What my past few days looked like:
Thursday:
7pm: @ ECIC (worship practice) Bed
Friday:
7 am(ish): on the road to Vermont for the weekend! Manly Bonding begins!
9 am: Hiked into a state park in Topsfield and used a rope swing to dive into a river.
12 pm Lunch + back on the road
3-4 pm: Afternoon at Smuggler's Notch exploring the mountainside and spelunking!
5pm: Volley Ball @ the Chevalier's place in Vermont!
6 PM: Amazing BBQ dinner (chicken, and steak, corn on the cob, baked ziti, bread, salad, and yummy desserts!)
7 pm: Scriptural lesson involving rope and wrestling in some cases
7:30-Dark more volley ball. Best games I have ever played, for real.
??-?? Dip in the pool! 81 degrees!
??-10:45pm Warm self by the campfire, eat s'mores, and hear more of God's word.
10:45- Whenever: Stayed up late gazing at the stars and talking to new friends. It has always been my dream since I was a little kid to go someplace where I could a) see the Milky Way or B) See a shooting star. I saw both that night :)
Saturday:
6:30 am: Devotional time with God
7 am: Biggest Breakfast ever conceived by man (Denver Omelettes, breakfast potatoes, yogurt, fruit salad, frensh toast casserole (+tons of yummy VT maple syrup!) OJ and Coffee.)
8 am: Walked down to the dam and explored around the rocks there. Went through Old Hydroelectric plant pipes!
10am-10:45: Shot water balloons at a giant target with a giant slingshot. Later upgraded to small fruits and rodents (J/k about the rodents)
10:45-12pm: Pack up all the tents to leave, and MORE VOLLEYBALL!
12:30pm: Stop at Al's French fries for some food. Amazing fries indeed :)
1:30-5pm: Hiking to the cliff face to meet a friend. Great time Mountain Climbing and Repelling with Harnesses :) I made it to the top!
6(ish) pm: Leave to go home! Stopped at Wendy's for Dinner.
10pm: @Ecic to pick up my car. So tired, so sore, so worth it!
11 pm: Writing a blog post + Bed
Sunday: Back to ECIC for church and worship!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Money, Suffering, and Zen
People work because they think they need to. Oftentimes they work terrible jobs, jobs they HATE, because of their "need". They suffer and they do not know why. I know why people suffer, it is because they are insatiable. It is because their eyes invent things for them to need: money, power, fame, glory, honor, a job, a wife, a house, a tv, an iPod, a car and everything in between. They need them because they are told they need them. What if everything you owned was a tunic or two, a pair of sandals, and a walking stick, but God provided for your every need? Are you poor or blessed?
I never have any money, but I am not poor. It's because I give it all away. I give to lots of people, I make huge meals to share with everyone because it makes me happy to share with them. Can I afford it? The world says, "No, you can't afford this. Don't do it, you are being wasteful." To me though, I don't care about having money. I'm pretty sure everyone in the dorm where I live thinks I'm rich, but I've had to ask for money on more than a few occasions. I feel no shame in it. God provided me with an entire community of Christians who enjoy serving and providing for needs. I happen to utilize that. Someone once told me this "When you confess your needs to [other Christians], you are giving them the best gift of all: the opportunity to serve." After all, those who are the greatest in the kingdom are the ones who serve. So many people don't know how to be blessed by God. Don't be so proud.
The Buddhists believe the way to get rid of all suffering is to achieve Nirvana by getting detached from all needs and wants. A very noble truth, they go the path of emptiness. However Christians, I've found, go the path of fulfillment. Instead of eliminating every need, Christ becomes the one who fulfills every need. I like that. A filled and fulfilling life, life in abundance. That is indeed what God has promised His People.
To put it bluntly, Christianity offers the better deal. There is no meditation or koans to read/solve, and no reincarnation if you get it wrong (seriously who wants to live life again?). If truly all road lead to the same place as is the mantra of today's society, Christianity wins hands down. A lot of people ask me why I picked Christianity and if I think all the other religions are false. BTW, word to the wise, never answer yes or no questions with a yes or a no. No, I believe that the truth claims other religions make can be true or nearly true, and I never once claimed that other gods cannot exist. There is just no other God I would rather follow than the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Baal, Molech, Asherah, Buddha, Pikkiwoki, Vishnu, and whatever other gods the pluralistic society presents you simply do not match up to YHWH, the God who speaks and the God who sees me.
I never have any money, but I am not poor. It's because I give it all away. I give to lots of people, I make huge meals to share with everyone because it makes me happy to share with them. Can I afford it? The world says, "No, you can't afford this. Don't do it, you are being wasteful." To me though, I don't care about having money. I'm pretty sure everyone in the dorm where I live thinks I'm rich, but I've had to ask for money on more than a few occasions. I feel no shame in it. God provided me with an entire community of Christians who enjoy serving and providing for needs. I happen to utilize that. Someone once told me this "When you confess your needs to [other Christians], you are giving them the best gift of all: the opportunity to serve." After all, those who are the greatest in the kingdom are the ones who serve. So many people don't know how to be blessed by God. Don't be so proud.
The Buddhists believe the way to get rid of all suffering is to achieve Nirvana by getting detached from all needs and wants. A very noble truth, they go the path of emptiness. However Christians, I've found, go the path of fulfillment. Instead of eliminating every need, Christ becomes the one who fulfills every need. I like that. A filled and fulfilling life, life in abundance. That is indeed what God has promised His People.
To put it bluntly, Christianity offers the better deal. There is no meditation or koans to read/solve, and no reincarnation if you get it wrong (seriously who wants to live life again?). If truly all road lead to the same place as is the mantra of today's society, Christianity wins hands down. A lot of people ask me why I picked Christianity and if I think all the other religions are false. BTW, word to the wise, never answer yes or no questions with a yes or a no. No, I believe that the truth claims other religions make can be true or nearly true, and I never once claimed that other gods cannot exist. There is just no other God I would rather follow than the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Baal, Molech, Asherah, Buddha, Pikkiwoki, Vishnu, and whatever other gods the pluralistic society presents you simply do not match up to YHWH, the God who speaks and the God who sees me.
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