Father's Day and Some Ramblings About Marriage

So today is Father's Day.  Which, is pretty cool, as being a dad is a pretty big deal.  As I'm getting geared up for marriage, I've been thinking what being both a father and husband of God looks like.  I'm going to talk about being a Godly father first.

God says a lot about being a dad as it turns out.  I think we can also learn a lot about being a father by looking at the way God interacts with the people of Israel.  A lot of people look at the Old Testament God as one who is full of wrath and angry.  I can see why people would think that.  However, I encourage you to think of God as a Father to His people.  What do good fathers do when their children disobey?  They punish their kids in the best way possible right?  God told His kids many times that He would send other nations to punish them if they didn't listen and lusted after other gods.

What did God do in response to the often times apostate nation of Israel?  He sent in other, pagan nations to enslave them.  God is way more just than any human could ever be, and if that's the punishment God needed to use in order to get His children to turn back to Him, then that's what God had to use.  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.  God is amazing at working even awful situations to the good of His people.  Good fathers are men who justly punish their kids when needed.

God also provided for the people of Israel many, many times.  He brought manna in the desert, He led his people in the desert, and He also provided the promised land of Israel.  Those are just three examples, but you can find so many other ways that God has provided.  Godly fathers are men who provide for their kids.

God was also present to His people.  Granted, it wasn't in the form of walking and talking with them, but He was present in the Temple.  He was only available to a handful of people, but He was present.  Good fathers need to be present in the lives of their children.

I was told recently by a guy that being a good husband is like being the Bible to your wife.  Which, kind of confused me at first, as there is a lot in the Bible.  However, when I thought about it some more, it means embodying what is in the Bible.  It means being patient and kind to your wife.  It also means being gentle as you lead her.  It means walking beside her even if you don't want to because you love her.

Loving both your wife and your children means choosing to every day even when it is a lot easier to not.  It means putting them before yourself and others.  It means walking with them as they're struggling.  It means choosing to act like Christ to them.

Also, as a quick update, SEND is almost over, so I will be moving back home in less than a week.  I will be working with a Christian and I'll be working with my church.

You May Have Noticed

For those of you who are new to my blog, welcome! I have decided to use this space to spend time writing about what God is doing in my life, how I am serving God, and write reviews of books.  I haven't been reading a lot lately, so I don't have any new reviews to write.  Hopefully I start reading more soon.  I do have some leadership books that I am about to start, but I am not sure if I will include these in my reviews.

Now, for those of you who have stuck around with this blog for a while, thank you for being a loyal reader.  It means a lot to me!  I have decided to delete a bunch of my older posts because they simply weren't reflecting where I want to take the blog.

I also wanted to take this post to take some time to explain how I decided to lay out this blog.  I feel that God is calling me to reach out to the people that "normal" church goers don't want to reach.  This means those who are found in the "smoking sections" of life.  I don't mean I feel called to reach those who are smokers, but it means that I want to find a way to reach those who are often forgotten by society.  I might get a lot of flak for listening to the music I listen to and watching the films I chose to watch and that is okay with me.  I know that there are people out there who enjoy these things just like I do.  If God can use my interests to reach a single person, then it is worth it in my mind.

I've been given a sense of empathy because of the experiences I've had in life, which is awesome because it means I can understand where people are coming from in many different ways.  When coupled with the SEND training I am receiving, it makes for a very interesting way of looking at the world.  Today we had a teaching from Kent Hunter about culture.  I think understanding culture is an important part of being a missionary.  The culture in which you're operating needs to be understood to be effective.  I also think that it is important to remember not to live in a way that you are participating in the sin you find in that group of people.

I know that I have decided to choose an interesting background image for my blog.  I think the barbed wire represents in a modern way, the thorns used to make a crown for Christ.  It also reminds me of the prisons we all find ourselves in.  I think it is important to remember that we are all imprisoned in some fashion in our lives.  This truth really hit home when we went as a group to Ohio to learn about prison ministry through SEND.  Even though some people are behind bars for their actions, I am no better, because I live in prisons I've made myself through my actions.  This is a good reminder for any Christian that we are called to help redeem the lives of people to help them find freedom from sin.

I know that is impossible in a few ways, as we live in a world where no one is perfect.  In fact, I John reminds us that anyone who says they are without sin is a liar.  On top of that, the truth is not in them.  However, we are saved when we repent of our sins.  Repent literally means to turn away from something.  We are called to turn away from our sins as Christians and turn to Christ instead.  Christ is the ultimate place to be freed from our self made prisons.

This blog is a place I am dedicating to writing about how God is moving in my life.  This can be in any way that God decides to move, whether that is through SEND or if God gives me a clearer vision on what He wants in my life.  I know God is calling me to be a pastor and it will be interesting to see how God takes me on that path as I know that there are only two avenues for me in the Lutheran church.

I also feel that God is calling me to bring life back into the Lutheran denomination, even though this is a huge task.  I know that if it's God's will, God will foot the bill. I know it isn't the exactly same application, but it has truth.  If it's God's will, God will make it happen.

I am excited to see where God calls me and even though I'm feeling kind of beaten down by what is going on in my life right now, I am reassured knowing that it's in these times that God grows me the most.

SEND Update for November

Greetings everyone!  With Thanksgiving coming up, I would like to say I am thankful for the ability to be in SEND right now.  Even though it is hard being away from my friends and family, I know that what I am learning will be a blessing to the Kingdom later on.

This month has been a crazy one with SEND.  If you're unsure of what SEND is, you can learn about it by clicking on the SEND tab above this post.  Anyway, this month for our Mission Weekend, we traveled to Holland, MI to visit the Rescue Mission there.  The Holland Rescue Mission is a place where people who are experiencing homelessness can go to get shelter and food.  They also offer a Gateway program which is where the residents go through classes for a year to help them become active members in society.  This program also requires that the men attend church and also volunteer their time at the church they attend.

As a part of our time at the Rescue Mission, we spent the night with the residents.  The men in our group slept at the men's Mission and the women spent the night in the Family Rescue Mission.  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  There were sixty bunks in all in the room I slept in.  Not all of the bunks were filled, but it was still a very interesting experience sleeping in a room with forty plus men.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well, but it was still something I would do over again if given the chance.

We spent time at the Family Mission providing child care for the women and the girls spent time painting the nails of the residents.  We also served meals at both the men's and women's missions.  It was awesome because even though we were serving the residents, they wanted to serve us as much as they could.

While I was spending time with the men, I was able to have conversations with a couple of the residents.  One of them was Tom, a man who ended up at the mission because he attempted suicide.  It was his choice to be there, and it was awesome seeing that he wanted to make changes in his life.  We spent hours talking and I feel like I got to know him quite a bit.  I think he was pretty lonely because he spent a lot of time talking, but it's okay.  Part of being a missionary I've learned is taking the time to respect people and if someone wants to talk, it's best to just listen.

The theme of the current unit in SEND is relationships.  We've spent some time learning about the five love languages.  It's pretty awesome to learn that people express and receive love in different ways.  I know that my love languages are physical touch and quality time.  This means that I like to touch and be touched by people that I enjoy.  It also means that I enjoy spending meaningful time with those that I love.

The other three love languages are gifts, acts of service, and words of affirmation.  Gifts is best summed up by giving and getting gifts makes someone with this love language feel loved.  Acts of service is where you like to serve others and be served by them.  Words of affirmation can be described by saying nice things to each other.  With the love languages, it is important to remember that we're all different, so learning how someone else shows and accepts love is an important thing to learning about those around you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post!  Keep checking back to get the latest update!