This was the theme of this year's Interpraise. Interpraise is a gathering of Christian students from all different fellowships and churches on the Berkeley campus. It was started many years ago with a vision to bring a greater unity to the Christian body at Cal. I think I figured out that this was about my 22nd Interpraise that I have attended. However it was the first that I was asked to be the main speaker for!
It was a wonderful and joyful experience, except for the 90+ degree weather we had those couple days. =)
I can't remember another talk or sermon that I've prepared that has impacted me so much personally. David's prayer in Psalm 27:4, his one desire to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord, and to seek him in his temple grabbed my heart and made me realize that I had lost sight of that one thing. Other things had become my one thing. And by one thing I mean the thing that is at the center of your thoughts, actions, and feelings.
It's so easy for other things to slip into our hearts and minds and forget the simple fact that if God loves us, which he does, then it is in that relationship that we find our worth and acceptance and not in anything we can do. This actually gives us so much freedom because we don't have to be anxious about our circumstances or how things are going to turn out because whatever happens we are secure in the Lord.
My prayer of late has been: Lord please help me keep You as my One Thing today!
As I challenged the students at Interpraise I'll also challenge you: what has your One Thing been lately? Has it been the Lord? Do you want it to be? What's standing in the way?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
College Life Winter Retreat
Two weekends back (2/6-2/8) we took our annual trip with the college kids up to Bear Valley Ski Resort for fun times in the snow, a break from Berkeley life, and as usual, an awesome meal from the Lee's.
The group was a little smaller this year, due to some last minute illnesses, but the snow was awesome, and the size of the group allowed for a more family-like atmosphere, as well as less hassle getting everyone moving in the same direction.
We got up on Friday evening, with a stop at In & Out on the way up of course, and spent Saturday on the slopes before the awesome dinner at the Lee's. Throughout the weekend we talked a bit about what the Lord has on His mind for us in terms of friendship, really acting out being the body of Christ to one another.
I continue to pray that the time spent together will produce lasting fruit in all of our lives, and in our relationships with one another.
The group was a little smaller this year, due to some last minute illnesses, but the snow was awesome, and the size of the group allowed for a more family-like atmosphere, as well as less hassle getting everyone moving in the same direction.
We got up on Friday evening, with a stop at In & Out on the way up of course, and spent Saturday on the slopes before the awesome dinner at the Lee's. Throughout the weekend we talked a bit about what the Lord has on His mind for us in terms of friendship, really acting out being the body of Christ to one another.
I continue to pray that the time spent together will produce lasting fruit in all of our lives, and in our relationships with one another.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
"True Love: Fact or Fiction?"
This was the title of our latest WB (Weekly Bread) meeting with the college students. We've started an almost weekly gathering on Fridays with the students to talk over issues that concern college students. The format varies, but the goal is always to engage God's Word to see what God has to say about the issues and then look and see how they are playing out in our lives.
We had a few married couples come and join us this past week to share about their experiences of how God brought them together, their views on love, and answer any questions people had.
It was fun for Audrey and I to remember all that God has done in our lives over the past two and a half years and thank Him for it. I hope Valentine's Day was a chance for you to remember God's love for you as well in whatever way He has shown it to you!
We had a few married couples come and join us this past week to share about their experiences of how God brought them together, their views on love, and answer any questions people had.
It was fun for Audrey and I to remember all that God has done in our lives over the past two and a half years and thank Him for it. I hope Valentine's Day was a chance for you to remember God's love for you as well in whatever way He has shown it to you!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Buddha Loves You?
I was walking down the street in SF the other day and saw a guy carrying a sign and wearing a shirt that said "Jesus loves you." I noticed it, but kept walking not being too struck by it, I do work in Berkeley after all and see some strange stuff. But then the thought struck me how odd it would be to see someone carrying a sign or wearing a shirt that said "Buddha loves you." Any number of other religious founders or icons would have been equally as strange. Why is that?
Perhaps this is just my perspective and please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that the idea of a personal, intimate, loving, one-on-one relationship with God Himself is not a very common idea among world religions, perhaps the one Jesus started being the only one with this idea at the center. (Of course Jesus didn't really come to start a religion, but that's how we talk.)
