My Own Pot of Dirt

When my parents married in the Spring of 1999 one of first things we did was plant spider plants. At the time there was some distrust in my life towards male father figures, that had developed as a result of past events. I didn't think my new father was going to stick around. I thought, one day he was going to disappear, like everyone else.The relationship between me and my father was in need of some one-on-one attention. So he made a point to plant these spider plants with me as a way to bond. And we watched as they grew. (I think we also planted morning glories from seed).

After a good amount of time the "papa" spider plant had little stemming spider plants growing out of its pit. My father and I filled a few small flower pots with dirt and we cut off the little plantlings. Each one of them was stuck into its own individual planter to create its own roots. That time spent tending to the spider plants allowed for the distrust in my heart to mend and ultimately helped me to grow, like the little sprouts branching out of the parent plant. 

Just like a little spider plant, last Monday, I was given my own pot of dirt. Though the cutting was a little bitter, I'm at peace knowing that I'm stepping (or growing) into my own plant/person. 

Eating Cheese Steaks Is a SIN!

All my life I've been surrounded by those who shared the same faith as myself, but the older I get the more I realize how different our views are. How is that? How is it that we all believe in the same Truth yet we don't agree in the same truths? I thought Truth wasn't relative. The Truth is the Truth, unchangeable. So I started to ask questions.

Should I watch a vampire movie?

Is yoga really "bad"? 

Is teen marriage wrong?

Listening to secular music a sin?

Using fish net tights a sin?

Eating a potato chip after it's fallen on the floor wrong?

Getting a tattoo wrong?

A wise friend helped me out. 

Basically we have confused the difference between scruples and sin. A scruple is a moral or ethical consideration or standard that acts as a restraining force or inhibits certain actions. Sins are that which the Bible clearly states are wrong.

That clarified a lot of cloudiness in my thinking. I didn't understand why I felt so strongly about certain things but there were those things that I didn't find important to refrain from doing. We are each instilled with a specific set of morals and beliefs that determine how we make life choices. So, our one Faith remains as Truth, but what makes me different from everyone else are those cool scruples. 

Goodbye Ordinary, Hello Amazing.

Still have the necklace.

you are amazing. i hope you always remember that. i won't be there to remind you. you need to remind yourself. because it's time to say good bye. i won't talk to you for a very long time. there will be times when i want to talk to you but i won't. that's the the way it is. i'm leaving, you've left. i don't know when we will see each other again. you've been there for me. i've been there for you. now it's time to go our separate ways and become what we were destined to be. i miss you. i miss what we were. it'll never be the same. change is coming. go be amazing!

The Mission of Americanizing

Take in an orphan from the streets. Cloth, feed and educate him. Raised by missionaries, he is taught american customs and culture. He goes out into the real world and he's ignorant of his countries social expectations and customs. Traditions and beliefs, of which he should be aware, are foreign to him. Many social concepts, like earning his own keep and paying rent are things he has no experience with. He might have Jesus and a great education, but he must now learn about his country's customs and culture on his own. We hope that he embraces the culture as his own and retains the faith in which he was raised.

One of the main goals of a missionary is to change lives.We maintain the functions of an orphanage, oversee schools, hold clothes drives, pass out bags of rice and beans, preform skits and do crafts, teach skills like sewing and cooking to use as a trade, run a missions guesthouse, found a maternity center, and start a jobs programs in hopes that an individual's life might be better off. Along with changing lives, be pray that the receivers of goodwill and free care can see that it was God that sent us to rescue and help them, in turn they look to him for, well...., everything. This is the ultimate end goal.

There's a challenge in this "change the world" thing. It's a question of what should and shouldn't be changed. You see, as missionaries to a foreign land it is our duty to respect the country's native culture while introducing the gospel of the Lord. I've seen, may times, missionaries mistake evangelizing with Americanizing. We do not enter into the nations to change customs and force our own ideology. We enter into different lands to make known God and the power of His salvation.

"Tear" Has Multiple Meanings

Am I responsible for how my thoughts are interpreted?

When blogging, complete and thorough communication is practically impossible to reach. I CAN'T write out every little detail and factor pertaining to a thought. A simple sentence can be offensive to one and inspiring to another. There is always room for misinterpretation and misunderstanding.

To answer the question: I am responsible for taking the proper means to paint, through my actions and words, the best picture of the idea I'm trying to portray. That's all. If someone takes it the wrong way they can always inquire for clarification.

This is written to preface the next few blog entries. I will be posting things that are very dear to my heart. Read soberly.