Skate and Create

Today I had a really good skateboarding day. I went to Major Taylor (from the photo) and had a good ol' time with some of the guys who were there. I've been thinking about why skateboarding is so fun. For one, it's physical activity that gets your heart pumping, and I get really involved in it both mentally and physically. It's a great cardiovascular workout, but it is a high impact workout. Secondly, in all things we can praise God.

I'm really thankful for the two limber legs that God has given me, and the arms as well. I'm thankful that God keeps my heart beating at all times so I can live. And that I'm blessed to have the resources available to me to own a skateboard and make adjustments to my equipment ever so often. In all these ways and more I am blessed greatly. 

When Christ died, the veil in the Temple tore, opening up the Holy of Holies to every believer--and that means that we are all priests who should be offering spiritual sacrifices up to God. Romans 12: 1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing, to God." Skateboarding is a spiritual act from me to the Lord; it's an acknowledgment of His blessings and my love for them. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered on altars; when I go skate, the skateboard is the altar where I place my sacrifices and offerings. I work really hard to perfect my tricks so that I can offer perfect gifts to God. At the end of 2 Kings, King David asks to buy a threshing floor from one of his people, and the man offers to give it to him for free. Then David says, basically, that no, he will buy it because he doesn't want to offer to God anything that doesn't cost him something. 

I fall a lot when I skateboard, and I get back up, generally, and keep trying until I land the trick. I really rejoice when I land a trick perfect, and I give all the glory to God for it, because He gave me this day to live and to use to love in many ways. Today, I was trying two tricks over and over again: fakie frontside big spin and a backside heel. I can land them flatground pretty easily, but I was working on increasing my velocity on each trick and launching off of a kicker ramp, which takes a good deal of adjustment. I tried both around fifteen or twenty times, and then I finally landed each of them. Perfectly. I was so pleased with my hard work, that I was able to offer that time and my efforts to giving Jesus an acceptable and perfect display of my love, a pleasing sacrifice. 

It's so much fun to get going really fast, then spin and flip the board, and land perfectly. So. Much. Fun. Honestly, I wish everyone could experience it, but I'm glad not everyone can because it means more to me, and God. 

Here's a recent video of me and some friends skateboarding. They all go to Purdue with me, and we're all pretty close. That makes these types of things a lot more fun. Another great thing is that most of them are Christians, so we connect in that way as well. The music is the Godzilla Main Title, from 1954.

Chasing Heaven

This is my synopsis of the Lakeland Revival that I visited with my four friends: Steve, Matt (Michael), Geoff, and Ben. We were gone for about a week, and the trip was paid for by many individuals from the Upper Room Ministry; thanks! Long story short, there were a lot of people healed--and I mean a lot. I didn't know about a lot of the things going on, but that's alright, it was really wonderful and an entirely good thing. The video below is a collection of shots and thoughts throughout the trip. Some of my thoughts have changed, and some of them have stayed the same. I don't have any reserves about what was going on in Florida when we were there, I support it completely, and great things are happening through humble men of God.

Losing Her to Texas

I have one final left for the semester, and it's tomorrow afternoon. I wanted to make a post for my last day with Christy. Here are some pics from our recent adventures: at Horticulture Park at Purdue and Shades of Death State Park. The video is from Shades of Death State Park. The picture of the flowers here is a Dogwood Tree, it's my new favorite tree. And the blue flowers smelled like Fruit Loops!

Ferocity

This is a picture that I took on a walk Christy and I took. It was probably one of the better walks I've taken, because I got to do a lot of exploring. This picture reminds me of Romans 11:22, "So you see that God is kind and also very strict. He punishes those who stop following Him. But God is kind to you, if you continue following in His kindness. If you do not, you will be cut off from the tree." I like Paul's use of a tree here to establish Jesus opening His Kingdom to non-Jews.

It goes on to say in verses 28-32, "The Jews refuse to accept the Good News, so they are God's enemies. This has happened to help you who are not Jews. But the Jews are still God's chosen people, and He loves them very much because of the promises He made to their ancestors. God never changes His mind about the people He calls and the things He gives them. At one time, you refused to obey God. But now you have received mercy, because those people refused to obey. And now the Jews refuse to obey, because God showed mercy to You. But this happened so that they also can receive mercy from Him. God has given all people over to their stubborn ways so that He can show mercy to all."

