There for a Reason

This blog was bound to happen.

I mean how can it not…?

I just went through four of the best years of my life and completing my college career.

I have some thoughts about what happened and whats going to happen as my adventure continues

The thing everyone asks me is this

“Whats next?”

That is an excellent question

It usually is followed with something along the lines of

“Hows it going with the economy how it is? The job market isn’t that great…. Scared?”

I find myself thinking all the time

Should I be scared of the economy?

Of not really having a job cemented in yet?

Scared that I don’t know where I am living come August?

Collin

You are in the real world now
It is a brutal place.

And it is

The thing I am scared of is not that I do not find a job

Its not that I am scared of having to call mom and crashing in the basement for a month or two

Its not that I am not sure where my income is gonna come from in August (I have some strong leads)

The thing that I am scared of the most

Is that I would

lose my

imagination

Heres the thing:

My imagination fuels my dreams

dreams fuel my passions

Within my passions my “calling” is found

Its so easy to lose ones imagination

It happens all the time

All

the

stinkin

time

Trials rob us of imagination

Our pursuit of what we believe to be

our “right” to wealth and happiness

steal our imagination

and in turn our dreams suffer

All the while, our calling dies

When a persons imagination/dreams die they tend to believe they

Don’t have what it takes

What it takes to find the right job

To be the right guy for the job

What it takes to find the right girl

to be able to provide.

To be able to have good friends.

What it takes to be liked

To be successful

What it takes to make a difference in someones life.

What it takes

To change the world

Thats what I am scared of

The job market changes

The economy will pick up

Or crash more… depending

I never want to be that guy who

Ten years down the road am still seeking out what was left of my imagination

I can never lose sight of my imagination

I have to keep my dreams close

Proverbs 13:12

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” \

I was created to have an imagination

To have dreams

To have passions

And, so were you.

So to all those who have graduated either yesterday

Five years ago

40 years ago

Or to those who are graduating soon

Never lose sight of your imagination

Chase your dreams

Pursue your passions

They are there for a reason

A Toast

Here's a toast to the last four years of my college career. A written toast of course. To my fellow classmates of Toccoa Falls College 2010:

To the most expensive piece of paper we will ever buy

To the late nights

To the early mornings

To the homework completed

To the homework forgotten

To the A's

B's

C's

...D's

And yes... even to the F's

To the best friends a man could have

To the best days

To the worst days

To addictinggames.com for keeping us distracted while papers are due tomorrow

To procastination

To Facebook

To Twitter

To Myspa... nevermind. Myspace is lame.

More importantly, to hard work

To our professors

To the papers written

To living in the library

To those of us who never stepped foot in the library and probably should have

To MLA

APA

To those who stayed

To those who left

To those who left and came back

To the victims of swine flu

To those who never got swine flu

To Spring Breaks

To Road Trips

To random weird jobs

To minimum wage

To the relationships

To the hearts won

To the hearts broken

To laughing so hard you cant breathe

To those who shouldnt really laugh so loud...

To those who should laugh more in life

To bad jobs

To little Caesars, McDonalds, and Taco bell.

To Wal-Mart, where else can we buy supplies at 1 AM

To free t-shirts

To Aramark

To changing the world

To being broke

To the diseases fought

To the lives changed

To our parents

Brothers

Sisters

Families

To the unanswered prayers

To the answered prayers

To the surprises

To the regrets

To the coffee shops

To Ramen noodles

Frozen pizzas

Easy-mac

To those adventurous enough to cook for themselves

To Halo 1, 2, and 3

To Call of Duty

To saying you're going to bed at 10

Then going to bed at 2 AM

To the best four years of our lives

To the rules followed

To the rules broken

To what God has done for us in the past

And what He is going to continue to do in the future

To changing the world, again

To the best graduating class to come out of Toccoa Falls College

To 2010!

The Curse of Good

How many times has this happened to you:

It happens to me a lot

Everyday

I am walking

I see someone I know and this conversation ensues:

Me: “Hey”

Them: “Hey”

Me: “How’s it going?”

Them: “Good.”

Me: “Good.”

We both then walk our separate ways.

What does that even accomplish?

Other than acknowledging they exist…?