A chord is struck in my heart when I think of God desiring to know me, reach out to me, make Himself known to me, and love me. To think the God who created everything and owes absolutely nothing to anyone would want to know me! And yet I have the sense that I was created for just such a thing. This very well may be the most powerful evidence for me that the God of the Bible, that Jesus, is the one true God.
Perhaps this is just my perspective and please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that the idea of a personal, intimate, loving, one-on-one relationship with God Himself is not a very common idea among world religions, perhaps the one Jesus started being the only one with this idea at the center. (Of course Jesus didn't really come to start a religion, but that's how we talk.)
A chord is struck in my heart when I think of God desiring to know me, reach out to me, make Himself known to me, and love me. To think the God who created everything and owes absolutely nothing to anyone would want to know me! And yet I have the sense that I was created for just such a thing. This very well may be the most powerful evidence for me that the God of the Bible, that Jesus, is the one true God.
Monday, December 8, 2008
The Holiday Season is Here!
It's beginning to feel a lot like the holiday season. The students are beginning to disappear to wherever it is they go when finals come, we brought our Christmas tree in the house yesterday, it's getting chilly outside (at least for the Bay Area, read 40s :)), we had our Christmas service at New Church this past Sunday (complete with a children's pageant, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds, angels, and an alligator...), AND we rented Home Alone on Saturday which we hadn't seen for years!!
Our Christmas tree (left), and the children's Christmas pageant at church (right).
I'm excited for this holiday season as usual, but even more so as it's our first one since we've been married. I'm looking forward to beginning some traditions and knowing this will be the first of many Christmases for us as the Childs family!
We'll be spending Christmas week up in Sacramento with Steve's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and new niece Natalie!!! If you happen to be around the area please let us know, we're having a get-together at our house sometime during that week.
How can you resist that face?!
I'm looking forward to some down time after a pretty busy semester, especially here at the end. I'm hoping to have some time to catch up with many of you during the break, so don't hesitate to drop me a line to get the ball rolling.
Our Christmas tree (left), and the children's Christmas pageant at church (right).
I'm excited for this holiday season as usual, but even more so as it's our first one since we've been married. I'm looking forward to beginning some traditions and knowing this will be the first of many Christmases for us as the Childs family!
We'll be spending Christmas week up in Sacramento with Steve's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and new niece Natalie!!! If you happen to be around the area please let us know, we're having a get-together at our house sometime during that week.
How can you resist that face?!
I'm looking forward to some down time after a pretty busy semester, especially here at the end. I'm hoping to have some time to catch up with many of you during the break, so don't hesitate to drop me a line to get the ball rolling.
Friday, October 24, 2008
College Life Fall Retreat
Always one of the highlights of the year, a couple weekends ago we took the students away to Lake Tahoe to spend time with the Lord, with one another, and just be refreshed. It turned out to feel more like a winter retreat than a fall one with the lows around 20 degrees and the highs in the upper 30s. Still on our morning car rally/scavenger hunt 10 of them jumped in Lake Tahoe with their clothes on. :) Gotta love college students!
We spent time in Philippians 2 over the weekend and it was a really good reminder about the kind of attitude the Lord desires for us to have, and how that attitude of humility and service to one another is really the way that we become a community that loves and supports one another, and is then able to accomplish the mission we've been given to be lights in the world. I'm praying that we all will be reminded of these lessons in the weeks and months to come.
A few pics from our time:
We spent time in Philippians 2 over the weekend and it was a really good reminder about the kind of attitude the Lord desires for us to have, and how that attitude of humility and service to one another is really the way that we become a community that loves and supports one another, and is then able to accomplish the mission we've been given to be lights in the world. I'm praying that we all will be reminded of these lessons in the weeks and months to come.
A few pics from our time:
Monday, September 22, 2008
Procrastination and the Joy of Work
You know that feeling of knowing you need to or should do something, but just really not wanting to do it? Yea, me either. Ok, there was this one time last week...maybe a picture will tell a thousand words:
The thought expressed in this picture is very tempting to believe, but I think it's one of the deceptions that steals our joy in life.
