Santa Claus

You may be wondering what I'm going to say. You've all heard how Christmas has been taken away from Jesus and put on Santa instead. But that's not what this post is about. No matter how much I'd love to debate this issue, I think this picture can sum up what I want to say. Or at least part of it.

This is the section I want to draw your attention to.

As we walked up to this colorful display of Christmas decor in Belak's Flowers, Stephen says "Why is there a lion sitting with Santa in that balloon?" You cana't see it in either of these pictures..but this is a mobile. On one side is the world, on the other is Santa in a hot air balloon. Sitting with Santa is a lion and a lamb.

I honestly wouldn't even have noticed this if Stephen hadn't said something. I immediately thought to myself They're trying to depict Santa as JESUS! How DARE THEY! They think Santa brings peace to the world. And of course, that's all the the world thinks they need. Peace. Oh how wrong they are.

So where do we as Christians get the "lion will be at peace with the lamb" thing anyways? Well, it isn't directly in the Bible. We have distorted this verse to say what we want it to.

Isaiah 11: 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.

This verse speaks of the millennial reign of Christ. Even though it doesn't say "The lion will be at peace with the lamb" it says the wolf. And it's not only my translation. Nearly every translation that is out there says the wolf and the lamb. But thats not the point. Only Jesus can make the lion and lamb be at peace.

Hosea 2:18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things o fhte ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, to make them lie down safely.

So why do I get all riled up about Santa being in a hot air balloon mobile with a lion and a lamb? Clearly, only God can do such a thing. And by putting "Santa" in that position of God is an abomination. Not just to me, but it should be to everyone who knows God. Think about it.

DON'T Disappear

On a day like this I want to crawl beneath a rock
A million miles from the world, the noise, the commotion
That never seems to stop


And on a day like this I want to run away from the routine
Run away from the daily grind that can suck the life
Right out of me
I only know of one place I can run to


I want to hide in You
The Way, the Life, the Truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And You become clear
As I disappear


I don't want to care about earthly things
Be caught up in all the lies that trick my eyes
They say it's all about me
I'm so tired of it being about me

I want to hide in You
The Way, the Life, the Truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And You become clear
As I disappear 

I would rather be cast away
Separated from the human race
If I don't bring You glory
If I don't bring You glory
If I don't bring You glory

I want to hide in You
The Way, the Life, the Truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And You become clear
As I disappear

Tonight, I went to a study on the Holy Spirit. And no matter how many times I feel like disappearing, God will look down and say "Oh, isn't that cute. You just want me to be clear to you? Why are you trying to disappear? You should be out there helping all the other people in the world who are poor, starving, lost without me. Who cares about you disappearing? It only gratifies you."

Ok, he didn't really say that, but can't you hear those words? There isn't anything really wrong with trying to disappear to spend time with God, but what does He command? Help the poor, feed the hungry. For by doing it to the least of these, you've done it to Me. No more trying to disappear! You won't solve any problems that way!

So what about the Holy Spirit? Where does He come in? Well, Jesus said He must go quickly, so that one who will be with us always may come. Who would you rather be with? Jesus, or the Holy Spirit? I know I'd say right away JESUS! Duh!

Wrong answer.

Jesus wasn't here forever, but the Holy Spirit is! I know when you think about it, Jesus is still here because He and the Holy Spirit are like the same. Just in different forms.

Think about it. The Holy Spirit is like Jesus in us. Not us trying to be Jesus. If we try to be Jesus, we'll fail miserably. We already have the potential and the power from the Holy Spirit to do miraculous things. We just have to find it. We have it from the moment of salvation when the Holy Spirit enters our souls.

One thing we were talking about tonight is how a "baby" Christian has just as much power as an "adult" Christian. If not more! We dull ourselves soo much that we forget about the Holy Spirit. We forget that we have the power to do great and mighty things for God! And yet, even the "baby" Christians have that same power we have even though they haven't read much of the Bible, or prayed, or really discussed any issues of the faith. They have the same power to defend.

Tell me your thoughts! I'd love to hear them!

I am not big enough

None of us knows and that makes it a mystery
If life is a comedy, then why all the tragedy
Three-and-a-half pounds of brain try to figure out
What this world is all about
And is there an eternity, is there an eternity?