Talk about a life saver! I'm learning more lately that one of my greatest joys is knowing that I was once teetering over the edge of Hell, and Jesus swooped down and came to my rescue. Verse 22 reminds me that we can fall out of His good graces if we fail to act as we have been taught. And there is deep forgiveness!

This isn't the post I intended it to be (as from my last one), but it's coming soon.

Flammable

So, I've been really very busy this past week or so; thus I haven't been able to discuss many of my thoughts or upload anything "fun." But that's going to change since the summer is just around the river bend.

I finished my study of 1 & 2 Kings, and now I'm in John (I read John 8-10 today). I'm really interested in the things Jesus did/said and how they apply to me right now. I like this section from Chapter 6 (verses 28-29): "The people asked Jesus, "What are the things God wants us to do?" Jesus answered, "The work God wants you to do is this: Believe in the One He sent." 

I'm trying to figure out how much believing I do in a day. I'm not actually trying to calculate it, but you know what I mean: do I do more believing or more unbelieving? I've been thinking about when Jesus tells us how to pray, He says "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." I really want that to happen around me and in my life. Sometimes I feel like Heaven might be all around me, but I don't recognize it. And I feel that that is a bigger mark than not having Heaven on Earth. So I'm asking God to help me see Heaven when it comes to Earth.

There is a whole lot that goes along with this, which hopefully will be my next post. It concerns a pool of water, some mud, and fireworks. Which reminds me, are you being flammable today? Are God's blessings igniting your soul to rejoice? My wonderful girlfriend reminded me of this verse the other day, Psalm 118:24, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." I can just hear that 90's song playing in the back of my mind now...

Trees

Today I had quite a fun adventure in one of the campus trees. I climbed to maximize the height and safety of my person. It would have been difficult for me to have climbed any higher really, so I stopped actually around the middle of the tree. I snapped some photos, talked on the phone, and took a video of my epic journey. 

*Urgent: My roommate's girlfriend, Lexie, just walked in and told me that she likes to climb this tree; her and her friends call it the elephant tree because of it's gray composure and wrinkly bark.* 

I also took a video while climbing the tree. By this time, I had climbed it many times, so I knew the best way to get about it. It's so fun to climb this tree; if you're in the area, I would highly recommend checking it out. I plan on doing some Bible reading up there later this week. 

Words Bring Life

First of all, I want to start off with one of my favorite pictures that I've taken. This tree is right in front of Joshua House (where I live; it was taken last fall). I just love the contrast in the trees of fall: the red leaves on brown bark, the orange leaves, and here the yellow leaves. It's soooo sweet!

Now, to get to the heart of what I wanted to share: the terrible severity of words. I was reading just now in Proverbs and I came across a few verses that really gripped my heart tonight: Proverbs 12:16, "Fools quickly show they are upset, but the wise ignore insults"; and Proverbs 12:18, "Careless words stab like a sword, but wise words bring healing." Man, talk about content!

Let's look at the first verse, Proverbs 12:16. This verse shows that words are very powerful, but that the wise, basically, do not get caught up in what others say or think about them--for they know that God is the only person that really matters. I'm not saying that we shouldn't care about what people think about us, but really I am, haha. No one knows me like God, and if God would say the same thing about me, then let me repent! The second verse, then, offers some practical advice for speaking: "wise words bring healing."

 

This reminds me of Ephesians 4:29, "When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need--words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you." It goes on in verse 31 to say, "Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others." I don't think that shouting sometimes is wrong, but if you're shouting to harm someone else, watch out, God's Holy Word says not to. I also think literally about how words affect others. I mean, think about it, if you're speaking kindly to all around you, aren't they going to want to be around you more? And won't your dear influence charge them with a similar conviction of their words?

 

Most people that know me know that I'm careful with words; that is to say, that I take time to consider which words I use to explain/describe what I'm thinking, because I already have a hard time saying what I'm thinking. I find words very tricky, because they lack a very necessary substance that I feel would give them just the kick of conveyance that they need. It is very tempting to just say the first thing that comes to our minds when someone takes a big bite out of us, or when they're acting like a completely unintelligent person. I'm really struck by the power the Bible says words have, and I need to work on better understanding this more. Because until I do, I don't think that I can really appreciate the kind words I get, or really love speaking truly kindly to others.