Jesus: The Next American Idol?

OK, I admit it. I'm a closet American Idol fan. I love watching the singers mature through the competition and seeing certain contestants shine. (For the record, I'm pulling for David Archuleta. Something about his amazing talent, his unassuming personality, and his young age draw me in. Maybe it's a youth pastor thing.)

I've noticed in the past few weeks that several of the artists have chosen to sing songs reflecting faith in Christ. Even guest performers sang Christian tunes -- Dolly Parton sang "Jesus and Gravity", and that other band (sorry can't remember their name) sang "This Little Light of Mine". I'm not sure about the quality of the theology in the lyrics, but Jesus seems to be getting a lot of air time on American Idol.

For me, the most shocking performance thus far was the finale for Idol Gives Back. The final 9 contestants sang, "Shout to the Lord". That's right, give a shout out to Darlene Zschech! However, I was a little concerned that they began the song with the lyrics, "My Shepherd, my Savior" instead of "My Jesus, my Savior". Were they trying to sterilize the song for primetime? Is Jesus too much for the Idol audience to handle? It turns out they did a reprise of the song Thursday night and sang the actual lyrics. Way to go, whoever did that.

So, what does Jesus think about being the next American Idol? I can't decide if I'm happy that people are being open about their faith, or if American Idol is trying to corner the Christian audience for their votes. Or maybe they are targeting our money to support the humanitarian efforts of Idol Gives Back. I guess it's good that people are using their influence for the Lord. At the same time, I'm not sure Jesus was a big fan of the stage or being the center of attention. He was about the small things, the poor and the meek, the cross. Perhaps, this is the kingdom secretly slipping into the entertainment industry. I'm not sure what to think.

Better Than Life

I've been reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne recently. The book has rocked me to the core and made me rethink just who it is I have committed my life to. Shane has challenged me as I consider Jesus' call to be in solidarity with the poor, seek peace, do justice, and love others. We've sterilized the gospel in the American church, and we've made Jesus to be as cuddly as a stuffed animal. I'm guilty, and I'm trying to figure out what the 180-degree turn of repentance looks like here. Shane shares an incredible quote from his professor about life in Christ (promise that you'll read it out loud, dramatically!):

"All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe."

I'm tired of tiptoeing. I'm ready for the big dance (and I'm not talking about the Final Four . . . we already saw how that turned out for the Tar Heels). One of my youth shared a song with us on Sunday night that has reminded me that this dance with Jesus should be extraordinary. Enjoy the words below, and download the song if you get the chance!

"Better Than Life", Hillsong United
Better than the riches of this world
Better than the sound of my friends' voices
Better than the biggest dreams of my heart, and that's just the start
Better than getting what I say I need
Better than living the life that I want to
Better than the love anyone could give, Your love is!

You hold me now in your arms
and never let me go!

You, O Lord, make the sunshine
and the moonlight, in the night sky
You give me breath and all Your love
I give my heart to You because
I can't stop falling in love with You
I'LL NEVER STOP FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU!

O Happy Day!

I'm ecstatic!
I'm elated!
I'm overjoyed!

What is the source of my joy?

I just paid off my student loan! That's right . . . I'm debt free!

Woohoo!

Guyana

A week ago, I got back from my mission trip to Guyana. It would be hard to minimize my experience to a single blog post, but I'm going to try.

People always ask me, "What did you do?" when I come back from a mission trip. We spent five days painting a community outreach center. The building is used to run a children's feeding program for underpriveleged kids. It's also used for youth and children's church activities, and they hope to use it as a gathering place for community events. For example, they used it to host the recent Valentine's dance. We also held two days of Bible school. What I didn't realize at the time was that more than 100 of the kids who came did not go to the church where we held Bible school. No doubt, some of those kids weren't from Christian homes, so that was an incredible opportunity to reach out in love to them and teach them about God. Lastly, one of the other team members and I held two sessions of Sunday school teacher training. Teachers from 8 different churches came, and as a result, I think those churches will network to plan more lessons together instead of doing it alone.