Maybe that

However, I am guilty of this so often everyday

I mean I am in a rush

Gotta get to class

Gotta get to work

Gotta get to the gym

The car

Home

I am a man on a mission

Places to go

People to see

In fact, I am an important person

To have a small conversation with someone would mess up my plans

Or would it?

I hope you catch the sarcasm in my writing

Because, we are all victims of the curse of “good”

This actually happened to me today

I thought about it and my thoughts were as stated above

“What did that accomplish?”

If anything its actually slightly insulting

It is as if I am saying,

“Hey, I know you are breathing,

however,

I am too busy to say how I really feel,

In fact I’m incredibly busy,

To inquire how you are doing

Would affect me.”

Now don’t get me wrong here

I am not saying that its a bad thing if you don’t have a 5 minute conversation

With everyone that you see

I would reckon that

There is a difference between acknowledging someone’s existence

And interacting with their presence

You could say I am playing with semantics

People who focus on semantics never accomplish anything

Give this a try:

Next time you are in danger of this conversation happening

Inquire of something unique about their day

If they’re holding coffee

Ask them how it is

Interact with them

It can be quick

People are affected when other people notice the small details about their life

And ask about it

It leaves an impact

Maybe its not coffee

Maybe its a book

Who knows

People will notice though

But this seems so small and trivial

I would challenge you to this though

See what happens

Jesus was a man who impacted people

Still does

When he was on this earth

I think he understood this a little bit

Matthew 8:3 reads,

“Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man….”

Jesus reached out and touched the man

He was a leper, people don’t touch lepers

Jesus did

So as small and trivial as this may be

Despite the rush of our important lives

The challenge is this:

Do not be a victim of good

Interact with people’s presence

We as a generation

The Facebook generation

Are good at being in a rush

Bad at interacting with people

Take this challenge for a week

See what happens

I dare you

Not that guy on tv

I have been learning a lot lately.

Through methods I would have deemed unnecessary.

But God has a way of doing things that surprise me.

Know what I am talking about?

Of course you do.

So here is what I have been learning:

“I am me”

Weird thought right?

But let me unpack it for a second.

I a

m graduating college in May, and that is crazy.

I always am comparing my life to others that have gone before me.

Like, “Oh, this happened to this guy, so that must be whats in store for me.”

Or, “This person got my degree, and this is what they are doing… so why not me?”

Its almost as if I am waiting for all the right things to happen

That I may be like _______ or do _______.

Its weird right?

But we all do it.

This constant comparison of ourselves to what others have gone through.

It can even carry deeper than that, to the level of lets say… mistakes.

For instance, “My parents did that, I have no hope…

if they can’t stand up under the pressure, I won’t be able to…

if they can’t have a good marriage why would I be able to…

If they can’t hold down a job why should I be able to…

If they can’t break the alcoholism I won’t be able to resist alcohol…

Or even

I will never be able to live up to what they have accomplished…

He has done so much...

She has raised an amazing family…

I’ll never be able to do that…

Am I hitting home here?

Here is the thing I want you to take away.

These comparisons always result in fear.

Fear cripples.

Fear hinders.

Fear destroys.

Fear prevents good things.

Really good things.

This is a very elementary thought

But we all forget it.

You are not your parents

You are not your brother

You are not your friends parents

You are not that guy on tv

that girl on tv

You are not the character from the movie you saw last night

Last month

You are simply you.

“For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mothers womb”

-Psalm 139:13

I love the language David uses here in this Psalm.

Knitting us together

Now, God is not an old lady in a yarn shop with knitting needles…

however I think the point here I think

Is that there is an intricacy.

A purpose here.

God knit you together with a distinct purpose.

Not your mothers purpose

Your purpose

We are all called to walk the path to God,

The narrow path as Matthew 7:3 suggests

(to read a great blog on this passage by my good friend Cory click here)

Same path.

Different travelers.

I think our purpose is found when we realize th

at we are ourselves.

My purpose is found in being Collin.

God has given me specific giftings, abilities, and passions that are for me.

Not you.

And you have specific giftings, abilities, and passions that are for you.

Not me.

God has put you where you are for a distinct reason.

You are not to be held captive by your fears.

If only we understood the damage fear does to us.

Because really we make the decisions that shape our future.

If you are scared of ending up in a dead boring job that you hate

Well then don’t decide to work there.

And if you are in a place you are hating

Quit.

Don’t be held back because of fear.