God if You’re there I wish You’d show me
And God if You care then I need You to know me
I hope You don’t mind me askin’ the questions
But I figure You’re big enough
I figure You’re big enough

Lying on pillows we’re haunted and half-awake
Does anyone hear us pray, "If I die before I wake"
Then the morning comes and the mirror’s the other place
Where we wrestle face to face with the image of Deity
The image of Deity

God if You’re there I wish You’d show me
And God if You care then I need You to know me
I hope You don’t mind me askin’ the questions
But I figure You’re big enough
I figure You’re big enough

When I imagine the size of the universe
And I wonder what’s out past the edges
Then I discover inside me a space as big
And believe that I’m meant to be
Filled up with more than just questions

So, God if You’re there I wish You’d show me
And God if You care then I need You to know me
I hope You don’t mind me askin’ the questions
But I figure You’re big enough
I figure You’re big enough
‘Cause I am not big enough

I just love this song by Chris Rice. I used to be a huge fan of his music...because that's what I used to always listen to. Then I got into the more "modern" Christian contemporary movement. But sometimes you just have to go back and listen to the "good ole' stuff" you know?

I've been thinking a lot lately about that "space that's meant to be filled up with more than just questions." And that's our problem! We have so many questions that it seems like we've forgotten all the answers we've received!

Our problem is we're so caught up with all the questions of life that are being thrown at us every day. I can speak personally from being at college. I hear people swear all the time, talk about how many people they slept with the night before, and what drugs they are on. I start to think, wow, I'm not a bad person at all! So why should I even think about all those "little" commitments I made at all the Prayer Advances and Worldview Camps? These people need my help just getting rid of their HUGE sins!

Then I start thinking about why did I really think I needed to change in the first place? I'm obviously a great moral person. But that isn't enough, is it?

Sure I'm different, but I'm not called to be JUST different. I'm called to be so different that the world will not know who I am! And the only "thing" that can make me that different is Jesus!

It's so easy to start thinking that I'm good enough when I'm around these people at school. But I'm not good enough. And I certainly am not big enough to understand why God does things.

There is a guy in my classes that really irritates me and my friends in the class. He takes awesome pictures, but his attitude stinks. I'd like to call him the "high and mighty GJ." And not to mention, he's one of those people who I described above. Swears like a truck driver, smokes like a bum, and brags about how many people he's slept with. Oh not to mention, he's only 18, and he's an alcoholic. Compared to him, I'm an angel. O:)

On Sunday, we were reading 1 Peter 3:8-9 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

This is talking about to other believers...so I don't have to love, be sympathetic, or compassionate and humble with the "high and mighty GJ" right? Well...sort of. The next verse says "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insulf, but with blessing. Because to this you were called so that you man inherit a blessing."

I will admit, how much I have wanted to repay his evil with my "evil" and insult him as he insulted me a few weeks ago...but did you know a little kindness can actually pay off?

A few weeks ago the "high and mighty GJ" was in the studio with me and my friends. Our teacher was showing us the correct way to take a portrait. So he said he needed a person to model for him. I volunteered and he took my pic. Then he left and said for other people to take some pics of me and the other people in the room. Well...the "high and mighty GJ" stepped up the camera and snapped some nice shots of me,( and several innapropriate shots) said some very inappropriate things which I shall not repeat, and then said "this is boring" and left. I wanted to kill him at that moment. He did leave and didn't come back. Thank God, or I probably would have left. Since then, he's swore at me about my camera and just been a very nasty person.

Needless to say, I try to avoid him every day now. My thing to do is don't make eye contact. Well on thursday last week, he was handing out tests...(did I mention he's also the work study for the photography area?) and he picked up my camera and starting playing with it. Let me tell you, I DO NOT LIKE PEOPLE TOUCHING MY CAMERA! ESPECIALLY HIM!!!!!

I tried to remain calm, and he asked me how I liked it. I said I love it, and he said "yeah, it's pretty sweet. Better than mine." WOOOOOAAAHHH. What? He just said a few weeks before about how wonderful his camera is compared to mine..in not so many nice words. I was still cringing from him holding my camera. I'd totally sue him if he hurt it in any way. But eventually he put it back down. And I breathed a sigh of relief. Put it in the bag, and vowed not to take it out again when he was in the room. haha.

So what did I learn from this? Instead of yelling and screaming at him to put my baby down, I wasn't going to repay his previous evil with my own evil. I wasn't going to tell him that his camera was a piece of crap and mine was way better. (even though it really is..ha) I remembered that verse. And hopefully, I inherited a blessing. Now the "high and mighty GJ" has not changed, but my outlook on life has...thanks to him.

God can use even the worst people in life to make a difference in mine. 

Isn't He wonderful? 

I know He's big enough.

Finding God In The World

Many people would say it is not possible to find God in the world. And that is true if you think of the world as the place we live in, with the people we live with.

God is not of this world.

I want this blog to be about how I find God in the smallest places of the world. The place he is most unlikely to be found. I will be using the Bible, music, movies, my photography, and other media to help further you in your walk with God.