Change Flows from the Inside Out

Today, I visited a new church. I haven't been to church in what some people would a say a long time. However, this morning I got up and decided to go. Well, actually I had decided on Wednesday at the displacement camp I was going to try a new church this Sunday. The church that I attended this morning was called Journey Ecclesia, and that is a picture of it above.

I know the name is a bit different, but don't let it scare you away. It is a great church. The membership is small (mostly college and very young adults), and I don't think the budget is extremely high (hence the ages of the members). However, the people are extremely welcoming. Today the sermon was on Daniel and the lion's den.

Now I know what your thinking, this seems very elementary and sunday schoolish, but the message that was shared was definitely one that I think deserves mentioning and thinking about. It has to do with Daniel's disposition. If your not sure exactly what the term disposition means here is dictionary.com's definition: the predominant or prevailing tendency of one's spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude. Simply put, your disposition is actions that derive from inside of you. They are your actions and attitudes that are purely natural.

Daniel, in this story has a disposition that completely reflects God. He doesn't even have to think twice about his action. They are purely natural to him, and that type of disposition is something that we should all strive to have. We should all try to wake up every morning and go throughout our day as disciplined as Daniel. We should all want to have the confidence to take on anything thrown our way without fear, to have that confidence in God. We should all work to have a disposition like Daniel's.

I thought the idea of Daniel's attitude and actions being so natural that he didn't need to even think about them was so inspirational that I thought I'd share it in my blog. This week I'm going to try to have the discipline to follow God and rely on him like Daniel did, and have the confidence in God to take care of us through lives obstacles. I've had people tell me they read my blog and that's awesome, and if anyone out there ever reads this and decides they want to come with me one Sunday please just shoot me and email. I have plenty of room in my car!

"Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before."
-Daniel 6:10

New Orleans Displaced

"You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear."
-Deuteronomy 7:10

Tonight I volunteered at a New Orleans displacement camp in Franklin. Most of the families were on their second stay in Franklin thanks to hurricane Katrina during 2006. The camp, with staff and residents, had around 450 people and was beautiful chaos. Most of the residents in the camp were from very low income communities and many didn't have steady jobs. However, it was one of the coolest lessons in my life.

For the past few days I've been trying to refocus my life around something more concrete. So tonight when I found out I was working at the camp I had two emotions. The first, I was excited to be helping a group of people who wer less fortunate than me. Then on the other hand, I had planned to attend a wednesday night church service (something I haven't done in awhile).

Well as it turns out I got to experience both. Around 7 o'clock, a local church in Franklin came to host a prayer and worship service for the displaced families. I wasn't very familiar with any of the songs that were song, nor did i fit in with gospel sound that came with the service, but the experience was incredible. It was amazing to see, in a time of crisis, these families so upbeat and energetic. Most of the service was worship, but some of the residential men, that had been displaced, stood up and shared several verses and stories that had helped them through the Katrina disaster as well as now.

One in-particular stood out in my mind. A man stood up and spoke about how life will always throw storms your way. Sometimes these storms will be hurricanes, other times they may be finances, family situations, or things that test your faith. Everyone will encounter storms in their lives. God wants us to take these storms and develop perseverance and a refocused view on life. The man pointed out that, now, while they were away from their every day normal lives. They had time to spend time with God, away from the distractions and mess of their normal lives.

Although, the idea of encountering struggles and storms in everyday life was not a new concept to me. It was nice to hear the sermon come from someone who was in, and had been in, such terrible positions and remained faithful. As I worked the rest of the night helping pass out food, blankets, and helping with crowd control I tried to think of what storms and struggles I had in my life, and that's why tonight was so rewarding. I heard a sermon that caused me to evaluate and think about life, and serve the community. It was a win-win situation.

Forgive But Don't Always Forget!

The purpose of this post is solely to act as an apology and update. I first want to apologize for not posting in awhile. I don't think many people read this blog, but for those who occasionally check it, I'm sorry it has been awhile. I've been moving back to school and starting classes. It has been a busy past two weeks, and the choices I've made are not really something worth posting about.

The choices of the past few weeks leads me to my second, more important, apology. I want to say sorry to everyone. The past few weeks I have made some decisions that, needless to say, were not the best. I want to apologize to everyone for many of these choices. Whether it be something I said, something I did, or something I didn't do but should have done, I'm sorry.

If I hurt anyone or changed their view me I hope you'll forgive. I don't regret all of the things I've done because I they helped lead me to the state of heart and mind that I am now in. So as strange as it may sound, in a way, I am grateful for this, and where I am in life now. I hate that I choose to take the path I did, but I can't change my past and the things I've done. I can, however, learn from it.

So, I hope you can forgive, and I hope in time I can truly forgive myself. I'm striving to learn from things and not repeat them. However. What is done, is done. Today is a new day, and I just have to take my mistakes learn from them. I hope you understand, and once again, I am sorry.

"As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God."
-1 Peter 4:2