One of the big lessons God taught me in Guyana was what mission is. Mission is a mindset of sharing God's love with everyone you meet. So, the question I would love people to ask me about my trip is, "Who did you meet?" There was Andella, the youth and mission coordinator for the Methodist Church in Guyana. She and I instantly connected and talked about ways we could help each other minister to the youth in Guyana. Sister Ross, Sister Edith, and Sister Merlyn showed up faithfully everyday at the worksite to help paint and clean. There were the people who lost their sense of security in their own country because of recent random shootings. We met several people who we would call poor but who I learned were rich in the Spirit. A group of young children always stopped by the worksite after school to see what was going on and to play with us. And there were the four little girls, Rosalina, Selene, Kaneisha, and Baby who would come by our house after work just to get a hug.

My heart has been changed because God gave me the opportunity to love complete strangers. The thing is . . . I have the opportunity to offer the presence and love of Christ to others every day. Perhaps that's why coming back to the OBX feels like I'm still in the mission field.

Humor

I just got done listening to a sermon on humor by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church. He's a high quality preacher, solid biblically, and he's known for throwing out a few jokes, lots of times at the expense of others. He helped me realize something about myself. I haven't laughed in awhile. Since I moved to the OBX, I've spent much of my free time hanging out with Jesus; for a long time, he was the only person who was available. I took my calling to youth ministry very seriously, and I saw every interaction with someone as an opportunity to speak Truth into their lives. I've acted more out of fear than anything else, fear of failure, fear of not being liked, fear of not meeting my own expectations, fear of offending. I've even stopped watching comedies because I prefer shows like Lost, 24, Heroes, & CSI. I need to not take myself so seriously.

I guess I learned today that responsibility doesn't mean I'm always serious. I want to return to being the happy-go-lucky Amy that cracks jokes, laughs and smiles, and acts goofy. Humor is great stress relief! So, in celebration of my new freedom, I think I'm gonna end my Sabbath with a fresh viewing of Waiting for Guffman :). "Stool boom" here I come!

Coming Home

I heard this song over the weekend at our ski retreat. It reminded me to return home, to remember the cross.

"The Wonder of the Cross" by Vicky Beeching

O precious sight my Savior stands
Dying for me with outstretched hands
O precious sight I love to gaze
Remembering salvation’s day
Remembering salvation’s day

Though my eyes linger on the scene
May passing time and years not steal
The power with which it impacts me
The freshness of its mystery
The freshness of its mystery

May I never lose the wonder
The wonder of the cross
May I see it like the first time
Standing as a sinner lost
Undone by mercy and left speechless
Watching wide-eyed at the cost
May I never lose the wonder
The wonder of the cross

Behold the God-man crucified
The perfect sinless sacrifice
His blood ran down those nails and wood

And history was split in two
Yes, history was split in two

Behold the empty wooden tree
His body gone, alive and free
We’ll sing with everlasting joy
For sin and death have been destroyed

Yes, sin and death have been destroyed

-

May I never lose the wonder

The wonder of the cross

May I see it like the first time

Standing as a sinner lost

Undone by mercy and left speechless

Watching wide-eyed at the cost

May I never lose the wonder

The wonder of the cross

Save the World

In the beginning, God created the world. He created you and me. He said it was good. God did his part, and then he left part of the creation project up to us. We aren't called just to maintain creation, we are called to have dominion over it, to work it. He made us to make our world beautiful.

So, how are we doing? Is our world beautiful? I'm not just talking about environmental issues here. It seems that we have abandoned our calling to be co-creators with God, and I'm the first to admit my negligence. There are people with broken hearts. There is injustice, poverty, disease, violence, broken families. What are we doing about it? What am I doing?

Yes, God has called me to youth and young adult ministry. I can see how he's blessing me to bless others. But deep inside of me, I'm developing some sort of passion for social justice. I don't know what avenue God is leading me towards, but I just have this growing desire to scream, "God, use me to save the world!" Of course, I can't save the world alone, but God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can use me to make our broken world beautiful. I'm sick of coming home at night and wasting my time watching TV. I'm tired of seeing the world's problems and not doing anything about them. I'm only one person. I can't do this alone. I don't know where God's leading, but I'm wondering if you might come along. Maybe we can figure this out together. Who's in? Who wants to save the world? Let's bring God's kingdom now.

