****** This is something I wrote a few weeks ago that I thought would be nice to share, If it seems a little vague or jumpy its because it is such a difficult topic to discuss. But I am doing my best *******

” ‘ Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us.’ There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms. It is made perfectly clear that if we do not forgive we shall not be forgiven.” – C.S. Lewis

As I read that I realised that, although I have said that prayer week after week, I had hardly took those words to heart. Many times I have said that I had forgiven someone, yet in my heart still held contempt for their actions or words. And as I contemplated this I searched for the answer on how to forgive someone even though the actions/words may have caused great pain. The answers, which came later, suddenly seemed so clear I was amazed as how I never noticed them before.

” For a good many of people imagine that forgiving your enemies means making out that they are really not bad fellows after all, when it is quite plain that they are. Go a step further. In my most clear-sighted moments not only do I not think myself a nice man, but I know that I am a very nasty one. I can look at some of the things I have done with horror and loathing. “

“…how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occured to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life – namely myself.”

“In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man.”

“… in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him:”

” I admit that this means loving people who have nothing lovable about them. But then, has oneself anything lovable about it?”

” He loves us. Not for any nice, atractive qualities we think we have, but just because we are the thing called selves. For really there is nothing else in us to love: creatures like us who actually find hatred such a pleasure that to give it up is like giving up beer or tobacco..”

All quotes from C.S. Lewis

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Pacha: Uh-oh.
Kuzco: Don’t tell me. We’re about to go over a huge waterfall.
Pacha: Yep.
Kuzco: Sharp rocks at the bottom?
Pacha: Most likely.
Kuzco: Bring it on.

From Disney’s “The Emporer’s New Groove”

I LOVE this movie. I love it because it’s so not the typical Disney cartoon where the guy falls in love with the girl he can’t have, and then ends up with her by the end of the movie.

This part in particular is one of my favorite parts. Kuzco and Pacha are wrapped around a log and tied together, and are floating down the river when Pacha sees what is about to happen. I like this part so much, because I love Kuzco’s reaction. While he’s not overly enthusiastic, he’s ready for it anyway.

I feel like my life, and perhaps in particular, my faith life, is a lot like this scenario. I feel like something big is about to happen, and I’m kind of just waiting to get there. I don’t know exactly what’s over that ledge, but I know that it’s going to be an entertaining ride- one filled with adventure.

It’s only a matter of time before the current (the Holy Spirit?) pushes me over that ledge and life gets interesting. And I’m ready. As Kuzco said, “Bring it on.”

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First Off, Let me just start off this blog by saying that Matt Maher freaking ROCKS!!!!! For those who weren’t able to go, I am sorry but you missed an awesome concert. It was a concert filled with great worship songs, a great message and some high energy dancing. This leads to the reason behind this post.

After taking a brief intermission, to get some water and walk around, we came back together for some high energy worship. Oh how I love high energy worship, worshiping with your voice but also your whole body, it is so powerful. So anyway we began to worship and it was such a powerful song that I had to dance side to side, yes involving Tony and Kari, but apparently that kind of worship was not to be tolerated. As soon as I had started to really get into the song, I was very sternly told by an usher that I was to stop dancing. Was she mad?!?! How could you not dance to the Lord? But, then it got me thinking about something that Paul George had said during his message and something that has been on my heart for a while. He mention that we were moving to a ‘Post-Christian’ world, and I wonder if some of the reason for that was the fact that we were trying to tame the most untamable creature, the Lord and our love for the Lord. I say that because for an instance after the lady told me not to dance, I felt ashamed as if I had done something wrong, and I began to wonder if more people felt ashamed to truly worship God the way he intended, not just with our voices but our whole body.

As I thought over these things, I remembered one of my favorite passages from the Bible.

“When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel – I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes…..” 2 Samuel 6:20-23

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One of my favorite sounds in the entire world is an acoustic guitar. I love it. How when changing chords sometimes you can hear your fingers sliding across the strings, the slow steady strumming of a ballad, how six separate strings can work together to form one sound. I love listening to someone who really knows how to play and how fast their fingers work to pick the song that they’ve been carrying around in their head for while.

The simple sound of strings vibrating over hallowed wood just seems to connect me with something that’s beyond this world.

It moves me, makes my stomach twist in knots, it makes me want to dance, or at very least bob my head to the beat. I don’t even realize this at first…it just happens. Isn’t it crazy how something so small can have that big effect on you? It just sneaks in and plants itself under your skin.

It reminds me of how sometimes we can be that for others. For example, when you smile at someone you don’t know, you plant just a little seed of happiness in them, and eventually it will grow and maybe, if they’re open to it… they’ll smile at someone later in the day.

Dear God, please use me to be Your sneaky little henchman and spread Your love to those I come in contact with today. (=

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Something happened today that helped me to look deeper into how I walk through the life as a ‘Christian’. As I was working out today, listening to my music and lost in my own world, I caught a glimpse of something. Although it wasn’t totally visible, I caught the shiny reflection of the light bouncing of my silver cross from underneath my shirt. Normally I would think nothing of it since I see it everyday but for some reason it got me to thinking today. I began to wonder if, just as visible as my cross, if my love for Jesus and God were just as visible on a daily basis.

I began to think of how visible my love for God was to me and my close friends and yet, wondering how visible it was to those who didn’t know me that well or people that I encounter. I began to think if I acted in such a way that people could see, feel and even experience the love of Christ through me. Or if my actions covered up the love in the same way my shirt was covering up my cross. I began to wonder if I was really living as an ‘Ambassador of Christ’ or if I was hiding out in the safety of my fellow Christian friends.

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a ‘Christian’, or a better way to put it, as an Ambassador of Christ. I have tried to understand what that would look like and what someone like me would do on a daily basis to show that they were one. So far I have only been able to come up with a few things. As a Christian I must not surround myself with my Christian friends 24/7 because if I do that then how am I supposed to love and help the people God really wants me to help. So I figured out that much, But when it came to being an ambassador I was stuck. So I began to take a better look at what has to be said about that and here is what I have come up with.

SO as any good Christian I decided to look at the bible and see what it had to say and here is what I found.

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