Fear will prevent you from so many good things

.

That I will promise you.

Fear is the enemy of the Gospel

Fear is the enemy of us becoming who God made us to be

Fear is the enemy of our generation

Fear is the enemy

Fear

is

the

enemy

“No, in all these things

we are

more than conquerors

through him who loved us”

-Romans 8:37

Heart and Soul

So here I am in Charleston, SC. Its dark, we arrived around 9 ish to Stephen and Laurie's place. There is just something about arriving at night to a place you have never been to before, and when you wake up its just an awesome feeling, maybe I'm just weird...

There are 8 of us that went.

A pretty stinking awesome group! We are up here to help out a church called River Church.

For those of you who don't know Stephen and Laurie, you really are missing out! They are some of the coolest people I have ever met. Not to mention Stephen by far has the manliest beard I have ever seen.

It just reeks of manhood.

They have four little girls, Charity, Sarah, Chloe, and Hosannah.

Joseph and I spent about forty five minutes on their trampoline tonight with them, they kept talking as if they were my brain. Telling me to do all kinds of things. We also spent about 15 minutes coming up with different alien names. Some of them were...

Fungus Face

Hookie goohoka

Protoevangelion (this is what happens when you are a theology geek's child...)

Yo Momma

Leafakiki

and many more...

Their names changed about... every 6 seconds.

It was one time where I just zoom out and take a google earth perspective on life, and think

Man, life is good.

Although, I have a lot of homework to do this weekend I still came.

While they are out changing the world, I will be writing a paper in a coffee shop down the street.

Awesome.

Tomorrow is gonna be a good day though. I love the people I am with.

Something I have been learning lately is friends really change everything.

Life is never meant to be lived alone, it is best when shared (thanks Chris McCandless).

The guys I have spent the past 2-4 years of my life with are probably some of my best friends in the world. I am reminded of 1st Samuel 14 where Jonathan's armor bearer says to Jonathan

"I am with you heart and soul"

Thats the essence of brotherhood.

And I have been blessed beyond belief throughout my life with men that have been with me heart and soul, and for that I am eternally grateful.

We have walked through a lot of stuff together, I would not have made it through this past season if it wasn't for the men around me. I know they would say the same.

Reminds me of the mini series Band of Brothers. Those guys fought together, laughed together, died together.

Something about that just makes me wanna...

Yea... its good.

So here we are in Charleston, sitting in the living room its 12:28 AM saying the stories we have all heard and experienced a gajillion times laughing harder each time, when we should be sleeping since we are getting up in 7 hours. Yet, God is here. God rejoices in this, I know He does.

Friends.

Brothers.

Sisters.

Heart and Soul.

Yea.

God's Mistake

So, it seems to be as of late that my life has been chock full of relationship stuff. A little bit in my own life, but more in other people’s lives.

I love it.

God has called us to be in relationship with each other, and its through that which God’s love is fully expressed. Although I could go on and on about this, I do not want to, I want to focus on something else in this blog.

I want to focus on a “pre-Eve” or “pre-woman” time in the history of this world as we know it.

I am withholding all jokes.

I want to focus on “the hunt” the hunt for a perfect helper. And here’s the question:

“Why did God place Adam in the garden alone to begin with?”

Since God is all knowing wouldn’t it make sense that He would know that it is bad for man to be alone?

Maybe He just forgot that man needed woman?

Or.

Maybe, just maybe he wanted to teach Adam something that could only be taught in solitude…

God placed Adam in the garden in solitude, with the responsibility of maintaining the Garden (Genesis 2:15). He placed Him alone. There is something about being alone that teaches us about relating to God that nothing else can compare to.

When you are alone.

You really find out what you are made of.

You find out what you believe in.

What you trust in.

Who you trust in.

Its in solitude where God forms the inner parts of your being.

Your character.

Emotions.

Thoughts.

Are refined.

But then there is this. Adam is alone. Always has been. He has never seen another human being, let alone a woman. All he sees is animals. Being together.

Dogs

Giraffes

Elephants

Squirrels

Moose

Encouraging.

So why create the animals before the best created being of all time? God says this, “It is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

He then brings the animals in front of Adam so Adam could name them.

But why?

Is this a representation of God’s “accident” of not creating a helper for Adam? And Him trying to cover for that accident?

“Here Adam, here’s a zebra.”