Last week I was sitting there with a couple hours to work with, some dishes in the sink I needed to wash and a Bible study that needed some preparation. Audrey was heading out of the house so I was left to my own devices. Now, this feeling doesn't always come over me, but it definitely happens fairly often. The feeling of just really not wanting to tackle the job I have in front of me, just a real feeling of a lack of motivation or excitement about anything. And these jobs were not super difficult per se, but it was just more the temptation to be lazy and do nothing verses putting some effort into getting something done. It was honestly a struggle, but I finally decided to get my hands dirty, or clean, and wash some dishes. And it struck me as I began to get into it how my motivation dramatically picked up and I was really enjoying the chore, not just trudging through it. By the end I was excited and looking forward to the other job I had in front of me. This feeling compared to the feeling I probably would have had if I had chosen to procrastinate: more feelings of demotivation, combined probably with a bit of guilt for choosing to be lazy, and a feeling of lost time where I was feeling bad about my choice while not getting anything done.
Ironically, or not, the Bible passage that I studied that day included this:
"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hebrews 3:13
It struck me that it is the deceitfulness of sin at work in my heart during those times of wanting to procrastinate and be lazy. The lie is that doing what my flesh wants is going to be better in the end than doing what I know God designed me for, one of those things definitely being work. There is of course a time and place for rest, but at least for me, my struggle is more often against laziness than workaholism. And actually, I feel like work and rest go hand-in-hand, one not really fully being able to come without the other. I think of the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening after a long day of work. It strikes me as quite a restful time, but what would it have been without the hard work of the day leading up to it?
In the end what really struck me was that I want to know and experience more of the kind of fulfillment in work that God intended for us, but I realize that with my fallen nature it is going to take tough times of deciding against my natural desires, much tougher than choosing to wash the dishes, to keep my heart soft and able to choose God's way over my own.
Apparently there is a book by a CEO who tried to put some of these principles of finding joy in our work into practice at his company. I haven't read it, but I think I might check it out. Here's the book:
The thought expressed in this picture is very tempting to believe, but I think it's one of the deceptions that steals our joy in life.
Last week I was sitting there with a couple hours to work with, some dishes in the sink I needed to wash and a Bible study that needed some preparation. Audrey was heading out of the house so I was left to my own devices. Now, this feeling doesn't always come over me, but it definitely happens fairly often. The feeling of just really not wanting to tackle the job I have in front of me, just a real feeling of a lack of motivation or excitement about anything. And these jobs were not super difficult per se, but it was just more the temptation to be lazy and do nothing verses putting some effort into getting something done. It was honestly a struggle, but I finally decided to get my hands dirty, or clean, and wash some dishes. And it struck me as I began to get into it how my motivation dramatically picked up and I was really enjoying the chore, not just trudging through it. By the end I was excited and looking forward to the other job I had in front of me. This feeling compared to the feeling I probably would have had if I had chosen to procrastinate: more feelings of demotivation, combined probably with a bit of guilt for choosing to be lazy, and a feeling of lost time where I was feeling bad about my choice while not getting anything done.
Ironically, or not, the Bible passage that I studied that day included this:
"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hebrews 3:13
It struck me that it is the deceitfulness of sin at work in my heart during those times of wanting to procrastinate and be lazy. The lie is that doing what my flesh wants is going to be better in the end than doing what I know God designed me for, one of those things definitely being work. There is of course a time and place for rest, but at least for me, my struggle is more often against laziness than workaholism. And actually, I feel like work and rest go hand-in-hand, one not really fully being able to come without the other. I think of the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening after a long day of work. It strikes me as quite a restful time, but what would it have been without the hard work of the day leading up to it?
In the end what really struck me was that I want to know and experience more of the kind of fulfillment in work that God intended for us, but I realize that with my fallen nature it is going to take tough times of deciding against my natural desires, much tougher than choosing to wash the dishes, to keep my heart soft and able to choose God's way over my own.
Apparently there is a book by a CEO who tried to put some of these principles of finding joy in our work into practice at his company. I haven't read it, but I think I might check it out. Here's the book:
