technically speaking, i've had this talk before. the whole "are you sure you'll have enough money for college after this?" or "if you want to be a nurse, what does going on a short-term mission trip have to do with it?" or "wow, you want to go to a private Christian school? so ex-pen-siiiiive!"
i've had this talk plenty of times before. and it bothers me, because these people are supposed to be my family in Christ. but they don't act like it! i myself have been hypocritical in the church before, but thank the Lord that i at least admit to it. life isn't all about getting a top-notch education or making the big bucks or even doing things that seem to have no correlation (the nurse/mission trip thing). as God said to samuel, it is not the appearance that matters (in context it doesn't matter how tall or handsome this "man" is) but the heart. God looks at the heart, no matter how many people on earth think they know it. God knows it best, even better than we know ourselves.
why am i giving this spiel? because the heart is truly what matters most to me for this trip. it would be one thing to go on this trip to come home and be like, "hay gaiz look what awesome, godly things i did..oh did i mention how this one kid prayed for the first time because of m-"
yeah...NO. i'm not all about that showing off. i'm all about that finding my family (or re-discovering, for some) in Christ and about extending that spirit that keeps it together. God gave us a spirit of strength and love and faith, and i don't want to misuse that. there are only a few people in my life who have come close in giving me those precious, worthy gifts, and i generally don't want to throw those away.
so hopefully this helped you get to know me a little better. :) our next assignment, due this Sunday (Easter Sunday!) is our personal prayer letters, and though this wasn't a draft, hopefully it's at least a good preview of what some of you will be receiving in an envelope from me sooner or later. :)
耶穌在這裡
i've had this talk plenty of times before. and it bothers me, because these people are supposed to be my family in Christ. but they don't act like it! i myself have been hypocritical in the church before, but thank the Lord that i at least admit to it. life isn't all about getting a top-notch education or making the big bucks or even doing things that seem to have no correlation (the nurse/mission trip thing). as God said to samuel, it is not the appearance that matters (in context it doesn't matter how tall or handsome this "man" is) but the heart. God looks at the heart, no matter how many people on earth think they know it. God knows it best, even better than we know ourselves.
why am i giving this spiel? because the heart is truly what matters most to me for this trip. it would be one thing to go on this trip to come home and be like, "hay gaiz look what awesome, godly things i did..oh did i mention how this one kid prayed for the first time because of m-"
yeah...NO. i'm not all about that showing off. i'm all about that finding my family (or re-discovering, for some) in Christ and about extending that spirit that keeps it together. God gave us a spirit of strength and love and faith, and i don't want to misuse that. there are only a few people in my life who have come close in giving me those precious, worthy gifts, and i generally don't want to throw those away.
so hopefully this helped you get to know me a little better. :) our next assignment, due this Sunday (Easter Sunday!) is our personal prayer letters, and though this wasn't a draft, hopefully it's at least a good preview of what some of you will be receiving in an envelope from me sooner or later. :)
耶穌在這裡