Spiritual Warfare

Last night, I had my first UMYF meeting of the new year. I planned on refocusing our youth ministry on the vision God has given us (perhaps sometime I'll blog about that; it's pretty cool stuff!). However, things kept happening yesterday to try to trip us up. I woke up with another cold -- I just had one less than a month ago. One of my leaders puked as she walked out of her front door to come to church. My other leader's 3 year old son was sick. Suddenly, my whole leadership team was down, and I was at about 50%. Other things happened to distract Rachel and I as we practiced some songs for worship.

The puking leader, more affectionately known as "The Debbie", had her husband call me. He told me he thought Satan was up to something. You know, I used to think spiritual warfare was bunk. It sounds like hocus pocus, and any time I talk about it with people, I feel like a wacko. I remembered something I read in the past year about following God's vision: A God-ordained vision will always come under the attack of the Evil One. It makes sense. If there is evil out there opposing God (which I believe there is, see Genesis 3 if you need some convincing), I think it would try to stop God's people from living out God's plan.

I guess it was some time in seminary when the reality of spiritual warfare set in. I don't really like the idea of being involved in a battle; I hate conflict. But we seem to have an opponent. Good news, though. Our God is BIGGER! If we ask God to defeat the evil forces against us, he will do it. Our jobs are discernment and prayer. Discernment, being able to distinguish what is from God and what isn't, doesn't come from us, though. We need to ask God for it.

Just my meandering thoughts as I wonder whether or not I'll have another sleepless night due to a stuffy nose.

YP Top 10

Wow, the Christmas season really affects the frequency of blog posts. Recently, I've been wrapped up in the holiday meanderings that surround youth ministry, so I thought I'd share with you the top 10 reasons why being a youth pastor is the best job ever:

10. Free tickets to see awesome bands and speakers or to go skiing
9. Watching God change the lives of kids over a long amount of time
8. Getting to come into the office at 11 AM if I want to
7. Learning about parenting before ever becoming a parent
6. Being able to work from home occassionally
5. Tapping into the passion of teenagers and seeing them change the world
4. Receiving lots of Christmas cards
3. It's OK to wear jeans and a t-shirt to work
2. Working with a team of people who love teenagers
1. On a daily basis asking, "They pay me to do this?"

Kid Nation

The Kid Nation finale came on tonight. As a youth pastor, I found the show intriguing. In case you're not a fan, CBS placed 40 kids in the desert of New Mexico to see if they could survive as a society. Three kids got homesick and left Bonanza City, but the other 37 stuck it out. They cooked, cleaned, ran stores, elected leaders, held church services, and awarded deserving pioneers with $20,000 gold stars.

I think Kid Nation proved something I've believed to be true for awhile. Our kids are not our future; they are our today. They can be insightful and articulate. They can organize and lead. They can achieve goals together. Why aren't we challenging our kids to reach their potential? In his book Be the Change, 15 year old Zach Hunter says, "My generation needs someone to set the bar high for us so we have something to live up to or even live beyond." Are we doing that for them?

However, I think the producers of Kid Nation missed one big point: Adults who cared about them (or at least cared about not being sued) created boundaries in which these kids lived. Adults created the structures for jobs, the means of reward, and the protective hand in case someone got hurt. Behind every kid who is living out their full potential needs to be a loving, caring adult providing a supportive hand. We can be there to guide kids, to be a listening ear when they struggle, and to point out the ways God is working as they live fully for him.

The sky's the limit for today's youth, but be there to fly alongside of them.

Politics

I've been reading a new book lately titled unChristian. The author, David Kinnaman, researched the current opinion of Christianity in the eyes of those he calls "outsiders", those outside the church. Specifically, he focuses on outsiders ages 16-29. In the book, Kinnaman reveals that outsiders define Christians as hypocritical, too focused on conversion, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental.

The chapter on politics got me thinking. Kinnaman suggested that Christians need to be involved in politics, but we need to change our methods and attitudes in portraying our political opinions. I'm still trying to figure out why Christians should be involved in politics in the first place. Kinnaman says Christians should be involved in every part of society. I think Jesus shares a similar sentiment when he prays in the garden for his disciples, "My prayer is not that you would take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." (John 17:15) However, something in me rejects the combination of faith and politics. Perhaps I can explain:

I fear imposing Christian morals on a nation not totally made of Christians. Should we hold outsiders to Christian standards? If all they know of Christianity is Christian-based legislation, will they come to see that following Jesus is all about following the rules? How do we engage in political influence without creating a legalistic view of Christianity? If Christians were to get involved politically, how would they propose demonstrating grace when someone has broken the law? Maybe that's already happening, and I'm uninformed.

Secondly, I feel like trying to create a Christianized country through legistration is inauthentic. For example, I had to go to court the other day for the first time in my life. When I was sworn in as a witness, I had to place my hand on a Bible and swear to tell the whole truth, "so help me God". Given the pluralistic nature of our country, I was baffled. I thought the courts would have done away with that years ago. What happens if you aren't a Christian and you swear on the Bible? It seems contradictory to me. . . . Another example, on our money it says, "In God We Trust." No we don't. If our nation trusted God, I don't think we'd have as many moral and justice issues in our society. God would begin to change our hearts and enable us to change our actions to conform to his standard. I just feel like trying to claim we are a Christian nation when we aren't one is a lie.

But perhaps politics is one of the few ways we can make significant social change to end big problems such as poverty, human trafficking, and civil rights. I'm just not sure what the balance is of being too political and being ignorant. Any thoughts?

Why I don't post more often

There are days when I wish I could post about what God is doing on the OBX. However, the nature of my job doesn't allow me to disclose private conversations. What I can tell you is that God is speaking to the hearts of teenagers. He's calling them to witness to their friends in pretty radical ways. God's mending families and working miracles.

But here's my issue, I deeply long to share these incidents because I want God to receive glory for what he's doing. Being an external processor, it also makes it hard for me to make sense of what's happening without talking to someone else. Journaling helps. Prayer helps, but sometimes it would be nice to have someone else who talks back and shares in the moments when God is glorified. Perhaps sharing it with God and the person involved should be enough. . . .

So, if there's a lapse in my posts, it could be that I'm lazy. It could be that something stressful is going on. Or it could be that God is doing something so awesome and intimate in someone else's life that I just can't share it here.

Thanksgiving a week late

So, I meant to follow up my last post sometime over the Thanksgiving weekend . . . oops! These are my thoughts any way . . .

After pondering the sin of envy, I began wondering more about where envy comes from. Doug Fields suggested entitlement, but why do we feel so entitled? MARKETING! As my parents and I were preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, we heard that familiar jingle that only seems to play before Christmas: "Ch-ch-ch-chia!" Who in their right mind would think a chia pet would be a good Christmas gift? But not only could you get a chia pet, you could opt for a chia head instead. There's just something creepy about grass growing out of a ceramic head. And have you seen the commercial for the electronic garden shears? It's a power saw version of the old style.

To tell you the truth, I have no desire to have a chia pet or electronic garden shears, but I can see how those commercials and others like them can create a society of desire. What we had last year wasn't good enough, so we need a new one. This cell phone looks stupid, so I'm gonna get a new design. The effects of marketing may not affect our pocketbooks (or girl bags in my case ;)), but it's feeding our growing sense of entitlement. Ultimately, I think entitlement comes from a sense of ingratitude for the things God has already given. As a personal example, I often get frustrated with the rate of spiritual growth in my church. However, I'm failing to appreciate the little moments where I see God's grace shining through in someone's life. I want more, I want immediate change, and I want it NOW! . . . It's amazing how commercialism can affect aspects of our lives that we didn't even consider.

So, even though it's post-Thanksgiving, I'm choosing to be more grateful this Christmas season, to thank God for his blessings, and to ask him how I can respond to all he gives me. Worship is a good place to start.

Green with . . .

Envy.

This past weekend, I went to the National Youth Workers' Convention in Atlanta. On Sunday morning, Doug Fields gave a talk about ministerial envy. He said that he had never heard anyone preach on the subject before. I hadn't either until that day. Envy seems to be the sin that many of us ignore. I'm much more apt to repent of my pride, my fear, my judgmentalism. Envy usually doesn't show up on my sin radar. It should, though. The 10 commandments say, "You shall not covet".

Envy is pretty sick, actually. Doug said, "At the heart of envy is the lie that God owes you." Entitlement. God doesn't owe me anything. He's already given me more than I deserve. Every time I envy someone, I slip into discontent. Because I am self-focused, I have less energy to love God and others.

