phone call we answer, in every 5 o' clock traffick we get stuck in, every single person we come in contact with - what if our one desire was that the fire burning inside of us would be seen through our actions and our words - what if it became contagious... maybe the world would see us differently. Maybe they would catch the fire, and hearts would melt. Maybe bridges between people would be built in place of thick walls.

Isn't it interesting that the people who hated Jesus were the ones that were stuck on religion and rules and obsessed with the idea of catching Jesus doing something wrong? The tax collectors and the adulterers and the murderers and the prostitutes and the sick and the dying and the heart broken were all drawn to Jesus... They could tell there was something different about Him - they were attracted to the light that was inside of Him.

We were created in His image to do the things He did while He was here.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works that I have done, and even greater works..." John 14:12

It's absolutely crucial that we strip off the things that dim our lights - Light is the one thing that the darkness cannot overcome. The light transforms the darkness.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." Matt 5:14

Maybe letting our light shine in EVERY situation in every day isn't in our muscle memory yet - it requires us to think about the image that we are portraying to the world. We are representatives of the greatest phenomenon to ever walk the horizon of the earth... makes me step back, and think about what people see in me.

I pray that the people that I come in contact with will not see me, but Jesus inside of me. I pray that with every day, he is more and more visible inside me. I pray that the love of Jesus will overwhelm the hearts of the people I meet... I pray that His love inside me will surpass all the religious chaos out there - He is far greater. I pray all of these same things for you...

Let your light shine, He is so attractive inside of you!

Spare Change

What is it that you're asking God for today? What is it that you need?

As I live here in Norman, I find myself more and more blessed every single day. I stand in awe of the relationships that have already unfolded before me. Role models and mentors that I could have only dreamed of are now instantly standing beside me when I need any kind of support.

Growing up I learned the moto "It's not what you know, but who you know" real early. As I've gotten older, I've become a strong believer in the truth of that saying. If we set goals as high as the moon, but do not build relationships along the way, we will get no where. We were created for community, and we must stop and see the people that God has placed in our paths. Maybe that relationship doesnt have much of an effect on you... maybe you're being used to better someone else. Be aware of your surroundings, there is ALWAYS a new friend to meet, and it's only a matter of time.

Anyways, that was just a sidenote.

I've been talking to some of my girlfriends this week about what's going on in their school lives within the next few weeks... with midterms coming up, everyone is in a studying frenzy - always on their way to the Library. We've been talking about the worries that we each have when it comes to our grades - none of us being familiar with College yet, trying our hardest to get into the swing of things.

My mom would always tell me to "speak life" over things. Naturally, it's now the first thing that pops into my head.

God is so huge. I would hate to tell him that He's not smart enough for Zoology, or Chem, or Anthropology... I can only imagine what He would get on that test... :)

"A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish anything - or destroy it!" James 3:5

I have a friend that was taking Chem a couple years ago and He got a bad grade on one of his tests so he had been re-studying all of the material so he could retake the test that he failed... he forgot that he had a new test over the new material on the same day. As he ran out of his house his cousin yelled a quick prayer for him asking God to help him on the test, asking God for favor.

He got a 100% on the test that he had completely forgotten about.

Could you imagine what our world would look like if we asked God for whatever it was that we needed, and expected Him to move?

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" - "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world."
Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes. He told him, "Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam." So the man went and washed and came back seeing! -John 9:1-7

Have you ever caught yourself asking God for spare change? - "Lord, please help me do okay on this test." "God, even just a little record deal will do." "Lord, help the doctors find a medicine that will heal me." Instead of "Lord, your word says that you came to give life and give it abundantly, I know that by your stripes I WAS healed. So I rebuke this sickness in the name of Jesus and send it straight to the pit of hell. I am Healed!"

What will it take for us to become a culture of need... When will we realize that we need a savior the same way the african people do, and the haitians? When will we stop believing God can do outrageous things, and start expecting Him to? Even satan believes, and shakes with fear. Our "faith" comes in when we expect God to heal us.

Too often we ask for spare change from God out of false humility. We miss opportunities when we ask for spare change. Don't you think God is waiting for a people who are waiting for Him to show off in and through them?

"I have appointed you for this very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth." Romans 9:17

I've heard it said before that "we want to see a miracle, but we don't want to be one" its time we let God use us how he wants to rock the face of North America. We are a continent that is desperate for something solid. Something that we can find Joy in...

Spare change will only get you so far. Start asking for what you need, expect God to take care of you, and watch Him at His finest.

We're waiting, God. Blow us away.

Sing!

Man, I've been sitting in my dorm watching this video over and over and over again, laughing hysterically to the point of tears. Her dad leaves a caption saying "What she lacks in tonal quality, she makes up in enthusiasm and volume".

I love the way her dad is so proud of her - when she gets a point in the song that she is so excited about she screams it with excitement and you can hear her dad laugh in the background.

He smiles and laughs with her. He marvels at how beautiful she is.

Watch it again. Notice the way her baby sister feeds off of her energy. Her joyful spirit is not only darling, but its now contagious.

It reminds me of the way my dad looks at me. He thinks i'm a goofball and a weirdo, but next to my mom he's my biggest fan. He laughs at the silly things i say and do... Reminding me that its okay to be a little different. He's proud to call me his, he claims me and protects me. He showers me with his love, reminding me that he isn't going anywhere. ever. Not even one day has come or gone where I have feared that my dad would leave me...

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

I can't even begin to imagine how much more Jesus looks at me and smiles... He radiates with joy.. over me! I bet when i sing for him, he laughs at my voice and obsesses over my enthusiasm...

If Jessica was singing without the volume or enthusiasm, she wouldn't be nearly as funny or as entertaining... but because she is so excited to sing for her dad, even when she messes up, she radiates joy. Her spirit is contagious.

Sing praises today. Be loud and excited and joyful! Jesus is so proud of you, He calls you His own... and He loves the way you sing.