The story of this picture is from a random joke that a my friend Benny and I had in the college dorms. Dark Potassium was my given nickname from these events, and many seemed to enjoy. Not everyone appreciated it however, some thought that it was childish and immature.
My response to this is “why are you worried about this kind of perception?”. Did they not see what the joke of the fun with in it? Can they not see the potential of what it is, and what it could be. So now I bring this to you, in a different context. Should we be worried about the perceptions of Christianity? There seems to be a lot of hate towards the faith, and we may very well be losing chances of conviction with these individuals. So should we worry about the hate, both in and out of the family of Christ?

This question for me is one of the toughest. The reference of this question comes from 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (New International Version)

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by[a] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

The part that I struggle with is “what part of the body am I designed for?”. “Who am I in the plan of God?” There is a purpose for me and he has revealed much to me but yet I am unsatisfied. Why? I have done amazing things when I become the clay that God wants me to be, but I continue to strive for what I don’t understand.

Will I end up like Moses waiting for 40 years to do something I didn’t think I was meant for. Or will I bring honor to God as David did, being known as a “man after God’s own heart”. Or will I continue to do what I do because I am who I am meant to be.

Now I ask you “who are you?”

Depression is something that until lately has been more of a bother than a lesson. The book of Galatians tells us that one of the fruits of the spirit is “joy” and as I think about this now I am ever so intrigued. Not just having joy but the level of importance it has for us as Christians. Why is it so important and why do I even in the good become depressed? There are days of great joy, but changes in the instant when face with the simple family joys that I didn’t have growing up.

I will never know what my life would be like if I grew up with my father, will it be better or worse I will never know. There is nothing that can be said to justify that so how does someone like me cope with something like that? Jesus told a parable about a man’s house (heart) that was filled with demons (his sins). He empties his house of the demons, and leaves it empty. Time passes and the demon sees that the house that it use to dell is still empty. The demon gathers others and returns to the house.

So what does this mean for us? What I would like you to understand is that the sin the man emptied did not only come back, but came back worse than it was before. So can be done? My answer to that is when you empty your “house” fill it with something new, everlasting, fill it with Jesus Christ. I have not yet passed my struggle with not have my earthly father, but I know that when I do the joy of the lord will be my strength.

Much time has past since my last entry, and through this time I have learned a lot. The thing that I want to discuss is patience. Something not easy to do but very important.  Patience is something that everyone is learning but how many of us are applying this.

I say that because we get caught up in the world of learning, but not living. Now some have said “how do you live paticently?” “How can you accomplish this?” Gal 5:22 tells us that patience is on of the fruits of the spirit, and my understanding and from my understanding of the fruits of the spirit, these are gifts that every christian has.

So how do you access this gift? I believe  Romans 5:3 describes it best when it say to “rejoice in our sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character.” This scriptures tells me that patience can be developed by opportunity. To every christian I say every moment is an opportunity to be patient, everyday of your life is a chance to be patient.

What do you see when you see this image?

Do you see butterflies, clouds, sunlight?

How about opportunity, hope, Gospel?

Every year Elkhorn Church of Christ has the opportunity to host Vacation Bible School. The theme this year was God’s Big Back Yard. In addition we have a group from Alabama come to Elkhorn, Wisconsin to help staff this one week event. We generally like having one staff member for every five kids.

The Alabama group usually brings between 30-40 people every year, which is good considering all the preparation that need to be made the night before our opening. If you brake the preparation down by hours per person we spent 400 hours in preparation.

The first day is always the hardest especially for my group “Pre-K”. There has not been one year that the kids in my class don’t haven’t scream there lungs out because mommy and daddy left them. I am the only one of the teachers in my group has dealt with this every year, because I always have different helpers for every year. However I have discovered that if one child chooses to be involved this makes the other kid time away from there parents that much easier.

This past year I had that kind of child, She was used to being away from her parents because she attended day care every day of the week. whenever we would sing, she would always want to sing her favorite song “Jesus Loves Me”. Oh how adorable she was and how much easier it made things for me to have the other kids involved. The more she would sing the more they would sing. Of course not all wanted to sing and some didn’t even want to be there but by the end of the week I could say that changed a lot of lifes.

I am truly happy to have met such a energetic, enthusiastic, and song loving child. I am not sure if she new that she was whorshiping God but I do know that she loved doing it. And because of her, others who did not want to be there to became my best friends.

I have learned a very important lesson from this little that I don’t think I will ever forget. This lesson comes from James 3:5 which says: “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark”. To me that tells me that it only takes a spark to start a fire, that one little girl singing can start can bring others to know Christ.

So back to the picture, when I look at this picture I see oppertunity, hope, Gospel. The Gospel is what drives me and by this oppertunity, I can give these children hope, and it started with one little girl singing her favorite song “Jesus Loves Me”.

Every sunday night at 9:00 pm York College schedules a communion night at East Hill Church of Christ. every sunday night many other students and myself come together to sing, hear a devotional thought, and partake in communion. The most interesting thing during the time of communion is that there is no concrete structure. When you take communion your are given as much time as you want to pray alone or with others. There have been nights when some have left in tears or overwhelming joy.

Everytime I attend 9 o’ clock(that’s what the students call it)  there is always something special happening. The most recent 9 o’ clock was a incredibly special night because it was a open mic night, meaning that anyone could come up and share what communion means to them. One individual came up to speak about how much hope this night brings her every week. Another individual told us how this night makes his week easier. Others spoke of peace, joy, remembrance.

I sat in the front row soaking all of this in thinking, “how are there are so many answers to communion?” “How can communion mean joy to one and peace to another?”

The funny thing is there both right. As a matter of fact they are all right. What does it mean to you when you read the words this do in remembrance of me? I would say the best way to begin answering this question would be by asking your self “what are we suppose to remember?” Are suppose to remember just the sacrifice of Jesus, or is there more? In my opinion communion means to remember not just the sacrifice but, also the gift of the sacrifice.

So what gift did Jesus give us?

I believe that Jesus gave us exactly what the others were talking about in peace, joy, and remembrance. The gift that Jesus gave us is a new life. The more I think about this gift the more I remember what kind of person I used to be. Before Christ I say that I was worthless, hopeless, impure. But now by the gift, the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I mean something to someone that is much greater than me. I closing I would like to challenge you with one question.

So what to does communion mean to you?