“….oh, that doesn’t work does it?”

“… a camel…?

“…no”

NO! Thats not it. I don’t think God is trying to match Adam with an animal to be his helper.

God knew what it was like to be in perfect community because He is part of the Trinity. He knows that a panther is not a good fit for a helper for Adam. God is refining Adam.

The animals were brought to be named, yes. But they were also brought before him to bring a yearning inside of Him for Eve. A helper. Adam had to realize that the future Eve would be a perfect fit. He had to realize that it is not good for Him to be alone.

Its different for God to know something about us. Then it is for us to know the same truth about us.

God knew that it wasn’t good for man to be alone, but Adam did not know that yet.

The delay in Eve’s arrival shows Adam the perfectness of Eve for Adam. Because he knew the importance of a helper.

I love how God takes from Adam to build what is missing.

His wholeness.

So, for those of you in solitude. Keep pressing in. Keep going. God is doing an unseen work inside of you that will only be able to be seen in hindsight. Go forward in light of this. He is forming who you are.

For those of you who are married. What a blessing!

Men.

You have a wife.

That perfect helper.

Love her with everything you got. In fact, I challenge you.

Pick up the phone.

Call her.

Tell her you love her.

Thank her for being who she is.

Sure, there are troubles in marriage. Being a single dude, I can’t speak of those with much authority if at all. But, I know God has ordained marriage. Its worth dying for to make it work.

Do not give up on each other.

Ever.

“Ascentus mentis ad Deum”

Sloppy Knots

Gosh, life is hard.

Life requires a fight.

Let me rephrase that:

If you want to get anywhere in life, you have to fight.

Being lazy is easy

It is

At first

You see let me walk you through something here:

As some of you know lately I have been training on a volunteer Search and Rescue team here in Toccoa. Its a lot of fun. To do a typical rescue requires a lot of work. Let me lay down some basics.

You first have to carry all the equipment to the site and being that we are SAR its not an ideal location for lugging 60-80 lbs of rope, too many carabiners to count, a basket, and many other things that are really heavy.

Then, you have to pick the best spot to tie the ropes, then you have to tie the ropes, with the right knots, using the right type of rope and so on. You then have to attach the gear, in the right way, and the right order.

You then do the rescue.

Put the person in the basket, who is usually hurt, unconscious, not responding.

Pull the person up the rock face in the basket.

Carry the person back to safety in the basket. All the while the person is writhing in pain, vomiting over me.

There is NO room for error.

Sure, I could sloppily tie the knots to make it easy on me. It would be quicker. I could not rappel down and pick up a 180 lb. man and put him in the basket, I mean, thats heavy. I could just tie him to the rope right?

Ok

Enough, are you getting the point?

Being lazy is always harder than doing the hard work upfront. To not tie the rope right affects other people.

“The Kingdom of God is forcefully advancing…”

There is no room for lazy people in the Kingdom of God.

Period.

So, to you suffering in the midst of trial, in the midst of difficulty.

Welcome to the Kingdom.

Keep your head up, keep fighting.

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” - 2^nd Corinthians 4:17

Do not give up.

I promise, He sees you.

There is a work going on inside of you that is unseen now,

but it will come to light,

and when it does,

the troubles you have faced will be worth it.

It doesn’t seem like it

The light at the end of the tunnel has been snuffed out, you are burned out.

I know what you're thinking

"I'm walking through hell,"

You are.

I tell you though, keep fighting.

There is a light.

Each new day brings you closer.

I promise

2^nd Corinthians 6:4-10

“We put no stumbling block in anyone's path,

so that our ministry will not be discredited.

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:

in great endurance;

in troubles,

hardships and distresses;

in beatings, imprisonments and riots;

in hard work,

sleepless nights and hunger;

in purity, understanding,

patience and kindness;

in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;

in truthful speech and in the power of God;

with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

through glory and dishonor,

bad report and good report;

genuine,

yet regarded as impostors;

known,

yet regarded as unknown;

dying, and yet we live on;

beaten,

and yet not killed;

sorrowful,

yet always rejoicing;

poor,

yet making many rich;

having nothing,

and yet possessing everything.”

Do not give up.

Don’t sloppily tie knots

Its not worth it.

Its worth it to fight.

So fight.

Forcefully advance the Kingdom.