So, in an attempt to not hide any more, I'd like to publicly repent of my envy (and you can hold me accountable):
I envy people smarter than me. I envy youth pastors that seem to have their act together, youth ministries with more volunteer leaders, more regular meetings, and more commitment. I envy my friends who are married. I envy those who are naturally better with people. I envy people who can make good, quick decisions. I envy people who can boldly witness to non-Christians. I even envy non-Christians for not having to witness to their faith.

Father, please forgive me. Forgive us. Change us by your transforming grace.

Half Marathon!

I did it! This morning, I ran the OBX Half Marathon, 13.1 miles, in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Strangely enough, I ran 12 miles a few weeks ago, and my time was 2 hrs 23 minutes. I dropped my mile split times by 1 1/2 minutes! I couldn't believe it. I'm ecstatic!

The whole training experience has been tough work. The three months of long runs, sore legs, early mornings, and carbo loading paid off. I've learned a lot through my training about the connection between the physical and spiritual realms. In the past, I saw physical and spiritual things separately, but what we do with our bodies is spiritual. Our bodies are God's temples, and so that makes running spiritually significant. Thanks to all my friends who were praying for me! I could feel God strengthening me as I ascended the hill and began running the last two miles into the wind.

"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6)

Slow Down

"Slow down, you're moving too fast,
you got to make the morning last
just kickin' down the cobblestones,
looking for fun and feeling groovy."

Nothing like a little Simon and Garfunkel to bring you to reality. Lately, I've discovered the joy of patience. I've been reading Mark Yaconelli's book Contemplative Youth Ministry. The book's main argument is that we need to be more attentive to God and more attentive to the kids and adults under our leadership. If the book had a subtitle, it would be, "Chill out, and just be."

A few weeks ago, I realized that I'm past the age of change. I'm no longer moving every year or starting new classes every semester. My job is stable, and I'm not pursuing any romantic relationships. Until I moved to the OBX, my life had been in constant transition for at least the past 8 years. But now that I'm settling down, I'm seeing that life change takes awhile. Relationships take time to build. Spiritual maturity takes time, too, because it involves relationship building. I so badly want to see youth and young adults come to know Christ deeply, but I'm learning to be patiently prayerful.

Now that I'm lowering my expectations for immediate life change, I'm learning to love just being with God and just being with kids. There's less stress, more appreciation for the way God designed each individual. I'm doing more watching and listening, more intentional loving. It's slow, but I think it's more authentic.

The Race: Finale

I finished running 11 miles about an hour ago. Leave it to a long distance run to make you feel like you've aged 20 years in two hours! My knees, my back, my inability to take deep breaths without coughing . . . ok, ok, enough complaining.

Actually, the hardest part of my run today was miles 3 & 4. I had run enough to have burned off this morning's caffeine buzz, but I was far from my finish line. As I continued on, I actually felt stronger. I glided through miles 8 & 9. Miles 10 & 11 were fueled by a recent memory verse taken slightly out of context, "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty"! I knew I had the finish line at close reach.

My life seems to be stuck in miles 3 & 4. When I ran today, I actually spent those miles pleading for God to take away my negative and fatalistic attitude. You see, the honeymoon phase is over in my ministry at Duck UMC. The initial excitement and passion mixed with a good dose of fear has subsided. People are getting to know the real me: my inflexibility, my inability to make quick decisions, my people-pleasing tendencies, and even my insecurity and loneliness. Although we recently launched our new vision for the youth ministry, I feel like we are so far from seeing it come to reality. The "finish line" is nowhere in sight.

I'm learning that life really is a long distance race. There are few frills, just persistant steps toward the finish line no matter how far away it may be. But here is the hope: there is a joyful end! What is our finish line? Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus, "the author and perfecter of our faith". What a great image! Imagine this finish line scene that will appear at the end of your life: You'll be running with your eyes fixed on Jesus. Yes, you will be tired, but when you reach him, he'll stretch out his arms to welcome you home. He'll hand you a bottle of water from that refreshing river of life, and he'll speak these words into your ear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Let that be your motivation. Even if you are on miles 3 & 4 like I am, "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb. 12:3). May God encourage you as you run the race he's marked out for your life!

The Race: Part II

"Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)

Back when the Bible was written, Olympic runners would strip down to their birthday suits for their races (pardon the mental image, but the reference is in the Bible). Modern runners tend to buy the lightest shoes and least restrictive clothing in order to run easily and unincumbered. I'm not a big fan of training in the winter because I have to pile on layers of clothing for my run. I prefer the summer, despite the heat and humidity, because I don't have to deal with the restrictive bulkyness.

