Obama's Presidential Inauguration

President Obama closed his Inaugural Address with these words:

"So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

I love those last few lines...read it again.

"With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

This can only happen if we, as individuals, take these ideas to heart and refuse to give in to apathy, doubt, and regret. It reminds me of Galatians 6...

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Read the full Transcript here.

Mozambique and Back Again

I'd like to share some of the thoughts I posted while I was still in Mozambique this past summer. These thoughts were rolling around in my head as I began to think about coming back home.

"Tonight though i am beginning to wrestle through my response to all that i have seen and experienced. I am in awe of the darkness that surrounds this village and the despair deep within so many hearts. And yet, that same darkness and despair has found a home within so many of the hearts in the United States - inside those who are literally close enough for me to touch. I am wrestling with what it looks like to actually take hold of His power and shine His light in the darkness; no matter what country i'm in. no matter how i'm feeling that day. no matter what it costs. no matter their circumstances. no matter their intentions.

I'm wrestling through what it will look like to love and to serve whatever, whomever, whenever, and wherever."

Now that I've been home for a little over 4 months its about time I look into what all of these thoughts have actually produced in my life...

And here's what I would like to be able to say... I have spent the last 4 months serving each person who crosses my path and loving people in way that is completely foreign to them. I have spent the last 4 months not thinking about myself or about my wants and desires, but rather how I can be a blessing to those around me. I would love to say that I have stayed connected with Him no matter the circumstances. Unfortunately, far too often these things have not been true of me over the last 4 months. And I sit here humbled once again to know that words are just words and our actions are what truly speak. Thankfully, I continue to grow in grace and know that in the midst of each and every day He is there walking with me. I am thankful to have grabbed a hold of the truth that my life doesn't revolve around my circumstances and that His grace is evermore powerful than my stupidity.

I am once again looking to head to Mozambique for this coming summer and already my mind begins to fill with thoughts of learning as much Portuguese as possible before the summer and starting early on preparing some lessons and on and on. And yet for as great as those words look as I read over them again, the reality is that next semester will bring new classes, new homework, new challenges academic and otherwise. My bottom line thought is balance... I have to set goals and push myself, but not to the brink of going crazy. I have to commit to certain things and plan ahead, but not forget to live in the moment. I'm praying for wisdom and an understanding of what the balance looks like for this year, for next semester, for the last week and a half of this semester! I'm praying I would be careful to use my words not just for the sake of using words, but to use them as simply describing actions I'm going to take!

Maybe this ramble won't connect with anyone, but it sure helped me process my thoughts a bit!

Helping...

Check out this news Story. It's short, I promise. Lady dials wrong number and the stranger she called on accident decides to give her the help she needed.

A few things strike me about this. First, I wonder what my response would have been... and I wonder how many others with the ability to help would have deleted the message and moved on.... and finally, it kills me that this article is filed under the "News>Weird" section of nbcsandiego.com -- it is foreign for something like this to happen; it is so foreign, so unlikely in fact that it was placed under the "Weird" news section.

Frustration

I'm frustrated. i'm sick of people's emotional state being determined by their circumstances. i'm sick of people letting those emotions control them. i'm sick of hearing about perception overtaking reality. i'm sick of people making stupid assumptions. i'm sick of immaturity. i'm sick of "christians" living so unlike Christ. i'm sick of people making excuses. i'm sick of people living to please other people. i'm sick of fakes, liars, and hypocrites. i'm sick of hearing about people in need and not hearing about people doing anything about it. i'm sick of hearing all about the "will of the God" and how far the church and its people are from "it." i'm sick of how much of this is true of me.

And I don't want to hear people making excuses. i don't want to hear all the Christianese "answers." I don't want to hear "things will get better" from all those people not doing anything about it.

What I want to hear is that someone is stepping up. What I want to hear is that God is wrecking people's lives. What I want to hear is that love is breaking through the pain.

...what I need to hear is that grace and love are real.

...what I need to hear is that it starts with me.

Humility

There has been a political "outcry" over President Obama bowing to Japan's emperor.

Last time I checked - observing cultural traditions, built bridges and encouraged relationships! The criticism is that President Obama is showing America as weak and subservient. What a thought - maybe instead of strong-arming everything in our path, we should do a little more bowing, maybe we should do a little more to humble ourselves and respect others. But that's just me...