The writer of Hebrews says that our sin and other hindrances weigh us down as we run the race of faith. I believe that the modern church, including myself, struggles with confession and repentance. Unnecessarily, we continue to carry the sins and burdens that Jesus took with him on the cross. The weight is heavy and exhausting. Why do we hold on to things Jesus died for? 1) Pride 2) Shame 3) Comfort and 4) Misplaced priorities.

Some of us fail to repent because we are too self-righteous to admit that we are imperfect. We don't repent because we don't want to prove that we've messed up. Our pride causes us to believe deep-down that we are equal to God and that we don't need him to fix us. If we don't repent, we can convince ourselves that we're OK with God even though Scripture says we all sin. REPENT of pride. Allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart and mind. Own up to your sin, and throw it off.

Some of us are too ashamed to repent. We fear God's judgment, so we inflict judgment on ourselves for our sin. We self-flagellate instead of trusting that Jesus' death took the penalty for our sin. Shame often turns into self-pity. Self-pity is a tactic to ignore pain and guilt and focus on our feelings instead of turning to God for freedom. REPENT of shame, and turn to Christ for mercy.

Some of us are too comfortable to repent. We confess our sins openly, but we don't turn away from our sin. We don't let God transform us. So, we let sin continue to rule over our bodies instead of living in the freedom of joyful obedience. REPENT of your comfort. Ask God to give you the grace to accept change that allows you to be more like Christ.

Lastly, some of us have our priorities wrong, so other things hinder our relationship with God. Good things like exercise, work, family, music, and even blogging can get in the way if they are placed before God or not infused with God. Our lives need to be structured in such a way that we spend quality time with God everyday. He must come first.

So . . . Confess, turn from your sin, trust God's promise to forgive, realign your priorities, and run the race unhindered for Jesus.

The Race:Part I

I've begun training for a half marathon. That's right, for some insane reason, I've decided to run 13.1 miles all in one morning in mid-November. Running has always been a hobby of mine, but it's also been an incredible metaphor for my faith. Over my next few posts, I'm going to record some of the thoughts I've had while training.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everthing that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)
I've always imagined that the cloud of witnesses are the fans in the stadium watching me run and cheering me on. However, a commentary I read recently described the cloud of witnesses as fellow Christians who have run the race of faith with you and are now handing off the baton.

Back when I ran track in high school, I always preferred relay races over individual competitions. I didn't feel alone. I had my team running with me instead of against me. Relays were exciting because every runner ran their best for an incredibly fast combined race. However, the handoffs were always nerve-racking. With anticipation, you waited as your teammate approached at full speed. My heart would pump faster and faster the closer they got. I knew my part of the race was coming. My teammate would yell go, and I would take off with my hand trailing behind. As I received the baton, I would run my hardest for my team.

That's what our faith is like. Saints before us have paved the way. God himself has empowered us with grace to run well. We just need to be willing to take the baton and continue God's kingdom work in our time and in our place. Of course, you will get tired. Your body, mind, heart, and soul will hurt. You will sometimes wonder why you entered the race of faith at all. But those of us who are runners know the rush of a runner's high, of a race finished that was well run. So, run with perseverance. This isn't a sprint; be prepared for a marathon. But trust in God's grace to give you endurance to run and finish well for God's team.

The Word

I've been studying a lot about God's word recently. God's empressed on me the importance of, sufficiency of, and praiseworthiness of his Scriptures. In that vain, celebrate with me through the words of this hymn:

Laden with guilt and full of fears

I fly to Thee my Lord

And not a glimpse of hope appears

But in Thy written word

The volumes of my Father's grace

Does all my griefs assuage

Here I behold my Savior's face

in every page

This is the field where hidden lies

The pearl of price unknown

Thy merchant is divinely wise

To make the pearl his own

Here consecrated water flows
To quench my thirst of sin
Here the fair tree of knowledge grows
No danger dwells within

This is the judge that ends the strife

Where wit and reason fail

My guide to everlasting life

Throughout this gloomy vail

O may Thy counsels, Mighty God

My roving feet command

Nor I forsake the happy road

That leads to Thy right hand

"Laden With Guilt" as sung by Caedmon's Call